TyzToyz

Well, bad news. After 20+ hrs of diagnostic time at a shop, it was finally found that the timing belt drive gear (on the crank) ate a chunk out of the crankshaft right beside the key-way where the woodruff key goes. Funny thing about this is that the timing belt was replaced 2 years ago and it took this long to rear it's ugly head (that the crank pulley bolt was not torqued properly), so I can't even go back on the mechanic for this. Has anyone ever heard of repairing a damaged crankshaft with this sort of damage? Oh yeah, without removing the engine or crank. Here is a bad cell phone pic of the damaged crank: Edit: Guess I'm not allowed to post pictures here Thanks for looking, Tye

No dice on the Dizzy, TPS, or the AFM. The only thing that helps even a little bit is turning the dizzy to advance the timing. What tells the injectors to dump more fuel when starting cold? I really don't know where to go from here with no codes being thrown. Where is the fuel filter on these things? Is there an free on-line service manual kicking around? I cannot stand haynes/chilton manuals. Any other suggestions? Tye

The exact code is P0300, random multiple misfires. I will see if I can find a dizzy to swap in. I hope it's just that easy. Tye

Thanks to all who replied. I finally got my hands on a code reader, but it was not much help to me. There were 2 codes stored and neither one really helped me diagnose the problem. I had a multiple misfire code and a knock sensor code. To me, the knock sensor would not cause the symptoms that ails this thing. Please correct me if I am wrong. The thing that bothers me the most is the not starting issue. Only the first start of the morning does it start hard (I have to crank the engine for 35-45 seconds), after she warms up, it starts like normal. Is there a cold start injector on these engines? After she is running, there is a rattle/knock (which may explain the knock sensor code), and does not like to be responsive (throttle wise)right from idle. It bogs a bit and then accepts throttle somewhat normally after that. I do notice a lack of power (pull) while driving, but can slowly get up to highway speed. I have checked and set the TPS and advanced the timing a tiny bit which seemed to help a little bit but by far not back to normal. I am at a bit of a loss here and do not wish to dump a bunch of money into this thing as it is getting up there in age and is becoming more and more unreliable for my wife to be driving my kids around in. Does anyone have any suggestions on where to go from here? Thanks again for any and all help with this, Tye

Hey all, Vehichle in question: 1997 Pathfinder 4x4, 3.3L with 190,000km and an automatic. Before I get the codes read (gonna cost me $150 at the stealership), I am hoping to get some pre advise on the diagnosis of this problem (there is NO check engine light on). Engine cranks over fine but I have to let it turn over for between 30 to 45 seconds before it will start to fire and eventually run after a few seconds of roughness (strong fuel smell). After she starts, the engine has very little power from no throttle till 1/4 throttle and then it is OK but not perfect. Overall there is a real lack of power (from before not in general) and gets HORRIBLE gas mileage (240km's to a tank of fuel). So far I have done a basic tune up (plugs, air filter, seafoam through intake) to no avail. I'm thinking it is a bummed sensor and was hoping that mabey someone has experienced similar issues and can provide a starting point before I spend the $150 to get the codes read. Please let me know if more info is required, Thanks for any and all suggestions, Tye

Were you trying to pull the truck out in reverse (strap hooked to your front)? If so, this is most defenitely why it broke. If at all possible, you should always hook to the rear and do your tuggin' forward. I wheeled the piss out of my 86 Toy (IFS) for 6 years on 34" swampers. I never had any problems with my front diff. Tye

Yes, coils in the rear and torsion bars up front. They switched to struts up front in 96, but kept the coils in the rear. Tye

Bolt patterns didn't change, swap away. Agreed about the mileage though. My 97 is just horrible on gas, even with the 235's. My 93 with 31's gets better mileage than the 97 :confused: Tye

Yes, it is just the 2 rear most bolts that are different. They are M10x1.25, the rest of them are M8x1.25. Tye

I found the bolts I needed at a local supply house with no problem at all. The threads are NOT 1.00, but 1.25. And with 10 bolts holding the body on, there is NOT a HUGE amount of stress on those 2 rear bolts. I drove around for weeks without the 2 rear bolts in with absolutely no ill effects. The kit that AC sells is just a re-badged Performance Accesories kit that I found locally for waaaaaay cheaper. BTW, the bolts were only $3 each. Tye

My bad, sorry for the mistake Tye

Would that be $80 for 4? Also, why could you not use Toyota wheel spacers? Since they are both the same lug pattern. Tye

I cannot and will not garuntee that it will work, but it did for me. Mine is a 97 also. Tye

I haven't owned my 93 Pathy for very long (just coming up on a year), the temp gauge usually sits at just before the halfway mark. One in awhile when sitting in traffic it goes just a little bit past the halfway mark. To my knowledge it has never overheated, but I do not really trust factory gauges. I also replaced an outer boot on my CV axle recently. I did not have to remove the inboard boot inorder to replace it, however, I did have to remove the whole axle assembly in order to get a good whack at it. The boot was $11 at a local parts store. Good Luck, Tye

Yup, got it.