Alkorahil

Very true, thats outrageous!

The harmonic balancer is $288 MSRP and $2 for a new key, so nearly half that $600 is the part. I have seen many 3.3L balancers from up north that need to be replaced after about 10 years because of rust issues causing them to seperate. 2-3 hours labor time at about $100 an hour it adds up fast..... I agree, for that kind of $$ if you have any mechanical experience do it yourself! And PB blaster will be your new friend! I always have a can around.

I have to agree 100% I also have thought many times...seems there is a correlation between when they started seriously adding ethanol in all gas and the increase in vehicles failing emissions test because of catalytic converters failing. The number that are replaced are significantly higher than say about 10 years ago when the push started. Ask any parts guy who has been around for awhile. Or maybe they just dont make them like they used to....

rotating yourself...excellent idea Nunya!

The 55-60 part is the perfect classical symptom of a wheel out of balance. You get major wobble at those speeds that goes away after 60/65 mph. You state that it was balanced and checked. Have you gotten a second opinion on this? I would add that many places will try to balance a wheel even though it is bent slightly or warped, meaning that they get it as close as they can and send you on your merry way. Also, if the wheel is not mounted correctly on the tire machine before they spin test it, it will give you incorrect readings for weights to balance the wheel, and when they put the weights on it will then read correctly even though it is wrong. Take the wheel off the machine after this, put it back on and you get a whole different set of readings.

Nice.... no ethanol....nice wish we could find some around here. Everyhwere has it now, probably because this is a big city.

The dash lights all on at once mean the alternator is goign out. The dash warning lights going on and off are exactly what mine did when it went out. The lights all onat once mean the alternator is not charging correctly. Mine too when it went out would come on at idle and go off at 60-70 mph. I got a few more days out of it this way. Eventually the whole alternator crapped out and they were on constantly as the vehicle ran off the battery till it too died and that was it. I really think this is where the problem is despite the other symptoms. Your vehicle uses the battery to start the motor then draws power being supplied by the alternator. The regulator built into the alternator governs how much power is put into the electrical system based on the load of the electrical system. It the alternator goes out your vehicle will still run as it will then draw power from the battery till the battery is dead. With a dead alternator you should be able to go about 20 minutes with power from only the battery assuming a full charge on the battery. The fact that your vehicle did start up doesnt totally surprise me. Ever use a cordless drill, run the battery down and then let it sit for a few minutes then use it again for a few seconds when it was dead before? Your vehicle battery will do the same, it will 'recover' some power from sitting. When you have a battery problem in these vehicles the sure sign that there is no power being supplied to the system is the clock on the instrument cluster is not on. It requires the least amount of power to operate.

Ditto

The 'tower thing' is the AAC regulator. I dont see this go out much, I do see the AAC on the VG30 though. Try this: Unplug the AAC. (not the regulator) You can reach back behind the back of the manifolod and unplug it. Id recommend doing this when the vehicle is not hot. You can eyeball the connector by looking from the driver side fender. When you start the engine as soon as the engine 'catches' and starts, floor the accelorator. This makes the ECU bypass the AAC. IF the idle evens out at around 750 RPM then you probably have a bad AAC. As mentioned above the AAC can/will go out with age. The AAC has a butterfly valve inside and I would suspect it is probably corroded so it will not close/open and is also why it wont adjust on the idle adjustment screw.

That is a very ugly looking timing belt!!

Thanks Dowser!

I dont know what the scientific term is but the fluid pressure increases when you push the pedal and return to normal when youlet it off returning the caliper piston to 'rest'

Not 100% sure but I cant see the spark plugs being different sizes. I can not think of a single srock Nissan spark plug I have seen that is a different size from the others.

I guess to summerize what everyone has said..... A long time ago, back in the day, once upon a time in the world of car dealerships..... The front bumper fog lights for the WD21 Pathfinder, as well as the D21 Hardbody Truck and Maxima were supplied by Nissan as an add on accessory kit. (just like roof racks, grille guards and step rails were for the WD21) Many dealers installed them on vehicles upon delivery to dress them up, etc. Fun fact: AC systems were this way too prior to 1982. Lights should only work in the low bean position on the light stalk on the steering column. There should be a fuse near the positive battery terminal. It will be either a buss fuse or a blade fuse Near the wiper motor on the firewall on the passenger side there should be a black relay box with 5 wires going to the bottom of the relay. It more than likely says Bosch on the top of it. I suspect you are dealing with a blown fuse. Check that first. Next check the relay. If the connections for the harness are corroded or it makes noise when you shake it, it is bad. Both the fuse and the relay are inexpensive and available at any parts store. Fuse $1 or less, relay about $15 If none of these work, check the switch for the lights and the wiring to make sure it is all hooked up. IIRC green is the ground, black the continuous power from the relay to the lamps. (yes thats correct, counter intuitive but correct) purple the lead to the low beam harness at the right headlamp, yellow is to the switch. black was also power from the relay to the positive terminal.

Yep Im thinking bearings too.

cleaned the AC evaporator. Slight but noticible difference in the AC temp now.

Lets see if I can explain this in a way that makes sense. I wasnt there but from what I understood happend in this case based on his description the brakes lost fluid so the pistons had no fluid holding/sucking them in so they opened up and the pads drug on the rotor. The piston on the caliper connects to the pads and push the pads out to make contact with the rotors when braking. when you release the pedal the reverse happens, the pressure is relieved from the pistons and they return to their normal positon. With no fluid they hang and teh brake pads drags. Hope that makes sense.

Hi Kyle, Does it wonder up and down at start or stay at the same place? Does it go to a normal (750+/- rpm) idle after it idles for awhile or driving it for awhile? Does it only do this when it is cold start or everytime? Does turning on the AC or turning the steering wheel bring the idle up or down?

I echo Silverton here on all the above points, he is correct. I would add that one other feature is that you can automatically shift it into power mode by double tapping the accelerator pedal twice quickly, real nice when merging onto the highway or changing lanes quickly and you need the power. (again read your owners manual!)

Most rebuilders are not liek they used to be back in the day, more and more rebuilders are simply replacing the failed component on a starter/distributor/alternator and then cleaning the remaining components. some are not even using quality components when they replace them.

Agreed! either way I would replace the brake fluid too, it probably got very very hot from your incident and you have to remove the brake line anyways to replace it so you will loose more fluid, of course make sure to bleed the brake the system real good and dont get any brake fluid on your paint.

Now you know in future the indication of an alternator going out on your dash lights. Its good you have all summer to work out any little kinks and quirks before winter.

I perfer Haynes over Chilton as a quick reference but as stated here, nothing like the FSM.