SchizophrenicMC

Those cars are too easy to take apart, I swear. The Ion's badly designed, yeah, but how bad can it be right? Worst case scenario, we have to load it back on the trailer and take it to the (much cheaper than mom got quoted) local transmission guys. Anyway, I finally got Sammy registered and titled under my name

Pathfinder or Patrol? Eurospec Landcruiser LE diesel

The question I have is, how do I get 2 12" subs into the back of the Pathfinder without using up too much space? xD

Don't discredit me, I've done all sorts of work on dad's SL. I probably honestly have more experience working on FFs than FRs. In any case, disconnect the CVs, undo linkages and connections, unbolt the motor mounts, pull the motorset, disconnect the original tranny, bolt up the new tranny, reinstall motorset, reinstall linkages, CVs, fluids. It's actually less involved than pulling a RWD tranny if you don't have a proper lift. Anyway, I took Sammy airborne today. Totally worth it.

If you have the front wheels locked in, the shafts will all move, but they won't be powered. Unlock the front end, it'll stop happening. What do you mean, "What i think is that after switching from 4x4, inside the cabin the front drive shaft is not completly unlocking the differental."? There's no locking diff on the front, unless you've installed your own. When you switch from 4 to 2, it disconnects the transfer case internals from the front shaft. That shouldn't affect anything. For that matter, if your front hubs were unlocked, it would feel like 2WD all the time, even if you were stuck in 4WD.

You can't drift an FF. That is the first rule. Also, in a parking lot, it's not drifting, it's sliding donuts. I hate how people call that drift, now. Drift is a method of cornering that involves letting the tires slip, and understeering in the opposite direction of the turn, to achieve faster cornering speeds at the expense of endurance. /rant Anyway, I have a reckless streak wider than yo mama. First time I drifted, I was in the GMC, and it went perfectly. In the Saturn, I've raced a number of people, mostly from my high school. Only lost 2 races. Impressive, considering the Saturn has less than 100hp, and most of those were on bald tires. (Whoo, cheap family) Driving the Pathfinder like I'm a street racer seems a bit disrespectful to the chassis, but the 300ZX engine just screams (literally) for me to go fast. There's one thing I like more than taking the Pathfinder offroad, and that's making a car go entirely too fast. And despite all of my reckless driving, the only time I've had an accident of any sort, was coming home from school in the Saturn one day, and I revved a bit too hard on a downshift to turn right (going perfectly within the speed limit I might add) and the car jumped forward and blew the right tires on the lip of a drive-in. It also smashed the CV shaft on that side. I've only been pulled over twice, while I'm on the subject. The first time, this cop had been following me while I maintained the same speed (30mph; cruise control was on, for laughs) for a few miles, then as I'm lugging up the tallest hill in the town I was in, she starts flashing her lights, pulls me over at the top, and says I was going 5 over, then later said 10 over. (For reference, I was going 30 in a 35 zone; she claimed I entered a 30 zone at 35, then 40, but the speed limit change wasn't until after the street at the top of the hill, regardless) Didn't get a ticket, though. I would have contested that so hard. The other time, was in the Pathfinder, because it had been raining, and I was going to turn around some kids in the middle of the parking lot, so the rear end swung out and, the tires sliding, the engine revved up way high before catching and launching me. This cop thought I was driving recklessly. (ALWAYS IN SITUATIONS WHERE I'M NOT) Pulls me over, I don't even have proof of insurance (it hadn't come in the mail yet, and while I had the policy number, he wouldn't accept it) and lets me go. Can't write a traffic ticket on a private parking lot in Texas. *ahem* Anyway, my mom's car's transmission is out, and local (to her) mechanics are saying it'll cost 5 grand to repair it. It's a Saturn Ion transmission, so I know they're lying. I'm considering dragging her car out behind the Pathfinder, and replacing the tranny with one from an Ion in a yard. I mean, that should be $150 for the tranny, if I know the local yards, and I could swap it out in a day. But mostly, I just want to tow something with Sammy lol

Landcruiser

Came 2 inches from rolling her. On purpose. I can't tell if I'm reckless or suicidal. xD

I totally skipped on checking the vacuum lines the other day, then was busy all day today. All I did was put some miles on her. Oh well, could be worse.

I always bring the part in question into the store and do the core then and there. It helps me make sure I have the right part, as well. If you have another vehicle, that's what I'd do.

Heard that whistling noise at warm idle again. I suspect a vacuum leak. Why do I get the feeling it's the cruise pump? Anyway, when it gets a bit warmer this afternoon, I'm gonna take some water to my vacuum lines, see if I can spot anything.

I wouldn't think they're the same. The right shaft should be longer to account for the front diff being further left than center. Then again, if there's a second shaft on the right side, they could be the same size. You could pull the broken axle and bring it with you to see if it's the right size. This also makes it easier to do a core exchange, if applicable. I know Saturn CV shafts have a core exchange at O'Reilly, Autozone, and Napa. That's how we did it when I smashed the front-right axle on the Saturn.

Wasted 6 gallons of gas going to Dallas, finding out the woman who owned the lot I saw a parts '95 XE at was gone, so I went to Garland to see if my buddy was there, to kill some time, but he wasn't so I went back and she wanted $300 for a hood and some headlight assemblies. So I drove 105 miles today for nothing. Pretty pissed off.

