skibum

Adamzan, i just drove over to my Crappy Tire at Eglinton and Laird in Toronto and it wasn't there but other seafoam products were there. I will continue the search tomorrow, thanks for the advice! Towncivillian thanks for the Torque spec and crush washer tip. looking forward to getting this shift flare resolved.

This is great advice, and relatively inexpensive. Thanks! The seafoam on-line price is around $10. ... use half a can, drive around thru all the gears for 30 minutes then change the fluid using the other half of can to stay in the tranny to prevent varnish buildup and other problems.. Hopefully i can buy this in Canada. I've never changed tranny fluid myself, i've done oil changes and bled some brake lines, I'll assume i find the drain plug and let it fly after it's good n warm, not sure about filling it up to avoid problems with air, or bubbles but would assume air bubbles in transmissions are as bad as air bubbles in other hydralics.

The tranny fluid was changed at 100k and a few weeks ago at 190k, i had a garage with a proper pump do it ... they were the ones that were telling me about other pathfinder owners having the same cold tranny problems. I didn't stick religiously to the maintence schedule except for the belts, oil changes-synthetic only, plugs, coolant... the transfer cases are pretty bad right now and are in need of a fluid change but if the transmission is toast then I'm thinking I might retire this puppy, sad but true. the fuel filler was a recall but i did get hosed by the dealer on the MAF, i think they charged me extra to program it.. it seems like it's shifting much better now but i am being very gentle on it and not driving that much at all lately, today maybe 6 miles. yesterday 4 miles.. I looked at the manual for a TCM and didn't see this specifically named part, i saw a throttle sensor and a few other things... I guess what made be believe it was computer related was driving up long hills where it would shift down to keep up the speed but as i eased off the throttle at the top of the hill it wouldn't shift into the higher gear even if i modulated the gas pedal... but then it would almost clunk into gear. this didn't happen all the time, it was like the MAF where some days everthing is grand and the next day it's not... and then back to being ok... etc... so I'm thinking sensors and switches. I'm in no way a tranny expert. that sounds bad... and it's not an Eddy Murphy joke. I would say that cold it still tends to shift a bit clunky, revs a bit high at the shift point then grabs the next gear, warm temps it doesnt do this, it's actually very smooth.

Last year about this time of year when it's cold in the morning a few times I noticed the tranny not figuring out which gear to switch into at highway speeds. Especially when easing off the accellerator i have to be patient because sometimes it hasn't locked into gear, if i push the accelerator the engine will rev freely. This only seems to happen in the first 20 minutes of driving. I'm just careful now and that seems to be working fine for the most part. I've also noticed that when the vehicle is cold it doesn't shift from first to second so smoothly but after it warms up it shifts fine. Sometime it just seems to be perfect for no reason at all. No problems when it's warmed up. but i don't drive it much at all anymore. it seems like the throttle is a bit sticky as well, maybe there's a throttle position sensor not working and messing up the tranny shifts? It's been a great vehicle for the past 10 years and I'm still on the original rotors and suspension components but i did have to replace a few things like a fuel filler hose and an expensive air flow sensor... the parts last much longer than any of my old Japanese made honda civics . I really can't believe how good this has been and that it's been 10 years. but... the tranny... How do i tell if it needs a rebuild or a TCM? It has 190k on it, but a tranny rebuild on this vehicle is probably worth more than the vehicle. should i take it to the dealer to diagnose this? I'm afraid i will get hosed seriously by my local dealer as they are prone to do. scott

i just found a new decent mechanic on recommendation from a friend, and within a short period of time the guy flushed out the steering system twice, and greased the entire front suspension / ball joints etc.. and then apologised for charging me under $100. no waiting ... let me walk around the shop... etc... There is no way i was going to do it by myself and risk cfuking something up ... the steering is better, and now returns to centre much better but it is still stiff, I can feel there is more force than normal needed to turn. I feel better about driving it... and like you said Simon, maybe after a few days it will work itself in better ? I was just roughly quoted that to replace the pump would be about $300 parts and labour. You know ... after i described the problems to the new mechanic ... the first thing he said was "you need to flush the steering fluid out"... FAK!!! whereas the other guy told me "nothing is for sure broken so i won't fix it" I will never go back to the other place again!

