WokeUpDead

Hey Slartibartfast, I don't think it's a wiring issue. Like I wrote, I already replaced the speedometer a couple weeks ago and everything was just fine: the speedo worked, the ECU was not flashing any error code. The odometer unit wasn't working however (bad part from the wrecker), and then I broke the speedo when I tried fiddling with the odo. This weekend I'll get another speedometer, hopefully with a working odometer this time, and I expect everything to be OK. You may be right about the ECU (computer) assuming that the VSS (Speed Sensor) is bad when it gets weird/no readings, but in this case it was getting weird/no reading from a bad speedometer. I don't think it has a code for just the speedo, and not the VSS, right? What's a MAF?

Yes. I think it changed in 1994? I know the symptom you're describing, I had it on a 73 VW bus, but this is definitely an electronics issue. Also, the VSS code on the ECU is very misleading, I replaced the VSS but it was the speedo all along.

It couldn't be that, it's an electric cable. I got a new speedo and it was working fine until I decided to mess with its non- working odometer.

Here's the summary of advice I have for anyone else who drops something into the transmission and does not want to take down the entire tranny to take it out. The transmission is made roughly of three different compartments: Rear compartment below the shifter that you can see when you take the shifter out Middle compartment right behind the adapter plate Front compartment in front of the adapter plate where the drain plug is The front and middle compartments are separated by the adapter plate, which has only a small hole in the middle at the bottom to let the oil through, making unlikely that something will pass through it to get to the drain plug The rear and middle compartments are separated by a "half wall" that spans the bottom half of the transmission, with a couple of small windows at the bottom to let oil through. If you drop the bushing into the transmission like I did, it will almost certainly stay in the rear compartment: it's too big to pass through the two holes at the bottom of the half-wall, and if you drain the oil slowly it is extremely unlikely to pass over the top of the half-wall; I don't think it floats in oil anyway. Your best bet then is to: drain the oil in the transmission remove as many of the parts around the shifter as possible: The two springs at the side, held in by large (27mm if I remember correctly) bolts at the side of the top of the transmission. Careful, inside the left spring there is a small ball bearing, which can easily fall into the transmission! You can remove it with a small magnet from the top, it will be apparent when you take off the top cover of the shifter assembly. The shifter guide; it's the thing that guides your stick through the gears. It's held on by a couple of 10 mm bolts, it's tricky but not too hard to angle and slide out from under the striking lever One more switch at the top, left side; forgot what it does. I wouldn't try to remove the striking lever itself, it's not in the way much and you need to punch something out to do it, something that could fall into the tranny too [*]Next, find yourself a very bright but small light that will let you easily see down into the bottom of the transmission [*]Take a coat hanger wire, and start stirring the bottom of the rear compartment until you catch a glimpse of the white nylon bushing [*]Try to hook onto the bushing with your coat hanger and pull it up along the wall of the transmission; the best spot to pull it out of is through the rear-left corner of the compartment, it has the biggest gap to the bottom If on the other hand you dropped a screw, or nut, or bolt, or anything else that's small and magnetic, then DON'T drain the oil, this will prevent it from flowing forward with the draining oil towards the adaptor plate. Instead, find a small, powerful magnet, and attach it very solidly to a coat hanger wire; weld it or at least J-B weld it to the wire. Bend the wire a bit and go fishing through the top of the transmission, similar to the way described in the bullet points above. You should be able to snag the object with your magnet and pull it up. If you have no luck and suspect that the part somehow made its way to the middle compartment (unlikely, but possible), then you can split the transmittion right behind the adaptor plate (about a dozen 14mm bolts that are not on too tight), separate the two transmission parts by about 1.5 cm (that's as far as the striking plate and other components will let you go), and stick your iPhone camera through that small gap to see if you can spot the bolt on-screen, at the bottom of the transmission. Good luck.

Yes, it was the mechanism, a little white plastic thing with one gear held in by one screw. Unfortunately, it's very difficult to replace that little part without breaking something that the speedometer needs to work, which I just did, damnnnnn!!!!! Now I need another speedometer, crap. There is one with a dual trip odometer available, my cluster had just the single trip odometer (below the main odometer), will they be compatible? It's OK if the second trip odometer does not work.

I'm having speedometer issues as well, I'm sure in my case it's not the wiring. If I did suspect the wiring I wouldn't rely on just a visual inspection however. Get an ohm-meter, connect it at both ends of the wiring, see what you get.

I think that's it, don't notice it with a fuller tank. Thanks guys.

Picked up a cluster from the wrecker, now the speedo works perfectly, while the odometer not at all, damn. The cluster came from an automatic while mine is a manual, but I don't see how that could make a difference. I suspect the wrecker sold me a bad unit, but if someone has other ideas then I'm all ears; the wrecker didn't have another one on the lot.

Is it a simple plug and play job if I find one from exactly the same Pathfinder as mine, or is some calibration required?

My Pathfinder is a 1995, I think it's the first year with the new dash, then the body style changed the next year. Do the 96-04 Pathfinders have the same instrument cluster?

I saw CB antennas with mounts like this: http://www.gemoto.com/images/antenna_mount.jpg, but inside the engine compartment. The mount is thin enough to fit into the gap between the hood and fender. The advantage of this location is that you don't have to run the wire very far, just through one of the holes in the firewall then along the firewall and fender.

Allright, fished it out. To answer a couple of my own questions: It does not have any metal on it, but it's made of hard nylon and would likely do some damage if caught in gears. It would not drain out, it's too big to pass through the small hole at the bottom of the adaptor plate in the middle of the transmission. I got it out the same way as it fell in, through the shifter hole at the top. I tried other methods on the way though, I think I might start a new topic on "how to recover small items dropped into the transmission" later.

My speedometer works properly only when the car is well warmed up, before that it works well for the first minute or so, then not at all, then it dances like a drunk trying to catch his balance between 0km/h and the actual speed, then it works fine once the engine is nice and hot. The ECU was flashing the code for the vehicle speed sensor, but the problem persists after I replaced it. What's the next step, replace the wiring?

I noticed a quiet, constant hum coming from the back of my 1995 Pathfinder, it can only be the fuel pump. It's so quiet that I hear it only when idling at rest, but it's defiinitely there. Is this a sign of impending fuel pump failure, or could it be something as simple as it being a little bit loose? Can I check if the fuel pump is on/in the tank nice and tight without taking the tank down? I don't notice any change in performance, but I had this car for only a few weeks, so maybe it has been like this since I owned it. It's also possible that it makes that humming noise only when the tank is almost empty as it is now, I'll fill up tomorrow and write an update.

Did some more research, looks like it won't drain out, the adapter plate between the drain hole and the save below the shifter will stop it. I'll drain the transmission to get a better look and hope I can fish it out; if not then I'll remove the t-case.