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What did you do to your Pathfinder today?


RedRider3141
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Yeah unfortunately they said they don't offer roadside warranty on off-road tires.. only passenger tires.. so I freaked out and got really mad and they ended up giving me a new one for store-cost and free balance and labour. I'm going to contact Goodyear directly to try and get them to reimburse me for the rest. Not the worst case I suppose.

what actually happened? You said the sidewall blew out, but you didn't say how. I think we would all be interested in hearing this.

 

What I did tried to do today...

Finally got my 5quarts of Redline in the mail. frickin' UPS. I swear. I was sitting 5 feet from the door and didn't hear a thing. I had to go to the dang depot and get my crap t 9pm.

 

Couldn't get my drain plug out for my life. I tried PB Blaster. Let it soak. I got the ratchet in there really good.

Is it me, or can the drive only go in the drain plug about halfway? I think that's really the problem...

 

I was using a really beefy Craftsman ratchet so I could get a good angle on it without an extension. I tried to use all kind of cheats to get it. The wrench just dug into the plug.

At this point it wasn't too bad.

I got out my propane torch and put it on the plug. I thought I could heat it up and break loose some of the friction or torque or whatever the force is at this moment.

I doubt I got the metal anywhere near hot enough, but tiny fragments of the plug were burning off. Strange.

The torch didn't work so I tried to heat it up (I set the torch there for a good 2mins) and then shock it with liquid nitrogen. I used one of those computer duster cans and held it upside down.

That didn't work. I think my bolt is almost completely rounded by this point.

 

OH yeah. I went off at it with a hammer. I was feeling pretty frustrated and I thought the hammer might loosen the plug up some. Couldn't hurt, right? I also tried to tighten it a little bit. Didn't budge

 

Just for kicks, I looked over and saw a plug on my T-case. "the plug isn't facing completely down towards the ground. *idea* that means it must be the fill plug!!" WRONG.... by the way, both the fill and drain plugs of the T-case came out with the easiest of efforts. I'm pretty not happy.

It was the drain plug and purple fluid came gushing out. My arm was soaked. That stuff is really under pressure.

 

I was pretty damn confused at this point. PURPLE fluid? :scratchhead: Is this some weird kind of premium gear oil? I soaked a napkin in it and examined it more closely. It had a faint smell of ATF, but it also smelled like coffee. It looked like some ATF with coffee too.

 

 

I think I might still have a little bit on my plug. What else can I do? I know I'll probably have to use a turkey baster or a pump through the fill hole, but what else could I possibly try?

I could probably get my hands on an impact gun

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All of Royal Purple's fluids are purple, or so I've read. If it smells like ATF, it's ATF. You would know if it smelled like gear oil, especially used gear oil. The coffee smell is probably you desiring coffee; but really, the fluid was probably just burnt somewhat. If it smells burnt and is brown, the fluid began to oxidize due to heat. If the fluid is pitch black, well, you have problems.

 

Since you were trying to remove your trans drain plug, I assume you got the fill plug off without an issue? I don't know what to suggest for removal of the trans drain plug at this point, though. :/ How come you didn't remove both plugs when you had the trans off the vehicle?

Edited by Towncivilian
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All of Royal Purple's fluids are purple, or so I've read. If it smells like ATF, it's ATF. You would know if it smelled like gear oil, especially used gear oil. The coffee smell is probably you desiring coffee; but really, the fluid was probably just burnt somewhat. If it smells burnt and is brown, the fluid began to oxidize due to heat. If the fluid is pitch black, well, you have problems.

 

Since you were trying to remove your trans drain plug, I assume you got the fill plug off without an issue? I don't know what to suggest for removal of the trans drain plug at this point, though. :/ How come you didn't remove both plugs when you had the trans off the vehicle?

I was going to fill through the shifter. It's like 10x easier and that's the only simple way to overfill to 5.1qt.

 

I didn't think about getting the plugs out, but I couldn't have done it anyway. The trans had fluid in it and I couldn't just tip it up-side-down. The fluid would have come running out. I guess I could have put the shifter back on and and only flipped it 90degrees, but I wasn't even going to change the fluid until I realize it had some rainwater in it.

