k9sar

Well... I replaced the radiator cap and the thermostat. I bled the system as I filled it by removing that little bolt on the manifold (had the truck for 17 years and never knew that was there). Problem still occurs. I drive about 5 miles with the heater on (so I can tell when there is a problem before it overheats) and the temp indicator stays at just under half (again, I stop before I let it overheat) but the heater stops throwing heat. When I pull over, the overflow bottle is nearly full and, after releasing the pressure on the radiator and opening it, the fluid is low. I refilled it to get back home and it did it again just as I got here. Just to check if there's a big leak or anything, I squeezed the upper radiator hose and it is firm with pressure. This is a friggin closed system. I'm not figuring this one out. on a side note, I noticed that when I took out my fan, the clutch was stiff. I could turn it but it had a lot of resistance. Is that normal or has it failed too?

bought mine new in 95 and recently rolled 200000 miles

question..... I believe the thermo is on the block and attaches to the lower hose. Which way does the coolant flow to the radiator... in from the top hose or in from the bottom? If the thermo is on the bottom hose, one would think the coolant flowed through the thermo and into the radiator. From a purely engineering mentality, I would think it should be ther other way. In through the top and out through the bottom. That would prevent air in the block if the radiator is low on fluid.

I got after the system with UV light last night and the only coolant was where I dripped a little bit when filling it. I don't think the rad is the problem. If it were a leak elsewhere, the coolant wouldn't be flooding the overflow. Inside the rad looks fine. If the cap is bad, the pressure would be forcing the fluid to the overflow and thus, overheating in the engine. If the thermo is bad, the truck would overheat in the engine without circulation to the rad. The coolant in the radiator is hot when I check it. I guess I'll limp it home and try a new cap and thermo (couldn't hurt).

I ignore mine. Don't much care how fast I am going or wha tthe tach says.

So now I'm stuck at work after limping my pathy for over an hour to keep it from blowing it's lid. Here's the sitiation: Driving home yesterday, noticed that I stopped getting heat and the temp indicator was nearing H. Limped it home and found the overflow bottle full, the radiator low on fluid and the upper hose ruptured. I replaced the hose, lowered the level in the tank, filled the radiator, burped it a couple of times by running for brief periods of time and topped of the radiator each time. Today, all seemed fine until halfway to work when the heat stopped. I assumed an air pocket so I stopped, cycled the engine in case the water pump was spinning in air, then started again. Had heat for a short period of time then nothing. The overflow was full, the radiator was low but there was no sign of coolant anywhere leaking and no big cloud from the exhaust. I repeated the topping off of the radiator a few more times to get me to work. I'm thinking either thermostat (though I seem to get circulation) or a radiator cap failure (but it seems to have at least some pressure when I open it). Any other thoughts???? Travel is severly limited so I don't want to have to try to run around more than needed to gather parts.

Anyone want to guess what happens to an old starter when the points fuse closed and it goes unnoticed for about a half hour? Well, yesterday I replaced my starter.

oooohhh... tiny little pictures

I used my floor jack, a slab of wood for support and a strap to hold it all together. Not too bad if you remove the T-bars and one crossmember. Personally, I just park in the street and let it drip from time to time.

just add some stop-leak to the crankcase. That should fix it. KIDDING!!! sheesh!

My auto antenna stopped working cause the teeth on either the gear or the plastic part of the antenna were torn off. I could hear the antenna motor but nothing would happen. I opted to fully extend the antenna and clip the motor wires. That way, the antenna is always up and it doesn't grind or burn out the motor. Further thinking about it, I believe the problem is that the antenna gets frozen in the winter and turning on or off the radio can tear-up the teeth. Solution: Replace the antenna with one that isn't screwed up but install a switch on the wires that go to the power antenna motor. Now, for the winter, I can turn on the radio and let the antenna go up, then flip the switch and leave it disabled so no matter how cold it gets, the motor doesn't try to lower the antenna and I can listen to music through the winter. It also comes in handy if you want to listen to the radio while going through a carwash or flock of birds. Turn off the radio to get the antenna down, flip the switch to disable the motor, then turn the radio back on.

if that doesn't work, I have it as well. I keep a hardcopy of the 94 and the 94/95 suppliment in my garage but do have the electronic copies squirrelled away (probably hosted already but I'd have to check).

my damned dome light keeps blowing out so I have a little 12v LED cluster I'm going to wire in to replace those frucking little bulbs.

I saw a nice pathy in Skagway last week and was wondering if it happens to belong to anyone here. I'll post a pic when I get a chance.

My 95 had an issue where the MAF connector was making bad contact due to the wire hitting the underside of the hood. I rebuilt the connector for my MAF at a 90 degree angle and have not had any issues ever since. Might try pulling the connector off, wiggling the wire, plugging it back in and trying again. You could also remove the MAF from the side of the intake hose and give it a cleaning (see the garage section for instructions).

check for spark by taking an old spark plug, pulling a wire, put it on the loose plug and ground it to the block while someone cranks it. If it's no spark or weak spark, you have yourself an electrical issue that you can then start tracing back throught the disty to the coil. If you have good contacts (not burnt) in your disty, I would bet on a failed coil.

left it with my wife to take it to the local inspection site to check the work I did on my frame.

I just ignore my dancing spedometer. I go as fast as the people in front of me and not so slow that I hold up traffic.

I got mine directly from Nissan. Never did trust those "buy this CD of info that you can find for free if you look a little bit" guys.

Apparently I missed a few spots. BIG spots that are on the interior side of the frame. Picked up some plate steel from a local welder and cancelled my other weekend plans.

I destroyed a CV and had to be pulled up a hill cause my 4wd was shot a that point. Nothing too crazy and always wheeled with a good group of people. One of my favorite stories was when a buddy's new cherokee died on the trail and would not start. I crawled under the hood and poked around... then I asked the owner for a small flat stone. 2 minutes later I told him to start the truck and she fired right up. I was elevated to automotive-God status at that time until I let the cat out of the bag and told him that the contact on his rotor was scorched and just needed a little cleaning with nature's sandpaper to make good contact.

just had nail pulled from tire (didn't leak), rebalanced, pressured and rotated. It's amazing how smooth these things ride without a mixed bag of low and out of balance tires.

Welded some steel to repair the frame rot preventing me from passing inspection. Had to cut away some of the rear wheel well sheet metal to get access. Fashioned a new exhaust hanger and bolted/welded it onto the new frame piece.

use the empty space to run moonshine

here's pics of my install http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?/topic/25955-suggestions-requested/page__st__20&do=findComment&comment=479925