k9sar

yea, broke mine off and had to drill it, tap it and used a bolt instead of a stud/washer/nut it's the little bump to the right of the tensioner

When my parents were in Argentina last time, they found that it is a pain in the ass to send anything into the country. I hope you are able to get what you need

yea, they tried to sell me the copperish @!*% and I chose to go with steel. They they reco'd the compression fittings so I didn't have to run from fixture to fixture if I didn't want to flare the ends. Passed on that too.

Found the problem. Bought a short premade brake line (8" w/ M10-1.0 thread). Cut the ends off roughly 1.5" in, crimped the cut ends and filled them with solder so there was no air. viola! now I have MC plugs. I removed the line and plugged the port that goes top the ABS unit. Stepped on the pedal and it was hard as a rock (no prob w/ front brakes or MC). I reattached the line and crawled under the truck. I clamped the flex line just where it started (having a suspicion) and the pedal was solid again (no prob w/ ABS unit). Placed the clamp at the other end of the flex line and ... mush mush mush. To the floor. Crawled back under and had my son press on the brake while I put my hands on the flex line. I could feel it 'puff'. I took a good look at the brake line that the parts place had sold me. Not seeing anything other than a bunch of numbers, I hit the interweb and discovered that the hose I was given was low pressure fuel hose. Found my receipt and sure enough, it said fuel hose. I told that SOB at the counter that I needed flexible brake hose. I grabbed the remaining piece of uninstalled hose and headed back to the store ready to do battle. I was disappointed that the manager there, the one who sold me the hose, apologized and told me that he did not think it would expand like it did. Since it was his mistake, he refunded me the entire amount I paid and took 20% off anything I bought to solve my brake issue. Since they did not have any real flexible brake line, I measured the distance from the ABS unit to the connector at the wheel (61") and bought 2x30" rigid steel lines and a coupler. I opted for the 2-piece solution so I wasn't fighting with a convoluted bend on each end and then trying to weave it into place. So, now I have the parts and am waiting until there isn't snow on the ground before I get back under the thing. When all was said and done at the parts store, I received the parts I needed and a $7 credit. Other than my wasted time, I guess I can't bitch too much.

Now that the pathy is getting up in years, I have changed my standard haul. I don't do much offroad anymore because I'm getting tired of welding it back together and there aren't really any good local areas anymore. My Current stock is Glove-box: necessary paperwork straw (in plastic wrapper, not paper) Buck 110 knife tire pressure gauge thin nylon dog leash granola bars pen/pencil/notepad Console: puke-bag McDonalds napkins Plastic wrapped utensils from Wendy's pouch with emergency money (beyond that which is in the ashtray) package of mints 6-in-1 screwdriver lockback serrated knife Side rear compartments: shop towel roll large trash bags (good for seat covers if you're really muddy) electrical repair kit (wires, tape, test-light, assorted fuses, etc) shackles rope (miscellaneous pieces for lashing stuff) red flag (for hauling long lumber out the window) jumper cables welding sticks Rear area: 5-gal bucket small shovel gym-bag with volleyball gear gym-bag with baseball/softball gear gym-bag with hockey gear soccer ball machete tow-strap aluminum t-ball bat (weapon, not for games) 5x7 tarp blanket work gloves spare boots There are various other things hidden here and there, just in case, like: welded steel rings (for the hatch to latch onto so you can throw a rope through it to hold the tailgate down when you have stuff sticking out pliers cash plutonium stale teddy grahams fishing line/hooks

Found a guy local who will do a rebuild for fairly cheap so I think I'm covered if I need. I have disc all around and what I find interesting is that I can get no answer from any manufacturer as to the difference in MCs for a 95 pathy between disc and drum brakes. In fact, Dorman even stopped making the one for 4-disc and now list the same MC for either configuration.

the thin one

Where are you located wd21fan?

