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What did you do to your Pathfinder today?


RedRider3141
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On 2/22/2020 at 10:20 AM, onespiritbrain said:

 

Replaced TPS with a brand new OEM part.

 

Update:

 

The improvements listed above are definitely there. I also notice that it no longer stays in 3rd gear when taking off from a rolling stop which would cause very poor acceleration.

 

In general, the vehicle drives much better. I am still a little slow taking off from red lights and such compared to newer cars around me but there are a lot of instances where I have the power I need to drive normally with traffic because the transmission selects the correct gear for acceleration.

 

A heap of confidence has returned!

 

Wow, you're the first person aside myself who experienced this problem! Too bad I have not been following the forum for a bit otherwise I would have told you so. I learned not too long ago about The TPS after doing a lot of studying the TCM schematics and deduced it to the TPS. What happens is the contacts wear in the general area where the throttle sits a lot (cruising) so so throws voltage spikes to the TCM. 

 

OEM is where to go with the TPS. I used a cheap aftermarket and the fitment is poor.

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On 2/24/2020 at 12:54 AM, RCWD21 said:

Thanks! And we'll see for sure. The pins are definitely different quality but I've had decent luck with the dorman brand quick service parts. My only gripe is how fragile the bushings are lol


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I totally agree.

 

I emailed Doorman about them and they sent me extra sets for free. I ended ordering the stock bushings.

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Spent part of my day off yesterday wandering a salvage yard looking for bits. Found an 87 Pulsar NX that was in very good condition. The steering wheel is now residing in my Pathfinder. Being a black wheel, it doesn't match the grey interior the best, but years of neglect and UV have been hard on my original. Also got the truck a bit muddy seeing how far up a local mountain road that is snowbound. Discovered the right rear lower shock nut has wandered away so replaced that today. 

Not much, but something while nothing else was occupying me at work. 

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On 11/22/2019 at 1:32 AM, fleenz said:

recently taped up my muffler with some high-temp wrap and also trying to figure out what to do with my soundsystem. just wrapped my head around the whole amplifier deal.

Ditch the muffler and get a decent high flow muffler. Sounds and performs better anyways. I went with a stainless steel 2 into 1 totalflow muffler from amazon for 32 bucks and have been very happy 

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On 2/25/2020 at 2:28 AM, Slartibartfast said:

The hinge pins in mine were a massive seized-up PITA. I oil them whenever I think about it in hopes that I never have to do them again.

 

The ones in the wd21 are perfect in mine somehow. But there is gobs of oil and grease in that spot. The benefit of living its entire life before me at quick lube places I guess. They don't seem to do that for you anymore though lol.

 

Sadly the Xterra has the same issue, the pin is seized but at least the hinge looks replaceable as an assembly.

 

On 2/26/2020 at 1:02 AM, Cuong Nguyen said:

 

Wow, you're the first person aside myself who experienced this problem! Too bad I have not been following the forum for a bit otherwise I would have told you so. I learned not too long ago about The TPS after doing a lot of studying the TCM schematics and deduced it to the TPS. What happens is the contacts wear in the general area where the throttle sits a lot (cruising) so so throws voltage spikes to the TCM. 

 

OEM is where to go with the TPS. I used a cheap aftermarket and the fitment is poor.

 

I had an issue where it would cause the truck to stumble on take off, and the rpms would hang at like 1.5-2k even when warm. When it was cold it was all over the place. Replacing the TPS with another (off a parts truck) resolved the issue. Then comes the problem of setting it correctly lol. I opted to swap the whole throttle body off my parts truck so it was already set in the right spot.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Today was my day off and didn't have any pressing things to do(not that there is much I could do with this stupid overblown virus panic), so did something stupid. I decided to install the bronze idler arm bushings I have had for a while and replace the worn UCA bushings on the right front. 

I found the idler arm bushings fit very tight. I used my my balljoint press to seat the bushings into the idler arm and then had to use it again to install the arm onto the mount. No more play in the idler arm. If I had been smart, I would have stopped there and found something else to do.

I am an idiot. 

