Tosh Posted July 28, 2009 Share Posted July 28, 2009 Ok to start things off i turned 16 yesterday and i ahve to get the pathfinder to at least pass inspection. I have started threads about all of the problems i'm having but i'm going to put them all in here for more opinions and orginazational sakes. **WARNING I WILL ASK A LOT OF QUESTIONS** To start things off i'll list the things that i've already ordered and the stuff i can do without help. 1. Windshield Wipers 2. Hood latch assembly(mine is bent all to hell) 3. Ripping out the carpet interior and putting bed liner down 4. New stereo system(haven't ordered yet..looking at alpine or pioneer) Now i'll put down the problems i'm having(this is where i need help) 1. If it hasn't been run in a couple of days whenever i start it up it runs like crap. it sputters and i have to give it gas for about 30 seconds or it will cut out. Also it smells like exhaust fumes in the cabin. it's a pretty strong smell. 2. I can't keep the battery charged for more than 2 days. We've replaced the alternator recently and it's a fairly new battery(a year old). We did a bypass ignition source because the one on the key stopped working. All it is is a button on the dash that goes to the starter and the battery with a relay. I don't think that it would suck battery life but i'm not sure. The positive cable is pretty corroded idk if that would suck battery life either. 3. 4 wheel drive does not work. havin it looked at by a friend not sure if it is CV's or hubs 4. Needs to be aligned. Bad steering wheel wobble. The last 4 are the questions that i need help with. anything would be appriciated. I'll update this as i do these things with pictures then maybe start modding it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 also anyting that you think would be helpful or good in the truck can be added too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaosSaint Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 (edited) Bought my sec pathy about 2 weeks ago. My experience with this one... Carpets and trim are cake to pull out. There is a bit of wiring towards the front that might be a little difficult to cover over in order to put liner down, unless you just don't care that it is exposed. I pulled all the trim, headliner and carpet out to clean thoroughly. I also took the cloth covers off the rear seats (so far), shampooed them and then put them back on fairly easily. They look and smell brand new. You'll probably find a decent amount of rust under the carpet and under the rear seats, i sure did - just going to ignore it for now; I doubt liner will stick well to rust spots if you coat over them. I did a general tune up which solved a really rough idle, the engine cutting out, and crappy acceleration. Replaced old spark plugs (used NGK's - heard the run well in Jap cars, no idea if there is any truth to that though). Changed oil and oil filter, if you havn't done this yet I would cover up the starter with something cause it's going to look like a crime scene when you unscrew your old filer - oil gets everywhere. Also replaced air filter and ripped out all the plastic intake crap - there is a baffle looking thing tucked in the fender and a little tube that routs up near the hood vent. After that I replaced some damaged vac lines? coming off the intake, cleaned out the throttle body really well and then the mass air flow sensor. It's cake to do and if ur unsure search around a bit there is lots of info on both. I believe a lot of my issues were resolved by just cleaning out the throttle body; it was all gummed up with black crud. My 4x4 shift lever was stuck in 2 wheel - the linkage was just seized; a little wd40 and grease fixed that quickly. Pull off the boot (inside of the cabin) or you can get to it on the underside (drivers side) right next to the transfer case. I loosened up mine by taking the boot off and dripped wd40 on all the joints, and then crawled under and painted the joints with grease. Shifted the lever back and forth a few times and it's golden now. I have no idea if this is your problem - might be something to look for if you are having difficulty moving the shift lever? fyi... 2 wheel is the top most position too, not Neutral. You pull down to engage 4H, then neutral, and then push the handle down and pull all the way back to engage 4Low. If you drive a tight circle with 4 wheel engaged you should feel your tires fighting each other because they want to rotate at different rates but cant; this isnt great for your pathy btw. Make sure ur tension/compression rods arn't broken or loose. This was problem for me on both the pathys i've owned - in each car the drivers side broke at the threads and needed to be replaced. If they are broken you'll get what I, and others, call the Death Wobble - self explanatory. Also sounds like you have the typical leaking exhaust manifolds... if mine sits too long the cabin smells of exhaust. They also give a nice "tick tick tick tick tick tick" sound... entertaining if your radio doesn't work i suppose, otherwise very annoying. I'm sure it robs some power too. hope you find some of that useful! Edited July 29, 2009 by ChaosSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 thanks that's exxactly what i'm lookin for. do you think that i should replace manifolds with headers or just get new manifolds? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaosSaint Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 (edited) Yup.. that's what I did. It's all dirt cheap and easy to do in your drive way. throttle body cleaner - $5, plugs - about $3-4 per (vac or air out where the old plugs are before taking them out; for me, there was a lot of grit and sand sitting in the plug wells. sand ='s very bad for engine), oil filter - $6 (don't use FRAM), oil - $20, air filter - $8. I got pretty good results, but you may have different issues; will keep you busy for a little bit and I would think that's a good starting point to get it running better. PM me if you have any questions. I'm sure some of the more experienced guys around here have some suggestions of their own. As far as leaking manifolds go, bolts break and the manifolds warp as a result of crappy engineering, I'm sure yours suffer from at least one of those. Seems like a pita job too... mine need attention (specifically passenger side). I have no experience replacing them myself, but I've read of people doing headers, new manifolds, or getting the originals machined down with the idea that they have already warped from heat and will not warp further - seems to be a legit argument to me. If/ when I do it to my Pathy, I'll probably go with headers and redo the entire exhaust while I'm at it. My whole exhaust is rusted to hell, brackets looking like they are going to fall off, and a hole somewhere along the way. For the time being, I don't care about it - I'm too busy fighting frame rot! I'm very very tempted to try a half ass fix and paste on some JB Weld or something to plug up leaks... Anyone have a reason not to try that? lol Edited July 29, 2009 by ChaosSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 thanks again for the help my mom is picking up spark plugs and throttle body cleaner on her way home. I think my biggest problem right now is the battery being