bamashooter

Update: Though my timing belt replacement turned into a disaster, I stand corrected regarding that little coolant "burp" valve. I must have spent well over an hour trying to get the air out of the cooling system. And that was with the front elevated on a set of ramp. It would just boil (not overheated boiling) and boil. Looked like a green volcano. Kept adding coolant, etc. Finally, I removed that little white plastic screw. Within 5-10 minutes, the air was finally gone. I now love that little turd. Don't understand why the normal way wasn't getting it done but that's how it worked out. I have googled til the cows come home, anyone have source for that plastic bolt/screw or a brass equivalent? Thanks.

Sorry for the delay. Thanks.

Great. Thanks my friend. Took a large animal syringe, minus needle, filled in with very warmed (thinned) goop and filled the voids. Wiped excess from side gaps. We are currently having tornadoes in my area. What's next?

Thanks. I'm still very much the rookie on Nissans et al. I find multiple configurations of the VG30 to include different style housings of both the oil and water pumps. I also spt the seal theory for that terrible fitment. I see no sense in it being a dowl such as you might find on trannies and such. I did put a dab of red goop on the rear section where it would meet the bottom of the water pump gasket. Reckon we'll soon see any negatives. Regarding the water pump gasket. The FSM barely mentions removal / installation of the gasket. Nothing on "stick'um". My Haynes emphasizes goop on both sides. I assume that's nothing more than an opinion. I used a very light coat of Gasgacinch on the pump side of the gasket and nothing on the engine side. Thanks again.

Why are these pics gigantic? The file sizes are tiny. Copy / paste url from Imgur. Thanks.

Title pretty much says it all. One on each side of housing. Hard steel pin housed in hard rubber? coating. Can find nothing about them. Hope they're not critical. Was thinking either guidance installation pins, dowels, none of the above. Didn't look and can't find pics of any related holes in front of block. Thanks.

Thought I was getting close to completion. Craziest thing. Keep having coolant leakage issue. Get everything dry, etc. 2-3 days pass and all is dry. The next morning there is coolant on oil pump housing and other locations on engine front. With a mechanic's mirror, I hopefully discovered the leak source as being a messed up water pump gasket, primarily on the bottom. Removed pump and discovered the gasket was arguable the worst-condition gasket I have ever seen. Not knowing the history, last night I ordered a Gates (China) pump and gasket. I trust Gates. Additionally, I feel confident now that little "knick" on the bottom of the oil pump housing is indeed the crank timing mark. Watching yet another Nissan video, the poster happen to mention the timing mark is approx 10mm to the right of bottom, right-most casting "thing", I measured and it was precisely 10mm. Marked it. Noticed a dot of coolant on the upper hose "burp" valve". I personally find that thing to be worthless. Removed, siliconed the threads and finished doing same to the head of it. No reason with the front elevated that it won't bleed the air when changing coolant. Pump should be here in a week or so (Amazon).

Thanks guys. BTW, I see 2 guides mentioned to include in diagrams but upon disassembly, mine had only the one between the gear and oil seal. So basically from the rear it's guide / crank timing gear / guide, remainder.

