WxChaser

Nice! Is there any full reason to need to move the tire carrier? And is it easy to do? Reason I ask is because I've got 2 jerry-cans that I bought over the summer to eventually rig to the carrier for when I'm storm chasing. I'm hoping to have a couple guys at my work fab up some custom mounts for my brush guard, so maybe when they do that I'll ask them to get a couple more things made up for the can. Thought about a plate with a 2" lip on all 3 open sides for the bottom, welded or bolted to the carrier. Then create some sort of locking device for the top so that it wont fly off or get taken very easily. Ideas?

I made out pretty well tonight. Snow was accumulating on the interstate immediately at one spot... not much warning. I pressed on as I only had another 4 miles to go before I got off. When I got off, engaged the 4WD (for some reason the light never came on but I felt it engaging). Sometimes it would flicker on or whatnot. Overall it did well... Its got new tires on it so it gripped really well. No sliding (except when I did it on purpose!). Didn't have to go to 4 Lo and there were some 8-9" drifts.

Quick question that just popped, IF I had to pull someone out (my friend is driving his 04 Highlander behind me, for example) would it be better to keep it in 4 Hi or go to 4 Lo for "more power"? Just curious.. Obviously pulling someone out puts a lot of strain on the trans and transfer case so I just wanted to make sure that if I help someone that I don't end up getting in a worse predicament.

Good call, hardbody! I should be good to go but I'll be mindful of that!

Awesome. Read another forum post about shifting on the fly and many people do as you all had suggested. Unfortunately I'm up early because classes weren't cancelled (yet).

So it's like the Pathfinders that had full time 4x4? Didn't think of that... Starting it in 4 Hi to lock the hubs, then putting the transfer case back into 2wd. Smart. I'll keep that in mind! Wont damage the transfer case if I'm going a reasonable speed I presume? Forgot to mention that I've got the tow strap ready to go. Will be ready to pull someone out if need be. I'm excited to see what this thing can do.

I've had FWD vehicles all of my life, and learned to drive carefully in snow/ice. Never had an issue slipping or sliding. I don't speed, but I also don't crawl. Having a 4x4 vehicle is great considering many other times I had to rely on friends to take me up the mountains. Now I've got what I need.

Awesome, thanks! I think with 2WD it'll do fine for awhile, but once I get into the sloppy areas, I'll just shift into 4 Hi and run it up the mountain roads.

Hey all, With the impending snow storm about to hit my area (NC Mountains) I was thinking about some things with the pathy before I take it out tomorrow for some fun. Because I live in a river valley and will be driving up mountain roads that may be untreated, I need to know if I can shift my 93 Pathfinder SE into 4WD Hi on the fly? I thought I remembered hearing that you can shift it while driving, but what is the max speed? I typically always shift into 4WD from a stop so I never worried about it... now that I'll be heading into some slick areas, I may want it on sometimes. Also, do I need to put it in neutral when I shift on the fly (I assume so but just want to be sure). Driving up a mountain road and then going to neutral and then to 4 Hi will kill my momentum. Leaving it in gear will allow me to maintain speed at least. Secondly, I was reading on another forum about snow blocking up the radiator air intake.. Anyone have an issue with this? That's all. Any other cautionary tips are great. This is my first winter with my pathy so I wanted a little insight.

Well, if you're doing the T-Stat, you're pretty close to the Timing Belt and Water Pump. Doing those both then will cost you about an extra 2-3 hours of work (depending on how experienced you are) and about $75 max. There's several writeups on how to do both of them. I changed my T-belt myself after having the truck for only about 2 days. I feel dumb for not doing the pump so I'm getting that done next time for sure. I also recommend seafoam... Try running it through the brake booster line. I can help you out with that too if you wish to message me. The exhaust leak by the cat shouldn't be an issue, and like someone said above, if your state doesn't do emissions inspections, then you should be able to cut that off if you choose. Here's what I'd do: Check your timing, and possibly replace the timing belt and water pump with the thermostat (because you said you're already doing the t-stat) Pull a few plugs (not all at once so you don't confuse which one goes where) and check the plugs. If they're gnarly looking, replace them. Get the NGK's.. they're phenomenal. The first 5 are easy to replace... the 6th one is the common bitch everyone hates. Check your rotor/distributor. If you replaced your fuel filter, then that doesn't likely need replacing (unless it's faulty). Run the truck and check to make sure the lines are not leaking! Check your air filter... mine was so dirty that it caused the truck to run so rich that it'd shut off if running on idle. It didn't look too bad but once I took an air compressor to the filter, I saw the dust plume. I can't think of much else... It's been a long day here at school and it's time for bed. Let us know how you make out with the truck.. my mileage issue was directly related to my rooftop mounted weather station causing too much drag. I'm going to check my mileage on my next trip next weekend.

Yep, I've done what you've done numerous times driving around my college campus (hard left turns going into steep hills.. want as much momentum as I can get!) and both lights come on. It is just your fluid. Take a look under the hood and see where it's at. If you're halfway or less, add some. Like others said, it was just that the fluid sloshed around enough for the sensor to trip. No worries.

