dkpath96

I am also looking at tires for my '96. I have had 30x9.5x15 BFG ATs on my pathy for all of its 143000 miles (two sets) and can't complain about them. They are a little squirrely on wet pavement on occasion, and ok in snow. I'm now looking at some Kumho Road Venture ATs - anyone have any comments on these?

I'd be afraid of rain or mist from other vehicles getting in there, but perhaps the K&N can repel that too. Awhile ago I did a similar mod by taking off the huge baffle thing behind the wheel well and just put a mesh screen and a splash shield over the hole to the air box. That also gave a little bit of a performance enhancement at higher RPMs. Here's the thing I'm worried about - I've gone through two MAF's since I did this. I'm now back to the paper filters to find out if perhaps I was over-oiling the K&N despite following their directions; it could also be from moisture getting through to the sensor. We'll see...

Great to see you back, Jim, we are all here for ya!

Got it.

Ok, I wired in a new MAF sensor connector and have been driving it to work for a week without having the engine completely cut out and stall on me. However, the hiccups are still there. Once again I've tried to narrow it down and so far have been noticing them within the first 15-20 minutes of driving and when I'm cruising with the foot just barely applying pressure to the pedal, and the RPMs around 1500-2000. When it happens, it feels like the engine wants to stall but then it recovers and seems to drive fine for the remainder of the trip (another 30 min or so). Also I've noticed that the idle RPMs are unsteady until the engine really runs for a while. They bounce from 700 to 1000 to 1200 and such. When I get home and sit in the driveway watching them (45 min drive time), they are settled down to 800 or so and don't vary. I read up on MAF sensors and get the idea on how they work, but is it true that after the engine (or exhaust) reaches a certain warm-up temperature, the oxygen sensors are more 'in command' of the engine? If so this could point to a bad MAF. I also read that MAFs cannot be repaired - only cleaned or replaced. And lo and behold, mine has a nice fat sticker on it saying it was "re-manufactured"....

Wow, the maf sensor was dirty. I got it all nice and shiny and it idles so nicely now! Plus I definitely found the culprit of the engine cut-outs - the MAF wire connector! Even the slightest jiggle causes the engine to cut out, so I'm sure that is the problem. I'll let y'all know how things run once I get it replaced. Thanks for all the input!

I am now looking into replacing the MAF and its wiring connector harness, which is loose and being held on with electrical tape... If this is a MAF issue and not just the wiring, do you think I should inspect my existing one and try to clean it with rubbing alcohol or something, in case it is dirty or oily? I do have a K&N filter and it seems as though these problems started after I cleaned and oiled the filter a couple months ago... perhaps I over-oiled it??

Got a diversity antenna adapter at wal-mart for less than $8. Finished the proper wiring for the harness, and... SOUND! Thanks for all your help, guys! It works like a charm.

Question - when I attach the amp ground wire (F) to the radio ground wire, should I tie in the chassis ground wire (K) too? btw, NPORA is my Google search for Pathfinder stuff... -study-

The fuel pressure test came up fine, so the fuel pump is working. The MAF sensor harness was damaged when it was replaced last spring so I am now looking for the wire leads and harness to the sensor. The local junkyards don't have any R50s - anyone know where to find something like this?

Thanks for the info, guys. Yes, the JVC Arsenal KD-AR770 is the one I got, and I do have the wiring harness adapter; and the haynes manual had the wiring diagram/color code like the link you posted. But the link is a bit easier to figure out... thanks! I didn't know about the amp issue and that will be my next step. This is quite a learning experience for my first time at swapping out a car stereo - I figured it would be simple... HA! I still don't understand why the old stereo won't get power without the diversity antenna plugged in (even with the original harnesses attached), but oh well. I do have to laugh about the old stereo - it's in a nissan, was produced by ford, and was made in mexico. Talk about a global economy!

The harnesses are all wired properly, and the fuses are fine. When I plug the truck's two white harnesses into the old stereo (not a Bose) it does the same thing my new one does - no speakers - and no power, either. But the new stereo gets power from the harness. Just no speakers. I tested the two-pronged plug for voltage with the key on but didn't detect anything, nor did it give any resistivity, so I am really not sure what it is except that it is necessary for the old stereo to work...

And here is a pic of the new stereo from the back... it is a JVC AR7700.

I've hooked up all the wire harnesses correctly and all have continuity and such, and the stereo has power. The problem I have is that the speakers have no power - they will not put out any sound at all. I've narrowed it down to one cord that was in the old stereo, that has no adapter to the new one. Attached is the picture, and you can see it to the right of the two wire harnesses: It has two metal prongs and red tape around the wires behind the plug. Anyone know what this is, and what I need to attach it to the new stereo (see second post for the new stereo plugs). :help:

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know what the '12' or '1212' code from the ECU means? I've been browsing the haynes manual and am planning on testing the MAF and the throttle position sensor. Problems with these are to set off a trouble code but the last MAF went bad and didn't set off a code...