Background: Changing timing belt, tensioner, front oil seal. Took close to 10 man hours with a heavy equipment mechanic buddy of mine doing most of the attempted removal of the sprocket. Beating the dog crap out of pick forks, crowbars, etc. Budged enough to get a claw-style pulled on it. Perhaps another 1/64" moved with it. I finally took an air chisel to it and after about 10 minutes it cracked / popped free. Between the sprocket and oil seal is a large-diameter shim / washer, etc piece of metal. Believe the common nomenclature for it is "crankshaft timing plate". Haven't found it's role but I'm thinking it's for keeping the timing belt away from the oil pump housing. Not a guide in the traditional sense. It got beat to hell and back during the process. I tapped it and squeezed it in a large vise between two 1x4s. Perhaps useable in an emergency. Two questions: I purchased a Dayco sprocket from Auto Zone online. Never could find what I thought was the proper "shim" online. Went to the local Nissan dealership. Two things. No mechanic had any experience or knew zilch regarding the VG30 V6. Amazing. The parts kid managed to order a 2-pack of the shims. Received and as all others I found online, these are the same diameter, however, they are slightly dish / cupped on one side. Slotted for key. Fairly certain the factory shim was not however it appears to have been machined with a slight recess on one side. The more I compare the more similarity I see between the 2. Convex side out toward radiator. Any comments on the shim? The sprocket: The teeth on the factory sprocket are deep. The new sprocket shallow. Both the new / old belts fit perfectly in each sprocket. The only difference I see is an empty space beneath the belt lugs on the older, deeper sprocket. My friend tells me that space is for cooling the belt. No idea if that's true. I have yet to see a photo of a new, deep sprocket. Everything I see online is the shallow style for the VG-series. Comments? I am considering having the sprocket drilled and tapped for 6mm bolts to use with a simple puller should the need arise. I have now pretty much polished the front end of the crank shaft. Yesterday morning was 1 degree and got up to 9*. It's current a balmy 12 here in north-central Alabama. Rolling blackouts. Not a bunch of fun. By this coming Friday it shows pushing 70. Crazy. Third: Replacing lower radiator hose. I find nowhere online the small section which connects to the thermostat housing. None. Mine "seems" ok after a good cleaning and drowned in silicone. Thinking perhaps I could buy a short straight hose and cut-off a short length? Fourth: (Evidently I can't count) I mostly see the cam shaft timing marks configured at an angle which would form a V-shape ultimately. I found one pic/reference where the guy swore up and down (my words) that the 2 cam sprocket dots should align vertically with their corresponding rear cover marks. I also read where the more accurate method is to count belt teeth from passenger-side mark (sprocket?) to driver-side mark. Followed by the counted teeth from driver-side mark to crank mark. I have no sign of a dot, line, nothing to align the crank sprocket dot to the oil pump housing. Guaranteed not there. I had read days ago another method on the crank Thanks guys and have a safe, Merry Christmas.

Background: Changing timing belt, tensioner, front oil seal. Took close to 10 man hours with a heavy equipment mechanic buddy of mine doing most of the attempted removal of the sprocket. Beating the dog crap out of pick forks, crowbars, etc. Budged enough to get a claw-style pulled on it. Perhaps another 1/64" moved with it. I finally took an air chisel to it and after about 10 minutes it cracked / popped free. Between the sprocket and oil seal is a large-diameter shim / washer, etc piece of metal. Believe the common nomenclature for it is "crankshaft timing plate". Haven't found it's role but I'm thinking it's for keeping the timing belt away from the oil pump housing. Not a guide in the traditional sense. It got beat to hell and back during the process. I tapped it and squeezed it in a large vise between two 1x4s. Perhaps useable in an emergency. Two questions: I purchased a Dayco sprocket from Auto Zone online. Never could find what I thought was the proper "shim" online. Went to the local Nissan dealership. Two things. No mechanic had any experience or knew zilch regarding the VG30 V6. Amazing. The parts kid managed to order a 2-pack of the shims. Received and as all others I found online, these are the same diameter, however, they are slightly dish / cupped on one side. Slotted for key. Fairly certain the factory shim was not however it appears to have been machined with a slight recess on one side. The more I compare the more similarity I see between the 2. Convex side out toward radiator. Any comments on the shim? The sprocket: The teeth on the factory sprocket are deep. The new sprocket shallow. Both the new / old belts fit perfectly in each sprocket. The only difference I see is an empty space beneath the belt lugs on the older, deeper sprocket. My friend tells me that space is for cooling the belt. No idea if that's true. I have yet to see a photo of a new, deep sprocket. Everything I see online is the shallow style for the VG-series. Comments? I am considering having the sprocket drilled and tapped for 6mm bolts to use with a simple puller should the need arise. I have now pretty much polished the front end of the crank shaft. Yesterday morning was 1 degree and got up to 9*. It's current a balmy 12 here in north-central Alabama. Rolling blackouts. Not a bunch of fun. By this coming Friday it shows pushing 70. Crazy. Third: Replacing lower radiator hose. I find nowhere online the small section which connects to the thermostat housing. None. Mine "seems" ok after a good cleaning and drowned in silicone. Thinking perhaps I could buy a short straight hose and cut-off a short length? Thanks guys and have a safe, Merry Christmas.