Well, I bled all my lines again. LR, RR, LF, RF and ABD unit. Still mushy brakes. Crap. Should be better weather tomorrow to isolate the MC and verify that is the problem... then to get one. What were you thinking for price shipped to 19468 Cuong?

yep. gonna rebleed everything after I install a pinch-point and check again... just in case... cause throwing money at a MC if not needed would suck

I guess I'm still not convinced it's the master cylinder and not perhaps the ABS module. Clamping the hoses going to the wheels will only take them out of the equation and if the pedal still goes to the floor, all I know is that the issue (possibly air) is in the wheel area. What I really need to do it isolate the master cylinder. Now, I can either remove the 3 brake lines from the master cylinder and plug those ports, then test the pressure or... maybe install a feature that will allow me to prevent bleedout if another line splits. If I put flex hose (about 6 inches to cover a 3-inch gap) in each of the rigid lines, just after they leave the master cylinder, I can isolate the master cylinder, any of the wheels, the entire rear system including ABD, or any combination thereof. Can also prevent losing fluid and drawing lots of air into each line if I have to replace the MC. Any bobbles at that point would be at the MC and can be reverse-bled quickly and easily without flushing air through the entire system. Hmmmm... still thinking about this. I talk my way through several variations, pros and cons, while I sit around in the evening. Drives my wife nuts. I occasionally get the "Quit re-engineering it" comment from her. I guess she's right. Changing things to make it easier for future work..... on a 20+ year old truck with over 240000 miles.... she has a point.

no specific line clamps but I figure a couple of popsicle sticks and a pair of vice-grips on each line should do the trick (enginerd it!) Will give isolating the wheels out of the system a try. If I still hit the floor, it's master cylinder time. Maybe I'll have my kid push the pedal while I use a stethoscope in the master cylinder. If there is flow-by, I should be able to hear it

Here's a small section that jumped out at me. Since it had basically drained of fluid in the parking lot and I drove it to dinner and then 20 miles home, hitting the floor with the pedal as I tried to milk whatever braking I could get, I wonder if I f'd up the seal(s). Might just replace the master cylinder anyway. Couldn't hurt and they aren't very expensive.

Kinda what I thought. I've been working on cars for almost 40 years and have never done anything different than pedal-pumping and topping off the reservoir. I don't trust gravity-bleeding because it is possible that an air pocket can exist and never bleed out unless forced.

The amount of fluid I pumped through the system should have been more than adequate to flush out any air (I even injected a bubble or two to monitor the flow) I started with the right rear since that one was staring me in the face after I did the repair. The bad line was the one that runs to the left rear. As for the clamps, I didn't take any chances. I overkilled it. For each end of the hose, I slid it onto the rigid line about 4 inches (what a pain in the ass) then put 3 clamps, a spring clamp in the middle, flanked by 2 mini perforated hose clamps that I tightened the hell out of. There is absolutely no leakage for this repair. As for just picking up a roll of rigid and making my own, there were so many bends that it would be a pain in the ass, then I'd have to put on flare nuts, and the main reason was that all the clamps that hold the brake lines were rusted badly and there would be no way to get into them without destroying the other 3 lines in the bundle. The way it feels is almost like there is a check-valve of sorts that is failing. I wonder if the plunger in my master cylinder is getting some flow-by. Maybe I'll replace or rebuild that next.

I figured all the components would bleed with the method I was using. Constant flow of fluid into the reservoir and pumping any air out through each line using the brake pedal. Just a simplified method of a normal bleed using opening/closing the bleed valves as someone else pumps the pedal. I have never had to do anything specific for the ABS unit or master cylinder. What would you do differently for them?