Tried to remove the mounting nut for the top of the front shock. The stem snapped off. Off to order a pair of new shocks, at least I have an excuse to get rid of the crappy Rancho 5000's that have been there since 2001. Not a fan of those on my truck. 

Moved on and unbolted the UCA from the frame and upper ball joint. Now the fun really begins. I notice the mounting spindle is bent again. I have only replaced that one twice, now I need to do it again. I start pressing it out, and the bushing on one end is siezed to the spindle and the other is showing no interest in letting go of the UCA. Finally get the spindle out and find my UCA is bent and twisted. Not a big deal if my truck was still stock, but nooo, my arms are the AC lift arms. Finally get the second bushing out, by balljoint press got a lot of work today and was doing all this work in my bay at the shop I work at, so I am not completely helpless, but I am doing a lot of swearing. Fortunately, business has slowed so not impeding anybody else. Some work with a hammer got the arm back into shape sort of. Had plenty of irritation to vent so the hammer work was kinda useful. Went on to pound on the spindle and got it close. Still need to find and order a new pair. Got the stuck bushing off by using the torch and air hammer. Killed one of the washers in the process. New bushings were just that, just bushings. Went for a little walk to the local hardware store and found some replacements. Reinstalling the spindle, found the arm had spread a bit. Forced things together and reinstalled the arm. Got everything put back together minus the right front shock, might see the new ones next Monday if the virus doesn't screw with that too much. 

Time to move to the alignment rack and see how bad everything is. Got the heads on and comped, performed the caster measurement and stood there in shock looking at the numbers. I haven't seen them that good in years. My camber is almost dead on with both and the caster is only 2 degrees below the minimum. The computer is telling me I only need to pull 1/16" out of both rear UCA mount stacks to fix that. Since they are all washers at the moment, not happening, just dealing with having some negative caster and the freeway speed instability it brings for now. Burn that bridge when I get around to finding some replacement UCAs and spindles. So I set the toe and drove about 20 miles to return a throttle body and ECU core for the 2000 Maxima I had been fighting with for the last couple weeks. 

Yes the truck was a bit unstable and tended to wander and wallow about at 70 mph. Hoping it gets a little better when the right front has a shock to help dampen the movements. Found that the steering gear has a bit of slop in the straight ahead position, hopefully the replacement I have is better. Thinking about reinstalling the front swaybar again, if I can find the mounts for it again, probably just pull them from one in the junkyard. 

So many things I have to do to my poor old and abused 27 year old truck to get it back to where it can be a DD again. I really need to find a cheap car for DD since my daughter has the Sorento, but really can't afford it right now. Then again, having a hard time finding the money and parts for the old Pathfinder too. 

Anyway had to vent. Sorry no photos to share, the camera in my phone doesn't like to focus and I have not figured out where to host them anyway. So I haven't bothered taking any snaps. 

Oh by the way, it isn't just the VQ35 R50s with throttle cables that have IAC issues that fry the ECUs, the Maximas with the VQ30 have similar issues. So much fun...

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Update. 

Found some spare time at the end of the day at work today. The old Ranco 5000's are now gone with a pair of new ProComp ES9000's in their place. At less than $40 each a good deal. They actually fit better after I put the small bushing in than the Ranchos. Haven't really tested them yet, but in the short drive home(2 blocks) seemed a bit better. 

I spent 7 hours last Sunday seeing how far up the mountain I could get, and had interesting noises from the right front where the broken shock was. Another plug for what are in my opinion, the best all around tires I have found for my truck. I loved my Firestone Destination MTs I put on back in 07, but the Destination MT 2's I have now are even better. Smooth quiet grip on pavement wet or dry, and unbelievable grip and control in snow and mud. Made it up the canyon to about 8800 feet to the snow gates in 2wd with no problems at all. Even when I pulled off to the side to wait for a couple others get a stuck pulled out of the middle of the road. Springtime in Utah, started with sunny and warm, got a little rain, then a couple inches of snow with thunder and lightning then just cool and overcast finishing up with a bit of rain after I got home. Truck is filthy, covered with a wierd mix of sand and clay mud but never missed a beat even in 18" of snow. Actually had to work a bit to stay in the ruts, kept climbing out when I was slow to make a turn. Usually I don't like to be in the ruts, but I also don't like the idea of going off the edge of a narrow canyon dirt road when the snow shifts either. 

