New Finder Advice?

[swapdip]

Hey all, I just picked up my first Pathfinder today, a 1990 auto 4X4. I'm pretty excited about it, straight up traded my 1992 Ford Ranger 2wd and I feel like I got the better deal, even if the Nissan has 40,000 more miles and is 2 years older. Awesome tow package, power everything, great sound system, perfect BFG tires, roof rack and everything works really well. I especially like that outside bracket for the spare. My brother owned a finder a few years ago and I haven't found anything like it since...anyways I'm pretty stoked. Drove it hope and it handled great, now it is in my driveway and I expect I have a little maintenance to do.

 

Here's my questions:

 

1. The trans fluid is a dark maroon color, definitely old fluid but it doesn't smell burnt. The PO had the truck for 7 years and couldn't at all remember the last time the fluid was changed, so I was considering hiring someone to flush the transmission. Is this worth it, or will new trans fluid and filter suffice? It has 170,000 miles, and I feel like it has a lot of life left but I would like to treat it right. I've heard the "let sleeping crud lie" theory of high miles engines and transmissions that don't recommend aggressive cleaning lest solidified gunk be knocked up to clog some as-yet untouched part of the machine, how applicable is that to Pathfinders?

 

2. It has a K&N air filter, I only use them in my motorcycles but I've heard mixed reviews for automobiles. Should I replace with a paper filter or clean the one I have?

 

3. What weight oil do you all recommend for a truck of this vintage? 10w30 or 40?

 

4. The boots look solid, there is a small oil leak from the motor but I'm cool with that, no leak from transfer cases or trans. I did a good road test and everything seems to be in order, but this is my first 4X4 system. Besides replacing fluids is there anything I should look out for in the 4X4 system or replace irregardless?

 

5. It has some serious tires, they throw the speedo off by 9mph! No lift tho. Anyways for people who take them offroad, what level of adventure can these things take without getting hurt? I don't want to do any rock climbing or anything but this is my only car and I'd rather not break it. So do you all recommend I stick to sand and pavement, or can I sensibly have a little more fun than that?

 

 

And here is a hypothetical:

 

My gf once had a Honda CRV with AWD, and when her drive shaft got all bent up on a rock we disconnected it and ran just on front wheel drive for over a year until we were able to do a real repair job. Should the same happen in a Pathfinder could I disconnect the rear drive shaft and run it in 4wd (essentially front wheel drive) without doing serious damage to other parts ie tranny and engine? We were both pretty surprised that the CRV did as well as it did for as long, but I am less inclined to do experimental mechanics on my own vehicle, if you know what I mean.

 

Thanks, and I look forward to reading through all of your back posts.

 

-Max

[adamzan]

I would change all the fluids: tranny, engine, front and rear differential, and transfer case.

 

Add an external transmission cooler and bypass the stock one, it is known to clog and burn out the trans.

 

I run 5w50 in the summer in mine and 5w30 in the winter, though I live in Canada and it gets really cold here. I run full synthetic.

 

Clean your k&n, I've had no issues with mine.

 

Find out when the timing belt was last replaced, your interval is every 60k miles. If it breaks, the engine is toast pretty much.

 

If things under the hood look untouched it might be a good idea to give it a tune up, plugs, wires and cap/rotor.

 

Check the front end for play and if necessary replace any worn items and check the wheel bearings, repack and adjust them if they need it.

 

Depending on where the truck was from, check the rear frame rails for rot, it is a very common problem.

 

As for the tires your truck probably came with small tires from the factory, and someone put 31"x10.5 on instead, it is pretty common to see. That would throw off your speedometer.

 

If I have missed anything I'm sure others will chime in. Like you it is my only car, I do wheel it but lightly for the time being until I can get my other pathfinder on the road, yes it is an addiction! I'm sure you will find all the info you need here!

Edited January 23, 2010 by adamzan

[YoungWheelsCT]

well first off welcome to the site cool to see more people join any info u need u most likely can find it here if its about pathfinders.

