Kittamaru

Alright then... I'm starting to put together a maintenance journal in Excel with all the maintenance a pathfinder needs to have done to it listed. My idea atm is to have it use two numbers from your truck to work things out: Odometer Reading and Date The idea is that I will have things listed with a mileage point (every X miles) and a date point (every X months/years/Weeks/whatever) and have the information listed in a hidden spreadsheet. A primary page (the working page) will have a spot to enter your current Odometer reading and keep track of the current date. Upon first opening the document, you will insert the last mileage/date (to the best of your memory) at which the service was performed. Then, the document will, on the primary page, list any services that need done, need to be done soon, or are overdue. All good and well, except... well... I don't KNOW everything that needs done to these trucks yet I know a fair bit, but hell, I'm still young and new to all this If anyone would like to contribute information to this project, please feel free to do so - once the spreadsheet is done, I'll host it and put a link here for download - if anything is missed, feel free to chime in and let me know

Earl, take a moment and ask yourself something: What do you want to DO with that truck? A Pathfinder is, and always will be, an Off Road machine. It's meant for it. It lives and breaths it. Take it away from that, and it'll be sad. Quite literally. Be careful how much "pretty" work you put into it if you plan to off-road - those high-dollar stereos and paint jobs and light covers and other things are nice... but one dip in a puddle or a stray branch and that's hundreds of dollars down the drain. If you want it to be a mall crawler, don't lift it - you cut your fuel economy and if you dont' plan to wheel, that just doesn't make sense I'm doing some major restoration myself (though I don't have a father around to help me (lazy bastard left) and I'm not as mechanically inclined) and I'm honestly daunted by the task I have ahead of me. You're doing my work times ten... and I hope you can follow through. Not doubting you, but it is a LOT to do, especially if you have limited resources / space. I'm doing most of it in a garage barely bigger than the truck itself with two dogs, poor lighting, and a cobbled together toolset - maybe that's part of my problem Either way, good luck Just make sure you keep a clear goal in sight for what you want the truck for, and then go for it!

@!*%... looks like this is what I need to do to fix my death wobble... great, lol. Should be fun, especially for someone like me with, at best, no real welding skills and a meager Propane/Oxygen welding torch.

I'll never so much as TOUCH Bosch plugs... they have a tendency to fall apart in the socket...

Just out of curiosity - how difficult is something like this to get right? I mean, my biggest fear is doing this and all of a sudden I get into the truck and *crack* my leg goes thru the repair job... heh

UPDATE: Work Completed: Oil Pressure Sending Unit 2x Oil Change (to flush @!*% out) Cleaning Buttefly Valve/Intake Manifold Air Filter Cleaning Air Box Cleaning Charcoal Canister Replacement Fuel Filter Replacement Work In Progress: Remove old exhaust shielding (which is falling apart) Work To Be Done (short term): Drain, Flush, and Refill coolant Drain and Fill Tranny Fluid Install External Tranny Cooler Determine why fog lights are not working Repair Fog Lamps Replace broken sway-bar anchor Replace O2 Sensor Repair Rear Defroster Screen Work to be done (long term): Replace CV Boots with higher grade ones Determine why the hell my right front wheel will not align right (3 shops and it's STILL wearing the tire lopsided... I fear the A-Arms are bent) Replace Exhaust System (from the headers back) -Includes new cat + muffler, high flow Fix Exhaust Leak (broken studs) Replace Valve Cover Gasket (leaks) replace/repair damage to IFS system (A-arms specifically) Check PCV Valve Tests to be done: Test MAF sensor Test/replace Relays Whew... a fair bit done, and a lot left to go! But I'm slowly starting to feel like I'm making progress!!! Question - the original heat shielding on the exhaust... it's asbestos isn't it... lol... EDIT - I went back out and started her, let her idle till she warmed up and noticed a lot of white smoke... no sweet smell, so I'm assuming I'm burning oil somewhere... great... lol...

Well, good news is that she started. Oiled her up, new filter and oil and all that jazz. The sending unit seems to be working fine (light went out once the system re-pressurized). Engine is running smooth (if not a little noisy). Still running rich... or maybe it's just because I had the garage door shut, dunno. Anyway, I have to put her back together and move to the other side of our garage ASAP (read, tomorrow), and then tear her apart again. Would it be helpful to put the truck up on 1 foot high ramps in the rear and jack the front up to allow me to work under her?

So I got an Oil Sensor Socket, and pulled the old one out... and the new one will not go in. Old one threads back in fine. I took it back figuring it was the wrong size, and they showed me something that mortified me... The goddamned threads are damaged, and they think someone over-torqued it... only one person ever replaced that sensor, and I swear to god he's NEVER touching my truck again! So, I have a dilemma - do I re-tap the threads and risk having metal shavings on the inside of the oil system, or do I simply force the new one in, damaging it's own threads? Ugh... this SUCKS. EDIT - so, I managed to get it in... I don't know if it's in RIGHT or even in the entire way... but fskc it it's in and it seems to be sealed so it's fine for now. Once other more pressing things are taken care of, I'll have someone look at it. Unless one of ya'll wants to come check it for yourselves I still say it's the wrong item... it looks different from the one I took out - longer threads, thinner "base", and I swear the threads are slightly closer together... but meh, whatever.