I have decided that between the fantastic tires and the rear locker, when I get stuck, I am really stuck. 

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Response to the last few posts. 

I did some driving around after work today, I can confirm that the ProComp ES9000 is a great shock for a WD21. Smooth and compliant, but still keeps the springs controlled. A great value in my opinion. My rears are a pair of Bilsteins that were from a 2018 Titan Pro4x. Had a pile of new ones that were getting thrown away while I was at the dealership. They were removed from new trucks that got lifted. At the price(free), I and a coworker decided why not give them a try? He put a pair on the back of his lifted 03 Pathfinder and I did the same with my 93. We did have to drill out the bushing eyes to 9/16" to fit over the mounting studs on our trucks and had to grind them a bit thinner, but made them fit. Seems to be working good on the rears of our trucks. 

 

The Firestone Destination MT's are priced in the mid range, my 33x12.50 15's come out to about $250 per tire. They have a 3 ply sidewall, unbelievable grip, very good road manners, long life due to a very thick tread 22/32". They are also lighter than most others out there. Look at tire rack reviews, most people who try them, love them. The ones on the rear of my truck have about 2k miles on them of mostly pavement pounding, put them on last summer. My Pathfinder has a LockRight locker in the rear and at least 300 pounds of "stuff" in the back. Looking at the tires, they still look new with no cuts, chunking, or noticable wear on the tread blocks. I run mine at about 28 psi for the street and light wheeling. Haven't been out doing harder stuff for a long time, but when I was in Moab I kept dropping until I was about 8-10 psi. Never had a flat with any of them either, but only had one flat with my Pathfinder in the 21 years I have owned it, and that one was on my first Moab trip where I managed to snag a sidewall, so I guess I am just lucky concerning punctures with my Pathfinder. 

Try them, I honestly believe you will be happy with them. 

 

21 years with my Path, still no broken door handles somehow, knock on wood... ;)

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On 4/4/2020 at 11:33 PM, Mr_Reverse said:

Response to the last few posts. 

I did some driving around after work today, I can confirm that the ProComp ES9000 is a great shock for a WD21. Smooth and compliant, but still keeps the springs controlled. A great value in my opinion. My rears are a pair of Bilsteins that were from a 2018 Titan Pro4x. Had a pile of new ones that were getting thrown away while I was at the dealership. They were removed from new trucks that got lifted. At the price(free), I and a coworker decided why not give them a try? He put a pair on the back of his lifted 03 Pathfinder and I did the same with my 93. We did have to drill out the bushing eyes to 9/16" to fit over the mounting studs on our trucks and had to grind them a bit thinner, but made them fit. Seems to be working good on the rears of our trucks. 

 

The Firestone Destination MT's are priced in the mid range, my 33x12.50 15's come out to about $250 per tire. They have a 3 ply sidewall, unbelievable grip, very good road manners,

long life due to a very thick tread 22/32". They are also lighter than most others out there. Look at tire rack reviews, most people who try them, love them. The ones on the rear of my truck have about 2k miles on them of mostly pavement pounding, put them on last summer. My Pathfinder has a LockRight locker in the rear and at least 300 pounds of "stuff" in the back. Looking at the tires, they still look new with no cuts, chunking, or noticable wear on the tread blocks. I run mine at about 28 psi for the street and light wheeling. Haven't been out doing harder stuff for a long time, but when I was in Moab I kept dropping until I was about 8-10 psi. Never had a flat with any of them either, but only had one flat with my Pathfinder in the 21 years I have owned it, and that one was on my first Moab trip where I managed to snag a sidewall, so I guess I am just lucky concerning punctures with my Pathfinder. 

Try them, I honestly believe you will be happy with them. 

 

21 years with my Path, still no broken door handles somehow, knock on wood... ;)

 

I'm looking at some shocks for the front of mine as well. I have the RS5000 off of my old wd21 but like you I was never really happy with them. I have the bilstein 5125 on the back now and they are great, but none made for the front. Was thinking about just using the 4600 series, the blue and yellow on the front instead. Right now I have some garbage Monroe Sensacrap installed as the oem ones were leaking and wouldn't pass inspection.

