So Who Is Going To Bail On Their Path?

[zack1978]

Hey everyone,

As much as I hate to say or do this, I think I am going to have to bail out on my 1995 SE-V6 5spd Pathfinder. I am the original owner, and have treated this truck like gold since day one! However the rust is so sad that I think I must cut my losses before the truck has zero value. I spent almost $1,000 on frame repair last year, and the body is just getting worse by the days! It is sad because the engine is great at 173,000 miles, but I don't think I can keep in any longer. I angers me because I took such great care of the truck, and it is still rusting so badly.

And to all the idiots out there that will post telling me that it is my fault because I "didn't wash the frame out often" FU because I have always been diligent about that aspect of my truck. I consider myself more anal than most about cleaning the salt, etc off my truck! Nissan is at fault here and they should do something. I realize that they will not because it is a 12 year old truck at this point, but they are at fault, it is a huge design flaw!

 

Zack

[Simon]

You're right, it is a huge design flaw. Typically, those who don't have the rust issues, point the finger at the owner and say it's because of negligence. The simple fact here is that the trucks weren't designed for climates where salt is used in winter.

 

I just had to find a replacement for my 95, as my spring perch broke off the frame. The rest of the truck was rusting as well, and I had already reinforced quite a bit of the rear end of the frame.

 

This time around, I'll be reinforcing early.....as the frame on my replacement (which I get today) is in much better shape than my old one.

 

For me, body work isn't much of an issue, as I'm not worried about perfection. I simply want it to look better than rust holes.

 

Do what you need to do....try an R50, as they don't have nearly the rust issues that the old WD21's did. The Xterra seems to be better as well.

 

I would have gone with an X, or a Crew Cab Frontier, except that I have lots of mods that I'd have to sell that wouldn't transfer over to a newer vehicle, so I went back to a WD for now.

[k9sar]

I'm amazed at all the people who are complaining about rust. I have a 95SE and I NEVER wash it. The only rust I have is through the drivers side floor pan and a small bit near the edge of the back door. I've been under the truck many times and have yet to see rust issues.

 

and yes, I'm in the northeast.

[zack1978]

I'm amazed at all the people who are complaining about rust. I have a 95SE and I NEVER wash it. The only rust I have is through the drivers side floor pan and a small bit near the edge of the back door. I've been under the truck many times and have yet to see rust issues.

 

and yes, I'm in the northeast.

 

 

Well that is in fact amazing that you have no rust on the frame. If you have nothing better to do go on www.carsurvey.org and hit up the Pathfinder section. You will find over 50 reports of people with 93-95 Pathfinders that all have rotted frames in the rear. The people over there want to do start a class action lawsuit, I think they should! I would support the movement, however I don't think it would get far. I just can't believe Nissan stole my money!

 

Zack

[Simon]

Well, "stole my money" is a little far fetched. The vehicles here are 12-14 years old. It's a stretch to angry with Nissan over quality issues when we're talking about trucks that old.

 

I'm not saying it's not a problem....but it's not like they totally dropped the ball, they simply did not consider salt and corrosion. Many Japanese vehicles for many years suffered the same afflictions.

[Slick]

my aunt and uncle live in NJ, it snows, city salts...... when ever my aunt & uncle buy new cars, no matter what make, they take the vehicle to have the frames coated...... my uncle had a 72 chevy he LOVED, and used for everything, towing the boat, winter, summer, anything, and she finally died due to rust issues. after that, it was (as my uncle called it) "away with the frame".. which meant it was off for the new vehicle to be coated lol. seems to have worked, my aunt has had the same mercedez since 1986 and it's still immaculate.

yes, nissan dropped the ball on these trucks, but so did other manufacturers as simon said... little, snow/salt free eastern countries do not think of the effects of winter weather on their cars (ha! they do now)..... it is sad when a pathy dies to rust, and i really wish i could just buy up ALL the unwanted pathy's here in CA and ship them to everyone who has rust issues.

 

a pathy from CA to PA is only $700-900 shipped........and that's for a non runner...... it's not as expensive as people think. i paid less than $1k on 3 of my 4 pathys (less than $500 on 2 of em) and all 4 of em have immaculate frames.

 

i just get so depressed at the thought of another pathy dying to this cancer.

