Chriskaw440

Hmm, can't seem to upload the photo and to busy to mess with it now... Maybe later... I havent been able to upload any photos either no matter what I try and I am a graphic designer....me thinks the admin needs to check things out to see what the deal is......

I smelled some gas in my pathfinder while driving around town running errands...... turns out it was coming from my wife. whew!

I didnt hear the little screach sound but that may just be one of the belts slipping just a tad when things start to spin, or just belt noise....mine does it too sometimes and I just put new alternator and ps belts on the other week....I think they have stretched just a bit so I need to tighten them up. that valve tick that lasts for a second or two is pretty common with these engines, mine does it sometimes, so does a friend of mines, and so do a bunch of others I have heard about. Its not damaging and really nothing much can be done about it from what I have been told. Its typically the first start of the day....before the oil has been fully circulated through the engine. I notice it happens more so during the colder weather season. -Chris

I just poured some coffee in my tank to see if the caffeine would give some extra kick!!! was this a bad idea? it works on people so I figured why not a reciprocating engine!! nah, I ain't that silly

I just listen to what my mechanics and friends have told me through the years, and shown me engine parts that came from an engine that used cheap oil and low octane gas, versus good name brand oils and higher octane fuels....definitly cleaner parts. I wish I had known I could bypass the coolant lines to the throttle body when I changed my knock sensor! those coolant lines were the biggest pain in the ass to replace due to their location. I figured they are there for a reason so I better just reconnect like they were My '90 has 240,000 plus miles on it and it has to last me for a looooong time still, so I just try to keep everything in check and not try anything much more to try and squeeze out any more HP. As long as mine runs like a champ I'm happy. I dont race, or do hardcore off roading. After doing my knock sensor job and replacing the O2 sensor (who knows how old it was...may have been the original on it!)....I gained about 50 more miles to a tank of gas under normal driving conditions. The toluene thing sounds interesting, (just dont snort it....it will kill your brain cells....) I have even considered trying some pure "white lightening" alcohol from the mtns of west virginia in the gas tank once.......stuff was so pure it burned totally invisible....no flame could be seen but it burned!!! I thought twice about it and then changed my mind. This was when I owned 3 mazda RX-7's and did autocrossing. Like you said, I listen to others and take all opinions and suggestions to heart, but in the long run, if what I am doing with my vehicle works great and makes me happy....then it will take a lot to change my ways unless it was on it's last legs. but..... would I like to have headers and hi-flow cat and muffler on it? hell yes! but my checkbook says "hell no" for now.... peace, Chris

I use 93 octane most of the time in my 1990 se and believe me, it runs a hell of a lot better on 93 than it does 87. And before anyone yells at me, I just installed a new knock sensor and O2 sensor on it and it is tuned up to the T (all stock other than K&N cone type air filter). It's not psychological either, I have heard this same thing from many other people that own older rigs. ECU says all clear on codes. the gas mileage does drop a bit on lower octane and it definitly has a little less power..... 240,000+ miles and still going strong....original engine. Plugs are always clean (show normal wear) when I change them and it doesnt leak or burn a drop of oil. In my opinion, the newer models can get by with lower octane due to improvements in everything engine and management related, but the older ones still benefit from the higher octane. As long as monkey boy Bush is in office, gas will always be sky high expensive in any grade!!! just my 2 and 3/4 cents.....

..eat more Wheaties maybe? old bolts can be a bear to break loose......

every time I try to post a photo (even if its a very small jpg file) it says I cant so I gave up.... but, I used my sawzall with a small blade for metal cutting and very carefully cut through that sleeve (after using a big screwdriver as a chisel with a hammer to remove most of the rubber bearing and bolt sleeve) and once you cut through the sleeve completely it just collapses in once you give it a few taps with a hammer and screwdriver (or whatever you use to drive it out with) ....but, the NEW bearing will most likely not fit into the opening so you either have to drive it in with a press or grind out the inner surface of the bearing hole with a drum sanding bit on a drill (at least thats how I did it...) until the new bearing can be pushed into place. The new bearings are of course just slightly larger in diameter than the old ones that were just removed.