 

I'm a little miffed about the door handle. I can rob the one off of my old 94 but it is probably just as brittle. Time to order a new one from Nissan if they still make them.

Edited by adamzan
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Got tired of my rattling exhaust heat shields and decided to do something about it. Found out instead that I very poorly set my ignition timing and that the sound I’ve been hearing for probably a year now was actually pinging.

I set the distributor to a mark I could see on the tab where it locks down and voila, like magic my exhaust stopped rattling! Derp


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4 hours ago, onespiritbrain said:

Got tired of my rattling exhaust heat shields and decided to do something about it. Found out instead that I very poorly set my ignition timing and that the sound I’ve been hearing for probably a year now was actually pinging.

 

Wow! That's not good. Do you have a timing light? 15° BTDC +/- 2, in neutral, with the engine warmed up. (I've set mine cold and it was off when it warmed up.)

 

On 4/6/2020 at 8:56 AM, adamzan said:

I'm a little miffed about the door handle. I can rob the one off of my old 94 but it is probably just as brittle. Time to order a new one from Nissan if they still make them.

 

I went with a pair of cheap chrome ones off eBay for mine after both handles snapped off my '95. They bolted up and have given me no further trouble, unlike the plastic one I got from Rockauto (after I broke the first one), which was labelled for a Sentra and didn't line up to the holes in the door.

 

And I don't know from good shocks, but I've got KYB excel-Gs on mine and I have no complaints about their ride quality. Certainly better than the craptastic blue Monroes that only lasted a few years on my friend's S10.

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18 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

 

Wow! That's not good. Do you have a timing light? 15° BTDC +/- 2, in neutral, with the engine warmed up. (I've set mine cold and it was off when it warmed up.)

 

 

I went with a pair of cheap chrome ones off eBay for mine after both handles snapped off my '95. They bolted up and have given me no further trouble, unlike the plastic one I got from Rockauto (after I broke the first one), which was labelled for a Sentra and didn't line up to the holes in the door.

 

And I don't know from good shocks, but I've got KYB excel-Gs on mine and I have no complaints about their ride quality. Certainly better than the craptastic blue Monroes that only lasted a few years on my friend's S10.

I saw those chrome ones, my truck is an SE with the chrome mirrors and bumpers so it would look OK, but having them mismatched to the rear door handles would bug me. Nissan still carries it so I guess I will buy it from there if the one on my parts rig is trash.

 

Those blue monroe shocks are death traps. They came installed on the front of mine and when I hit a big dip on the free way in Toronto I thought I was going to lose control of the truck.

Edited by adamzan
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20 hours ago, Slartibartfast said:

Wow! That's not good. Do you have a timing light? 15° BTDC +/- 2, in neutral, with the engine warmed up. (I've set mine cold and it was off when it warmed up.)

I set it with the light originally while warm and all, according to the FSM but when I went to drive it there was a big reduction in power until 3k RPM, then it would open up and had normal power beyond 3k RPM. I then just started playing around with distributor positions until I had power across the RPM range. Even now having put it back where it appears to have been originally I have a lack of power, however it is fairly smooth and doesnt really open up much at any RPM. I may play around with it some more.. I can deal with a small power reduction but I'd rather have the coronavirus than another blown head gasket!

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I would adjust it to the point just before it pings. You could also run colder plugs if you want to run more timing advance. Or use premium fuel. I once had mine set at 25 degrees instead of 15 and was blown away by the power difference lol. But it never pinged.

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Yep, my 77 200sx I was running about 32°. That was after removing all the emissions hardware and a bigger carb. Cold starts were sometimes a bit hard, idle was rough, and the engine ran a bit hot, but did free up a noticable amount of power. Never had any detonation problems though. I was running 87 fuel and 4400 ft was about as low as I ever got, so was able to get away with it. The emissions tests here only tested for CO and HC, so was able to pass ok. Shudder to think how high my NOx must have been though. 

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