Slartibartfast

I installed my trans cooler the other day, and didn't remember seeing a write-up on it, so I made this. Hopefully this'll help someone else with theirs. Installing a Trans Cooler Let's start with the reason to bother with all this. Automatic transmissions change a fair amount of power into heat, especially if you're pushing them hard. Heat degrades transmission fluid, and degraded transmission fluid kills clutch packs. There's a stock cooler in the radiator which is mostly adequate, but a larger transmission cooler reduces fluid temps further, which helps the trans live longer, which is nice, because these things are awfully hard to push. I used: 1x Transmission Cooler. I found a no-name aftermarket stacked-plate cooler in a WD21 at the junkyard. I think I paid $10 for it. A trans cooler from a wrecking yard might be full of crud if the trans it was hooked to failed, but the truck this one was in had a blown out bottom end, and someone had actually bothered to pull the trans, so a lunched trans was clearly not what sent it to the wreckers. What little fluid was left in the lines looked good and red. I washed the cooler out with alcohol and let it dry fully before installation. If you're going the junkyard route and don't see any aftermarket ones, Ford Explorers apparently have easily accessible tube-and-fin coolers that aren't bad. The GMs I scoped out had weird connectors on theirs, so I wouldn't bother looking in them. If you're buying a new one, look for a high vehicle weight rating. (There's a thread about sizes/ratings somewhere on here.) 3x Hose Clamps. You really only need two, but I had a handful from the junkyard trip, and I didn't like the look of one of the stock clamps. 5' or more of 5/16 Oil Hose. Hose is cheap and it doesn't stretch. Get more than you think you'll need. (Yes, I left the old hoses in the junker... I'm not that cheap.) 1x Transmission Cooler Mounting Kit. These are zip-tie like things that stick the cooler to the A/C condenser. If you want to screw it to something or build custom mounts, go for it. I used Carquest #77008 but the clips said Hayden on them, so it's probably the same stuff you'd get with a new Hayden cooler. One quart of ATF (I used generic Carquest Dex/Merc). This wouldn't be a bad time to do a full flush if it's due for new fluid. Paper towels... and a trashcan to put them in. Preferably one that doesn't leak. (Mine did.) If you want to install a trans temp gauge and/or trans fluid filter, now would be a good time to do those too. To start things off, I crawled underneath and located my trans lines. The lower line is the return (the same line you can use for flushing the trans fluid) and on mine it was held in by an odd wire clamp that came off easily enough. If the hose gives you trouble, shoot a little WD40 around the end, it should slide right off once that wicks in. My radiator is fairly new so I left the factory cooler in line with the new one. This meant I only had to pull the lower line. There's some dispute as to whether the stock coolers clog up over time and kill transmissions or whether dying transmissions spit up clutch material and clog the coolers, or whether cooler clogging is even a thing that happens at all, but if you don't know how long your stock radiator's been in there it's probably best to pull both lines and bypass it. Incidentally, that top line (which connects to the driver's side of the factory cooler) is the supply line (ATF pumping out of the trans into the stock cooler). If you disconnect that line and bump the starter to see if you've got the right one, you'll spray fluid all over everything and the front crossmember will drip on you for the rest of the night. (Video may be nsfw if your coworkers are nuns or faint at the sight of transmission fluid.) The other end of the lower hose is kind of a bugger to get to from behind. I ended up using a miniature open-ended wrench (1/4" should do it, and a ratchet screwdriver with the bit removed should fit) to loosen the hose clamp to the point where I could turn it around with vise grips and get a nut driver on it. If you lay under the car and rest your head on the centerlink you can see what you're doing, and your neck doesn't get sore. You can put your elbow up by the alternator if needed. Anyway, get that clip loose enough that you can pull the lower line out. Keep track of the clamps, as you'll be needing them later. Here's the return line that we're retiring. I kept mine just in case. Now the new cooler needs to go in, but the grille's in the way. Remove the corner lights, undo the clips along the top (or cut the zip ties, depending on how many times the grille's been off), undo the grille screws below the headlights, and pull it back. My driving lights and bumper got in the way and prevented me from removing it completely, but no worries, you just have to be able to get your arm back there. If you have big arms, or a thick cooler, or if you need to do other stuff back there anyway, removing the grille and bumper completely would make this next bit a whole lot easier.

No stupid questions, just inquisitive idiots. I say that as a chronic asker of stupid questions. My understanding is that it's supposed to have a little rake (back slightly higher than the front). There's a how-to for reindexing them, but you may be able to get away with just messing with the adjuster bolts. I haven't done mine yet but I need to get around to them sooner or later... probably just before an alignment, since raising/lowering the front end will change your angles. The PO of mine tried to adjust them and didn't get them quite even. And yeah, I haven't figured out the forum search engine. I just google "NPORA [whatever I'm looking for]" and it usually turns up.

Gutting that beeper was one of the first mods I did so I'm no help at determining what it does. Couldn't hurt to take a look in the FSM but I don't think it codes for anything.

Lots of that here: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/31418-building-a-vg34-and-installing-it-in-my-88-pathy/ Might be a ways in though, he did a lot of stuff to that engine. Nefarious, can't wait to see how yours turns out.

How high did it rev? Unless it's blowing smoke I wouldn't imagine the rings are bad. Valves maybe but unless you really revved the everloving piss out of it I doubt valve float would be an issue. From what I've heard these run into oil flow issues long before the valves would float, and that's bottom end, which doesn't seem to be the problem (and would likely throw a knock code if it was). Maybe one of the lifters collapsed? Timing is set by the computer but I could swear I've read about people setting it manually. I doubt the timing is the issue, and if it is, try resetting the computer (disconnect power for a few minutes) to clear any codes that could be making it retard the timing. You might also check the timing belt just in case it jumped a tooth or two, but I suspect if it had you'd have a lot more than a ticking noise.

