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jp4036

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Everything posted by jp4036

  1. Thanks again everyone. With the coolant and evap leaks fixed, overheating seems to be less of a dramatic problem. Pushing it hard on a super hot day still made the gauge want to tick up slightly, but overall it definitely feels like it can handle these uphills much better. Thanks for the tip on an easy bleeding too - that'll help as well. Turning overdrive off didn't fix the aggressive downshifting - I guess it wasn't making it all the way up to that gear. But letting the transmission do what it wants to do seems to be pretty manageable. When it downshifts, it will hit 3.5k rpm and accelerate for about 5 or 10 seconds to get the speed back up, before shifting back up again. Without having to worry about overheating, this actually feels fine and is much more fun to drive. Thanks for the help!
  2. Thanks so much for your thoughts! I did have a small coolant leak in the thermo element of the throttle body. That seems to be a relatively common issue. Not sure if that would be a big enough deal to cause overheating under heavy load -- I wasn't losing much coolant -- but perhaps it impacted the pressure in the system. I've replaced the oring and sealed everything with RTV. (Great how-to here: https://www.clubxterra.org/threads/thermo-element-idle-sensor-rebuild.38432/). Would have replaced the whole thermo element, but that part is shockingly expensive. Hopefully that will solve the coolant issue. The fluid itself is still very new, as is the water pump and thermostat. Regarding the low power frustration -- I'm glad to hear that this is probably just a result of the engine being underpowered and the transmission being frustrating. Next time I'll try turning off overdrive and just being willing to run at a higher rpm for more power. Maybe that will also help the fan run a bit faster, and higher speed will help airflow over the radiator as well. I'll post an update and let y'all know how it goes!
  3. Hi everyone - First time posting, but thanks to everyone on this forum. Reading through existing threads has been immensely helpful in diagnosing other issues! I wanted to see if anyone had any ideas about an issue I am having with my 2000 LE Pathfinder (VG3.3). It's relatively new to me, but has about 200k miles on it. The issue is this: when going uphill, the truck seems to really struggle and have low power. It feels like no matter how hard I press the gas, I can't get the engine above 2-2.5k rpm in that particular gear (I think it's 4th, but it might be 3rd). This keeps me stuck 10mph below traffic -- depending on the grade, this means I'm stuck around 30 mph or, for steeper hills, 10-20 mph. However, when I lean into the gas pedal even harder, it downshifts and the rpms jump from the 2-2.5 all the way to to 3.5-4k. Then I get acceleration again, but I get nervous revving the engine that high for sustained periods of time and with a sudden and aggressive shift like that. It's also been worth noting that if I sustain the uphill like this, the temperature gauge might start to creep up, forcing me to pull over and wait for things to cool down. (I'm not completely sure whether this is related or not, because it's been super hot lately - this is happening with 100 degree ambient temperatures). Granted, I'm talking about mountain driving in Colorado - so there's altitude on top of the grade and heat. But it still feels like something is wrong and the cars driving behind me are pretty frustrated too. It accelerates fine on flatter ground, and I don't have a problem getting up to highway speeds during normal driving. I've replaced the spark plugs and wires, fuel filter, air filter, cleaned the MAF and throttle body. I've also replaced all the fluids and the transmission filter. Just had the timing belt, water pump, and knock sensor replaced. I do have an EVAP leak which I am planning on fixing, but I doubt that's the issue. I took it to a mechanic recently, who could not find any vacuum leaks. They also tested the fuel pressure and said it was in spec. Not getting any engine codes other than the evap leak. The mechanic took it up a small hill nearby, but it wasn't sustained enough to recreate the issue. They said it felt like it accelerated fine for a 3.3l engine with 200k miles on it. Also worth noting it's got a 2in lift, and heavy 32in tires with steel rims. Running manual hubs unlocked. Any ideas? Is this normal for the vg33, or are there other ideas on how to tackle this issue? Thanks again!
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