dvd7000

On most of the water pump / timing belt kits that I see for sale, there are 3 Camshaft and 1 crankshaft seals included. I see the 2 camshaft gears with the timing marks on the left and right hand side of the engine, so 2 of the seals would go behind those gears. Where does the 3rd camshaft seal go? I have a 1994 SE Pathfinder V6 4WD VG30E engine.

I'm still debating what to do with my '94 Pathy. I'm pretty sure that I can get to the point of exposing the timing belt, and water pump. But is there a good "how to" video somewhere that shows how to change the 3 seals? I'm really scared of removing the gear sprockets and possibly screwing up the timing. And I understand that getting the crankshaft pulley off can be difficult as well. The more i read and watch about this procedure, the less confident I become. Many of the videos I've watched seem to have conflicting information on what should and shouldn't need to be removed to get access to these parts. If I start this project, I really need to know ahead of time that I can successfully complete it. Sure, I could have a dealer do it, but the total cost would probably equal or exceed the vehicle's book value. If the interior and exterior weren't in such nice condition, I'd just scrap the thing.

Thanks for the info. I will get rid of the muffler shell. BTW, the only parts that I ever replaced on this in the last 22 years were the starter, and the belts and hoses (probably around the 50k mark.) Everything else is original (including the brakes!) I don't ride them like some people. The battery is a new one from Costco. Only about a year old. I'm going to test the alternator next time I start it and see if it's putting out enough juice. I've heard that the diodes can go bad. Gotta find that parasitic draw somehow. It's really a pain to have to keep the battery on a trickle charger all the time. Had no idea that the steering stops could be adjusted to help the turning radius. Will have to look into that at some point too.

Yes, I'll have to make that decision soon. The Pathy has served me well these past 22 years. The only thing that I don't like about it is the terrible turning radius. If I can solve the parasitic draw problem, then perhaps I'll buy a kit for the timing belt/water pump/seals and ask my mechanic brother to give me a hand with it. I'd probably be able to do it myself, but it would take much longer because I don't have an air gun, or the harmonic thingamajig, plus taking the cams off to replace the seals, and getting the timing belt on correctly lined up and tensioned scares me. I'll keep studying the how to videos on YouTube and reading the service manual.

Here is a recent picture:

I have a 1994 Pathfinder SE V6 with 80k miles. I am the original owner. I've been thinking about attempting the timing belt / water pump / seals / thermostat replacement for a while now. I'm sure that there are either bad seals, or a bad water pump as there is coolant leaking from the weep hole. Not a lot, but I can see a few drops on the garage floor every time I move it in or out. The vehicle is still in overall excellent cosmetic and running condition. But it does have a few other problems. The driver side power window motor is broke (Nissan replaced the motor about 15 years ago, but it broke again!) There's a parasitic draw somewhere, so I have to leave a battery tender attached or it goes dead after a week or so. The remote door locks won't lock from the key, and sometimes when the doors are locked and I try to unlock them with the key, the door locks want to stay down in the locked position. And finally, the muffler's outer wrapping is hanging (I have it wired up with a coat hanger to hold it on) and will need replacing soon, although there's no increase in noise levels as yet. Problem is, the book value of it is so low now, that I'm wondering if doing all this work is justified. I suppose that I could try to sell it with all these issues, but I doubt that I'd get very much. And even if I fix all the problems, it's still not going to be worth a heck of a lot more. One more thing. The instrument cluster conked out at 77k. I replaced it myself with a junkyard one for $40, but the odometer on that one read 127k. It now reads 130k, but there's actually only 80k on the vehicle. FWIW, I saved the old cluster, and have the receipt from the junkyard. The only argument for keeping it, is that I built a custom roof rack for my paddle boat, and that's the only way I can transport the boat to various ponds and lakes in my area. I just inherited a 2007 Toyota RAV4 from my nephew who moved to CA. It's got 100k on it, but has new plugs, coil packs, and front and rear brake pads and rotors, and runs great! So I really don't need the Pathfinder any longer (except maybe for the paddle boat). What would you do???