dhardison

I think that's probably the most common Pathfinder interior malfunction. I'm sure everybody will chime in on what they did to fix theirs but here is what I did to 2 Pathys that I've had. Path number 1. I pulled all the vinyl of and then used goop and mineral spirts to clean of all the remaining glue and foam padding. When I was done I had a smooth white plastic panel. I taped it off and used can of gray vinyl dye in a contrasting shade of gray to paint the panel. It looked almost like it came that way from the factory. Path number 2. I took the dome light assembly loose, pulled the vinyl down slighty in the openings that were exposed from the light removal, and sprayed aerosol trim adhesive in between the vinyl and the plastic panel. As the adhesive dried i used the palm of my hand to press the vinyl back. I got a few air bubbles in there but overall it looks pretty good. Someday when I've got time I'll use the process I did on path 1. because that one came out better but it was more work getting all the old glue off. this was path1 after I finished

These kits are all over ebay and for less money so I'd shop around for a better price first.

Remember you promised to sell me your old street wheels pictured below so I could put them on my Z as soon as you got those installed for trail work.

Another point I forgot to make for members who like the lego wheels. I think it's one of the few wheels that can look as good or even better with the center caps off. I've run mine both ways but I'm running caps on right now. If I did more wheeling I'd leave mine off all the time. Just more of my sometimes opinionated and a little Crown Royal influenced 2 cents on a Saturday night. :02:

Got my two new Michelins from tire rack. I read every reply to my white letters post and after much agonizing on what to do I decided to mount the whites out. My girlfriend of ten years told me she liked it with the letters out and wanted it to stay that way so I guess I'm And a funny conversation I overheard at the specialty tire and wheel shop that does my work. Guy about 20 pops the covers off the Path to discover that it's still got the OEM wheel locks on it and says to his 20 something co-worker. "Why would anybody bother to put wheel locks on an ugly set of wheels like that?" The old school shop owner hears them and replies "Nissan spent lots of money back in the day to pay to have those wheels engineered for 4 wheel drive applications and those locks have probably been on that truck since it was new." I guess I'm old school too because I always liked those wheels but if I had a lot of extra money laying around I'd change them out for something black because I'm a fan of black wheels. I remember how much better my old 350z looked after I changed it to black aftermarket wheels.

I parked next to another Pathfinder yesterday wearing LTXs and at least I figured out the size of the letters Michelin and LTX thing that's been bugging me. The 31xxx size tires have much bigger letters than the 275 or 265 xxx sizes.

I need to go ahead and replace the rear tires on my Pathfinder before bad weather gets here. My truck had LTX MS 31 10.5 15s on it when I bought it and after reading a lot of tire posts in the forum I think they are probably the best choice for the kind of driving that I do. Plus the fronts are almost new so I only have to buy two. The question is white letters in or out? Now is my chance to change them. I been neutral in my thinking on trucks and outline white letters up to now but there is something about the letters on my Path that just never seemed exactly right. It's like the letters are too big for the diameter of the tire compared to other brands. Here is a pic to let you see what I'm talking about and as always the valued opinions of this form are welcome and appreciated.

I did a few things to my 93 within a week or so of each other last year and together they added about 3 mpg to my city/highway average. Plus added performance I could really feel. 1. put on a high flow cat converter. 2. changed all my fluids, lsd, transfer case etc., 3. installed a set of NGK iridium plugs. 4. installed a K&N stock replacement filter. Probably the converter made the most difference but since I did them all together I don't know for sure. I consistently get 18 combined now and run the climate in auto most of the time.

No, and I don't think they ever did, just a way to make the button look different from some of the other buttons. But who knows maybe 16 years ago they did. I'm just glad they still heat after all these years.

That's the best idea, go back to the truck now that the seats are out and try to trace the wiring. My wires go under the carpet in the rear close to the console. Close to where the seat belt bolts to the floor. From there who knows without taking out the seats. And my switches as shown in the photo goes who knows where. I'd have to take the console apart. I might consider doing my own harness and relay instead as it might be easier.

Yes that probably will be your best solution. Buy a 95 Grand Cherokee with 175,000 miles, a 4.0 AT and of course make sure it's got the first generation Quadra Track. Then you will be happy. Buying a Grand Cherokee was the best thing I ever did in my life because it turned out to be such a POS I went running back to Nissan cars and trucks and I've never looked back.

Go for the PDF factory manual. Bought one for my 350 on ebay and it was the best money I ever spent the 5 years I owned the car. The Haynes manual I've got for my Pathy seems like a joke by comparison.

I've watched your post for the last few weeks and I just wanted to put my 2 pennies in for all your work documenting the process. I used to get stuck writing some training manuals with pictures and screen captures and I know what kind of work goes into something like that. So all I can say is kudos to you Dr. Bill. I'm so thankfull the previous owner of my Path had the belts done and provided me with the receipts so I've got about 50,000 miles before I have to start worrying about it. Good thing too because I'm not a good enough mechanic to do it myself. I got tired and confused watching you do it! No, when the times come I won't need a wrench, I'll need a shot of Crown and a Visa with $800 worth of room on the credit limit

I just replaced my 93 stock radio with a Kenwood and four 5x7 Alpine speakers mounted in the stock locations using the factory grilles. I by-passed the old stock amps and disconnected the old stock tweeters. I got better sound than I expected plus modern stuff like built in aux and usb connections plus the ability to add sat and bluetooth modules later.

Chill GrimGreg, I didn't want people to start taking this whole thing out of context without seeing the complete article. It's the historical significance, design, performance thing as a whole. The Murrano probably did do more to launch Nissan crossover sales and kick but againist it's other manufacturer competition than any other 4 wheel drive crossover during that time frame. It's one of the reasons Nissan's not bankrupt today. A little French maybe but not bankrupt. I repeat this was not a one-on-one comparison list against Nissan vehicles.

