Chriskaw440

My 90 does the same valve noise, mostly at first start up of the day or after sitting for a long while. Nissan tells me, as well as other pathy owners etc etc..... it is just typical for these engines that have many miles on them. It dissipates once the oil fully circulates and in my experience, if I use a heavier oil, its worse at start up because it takes longer to flow..... use lighter or synthetic, its gone or only lasts for a second....the reason is pretty obvious. All have told me not to worry about it, it causes no harm. I have 240,000 miles on my engine and she still runs beautifully and does not burn oil. I just let it be and live with it. besides, these engines have HYDRAULIC lifters....so non adjustable for the most part I always thought. Anyhoo....life goes on.

nevermind...saw your other posts regarding exhaust manifold leak and saw the videos..... yep...sounds like the manifold ordeal to me! been there done that already years ago. I just took mine to local Nissan shop and had them fix it along with new t-belt and water pump. Been good ever since. Mine was broken stud(s), not cracked. You could look right at it and see there were missing heads on the studs LOL.

My first guess is the ol' exhaust manifold ordeal..... cracked, so the noise happens when cold but as the engine warms up it goes away....(as the metal expands and closes up the gap) Or....its the usual lifter noise the VG30 engines make (as they age) that lasts for a second or two until the oil circulates fully. Nothing much can be done about that...just typical for the engine and causes no harm. Just annoying to hear

maybe I'm silly but after reading all the above posts, just to have some bearings replaced, why bother going through all the headace of removing and transporting a whole axle, or swapping without the guarantee of perfect match, or this that and the other....just to save a few bucks, when you can just pony up a few more dollars and have it done right the first time, along with a warranty. Just a thought thats all. Sometimes its just better to pay a pro rather than risk going mentally insane taking on a job that requires special tools and equipment when they are not handy in ones own garage. Why do I say that? been there done that too many times in the past and ended up calling in the tow truck LOL...and I could have SAVED money just taking it to my mechanic in the first place. Once the shop scored one of my axles so the seal would never work anymore and they had to get me a whole new axle at their expense. The mechanic admitted to scoring the surface while cutting off the old bearings. the seal kept leaking...and once the surface is damaged, its history. thats why I like guarantees

I called it a Ford.. Don't get me started on my wife's Van (ford). The check engine light is getting to the point of being ridiculous. Everything we can think of has been replaced and the f*ckin thing still pops on saying the engine is running lean. I thinking its just a vacuum hose somewhere as I have found others that are cracked or just plain dry rotted. anyway....Its a Ford. My Pathfinder kicks the Fords ass

Have you tried using foul language on it yet??

ah I miss my RX-7's!! I owned 3 of them..... 81, 82, and 84 all at the same time. Autocrossed my 81 from time to time. awesome cars, easy to work on. I wish I never sold my last one....the 84. Still love my '90 pathfinder....awesome vehicle also. Had a Nissan mechanic SWEAR to me my rear main seal was leaking when I took it in a few years ago to have the back up light switch replaced. I told him some oil ran down the side of the engine from the oil filter when I just changed the oil and thats were the oil around the back of the engine came from. He didnt believe me...just kept saying "no thats your seal gone....needs to be replaced." Of course I was right and its still fine to this day. I later had to have a conference with the service manager in person because they didn't do a lot of other work I had taken it in for right ...and it was EASY stuff. They were also too cheap to have the flywheel sent out for resurfacing when they replaced my clutch so it shuddered often for about a year. They said they use a hand tool to polish the surface. Well dumbasses, thats not the same as having the flywheel RESURFACED. I think I got a mechanic or two fired. Almost never trust a dealership. They will try to get every dollar out of your wallet.

That sounds like the ticket for hot water heating. Never heard of them before. Only been in this house for a year and a half so once other things get paid for, maybe a change in water heating can be put on the "honey-do" list! Thanks for the info...although it doesn't really help with pathy starting issues LOL. Merry Christmas! Hope Santa puts cool pathfinder car parts under the tree for us all!! (I need upper control arms for rear axle, shocks, and some dash board trim pieces and an air vent faceplate thanks to my wife putting the heel of her right foot through the passenger side vent after a night of partying (getting wasted would be more like it....) at a party one night...she was aiming for the top of the dash to put her feet up when she kicked the seat back to lay down, but obviously fell short of the mark. I cant say much though, she bought me my pathfinder in the first place she paid the price later on that night anyway.....puking her guts out.

..yeah ....once in a while....when I need to work on my pathfinder. They just dont make houses with big enough garages anymore.... my stupid hot water heater takes up the needed space to fit my pathy in there along with wifes van. My old starter started going bad a few years ago and I would have to smack it with a long screwdriver and hammer a few times until it would turn over. eventually that stopped working too so it was time for a new starter.

I'd say the alt probably just gave out finally...bearings in the pully, and the cold weather just sped things along with failure as metal is more brittle when frozen. Pully seized, therefore belt burned off. Battery too weak to turn the starter over due to lack of charging from the alternator not working properly over time. Plus, in my book, batteries ALWAYS CRAP OUT ON ME IN THE WINTER TIME!!! lol. never during the nice months....always gotta freeze my butt off replacing mine or my wifes battery in the middle of the night....but hey I got a house with a garage now! woohoo! but guess who gets to park their vehicle in it........