 

i second what adamzan has said except the k&n filter just keep ur eye on cuz it can mess wit ur MAF sensor (oils from the air filter snake down the intake) but seeing how old the truck is u shouldnt have that much trouble and while u change the belts u might as well change the waterpump and the seals on the top portion of the engine it will help

[Tosh]

I run 10w30 all year round, would probally be alright considerin your temperature doesn't get too cold down there

 

If you are gonna wheel in sand watch your cv boots over time they will eventually tear and sand will demolish your cv joints

 

If the spedometer really bothers you then you can get it recalibrated to the correct tire size by a mechanic

 

also bout the driveshaft.. i don't think your front driveshaft would like that very much... you said this was your first 4x4 so keep in mind that while in 4 hi OR 4 low do NOT drive on dry pavement it will wear on your system fast...if need be 4 hi will be sufficient for most wheeling but 4 low can be used in conditions where low gearing i especially needed

 

Hope this helps

Edited January 23, 2010 by Tosh

[GrimGreg]

 

 

5. It has some serious tires, they throw the speedo off by 9mph! No lift tho. Anyways for people who take them offroad, what level of adventure can these things take without getting hurt? I don't want to do any rock climbing or anything but this is my only car and I'd rather not break it. So do you all recommend I stick to sand and pavement, or can I sensibly have a little more fun than that?

 

 

And here is a hypothetical:

 

My gf once had a Honda CRV with AWD, and when her drive shaft got all bent up on a rock we disconnected it and ran just on front wheel drive for over a year until we were able to do a real repair job. Should the same happen in a Pathfinder could I disconnect the rear drive shaft and run it in 4wd (essentially front wheel drive) without doing serious damage to other parts ie tranny and engine? We were both pretty surprised that the CRV did as well as it did for as long, but I am less inclined to do experimental mechanics on my own vehicle, if you know what I mean.

 

Thanks, and I look forward to reading through all of your back posts.

 

-Max

Check the picture thread, our trucks always amaze people how well they can handle the tuff stuff even stock. I've gone places fully locked and SASed trucks were getting stuck trying to go.

 

For FWD only, NO, if you had to, then run yourself home that way, but park it and fix it. You might have to replace the CVs or diff depending on how far and how fast you used it in FWD only. Our drive system isn't made to be used in 4wd on high traction surfaces.

[Toby]

And here is a hypothetical:

 

My gf once had a Honda CRV with AWD, and when her drive shaft got all bent up on a rock we disconnected it and ran just on front wheel drive for over a year until we were able to do a real repair job. Should the same happen in a Pathfinder could I disconnect the rear drive shaft and run it in 4wd (essentially front wheel drive) without doing serious damage to other parts ie tranny and engine? We were both pretty surprised that the CRV did as well as it did for as long, but I am less inclined to do experimental mechanics on my own vehicle, if you know what I mean.

 

Thanks, and I look forward to reading through all of your back posts.

 

-Max

 

DO NOT run your pathfinder in FWD by disconnecting the rear driveshaft. It's a good way for a pathfinder to be killed. the CR-V was only okay simply because it's a car based platform and isn't Full-Time AWD. It's mostly FWD until the rear tires start feeling some slipping. Then some goofy low number is transferred to the rear wheels for added traction. THAT is why you ran fine on the CR-V. The engine in that is also transeversely mounted. Much like a normal FWD engine.

[MY1PATH]

what level of adventure can these things take without getting hurt? I don't want to do any rock climbing or anything but this is my only car and I'd rather not break it. So do you all recommend I stick to sand and pavement, or can I sensibly have a little more fun than that?

 

lets put it this way, when visiting my laws I found a dirt lot where some guys had used and earth mover to make some quad jumps. I dono if you know what doubles are but its a jump with a gap before the landing and these gaps were as wide as the pathy....

Yup!My pathy was bone stock @ the time and I went jumping and it was fun! Now the thing about well made jumps is there is a definte side to jump from becuase it has a lip that pushes you upward so you can reach the landing. well I got cocky and hit the landing side and fell short of clearing the gap. I slammed into the backside of the lip and once the suspension rebounded I lumberd over it. tucked up bumper, crooked headlight but it still felt fine driving 700 miles home the next day.

 

How's that for durabilty? Now I wouldn't reccomend being that hard on it on a daily basis without proper mods you get the idea...

Hit a few trails, cross water no higer than the bumper, avoid seriously off-camber paths and climbs where the terrain makes a V shape pushing in on the wheels and you should be able to maintian your daily driver just fine.

[MY1PATH]

If the spedometer really bothers you then you can get it recalibrated to the correct tire size by a mechanic

I wouldn't go to mechanic for that...