Cut the bumper guard out and ship it to me! lol, kidding of course! Hopefully getting one from a fellow NPORA member here within the next month. Good find, I never get THAT lucky at the yards. Though one time I did find a reciever hitch, but I knew I couldn't afford it at the time and when I got back, it was gone! Oh well, not that I really tow anything to begin with, plus I dont wanna burn up the trans.

BTW, pull the radiator out too. should be 4-6 bolts if I remember. Run a water hose through the intake and let it drain through. I did that with mine and found a ball of hair in mine... How? Idk. But cleaning that out may help with keeping the engine running smoother so far as keeping it cool. Do this when you need to take a break from frustration.

I myself replaced my timing belt (and I'm just a college student with basic mechanic skills!) Mine slipped the day after I got my pathy, luckily no valve crashing occurred (the engine shut off because I didn't hit the clutch quick enough in a near-miss accident in the neighborhood... but I couldn't get it started since the belt skipped). It's relatively time consuming and can be quite exhausting. I recommend for now just adding antifreeze and driving short distances if at all possible, just be careful and watch the T-Stat gauge. If you decide you could do it say this weekend, then have at it. It took me 2 days of full work to do it myself, with a socket set, breaker bar, etc. I recommend finding a comfortable area to working on the vehicle, because you'll be all around the engine bay while you work. Please feel free to consult any of us on T-belt or water pump replacement. I didn't replace my pump when I did the T-belt (before you all freak, I wasn't sure if the engine would start if I replaced the timing belt, so I didn't want to waste the money on a water pump if the truck was done for). From what I can see, the water pump is not difficult to do. And please, PLEASE do the thermostat while your doing the T-belt and water pump. You're already there and it's an inexpensive part to replace. Easy to do, takes 5 minutes to replace if you already have everything else popped off. BTW, I HIGHLY recommend getting a harmonic balancer puller from a parts store in town, because I couldn't get mine off without it. If you don't get the balancer off, the lower t-belt cover will not come off. At $350, that'd almost be worth the frustration and time. Plus you may get some sort of warranty out of it. ~$50 for water pump, $15 for timing belt, $? for timing belt tensioner (I didn't replace this because it looked perfectly fine), $10 for Thermostat and gasket, and then whatever your time costs. So theoretically, for a weekend of time, plus $100, you can do it yourself and have some pride, or spend an extra $250 and just let it be a mechanic's issue.

Thanks!

Do you have a link to it?

I'm planning on cleaning my MAF in a month or so, but have never done it. Any good tips? Thanks

Thanks, I'll get some lube in a couple weeks when I go home, and I'll see if that'll work. Sometimes I pull the switch and then go pull the hood open, and it'll pop up.. Other times, I stick a little wedge between the grille and hood and it'll pop right up once I pull the handle.

Wow, lots of help! Thanks! The trans issue is no longer an issue.. It was the fan clutch. Yesterday when I started hearing the sound, I took it out of gear (into neutral) which no longer made the humming noise. I then revved the engine up to about 3k and held it there and could hear it just as it normally was (still in neutral) so I know for sure that I was just hearing the fan. Stupid me! The scraping sound according to my dad when he drove it, was just the bushings, but the caps you were talking about were likely it. Not a big deal, apparently. I may try and get an OEM factory key fob and see if it'll work. The hood release... I MAY try to look into that tomorrow or Tuesday. If not, at least I'll have something to do next weekend at school. I don't believe I have a hatch light on the dash, but it also could have burned out too! I removed the chime so I'll just have to remember to turn my lights off.. Not a big deal considering they're only on usually at night anyway. I'm guessing the grounding issue is the main issue for that light. What I may end up doing is running the new lights from the relay to the lights themselves instead of using the wiring that's already there. That way I know it'll work just fine. Seems that I'll just have to adjust the hood latch, maybe the rear hatch, and take a look at the actuator in the back. Guess we'll see! Trogdor, the 4 key one you have is the EXACT one I bought. Once I clean up the truck tomorrow, I'll be sure to look into doing some stuff with it!

Wow, looks like some serious cleaning! I seafoamed last night.. Produced a decent smoke show. I let it sit for about 25 minutes because I was doing my buddies as well. His Ford didn't smoke at all.. Found that interesting.. I noticed a bit more power but I'm not going to be sure about gas mileage until later on.