95 pathy SE. About a week ago, my brake indicator came on as my brake fluid was a little low. I went to leave work on Thursday, climbed in the pathy and stepped on the brake and the pedal went to the floor. No brakes except the little you get when stomping and hoping you don't tag the person who stopped in front of you. Investigation showed that I had a cracked rigid line that ran from the ABS unit midway back on the frame to the rear brakes, snaking across the rear axle. Unable to replace the entire line (not available anytime soon), I cut it in 2 places about a foot and a half apart, spanning the failure, and bypassed it with flexible brake hose and a couple clamps at each end. Wiped everything down, had my son stomp on the brake a few times and it was completely dry. Now, the pedal still went to the floor so I figured there was air in the lines. I used a 15ft piece of aquarium airline to run from the bleed valve to the master cylinder fill. At each wheel, I slipped the tubing on the nipple, loosened the bleed then got in and started stomping on the brake to pump fluid through the system and flush out any air. Worked great and no check-valve was needed since the system would rather draw from the master cylinder than back-draw through the tubing. I was getting good flow through the tubing and back into the master cylinder. About 50 cycles depressing the pedal quickly yielded a constant stream of fluid after the initial air flushed out. Closed the bleed and switched the tubing to the next wheel. One-man brake bleeding! BUT.. here is the issue. After bleeding the brakes and making sure everything was tight, I felt resistance in the brake pedal but it would still go to the floor. It seemed to firm if I pumped but putting constant pressure would hit the floor. I parked on a dry/clean location on the street and stomped the brakes 50 or more times to see if I had a leak. Completely dry and the master cylinder remained full. My question now is... Why the hell don't I have brakes?

that too.

First, it is completely possible that the battery is bad. It can happen. It should be taken to a shop or parts store and bench tested. Another way to see if there is a bad cell is to make sure it is at full charge, throw a voltmeter on it and see what the voltage is on draw down while starting. It should not be below 10v while cranking. Make sure you are testing terminal to terminal, not on the clamps. This is the only true way to read the battery. If the voltage drops below 10V, the battery is low in charge (which is why you should start with a full charge, low in water (though most batteries nowadays are maintenance-free and you should not have to add water, or your internal resistance is too high (bad cell, needs to be replaced) Then, connect your voltmeter from clamp to clamp and check the voltage again during start. Your reading should be within .1V as the prior test. If not, you should pull the clamps, clean the terminals and reinstall, then repeat the test. Third, connect the meter to the positive cable at the starter and to case ground and repeat the test. You should not have a variance of more than a half volt. IF you do, you probably have a bad cable or something else in the flow that is causing resistance (bad relay, whatever) As for the alternator, 13.8 is the bare minimum you would expect to see while running. It should be more like 14+. You can test the alternator by connecting your meter to the battery posts, start the car and let idle. Turn on the high-beam headlights and check your voltage. It should be between 13.8 and 14.5. Then, if you increase your revs to 1500rpm, you should be reading between 14.2 and 14.6. If not, the alternator may have bad diodes. Then turn off the headlights and check the voltage again (still at 1500rpm). If your voltage exceeds 14.8, you probably have a bad voltage regulator in your alternator. Also, you mention that "the starter, alternator and battery are all new"... Do you trust that your 'shop' used a new starter and not just one that was returned, possibly defective? Starters can also be bench tested but they are a pain in the ass to remove. The alternator is a rebuild and, based on the voltage output, I would suspect that is a problem. Hope any of this helps

Philly area.

I have a spare but shipping to CA wouldn't be cost effective.

I used either coleman fuel (naphthalene) or even oven cleaner (the good stuff with lye). Cleans them right up. Here's an example when I rebuilt a dodge 3.8l engine...

yes, they can be taken apart and cleaned. I put an appropriate sized socket (open end) over the end of the lifter and slammed it on the ground until the guts fell out. Worked like a charm to get them apart. reassembly is easy. As for putting them back in? dunno, never went there.

My guess would be bad contact between the battery posts and battery cable(s) but let's hope the OP chimes in with what he found

http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/nissan,1995,pathfinder,3.0l+v6,1211993,body,lift+support,1404 glass left and right, not trunk.