deanpence

This is likely a newbie question, and I'm sorry if I missed someone mentioning it, but is the starter relay called something else? I've looked through both Haynes and the dealer manual; I see an inhibitor relay on one diagram, and on another I see an interlock relay, an interlock emergency relay, and a bulb check relay. No starter relay. On both diagrams, the battery's negative terminal goes straight to the starter motor, which then passes through at least one of the previously mentioned relays. I assume this is all basically a checklist of conditions that must be met before the relays switch on and eventually allow the current to pass to the ignition system. O'Reilly's (only decent auto parts store in town) shows me starter relays for this Pathfinder, but I just can't find it in the truck itself. On the passenger side of the engine compartment, I see a labeled black box with at least four relays, and then two blue relays are mounted in front of and behind that box. But I wasn't able to get out tonight and trace anything to the starter yet. I'll do that during daylight. I'll also be checking chassis grounds to make sure they're secure and checking the state of wires where necessary. I think someone previously asked if I was using an AT or MT; it's an AT, and the engine is a 6-cylinder VG30E. So is starter relay the best guess so far? I also saw the alarm system mentioned. If I have time tomorrow, I'll disable that; should I just tape up each wire and keep that alarm system branch completely out of the circuit?

('93 SE 4x4, no aftermarket mods) A few weeks ago, when starting my Pathfinder, it turned over pretty hesitantly and slowly, but it started; I barely noticed at the time. The next day, it did the same thing, and I thought that I'd better turn it off and attempt a start again to be sure I would be able to get back from where I was going. All I got was a slight click, but the battery was *not* fully discharged. Power windows, radio, cabin lights, and headlights (at full brightness) were all working fine with the key turned half-way. I did a jumpstart from another car, and after letting it run for an hour, it again refused to start with a click. A few days later, I got a jump from a pickup and again let it run for a while, after which I got the click again. The guy who was helping me insisted that it had to be a bad battery, and though I know the basics of how the charging system works, I don't know much of anything about the starter, so I figured he may be right, though I still thought the alternator was a pretty good candidate. Today, which is four or five days after the last jump, it surprisingly started on the first attempt, though it turned over a bit hesitantly. I tried this again two more times, and each time it turned over more slowly, but it did finally start each time. And again, the battery is not fully discharged. Anyone have an idea what could be going on here, or how I can test some things myself to find out?

I went ahead and erred on the safe side. Taking the train takes a lot longer, but it's definitely safer. Thanks for all your help, guys.

I drove it in stop-and-go, 45 mph traffic for about a half-hour twice this afternoon, and after the second trip, the pumpkin and axle shaft were about the same temperature by touch and maybe 2°F warmer than the body—not hot in the slightest and just barely warm. It's not a test of highway driving, but I may do that a bit later tonight. Air temps have been in the 30s and 40s all day, but it seems like a half-hour is plenty of time for it to get hot if it's going to.

I have driven it at highway speeds quite a bit—though probably not more than 1/4 of the miles I've put on it. I've just been avoiding it the past 2 or 3 months because a defective differential seemed like a major problem waiting to get worse. It doesn't get worse while driving that I can tell, but I've never thought to test the temperature of the differential. (I don't think the engine temp gauge ever goes above the halfway point, but I don't know if this is relevant.) My impression of the risk here is that some chunk of metal could get caught up in the differential gears causing it to seize. Since those gears won't turn, the driveshaft won't either. On an LSD, would the axle spin freely at this point? I would guess so, but I'm not absolutely sure.

That's a good idea. I'll do that tomorrow.

The rear diff is an LSD; it might be relevant. I don't know what to tell you. That tone starts at 5 mph and only gets louder and higher as the vehicle speed increases. It's coming from the center of the rear of the vehicle. The wheel bearings could use replacement some time soon, but they're not making much noise. The rear diff is. The shavings, as far as I know, look like large metal shavings, not huge chunks, but regardless, that tone from the rear diff is still pretty loud at highway speeds.