yeah definitly want a work bench and vice to hold the new master cylinder for the bench-bleeding....you cant just hold it in your hands and do it. I replaced mine in my 1990 a few years ago (my first master cylinder replacement ever...) and I thought it was pretty easy overall....just have to pay attention with not getting any air bubbles in the fluid while bleeding the system. I think its fairly common that the master cylinders will leak with age where it bolts to the firewall as the inner seals go bad......my fluid would leak there and run down the firewall ....removing the paint also! -Chris

the reason I did my own work with replacing the bushings (cutting them out with my sawzall) was because I felt like the price for new complete ones was pretty ridiculously expensive....since its just a hunk of metal with a rubber bushing in each end....and everywhere I looked ...they were over $120.00 or so each...so over 200 bucks plush shipping in some cases.......no thanks, just ordered all the bushings I needed (4 for the lower arms) from rockautoparts.com for only $64.00 bucks and took the time to do it in my own garage. I know not everyone can "do it themselves" but just saying....my case was a cost issue versus ease of just getting new complete control arms. plus...I like doing it myself especially with the cost of labor continuosly going higher and higher at the repair shops.....

one of my favorites is when someone asks for my phone number and I start by saying "sure, it's 555-....then pause for a moment for a reply....." and sure enough most will say...."ok....whats the rest of the number?" duh.....

I just did mine september 2006 and like mentioned above....just parked in the garage and got under it and went to work on unbolting them from the axle and then the usual cutting out of the rubber bearing and sleeve (using chisel and sawz all) and then grinding out the inner space of the arm (control arm / link....whatever...same thing) to allow for the new bearings to fit. The new bearings will most likely NOT fit into the ends of the arms unless you have a super duty press and some prayers that you dont break something. I found it easier to just use a sanding drum on a drill and just grind out the spaces on the ends of the arms a little bit and it worked great. I only had to do my LOWER ARMS as my uppers were still in good shape. if doing all the bushings, I would suggest doing all uppers first, and then all lowers or vice versa, rather than removing all the arms at one time. Put the arms back on the axle and that was that. Mine is also a '90 SE I would include some photos here but the system wont let me for whatever reason so I gave up trying.

only one bolt holds the control arm (or link as its also called) to the axle and one on the other end to the frame. Just remove the bolt and that end will just drop down. If the rubber inside the end of the arm looks crushed or split in anyway....its shot, and will allow that end of the arm to slam back and forth on that bolt and sleeve it runs through. the upper two arms are a little harder to get to since they are way up over the axle so you have to reach way up there. I keep trying to UPLOAD a simple small JPG photo to show what mine looked like but this system wont let me for some reason....arrrrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

...and remember, the "P" on the shifter dial is for 'passing gear' for when you really want to get around someone in a hurry. (believe it or not, rumor has it years ago, some older lady thought thats what the P really stood for and tried to shift to it....on the highway. she was in some kind of older car....)

I just changed my valve cover gaskets when I did my "knock sensor" replacement a few weeks ago. Since I had the plenum off anyway, I figured since my ride is a '90, should go ahead and do it while I'm in there. Really easy to do but I can't see where it would cost $500.00! it's not that hard to take the plenum off and move a few things (you have to take it off anyway to get to the drivers side valve cover..) I think the gasket set was only like 30 bucks or so....

....or the battery itsself is shot, as sometimes they just have a cell go bad and will never charge again. it can be as fast as "started when I left for the store, but when I tried to start it to go home, it was dead INSTANTLY, not like the familiar slow cranking sounds that eventually just dissipate to 'click click click' " I've had it happen on my wifes van, our jetskis, and just recently.....my pathfinder. Battery is good one minute, and dead the next. Just one of the ways they can fail. I'm not saying this is the case for fairly new batteries...but older ones that just go POOF with no warning.

