GhostPath Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 This may have been posted before, but I couldn't find it. We all know about how leaves can get past the cowl grilles on the WD21s. They get into the internal air intake, go into the blower casing, accumulate and eventually either kill the blower or catch on fire when the blower motor resistor pack gets hot. Also, they tend to crack, break, and fly off. Well, Nissan has recently issued a set of update parts. The new grilles are about $20 each and incorporate several improvements to fix these two problems. New part on top, old broken-and-reglued part on bottom. The new grilles cost about $20 each (cheaper than some used ones I've seen) and they are cast/molded differently. They incorporate gridding between the big grille vanes for added strength and to keep all but the smallest leaf bits out. US driver's side part number is 66815-0S700; passenger side is 66814-0S700. It will come up in the catalog as a "special service part". A car wash removed mine, so I had to replace it. I am very pleased that Nissan decided to fix this problem with the trucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 (edited) Good find, looks like that should resolve it, huh. I've been meaning to tear into that for a while now, but I figured they'd probably break and fall apart if I tried. $20 each, eh. Its good to see its finally been addressed, but it just peeves me that Nissan just now admits they screwed up roughly 20 years after the initial design and tons of trucks sold, and all their error will set you back is $40 for a a couple pieces of plastic. They're probably molded for 25cents each in a Taiwan sweatshop. Lovely. But hey, its cheaper than a fire at least. Edited December 29, 2007 by Mr. Pickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 I'm not going to replace mine until the originals break off. Also I don't get any smell on any fan speed and I haven't cleaned out the plenum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 My friend had those stock on his (94 or 95) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I don't on my 95. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPath88 Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 I'm not going to replace mine until the originals break off. Also I don't get any smell on any fan speed and I haven't cleaned out the plenum. Don't bet your truck or your life on the lack of smell... it takes only a small portion of your day to clean it out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texasbudman Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Wow... Good Find!!!!!!!!!! I didn't even know about the possible fire... Wow!!!!!!!! One would think that that would be grounds for a recall for service update... I'm gonna have to ck mine... Thanks a million... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagwoodzz Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Hope I'm not jacking the thread, but last week I started smelling smoke when running the fan. I havent ran the fan since and it was freakin cold this morning. When you say fire, do you mean up in flames fire. I guess I'll be diggin under the dashboard this w/end! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Yes....flames. Fire. The standard type of fire. It's not that uncommon, and it's definitely worth the 20 minutes or so it takes to clean it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earth1 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Nice. I just had one break off when I opened the hood with some ice on it. I was getting a new pair anyway, good o know they changed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagwoodzz Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Had a safety refresher not too long ago and actually remember the formula for fire. Heat + oxygen + fuel = fire The only way to extinguish fire is to remove one of its components. In this case fuel = leaves. Leaves must be removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9sar Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 quick and easy mod... pick up some black fiberglass screening material from the local home improvement store. Pop the vents out, cut the screen to size and glue (model cement or similar) to the underside of the vents. replace. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostPath Posted January 3, 2008 Author Share Posted January 3, 2008 Yes....flames. Fire. The standard type of fire. It's not that uncommon, and it's definitely worth the 20 minutes or so it takes to clean it out. 17 years of leaves in my blower casing: I recently started smelling smoldering vegetation, and was going to clean out the box anyway when the car wash excised my cowl vent. It only takes a few minutes to get to this point, once you figure out that the lower glovebox hinges are pullpins. And yup, my blower resistor pack was showing signs of scorching and such. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyb33 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 so ive cleaned mine out the best that i can, how do you pull the whole bottom half of the box? is it possible (easily possible that is?) i havent really looked into it before, just kinda occurred to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 That NPORA member, maybe 6-8 months ago (can't remember his name) who's WD21 caught on fire...he posted pics of it as well, a white one. Was this what happened to him?? I've never heard of this issue before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostPath Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 I have no idea how to pull the bottom part of the box, though it looks like it may just be clips. Once you clean the leaves out and spray down the interior of the casing with alcohol to kill the mold, that should be enough to keep your truck from catching on fire. Well, that and either fitting these new vents or putting screening behind the old ones to prevent the leaves from coming back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 That NPORA member, maybe 6-8 months ago (can't remember his name) who's WD21 caught on fire...he posted pics of it as well, a white one. Was this what happened to him?? I've never heard of this issue before. Ther have been 2 main fire issues with the WDs; this one, and one caused by the carpet under the gas pedal getting set alite by the hot exhaust via a rust hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 How does one go about ordering these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GhostPath Posted January 4, 2008 Author Share Posted January 4, 2008 How does one go about ordering these? Go to the dealership and order them using the part numbers in the first post. You will probably also need the pushpins that hold them in place as they are probably either already broken or you will break them getting them out. They are part number 66814-01G00; you will need 6 of them. List price is 0.87 each. To summarize, you will need to go to the dealer and order: One each 66814-0S700 One each 66815-0S700 Six each 66814-01G00 And that's all you need to do the job properly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 That NPORA member, maybe 6-8 months ago (can't remember his name) who's WD21 caught on fire...he posted pics of it as well, a white one. Was this what happened to him?? I've never heard of this issue before. Pavelow Leaks??? I think his was a fuel rail problem wasn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
navygz19 Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 Pavelow Leaks??? I think his was a fuel rail problem wasn't it? Yep you're right. And then there's been a lot of pics from people who've lost the heat shield under the front seats created big hot spots. At any rate, it's good of Nissan to take care of the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagwoodzz Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Cleaned mine today. Now I can run heater in the morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeV Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 (edited) Had a hole burn in the carpet where my heel sits in my since frame rusted pathy (heat shield rusted off) cleaned the leaves out also; thanks Edited January 14, 2008 by MikeVanceinWI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mws Posted January 16, 2008 Share Posted January 16, 2008 Here'e the thread on cleaning the plenum: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=7466 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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