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Duh, I forgot about the shifter filling.

 

But that really bites that your drain plug is rounded. When I tried changing my rear diff fluid months ago, I was starting to warp the fill plug, so I ended up buying a new OEM plug (and a new drain plug just for the hell of it too) and threw the problem on Nissan who changed it for $30 after I supplied the plugs & new gear oil (Valvoline white bottle 80W-90). It still ended up costing something like $80 after all the costs... the tech appears to have used some Teflon tape so hopefully when I change my diff fluid next I'll actually be able to do it. I guess that anecdote doesn't help you much :shrug:

 

Who's idea was it to use these weird ass plugs instead of bolts?

Edited by Towncivilian
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Who's idea was it to use these weird ass plugs instead of bolts?

There is actually a proper tool to use for the drain plugs, it just happens the most popular method is the 1/2 ratchet. Mine was rounded off when I got it, so I took it to a transmission shop. He said it was the hardest one he ever had to remove.

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I couldn't get my drain plug out either.

I bought a cheap gear oil pump at autozone that is meant to screw on top of your gear oil bottle. Pull the short hose off the suction side and put the long hose that was meant for the discharge side on the suction side. If the long hose has a barb fitting for holding it in a fill hole pull that off. Now shove the long hose to the bottom of the trans through the fill hole and pump till you can't get any more oil out. Then fill through the shift tower. Next time your tranny is out drill out the plug.

James

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There is actually a proper tool to use for the drain plugs, it just happens the most popular method is the 1/2 ratchet. Mine was rounded off when I got it, so I took it to a transmission shop. He said it was the hardest one he ever had to remove.

 

Yeah, when I did mine, I started off with a 1/2" breaker bar, but when it started to round off the drain plug I went & spent some $$ on the proper drain plug extension (they fit tighter and have nice crisp edges). It cost me some 'cause I could only buy it in a set of weird ass drain plug tools, but I bought it anyway knowing that I would be able to remove any drain plug that comes my way for the rest of my life.

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Yeah, when I did mine, I started off with a 1/2" breaker bar, but when it started to round off the drain plug I went & spent some $$ on the proper drain plug extension (they fit tighter and have nice crisp edges). It cost me some 'cause I could only buy it in a set of weird ass drain plug tools, but I bought it anyway knowing that I would be able to remove any drain plug that comes my way for the rest of my life.

wow. That makes a lot more sense. The 1/2 drive seemed so obvious, but it actually didn't fit very well. I just gooogled drain plug and had some difficulty finding it..

I tried "square drain plug removal tool" and got some results.

 

http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_SPM209377291P?sid=IDx20070921x00003a&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=SPM198324885

Here's a kit from sears, but it says it's a 1/2 drive.

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I've seen them at my local Harbor Frieght, of course mine was so rounded off it wasnt gonna do me much good.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-drain-plug-socket-set-94961.html

 

FYI, ours is 13mm. If you do the conversion, you see that 13MM is just over a 1/2 inch, which is why the 1/2 breaker/ratchet fits, but not as snugly as it can.

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I've seen them at my local Harbor Frieght, of course mine was so rounded off it wasnt gonna do me much good.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-drain-plug-socket-set-94961.html

 

FYI, ours is 13mm. If you do the conversion, you see that 13MM is just over a 1/2 inch, which is why the 1/2 breaker/ratchet fits, but not as snugly as it can.

 

 

Yeah, that's basically what I got. That's a good price!

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The easy way is too kick the 1/2 rachet like a mother. Always worked for me, the shock load would loosen the built up rust. But of course it takes skill too do this. One foot holds the rachet/ extion in the plug and the other boots it. With out the proper skill you get a flying rachet.

 

And yeah, the t-case is always filled with ATF. The only reason people run gear oil in it is when they have a 5speed, if a seal falls it doesnt dilute the 90w with atf.

Edited by nismothunder
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And yeah, the t-case is always filled with ATF. The only reason people run gear oil in it is when they have a 5speed, if a seal falls it doesnt dilute the 90w with atf.

