[Plug missing? Some sort of fluid leak?]

Hey guys. I got my winter tires swapped out today, and when I got home, after unloading my winter tires (while parked downhill for a little while), I noticed some oil on the driveway.

I took a look underneath, and there is what looks like a drain of some sort missing the cap. There is some oil in the area as well. I took some pictures and I'm hoping you guys can tell me what it is, and whether there is anything missing.

 

It is roughly in line with the front attachment points of the running boards. Btw I have a manual transmission if that makes any difference.

 

It looks like there is still a bolt in there. Maybe it's just loose? Is a bit of oozing normal?

 

Here are the pictures:

[Transmission suicide at 70mph]

I read that the gears are shorter on the manual. I would really like for the pathfinder to be able to cruise at 80mph without having to be at 3K rpm. Is there any other gear set i can swap in or should i just look at doing a rear end final drive swap? I hardly use the 4wd or go off road so i don't especially need short/low gears. I would rather highspeed highway cruising.

That's the one thing I hate about my 5-speed. RPM's are very high on the highway. Mine hovers around 3500 at 80.

Mind you, it'll run at that all day long if you can put up with the noise, but it's very tiring on road trips.

 

For your use it sounds like replacing with an auto is the right choice.

[Chilkoot model rearview mirror?]

Hey everyone. Quick question.

I was looking at craigslist and I found a '98 Pathfinder Chilkoot for sale, and I couldn't help but notice the rearview mirror has a temperature gauge and compass.

Here's the picture from the ad:

Original ad: http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/4808817156.html

My Pathfinder has the exact same rearview mirror with buttons on the sides that activate the reading lights, the button on the top left (which I have pressed and held and doesn't seem to do anything), and the black area on the top. However, the part with the temperature and direction doesn't light up or do anything on mine. How would I go about fixing it?

 

I realize it might be a hard question to answer because the Chilkoot models (and probably this rearview mirror) are exclusive to the Canadian market.

 

[Climate Control swap?]

If you find a pathfinder, I'll buy some parts off you.

If I find one, I'll send you a PM.

 

Any parts in particular?

[Climate Control swap?]

Unfortunately the QX4 I found for cheap had a few vital components damaged when it was wrecked Took a look at it the other day. Seemed like it must have been hit pretty hard on the passenger front fender, as everything in the dash on the right side was a bit mangled, and the HVAC screen was no longer functional.

I'll have to keep looking for another donor vehicle.

[Weird, random poll, ALL R50 Owners please contribute...]

shouldn't the poll have a set of yes or no options for each year?

 

[Weird, random poll, ALL R50 Owners please contribute...]

I have a pre-facelift 99 so I can't really help your poll... I didn't even realize there was a key cylinder on mine

However, from google images, all the "2001's" that have one look like they may be 2000 models being mislabelled.
Either way, definitely none from 2002 onward, so my guess is 2001 it was changed, but it could be a 2001.5 change as well...

 

[Random picture of your R50]

Thanks for the info Very helpful.

I guess I'll just have to see what prices are like compared to the Duratracs when it comes time to swap out the winter tires this spring.

[Random picture of your R50]

Not too bad! With the windows down in the summer you definitely hear them but with the windows up I can still have a normal conversation with people at highway speeds. They are much heavier than the duratracs though so if you are planning on doing lots of highway driving I would maybe consider going with the good years because you will lose pickup especially at cruising speeds. No issues with cornering or handling either they grip well. I have also read good things about the falken wildpeak AT so maybe check those out as well as the hankook MT. That being said I think the km2's look pretty bad ass and I am very happy with them. Hope that helps!

Good to hear. The way I see it, my Pathfinder is already pretty noisy on the highway (4.64 gears and the manual make for some pretty high revs), so I'd probably barely notice a bit of extra tire noise. In fact, going with 31's might even drop the revs enough to make it about a wash for noise.

 

Thankfully I'm not on the highway all that much though, and I'm a fairly laid back driver so I'm not too worried about a little less acceleration. I've heard only good things about the Duratracs, but I was considering the KM2's as well because, as you say, they look pretty sweet, and I'd imagine they're a bit better in the wet mud/soil for the wet months on the BC coast.

[Random picture of your R50]

Thanks! Those are 33x12.50 BFG KM2's. They are great on rocks and mud and kind of scary on hard pack snow

How are they for on-road handling and noise? I've heard they aren't bad for a mud tire...

I'm debating between a set of those or Duratracs.

I already have dedicated snow tires so winter performance isn't important thankfully.

[Climate Control swap?]

condenser should be the same....

as for the climate control, I don't know. I tried to install the mirror and digital compass/clock from a qx4 into my LE however I didn't have the wiring harness and sensors that go along with it.

Good to know with the condenser. At the very least I could swap that, and then maybe the seats (and probably the carpet so that they matched). And then the door panels, which would mean all the interior panels except for the dash... Amazing how quickly DIY projects can escalate in scale

 

Would the tail lights be a direct swap? I know the post-facelift ones have separate reverse lights, but how about the 97-99 models?

