oldpathfinder

Found the no start problem. The starter IS bad. Just not consistently bad. Finally got it to act up. Being replaced. Never failed to start first time every time until in the shop. Go figure. Found the 3rd gear problem. Seal failure. So all is well in the land of oldpathfinder. for the time being. Thanks to all who helped.

yes, he has already checked all of the above. It starts fine if you bypass.

yes, the solenoids were changed and just double checked. No change

Hope someone can help. after 250K miles, everything is going. 97 pathfinder SE 4WD has new radiator, steering bushings and repair the leak that ate the bushings, transaxle, boots, brake pedal and cruise control plastic thingys, timing belt, water pump, main engine seal, rotor and coil, tune up, brakes, tires, shocks,distributor cap and headlights. I'm sure I've forgotten something. All repairs were done by good mechanics, except the distributor work which was redone by a good mechanic. On road trip in ice and snow, the car was getting 10 mpg when normal is 20+. Did not realize I had lost OD until 3rd gear went. Car would rev up but not gain speed above 40. Eventually it went down to 25 mph but made it to tranny shop. Low transmission fluid. No contamination in fluid. Rebuild transmission. There were damaged clutches. Experienced mechanic put it back together, took it for test drive and it was doing the same thing. Said in all the ones (this model nissan transmission) he's done this has never happened. Took it back to shop. Now it won't start. Nothing. No click. He tried disconnect the battery, no go. Any suggestions?

Thanks to you all. You were right about the bushings right down to the oil leak that caused it. Unfortunately the leak was in an expensive place. Since they have to pull everything off the front of the engine to get to it, may as well do the timing belt and get a warranty on it and a new water pump, etc, Labor is the same whether they replace the parts or not. sigh. I really, I mean really, love my Pathfinder. grin

I had the oil changed at a meineke I had never used before. They failed to correctly diagnose the faulty coil and charged me $400 to change the gasket below the coil and rotor. One week later it died on the interstate during the hurricane evacuation. aaargh. Then had another shop repair it. Would not be surprised that the oil filter wasn't in tight enough. It is also leaking oil when it had not before. Thanks for the info.

Thank you all. Have new mechanic with ecellent reputation looking at it Wednesday morning. Will tell him about the steering rack bushings. Can't believer THREE people came up with that when most people say "it does what?!!" I think the other mechanic's mindset was it is too old to put money into.

Hi everyone. I hope someone can help. My 97 pathfinder SE has developed a wandering steering wheel. Turn left and it may stop anywhere from 90 degrees to 10 degrees off center. Turn right and it does it on the other side. Normal small curves move it a little. I can make it turn nearly 360 degrees with the engine on and not move the tires if it's sitting still. It steers normally if I ignore the position of the wheel and just steer. I recently (within the last month) had new tires, a new tie rod end and front end alignment and assorted other parts replaced that are just wearing out. Took it to a mechanic who says he isn't sure what is the actual cause. The gear box is leaking fluid. He says there is play everywhere in the steering column and the suspension is toast. $4-5K to repair and not worth it. My repair manual says there is an adjustment screw for the steering wheel. It does feel like only the wheel itself is affected. Could a loose adjustment screw let it slip like that? There is a drawing in the manual showing the location, but I can't figure out if the view is from under the dash, under the car, or wherever. I know it's old and wear is like car cancer. I would like to save my car. It did the first 250K miles relatively problem free, needing regular maintenance, an alternator, water pump when the serpentine belt was done, and shocks .In the last 1K, the cruise control and brake light controls on the brake pedal had to be replaced, the coil and rotor failed and the seal below them disintegrated.the radiator has started to leak. For the first time there is oil under the car. Any suggestions?