I didn't think the VG33 had a schroeder valve, but if it does, could someone point it out to me? I'm going to a different garage next week to have a fuel pressure test done as per the haynes manual's advice. Wouldn't a faulty oxygen sensor throw a code and light my SES?

The check engine light came on only after it stalled, and after pulling the code manually, it gave a code "12" or a code "1212" (one blink, pause, two blinks, pause, repeating). This code wasn't in the Haynes manual but my cousin thought it was a "no codes" code. And it never came back after we cleared it.

I'm looking at a set of wheels that are 15x7 with a -6 mm offset. New Wheels The -6 mm offset is 3.75" of bs., right? So by using the offset calculator at 1010tires.com, does this mean that the wheels will be 46 mm (1.75") out further from the current stock wheels?

Here's the story so far: 1) It all started with tiny little 'hiccups' from the engine that would cause a hesitation while driving, causing the vehicle to lurch a little bit. At first I only noticed it when in low RPM and at speeds less than 40 mph. And they were few and far between... 2) Then one day while driving into town I was going 35 in 3rd gear and the hesitation lasted longer - a few seconds - the engine acted as if it wanted to stall... 3) The kicker was a week later when I was going 50 in 4th gear (~2500 rpm) and the pathy just stalled out completely, the engine ran real rough and shut down. I got it off the road and let it sit a minute, then fired it up fine - but it ran real rough, coughed and sputtered and died within 20 seconds. Did this two more times before I decided I can't get it home, and had it towed to the local garage... 4) The mechanic didn't get to it for a week, then said he fired it up, drove it around for 15 minutes, then let it run idle in his parking lot for 3 hours and didn't notice any problems whatsoever. He changed the fuel filter (broke the harness and attached the new one with zip ties... pssd ) and sent me on my way... 5) My cousin and I wanted to test the fuel pressure in and out of the engine, so we pulled the fuel pump fuse (it was fine, as was the relay) and the way the pathy sputtered and stalled during this time was identical to its symptoms when it stalled on the way home before. But we didn't have the right T-fitting to test the pressure, so we really couldn't do anything else. The fuel pump still whines as it should when the key is turned on... 6) I am still driving it short distances and it is still lagging at certain random times. I replaced the plugs, rotor, and dist. cap last year and it has a refurbished MAF sensor less than a year old, and of course a new fuel filter. I think I have it narrowed down to 3 things: a. fuel pump going bad b. fuel pressure regulator going bad c. an electrical short in the wiring to the above parts (please.. not this) But could it be something else, like O2 sensors or possibly the refurbished MAF sensor, or something I've not thought of? :help: p.s. Merry Christmas!

I've been looking for new wheels for when I buy new tires (want to go with 31's) and came across these. They are machined aluminum and come with the 6 on 5.5 pattern, 3.75" bs and all that. They are running $279 for all four wheels, which is great but... Problem is, I can't dig up any info on them or on the company, only that they are sold by Sears... Does anyone know about them or heard of them, let alone own a set? Z-Racing Z62 Wheels

Thanks for the info! Where did you get your plastic fender flares?

Even with the plastic fender flares or with the sheet metal (a.k.a. w/out plastic fender flares)?

Well I haven't had the power issue ever since I tested the battery. I did clean white crusty corrosion off of the terminals, so perhaps that was the cause. Makes sense I guess. Just don't know why it wasn't more consistent, but oh well!

Thanks for the help, guys. Ok, I tested some things this afternoon: 1) The brake booster seems fine - the brake pedal gets "tighter" when pumped while the vehicle is off, and it doesn't drop in position when I hold it in with the engine running and then shut the engine off. 2) The battery holds 12.45 V when the engine is off and I detected no sort of power drain. 3) The battery holds 14.0 V while the engine is running, indicating the alternator is working properly. I had the "power drain" happen only one time this morning, and did not notice it happen on the way home. I'm now leaning towards a very intermittent short in the brake light wiring. How the heck do I check for this besides visual inspection of the wiring? And if it were this, why does it only happen once or twice after driving long stretches (3-4 mi at 45-60 mph) of not using the brakes (my daily commute is ~40 minutes, with some stop-and-go, where I've not had it occur...)?

Here's an interesting problem my pathy is developing. After driving for 1/2 hour or more, and then after long stretches of not using the brakes, when I do apply the brakes (even lightly) the whole engine tries to stall and all the lights dim. The check engine light flickers on and then off again. And then it goes away for a while. One morning after it did this even turning on the turn signal or heater fan caused the lights to dim a bit, perhaps due to the strain that the issue placed on the battery moments before. I'm thinking it could be the brake booster going, but does anyone else have an idea??