Been shopping for a house and working like a dog.... and... This problem is still on-going... i can feel that the steering is difficult all the time, but that is minor compared to the unexpected need to use two hands to turn or return to center, but my mechanic can't feel it and he does't drive it for more that 2 minutes... so go figure it never cfuks up when he tries it out. .. i know.... time for a new mechanic. makes me wait a freakin week for an appointment and then doesn;t try very hard to figure it out... if its not completley broken then he won't touch it. gee thanks... thats what i get for 10 years as your customer?.... grrrr... when it is cold it takes two hands to turn but sometimes it is fine. this has been going on for months and months... ( i did hit a pothole really hard about 3 months ago ... but it does't pull or track, still goes in a straight line) if the oil pump was gone it would be gone all the time right? all the time it would be impossible to steer? what about belts? should i start with replacing all the belts? Basically i need to find a new mechanic, I don't have the space where i live to do big repairs. grumble grumble... (yonge and eglinton)

OK thanks... ya i didn't make that leap that i could use the power tranny fluid for steering fluid. I will ride my bike over to the Canadian Tire store and see if they have the Lucas brand. thank ee kindly! s

I just downloaded the manual, and I'll have to find out where to drain the power steering fluid from. I've never done this before so.. this should be interesting... so is it possible that the difficulty is caused by fluid breakdown?.. just a question.

How do i determine if i need a new Power Steering pump or other service? Lately when starting the vehicle up in the morning the steering is stiff... it seems once it warms up it is fine. But more and more lately I've been noticing that it is difficult to turn the wheels and once turned they don't want to come back to center. There looks to be lots of fluid in the resevoir . Dipstick is wet where it should be.

the problem is a clunking noise that happens going over small bumps, it's quite loud. a mechanic told me it was a vertical bar in the linkage. It may actually be a stabilizer bar but i remembered it wrong. even driving over a small rubber hose that opens the garage door i hear a loud clunk. I need to buy a chiltons Pathfinder. Is there a few simple tests to see what the problem is?

I've never done my own work on my 2001 PF but i used to do my own Brakes, Plugs, Oil changes on my previous vehicles. Now i need a passenger side sway bar and i would like to do the work myself to save some cash. I've never done suspension work, I've seen some aspects of it done. If there is someone out there who can give me some advice on replacing this part it would be greatly appreciated. do i need grease, torch, torque wrench? new bushings? I read that another member needed to use a cutting torch to get the orignal part off, is there another way?

That's what I'm asking... what is backspacing? s

Backspacing? can i use my stock 16 inch alloy rims with a tire with less backspacing? I assume that with these tires my footprint is wider?

Yes, i was thinking differential not transfer case.. brain fart. My tires are Bridgestone ATs not the stock HTs, The ATs were recommended by a friend who has done quite a bit of off roading and mods to his old cherokee, and from my current exp with them i think they are great. He now owns a bright blue dodge 4x4 pickup. But the truck that pulled the durango out was another friend with a dark blue dodge pickup with the 4wheel drive "off road" package which apparently is not offered any more. Stock... the truck is already raised quite a bit, beefier tires and suspension components. he also had the proper towing strap, hooks and bolts etc. (which i now have purchased.) 2 buddies of mine swear by the dodge 4x4. If it was built in Japan I'd probably buy it. I've been in a regular dodge 4x4 in the winter and it is rock solid and i feel very confident about the traction and handling, it seems the suspension is stiffer and the wheel base is wider. Then for A-B comparison back my truck same road (new ATs), ug! I had no confidence at all. I want the same winter handling and traction in my Pathfinder without having to buy a %#$%@ dodge! Locking hubs? Stiffer suspensions? Extend the axles? add sand bags!?!?? One thing the two dodge trucks have in common is Tires... fat and wide and resemble puffy donuts rather than regular SUV tires. Smaller rims, bigger and rounder rubber. I'd love to make my 2001 more like the pic on either side of the NPORA FORUM CENTER logo!

I don't know what vehicle you owned before but if it is smaller and lighter then maybe there's a bit of operator contributed error and a learning curve thing going on? at 60,000kms i needed a front brake job, resurfaced the rotors, i think if you are used to driving a smaller car then you need to rethink how you drive the Pathfinder. City driving, constant hard braking may warp your rotors very quick. I remember getting a warp in my rotors because of an incident where at highway speed i had to brake very hard and fast. and in general my experience has been the fade on the brakes is bad compared to smaller lighter vehicles. I've experienced the "oh crap" sinking feeling in my stomach when trying to slow down for a hooker or an off ramp in a hurry and the truck keeps going and the braking is less and less effective. It's a learning curve, I've always owned Honda Civics and one RWD'96Mazda MPV minivan. I drive knowing that my stopping distance is not great and i know fading will kick in after 2.5+ seconds of hard braking. I think i know the limits and i know how much a brake job costs and so I'm a little wiser and i don't push it... too often. Depends on how big her boots are. With the newer big horsepower pathfinders you'd instinctivley think you can drive it harder than the old ones but you can't really. It's not a sports car. Maybe the infiniti version has better brakes? But.. I'd say just buy some new rotors, have them cross drilled, and try not to brake so hard. Maybe go for some suspension modifications if you have the cash, getting rid of the factory squishiness will help a bit. Hope that was a bit of help.