yeah its hard to actually SEE the bushing when its attached to the frame but all you have to do is take that bolt out that runs through the bushing and that end of the link will just fall loose from the frame. I think its the lower link bushings that tend to wear out before the upper ones too but thats just a thought. my upper control arms (links...whatever folks like to call them...) were still in ok shape so I just left them as is for now. Some will buy a whole new arm with the bushings already installed...I chose the cheaper but harder way....ordered new bushings from Rockautoparts.com and cut out the old ones from the arms, grinded out the holes of the arms just a bit to allow the new bushings to fit in good and snug and popped them back on the pathy and good to go. I chisled out the old rubber bushing and then used a sawz-all to cut the collars loose from the control arm. otherwise, good luck knocking them out some other way! My first bushing was a pain in the ass until I got that method I mentioned earlier nailed down, the other 3 bushings were cake work after that. (it was my first time doing such a job) I didnt even have to jack up the vehicle or remove any wheels to do the job....they sit high enough so you can just get under it. Once that dang klunking stuff was gone it was like driving a new vehicle! nothing more annoying in the world than mystery klunks on a vehicle. Before I knew what it was, I thought the differential was going bad on me.

knock sensor knock sensor knock sensor knock sensor........ since they were built to fail by satan himself and installed by satan himself under the intake manifold.......

they way my alignment guy showed me was, he had me stand back by the drivers side rear wheel while he hopped in and gave it some gas while one foot was on the brake and he said "watch that rear axle now..." and sure enough I could see that side just jerking back and forth while the vehicle remained still for the most part..... I said "yep thats pretty obvious!" the passenger side bushings still seemed good but I went ahead and replaced those ones also. Now the rear end is square and I dont miss that annoying klunking around one bit. Mine typically did it when just taking off from a dead stop....first gear and sometimes second....and I could feel the rear end wiggling around making the vehicle ride like it was drunk. If I kept pumping the gas back and forth I could make the pathy wobble down the road....looking quite silly of course

Hi Josh and all, Got home from the turkey day holiday to find my cool decals in my mailbox....thanks!!!!!! unfortunatly its raining like hell outside so I can't put them on just yet thanks again.... Chris

not sure about how the 93 rear ends are set up but on the older ones, the bushings in the control arms (upper and lower) tend to blow out with age thus allowing the rear axle to move forward and backward when braking or accelerating or anything that puts a load on the axle. Mine was like that for over a year and drove me nuts (and is dangerous!) until a mechanic attempting to do a front end alignment said it cant be done until I replace the control arm bushings (at least the blown one(s)) so I did them myself and its been great ever since.

I would avoid the wal mart oil (store brand stuff) as I see it like this...just like the STORE BRAND FOOD products that grocery stores have....they are always cheaper BUT taste like CRAP! so when it comes to something as important as motor oils, stick with name brand....some costs a little less than others but still better than store brands. Save those for lawnmowers and old klunkers that barely run anyway. the lighter weight oils MAY tend to leak more through worn seals/gaskets as many have reported here with the older models and not so much with a heavier weight oil for obvious reasons. I like synthetics too and the overall bests I hear are Amsoil and Redline but come with a steep costs, so with the pathys, going with a good conventional oil will do you fine and for older high mileage ones, like yours and mine (also a 1990 with 240,000 miles on it) I like to go with a slightly heavier weight like 10w 40 or 15w....for the extra protection with the high mileage. I use Castrol GTX in the engine changed every 3,000 miles I use redline in my tranny and differentials.

Hi Josh, thanks for the input and offer but no worries....I'm happy just knowing it's all in the works Have a good holiday! -Chris

thanks all for the input! I'm a graphic designer too (but I dont have equipment for cutting vinyl...) I just do designs mostly for screenprinting companies. Maybe I am just so used to the 24 to 48 hr turnaround time I have to stick to to keep my clients happy campers I'll keep my eyes open for them nonetheless and just give it more time. Believe me I have been burned many times in the past so I get worrysome when things seem to take longer than two weeks thats all. thanks again....just anxious to get them on my ride! -Chris ps...I saw that sunroof panel....thought about getting it to replace mine which is kind of beaten up due to age but I guess it's spoken for already

well I got an email from Josh saying he would check on my order, and I have since emailed him a copy of my paypal transaction but I have not heard anything back yet, or seen any decals in my mailbox. After about another week if nothing shows up I'm just going to put it in dispute with paypal and get my few bucks back and forget about it.