New To Pathfinders

[Chymos]

Hi, I'm new to NPORA and Pathfinders in general. I recently acquired a 2wd '91 XE as a title for title trade for an old beat up bike (it was a 1980 Honda CB650 that needed a lot of work and the guy wanted a project bike). It has 241,000 miles on it and needs a bit of work but runs great. The paint's in great condition, but there are some dents and dings (of course). I think the most major thing it needs is some of the body work (front end collision, needs the radiator support, bumper, etc. It's fine as-is but I intend to fix it). Other than the front end there are only a couple of dents that need pulled out: front passenger door skin needs popped back out, and the lower d/s quarter also. Other than that and normal wear items it's mostly just freshening it up a bit.

 

Over the years I've had: '73 Honda CB500, '77 Ford Fairmont, '82 Pontiac Bonneville (nicknamed Bonnie), '87 Firebird (a project I never finished), '90 Thunderbird, '99 Mustang GT (made it a 12-13 second car for ~$1500 until an idiot decided to turn left from the right-hand lane. grr), '87 Volvo 245DL (current, nicknamed Sven), and the '80 CB650 I traded for the Pathy (who seems to want me to call her Kimiko). Strangely, all but the '73 bike (blue) and the Mustang (white) were/are red (Sven was originally brick red, but a previous owner painted him gold). It wasn't deliberate, that's just how things turned out.

 

I've always done all my own wrenching, and I miss each and every single vehicle I've ever owned.

 

Kimiko's my first asian vehicle and first truck/SUV, and my second manual trans vehicle (the bikes don't count on that one). She's dark red with red interior, interior mounted spare, and 6-spoke steel wheels. If anyone's interested I can see about uploading some pictures some time soon.

 

Anyway, enough rambling (bragging, boasting, ranting, babbling, whatever you choose to call it lol). It's nice to meet you all, and I hope to learn a lot about these strange creatures known as Pathfinders here.

 

Cheers,

 

Quentin

[Pezzy]

Welcome to the fun!

[DavefromOZ]

G'day Quentin, welcome mate. We are always keen to see pics.

[nunya]

Pics are always good.. don't be a nismo! (Nevermind, you'll learn). just so you know most people LOVE the red interior! Welcome!

[Precise1]

Welcome to NPORA Quentin!!

 

Don't mind Nunya... (Nevermind, you'll learn)

 

Congrats on the pathy!! Other than a few flaws that are readily addressed, they are quite solid and reliable vehicles given that they have been maintained to some degree. I'd be suprised if you did not grow to appreciate it for what it is. Yes on the pictures and do you ever plan to go off road with it?

 

I'll warn you of 2 things initially.

1) The manual tranny should be 'overfilled' as in some situations one of the bearings can be starved (rear?). 5.1 liters is the magic # and the easiest way is to fill through the shifter hole. Also only use GL-4 fluid as others may degrade the soft metal components.

 

2) When was the timing belt last changed? The interval for your year is every 60k miles. This the #1 way of damaging these motors as they are interference design. If you can not determine when, plan to do it ASAP.

 

That's enough for now...

 

B

[Chymos]

Thanks for the info on those two items, though I admit I was already aware of the timing belt

 

I'll try and get some pictures as soon as she's on the road. I just need to finish the brake rebuild, fix the reverse lights, and get tires. Well, and possibly re-index the torsion bars, if the front's sagging too much for adjusting them.

 

As for taking her off-road, it's a possibility in the future, but in about 4-5 years I intend to be in Japan as an english teacher. I might just take her with me, if I can.

 

Oh, and a couple of days after my initial post, she gently corrected me. Her name's Kumi, not Kimiko lol

Edited February 27, 2010 by Chymos