speedboxx Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Hey guys, Im new here, just thought I would join this forum because I just picked up a 1989 Nissan Pathfinder with manual transmission and a V6. This wont be a daily driver...more so just something to tinker around with. It's got 280,000 kms and has been sitting for a year unused...but did start up just fine. Just brought it home today and the truck has a few issues that I need to work on. Not too familiar with these kinds of trucks, so it will be a learning experience for me. I do have a workshop manual which Ive just started reading up on, but thought I would ask you guys here if you may have any suggestions (or point me in the right direction to get started) on diagnosing some of the issues below: 1) Fuel guage not working properly. Put 15L of gas in to drive her home, but fuel guage still shows empty. The "low fuel" light does not light up however. 2) No heat. The temperature guage on the dash does not move at all...it remains low (cold). There is no heat at all even after the engine has been warmed up. Im guessing this might just be a simple thermostat issue? Are there other things to check? 3) Parking brake doesnt work. I pull on it, and the handle moves easily. Seems like the parking brake snapped. Will try to take this apart later to inspect. Should be able to figure this one out. 4) Oil leak, roughly 1L/month but no white smoke in exhaust. Told by the previous owner that it was a head gasket problem. Any tips of taking apart the valve cover? This V6 engine is a bit more intimidating than a standard 4 banger as there is a whole lot of crap to remove first before getting access to the valve cover. Going to throw in a bottle of Stop Leak to see if that fixes the leak first. And of course...pics of the truck: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Hey welcome not a bad little pick up! i like the bumper I think thats the one that can have a winch on it i wish mne was like that! 1 I would check the fuel sending unit and i think its located under the carpet in the rear through a access hole and also some people have has that happen where a voltage unit broke in their dash i think so possibly a new cluster but i would just go to a u pull junk yard and grab both for 5 bucks or whatever those parts cost. 2 For the heat problem i would replace the thermostat(cheap part from auto store). That same thing happened in my old pathfinder and it fixed the problem right away and it fixed the heat gauage not working. 3 Have some under the car when u pull it and see if the cables move? sometime they can just become streched out and ucant tighten them up where they split to the 2 year tires in the back there is a adjuster (its under the car u cant miss it) either that or u could actually havea broke cable. 4 its not to bad to remove the valve covers normally if they are leaking though u can see if they are. check around and see for sure where its leaking. normally if u have a headgasket out the truck will over heat and u will have oil in the coolant so u could flush your coolant see if its full or oil or not. to do that there is a bleeder in the bottom of the radiator. theres normally a enough space in the engine bay where u can see where the oil is coming from. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 1) Fuel guage not working properly. Put 15L of gas in to drive her home, but fuel guage still shows empty. The "low fuel" light does not light up however. I know this is a problem with round dash trucks (94 and 95) as the cluster gets faulty, but yours may just be the fuel sender. the "low fuel" light could be burnt out, the truck is 21 years old after all. 2) No heat. The temperature guage on the dash does not move at all...it remains low (cold). There is no heat at all even after the engine has been warmed up. Im guessing this might just be a simple thermostat issue? Are there other things to check? When I got my first 95, it still had the original thermostat after 15 years and 185k miles and was stuck open. Though mine still got warm enough to put heat through the ducts, the needle never moved. Looks much colder where you are though! 3) Parking brake doesnt work. I pull on it, and the handle moves easily. Seems like the parking brake snapped. Will try to take this apart later to inspect. Should be able to figure this one out. Another problem with both of my trucks. I tightened my XE's all the way with no change, though my brake pedal is not squishy when the e-brake handle is pulled up. The SE has a tight brake pedal but still no e-brake, but haven't tried adjusting it. 4) Oil leak, roughly 1L/month but no white smoke in exhaust. Told by the previous owner that it was a head gasket problem. Any tips of taking apart the valve cover? This V6 engine is a bit more intimidating than a standard 4 banger as there is a whole lot of crap to remove first before getting access to the valve cover. Going to throw in a bottle of Stop Leak to see if that fixes the leak first. Hard to say on this, but those Bar's stop leak products usually cause more trouble than they are worth. Does the oil hit the ground, or does it just go away? If it's on the ground, determine which part of the engine it's coming from, and go from there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverton Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 Oh, and it looks like you got a really nice fully decked out SE Offroad! Very nice trucks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedboxx Posted December 17, 2010 Author Share Posted December 17, 2010 (edited) It's actually kind of tough to find out where the oil is coming from, because the underside is just drenched in oil. Pretty much appears to be leaking everywhere. The oil is dripping into the ground, so I dont think it's being burnt or anything. Pics below (sorry, tried to take good pics but it's tough!). Edited December 17, 2010 by speedboxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted December 17, 2010 Share Posted December 17, 2010 well its definantly the passenger side. are u able to see where it starts from looking from the top at all? have you checked your coolant(see ifits getting low too)? it looks like or oil is kind of greenish but might just be the lighting. If its dry all around your valve cover seals then im willing to be the was right with it being a headgasket that is alot of oil there. I have never done a head gasket on my pathfinder before but i bet taking the exhuast bolts off will be the worse part of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedboxx Posted December 17, 2010 Author Share Posted December 17, 2010 (edited) Where is the thermostat? It's not quite obvious from the service manual... Didn't get a chance to drain the coolent yet but it doesnt seem to leak or get low. Edited December 17, 2010 by speedboxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edicer2 Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 look on here find it down before and look for then number in the diagram this is also a good place to get parts besides rock auto http://www.courtesyparts.com/pathfinder-parts-wd21-1987-1995/genuine-nissan-parts/exhaust-cooling/210-water-pump-cooling-fan-thermostat/-c-5572_5573_5598_5601.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lint Posted December 18, 2010 Share Posted December 18, 2010 Welcome! Re: your oil leak. Make sure your oil pressure sender is tight. Mine was leaking when I got my truck. It is a 10.00 part to replace, and a is a good place to start your trouble shooting. The sender is located passenger side, beside the oil filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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