dhardison

I test drove a Pathfinder once that had some howling and it seemed like it was coming from the fan clutch. I have to stop and remind myself sometimes that something could still have a clutch fan in the 90's. The really bad idler pulleys I've heard tend to rattle not howl. I'm still learning about Pathys everyday so it's just my .2

It was 1984 a relative had just died and left me a small inheritance and as I always did in my car crazy youth I took the money and paid a down payment on a new car with payments I could barely afford. In this case a new 318i BMW. A few months later me, my girlfriend, and another couple had been to downtown Nashville clubbing and we were headed back to my house about 15 miles out of town on I-40. We were all drunk as dogs and had an open bottle of vodka in the car passing it around. We had some other popular go-go 80's stuff in the car too which I won't name. On the last 3 miles or so before my exit I let the string out on the BMW and we blasted through radar doing 118 mph. I coasted to the side of the road while my girlfriend tried to hide the vodka and other stuff. I knew we were all in trouble and it was gonna be really bad for me. The state trooper walks up to my car while I’m fishing my license out of my wallet. He looks in the window and says “son this is the luckiest day of your life, I’ve just been radioed they’ve got a five car pile-up at the next exit and I don’t have time to *my "vocabulary" is so small* with you. He turned around ran back to his car and sped off lights blazing and siren screaming. A few months after that I got drunk at a big party and lost my keys right before I passed out. When I woke up the next day the BMW was gone, stolen. They found it totaled out in Kentucky with the keys still in the ignition. The insurance co. refused to pay the claim because the keys were with the car. I paid payments for 5 years on a car I didn’t have, I did sell the salvage. It was a real wake-up call for me. Been drinking like an adult ever since.

I've seen some aftermarket replacement door seals on e-bay about 8 months ago. Not up for auction but in an e-bay store. Followed a link to their website and they mostly manufactured and sold reproduction door, window and trunk seals for 60's - 70's Camaros, Firebirds, Chevelles and other muscle car restorations. In the middle of their catalog, and the only import, were door seals for Pathfinders and D21 trucks. It gets weirder because they were located in middle TN somewhere. Maybe they had the door seals supplier contract for Smyrna back in the day and now they are just cashing in on a few extra bucks with the old injection molds leftover from back then. I'll dig around e-bay and see if I can find it again.

That's the link that fixed my 93 power locks and made my key fob remote work too. On the Pathfinder the actuator is located behind the drivers side lower trim panel in the cargo area.

I thought the price was okay too. My Pep Boys is subcontracting tows to their shop for a $40 flat rate. But believe me if I didn't have a friend that worked there I would have been charged more than that for the repair.

Sorry I got off on a ramble. Just meant to respond to the original post and say I've never heard of a 153hp VQ Maxima of any year. I've still got the window sticker to my 95 buried somewhere and it clearly stated 190hp in the standard features section.

Stranded Sunday with a dead starter. Had my Pathfinder towed to the Pep Boys my buddy works at and one day and $300 bucks later including wrecker bill I'm on the road again. 201,000 miles on the original starter, amazing. Nissan really held their suppliers to a high standard back in the day. Still on the original alternator and ac compressor but I figure they're next.

VQ's opened in the 95 Max with 190 hp. Then bumped to 222 hp in 2000 but still 3.0. Then 240 hp in in 2003 with a displacement increase to 3.5. What was once fun with 190 horses and front wheel drive in 95 was just wrong by 2003 with 240 horses snatching the steering wheel all over the place. The move to a stretched Altima chassis in 2004 killed it for me. I'm leaving the front wheel drive stuff to Honda. Been there done that. Visit my cars of my past link to see how I came full circle from gray ZX to gray Z in 27 years with some Maxima time in the middle. http://www.dhardison.com/related.htm

I've posted my experiences before but here goes. I've owned 5 VQ's, never in a Pathfinder though, and I've always found them to be a little thirsty. Not thirsty enough to make me wish I had another brand V-6, but enough to notice. IMO all that power and great throttle response comes at a price.

You straight pipe your Nissan pickup truck http://nashville.craigslist.org/cto/1728763774.html

If your family tree only has one branch, you might be a redneck..

You haven't said anything around the Pathfinder that you might put it on the NY craigslist for sale have you?

There's got to be a joke or two in this third grade bomb attempt. After being shunned by NPORA for asking what was the biggest tire he could use on a stock Pathfinder Bob decided to...... Faced with having to replace his broken exhaust studs for the 3rd time Bob decided to....

An unoccupied 90's Pathfinder in times square left idling with smoke coming out of it. Some real pros at work here.

I'm posting this at 7:30 pm central time and the news is reporting that at least the interstates are opening back up.

I cant believe you found some washer pumps. I been trying to find a pull-a-part pathfinder that had one that looked like it was good enough to work, if it was even there at all, for almost a year.

Yes, like an American version of Top Gear. You left Wind Tunnel with Dave whatever his name is off your Nascar list.

Mud and Snow is what I've always thought but I've heard people say it was Multiple Season.

Some old vintage non-nascar racing would be good too.

I like the idea myself and would try to keep my eyes open for a set of wheels and tires together that somebody, maybe even in this forum, wants to get rid of. Just remember that all truck and suv tires are going to be either all season or m/s, about the same thing. It's not like a Z where there could be a summer performance street tire or an all-season street tire. I have to drive my Pathfinder on the interstate a lot like yesterday, about 75 miles with the cruise set on 80 and the ac blowing full blast. Back end loaded down with some antique chest my girlfriend found in the country and decided we couldn't live without. Could I have done it on some noisy half-ass balanced AT's, of course. Would I have felt like I'd been beat up when I got back home, of course.

I've been seeing some of those m/s2's too. An Explorer that parks next to me sometimes just got a set. I think it's what they are going to use to phase out the original ltx and bring the sizes more in line with new suvs and light trucks. No 3x sizes and only one 15 inch rim size a 235, lots of 16, 17, 18, 19, and even 20's. Plus low rolling resistance and green technology.

I think you were right though if you are comparing a mild AT tire and a 6 ply M/S truck tire like the LTX then you might not notice much difference in noise and ride between the two as a mild AT tire should be fairly quiet. The LTX was available as an AT tire also but the tread was the same so I don't know what the internal difference is. I do know that the 3x/1x.5/1x LTX's look like a more aggressive tire than the 235 size tires you've got laying around. Haven't seen any 235's LTX's on a Pathfinder but I've noticed several HondaZuZu's wearing them and they do look pretty lame in that size. My opinion when I posted was on the incredible mileage people get, he would probably trade Pathfinders before he ever wore them out. And like most Michelins, easy balance, no tire pull, no out of round, straight tracking, long life, low noise, that's what you're paying for. Like oldslow I am surprised by the their traction in the snow and mud considering how easy they are to live with on the street.

It's hard to beat a Michelin ltx, only tire I've ever run on my Path, but they are pricey. On the flip side I've known several people, my dad included, who have gotten 60, 70 or 80k out of them on SUV's.

Cadillac was still in the timeout chair for the re-badged Cimmaron. GM said hey you don't want a re-badged Trailblazer from Cadillac how about one from SAAB.