lewisnc100

Drain and fill, just do it more often. And $75 to remove a drain plug and drain and refill 5qts is a little much. Not sure about the 2001+ pathfinders, but my 97 drains about 4qts out of the total 9qts.

#1 - Check the valve covers, mine need to be tightened up every year or so or they loosen up and leak. Also the passenger cam seals leak by the 1st timing belt change on most pathfinders, did they replace them during the change? #4 - That bottom piece (radiator lower shroud) is one of the first parts to take off for a timing belt change, you remove that and then lift the radiator out of the engine to provide room. It's held on by a couple of clips that are difficult to reach and release, could have damaged one taking that shroud off for the timing belt change.

If you have 4WD you have 1 grease fitting on the front driveshaft. Otherwise there are none.

I think you can get close with one of the GM locknut sockets but you have to bend/grind it to fit. I ordered a OTC7698 socket that fits: http://www.handsontools.com/store/list_pro...product_number= There was a CTA socket that was cheaper that fit but every place I checked was out. You can also look for a pin spanner that will fit on a torque wrench.

That should be enough bearing grease, but remember you are doing 4 bearings, not 2. 2 inner and 2 outer bearings. Also a bearing packer makes the job easier and look for a locknut socket to get the torque right on the locknut.

Most codes don't trigger the light immediately, they have to occur a certain number of times before the CEL is lit to prevent one time errors so you probably do have something to deal with. This is one of the reasons you don't see the CEL back on right away when you clear it, not because the problem has gone away, but because the error and drive cycles need to occur enough times to light the CEL again. Only two causes for the P0335 error code, either its the harness or connectors or a bad crankshaft position sensor.

Or you can just get a one day subscription to nissantechinfo.com for $19.95 and download the whole service manual if you have a fast connection.

You have an inner seal on each of the hubs, I'd recommend getting those at the dealer, about $10 each. I got 2 from an auto parts store and they don't have a lip so they don't seat right, had to replace one. Other than that there is an o-ring on the driveflange and an o-ring for the dust cap but mine were fine, didn't replace them. You might also consider the new baffle plates. Nissan came out with replacement baffle plates for the Pathfinder that have a grease seal on them so you don't need to attach a grease seal on the back of the hubs. There was a problem with noise from those inner seals and this was a redesign to fix the problem.

On my 97 it came with a grease fitting on the driveshaft, no plug. What seal kit are you asking about?

You have 1 lubrication point on the front drive shaft about 4 inches or so in front of the transfer case. It will be easier to switch to manual hubs while doing a bearing repack since you'll have to remove the dust cap and driveflanges, they can be a pain to get off the first time. If you don't do it now you'll have to remove them again later. You might also want to look into getting the right size bearing locknut socket to help seat the bearings.

In the 96-97 years the following models had LSD: XE 4x4 with Sport Pkg LE 4x4 SE 4x4 with Off Road Pkg Another way you can tell is by the ID marks stamped in white paint on the top of the rear differential. The ID mark will start with 2 letters, this table defines them: CR 48:11 4.363 CT 48:11 4.363 LSD CV 51:11 4.636 CX 51:11 4.636 LSD

I quoted the timing belt job at two dealers, it included the timing belt, tensioner, thermostat, radiator hoses, water pump, cam seals, crank seal and new belts. Both quotes were around $1000. I ended up ordering the parts for around $250 and will do the work in the next couple of weeks.

I wouldn't run high octane for the knock sensor error if it is P0325, that error code really has nothing to do with pinging so there is no reason to raise the octane. If you really want to test your knock sensor you can follow the wire coming out from under the intake manifold to the sub-harness connector. Disconnect the sub-harness connector and measure resistance between pin #5 and engine ground, should be 500-620k ohms at 77degreesF. I've tested mine and it is fine, never had any pinging and it will never trigger the check engine light so I've stopped worrying about that code.

