Slartibartfast

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?

30mpg in a Pathy?

Yeah, that's the auto. Is this while the truck's moving or while it's parked? Unless the recirc is on with mine it'll blow a little air when I'm driving, not because the fan motor's spinning but just because air's getting rammed into the intakes. I doubt it hurts your MPG too much, though if it's running the AC compressor it's not helping it any.

That link needs a sticky!

That's odd... suggests a bad ground, maybe? Was it full 12v positive? IIRC the wires you want are red with differently colored stripes. I didn't use the factory grounds, just ran them all (lights and relays) straight to a bolt on the firewall.

It'll be so quiet, all you'll have to listen to will be the ticking manifold studs, the exhaust leaks, and the buzzing heat shields!

Seafoamed it properly this time! It made quite a smoke show and I think it picked up some power. I'm not sure if this was due to the snake oil or if I was just putting my foot in more to try and burn off the snake oil, but either way I had fun flogging it. One quick tip for anyone doing a seafoam treatment: make sure you're upwind of the tailpipe when you're applying the stuff. I was very much downwind, and I had a bad time.

IIRC tire shops say to put them on the back. Understeer means you hit something with the front of the truck, where it's designed to take a hit. Oversteer means you hit something with the rear or back of the truck (or roll it). Given that it's a Pathfinder you're probably fine so long as you don't put them both on the same side.

Holy HDR Batman! Looks like a Mad Max rig.

A lot of guys with lifts have changed CVs and this is the first I've heard of issues. I'd be surprised if 97 had a different axle vs 98 but stranger things have happened with these.

Can't say the scoop and painted windows do anything for me but the workmanship on the body is nice.

Dad took it to a shop, and the guy said it's probably the valve seals... apparently it's a common issue on these.

Damn, what? How does that even happen? I emailed Rockauto about the door handle. Apparently they've sold a load of them for Pathfinders/D21s and I'm one of two people to ever complain. Not sure if I got a weird one, if I've got a weird truck, or if nobody else has bothered to complain... anyway the customer service people were good about it.

Can you hear the motor whirring when you turn the radio on? Most likely is that the long nylon bit inside is busted. Mine was in three pieces somehow. You can get a new antenna mast (which will have the long nylon bit and won't be bent so it'll retract right) off Fleabay, IIRC that's where I got mine. It's kind of a PITA to respool it but there you go. I did mine a few years ago and it's still working fine, but I don't use it too often... not much on the radio around here unless you like listening to guys drawling about women who done them wrong.

Upper/lower ball joints, TREs, centerlink, idler cost $800 installed here. I don't know what arms and legs go for there but it seems front end work isn't cheap.

A local garage did the job and they somehow managed without removing the intake. Apparently the guy thought he could just reach in underneath and do it quickly... when my dad picked it up a few hours later the guy had bandaids all over his hands LOL but I guess he managed to get it in. I don't know if the part was OEM or what it was. Since he didn't disturb the intake the gaskets are all original and the power valves have not been checked. What's getting me is that these issues seem like something you'd see in a much older engine... which points either to abuse by the PO or ingestion of valve screws. Time to check the screws I guess.

It does sound like valve seals, but it seems odd that they'd fail so early. I would also expect it to smoke on cold starts, and it doesn't.

Thanks Rebelord, I'll give that a whack. I learned two things today. One is that Rockauto's $3 Pathfinder door handle is in fact an 80s Sentra handle, which to be fair looks exactly like a Pathy handle. The other was that the door handles from 80s Sentras do not in fact fit Pathfinders. But where there's a redneck there's a way, and it turns out the Pathy mount place will accept a Sentra handle with a little modification, as will the linkage, and I now have a functional door handle again. No more climbing in through the back! Looks dead stock too.