 

off by 9MPH @ what speed?Ex if your going 69 the speedo says 60 and if your going 35 the speedo says 30

thats the speedo gear, an easy fix the speedo gear comes right out and one with differant tooth count pops right in. they range from 17-21 teeth, I think 17or18 would correct the example above if you had a 20 or 21 tell me your tire size and gear ratio and I can narrow down what you should have....

 

If its always 9mph fast no matter what the speed its the needle just pull it off and re-postion it (be careful! they are brittle and so is the clear plasic over the guages)

Edited January 24, 2010 by MY1PATH

[Tosh]

I wouldn't go to mechanic for that...

 

haha you're right i was just keepin it simple

[swapdip]

Thanks for the replies guys I appreciate it. The speedo doesn't really bother me, I have a GPS in there anyways, just thought it was pretty neat. I think once the weather warms up I'll take my new Pathfinder into some national parks for some camping and fishing to see what it can do.

 

I also hear you about that hypothetical and I get now why there would be a difference, hopefully it never comes down to it but I was just wondering in case.

 

How about that auto transmission flush tho, worth it or not?

[Toby]

I wouldn't go to mechanic for that...

 

off by 9MPH @ what speed?Ex if your going 69 the speedo says 60 and if your going 35 the speedo says 30

thats the speedo gear, an easy fix the speedo gear comes right out and one with differant tooth count pops right in. they range from 17-21 teeth, I think 17or18 would correct the example above if you had a 20 or 21 tell me your tire size and gear ratio and I can narrow down what you should have....

 

If its always 9mph fast no matter what the speed its the needle just pull it off and re-postion it (be careful! they are brittle and so is the clear plasic over the guages)

 

For the normal tire size the gear is a 19-tooth. but if you buy the gear from Nissan it's the whole gear and shaft. It's molded onto it. That's for my 1994 at least. The gear for the 31's I think was a 21-tooth. They are like $20 a pop from Nissan though.

 

 

edit: just noticed OP's is a 1990. I dont know when Nissan started the electronic speedos. I think 1990 was mechanical (don't hold me to it.)

Edited January 24, 2010 by Toby

[GrimGreg]

 

 

 

edit: just noticed OP's is a 1990. I dont know when Nissan started the electronic speedos. I think 1990 was mechanical (don't hold me to it.)

Yep, mechanical from 87-93.

[MY1PATH]

For the normal tire size the gear is a 19-tooth. but if you buy the gear from Nissan it's the whole gear and shaft. It's molded onto it. That's for my 1994 at least. The gear for the 31's I think was a 21-tooth. They are like $20 a pop from Nissan though.

 

not quite, @ least for the mechanical units (up to 93). gear ratio and tire ratio must be considered... this list should get you close.

4.36 and 31's is a 17 - 4.63 and 31's is an 18

4.36 and 30's is an 18 - 4.63 and 30's is a 19

 

4.36 and 235/75r15 or 70r15 is 20 but with 4.63 its 21

 

and if you had tiny little 205/75r15... I dono maybe there is a 22...

Edited January 24, 2010 by MY1PATH

[nismothunder]

You can run it in front wheel drive only if you bend the rear drive shaft all to hell.I wouldnt advise runing it long in front wheel drive only but one of the hot modes on 90s chevys is to slice in a switch so you can run them in front wheel only and have a high range/low range gear for the rear axle by using the transfer case and there CV's are junk compared to ours.I dont think the cv's would be messed up but you will need to block off the rear tranny hole or the tranny will blow it self dry...

[nismothunder]

Do a tranny cooler if its an auto...

[MY1PATH]

but you will need to block off the rear tranny hole or the tranny will blow it self dry...

x2 there is a gear driven pump that shoots oil @ that very location.

[Toby]

not quite, @ least for the mechanical units (up to 93). gear ratio and tire ratio must be considered... this list should get you close.

4.36 and 31's is a 17 - 4.63 and 31's is an 18

4.36 and 30's is an 18 - 4.63 and 30's is a 19

 

4.36 and 235/75r15 or 70r15 is 20 but with 4.63 its 21

 

and if you had tiny little 205/75r15... I dono maybe there is a 22...

 

See mine was under the assumption of it being an electronic speedometer. I don't own the mechanical speedometer so naturally it's going to vary.