[Regarding Maximas] Well, that's even better; the VQ is an even better engine than the VG, and it's been on Ward's Best 10 Engines List every year since it was first evaluated. Nissan took everything they learned from the VG and refined it. Anyway, I'm getting ready for a big salvage run. Gotta go

Except every time I've ever tested my fuel economy it's right on, if not above the EPA estimate for mixed driving, and I don't get on the highway a lot. If it gets 20mpg highway, then it's getting about what my 22-year-old Pathfinder is getting, by my calculation. Given I have a 3mpg boost from the manual transmission (no losses to the fluid coupling) and my truck weighs less than this car, but come now. 20 years, and they can "innovate" a couple MPG by turning a truck into a car? Seems pretty lame to me. Regardless, I still go back to the point of saying, if they want a crossover, fine. But why call it a Pathfinder? A Pathfinder isn't a crossover, it's a Sport Utility Vehicle. I really think people have lost hold of what SUV means. It's a vehicle for Utility and performance. It's not a family wagon, it's a hauler. You put stuff in it and make it move places, over a number of terrain features, because its high performance allows you to. SUV and MPV are not synonymous terms, despite what contemporary America may think. Anyway, Kittamaru, save your money. If you want a new car to put the family in, get a Volvo XC70 or XC90. Same price range, but the XC has proven itself as a very capable family vehicle. Fuel efficient, stable, spacious, and most of all safe. If I had kids, I'd put them in an XC, because it's not only capable of handling its way out of the way of an accident, but if it gets into one, it will do everything you can engineer into a vehicle to protect its occupants. In any case, it's stylish and brings a sense of class, which I just don't see in the new Pathfinder. That looks sleek and stylish, but it lacks that extra something. Shift_love, unfortunately, the Xterra has been selling poorly, because it's not as well-designed as competitors, for the same, or even more money than some of the competition. Nissan needs to fix the Xterra and give its image of offroad performance back in full force. I'm thinking, add more Jeep styling to make people draw the connection between the Xterra and performance. I see people with Wranglers driving around all the time, who never take them offroad, and I've asked a few of them why they got it, and they typically all say something about the iconic adventurous spirit. Nissan needs to bring that back in full force for their performance line and their small SUV. That's what people buy. That's why we still have sports cars and 4x4s in this era of beige efficiency.

Only problems I've ever had with head gaskets blowing up randomly is with the 87-91 Supra with the 7M-GE and GTE engines, because the heads were undertorqued from the factory. I've known Subarus over 200k with factory gaskets, and I've known Nissans to blow their gaskets in the first 100 miles after a rebuild. It all depends on how good the owner is at taking care of his car. Moving on, the 4th generation Maxima (95-01) is an amazing car. Good performance, spacious, good fuel economy, reliable, cheap to maintain, and frankly, cheap. Not to mention they look good. I just got done suggesting to a guy on Club S12, a 4th-gen Maxima for his wife. I cannot praise them enough. They also come with VG30s, which means they're solid, powerful cars. (Though I'm pretty sure they use VG30DEs, instead of VG30E) Whatever you choose, do put pics up. I'd like to see.

In that case, I suppose Nissan didn't use free-running hubs. I know there are some manufacturers who have used them. I think SAAB is on that list at some point in time, but I can't recall. Oh well, you learn something new every day.

Topped off my brake fluid, started thinking of a definitive list of things I need and want to do to the Pathfinder.

Checked the oil and other fluids to see what might be making this metal-on-metal noise I keep hearing at low RPM. All's good. Thinking of checking gear oil this weekend, while I'm working on stuff for Sammy.

Well, the hubs are free-running from what I've ascertained, so as long as there is axle movement forward, below a certain threshold, that's what actually locks the hubs. Free-running hubs are like a bicycle. When you pedal and the drive axle tries to move forward faster than the wheel, it locks and causes the wheel to move forward. When you don't pedal and cost, it just ratchets along. When you pedal backwards, it has no effect but to ratchet. Same concept. (And the reason Reverse doesn't drive the front wheels, as I've read it doesn't) Of course, I could be wrong, and if I am, do correct me. Regardless, I prefer the reliability of manual anything, so I'm looking to swap 'em out.

I put it in 4wd before I went into the dirt at all. Made sure to go a short distance for the hubs to lock. Assumed they did. Got stuck, realized no front torque. In any case, upgrading to manual hubs should have been on my list regardless. Now it's there by necessity.

Took it into some mud on a whim. Got stuck. My buddy Matt was with me and we were near his house so we got a shovel and some boards, but nothin', so we kept trying to get it before giving up and calling Matt Smith, who goes mudding a lot. He comes over, gets himself stuck about 150 feet ahead of my truck (came in from the other end) so he just floors it in reverse and gets out. Went around, both Matts and Nate get behind the Pathy and start pushing while I try and get it moving. Finally, I drop it into second and floor it while Nate gives a big shove and we just said screw it and got her moving. Turns out my automatic hubs are out. Not locking at all. We weren't THAT stuck, if all 4 wheels were driving, it would have gotten us out. So that's a bummer. Still, glad to get her properly dirty. (Nathan, Smith, Long - I took the picture) I gotta get new hubs, though. Stupid expensive....

Might have been. If the bolts are at improper torque, the shaft will sit odd and scrape.

Lookin' good with the radio there man. I checked out the FJ thread in Off-topic, and I see this now, and I really wanna do something with the rear cargo area of my Pathfinder. Put some subs in there, or something cool. Hell if I know, yet, but something cool. Of course

A whistling noise doesn't sound like gears to me, sounds more like an underlubricated shaft or one with a worn bearing. I would look at the carrier bearing, especially if it's been moved from factory for any reason. If the carrier bearing isn't the problem, check the differential to see if anything is metal-on-metal in or connecting to it. I don't know enough about how this transfer case is set up to say if that could be at all a part of the problem. Good luck finding out what's goin' on.