JeffsR50

Still waiting for my cut valve, but .. warm weather and errands yesterday gave me hard start again but I really think Im getting there. 1st start - a-ok. drive to the store, come back out, open the cap to release pressure, (not much there). Then I crank it, (no start). Also notice a "glug-glug" noise associated with the fuel pump priming. Open the cap again? "whoooosh". Prime the pump a few times until the "glug-glug" stops- she starts right up again. has to be intake pressure getting to the fuel tank and causing havoc?. cant wait to see this little plastic angel solve my crap.

its in front of the rear axle, sorta hidden up on top of a little plate shelf between the canister and the fuel tank. Since finding the issue with the valve, Ive been releasing the pressure at the tank by removing the cap before and after driving, and have not had a hard start. sometimes the 'whoosh' pressure release does seem excessive. Ill be ordering the valve tonight.. Ill report back after install in a few days.

Thats friggin COOl man. shes coming along beautifully

ok, new news about my 97. Found that the vacuum cut valve between the fuel tank and the evap canister is flowing both ways. (apparently not preventing manifold vacuum from reaching the gas tank.) -interestingly I went to the junkyard and they had 2 r50s (both with the vacuum cut valves leaking just like mine). Perhaps a typical fail on these? Yep looks like a new part on order for me. 57$ online vs 150$ at the stealership.

Thanks Pat! yep its been a headscratcher - I appreciate everyones help Merry Christmas! ...AND A HAPPY 4 WHEELING NEW YEAR

So, since cleaning the clogged coolant res line last weekend, no starting fluid required! Im thinking that the coolant could not expand nor contract as designed + was doing both through wherever the weakest point in the system was. (maybe into a cylinder, somewhere in the intake?) She sure seems to be in a better mood lately. If I can ditch the starting fluid that would sure be a great xmas present.

Huge find yesterday. I noticed while hot that the top rad hose looked way too 'poofed out' - I could tell the sys was under too much pressure, well, then I realized after some checking that the hose from the rad cap to the coolant reservior was clogged tight with some weird fibrous material. - cleared the clog and then could see a few bubbles in the res, but then they stopped. Wow Ill tell you that coolant was under so much pressure Im pretty sure that would cause some HG issues. But! no more bubbles and running fine. probably been that way since I bought it.

Finally! Was able to get the Rad and thermostat installed. Saved some cash by ordering the manual tranny rad as opposed to the auto. 58$ vs 120+-$ teardown to get to the thermostat was basically the ac belt and pulley assembly - easy peasy. Did have to start the engine to get the collant to flow out the top screw on the intake and purge the air out of the coolant. ...seems ok! Driven her to work the past few days and started first crank each time. (knocking wood). Also temp has not risen above halfway- just like normal. Still want to do the block or compression test but it would seem that the thermostat was the culprit.

perhaps the head gasket had blown prior, (and the only symptom was with the hard starts), although I doubt that that would have caused the 'no heat' at the heater just prior to the fail. ? I suppose if the water pump took a dump that could have caused this.. (no heat at heater followed by overheat and burst). My plan - new radiator, new thermostat. + power flush. (if I start her up and it turns out to be the water pump, I can do that teardown/install with the radiator in place) then compression test / or exhaust/ coolant test.

yep either way it sucks balls. fix- yeah its a manual trans. I figured on doing the water pump, once the rad was out. ..then I read about the timing belt removal requirement to get to the thing- the sticker on the hood says the timing belt was replaced 30k miles ago. hoping think they did the water pump too,....do I risk doing just the thermostat and radiator?: - then a power flush at the local lube joint. ? - the only reason I might even consider this is the fact that the thing runs very well once we're on the road. Idle is a purr. throttle response is good, and she has never had her heat go beyond the halfway point (ever) before yesterdays fiasco. ...also? there is really no sign of any oil leakage from either of the heads - I climbed underneath before I bought her and was stunned at how dry her belly was. nevertheless, a compression test may be in order, and I will check those heater lines.