The engine in the pic looks like a normal VG30E to me. The copper color is probably just deposits from the oil. So long as it's not black sludge it shouldn't be an issue. From what I've read, the Pathfinder intake is actually pretty good, or at least adequate. Nissan did put offer a supercharger for the VG33, and in theory it'll fit a VG30. The crank pulley might be a bastard though. I don't know if I've ever seen copper colored valve covers. Mine are black, I just sort of figured they all were. Also I didn't know SOHC vs DOHC was determined by cylinder bank, thanks for clearing that up.

Holy crap that lasted a long time!

Missed that bit, sorry.

Finally installed my tranny cooler! Now to figure out how much fluid to add... I hear the trans dipstick is a PITA to read, any tips? Will running it to warm it up with low fluid damage anything? It didn't lose much (maybe a third of a cup) during the install but I imagine the lines and the cooler will take up a fair amount of fluid.

Also you can check some of the top of the tank just by pulling the access hatch under the rear carpet. If it's just a loose line from the pump it could be a very easy fix.

Looks like it's already responded to a few zombies! Get a new light on there, straighten the fogs, and it won't look too bad IMO.

Finally installed a voltmeter! Didn't really need one but it fills the hole in the dash. If you're considering putting a gauge there, put it down a ways. I had to put this one here because of other holes I'd drilled, but I had to do some trimming under the dash to clear it.

These already have a cold air intake, the stock ignition is very powerful, and tuning the ECU isn't really a thing that happens yet. (Nefarious is working on it.) Apparently you can put an Infiniti M30 ECU in there or do a variety of other things, but IIRC they require some supporting mods (MAF, wiring, etc). Sounds like the truck has some other issues though judging by your other threads. Once you get those sorted you may find that it gets a lot of power back.

Probably a loose connection on something. Check the distributor, plug wires, coil, all that. Make sure they're in good condition and tightly secured. Could be that the vibration of highway speed is wiggling something that's loose.

I've found 4LO useful in situations with lousy traction (trying to drive uphill through a foot of fresh snow on street tires for example). In 4HI, I had to really goose it to get the tires moving, and then they broke traction and spun out. In 4LO it got enough traction to get out of the driveway. I suspect it's also easier on the torque converter, meaning the fluid heats up less. I've also heard that it's good for steep descents. And yeah, if you try to get in 4LO with it in gear, you're gonna have a bad time.

The mirror itself can be disassembled (not terribly easy but probably easier that re-engineering the mount), and I imagine you could reinforce the replacement from the inside around where yours broke with some epoxy and fiberglass or whatever you've got laying around to firm up the plastic bit. I was actually surprised at how solidly built my old one was when I took it apart, apart from the busted-off adjuster anyway.

Tune up? I've seen a few people with surging issues but I can't really remember what ended up being the problem. You might check your vac lines and the accordion-looking intake pipe for cracks.

I'm pretty sure the threads are standardized. No idea how many turns equal anything though, sorry. If you can find the teeth per inch though, you can extrapolate how far in/out they'll move (the width of a thread), factor in the fact that there are two threaded shafts, and then figure out how far the tie rod end is from the center of the wheel hub and thus how many degrees the hub will turn... It would probably be easier to measure the alignment, turn the joint, measure it again, and find the difference.

Auto or manual? Mine's an automatic and it forgets that it's underpowered. Say you're going sixty up a hill and you slow for a corner, it'll upshift. Try and accelerate and LOL nope, you're doing 45 now, and it won't shift back down until you floor it. There's a 'power' switch (on the dash on mine, not exactly sure where it is on the square dash) that changes the shift points, which is a big help. O/D off, power mode on, and it wakes up a bit. It's still not leMans worthy but it'll hold its speed on a grade and it'll accelerate much more quickly. If it's manual, I got nothing, other than a tuneup wouldn't hurt if it's been a while.

I hooked a tow strap to mine and hooked the other end to a massive 70s hood that needed to be somewhere else. Worked out pretty well actually, except for the banjos playing in the back of my mind. That's good, I've grown rather attached to the furry little buggers.

Woot for the hillbilly method!

For what it's worth, the manual controls look like this: It's dead simple to use and it works just fine. (Ignore the torn apart dash, long story.) Does sound like you're just feeling air that's blowing in from outside. If you set it to recirc it shouldn't do that. Personally I don't mind it, it's like having a window open but without the noise. The fan/AC/etc aren't being powered, though you can still get heat (the heater uses the hot coolant from the engine, so it's just a matter of which baffles are open). If you turn the slider to the cold end, maybe it'll shut the baffles? I'm not sure how much of a project you'd be in for switching for manual controls. I would assume that they both attach to the same things, and the only difference would be an unused plug for an air temperature sensor. Assumptions like this usually leave me swearing at Nissan for changing small things that didn't need changing (and marveling at the number of sharp things under the dash) so take this with a couple bags of salt. @Trogdor, that's funny, the only one I've ever seen was in a 93. Maybe they didn't sell well and Nissan gave up on them?

Not saying they're all bad. Just something to check for.

From what I've heard, a hard 1-2 shift and a slower 2-3 shift is normal for these. Mine does it too, I wouldn't worry about it. I would however ask if the 3.5 engine is burning oil. My dad's 03 uses a quart or two between oil changes and from what I've read, the issue is not uncommon.

Your MC has separate reservoirs for the front and rear?