mikeysentra

I just ordered the air lift 1000 helper springs for my 97 pathy. Has anyone ever installed these? I tow my Miata to various autocrosses in the northwest and I am sick of the truck riding on the bumb stops and am not ready for a lift or other springs as its not in the budget. anybody have any experience with these? with trailer and the miata I am pulling about 3300 lbs, evenly distributed and it is disgusting how the rear sags with any bit of weight on it. Is there anything I need to watch for with any towing? I have the factory trans cooler and the pathy has about 150,000 miles on it. it has never gone over 30k miles on trans flush and filters, and the front and rear diff are recently drained and filled with redline and the t-case has redline trans fluid. what else should I do for extended tows? It may see a trip to Omaha Nebraska for SCCA SOLO Nationals in september and I want things to be reliable. Thanks and any info would be helpful.

Well it does look like I am one lucky SOB. I parked the Motorcycle this week and wanted to drive the pathy to see if any other damage was done. I had the oil changed at work on monday and while they had it on the lift, I pulled both diff fill plugs and t-case plug to check for any water contamination. I figured if there was water contamination that the fluids would be milky. All are clean with no signs of water intrusion. the engine oil came out un-contaminated also. I went a head and had the oil changed again today just as a precaution, and after about 150 more miles, still clean. also I did notice that the pathy runs better since. it has a really really smooth idle and better pick up on throttle tip in. also my fuel mileage is up to about 16 MPG now. I think when the water came in to the engine that it cleaned some carbon out of the combustion chambers. Also the air box in the fender well has like 3 hole sawed holes in it that sucked up the water. had it not been for those I dont think I would have had the issue at all. so before I head back up to the cabin I will have a new resonator box installed.

I am going to do an oil change this morning and then another when I get about 100 miles on it.

Well I made a boobo. a buddy and I were on our way up to his cabin last night to do some fishing, and we had to cross about a 10 foot stream. it was only about 2 feet deep so I figured I would be safe to cross. well I guess those holes that I holesawed into the resonator box to get more air to the airbox were a bad idea. we made it about 3/4 of the way out then the engine died. it would try to crank but wouldent. I knew I hydro locked it. well we are about 3 miles from the nearest farm, with a phone to call for help, as our cells were out of range. we got a ride into town got a hotel called a friend that brought a trailer and diesel P/U out to pull us back out of the water. well we decided to pull the plugs and crank her over. WOW there was a whole lot of water that came out. we put the plugs back in and it started right up. I got really lucky as my pathy drove just as good as it did before, for the 70+ miles home. other than some slightly damp carpet I cant find anything wrong with it. So for anyone thinking about cutting holes in there resonator box in the LF fender well, I wouldent do it if you plan on wheeling it. On that note does anyone have a resonator box laying around that they want to sell? Courtesy wants 135.00 for it. Just thought I would share my little story

thry this. This site is where I get all of my replacement factory Like parts for my 97 R50. I did the front 2 O2 sensors for about 330. I bought the parts and then had the dealer install them. I used denso's and they so far have worked great. I am going on 10,000 miles now with them W/O Problem. also if you spend more than 50.00 its free shipping and it normally takes about 2-3 days to get them. I have been useing AUTOHAUSAZ.com for several years now and rate them well. I even did the leg work for you and the link is to the O2 sensor listings for an 02 R50. http://catalog.autohausaz.com/autohausaz/d...Oxygen%20Sensor

I am just following what the previous owners maintnance practices. I have all reciepts from the local dealer here for everything done to my rig. Everything was always done on a 30,000 mile schedual. so I am going to stick with that. + changing them more often is cheaper insurance. I also tend to pull about 4,000 lbs distances of about 400 miles round trip about once a month in the summer, so I am a bit harder on equipment than most.