 

Normally I wouldn't bother attempting something like this, as it would be complicated to source every part necessary. However, in this case every part I need should be on the qx4, right? Meaning all the wiring harness and sensors...

 

Does the base model come with the necessary mounting points pre-drilled and empty? Seems to me it would be cheaper to make a car the same across all models for that type of thing.

I was also debating swapping in the overhead console, but I figure it might look tacky to have sunroof switches and no sunroof. I noticed some facelift models have an overhead console with the temp/compass but no sunroof. Would one of those work?

[Climate Control swap?]

I searched and found one thread on this, which ended before much useful information was shared...

I found a very cheap '98 Qx4 in my area that I was considering for parts.

 

What I'm wondering is how challenging it would be to swap over the digital climate control? I'd have all of the parts, I'm just wondering if it is some massive task, or whether it's a fairly straightforward swap and drop.

 

In case that's too challenging, another related question: my AC condenser has been toast for a while... would the AC condenser from a 98 qx4 be the same as the one in my 99 Chilkoot (basically an XE) model?

[Occasional 5 speed problems?]

Nope you don't want grinding stuff will fail, but the clutch is hydraulic so it should be easy to put in literally no worse that your brake pedal. My bet is the clutch is reaching end of life, a worn out throwout bearing is not helping.

 

Reverse just pause, I have the same problem when I try to shift too fast.

 

Grinding is very very bad, once a while all standard drivers do it, but it should be very uncommon 1 shift in a 100.

 

Pay the money and get your transmission fluid changed, should be $50 to $80, and make sure they check for metal fragments. If you have a bunch you may have some problems.

 

I didn't mean to make it seem like it was grinding every shift or everything. Going into 5th it maybe grinds once a week at most, and 1st, as long as I don't rush, there is no grinding at all. For now I think it's still in the wait and see stage. It's still at the point where the grinding is avoidable if I shift more slowly.

 

Interesting about the brake pedal. I would guess that my clutch pedal has about twice as much resistance, especially in the midrange of the travel. It gets a little lighter over the last inch or two when pushing it in.

 

I believe I had the transmission fluid changed sometime this spring. So I doubt there is more than about 10,000 Km on the fluid. I'll have them check the fluid just to be safe.

 

Master is left hand side, you will see 2 one for the brakes and one for the clutch - sorry I don't remember which is which but I think the clutch is smaller.

Thanks.

 

Is there a way to visually inspect it from the outside? Any common leak spots?

[Occasional 5 speed problems?]

****


Scratch that I was thinking of transmission fluid.

Need another cup of coffee it seems.

Where under the hood is the master cylinder?

[Occasional 5 speed problems?]

I would say getting time for a new clutch. you might want to also try flushing the fluid from you clutch system. It is hydrolic. But it does sound like clutch. No issues putting it into 1st?

First is fine unless I am at a complete stop and try to go from neutral to 1st in a rush. In that case it'll grind a bit on the way in, but it goes into gear just fine.

 

 

Also: Not a mechanical issue, but I find it really hard to find a nice seating position because I have to be close enough to fully depress the clutch (very long travel), and yet that puts me a bit closer to the steering wheel than I'd like. If I sit further from the steering wheel in a comfortable position, I have to stretch to get the clutch in all the way.

[Occasional 5 speed problems?]

Thanks for the suggestions everyone. Unfortunately I can't really do much about it for now, so I'm just going to have to live with it, but come spring (sometime in April), I'm going to look into it. And I'll let you know if I manage to solve the problems.

I've been thinking about getting the clutch and throwout bearing done for a while now. The only thing putting me off has been the cost. It's a bit too daunting for me to do it, so I'd have to get a mechanic to do it. I guess around the same time I'll also have them check the master cylinder, and associated hydraulics and whatnot.

Would replacing the clutch make the pedal any lighter? It's pretty much a leg press machine right now. The extra effort and very long travel has made my left leg bigger than my right

I can live with 1st and 5th grinding on the odd occasion. I'm not sure a transmission rebuild is worth it given how little the vehicle is worth.

I get the rest, but why would 5th, my least used gear, wear out before 1st, 2nd, or 3rd?

-Kyle

I was wondering the same thing... I barely used 5th for the first two years of owning it.

[Tire wear (feathering)]

Mine seems to wear a little more on the outside driver tire as well.
Haven't noticed it on the passenger side.

Based on what has been said in this thread so far about tight lock, my theory is that (in countries driving on the right), an average right turn tends to be tighter than most left turns, which would explain the drivers side wearing more.

[Occasional 5 speed problems?]

Hey guys, a couple quick questions....

 

My transmission occasionally hesitates to go into reverse. It has done this for the 4+ years I've owned the Pathfinder, so it doesn't really worry me, but I'm curious as to why it does it.

 

With the clutch fully depressed, sometimes I'll put the shifter into R, and it goes most of the way, but doesn't have that little clunk that indicates that it is fully in gear. It feels like it hits a block of some sort. If I try to reverse with it like this, the transmission makes a whirring noise and the vehicle goes nowhere.
It is easy to fix. All I have to do is put the shifter in neutral, and let out the clutch (this works 100% of the time). Then when I go into reverse with the clutch in, it'll engage.