Hey, I have a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder SE, 4x4, 138k miles. Been a great running rig so far, but there's a few issues that I want to fix before something really breaks. Below I'm going to compile a list of things that are either broken or sound like they could be going down. Bear with me as it'll be a lot. 1. When driving home from school (2.5 hour drive) I noticed the hum (sounds more like a fan) coming from the trans. It's not loud, but if you turn down everything and just listen, you'll hear it. I drive a 5-speed, manual trans. I know it's the tranny because I took it out of gear on the highway and the sound stopped. I've read that I could just put some Redline MT-90 through the shifter boot. Might do that. What are the chances that I may need a trans rebuild (It had one done 39k miles ago with a different owner)? Also want to add that the clutch grinds going from 5th to 4th or when I'm running high RPMs from 3rd to 4th. 2. Whenever I make hard turns (wheel all the way over, making a uturn kind of thing) and it makes a sound like the undercarriage is scraping or something. I know it could be the CV axle, but when one was going out on my previous vehicle, it was a lot louder and made the well known clicking sound. I don't think I'm too concerned about this. 3. Door locks. I bought the truck and it didn't work, but I went to the junkyard and bought another door switch (the one that has the unlock, windows down switches for the driver door). Replaced it and the locks worked for about a week, then stopped working. Every time I push the lock down manually I hear two clicks in the rear tailgate. That's it. Any idea what I'd need to replace? 4. I purchased a keyfob, one with 4 buttons (Unlock, Lock, Glass pop, and Alarm). I followed the instructions thoroughly and it will not program. The security light is blinking (blinks every 2 or 3 seconds). 5. Hood. The hood release isn't working well. I pull the handle and the hood doesnt pop up.. I just have to pull the handle, and go pull the hood up a little for it to pop. 6. Door chime. The door chime consistently goes off, especially if I make a turn. All doors are shut properly. I removed the ground switch in the passenger door front frame because I thought it was only that door.. But now it does it for the rear hatch too. Finally I just went and unplugged the door chime so I don't have to hear it anymore. 7. Flood lights. These I'm not too worried about as I'll be pulling them out anyways. One of the lights has a burned out bulb, and is missing the little clip to hold the light to the housing. The other one is connected and works, but you have to hit the housing with your hand to turn the light on. Hit a bump, and it turns off. Not sure why. Again, these lights will be taken off in a month or so for the new brush guard. I'll be asking for some cool flood lights for Christmas to mount to the brush guard anyways. Thanks for the help... I know this is a lot of stuff but I feel that some of the things are related (door locks, security, etc).

Will be seafoaming with a friend this weekend when I go home. It'll be perfect as I'll be able to record my mileage (I have a ~150 mile trip home, then the same back on Tuesday night). I'll make a little video of my truck and my bud's truck smoking out his yard (he lives out in the country whereas I live in a crowded neighborhood... and while he and I are both firefighters, we don't want to confuse my neighbors!). I'll see if there's any power difference, and if there's any MPG increase. I'll be sure to note that the MPG estimates will be rough (considering I don't want to keep going to the gas station all weekend getting fuel.. I've got enough to get home Friday, and will likely fill up once I get there). Currently I get anywhere from 15-16 MPG, never above 16. I do some city driving here at school, but I'm on the road for 2.5 hours, with 2.25 hours of pure highway, 65+MPH driving.

Awesome tips, thanks for all of that! I'm extremely picky about maintenance on my vehicles, and this Pathy is no exception. I've been really meticulous due to the fact that I bought this off another college kid who seemed to care more about other things in life than his vehicle (Cosmetic issues, mainly). Precise, my 2 friends who have used it love it. 1 drives a Saturn and does it every oil change and claims he has more power. The other drives a Jeep and says it helps his occasional rough idle (though on the last Seafoaming we did on his Jeep, I discovered his rough idle was due to the distributor). I've never done a Nissan engine so I just wanted to make sure that the VG 30's can handle something like this. Looks like in the coming weeks I'll be going to a service station back home, and getting the BG fuel/air induction cleaning (per KRMiller's awesome advice!) then seafoaming whenever I wish (or just during oil changes, whenever). Might add some techron to the system every once in awhile, but I don't want to go overkill or else it defeats the purpose of saving money on fuel! Also have read that cleaning the MAF sensor does wonders too. Haven't looked to see if it's even dirty (I've got no experience with that.. yet). Looks like my Fall Break from school may become Pathfinder repair/maintenance time!

So, KRMiller, If I was to buy a qt of Mystery oil, a can of SeaFoam, and a bottle of BG 44K, in what order (and timing) would you do this sort of process? I'm thinking SeaFoam, then after letting that run through, add a bottle of BG 44K to the gas tank and then once I go get fuel again, add half or all of the 1 qt of Marvel Mystery Oil? I'm only asking because I just want to make sure this is done right. Would like to see the best fuel economy improvement. Then, once you do this major flushout, I'm guessing you'd recommend doing a dose of BG 44K and MMO at the next oil change (roughly 4,000-5,000 miles as I'm running synthetic). Thanks for your help, by the way.

How do you go about using the BG product? Same way as Seafoam (brake booster line, gas tank) or another way? Really just want to see improvement from 15/16 MPG mixed use.. I believe I get about 17 on the highway, maybe 18 when I'm coming down the mountain to go home. I know that's not terrible compared to other Pathys, but I came from driving a Mazda 626 5-Speed, which gave me 32 mpg and 400+ miles per tank on a 14 gallon tank. Still scratching my head over why I let such a great car go.. but anyways, anyone knowing how to do the BG product without having to buy all of their equipment surely would be appreciated! Also, can I get an idea as to what I should buy from BG should I choose to use them?