D21disciple

thanks kingman. i agree that it should bleed itself. hopefully this weather will improve tomorrow to the point where i can take a 2 minute look at it and not get soaked head-to-toe.

my daughter is being told that she let her ps fluid get too low and now there is an air-lock in the system after topping it up. i am getting this info 2nd hand ... she has someone else helping her out ... and i am glad because it's a monsoon out there and just barely above freezing. i have never heard of this happening with a power steering system. thought that air would just make it's way out the top no matter how low the fluid got. any thoughts on this ?

from what i have read on this site, and from your replies, sounds like i am far better off to spend the extra money on a unit with a fully functioning tranny. hi, pav ... i am from vancouver . true that these trannys can be had cheaply, in fact, pickapart in chilliwack regularly has all trannys on sale for 95.00, but with all the work involved, i wouldnt even consider buying one that i couldnt test-drive first. thanks to all for taking the time to reply.

a 94 has shown up on craigslist that appears decent enough to possibly warrant the trip to actually see it. seller says "hard shifting" when in drive, shifts fine if you move the lever manually between 1, 2 and D. in order of likelihood, what do you think is going on with this automatic. i have done an auto trans re&re on a 2wd d21 pickup which i found to be a bit of a pain ... can't imagine the re&re on 4wd being any better, so if that's likely what's called for i think i will pass on it. your comments are appreciated.

thanks very much . i wound up searching this on youtube and a guy had a brief video how-to on this that matches your description. the key is to put a phillips in there and spin the "bottle cap" with it, as though you were spinning one gear with another gear. i was nudging it, notch by tedious notch, with a slotted screwdriver. i haven't tried the phillips yet, but i can clearly see that it will spin it much better. thanks again !

hi town, and thanks for that link, but unfortunately it tells me even less than i learned from searching this forum . anyone done this recently that can shed some light ?

o.k. ... after doing a search here and thinking that i had the headlight adjustment thing figured out, i FINALLY get outside on a night that is neither too cold nor too wet and go at it. i couldnt have designed a more cockamamie set-up if i tried ! i can see the "bottlecap" adjusters and i can even get them turning but no matter which way i turn them i get absolutely no difference in the aiming of the headlights . there is a 6mm (?) bolt in the centre of each bottlecap but i wasn't able to access them with the limited tool selection i had brought with me ... are they supposed to be loosened for this operation ? also, which one controls side-to-side and which one controls up-and-down ? as i say, i could get the bottlecaps turning, even without loosening those little bolts, but no movement of the aim no matter what i did. help ! i am starting to hyper-ventilate here !

so my initial reaction was right... a combination of not being accustomed to rwd and a gas pedal that is maybe a bit stiffer than she is used to. thanks to everyone for their input.

hi my daughter has complained that her wheels are slipping in 2wd while pulling away from a stop (on wet roads, or parked on a hill with wet leaves). i told her to give it less gas. the rubber on the rears is very good, while the rubber on the front is just fair (although the wear is nice and even). i am new to pathfinders, and to 4wd, but i assumed that the rears would be engaged in 2wd ... am i correct ?

with your encouragement, i decided to stop being so danged cheap and get the whole gasket & grommet set; it was actually cheaper at the parts store than the price i saw on-line, which was a pleasant surprise. thanks for your input. i'll update this thread if there are any complications.

1999.5 pathfinder ... have a leak at the valve cover, passenger side. i can clearly see where it is coming from and i don't see any leakage on the drivers side so i think that, for now, i will tackle only the (much easier) passenger side. the leak is so small that i wouldn't even bother except for the fact that it is making it's way right down onto the exhaust manifold and the smell comes into the cabin every time the fan is turned on ; very annoying. have already tightened the screws with no improvement whatsoever so i am going to have to take the cover off. in the past, on other vehicles, i have had great success just laying a bead of RTV sealent along the old gasket ... has anyone has success with that on a pathfinder ? failing that, i will have to buy a gasket set ... it looks like there are 2 options ... 1 with grommets and 1 without . since the price of the set with grommets is almost double that of the set without them i am wondering if i can go without ? to be sure, probably not, but i thought i would ask people who have had some experience with this. never dealt with a valve cover gasket that uses grommets for the screws. thanks for your help ... i am new to pathfinders.