Fluid was changed last August; I don't think this guy knew enough to think about checking for metal shavings or the color. A different mechanic later (November) told me there were metal shavings sticking to the magnet, and the fluid was darker than when I'd changed it. Sound too bad for a 2-hour-each-way trip?

It's hard to judge, but It doesn't seem to have got any worse since I bought it. I've only driven it about 2,400 miles. (I've been avoiding highway driving.)

I bought a '93 SE 4x4 in July that had at least one bearing in the rear diff going out. (There's a tone that starts soft and low at low speeds and gets louder and higher up to 60 mph, where it levels out.) I don't know how long it's been going out. I'm getting it replaced next week, but I would like to go visit family that live about 2 hours away this weekend. Is this vehicle safe to drive? Is it safer at lower speeds? Should I avoid highway driving? Should I avoid long trips? I know that in the worst case, the rear differential could stop working, which could cause a bad accident, but I don't know how likely this is. Thanks in advance, folks. Your answers are always extremely helpful.

I haven't been driving on the highway at all, and I've been getting a bit over 16mpg on 290 miles on 31" tires (factory size).

It's been a while, but you were right on about this. This plate was exactly what I needed.

I don't have the tools to work on this myself. From what I can tell, I would need lots of special tools for removing the axle, removing the wheel bearing, removing the brakes, removing the outer race, installing the oil seal, installing the axle shaft, pressing the wheel bearings, etc.—much less tools for working on the diff itself. It seems like it would be cheaper just to have the dealer install either the diff or the rear end. They gave me a guess of around $450 for installing the entire rear end, though it wasn't a written estimate. Yeah, all the salvage websites around here (north Texas) seem to use exactly the same software. They all ask for "locking" or "non-locking". A friend who manages a body shop called Nissan with my VIN, and they said it was "locking", though I guess I don't understand why an LSD is considered "locking" since it always gives more torque to the wheel with the most traction—though I suppose under a lot of circumstances, both wheels have more or less equal traction. Aren't the side gears inside the differential case? According to the dealer I took it to for this diagnosis, the diff bearings are the loudest, but the wheel bearings are on the way out as well, just not nearly as badly as the diff bearings. They didn't go as far as to say that the diff itself is bad, but considering the gear oil is cloudy and metal-filled only 2/3 months after I completely changed it, I'd be worried about the diff itself at this point. As far as labor goes, is it actually less labor to swap out the diff instead of the entire rear end? Seems like you have to take the rear end off to replace the diff. It looks like a wash to me. It's an LSD, and I'm replacing with an LSD. I'm not a hardcore off-roader like a lot of folks here. The gear ratio is still eluding me. I see tire size (31x10.5R15), rim size (15x7), tire pressure (26 PSI), and various weights (GVWR: 5150; GAWR FR: 2650; GAWR RR: 2850), but nothing explicitly about the gear ratio. Am I missing something?

A local Nissan dealer (Courtesy) took a look at the rear end of my '93 SE and found cloudy, metal-filled LSD fluid, really loud bearing noises from the LSD, and less noisy wheel bearings. They were quoting me some astronomical prices to get in there and fix or replace the LSD and recommended I look into replacing the entire rear end. I wouldn't mind doing the repair work myself, but I think it's outside my skill set at this point. I hate to be the one guy around here who has to come ask these basic questions, but does this sound kosher? It does appear that, simply from a time, labor, and price perspective, getting a used rear end will be cheaper, but I'm not sure by how much. The guy at Courtesy said it could be up to as much as $3,000 just in parts to fix the LSD and wheel bearings piecemeal, but I can't find any prices that seem to agree with that. Assuming a new rear end is the best option, I have another question. A salvage site I'm looking at (http://mazdanissanheaven.com/Online-Car-Part-Search.html) is asking whether I have a locking or non-locking diff. I was under the impression that WD21s weren't built with locking rear diffs, and unless I'm seriously misunderstanding something, neither an open diff nor an LSD lock at all (without locking hubs or a weld job). So what are they asking?