I use REDLINE MT90 also, works beautifully. actually had 75-90 in my tranny for a few years, always did fine but was very much more stiff to shift during winter season. Red line is good stuff. I get mine locally for $9.00 a quart. 234,000 miles and still going! -Chris

believe it or not, one of the best and inexpensive things I use to clean tires with, is SOFT SCRUB, the same bathroom cleaning stuff. Just a squirt some on a brush and water down the tire, works beautifully!!!!! makes tires look like new again, but with out the glossy look of course. No harsh chemicals. Not a big fan of that. I just put new white letter tires on my Pathy and yeah usually the tire place should wash the blue stuff off with a hose at least but some do and some dont. My guys water line was busted so they couldn't do it in my case....hell no big deal in my book.

My 1990 still has the ORIGINAL 02 sensor far as I can tell and I am sure it needs to be replaced. Truck runs fine, but to see if it made any difference I unplugged the sensor in the engine compartment also and if anything it ran just a tiny bit better but hard to tell. It doesnt hesitate at all (plugged in or not) and gas mileage seems fine. Just put new 275/65 A/T tires on and she will spin them on the asphalt My ECU has a bad knock sensor code flashing and since it runs great still, I was told to just leave it be rather than spend a $1000.00 to have a mechanic fix it (since nissan was stupid enough to put the damn thing under the intake manifold rather than on the sides of the engine block like other manufacturers do) I think I will look into the EBAY thing also for the 02 sensor since locally they are 100 bucks. Bosch is pretty much the leader in that part.

maybe it just needs more Fiber in its diet.

wouldn't it be more like 4 quarts for manual 4x4 transmission? Nissan calls for 7 5/8 pints which equals about 4 quarts. If you over fill wouldn't you run the risk of blowing a seal? or are they also saying that not only is the fill plug too low, but the amount of fluid the specs call for is also inadequate....so put 5 quarts in instead of 4?

mine is not a K&N but the material is exactly the same and it uses the same K&N cleaning solutions and oil. Works beautifully and the support bracket that came with it was simple to install. When I find the paperwork from where I ordered it from I will post the info here.

just out of curiosity, is this "filler plug located too low on the manual tranny casing" true with any other years? mine is a 1990 5-speed and I use Redline MT-90 also but it has been a few years since I changed it....hell I only put 29,000 miles on it in over 4 years! (hey I work from home....no commuting) but I cant recall if it took 5 quarts or just what the manual says. Red line is good stuff in my book.

that gap does sound a bit tight....that could certainly reduce power I would think. Engine rocks?? maybe a motor mount busted or tranny mount busted....when shifting the torque would cause the engine or both to shift around. Just a thought. how many times have the injectors been "professionally cleaned" ? I hear that they can only be cleaned professionally (dealership...performance shop...etc..) up to about 3 times max before the nozzels are eaten away by the chemicals therefore losing the proper injection spray.

I've had a starter on my '90 se start to go bad ...just one day no start, hit with a long screwdriver and hammer a few times.....vroom! starts right up. shut it down....try again, no start...whack it a few more times....vroom! starts right up..... until finally.....hitting it no longer worked so off I went to buy a new starter. problem solved. I've taken starters to autozone or similar places and they test and say "oh its fine" so I put it back on the car and no-start.....starter not good. Off to buy a REAL one at the dealership (this was back in my Mazda RX-7 days when I had three of them)

finally found the pics I took when I installed my cone type air filter. this was a piece of cake....and a big improvement!

good ol' white here! Needs some mud on it...I gotta go find me some mud.

235,000 on my 1990 SE. Just put new tires on it, tune up, rear control arm bushings, etc. I've delt with a broken manifold bolt, replaced H2O pump and timing belt, clutch, brake master cylinder, some minor exhaust work, and really thats about it since getting the vehicle back in 2001. Oh and the powersteering pump fell apart a couple years ago....literally...the pully shaft on it just plain broke. Apologies to the Burger King restaurant in Easley SC for the huge puddle of power steering fluid I left in your parking lot oops! This thing is so reliable its unbelievable. Rides like a dream, never gives me trouble in winter weather (not much of it anyway here in South Carolina) but we do get ice at times and my pathy has always been faithful in 4x4. Oil changed religiously between 3,000 and 5,000 miles. Redline in the tranny (5 speed) and both differentials. K&N cone type air filter (not k&n brand though...) that made a NICE difference in throttle response and overall performance. Same as I have seen posted on other topics regarding cone type air filters.....easy to install and held in place with on bracket that came with it. I think I paid about $90.00 for it but I can't remember where I ordered it from. Just getting all that stock air intake crap off the car was like a breath of fresh air! anyhoo....love my Pathfinder Been an excellent vehicle with only problems being typical worn out parts due to usual wear and tear. -Chris

My guess is that it was just GRUMPY from sitting for so long. Engines do not like to sit for long periods of time (unless properly set up for long term storage) and upon running it again, maybe a plug got fouled just something quirky like that. My 1990 se one day just started running like crap while it was idling in the parking lot, and I drove it to my friends shop to have it checked and before we could pop the hood, it "magically" starting running just fine again....and has been ever since. Its my daily driver too. He said sometimes carbon can get wedged into the spark plug gap and sometimes it will eventually clear itsself out or you just have to pull the plugs to check. Maybe it was a compression issue until the oil fully circulated again? whats wrong with the suspension? sounds like control arm bushings shot? Just replaced mine as my mechanic said the same thing when he drove it...."this thing is unsafe with that rear end wobbling all around....." etc etc... -Chris

234,000+ miles on my 1990. I think that was the best year ever for the Pathfinders. Original engine and tranny.

yeah you gotta be a contortionist to be able to see where things are with that No. 6 plug. I put one foot on the front brush guard, my left foot on a high stool by the front wheel....and lean waaaaay over while my back goes "oh shi....."