Another thing is that the transmission every once and a while will grind going into 5th. I have the clutch in fully, and I don't force it or anything, it just randomly grinds once in a blue moon. It also grinds going from neutral to 1st if I do it remotely quickly. This tends to happen at a stop if the light turns green and I want to get going. Again, clutch is fully depressed when this happens.

 

The vehicle has nearly 270,000 km on it, on the original clutch as far as I know. The clutch seems fine, but the throwout bearing is fairly bad. Makes the occasional groaning noises.

Basically what I want to know is... Are these just quirks that the 5 speed has, or are these issues that I should potentially be worrying about. Could they be related to the throw out bearing?

[Time for new wheels and tires]

Ok. So I've pretty well decided on the style of wheels I'd like to get.
I'm hoping these will fit. http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/sum-84-5883/overview/

Now this may seem like a dumb question. But do I need to order anything else to go with the wheels to run them? Aside from tires obviously...

Spacers? Hub rings? I've never ordered aftermarket wheels so I have no idea...

 

Do I NEED center caps? Or will it work without them? I was planning on getting manual hubs for the front, and I don't really care whether the back has center caps or not, appearance wise.

 

Thanks

[Instrument Panel Light Replacement]

622km! Good grief! I was lucky to get 450km out of a tank (not running out, by still!). Hopefully my fuel milage will get better now that the MAF sensor is clean nad the fuel trim is back to normal. Let me know if you did any modifications to your vehicle because I want to get more KMs out of it...

 

I think there was a thread done on this for the instrument cluster but I am not sure where it was. Here, EXPO, or nicoclub... i will check when I can.

At this point I really haven't done anything. I still have the stock hubs, stock engine, and factory 4.636:1 axle ratio. I can consistently get over 500 per tank, and while I generally don't go above 600, my mpg calculations seem to prove that I could on most tanks, theoretically.

 

My guess is the secret is that mine's a 5 speed The only thing I can't stand is the overdrive ratio isn't very tall, so with the shorter axle ratio, the engine is at pretty high RPM's on the highway.

I don't drive like a bat out of hell, but I don't drive like a granny either.

 

My long term (35+ tank) average is 18.2 US mpg.

 

 

 

Found it!

 

http://www.expeditionportal.com/forum/threads/84010-2002-Pathfinder-(R50)-Build-Thread-by-Allof75?p=1624512#post1624512

 

Hope that helps. I kinda want to do this modification but not sure how I feel about it with driving at dawn and dusk.

here is a list from nicoclub with all the bulb sizes and a guide

http://forums.nicoclub.com/topic563777.html?sid=f080028a3bd97ccc295e5d8782aab584

hope it helps

Thanks. I'll see what I can do with this info, and report back if I end up with any questions.

[live axle conversion]

I thought r50's had a live rear axle from the factory... ?

[Instrument Panel Light Replacement]

Thanks for the replies.

Is there an easy way to find the part numbers for the instrument cluster bulbs? As well as the procedure for removing the instrument cluster? I've been using the search function but I'm having trouble finding what I'm looking for.

I'm going to check the fuses, but I would think that if a fuse crapped out on me there would be more things not working, like the gas gauge or entire cluster... Does anyone know which specific fuses to check?

On the plus side, I managed to go 622 km (386 miles) before running out of gas, on that tank

[Instrument Panel Light Replacement]

So I asked about the low fuel light possibly not working a while back...

I now know for sure that it doesn't work (I ran out of gas, somewhat intentionally, and it did NOT come on at any point).

Is it possible to replace the bulb? And is there some sort of test function for the cluster to light up all the lights? My friend's BMW has that, and it made it easy to see which lights were not functional. I am just wondering because it would be nice to rule out a sensor problem... Is it more trouble than it's worth to try to fix this?


Another light that doesn't work is my seatbelt light. I didn't even know it had one until I was looking at pictures of the instrument clusters of similar year Pathfinders for sale on craigslist.
Is there a way to fix that bulb? Or could that be a sensor issue of some sort?


The second one doesn't bother me, but I am kinda OCD about having everything working even if it isn't actually that useful to me.

[Glass Vs Plastic Headlights Who Has What]

My 99 has plastic. They seem in near new condition which leads me to believe they must have been replaced not too long ago. Maybe the originals were glass?! I guess this doesn't really help does it...

From the pictures in your build thread (it looks to be in beautiful shape btw, nice find!), your Pathy is a 1999.5 facelifted model. I'm pretty sure all the facelift ones came with plastic. Maybe they've recently been refinished?

[Time for new wheels and tires]

A 256/70/15 will fit, even with an aftermarket trailer hitch receiver; a 31" might not with my set up, it would be very close. If I get bored, I'll try a test fit for you...

If you ever get the chance to do that, let me know! Not knowing for sure if it fits in the spare tire spot is the only thing stopping me from pulling the trigger on a set of 31's. Looks a lot more mean than the factory size, and there's a much better selection of tires.

I suppose it does help that I don't have a hitch, but I was considering getting one.