I did a look-see yesterday to see if I could identify any front-end suspension/driveaxle or steering issues that would be obvious enough for me to see. Mostly I just inspected the bearings and dust covers I could see or feel. I was hunting for causes of my front-end squeaking but found a few other things. First, do people generally just call dust covers bushings? I don't recall hearing/reading about them, but Haynes seems to distinguish. Second, what is considered a "bad" bushing? Bushings everywhere ranged from flexible to completely rigid but seemed otherwise to be intact. The worst thing I found (I think) is a busted CV boot (wheel-side) on the driver's side, which, I understand, just puts me driving on borrowed time. What, in particular, is likely to break here? Is it the driveaxle itself? Since it's on the wheel side, the joint itself doesn't seem to be in immediate danger. Am I wrong here? The lower balljoints on both sides had busted dust covers, which I presume calls for urgent replacement of those balljoints. What could go wrong here in the meantime? I also had a busted dust cover on the passenger torsion bar right next to the anchor arm and another on the joint between the cross rod and the idler arm.

Aha. Stabilizer bars. Thanks!

My Pathfinder is making squeaking sounds that seem to be associated with both the suspension and steering. Any slightest bump or dip makes a ton of squeaking, and steering does too. I hate to admit that I didn't know it was worth checking out ASAP until now. In advance of going out for a new floor jack, jack stands, lithium grease, and a grease gun, I've been doing a little research on what I need to inspect and grease to hunt down this problem—and what I need to do anyway while I've got it jacked up. I couldn't find a comprehensive list, but this is what I've been able to find so far: Front suspension: Check all bushings. Check and grease upper and lower balljoints. Check and grease balljoints on the steering linkage (6 of them?). Check and grease the idler arm. Check the steering stops. Front axle (while I'm under there): Check for back-and-forth play of tires for wheel bearing problems. Check for side-to-side play of tires for steering linkage problems. Driveshafts: (while I'm down there) Grease sleeve yoke if there's a fitting. Grease U-joints if there's a fitting. Rear suspension: Check all bushings. Can anyone think of anything else or correct me on anything? Another (old) thread mentioned checking the sway bars, but I must know them by a different name. What are they?

@Cuong: I've tried, but I can't pinpoint an exact location—or even a general location except the back end. For a while I had trouble even telling it was coming from the back end when it was loud. If it's a wheel bearing, is there any way I can tell without disassembling the axle? @sewebster: Well, I meant the wheel bearings, but if it's the diff bearings, is there any way to tell? Disassembly seems like a horrible idea. I only have the one jack used for tire changing. I suppose it may be time to get decent jack stands. Any recommendations? I'm not positive it's not the exhaust, but the sound definitely only changes with vehicle speed, not RPMs, so it seems unlikely (from what I understand). I found a few issues that may match from the Hayes manual's troubleshooting section: Under Driveshaft, a "metallic grating sound consistent with vehicle speed" is due to "pronounced wear in the universal joint bearings". This doesn't sound like a metallic grating sound to me, but I may just not know what I'm hearing. I took a look at the driveshaft's three U-joints; is there any way to identify wear? Under Rear axle and differential, a "noise - same when in drive as when vehicle is coasting" could be caused by tire noise, front wheel bearings (loose, worn, or damaged), insufficient differential oil, or a defective differential. It looks like I can get the the outer wheel bearing without taking off the wheel hub, but the inner bearing requires taking off the hub, but I have nothing to adjust the endplay with when putting the hub back on.