I believe that's true. All the computer stuff is now dead to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps the distributor now operates at full advance. The instructions for the Redline pressure regulator speak to ignition timing and spark. It state the Nissan 4/6 cylinders (of that era) are based on the crank position sensor. It goes on to state no dizzy swap is required and further states this conversion should work well on 8 BTDC as compared to the factory 12 of mine. I'll try to find that thread. Thanks buddy. Eastern Washington? I spent a lot of time at Yakima when stationed at Ft. Lewis. Liked it.

Finally got around to messing around a little with the weber. The carb mounts atop two adapters, Hard to tell with a spray if all mating surfaces had vacuum leaks, only 1, etc. Sprayed all around with water and RPM's went crazy. The base, trapezoid-shaped plate attaches to the manifold with 4 flush-mounted bolts. All were loose to the point of being rotated with the tip of my finger. Each was heavily coated with anti-seize. Insane. Cleaned all surfaces and replaced the gaskets with rubber/cork. I stuck each surface with Gasgacinch. I did the carb to adapter with red Permatex. Let each get slightly tacky and tightened Did one layer at a time. Evidently I stopped the leaks. Had a terrible squealing noise somewhere which could only be heard with the hood open. Several guys looked, listened, etc. Could never pinpoint the source to include removing belts, pulleys, all that. The high-pitched screech was evidently part of the vacuum leak. Must have impacted the brakes as well. After replacing all rear brake parts and bleeding entire system, it had that deal wear first thing in the morning, it would have that brake growl. As soon as I was on the road, no more growl when braking. Now, no more growl. Also seems to have smoother, consistent shifting. Better but still needs attention. Idle was all over the place prior to and smelly. I swapped from 55s to 50s (idle jets) to lean it out a bit. It's much better. Had a little, random dieseling in the beginning but not now. I did purchase an anti-dieseling solenoid as a last resort. Not knowing this vehicle at all or most mechanical stuff for that matter, not sure if I can simply rotate the dizzy to change timing. Have found very little info on converting this motor to carb. Very, very drivable but I want more (lol).

If you prefer to go the photo-hosting route, I use Imgur and really like it. Reliable and simple. I wrote a tutorial ages ago for Imgur on a PC. A small change or 2 since then but should be obvious. If using Windows, I recommend downloading and installing this little piece of software to resize your photo unless you already use something else. This one is very simple. https://www.bricelam.net/ImageResizer/ Some photos don't require resizing and some do. Hate it when someone posts a pic the size of Texas. You can resize in most hosting services but this is a handy tool for all photos that you use for other purposes other than forums. Once installed, you can right click on any photo and going down a bit in the drop down menu, left click on "resize pictures". This opens a resize window. Select the first radio button which is the small size recommended for forums. Don't worry, it won't be real small. In the method I'm showing you, it will use your same file name with the additional (small) added to it. Now you have the original and the new small pic. ///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// I would suggest using a hosting service such as Imgur. Sign up to it and then proceed. Within any photo hosting service your personal settings will include things such as who you give access to your pics, etc. Might want to take care of your preferences once you upload a pic or two. Go to and open imgur.com. Log in to Imgur. Click your Imgur name in upper right. Select [Images]. Left click "Add images". A new window will appear. Left click "browse your computer". In the new window showing your files, go find the pic, select it and click open at bottom right corner of window or simply double-click the file / image. In a matter of seconds the new photo will appear. To the right of the new photo is a column of options. See attached photo. Go down to the choice titled BBCode (message boards & forums) See included photo at bottom. To the right of that particular option, left click on "Copy". Come back to this forum and open a text window. Say what you have to say. Hit return once or twice. Right click and in the drop down menu, click paste. Finish up with selecting Submit Reply. Very easy. If you use another tool for resizing, it's best to use the size 854x480 pixels.

Thanks. GTG here too.

Thanks. Can this be squared away please? This server could not prove that it is www.nissanpathfinders.net; its security certificate expired 2 days ago.