[zack1978]

my aunt and uncle live in NJ, it snows, city salts...... when ever my aunt & uncle buy new cars, no matter what make, they take the vehicle to have the frames coated...... my uncle had a 72 chevy he LOVED, and used for everything, towing the boat, winter, summer, anything, and she finally died due to rust issues. after that, it was (as my uncle called it) "away with the frame".. which meant it was off for the new vehicle to be coated lol. seems to have worked, my aunt has had the same mercedez since 1986 and it's still immaculate.

yes, nissan dropped the ball on these trucks, but so did other manufacturers as simon said... little, snow/salt free eastern countries do not think of the effects of winter weather on their cars (ha! they do now)..... it is sad when a pathy dies to rust, and i really wish i could just buy up ALL the unwanted pathy's here in CA and ship them to everyone who has rust issues.

 

a pathy from CA to PA is only $700-900 shipped........and that's for a non runner...... it's not as expensive as people think. i paid less than $1k on 3 of my 4 pathys (less than $500 on 2 of em) and all 4 of em have immaculate frames.

 

i just get so depressed at the thought of another pathy dying to this cancer.

But the thing is that even if you have a solid frame it will rust VERY quickly! I wish that I could keep my Pathfinder, as it is perfect on the interior and it still looks good, but the underside is a mess. They not only dropped that ball, they lost the ball!

 

Zack

[GhostPath]

But the thing is that even if you have a solid frame it will rust VERY quickly! I wish that I could keep my Pathfinder, as it is perfect on the interior and it still looks good, but the underside is a mess. They not only dropped that ball, they lost the ball!

 

Zack

 

 

Many domestic cars had a similar issue, so it's not just Nissan. And those "other" makes are actually rusting, too.

 

What's happened here is that Nissan used a high carbon steel to build these trucks. This is stronger than the lower, cheaper grades of steel used by other makers, so they can make cars out of thinner panels and keep the weight and cost down while not sacrificing strength or safety.

 

The problem is that all steel rusts, period, and high carbon steel rusts faster than low-carbon steel. And since there's less steel there for the rust to eat through, we get holes quicker - especially in environments where there's salt on the roads. That's the difference between our trucks and, say, an S-10 or Explorer in the same conditions. The same thing will happen to them, too, but it just takes longer.

 

There are ways to prevent it, but you need to have a largely rust-free Southern or Western truck to start with (since you can't get a new one any more). Fortunately, Pathfinders are *cheap*. You could also buy a non-running rig from the Sun Belt and swap bodies over - after properly cleaning and rustproofing the new frame. Selling the resulting leftover parts will get you more than enough money to pay for the exercise.

Edited July 11, 2007 by GhostPath

[mws]

Well said, Ghost.

 

For me, I am planning to stick with Pathies for a very long time. Sure, they have a couple warts, but having owned and worked on many other makes, I still say the positives far outweigh the negatives. And these negatives are well known and most can be addressed.

Something to consider: How many vehicles have 0 issues at 173K miles? ALL vehicles have issues - most far more and far more severe than these. Just because you don't know what they are doesn't mean they don't have any... Blindly jumping from a frying pan into a fire is painful.

 

If I were in your shoes, I would find a rust free version, do some preventive action, and drive.

[denisb]

I had a 97 Taurus that was rusted way worst than my 90 Pathy was. I know they should have designed a little different, but name me an almost 20 year old car that has no rust or no design flaw. From what I saw from my Pathy I would not be scared to buy one tomorrow (89-95 anyway). Personaly I think they are very well built, easy to work on and I plan on owning another one in the future as a trail vehicle.

 

Denis

[88pathoffroad]

On the Oregon side, mine has no rust. I've dunked it into the ocean a few times, too. Most of the junkyard Pathys I see over here are rust-free as well. My 83 Impulse is rust-free, my 83 Chevy van is as well. Little brother's 85 S-10 Blazer is in remarkable condition, no problems at all on that one. Then again, the 89 Pathy I bought (wrecked) had rust everywhere underneath (it primarily resided in the mountains way out in the country). The frame was OK but the body was another story. I think about seven out of every ten bolts I attempted to remove either stripped out or broke off.

 

Good luck on a class action suit for vehicles this old...I don't think they have liability any more.

[zack1978]

Here is some great reading!

 

Zack

 

http://www.carsurvey.org/viewcomments_review_78984.html

[GhostPath]

Here is some great reading!

 

Zack

 

http://www.carsurvey.org/viewcomments_review_78984.html

 

 

Lots of people whining and complaining about rust caused by salted roads.

 

Go check out a Taurus forum. They have similar problems. And I don't want to get into what happens to things with steel as thick as my old Jaguar battleship, the XJ6 - terminal rust in critical areas; and the XJ6 has thicker panels than *anything* GM is shipping these days.

 

This is a problem for a LOT of cars, not just the Pathfinder.

