RowOSU

My father's 01 LE has a little screen printed defrost logo on the mirror itself...

ALAS! No more opening to door to pay for parking or wendys! I used just a generic "pure silicone" spray, worked wonders for that sluggish window, I thought for sure the motor was dying.

There is nothing wrong with road sign skid plates... But that does look great!

Exactly what Big J said, not really enough power to make you want to burn ricers, but there is plenty of power for towing and its a nice enough vehicle that your kid *should* want to take care of it. Even here at school I still manage to keep mine washed/waxed. I really have no desire to get another vehicle (except maybe another old BMW... i miss my 5 series) But again, great truck, great first vehicle, great 15th vehicle. I have a 97, my dad has an 01, and both of us love them. Whatever route you go you can't really go wrong with a Pathfinder.

Now I wouldn't call myself a serious off roader, but I do shall we say abuse the suspension every once in a while. However, I had the struts done last year (ranchos) and have not had a problem with them at all. I would definately reccomend looking into something a little more heavy duty. Perhaps you could also look into the Old Man Emu spring set, there are a number of people here who have those installed and they seem to be much stiffer/stronger than stock.

You could also save some coin and go back as far as 96 -- if you poke around here you can find out what the common problems are and to look to see if they have been remedied. I am 20 now, but got my Pathfinder (97 XE with a manual) when I graduated high school. I love the thing, towing shouldn't be a problem with something that light, I had to bring a U-Haul to school this year (furniture and such for my house) and I drive accross the Blue Ridge (from Northern VA to Ohio) and it did great. Sure I had to downshift to get up the grades, but it wasnt a problem at all, plenty of power (of course the 99.5+ has the bigger/more powerful engine) but when I was looking at them I had a harder time finding those in manual, however that could've been just where I was looking. Anyways, great trucks, reliable and solid. BTW I also learned to drive on an oldschool volvo wagon with a 5 speed and 299,000 miles. Good luck with your searching!

Brake cleaning is definately in order. Out wheelin' one night buddy of mine got his blazer stuck beyond my rescue abilities (maybe if I had an automatic that would've been one thing, but I wasnt about to burn off ANOTHER clutch off road) so we left it for the night, after we got him out his brakes would make awful noises when applied, we took them apart, cleaned everything out and the noise stopped. So just try taking them apart, cleaning everything really well, maybe replace the pads while you're at it and you should be set to go -happy trails to you - cameron

Well then I will definately keep my eye on it. The part is like 70 bucks so if its that oh well, not too bad. But for now I will just enjoy my warning light free gauge cluster.

No its not a pinging, its definately a ticking. I've seen posts on here before describing that as being a leaky manifold but perhaps it isnt. Im not sure what else it would be though. What about the valves were you thinking it could be? As for Nissan, yes they did just want to replace the control arms as a whole unit for the low low price of $1056. Ugh.

Took a drive down to my friendly Advance Auto Parts today after my dealership experience... Borrowed their scan tool as my Check Engine Light has been on since last year when I had my clutch replaced. Anyways, came up P0335 - Crankshaft Position Sensor A Circuit Malfunction. The guy at advance seemed convinced the car wouldnt run with that problem and suggested I clear the codes and see if it comes back. Well it hasnt, does this mean that the problem is clear?

So I believe my 97 is exhibiting the symptoms of the warped/leaky exhaust manifold. When you first turn it on (cold) and start driving I can hear ticking related to engine speed yet once it's warm it goes away. I also asked for a price estimate on two other things, first was the replacement of the rear control arm bushings as I also have that GREAT wobble at highway speeds and to check my motor mounts as I have had a slight vibration at 1000rpm ever since I had my clutch replaced. They call today and inform me "There is no exhaust leaking at all out of the manifolds however I need to have my clutch replaced and the rear end rebuilt" What the? I argue with the guy for a little bit about how the clutch is indeed fine, I didnt even ask them to look at that, (they didnt check the motor mounts) and then instead of giving me a price quote for rear control arm bushing replacement like I asked for I get that my whole rear end (shocks, springs, control arms, and that panwhatever rod) need to be replaced. Ok I could've believed them until they told me my clutch needed to be replaced. All I wanted was them to do the warranty work on the manifolds. On top of it all they tried to charge me some 100 clutch diagnostic fee. I refused to pay it and left the shop. Anyways my question is does that sound like the manifold or something else? and is there a reccomended shop in or around Columbus Ohio? THANKS and sorry for the length

