93K And What to Do

[bwyatt]

New to Pathfinders and maintenance; see that my 97 Pathy SE wants its timng belt replaced at 105K; I figure it's 10 years old (soon), and I should do it early. So as it needs its 90K stuff (plugs, trans, coolant, axle fluids, transfer case, wheel bearings packed, etc.), I'd do it all now. I've read some stories if guys doing this on their own, and rebuilding the top half soon afterwards. I want to avoid that.

 

I'm told I can get a kit with the timing belt tensioner, belt, and water pump. This sounds reasonable. The manual, though, says pull the raddy and all; do I really need to do that? How can I be sure I have everything 'right' (besides paying someone to do it).

 

How can I fill the transfer case when I'm on my back on the driveway? The axles shouldn't be a problem, and I think I;ll get by on the trans okay, too.

 

I'm concerned about the wheel bearings; specifically, leaving he bearing either too loose or too tight. The book isn;t if much help here, needing some fangled wrench or something to make it work right.

 

I just lack the knowledge and experience of working on Pathy's; any help, reassurances, avoidances, suggestions, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

[cdhicks99]

First off welcome

I've read some stories if guys doing this on their own, and rebuilding the top half soon afterwards. I want to avoid that.

Just take your time and pay attention to the marks and their correct position.

How can I fill the transfer case when I'm on my back on the driveway?

Easy! You can get a small hand pump or use a gear oil nipple cap screwed on your ATF bottle with a length of 3/8 gas hose then just squeeze it in.

I'm concerned about the wheel bearings; specifically, leaving he bearing either too loose or too tight. The book isn;t if much help here, needing some fangled wrench or something to make it work right.

I can't help there as I have never worked on the R50's

 

Cory

[88pathoffroad]

Pulling the radiator is for safety reasons. Dinging it up on the inside cause that's where your wrenches are is the issue. You don't want to have to replace that as well, do you?

 

I don't think they have a "kit" for that project per se, but they should know what needs to be replaced and be able to procure those things for you fairly easily:

Water pump

Timing belt tensioner

Belt

Cam seals (2)

Crank seal (1)

Coolant bypass hose(if needed, or if applicable)

Cylinder head temp sensor(if applicable)

Drive belts (if needed)

Radiator hoses(if needed)

 

The t-case isn't bad at all! The fill plug is on the back side with lots of room, IIRC. A tube on the end of a squeeze bottle of gear oil is all you need. Takes a while, so be ready for that.

 

Wheel bearings are pretty much all the same in our design. Remove old bearings, clean out innards, grease new bearings and install, then tighten the nut to whatever torque they reccommend, give the rotor a spin a few times back and forth(which seats the bearings), then loosen the locknut all the way. Re-tighten very lightly, until the bearings are fully seated and allow the rotor to turn freely without binding up after one spin, but not so loose as to be able to feel a looseness or wobble to the rotor/knuckle. Or so loose as to let it spin more than a half revolution with one tug of the hand(it shouldn't spin like the Wheel Of Fortune). That's pretty much what you're looking for there. The locknut tool is a tough one, I hear that a 1/2 ton Chevy locknut wrench/socket works if you grind off two tabs and bend the other two inward a bit with a hammer. Those can be found pretty cheap and easily at most auto parts stores. I haven't experimented with that one personally, though. When I do I'll let you know.

[unccpathfinder]

i think having the radiator out also gives u a good bit more of working room...

 

Easy! You can get a small hand pump or use a gear oil nipple cap screwed on your ATF bottle with a length of 3/8 gas hose then just squeeze it in.

 

i actually had 1 of those and it was a lot of work...i ended up pulling the hose off and slipping it over the nipple on a gear oil jug held it up from under the truck and squeezing it to fill it (my roommate got home and was like what the hell r u doing giving ure truck a beer bong)...it worked like a champ...if u wanted to cut corners there to save a couple $ u could always get some hose from home depot or lowes...

 

take your time and just double check to make sure u've put everything back together right and ure torques are correct...other than that its not a hard job just time consuming esp the 1st time...

[Precise1]

With the wheel bearings, do as was recommended. Preload is determined via spring gage, but a simple weight tied to a string and a wheel stud does the same thing. I believe I used a hand sledge (as a weight)... The important thing is to re check it in about 200-500 miles.

 

B