 

I came to Pathfinders from the old Jeep Grand Wagoneers. Guess what? Their HUGE box frames rust through in about the same amount of time, if not less. Grand Cherokees? Same story.

 

The problem is only going to get worse as fuel economy mandates require makers to use stronger, lighter, thinner materials. They make the Yukon here in Dallas - the new Yukon's panels are thinner than the last generation, the frame is now fully hydroformed and thinner as well. Guess what's going to happen in about 10 years up in the rust belt with these rigs?

[GhostPath]

And, as for "They all rust out right away, it doesn't matter what you do," here are pics of my 1993 XE with 255,000 miles on the clock. There's some extremely light surface rust spotting, but NOTHING resembling cancer or anything significant. I tested with a hammer and awl and got nothing but solid metal.

 

 

 

If you want to blame someone, blame your municipality for using sodium chloride salts on the roads for traction, instead of a non-destructive method. Like, oh, SAND. Or one of the newer non-car-eating technologies.

Edited July 11, 2007 by GhostPath

[GhostPath]

Also, go check out http://www.explorerforum.com/

 

Lots and lots and lots of people complaining about frame and body rot there.

 

Here's some 94 Explorer pics:

 

 

 

[zack1978]

yeah here is mine.

 

Zack

[zack1978]

MOre

[zack1978]

And.........

[zack1978]

It is endless....

[GhostPath]

yeah here is mine.

 

Zack

 

 

This would be why I neither live in or buy cars from the Rust Belt. I've seen the salts you use up there eat through a SOLID .5" thick control arm in three years.

 

Down here, cars don't rust out. Let me guess, you live well north of the Mason Dixon line, don't you?

[AK9849cy]

Heck guys, just cut your truck in half and tube the back half... fixes it! Kiddin

 

I read somewhere that Nissan made the frames using metal from two suppliers? It was something like that. Anyway, some of the frames rot and some don't because of this.

Edited July 12, 2007 by AK9849cy

[TerranoNZ]

This is a repost but thought I'd put it up again. We have problems over here and we don't use salt. BTW My Pathfinder is rust free and never washed, unless you class a wash as charging head first into a river.

 

http://www.landtransport.govt.nz/publicati...sheet-1-35.html

[OzMattie]

Gday guys and girls,

 

Wow looking at some of these pics all i can say is "wholly crap batman". I dont know if you guys have these in the states but have a look any way.

 

http://www.couplertec.com.au/product/4wd.html Hopefully we dont loose to many beloved pathies to the metal worms.

 

If the cabin and interior are good why not buy a good rail from a wrecking yard down south. just a thought dont know what the laws are there in doing so but here in Austalia you can do it aslong as you can prove that your purchased it from a legal source.

[k9sar]

Gday guys and girls,

 

Wow looking at some of these pics all i can say is "wholly crap batman". I dont know if you guys have these in the states but have a look any way.

 

http://www.couplertec.com.au/product/4wd.html Hopefully we dont loose to many beloved pathies to the metal worms.

 

If the cabin and interior are good why not buy a good rail from a wrecking yard down south. just a thought dont know what the laws are there in doing so but here in Austalia you can do it aslong as you can prove that your purchased it from a legal source.

 

 

comes with a big bottle of snake-oil

[GhostPath]

Heck guys, just cut your truck in half and tube the back half... fixes it! Kiddin

 

I read somewhere that Nissan made the frames using metal from two suppliers? It was something like that. Anyway, some of the frames rot and some don't because of this.

 

 

All the steel at Kyushu came from the same supplier, IIRC. *Worldwide*, Nissan had 5 suppliers and cut that down to 2.

 

 

Gday guys and girls,

 

Wow looking at some of these pics all i can say is "wholly crap batman". I dont know if you guys have these in the states but have a look any way.

 

http://www.couplertec.com.au/product/4wd.html Hopefully we dont loose to many beloved pathies to the metal worms.

 

If the cabin and interior are good why not buy a good rail from a wrecking yard down south. just a thought dont know what the laws are there in doing so but here in Austalia you can do it aslong as you can prove that your purchased it from a legal source.

 

It is legal here, too - but you have to jump through some hoops with the local motoring control agency/department of motor vehicles to get it titled and registered since the frame and chassis VINs would no longer match - and it would really suck to have the vehicle confiscated as a potential stolen car.

 

As for the floorpan rust, that's a different matter than the frame rust. The floorpan is just a bad design - however, it is not a load-bearing member, and it can be easily repaired with a patch panel or three. The frame rot has to do with salt more than anything else.