mritt400 Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Well I am the newest new guy I guess (for now). Anyway, I came across this forum and once I looked around I knew this would be a good place for information, possibly some humor and an occasional place to vent. Whilst taking a break from my 4ZE1 Trooper upper engine rebuild I came across a deal. I am actually very new to the Nissan Pathfinder. I happened across ad on Craigslist that said “95 Pathfinder, running, needs work, make offer”. I, as I am sure most of us are, quite pleased to see “needs work”, “running” and “make offer” in the same phrase and he also said it was running. I jumped the battery, turned the key and she fired right up with a plume of dust rising up from a pretty formidable hole in the upper exhaust. No ticks, squeals or readily noticeable abnormalities. Well to make a long story short; he wanted the space in his driveway back and who am I to deny him. $200 on the trailer and down the road. Shoot, the tires on it are worth almost twice that. The good: The body is actually pretty good condition considering the year and location. Frame looks solid; brakes work well, 4 tires w/ less than 1k on ‘em…All in all seems like a pretty sound little truck. Shifts in and out of gear nicely although I have not been able to go down the road yet so we will see how she does in that area in the coming weeks. The (not so) bad: Driver exterior door handle busted off. Front passenger door will not open at all. Exhaust leak and a pretty mean gas leak mid way down the truck on passenger side of the frame. The truck has 160,00k and at this point I don’t know if that is a bad thing. There are a few other bits and bobs that will need some tweaking, but all and all it’s not that bad. Already a "to do" list: I am going to call the guy back just to get a better idea of the service history. Either way I am planning on replacing the timing belt, tensioner and water pump. IF already done in the last 20-30k I won’t bother. However, I must admit in reading some previous posts, I am getting squeamish about the timing belt due to the lack of proper timing marks and all this talk of “tooth counting” and still being off. We’ll see what happens. Ifigured if I spent the $200 on parts for my Tooper I still would be a ways off from gettin' her back together. Why not spend it on something that is already running to at least get me through the winter? Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I’ll be kicking around and picking your brains, so I hope you don’t mind…And yes I know how to use the search function when I need to…ha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Where's the search function anyway? Welcome to NPORA! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted August 7, 2007 Share Posted August 7, 2007 Welcome to the board. 160K is nothing to worry about, but do that timing belt FOR SURE if it hasn't been done. It's not hard. I've done it twice, and never had an issue lining things up. My best guess is people getting scared of it, and making more out of the situation than there really is. Line the marks on the new belt up with the marks on the camshafts, and the last mark on the belt will align with the mark on the crankshaft. If all 3 are aligned, it's good. Just make sure when you take the old belt off that the marks on the camshafts line up with the marks on the inner timing cover, and it'll go smoothly. You may need to turn the engine over a few times to get them to line up. The "how-to" in the garage section is really quite thorough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slick Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 hello and welcome! sounds like you got a pretty good deal there but...... :worthless: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mritt400 Posted August 8, 2007 Author Share Posted August 8, 2007 Just got it home yesterday so I will post pics soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerranoNZ Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Welcome to the family If your doing head work on another engine chances are the cambelt will be a piece of cake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted August 12, 2007 Share Posted August 12, 2007 Welcome to the forums... I've done a couple timing belts on my Pathy, and as Simon mentioned, it's not hard as long as you don't makit it hard by over thinking it Check out that how too and then ask if you still have questions. there are a couple of members here who have posted up questions (just to be sure) while they were changing the belts 95 in upstate NY? Double check both frame rails with a small hammer (above the rear axle)... just to be sure! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now