magicmk

Well, I got around to doing the valve body swap on my '02 this weekend. I regret to say that for my situation, this did nothing to improve the shifting behavior, although from a cold start it seems to require less time to get to temperature to where it shifts normally. I don't want to dissuade anyone else from taking a shot with this solution, because it still may work for them, but for my Pathfinder, this did not solve my issue, unfortunately. I should add that I went the route of taking a bigger gamble on a remanufactured valve body for about $300 rather than a salvage unit, just to eliminate the possibility of unknown condition and issues.

So glad I found this thread. My 2002 R50 4x4 LE started exhibiting this same behavior several months ago, it usually is fine after a couple minutes of driving, but it's slowly getting worse and worse. It is definitely even more worse on very cold mornings. Transmission has 184k miles on it and I was about to start making calls for rebuild estimates, and then decide whether to keep my Pathy or get rid of it. (I'd prefer to keep it a little longer, the 3.5 still runs solid and the car market still really sucks for buyers right now.) I think I'm going to try this first, if I can locate a good valve body.

Yes, the tool I have is called a Sunex 10202 Spindle Nut Wrench, seems to be a common choice for this job amongst us DIY'ers. I think I grabbed mine from Amazon. I didn't find it to be perfect, especially when it came to torqueing everything back together, but it's inexpensive and does the job. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Yeah, those hubs are lots of fun. Hopefully you have the tool you need for removing the spindle nut. I bought the Jeep-compatible adapter, I found it to be pretty flimsy because of its length but it did the job. The hardest part for me was removing the little retaining ring that sits on top of the spindle nut with two little Phillips head screws. An impact screwdriver saves a ton of aggravation if you have one. Good luck! Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I did this on my Pathfinder about a year ago when I did the power valve screws. That hidden one at the bottom of the one bracket is a real bear to deal with. I think I used an offset closed end wrench to remove and install that particular bolt. It takes a lot of turning and a lot of patience. I can't remember if I removed anything else to help get to it, I don't think I did, at least nothing that helped or made a difference. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

I've been averaging about 14-15. It's a 60/40 split of freeway and surface streets (respectively) and pretty level terrain. Seems like it should be a little better, even though the engine is at around 175k and it runs fantastic. I once was getting about 17-18, BUT.... that was under a stock setup. Also, my speedo was reading about 3mph fast, that impacts the odometer as well. So, I've upgraded the suspension to MD OME springs, and went up a size on the replacement tires. According to my GPS my speedometer is just about spot on, definitely no more off than 1/2mph. So maybe I've only been getting 14 or 15mpg all along. Still seems like a substantial difference though. I live in Cali but where I'm at it's not at all high altitude, so that shouldn't really have much negative impact on my fuel economy. I was just sharing my fuel mileage concerns/ideas with a friend very recently, so naturally, I'm very, very interested in what what others have to share on this regarding their own R50's. Great topic.

Man, I am sorry I do not get onto these forums near enough. Just moved to SoCal 2 months ago and life has been crazy. Had some free time to wrench on my 02 yesterday, installed new trailing arms (minus one that I rounded a nut on) and replaced a leaky O-ring on one of the camshaft position sensors. She's at almost 170k miles now and runs like a beast, I drive her to work everyday. Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

Oh my god, that is PERFECT!!!! Thank you so much. The short 4 inch hose just to the left of that bracket is what I broke trying to remove it, so I could see if I could free the lower plenum. I don't know if removing it was even necessary. It looks like it's part of some oil return line or something? Anyway, it's a formed and hardened rubber piece, I found a reinforced hose of similar size at the auto parts store that I cut to fit. Ended up just bypassing the swirl valve screws, did the power valve screws and got it all back together. Regarding that bracket, I did find that top screw and removed it, but I never found the other two, even hunting around with a small mechanic's mirror and a light. That photo is a tremendous help... I wish I'd seen it before hand. Thank you again!

Hi everyone, So I figured today (beginning of Labor Day weekend) would be a great time to do the power valve screws on my '02 R50. I read through and followed the DIY that is posted on the How To forum. As with most projects on an old vehicle like this, I've hit a snag. The "How To" says to removes the manifold with the power valves for applying the loctite for the power valve screws - then also advocates doing the same for the swirl valves. I found out after the fact that this not as critical so much as the power valves are, but since I went ahead and ordered a new gasket, I thought I'd go ahead and install it, and also take the time the clean things up a little. Also, most of the hoses are anywhere from fragilely brittle and cracking, to crumbling apart, depending on the type of rubber. I've split and broken one trying to remove it from a line behind the manifold, so now I'm past a point of no return where I need to remove the whole thing to replace the damaged hose. Seems to be 2 long bolts and two 12mm nuts that hold the lower manifold in place. They came off fine. The lower manifold wiggles in place but something in the back is preventing it from coming off, as if there's another bolt in place. I read on the how to there is a "hidden" 12mm bolt that needs to come off but even using light and a mirror I cannot see this thing, so I'm stuck with a disassembled intake outdoors in my driveway that I can't reassemble now because of a freaking broken hose I have to repair first. Does anyone have an idea on what I need to look for to get this thing removed? I unbolted a bracket on the rear of the manifold (more toward the passenger side) but it made no difference. I used a couple of pry bars (not a great idea, but I'm out of options) just in case it was being stubborn or stuck. No luck. Any sort of diagram would help. Photo is better, but if I can't see what I'm trying to find by using a mirror and crawling all over the top of the engine, I can understand if a photo is impossible. Really frustrated. Everything was going by the book and nice and smooth till I got stuck at this point. Thanks for any help anyone can lend. Have a safe Labor Day weekend!