Chriskaw440

note to myself.....don't submerge my engine in mud.......it's the only engine I got.

not sure I understand what 'heat soak' is ? I've had the filter on since 2003'ish with no known negative issues.

well techincally speaking it IS speeding LOL.....but mine has no problem cruising along at that speed. I sure as hell wouldn't go that fast if it still had blown control arm bushings and crappy dry rotted tires like it used to have I attribute some of it to having the cone style K&N air filter so it can breathe a little better.

well I just like to think I take good care of my stuff and dont abuse it. It has to last me a loooooong time. I can still drive it hard when I want to but not try to push it beyond its limits considering its age....and yes it has been covered in mud from time to time Living in the south also helps....no rust issues....my frame still looks as solid as the day it rolled of the production line. and she has all her headrests now too!!!!! (little things like that do mean a lot) its always nice to hear the comments from others that say "dang that thing looks like new....what year is it?" I still wish I had headers for it but checkbook says "pay your bills first you nimwit!" thanks slick -Chris

I just went on a 300 mile trip (no stopping) in my faithful 1990 pathy and even with 245,000 miles on the engine, and doing 85 to 90 mph most of the trip up I-95 and on I-40, only took 3/4 tank of gas to reach my destination. I'd say thats pretty decent considering its a non-aerodynamic brick on the road, and with the extra weight of a brush guard and about 250 lbs of luggage and my toolbox in the back. I love my pathy and my pathy loves me

Oh I wasn't being critical or anything like that..... I had just learned that unlike other animals, birds rely on sight and hearing more than anything...and they have a very poor sense of smell. so when I saw that on the list I had to wonder just a little bit. I guess I watch too much of the Discovery channel LOL

RE: #34, contrary to popular belief....birds have a very poor sense of smell. so my thought would be....it just makes the balcony too damn slippery for them to land or stand on (birds really can't smell worth a sh*t)

I suggest NOT soaking the distributor, or the alternator.....but mostly the distributor. (or ignition pack depending on year) if the engine is running when you go to spray it down, the FAN will blow the water everywhere, so you will end up getting sprayed too....most likely in the eyes. let engine cool a while, cover distributor with a rag or plastic bag just to help keep it dry.....and try not to blast water on it or right into the alternator......then immediatly start engine and let it run a while to dry so you dont leave the spark plug areas filled with water. it may sputter for a few moments if you get a little water in places it doesn't belong.

The nissan mechanic I have showed me how my rear end (the pathys.....not mine) would move back and forth when he gave it some gas and with one foot on the brake, let out the clutch some, and the real axle on the drivers side actually moved back and forth while the vehicle stayed put. "Oh damn yeah I see that!" was my remark. Probably wont damage much of anything but you wont be able to get an alignment job done correctly with it loose like that and in my case, it acutally made my rig unstable on the road since the geometry was going out of whack whenever I stepped on the gas.....made the rear end 'wiggle' or go off in another direction due to the axle shifting out of square. Talk about annoying!! My LOWER arm bushing were what was shot any my uppers still looked fine so I just left them as is. I ordered new bushings from Rock Auto Parts and changed them out myself .... although it was a bit of a pain in the ass to knock the old ones out and insert the new ones. Had to grind out the space a bit so the new (slightly fatter) bushings could be pressed in. Still better than paying for new arms ($$$$$ for what they are...). HUGE difference though once it was done....so nice to have a normal ride again and klunk-free.

personally I think that 1990 was about the best year for these rides. Mine has 245,000 miles on it and still going strong and pretty much still looks like new. 110% reliable. and not bad on gas.

well knock me down and slap me for fallin'.....I may get myself one of those relocation kits. one trick I do when I change my oil filter, is to pack some shop rags or paper towels down around the starter to catch the oil that always spills once you unscrew the filter....not perfect but it does help. A dealership once swore to me my main seal was shot cause I had oil leaking from it. I told him I had just changed the oil and some spilled and ran down the oil pan (as we all know it does....) and that my seal was fine. They didnt believe me and still quoted me a price to replace it. I just said....well sorry but thats not gonna happen...can I have my keys now please.....moron.

when I changed my control arm bushings, I went ahead and ordered the panhard rod bushings too figuring they are probably shot from age also....but to my surprise, they were perfectly fine when I took the rod off.....so I just bolted it back up and put the new bushing in my workbench drawer for a later day I guess its because the control arms take more abuse than the panhard rod does. but it sure is nice not having that annoying klunking anymore!

my first guess would be the upper or lower control arm bushings, but you have to disconnect them to inspect....it can be hard to tell with them in place. if a bushing gets a split in it....it can sometimes work fine, and sometimes "klunk" as it will if enough load is put on it. On my 90, when they went bad, just looking at them they looked fine, but once unbolted so you could see the entire bushing....it was obvious they were blown apart from age and dryrot.