I am at 140,000 and going strong. Orignal Trans, engine, diffs, ect.... All maintnace done on time or early. Oil changed every 2500-3000 miles, trans flushed and filtered every 30,000 along with all 4x4 related fluid changes Every 30,000. I also go a little beyond and flush the brakes about once a year and flush the power steering fluid every 30,000 also. I have complete trust in my pathy and It wouldent bother me to go across country with it. I believe as long as you keep up on the maintnace you will get 250,000 + before anything MAJOR goes out on a Pathfinder.

I just had my right front axel replaced yesterday at the dealership where I work. We are a Chevrolet dealer but will work on any employees rigs. Anyway I paid 34 dollars for a remanufactured axle, and 66 dollars for labor to have it installed as I dont have the time to do it myself for a total of 100 and some change. I think I did varry well, and if you have a parts warehouse close by where you live that supplies parts to mainly dealers to check them out as retail on it was just 55.00. just shareing a little info.

Why cant somone just make the clear lenses for the 96-99 pathys?

A buddy of mine installed a set in his 94 Camry that has the same style lens as our pathys. They work great and they dont blind the other drivers. I have driven past him at night and they dont bother me anymore than regular lights. But they offer great visibility and look cool too. I am not really into the cool part as much as getting the most lighting as possible.

I am thinking about buying these today. Any thoughts? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAP...rksid=p3907.m32

Sounds just like the blower motor resistor. I had one go south in my sentra and it had the same symptoms you described.

Sounds pretty normal to me also. I have a 97 XE with 31's and about 138,000. i was concerned about it when I got mine last april but after about 13,000 miles and a full tranny flush and filter its still there and hasent changed so I have rendered it normal and it hasent left me yet. just my .02

I ended up needing only 5 quarts of gear oil to fill the diffs. also ran into somthing interesting. The T-case was full of gear oil instead of ATF. So while I had the pathy on the lift I filled the t-case with ATF and ran it in 4 wheel on the lift for 10 min to flush the t-case then drained it and filled again with ATF. all seems to be good. I was wondering if it was a cover up for some noise or somthing, but it looks like it was just a mistake. anyone think somthing was damaged by the wrong fluids being put in the t-case?

I would say thats a deal, I got my 97 XE for $6,500 In april of 07 with 125,000 on the ticker, but It was also a 1 owner, always garaged, never wrecked or damaged and has every service reciept from the selling dealer and even the window sticker from new. As for what to look for on a really high milage pathy, Bushings shocks and struts, t-belt, auto trans, ect.... Unless it comes with a good service history I dont think I would be brave enough to attempt purchase. just my .02.

Correct, they will work on your 03, as long as you have the manual and not auto 4 wheel drive you can have the manual hubs. just dont try to shift it with the hubs unlocked or you will get some bad noises fron the T-Case. I have the Warn hubs on my 97 and unlocked get about 2 MPG better than with the stock hubs and when locked. it just really sucks now that we have had about 7 inches of snow on the ground cause I have been useing 4 Hi for about a week and a half and beetween the cold temps and the 4 wheel been averaging about 12 MPG. but partly my fault for having fun in the slippery conditions. LOL

I am fine with 75-90 as after I talked to several techs at the Chevrolet dealership where I work, and Redline directly, I am assured that there will be no damaging effects. In fact the rear diff oil that is in it is 75-90 as that is what one of our lead tech put in it when he changed it last year, and I have had no issues with the rear end after about 15,000 miles. I only had him change the rear diff fluid before as I had just bought it and wanted to see the condition of the fluid. It was really clean so I didnt change the other fluids in the 4x4 system. but now I want to change them all as per the full service history that I have, in keeping with the intervals that have been done in the past. One of the really nice things about my particular pathy is I have every maintnance record from the origanal selling dealer and owner for all sevices and work that has been done. everything was done on schedual or a little early all its life. and thats one of the reasons I think that buying this one owner 125,000 mile pathy was a great purchase and why I paid a little on the high side for it. I also only run redline lubricants in the diffs, t-case, power steering and such because it has a better heat tollerance and lubricity than other oils.