If it was up to me I would scan the whole article as a pdf but I think the copyright enforcers would be all over me. About the best I can do is attach a picture of the cover and a link to their website. The article is actually called Ranked! The 51 Best (And Worst) Nissan, Datsun, and Infiniti Vehicles Ever Sold in the US. The vehicles were ranked on design, performance, and historical significance The Lists were: Top 10 Sports Cars Top 5 Trucks Top 10 Sedans/Coupes Top 5 SUVS/Crossovers 1. 03-07 Murrano 2. 00-04 Xterra 3. 86.5-95 Pathfinder 4. 62-69 Patrol 5. 03-08 Infiniti FX Best and the Worst of the Rest Here is a quote from the Pathfinder caption "In an era before an avalanche of SUV's struck, North American consumers knew they were getting a solid deal with the Pathfinder. So you see it's not a "the 90 Pathfinder is better than another year Pathfinder" kind of list. It's more of a vehicles that changed the scope of Nissan for the better list. Nissan Infiniti Datsun Sport

You may be aware that I recently posted some stuff about my new 370z in this forum. But this post is really about the back-story to my car crazy life. So I’ll start by saying it’s great to have a new car but there really is no magic there. Just buy an 03 Z, keep it for almost 6 years and trade it on a new one. I’ve said for years if you have to have a new car as a daily driver it might as well be a Nissan. The thing is I’m more proud of my WD21 Pathfinder than a showroom full of new Z’s. All that time I spent searching for a good 90’s pathfinder. Even buying one and finding one better so I bought it too and selling the one I liked the least. Hard to put it into words but the Pathy means as much to me as some guy’s 69 Camaro or something like that. I got my issue of Nissan Sport mag in the mail today and they had an article called “top Nissan/Datsuns of all time" and finding out that the WD21 Pathy’s made the top 5 list of best Nissan SUV/Crossovers ever. It means more to me to know my trucks on that list than all the accolades and hyperbole the auto mags are going to spew out about the new Z for the rest of the year.

It's been between 7 and 17 degrees all week and us southern TN boys ain't used to that kind of cold. I feel like I'm living in Alaska. It's too cold to check out that squeak in the front end of the Path, check my post in WD21. So cold I'm starting to see why guys put cardboard in front of the radiator on their WD21's. And I always thought my truck warmed up pretty normal. I'm a camera ho though so the pics are coming plus updated Pathy pics too.

Forgot to mention that it still drives the same and tracks straight on a smooth road. I guess I was taking a shot that there was one thing that was a weak spot. My guess after reading your reply is a control arm bushing. We've been in single digit weather this week and it's just too cold for me to get out there and look closer at the problem. Even too cold in my unheated garage. I can bungle through some minor stuff like tuneups etc. but I'm gonna have to leave the suspension stuff to the pros.

My truck started making that dreaded kinda squeaking crunching sound in the right front suspension going over speed bumps or anything else that promotes a lot of suspension travel. Not sure if they are related but last weekend I did a little mudding in some farm fields. Maybe not from the off-road act itself but from the pressure washing I had to do afterwards to get all the caked on mud off everything. Anybody want to take a guess at what is the most probable cause? Ball joint, bushing, tie-rod end? I don't want to take it to the suspension shop right now because I don't have the cash to get it fixed. I traded Z's this week and I'm so broke for the rest of the month I couldn't rub two bad checks together and get a good one. Soon as I recover financially I'll get whatever it is fixed because this Path deserves to have everything working right.

The original Z will always be my fav too. Still I have to keep a new car around for a daily driver so it might as well be a Z. BTW thanks for the steering wheel. Every time I jump in my truck and grab that perfect wheel I say "thanks GrimGreg" for taking the time to pack it up and sending it to me.

Well I'm just checkin in to say that the Pathy's running great and I had a lot of fun playing in the mud last weekend. The real news though is I traded my 03 350z for an 09 370z today. Drove it straight home and put it up in the garage waiting for better weather. This is my 8th Nissan/Datsun and I say kudos to Nissan for another home run. And of course thanks to NPORA for all the great help and advice with my Path.

I'm still waiting on my sticker from Sept or Oct 08. Thought I might dispute the transaction in Paypal for a refund but hey, it ain't worth my time.

You know I'm a newbie to Pathfinders and this site but I've owned tons of Nissans with both engines and here are my thoughts. I really always wanted a WD21 Path so that's what I bought when the time came and didn't really think about the VQ VG part. I almost got buyers remorse over the VG though because I quickly realized it was a chore to keep up with normal fast paced traffic. Over the last month though I've massaged my truck with new NGK plugs, a high flow cat, K&N filter, fresh synthetic fluids front to back and the results have been outstanding. I can keep up with all the fast moving traffic and effortlessly run 80 on the slab when I have to. Plus I'm getting a consistent 18 mpg in mixed driving with selective use of the AC compressor. Now I don't pretend to know what VQ Pathfinders get but 3 VQ Maximas I've owned and my Z rarely ever get, or got, over 20 mpg in mixed driving and the norm is closer to 19. The VQ just seems like a thirsty engine. My friend with an 05 Vette gets better mileage than my Z. In all fairness though I've always run those cars with the climate control set to auto year round and let the compressor cycle all the time. Still my vote goes for the VQ just for not having to worry about the timing belt and it seems to be the power champ too. But the VG seems to be less thirsty. For the record none of my VQs ever used more than a shot glass of oil between changes but I must be lucky because this forum and my favorite Z forum have countless horror stories about VQs with oil consumption issues.

e-bay, $108 and free shipping.