Don't PM Magregor again He's already doing a set for me complete with pictures on how to remove the body. Once he has it done I'll host it and/or repost it here for sticky and move to the How To's Tops to ya Magregor!

In that case, I advise you to check/replace the Fuel, Air, and Oil filters (plus the oil itself) asap - probably full of dirt and dust. If possible, remove the airbox and clean it as well (be careful, there is a pad inside that shouldn't get wet and is held in by two bendable braces, be VERY gentle). I reckon a good cleaning inside and out is in order

I'm pretty much in the same boat here - lost a front stud getting the wheel off. I plan to replace all mine once I have the chance... though I don't have a press... or snap-ring pliars... or anything really... lol...

Oh snap, really? I'd love you LONG time if you told me how to do a rebuild! This is the second time in under a year I've had this happen... I think it's the shops fault since the truck isn't lifted at all and the angle LOOKS fine to me!

I think on the pathy it's a trigger switch - I've noticed on mine it only does it when either I hit the gas REAL quick, or when I push it down to the floor rather quickly. I know it has something to do with how fast (not how far) you push the pedel. Does your Power light come on on the tranny auto/power selector when you kick it?

Possible burning from hot exhaust gasses - check under the carpets for scorch marks and check your exhaust tubing for blown gaskets and leaks.

I'll have to take a close look at the wiring - I'd swear I saw exposed silver, but that wouldn't make sense would it? Anyway, I can't do jack till wednesday (my next day off) and thursday (my second day off) so yay two days off in a row... BTW - how difficult is it to replace a wheel? One of my studs broke (I swear someone welded my lug nut to the stud) and I know driving on 5 is fine in the short term but it makes me nervous...

Mate, you'd be better off getting a Sentra or Maxima if you want something for fuel economy and comfort Even the Altima is a good cruiser... real comfy to drive in, especially with the butter-smooth CVT system. God I want one for my DD

Wish we had one near us... lol. That is what I call customer service - going the extra mile

Ah, so it has a special socket then? Maybe that's why I was hving issues finding one that fit (here I thought it was just my twit father had lost his sockets while drunk or something)

What kind of performance gains do these things actually offer to our older trucks? I've been tempted to get one for my '90 if/when I get to the engine rebuild and/or VG33E swap (depending on which I go with)... are these really worth it?

Aighty, so I'm staring at this damn thing... and two questions dawn on me: A) How do I remove it. I dont' want to damage the wires or anything, and it's so covered in @!*% that I can't really tell what's what. I plan to clean it before I remove it, but where exactly does it disconnect? I don't really see anything that looks like a connector 0o' 2) Do I have to drain the oil first? I'm assuming yes, but just wanted to double check.

Aighty, doing some digging online, I'm seeing that AutoZone has lifetime warranties on their CV joints - would they be decent quality? How difficult (from 1-10) is it to replace the CV Joints?

Yeah, I get my schedule for each week the saturday before... having one day to plan doesn't give me much to work with, lol

damn, see if you can snag parts from that - I'd kill for the CV joints at this point, lol. (assuming it's compatible with a '90 of course)

Oh, the truck is up on jack stands in my garage I'm driving a Jeep GCL atm, lol. Update: I got the front wheels off in prep for checking the wheel bearings, brakes, and all that... drivers side CV Boot is ripped (again)... I don't know why as the thing is NOT lifted at all... but both UCA's are shimmed to hell and back (at least 4 shims in each). Also broke a wheel stud on the drivers side... damn thing was fused solid, even tried an impact air hammer and no dice. I finally had to use a breaker bar and snap the stud itself off... not what I wanted to do at all. I'm going to take pictures tomorrow as an update. I have some rust spots in the wheel well area to take care of. Want to see what ya'll make of the UCA setup... I think it looks wrong, but I'm no mechanic. For the CV Boot - what is the chance that I can just replace the boot and go about my business? It's probably been ripped all winter... so I'm guessing the CV Joint is going to go south soon isn't it... ugh. I'd like to go back to the shop that replaced it and beat their ass... I still haven't done transmission or coolant... was looking to do the oil pressure sending unit, but I'm not entirely sure what to take off, everthing is so thickly coated in oil. Going to have to find a way to clean it off... I see bare wire in there too (silver wire?) that's clean... kinda odd. I have the new sensor, just haven't gotten to doing it yet. The truck runs a little... odd... atm. Makes some odd noises, I'm hoping because of the crap in the cylinders (from checking/regapping the plugs and the carb cleaner) and the @!*% in the oil. Going to do the oil change as I do the sending unit. Hopefully I have another full day off next week... won't know till I get my schedule tomorrow... god I hate working retail sometimes...

So the truck IS safe to drive with only one clamp then? And thanks for the tip on the plug - I have pretty poor lighting atm so I'll try my best (primary torch burnt out, doh)