I've got a really good howl coming from the rear end. Starts low and soft, but by 55mph or so, it's higher pitched and loud enough to make conversation difficult. It lets off a bit by the time I hit 70mph, but not much. The howling only changes with speed, not with turning. Thanks to a bunch of you on another thread, I got my rear diff (LSD) oil changed (I couldn't get the damned plugs open myself), and the mechanic didn't mention anything about water, excessive shavings, or low oil level (though I didn't ask either). This solved my problem of low-speed rumbling/shaking when turning, but it doesn't seem to have solved this noise issue. From what I've gathered by searching the forum, the consensus seems to be that bearing problems are pretty rare on Pathfinders, but that it's possible the rear diff has some damage. One shop I asked said they would need at least several days to diagnose a rear-end problem. This just isn't feasible, money-wise especially. I'm very new to this stuff, but I'm smart and willing to learn and get my hands dirty. Can you guys recommend how I should go about troubleshooting this?

(Oops. Just noticed this thread is under the wrong topic. My Pathy is a '93.) Okay. I think the issue with the rear wheels rotating at the same speed is solved; it definitely feels that way. At very low speeds (0 - 15mph or so), when I was feeling it the most, steering feels extremely smooth. The wheel turns smoothly, the tires don't skid a bit, nothing. The rear-axle noise is still there, though it's definitely much more quiet. Up to 60mph or so, I can hear wind noise, the engine (when accelerating), and it no longer "feels" like the auto transmission is taking way too long to shift. The rear axle noise starts out at a lower pitch and gradually gets higher and louder the faster the Pathy's going; I guess I was partly using that noise as part of my regular cues about when the transmission should shift. At around 55-65mph or so, the noise gets pretty loud (though it could be because that pitch range is resonating with something in the body). At 70mph, the Pathy and the steering wheel shake just a bit (though I guess this may be a separate problem). The differential job the lube place did looks fine. They didn't replace the plugs (I don't think), but nothing's leaking or anything obvious (to me). Any ideas? Maybe I should start a new thread for this issue if it's a different problem.

Dear gods. I hadn't realized how much rear axle noise I had at lower speeds 'til now. Just driving home from the lube shop at 30-40mph, I heard wind noise from the sun roof for the first time. But in order not to become a victim of confirmation bias, I'll try some highway driving tonight when the temperature drops below 90 and see how the noise is at higher speeds. Thanks to all of you for your magnificent help! Even if this didn't solve the problem completely—which it very may well have done—this has definitely made a huge improvement.

@sewebster: I'm pretty certain I'm not driving in 4WD. The manual's pretty clear on how to shift from 2HI/4HI/4LO, the shifter is up past 4HI at 2HI, and the light is off. Plus I drove it in reverse for a good 20 feet last night and then drove it a mile home, just for good measure. If it's stuck in 4WD, something else has got to be wrong (hubs?). I'm about to take it in to get the differential oil changed. I can get it all done for around $50, so it's not too bad. I guess we'll see if that solves it.

In the meantime, here's a short video I made that *might* give folks a better idea of what things sound like when I turn at low speeds. Not sure if it'll come through though: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3681334/pathfinder%20steering%20-%202011-08-09.m4v Tires don't squeal/chirp; everything just growls and shakes. Rarely I hear a groaning from the engine compartment.

@Towncivilian: Cool, thanks. I think I'll give them a call tomorrow. If the fluid is low, I'd rather get it changed/filled quickly; this is my only car. Advance Auto Parts doesn't exist here, but I can get a similar price on Valvoline 75w90 at O'Reilly, Napa, or Auto Zone, and at just a tad more expensive for the Mobile 1 synthetic. It even looks like at least Auto Zone has some in stock. I'm just assuming that a Nissan dealer has magic make-it-turn sauce that they apply.

It looks like getting that drain plug open is going to be extremely difficult. That plug is on there incredibly tight. I may have to resort to a dealer or other mechanic for this. It also looks like finding the differential oil will require some hunting. Any advice to a newbie on getting a hard-to-start plug going? Not sure if I want to be using a hammer in there so close to the fuel tank and a fragile-looking hose/conduit above the differential. I'm just using a 6-inch socket wrench with a 1/2" drive.