Engine bay is reasonably clean and a bit lean. The prior owner converted it to a Weber 38/38. Blew me a way because years back I converted my 89 Trooper to a weber. The Pathfinder replaced the Trooper after I gave it up to a friend of mine. I don't believe the carb has had any meaningful adjustment. Runs super but cold idle is finicky and warmed idle can be too low or just right. Acts like a vacuum leak but have yet to find one. I'll dick with it in cooler weather. Just a passing thought about a crazy mod. Chop it from the B-pillar rearward, install a couple of ribs and go with a canvas / "soft" top shell. I'm also considering a simple, custom instrument panel with simple numerous gauges. I have a "white" numbers cluster I pulled from a 93 but not sure if I want the hassle of re-plugging connectors to adapt 87 - 93. Lots of other ideas. Here's the ol' Trooper to which I did much. 2008: Trooper "upgrade" commences. lol

LoL. More stuff. Warn hubs, new shocks replaced factory originals, Fender extensions which were costly and evidently got ripped-off in the process (live and learn).

Couldn't locate generic admin topic area. I prefer the forum Dark Theme. However, characters entered into the small search window are nearly invisible.

Thanks. Sure hope so. Other than the high-speed (cold) / fully-warmed idle issues which is not a show stopper by any means, the vehicle runs great. I sold my old Harley recently which will bankroll my needs, within reason. Really looking forward to the changes and upgrades. Couple of interior shots. Cargo area looks brand new.

Curious. Whose 27-spline manual hubs came on the 87 Pathfinder? Have googled til my my finger bleed. Though the search would be simple. Figured either Aisin or its predecessor, ASCO. Will likely be installing a set of Premiums soon. Fairly proud of them these days compared to past sets. Oh well. Everything is costly these days.

Pretty much the same for me. Got the "lesser" manual for a better working-level reference source. Put the new tires and wheels on 2 days ago. I'll mess with the carb and other stuff as temps eventually cool down. Really impressed with the V6.

Thanks. Yep, basic 3-speed a/t. Seems very good. Currently have the new tires and wheels be mated and balanced. Pick them up in a day or two. On my 89 Trooper, I converted it myself to a Weber 32/36. Had zero knowledge of carbs other than having put a kit in a chainsaw, 2-cycle, etc before. I googled forever and a day trying to get the Weber right. It did fine but had a dieseling issue. Ultimately, I hooked up with Bud Pauge. He ran / runs Weber /Redline USA. What a fantastic and knowledgeable guy. Aside from suit and tie, he races sports cars, 4x4 enthusiast, the whole deal. I still have all the emails where he helped me set up that carb. We absolutely nailed it with a jet change, resetting float, needle, etc. Of course I had no idea what I was doing but I am pretty good at following instructions. Did it all in my living room. Waited for him to eventually tell me to pound sand but it never happened. Keep in mind this is a very busy individual. Wil be forever grateful to that man. Ultimately, I posted a decent tutorial of the conversion process in a couple of Isuzu forums. I have a factory manual which I hate to say, is the biggest pos I have ever used. Even the little Haynes manual is more useful. I probably in for the long haul. Regarding pics, I use Imgur for hosting. I just thought there was a tiny size limit for posting pics. I'll post one and see if it's allowed. Thanks again. That worked.

Greetings. Tried multiple times (months ago) to join the forum. Could never receive confirmation email and no replies from "contact us". Figured it was a server deal somewhere in the world. Retired from federal govt. Purchased '87 Pathfinder several months ago. Not exactly what I was looking for to replace my '89 Trooper but I'm good with it now. Has an A/T which I'm slowly accepting. Aside from a very cracked dash and broken speedo, it's very clean. Runs great though it needs some TLC. I'm slowly repairing, replacing, etc this and that. The previous owner converted to a Weber 38/38. I'm ok with that though it has an idle issue with both high-speed and fully warm. I believe the air/fuel screws are a good starting point. As stated however, it runs perfectly when on the road. Acts like a vacuum leak but I find none above the block. Just ordered some "funky" (cheap) 31x10.50R15 M/T and very basic (GM-style) 7" silver wheels to replace those tiny 5.5s. Probably be adding manual hubs soon. Other than the height difference, per Google, the dimensions are very close to my '89 4-door Trooper. That really surprised me. Seems much smaller. Had other pics to share but it appears to be a 150kB limit per post. Anyhow, glad to be here.