Tseeker

Thanks I looked it up after he said 3.4l, and nada, Guess that's why I'm not ordering from that salvage yard I'm going to get the 97 engine. Hopefully I won't have to bug you guys again after this! Thanks again

Hey! I figured I'd start a new post since this just came up. I have a 1996 pathfinder 3.3l LE with worn rockers and rocker rods(?) New parts come close enough to the cost of a used engine so I'm trying junkyards to see what I can find. But, there are no '96 engines close enough that aren't past the 200k mile mark! So I called a salvage yard close to me that had a '97 3.3 and they said that the engines are different and won't work. I had tried researching this out and asked around on different forums including in my old post and I thought they were the same or at least there were only minor changes. But now I guess I need to double check. Right now I need to get it back on the road quickly, so I'm hoping to just swap out the parts and store the engine for a later transplant. Sorry guys if I'm a getting annoying! I just want to make sure before I get in too deep! You all have been a big help so far

Probably could be a typo, or (unlikely) it could be a diesel. If it is a diesel I sure wish I'd have more time to swap cause I would definitely be interested!

This is what I've found so far, 1997 3.3,AT,8/96,4X4,RUNS GOOD 138,617 miles part grade A $500 Green Point Auto Parts, Inc. 1998 6-97,3.0,AC,SE,RAN 7-7-03,NO 606 81,577 miles part grade A $450 Silvers Auto Parts USA-ME 1998 9-97,3.3,AC,RAN EXC.,NO 606 87,020 miles part grade A $450 Silvers Auto Parts It being easter sunday I won't be able to find out anything more then that until later this week. Any thoughts?

All right, one more question, Honest! I can either get a '96 engine that's 200 mils away, OR I can get a '97 engine that's only six miles away. It's the same engine that's been in these pathfinders (1996-2000) vg33. So please tell me that it is the exact same engine! If it isn't what parts will not interchange? Or could I possibly hunt around for a '98 or '99 vg33 with less miles and age on it? Thanks again for all your patience and help

Well I looked again into junkyards. Apparently I hadn't looked properly the first time, as I've found used heads for about $100, and a lower mileage engine for $450. Now I got to decide which one.. probably the heads just so I can get it running again quickly, or I could get the eninge and just rob parts off of it or...... Thanks guys for all the help

Thanks for all the responses I guess my biggest concern is that I don't want to dump more money into it, and then something else failing every couple months. But I think I should be okay on that front since this breakdown is damage/abuse, not because of wear and tear. A friend of mine cautioned that new heads could cause the lower end to start burning oil since i'd probably be getting better compression. I could stretch out this repair for a while and just do the rockers and rockershafts on the drivers side since they are so hard to get to. Also how much pressure should I put on the lifters to test them? I wasn't able to budge them when I used my hands to push them against a bench, they should be good them? Thanks again

Yep, already put a water pump in, the unbalanced fan had hammered away at it's shaft too. funny though that with it damaging the pulley and shaft like that it hadn't leaked or killed the bearings in the old water pump.... Any rules of thumb for how many miles potentially left vs cost of repair? (eg as these cars can run 250k+, we have approx 80k left what's it worth.)

Hey everyone! My fiancee and I own a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder LE, 170,000 miles. It's our first and only car and I have had all of the usual fun one has fixing up the little things a car of this age and of the "use"/abuse of previous owner Battery went dead when my fiancee was at work, probably just had some small thing on, so after jumping it and bringing it home I let it idle 15-20min instead of trying to find the battery charger. Well, I forgot to go back outsidet and finally remembered, two hours later, to shut it off. When I got outside I found it had stalled out, I investigated further and quickly deduced that the five inch hole in plastic on the radiator probably meant that it had overheated, badly, on a 20-30 degree night. The damage to the radiator was probably started when the plastic fan flew apart a while back and just now finally blew out. The previous owner had somehow damaged the original fan, then ran it for long enough that when I put the new fan on, it too flew apart. The shaft on the waterpump pulley had been wallowed out from the old fan being unbalenced. I'm running an electric fan now, (whole 'nother story on how I switched to that) and the car hasn't overheated in 90 degree weather. Temp gauge was down and it had stopped steaming so I figured I'd try starting it. Hard start and lots of clattering. I shut it off after 15 seconds, gave up for the night and started hunting online for a new used car. Next morning before work I went with a whim and dumped some old oil from a previous oil change into it and tried starting it again. Hard start the first time, but the clattering all went away in about five seconds leaving only one loud ticking, shut it off and restarted it, didn't have a hard time starting and just the ticking remained. I removed the sparkplugs and both valve covers, and turned the engine back and forth several times with a ratchet, no play, or any clicking/knocking/bumping/grinding noises, so I figured that it was the lifters and the rest of the engine was still solid. So I ordered them plus a radiator, and then I realized that I should always, always, always completely remove all related parts before ordering new ones. The play I felt when wiggling the rocker arms wasn't the lifters, it was the rocker arms and shafts. They're ground down, worst on the driver's side exhaust valves, and the are progressively better towards the passenger side. SO, now it is cheaper to get two remaned heads from here then it is to piece it all together. My question is this: Radiator, $70ish already ordered via ebay, lifters are getting returned, two heads $510 for both from ebay, head bolts (do I really need to replace them? :dumbquestion: ) $50ish rockauto, gasket set $100ish rockauto, timing belt kit $25 rockauto, oil and antifreeze $40ish local. Total? $800. Ouch. Plus living in Maine means I have to keep up on body work due to so much salt in the winter. Is this car worth it? I don't have any problem getting greasy, and it's not my first head job, - I'm hoping to find an entry level job in a mechanic shop here soon- I just want to make the right choice, we both like this old car and can't afford a brand new car, but we'll shop around for a used car if this one needs to be retired. Thanks for bearing with my long post. I tend to really ramble on.