I am going to be doing a 4x4 service on my 97 pathy this weekend. I know the t-case takes about 2.5 quarts of dextron III ATF but what is the capacities of the front and rear diff's? I am going to put redline 75-90 in the diffs and the new dextron 6 synthetic ATF in the T-case. but at around 10.00 a quart I dont want to buy too much. I know the book calls for 80-90 and dex 3 but after talking to redline I am fine by going to these viscosities. also the redline has the LSD additive in it all ready so I wont have to mees around with additive. TIA Mikeysentra

Wow that is unusual. are you sure they arent posotive camber \ /? Anyway you should be able to get most of the camber out of it with camber bolts, I think some that I have seen for our pathys are good for 0-2.5 degrees of adjustment.

1. I would have a friend or spose get in the car with the front jacked and secured on jack stands and have the person in the car turn the wheels lock to lock and listen for anything that sounds like rough or grinding bearings, also you can grab a hold of the spring and try to move the strut around. it there is play at the top of the strut assembly replace the top hat of the struts with new factory stuff as the aftermarket top hats are of poor quality. it you dont hear of feel andthing loose in the strut top hat, start looking for loose balljoints and tierod ends. it nothing there check the swaybar endlinks. 2. The rear O2's just tell the computer that the cats are working. they have no control of air fuel ratio. 3. The cap is the distibutor car and rotor. the rotor spins with the engine and sends spark to the cap and the car sends spark to the spark plugs. the PCV Valve is the posotive crankcase vent valve and is located in the valve cover. What year pathy do you have? if it has a 3.5 it wont have a cap or rotor as it has coil on plug ignition. as for a good place to buy the parts I would go to autohauseaz.com and order them or go to the dealer and get them.

1. It sounds like bad upper bearings on the strut mounts to me. I would start looking there. 2. I had the same problem with my 97 pathy and I used CRC maf cleaner and sprayed the maf senser really good, but it was still there. I replaced the front 2 O2 sensors and it went away completely. 3. I would really doubt that the TPS sensor is bad. 4. if its a 3.3 the coolant sensor is located on the top front of the engine in the Aluminiun water pipe just behind the upper timing belt cover. just rember the one you want to change is the rear of the 2 sensors that are locater there the front one is the guage sensor. I just replaced mine and it was really easy to do. also picked up another MPG and it runs allot smoother. the guage has a seaperate sensor than the one that the computer reads, and if your guage is reading in the middle when fully warm than I wouldent replace it. I would replace the O2 sensors, coolant sensor to the PCM and do a complete tune up, Plugs, wires, cap, rotor, fuel filter, PCV valve ect... I bet that after the tune up and sensors you will be running like new. But thats just my .02. Mikeysentra

Mine is a 97 XE in rainforest green pearl according to the touch up. And it dose get dirty from time to time. pic taken when I first got it. now has 31's black Cragar soft 8's and a yakima roof basket.

I tried manny different O2 sensor sockets and none of them would fit down on to the Hex portion of the sensor because they were to thick. I called snapon and he said there was a special socket for This application and he didnt have one. So I just took it to the dealer and had it done.

www.Autohausaz.com, they also have free shipping on purchases over $50.00, and fast shipping. I placed my order last sunday evening and recieved my parts tuesday via standard UPS ground.

Well after replacing the Front O2 Sensors and the Coolant temp sensor the Pathy is Smoother, the hesitation is gone, its got a little bit better power and most importantly gas mileage has gone from dismal low teens to 16.5. I think that it was money well spent and if you have older O2 Sensors and coolant sensors you should replace them and reap the benefits. BTW it took a apecial socket that I couldent find to get the Sensors out of the exhaust manifolds so It ended up costing me $145.00 at the dealership to have them instaled. Its the best $145.00 car wash I have had and it was well worth the 300 for the sensors instaled.