dead. I ran it for an hour yesterday(hade to jump it) and it started up in the evening without a jump. Battery didn't even sound weak at all. Went to start it this morning to try and clean the MAF and doesn't even have enough battery to turn it over 1 time. I made certain yesterday that everything was closed and nothing was on theat would run the battery down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 (edited) Could be a short somewhere? If you have a voltmeter you can disconnect the negative battery cable and put a lead on the negative batt terminal and the other on the unconnected negative batt cable and check and remember the voltage. Go back and do the same thing 30 minutes to an hour later and see if you get the same draw. I had the same prob about 2 weeks ago, it REALLY helps to get an aftermarket volt meter so you can see whats going on while your driving. My problem ended up being the NEW (reman) craptastic autozone alt was crap straight outta the box, and don't trust those screwy bench test alt testers. Mine would work great for about 10 minutes of driving then it would crap out, so when they did the 1 minute bench test it always passed. Bad diodes me thinks. Hope that helps Edited July 29, 2009 by headpeace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 another thing to check is your connections at the alt and at the battery, make sure your cables between the two haven't been compromised. And check your grounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 another thing to check is your connections at the alt and at the battery, make sure your cables between the two haven't been compromised. And check your grounds Sounds to me like its not a bad alt, as he said it charged just fine after driving some, but wouldn't crank up later on. IMO you either have an electric "leech", or your battery isn't holding a charge. I believe walmart does free battery testing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 (edited) yes they do, that would be a good first start and the easiest, that was the first thing I did. I would get a volt meter and start checking if the battery is good here's my unresolved post: http://npora.ipbhost.com//index.php?showto...mp;#entry413981 guess I need to go back and add what actually resolved the issue - Another new alt! OK its been updated Edited July 29, 2009 by headpeace Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 i'm going to bring it to wal mart and get it tested whenver i get it to pass inspection the i'll go from there.. mom said she would pick up any kinds of fluid that i needed today.. i know there's plentty of fluid to change on the thing. It hasn't had much use in the past few years just me drivin it around and goin through a little mud. So what fluids should be changed on it and what kind of fluid should she get Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted July 29, 2009 Share Posted July 29, 2009 Oil transmission differentials (front and rear) transfer case do them all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 thanks i'll change all of them sunday Well it's getting worse and worse. This morning i went to start it anddd..needed to be jumped. jumped ran it around the property, parked it near the house to clean the MAF. cleaned MAF and went to start it(maybe 20 minutes after i parked) and won't crank. Had to jump it to move out of hte way for my mom's car..but on the plus side it runs great now! very even idle and rev. doesn't act like it's going to cut out anymore Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted July 29, 2009 Author Share Posted July 29, 2009 cleaned the throttle body..runs pretty good. My mom went and got alot of stuff and she got a FRAM oil filter. i've seen it everywhere not to use these but i've never known why not to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaosSaint Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 cleaned the throttle body..runs pretty good.My mom went and got alot of stuff and she got a FRAM oil filter. i've seen it everywhere not to use these but i've never known why not to? Overall crappy components and quality, the filter surface area is small compared to other similar filters. Search the forums, there is a bit of info posted about it from others - mostly why not to use them. Fram Filter Review Personally, I use a Purolator PureONE filter (PL24457). They're kind of expensive, but I have a buddy with an account at my local parts store and can get them for me for $6.25 - no sales tax either.... one reason to love Delaware! You can also find them on Amazon.com. I have no problem spending a little bit more on a decent filter... 6 bucks is cheap insurance for expensive engine work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Day95 Posted July 30, 2009 Share Posted July 30, 2009 hey bro, it sounds to me like u deff have a short some where, make sure that ur hot wire isnt touching any where on the chassis or any type of metal other than where it needs to be, if needed replace the hot line. that would explain the runnin fine, and chargin only for a moment... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted July 30, 2009 Author Share Posted July 30, 2009 I can find my way around most of the engine but when it comes to wiring. i know nothing. where exactly is the hotwire? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 bump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
headpeace Posted August 6, 2009 Share Posted August 6, 2009 try this? "If you have a voltmeter you can disconnect the negative battery cable and put a lead on the negative batt terminal and the other on the unconnected negative batt cable and check and remember the voltage. Go back and do the same thing 30 minutes to an hour later and see if you get the same draw." easiest thing I did, was told by a friend of my wife who is ASE certified to try it, and it makes complete sense after I thought about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted August 7, 2009 Share Posted August 7, 2009 If you ar going to go through all the trouble of pulling the manifolds off, might as well replace them then, rather than having to pull everything apart again to do it latteron down the road. If money is an issue and the manifolds are OK, then just replace the broken studs and put the manifolds back on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted August 7, 2009 Author Share Posted August 7, 2009 how much do volt meters run? i gotta go out this weekend and get some parts for the pathfinder and i might pick up one while i'm out. and the maniflods don't look too bad they just have one little crack in them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted August 8, 2009 Author Share Posted August 8, 2009 woooooo the pathfinder's street legal got it insepcted with new tires! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beavis0076 Posted August 8, 2009 Share Posted August 8, 2009 How about some pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tosh Posted August 9, 2009 Author Share Posted August 9, 2009 (edited) here's some pics Edited August 9, 2009 by Tosh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 that thing is pretty clean, sweet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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