Simon, I think the midget skidding across the wrestling ring is the best avatar I have ever seen. I have nothing to add to this post's topic ....other than..."hey these pathfinders look pretty silly with their bumpers and grills missing! LOL"

I'm thinking about getting one of these little pocket rockets! woohoo! (ah screw it ...I work from home)

...then you have to ask yourself...is it really worth all the headache to modify or whatnot just to gain an extra inch...... well if the government would get their sh*t together and let us drill HERE.....but nooooo.....we might harm the squirrels or knock a bird nest out of a tree when drilling. please..... other countries are coming right up to the international borders out in the ocean and ANGLE drilling to get oil that is under our waters/continent....and its perfectly legal....go figure. soon everything will just come to a grinding halt once the prices get to a certain point and NOTHING will be able to afford to operate. No trucking, no maintenance companies, zip nada zilch. It just doesn't make sense. Fear of a shortage?? RAISE THE PRICE!!!! someone shot a bullet into a pipeline? RAISE THE PRICE!!!!!! a movie celebrity said a mean thing about some political figure??? RAISE THE PRICE!!!!!! can we drill in our own country where we are sitting on top of the largest oil beds (including shale oil) in the world????? HELL NO!!!! the tree hugging freaks wont let us and the govt doesn't want to break ties with the middle east for MONEY reasons. So.....we as Americans just have to suck it up.....don't drive, don't get PAID any more at work, to cover the cost of living....(have they mentioned raising the minimum wage amount any time soon? nope. You just gotta go get three more jobs and shack up with 4 or 5 roommates to split the rent or mortgage 'cause according to Bush, that's the American way! I just spent $40.00 at the grocery store for a few of the BASICS (no red bulls, no ice cream....nothing fun to be honest) and I got two plastic bags of food, each one barely full. Maybe it's just me but that pretty much sucks. Going to be a loooooong hot summer huh!

thats a lot of mud I bet an M1 Abrams tank would have gotten stuck in that too!

There are no true "gimmicks" out there to add to an engine or fuel that will greatly reduce fuel consumption or anything like that. IF there was, automakers would already be installing them in their cars since it would cause sales to SKYROCKET since everyone would want such a "miracle car" Best thing to do is just simply keep it tuned, don't drive like a complete moron, and if you have a ride with giant tires and all kinds of off-roading equipment like roll cages and skid plates....well thats all just extra weight so kiss your mileage goodbye any kind of gimmick off the store shelves usually costs a pretty penny anyway so you're better off just driving smart and saving that 30 or 40 bucks for your gas budget. As stated in the news recently, more and more people that have vehicles that can run on Ethanol are reporting engine problems because now that its been out there for a while, repair shops are finding that it doesn't burn as clean as everyone had thought it would and is causing deposits/carbon build up on intake parts and internal engine surfaces.....fouling them out. So guess what...ethanol has its short comings too!. Bottom line is, there is nothing better than just plain ol' good gas and good oil. Anything out there that DOES actually improve mileage, is pretty minor, like 1 extra mile per gallon. Thats like the oh so generous 10% off sale prices at stores. Sh*t....thats not enough to even make it worth bothering with.

are cats flammable? I'd like to take a torch to my neighbors friggin cats.......

yeah I think Nissans engineers deserve a medal. You have to take the Plenum off to do just about ANYTHING.

of course ....is the check engine light on? or has anyone pulled codes from the ECU? I am not that familiar with 95's to be honest. But thats typically one of the first things to check when things are going wacko under the hood

don't feel bad....first time I tried to replace my cap and rotor when I first got my 1990 pathy....I tried and tried and tried to get the rotor off......(this is before I had a Haynes manual to refer to) and whacked it and pried on it with a big screwdriver......(now you have to understand, this is my first piston engine since restoring 3 mazda RX-7's and my first nissan vehicle....) so after taking a break, and figuring that there has to be something holding it on to the shaft.....so I took a closer look ALL THE WAY AROUND the rotor....and there it was.....that darn little screw that just happened to be facing the plenum so I couldnt see it head on....... "well damn!" I said to myself, as I reached for my little short handled phillips screwdriver.....it unscrewed with ease and VOILA! the rotor slid off the shaft with just a slight tug. So I learned that SOME distributors are held in place with a friggin little screw instead of just being a snug fit on the shaft. I must have come a long way since then......I managed to do my own knock sensor all by my little self and we all know where that little bastard is located.

possible things maybe.....vacuum leak, IAC going bad, EGR, fuel system issue (filter maybe), temperature sensor?? ......doesn't sound like it would be an electrical issue based on your descriptions....(like distributor or spark plugs....) what year is it?

$400 to $600 bucks for a starter (Im sure that even includes labor to install) ???? holy crap. when mine went out I was only charged $90.00 to install.....and a rebuilt one was about $120 I think....I cant remember exactly. Sounds to me like your quote came from a dealership?? Just wondering.

my 1990 se just passed the 244,000+ milestone......still going perfectly.....350 miles +/- to a tank of gas (350+ would be HWY miles of course) and everything still works......except for the useless alarm which I apparantly disabled somehow some way the last time I did major work under the hood....oops. oh I forgot...the AC went out last year..... darn!. Only two things missing......the headrests for the back seats but hopefully my pal Slick has them in the mail to me now so I cant wait to put them into place. Not a performance upgrade but still nice to have missing parts replaced none the less!