Kittamaru

Yeah, it was a rock climber pathy... strange looking beast it was! Only recognized it as a pathy because of the decal on the back that read PATHFINDER XD Tires looked something like these: Here's a picture from this site of all places, of the kind of twist that scares me How much modding do I need for my stock truck to do this? XD BTW - that second picture, that is NOT the truck I saw... just that I liked the twist and movement ont he suspension.

See, here's my question: Why would high-intensity roadway driving be any worse than high-stakes offroad driving? I've seen pathy's with 53 inch tires and 21 inches of suspension travel literally torshin their frame into a pretzle, only to have it rebound when they come off the boulder they're sitting on! It's bleeding fantastic!

I don't take them recklessly fast, but I keep my speed up for the very reason you mentioned. If I were to slow down, and let my wheels ride into the potholes, I'd probably wind up loosing said wheels. I'm talking potholes deep enough to bottom out an Altima. She actually seems to enjoy it... as far as trucks can enjoy things *shrugs*

See, I only shift into 4x4 on the fly if I start to skid out around a real bad turn in snow or rain after it hasn't rained for a while. It's at low speed, and I just do it to pull my front end around. Beyond that, I attempt to stop before shifting into or out of even 4WDH Also, I'm looking at getting a finned or ribbed transmission fluid pan. I hear they disperse heat a LOT better. Can someone recommend a good parts store? Good quality and decent prices?

My father is really good with vehicles (he's a master electrician, carpenter, metalworker, ect... he did building and equipment restoration for years) and he's helped me look over the truck. The frame is solid all around, no questions there. There is limited rust on the body, but all in all it's mostly cosmetic. The gas tank isn't leaking, but a few layers have been eaten thru. Same with my muffler. I am planning on replacing ALL the weather stripping. The 1990 Pathy manual (and a lot of people I've talked to) states that shift on the fly is okay at low speeds, and it should auto-disengage. It used to do that, but a few years of hard use in 4wd (Blizzard of 96 anyone?) probably did a little damage. Fluid levels are something I'm going to have to check, definately. I do NOT have a lift of any sort, though... all I have is the tire change jack and two 2 foot high ramps... The old undercoating is... well, mostly gone at this point. 17 years thru the grit, salt, chemicals, and cinders of northern PA have worn it away. I'm going to be using a chemical sealant and then the rubberized undercoat. I dont' have any tire well leaks thankfully - they've all remained nicely tight. My floorboards are nice and rust free except for one patch near the rear left passenger door, though that's from the rust spot on the body I need to fix (just the very edge of the rug.. the door jam area started to rust a bit) I really, REALLY, appreciate the help guys!

I'll take some pictures ASAP, but my rust is NOTHING like that... mostly just body work. The frame is QUITE solid

\ Heh, PA my friend... salts, chemicals, snow, and all sorts of fun @!*%. I'm working on repairing what rust there is, then I'm going to apply a new rubberized undercoating to help protect it all.

That's the thing, I know i'm behind on maintenance in some areas and I want to start fresh. If that means a full tranny and engine rebuild so be it.

Can someone recommend a good DIY kit for a noobie mechanic? I'd like to learn to do stuff like this myself instead of relying on a mechanic.

Any chance anyone has the 1990 3.0L SE V6 Automatic tranny manual?

The Truck: 1990 Nissan Pathfinder 3.0L SE V6, fully STOCK as far as I know The Question: Maintenance... I needs ta know things Alright, here's the thing: I bought the truck from my Grandfather. He's taken pretty good care of it... few patches of rust I need to patch, but otherwise the body is great. The frame looks good climbing under the truck, and my muffler and possibly oil pan or gas tank (not sure which) needs to be replaced... it's rusting thru pretty badly. I need a new undercoat. I am only 19 years old... I know a bit about the truck but not nearly as much as I'd like. I want some advice on what to do for it... I know my valve cover gasket is leaking a little bit of oil - that is something I want to replace as soon as funds allow. Oh, before I continue, my Mechanic is a family friend and has been in the business for years... I wish I could do the work myself, but I have nowhere to do it, nor the tools to do it with. I want, to be frank, to be able to hand the truck down to my kids and, if they take care of it, for them to be able to hand it down to their kids. What information do I need to gather so i can put together a good maint schedule? I know I'm LONG overdue for a tranny flush... I'm afraid to do it to be honest because of how overdue it is. I'm thinking just drain and re-fill without the acid bath? I get my oil and filter changed every 3-4 thousand miles depending on weather and driving conditions. The truck has a little over 143,000 miles on it. I have had to replace my Tie rods due to them being completely broken (I drove into the shop with em broken... how that works I don't know but I WATCHED him lift the truck and saw his surprise... he showed me the problem... they were broken clean off) I have replaced the shocks recently. PCV valve and Fuel filter have been replaced within the last thousand miles. I run an injector cleaner through every third or fourth gas up. According to my mechanic, the engine is running nice and tight. My 4WD transfer case is a little mucked up - it will no longer FULLY disengage on the fly - it partially disengages and then the gears grind a bit. I have to stop and reverse a few feet for it to fully disengage. I am considering the following: Engine rebuild kit Iridium Spark Plugs w/ new wires Tube replacement for all the tubes on the engine Tranny drain and refil Transfer Case Replacement Anything else I should consider? Also, does the 1990 model have any kind of locking differential? I've heard people say that, if you press the breaks, the rear diff will lock or partially lock... is this true? Thank you all, I appreciate ANY help I can get. I really want to do a full restoration on this truck and hope I can get the information I need to do so. Oh, also, my pathfinder has a strange quirk - it seems to 'stutter' between 1500-2000 rpm when accelerating. My mechanic thinks it may be crossfiring. Is this a serious problem to have looked at ASAP? That and my torshin bar is kind of loose (due to age the brackets don't hold as tight as they should). Is this serious too? The truck has never seen real off road activity... just a few romps thru my back yard and the treatcherous roads in Fort Washington Philly. She drives and handles more like a bloody sports car though... on the snaking roads around where I am, I can outrun most sportcars (chased down a 'vette once) because I seem to be more comfortable taking turns at high speed *shrug*. I'm hoping that, once I get my own house, I can put her in the garage, get some tools, and do a complete breakdown, clean, and rebuild... but that's a few years off. How can I keep her running till then? Edit to fix the confusion of some people that read a little TOO DEEPLY into things