Not good man. I figure the cap was faulty - (It should have blown?)

so, Im assuming that becuase my first symptom was no heat at the vents, that my thermostat went south. ...But! can a stuck closed thermostat cause a radiator to explode? Ill plan on a new water pump and thermostat with the new radiator install, ...I sure hope this isnt a head gasket.

Damn...ok its been cold here and as a result I have had very few starting issues -shes run well, but ...this am was very cold, she started right up (groaned a bit) ...warmed up , drove her a few miles, realized I had no heat from the heater although I had temp in the eng...no sooner than that my temp skyrocketed, pulled her over just in time for the top of the radiator to explode right off. DOH. (Ill post pics when I can) Ill be towing her today and looking at installing a new cooling system. *&^%$

Ok, been so busy I havent had a chance to post for a few weeks, but.... Hard warm starts are baaaaack. yep... lame. this issue is becoming a bit like herpes. cold start in am - fires right up. drive for a few, turn it off, wont start without starting fluid. - BUT! - I did find out some good info last night - I had prev thought that the crankshaft position sensor was related to spark when it came to the pcm -.and had eliminated that as the problem since she has spark.. turns out? If the crankshaft sensor isnt sending a signal to the pcm while cranking? - it shuts down the fuel pump. ding! now this sounds just like whats happening to me. ..now just a matter of getting my orangatan forearm up into that mini-squeezy gap to get that damn thing out. may just have to hire a skinny armed mechanic to do this one.

yup....looking very badass. great job!

http://www.engineperformancechip.com/nissan-nissan-pathfinder-c-29_643/plugchip-obdii-plug-in-chip-p-105 this is interesting....curious to see what kind of difference it would make....

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/11442-how-to-replace-evap-canister-and-valves/ this helped me out alot on this issue. FYI - my purge valve? I took mine apart - gave it some wd40 moved it around to get all the little crusties out, blew out the lines (this was the pain for me- took 3 or 4 trips back and forth blowing from under the hood to under the tail). finally you should feel it blow through.. .re- installed both valves (also gave the one at the box some wd) - and my evap codes havent come back. - also I will say that mine really seemed to enjoy the seafoam treatment after the black dust in the intake from this canister burst issue. good luck!

yep I really only got the p0325 when other stuff was going on...some injector cleaner maybe?

Yep you called it.

yep I think the combination of the FPR hose being off the intake, along with the open throttle plate due to the fast idle cam was just enough extra air to keep her from firing. (and apparently the extra fuel given for cold start was enough to make up the difference) explaining the cold/ warm start difference. sooo stoked to have this figured out finally- finally feel like I can do some primping -carpet shampoo, etc.

thanks again guys! pleased to report that she started every time I turned the key this afternoon. (no popping the hood required). I must admit that I don't think I would have found this without actually sticking my hand back there to feel the hoses. ..couldn't believe it when I realized.. pushed it on...started on like the 4th crank. then she was good 4 times off and on for errands... definitely hot soaked...and in a much better mood. Ill be putting some miles on tomorrow. sure hope this does it... I think were good to go.

ok, on break today i went and was pinching vacuum hoses, looking at the intake- and doh! found that the left side tiny vacuum hose at the back of the manifold was off! holy moly..Im fairly sure I connected that before ...but now that its back on she seems to want to start easier. duh. I sure hope that thing has been off this whole time and causing this demon. ...Ill report back after errands tonight. (crossing fingers)

sure appreciate your help, .. ok again she started right up this am, get to work today, crank and crank no start. I unplugged the MAF, tried to start - no luck. unplugged the TPS (both clips?) - again, no love. seems more and more like some kind of fuel pressure/ vapor lock thing. When I seafomed the intake, it had some time where it started on each try...I figure the seafoam itself was acting as starting fluid while there was still some in the intake. EVAP vapor pressure sensor or still maybe injectors? ...dunno. I will remove the pressure sensor when I can (have to pull the canister again to get to it) and try to test it with the ohmeter and some sucking and blowing. ptooey I did find a used one for 25$ online