That figures, pretty common on our years. Before you decide to replace the canister try to see if you can remove the 2 bolts holding the vent control valve on. The problem is the bolts are attached to inserts in the plastic canister that usually just turn with the bolts so you're stuck. Maybe you'll get lucky. If you can remove the bolts and only change the valve it's much cheaper, but like I said most likely it will be the canister too. Also hit the small bolts holding the canister on with penetrating oil a couple of times before loosening, mine were really rusted on. The cheapest prices I could find were at everythingnissan.com, the canister (149501S718) was $59.87 and the valve (1493554U04) was $24.19. Hopefully the parts are the same for your 98.

What codes are you getting? I just replaced my canister and vent control valve this weekend. The codes were P0440 EVAP Small Leak and P0446 Vent Control Valve. The vent control valve is a very common problem on your Pathfinder and unfortunately usually requires the valve and the canister to be replaced at the same time.

Don't worry about the knock sensor error code if you are not getting pinging, it fires on your year pathy pretty much constantly but it will not trigger the check engine light like other codes. I get the P0325 error every time I check my codes on 87 octane and have never had pinging. Just fix your other EVAP codes and your check engine light will stay off.

When you go back just spell out for them that the wheel needs to be mounted via the lugs and not the center hole. Check out this page on the Hunter balancer, it appears to have some checks that are trying to force the wheel to be centered via the center hole. Also on their page where they list mounting methods the only adapters shown are cones that center via the hole and not the lugs. But who knows, maybe they do have the right lug adapter but I'd want to see them mount it myself. http://128.242.141.111/pub/technical/4442T/4442T.cfm I don't know about the driveshaft, the TSB on that lists the vibration as more of a 30-40mph vibration whereas the balance issues have normally been 60-70mph. I've had the same issues with my 97 over time, and I have manual hubs so my front shaft is not spinning and it had no affect on the shimmy.

Did they verify the front propeller shaft alignment, any chance you have something out of balance there? Also when they used the Hunter balancer they have different adapters, did they use one that mounts via the lugs and not the center? I think I already know the answers to these questions since you've been working on this for a while, sounds like you've already been through every TSB out there. This would be a pain in the rear, but any chance you could try out another set of wheels/tires on your rig?

Have they checked the steering rack sliding force, that was the second part of the shimmy TSB for the 96-99 Pathfinders.

Have you been to a Nissan dealer, only place that I know that uses the flange plate adapter to balance the wheels as required. Without that I'm not sure if you can get a true balance. What model is your 97? Recent thread: http://npora.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtop...hl=flange+plate

Check your front to rear tires for differences in PSI and tread, this is a common cause of problems from 4H back to 2H.

Warn has their catalog online on their website, I'd go there to verify the part#. If I remember right that price sounds pretty good. If you've never worked on your hubs before I'd give it 2-3 hours, if you've worked on your hubs before I'd give it about 1-1.5 hours. Just make sure to use a torque wrench and get that snap ring installed correctly at the end. Very easy install. To get the part# click on My Vehicle in the link: http://www.warn.com/truck/hubs/premium_hubs.shtml

Those steps are missing one of the most important parts, properly seating the bearings and setting the preload. I'd recommend ordering the right locknut socket to seat the bearings, I have the OTC7698 socket, but I think the CTA4170 fits as well and is cheaper. You can also buy one of the 4 prong GM locknut sockets and grind it to work. When you reinstall the hub you torque the bearing locknut socket down to 58-72 Ft-Lbs, then turn the hub to seat the bearings. Others just use a screwdriver or punch to tighten the locknut but I can't see how they could get it to the proper torque without the socket. To set the final preload you tighten the locknut down to 4.3 - 13 INCH/lbs, about the same as turning off a faucet. Turn the hub, release pressure and torque again to 4.3 - 13 inch/lbs. The lock washer will then require the locknut to be turned 15-30 degrees either direction to line up the locking screws. This will make a lot more sense once you get in there.

You can download the owner's manual and print it for free from www.nissantechinfo.com. If you want the FSM you can get a one day subscription and download everything from there also for pretty cheap.

This thread might help: http://www.4x4parts.com/ubbthreads/showfla...rev=#Post122578