SkiMachine

I've checked three manufactures, and each specs something a bit different: http://www.transtar1.com/catView.asp?ID=668 Model: DA16HD Bolt Circle: 9" Codes: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5, A7, A40, A43, A48 Pilot: .785" (.730" tall) Splines: 20 http://www.kingomatic.com/documents/PK%20Torque%20Converter%20Catalog%20May%202011.pdf Model: DA31 Bolt Cicle: 9.125" Codes: A52, A59, A49, A53 Pilot: .785" (.730" tall) Splines: 20 - OR - Model: DA36 Bolt Circle: 10.125" Codes: A12, A13, A33, A47 Pilot: .785" (.625" long) Splines: 20 Interestingly these guys list a DA16HD as well for the 87-00 pathfinder, but for a FWD transmission which is obviously incorrect. It has the same specs as the TranStar unit. Dacco: Model: DA18 Bolt Circle: 9" Codes: A3, A4, A7, A8, A10, A13, A18, A19, A22, A23, A25, A34, A39, A41, A44, A48 Pilot: .785" ( ? ) Splines: 20 This is the only model DACCO has in the book for the 3.0L Pathfinder. Interestingly, they also have an entry for a a 1995 FWD Pathfinder (also the DA18)... Not confidence inspiring.. It looks like noone really knows for sure and they all contradict each other. I'll just have to wait until I get the transmission on the bench and see what's stamped on it. This would have been really nasty to figure out (if wrong) during the job since it wouldn't have been apparent until the tranny was back up in the truck. I'll be sure to post what model ends up being correct.

Hmm, actually, one lists a 10.125" "bolt circle diameter", and the other lists a 9.000" "bolt pattern".. I might just call the manufactures directly on this one to confirm.

Thanks, that helped. The brick and motar shops up here don't typically have online catalogs, so I didn't even think of this option.

Hi everyone, just a quick question..: My transmission oil is black, and I have no reverse. According to the FSM and other resources this means that I should replace my TC as part of the trany rebuild I'm planning. The only problem is, I can't seem to find this online (Rock Auto, Amazon, etc). A google search only brings up factory parts that are too expensive, or used parts that I'd rather not deal with. What's the deal here? Am I missing something obvious? Is there another name for a Torque Converter that I'm missing...? Thanks

The easiest option is to take back whatever solinoid you have now and get an auto sensing one. These work by sensing the voltage at your cranking battery's terminal and closing the solinoid a few seconds after the potential is ~ 14V, which happens once the alternator is running. It's pretty much impossible to accidently drain your cranking battery with these. They usually come with cables to run to your house battery as well and don't cost that much more once you consider the hassle factor of the other options. Trying to find a wire that is only on once the engine is running will be more challenging. Most of the candidates I can think of I've immediately disqualified on the basis that they also run while the engine is cranking, when you least want a dead house battery (read: large load) connecting to the system. Basically your best bet is the charge light on the dash, coupled with a lock-out relay on the start ciruit to ensure that "flicker" doesn't cause solinoid chatter and cranking issues when starting. Do not hook up to an ACC circuit (not that you were going to), since sooner or later someone will turn to key to ACC to listen to the radio, charge something on the cigarette lighter, etc - and your cranking battery will end up dead. Usually miles from nowhere.

Just to confirm this is actually a 1.5W solar panel? To put this in perspective my cellphone has a 5W charger and won't even register a charging status if I plug it into a old-school 2.5W USB1.1 port. An entire 12 hours of sunlight (assuming direct sun and 100% generation for the entire time) would only produce 1.3 amp hours.. You'd have to leave your truck parked for many weeks before that would become a problem. As for damaging the solar panel when running the truck? Unlikely. If the battery doesn't blow it up, neither will the extra 2V produced by the alternator. I'd just hook it up straight to the battery and forget about it.

Finally got around to working on this some more. 6 day work weeks, hockey playoffs, and being bicycle distance to work, amongst other things kept me from getting back to this. We ended up welding the TG woodruff key in place. I changed the oil seals, belt, tensioner, put it all back together and now it's running smooth with plenty of power. Compression is now ~ 175 +/- 5 or so psi across all cylinders which is pretty much dead on spec. The old woodruff key was completely destroyed, there was maybe just 1mm or less metal left before the timing gear would have been free-wheeling... As for why this happened? I think whoever said (in one of the threads linked by Precise1) that the woodruff key is just for indexing and it's the crank bolt that's supposed to hold everything in place is correct. Whoever said the woodruff key is too short is also correct, IMO. With the woodruff key fully pressed in there was at least a 2mm gap between the top of it and the bottom of the TG index slot. Obviously centerfugal force would migrate the key fully up into the TG over time leaving even less contact with the crank shaft. The crank bolt not even being finger tight just sealed the deal. My best guess is the previous guy in there just used a rattle gun to tighten the bolt, didn't lock up the crank shaft while tightening (I made a crude tool to do this), or both. So now on to the autotragic.. The fluid looks black, or at least dark brown to me..