About the face lift -- I have looked into it, the fenders are cut the same, the issue comes in with the hood. All you need to do it are sidemarkers, headlights, grill, and hood. It is a feasable upgrade, and I do at some point plan to do it as I love that front end (I think it looks more aggressive).. just my two cents

I dont understand why it had to look like a sized down Armada. And the thing is boxy as all get out... Oh well, I am just bummed that a new body style = lower resale or maybe its all the trail rides that = lower resale... Anyways Nissan claims this one should be more off road capable than the 96+, however making it suburban sized kind of detracts from the effort they made by putting it back on a frame

sooo if Nissan makes lifetime struts why weren't they on there in the first place could've saved this poor college student some serious coin....

Wow, that is quite a difference. I had mine done here in Columbus while I was at school last spring and one place quoted me 710 and the others 650. I didnt really know where to even go to get work done so I took the 650 at AAA auto repair and that was that. I am guessing the place that wants 360 just has better labor rates. I hope the struts fix the problem for you because that shaky steering wheel sucks! good luck! -cameron

I had something similar to this earlier this year.. When i would go over bumps and such at low speeds the steering wheel itself would actully move around, pretty bad. And then at speed it would also do it. Took it to my mechanic and he reccomended new struts. (great....that was cheap) BUT it did fix it. How old are your struts? -cameron

I am interested in the 4Runner rim/tire combo. What can you tell me about them? Have they been sold yet? Any chance you could e-mail me some pictures of them either on your truck, or how they are now. What kind of tires? etc. thanks! -Cameron

Ok, so I spent some time in the garage section of the forum looking for info on how to bypass this factory amp. It seems all the information there was for the previous pathfinders. Heres my dilemma, I've got a Pioneer MP3/Cd player and when it is loading a CD or between tracks you can hear it spinning the CD through the speakers. That bothers me. Soo I would much like to kill the factory amp, however I really don't want to run all new speaker wires as that tends to be a huge pain. Is there anyway to bypass this amp without running new wires? Any advice would be much appreciated! -Cameron

hmm tricky one there. what 99 are you talking about? The 99.5 (i.e. newer looking) or the older one (96-99) If its the 99.5+ the taillights will not work because the reverse lights on the newer QX4s are located next to the license plates and not in the taillight itself. however, the 99.5 Pathfinder tail lights do fit, but you will need to make sure the sockets come with the lights as the sockets from the old lights do not fit. its a quick splice and definately worth the time. I put 99.5 tail lights on my pathy and really looks nice. hope this helps.

that was my thought, push comes to shove i will just ebay it back to the free world.

yea, I have considered that. I was looking at the faces offered by Import Intelligence, kinda plain, but apparantly fit pretty well. I also saw a website on making your own faces, will look into that too. I was just asking about the newer cluster because the guy who is selling me my tail lights said he would throw it in for free. When i get it I will check it out.

I dont know what year you are working on, but I just did both on my 97. I twisted the who plastic unit counter-clockwise like half a turn, then it pulled out backwards. Then just unplug the electrical connector, connect it to the new one and screw it back in. Its a little awkward down in there, but it is possible to do without taking off the headlights (as the haynes manual suggests) Hope this helps.

Hmm... well the guy is including the unit with the tail lights I bought, so I will give it a shot, if it sucks, well so be it, i can yoink it out and throw in the manual controls again. Looks like I will be having a fun weekend. Thanks.

Well unfortunately the other boards were for my other car... I have done a cluster swap before (75 camaro) but never on one so new. I would love to have the white face gauges that came with the newer models, so I will give it a shot, and let you know the results. Looks like its time for the haynes schematics.........

This has been a topic that seems to come up on other vehicle boards I am a member of, but is there any way to put the new(99.5+) gauge cluster into the 96-99? i.e. will it plug directly in, or is a wire splice necessary? Furthermore, is there any way to crank up the miles on a digital odo so they match the miles on my analog? thanks!