I do have access to a 120V arc welder with 5/64 and 1/16 electrodes, but not sure if that can really fill-weld.. It's been a long time since I've welded anything.

Why would cutting a new keyway at 180 degrees not work? Too hard to get the measurement right or does it screw up the balance? Just curious.

I think pictures will tell a thousand words on this one. This didn't look too hopeful... : When disassembling I noticed that the drive pulley could be turned a bit without the timing belt moving, so I knew something was up right away. This also explains why the issue was progressive in nature. As for cause? I'm not 100% sure, but the crankshaft bolt was really loose (ie: wrench NOT required for removal) so it could be impact as the gear wobbled back and forth. There is some marring on the timing gear (see first picture, I'll upload a close-up tomorrow). I'm not sure if something got jammed in there, or someone scratched it up with tools in the past (ie : the guy who didn't torque the crank bolt down properly). Either way it would have taken a serious hit to have caused that kind of damage to the crank. I'm at a complete loss for on-vehicle solutions to this one. Anything I can think of involves tearing down the engine, and a trip to a machine shop. At the end of the day, this is a 20 year old car, with 219,000km and a transmission that also needs rebuilt.. I'm going to have to think about my next step.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... It looks like I've jumped time by 2 teeth (on both cams, thus 1 tooth on the crank). This is with the upper TB cover off, using the crankshaft drive pulley's TDC mark. The belt isn't slack but probably isn't at full and proper tension either. No missing teeth or obvious belt damage so I'm surprised it was able to jump. Both cams are off equally so this must have been a crank sprocket jump. My math indicates this is retarding my valve timing by 18ᵒ. The FSM indicates the exhaust valves close at 10ᵒ BTDC.. I'm hoping the valves are already well on their way to being closed at the 18ᵒ point and nothing collided. I'm still not sure why this felt progressive. The only thing I can think of is that there was/is another parallel issue that started to inhibit the truck's ability to deal with the valve timing problem. All of the cylinders (except 1 and 6) are @ 90psi on the compression test. Cylinder 1 was at 120psi, and I didn't bother with #6 since the results were pretty conclusive by that point. I did the wet test on #1 and #3, which improved compression by ~ 10psi each. Lower compression with bad valve timing seems about right, but I'm a bit concerned that #1 is so much higher than the rest. The plan now is to pull the lower TB cover, correct the timing, and then re-do the compression test to see if this engine is worth any more effort.

Ahh I knew I forgot to mention something. I had a knock sensor code, but replaced it. It's not mounted to the block yet (will relocate it due to lack of access), but it is grounded. Code is gone with no improvement. No other codes, other than ones I've intentionally caused while testing. The truck ran fine up until a few weeks ago.

Hello, I have a 1994 4x4 A/T VG30 Pathy that has a few issues. The one that I've been chasing the most is a low/no-power issue for the past few weeks. I seem to have tracked it down to being a timing issue, however I can not advance the timing enough to bring it back into spec. It's currently sitting at 5ᵒ BTDC, when spec is 15ᵒ BTDC. The distributor is turned to it's limit, and is quite a bit off from it's original setting. This issue has been progressive - the truck had been steadily loosing power day by day until I decided to adjust the timing "by feel". I don't like to adjust timing by feel, but I didn't have a light at the time (do now!) and the truck couldn't get moving from a stop any more. Obviously the timing was as retarded as that kid who skipped class and sniffed glue all day back in school. With the timing at 5ᵒ it can at least get moving. So, what causes this? My first thought was that the timing belt on the LH cam or crank pully jumped time, but this issue has been progressive so this seems unlikely. The only other possibility I can think of is that the ECU is on glue as well, but that too seems unlikely. Background and what has been checked so far: - Purchased last fall, NO service history - Timing belt age is unknown, but (until this issue) was very high on my agenda to replace. - Most sensors seem to meter out O.K, even at the ECM (at least according to the FSM). - It has the standard exhaust header stud failure and resulting leaks, but they've been there the whole time... - I'm not 100% about the O2 sensor, but this shouldn't be an issue at idle anyways since according to the FSM the ECU runs in open-loop mode at idle. I'm not sure about it because I do not get a code when I unplug it. - EGR valve appears to be in working order. - Fuel filter and air filter have been changed - Idle (according to the tach) is at 750. - Replaced the plugs and wires (had to, old wires broke when doing the balance test!) - Found and repaired two small vacuum leaks. The hoses are (as expected after 20 years) very brittle so there may be more leaks. It may be worth noting that the transmission also needs a re/re/re since reverse very recently stopped working. I don't see how that could be affecting the lack of power/timing issue though. I'd expect power loss in the transmission to present it's self as slipping, or lots of bad noises and smoke.. I don't think there is any noticeable slippage despite the reverse gear issue. I want to make sure the performance issue is fixable before committing to pulling the transmission out or drilling out the broken studs. Any ideas?