 

Somewhere around here, this myth has been busted. Silverton or Mr 510 or someone else (I cant find the thread at the moment) said there is actually a drain between the two so if the seal failed, they would never mix.

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I've seen them at my local Harbor Frieght, of course mine was so rounded off it wasnt gonna do me much good.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/12-piece-drain-plug-socket-set-94961.html

 

FYI, ours is 13mm. If you do the conversion, you see that 13MM is just over a 1/2 inch, which is why the 1/2 breaker/ratchet fits, but not as snugly as it can.

 

Is there such a thing as a 13mm drive? Instead of 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 inch, is there 13mm? I think that would be most useful instead of an adapter.

 

Anyway...I was pretty tired of messing with it on the ground. I called up some shops to help me out. Typical BS "I'll charge you for 1/3 hour. So it'll cost you $40 to get it out" "Oh yeah. If it takes my guy 20mins then I'll only charge you like $30 bucks. No big deal. we do it all the time"

Then I finally called a local Midus and got the coolest guy. He said bring it in and he would do it for free.

I get there and it's the coolest guy ever. He's like some 21 year old guy and it's the most relaxed shop. Got a pile of mufflers over hurr, got a half assembled S10 over derr, got a 1970s Dodge truck with 40 inch tires.. NBD.

 

He put it up on a lift and pretty much did the same stuff I did. 1/2 inch drive, breaker bar with extensions..a long pipe for leverage. He didn't make it much worse but he couldn't get it off. He soaked it with some more PB Blaster and told me to just keep spraying it. I'm just going to use the suction pump that Jamesrich did, but I'll keep at it. At this point, getting the fluid out is most important, but I do want to get the drain plug out so I can replace it.

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Is there such a thing as a 13mm drive? Instead of 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 inch, is there 13mm?

The square part of the socket that fits into the drain plug is 13mm. The link in my post has a set of different sized hex and square head bits, click on it and it might make more sense.

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The square part of the socket that fits into the drain plug is 13mm. The link in my post has a set of different sized hex and square head bits, click on it and it might make more sense.

I appreciate the link. It's much better than nothing, but that's an adapter of sorts. An adapter works fine for most things, but it causes extra play and weakness. Also, tools from Harbor freight aren't the best at all. Even my soft aluminum drain plug would tear that adapter apart in quick work.

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I appreciate the link. It's much better than nothing, but that's an adapter of sorts. An adapter works fine for most things, but it causes extra play and weakness. Also, tools from Harbor freight aren't the best at all. Even my soft aluminum drain plug would tear that adapter apart in quick work.

Have you tried it? I'm showing you the proper tool for the job.

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I would have taken it to the guy that was gonna charge you. He probably would have gotten it out :lol:

x2 the guy who wanted a small fee probably has the correct tool (which Trogdor636 gave a good link to show what your supposed to use) and would want to complete the task, not scratch his head and ship you on your way the same way you pulled in (sounds like a typical chain shop with tech school kids)

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I helped my girlfriends dad move steel and woodworking equipment and supplies from michigan to indiana...

 

the pathy was loaded down with hundreds of pounds of wood in the back and steel tables in the trailer (5'x10') i was towing. i was surprised how much the rear springs compressed when it was fully loaded.

 

my pathy looked tiny compared to the 1 ton chevy dually with a 18' trailer it was towing, :lol:

 

it was a 2.5hrs there, 2hrs loading, and 2.5hrs back...and it was a blast!! :)

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lint, on 31 December 2011 - 12:52 PM, said:

... and people wonder why their drain plugs are rounded off

 

 

The sudden shock affect has always worked for me. Its the same thing as hitting a breaker bar with a hammer.

 

Actually, I use that method of shocking a stuck fastener loose quite regularly. It was his technique of "One foot holds the rachet/ extion in the plug and the other boots it" that I commented on. This along with the fact that one shouldn't shock load a ratchet due to potential damage to the ratcheting mechanism (instead use a breaker bar), and the fact that the 1/2" drive isn't the proper tool of the job because of it's loose fit in the drain plug; instead one should use the specific drain plug adapter that someone linked to in an earlier post led me to scratch me 'ead. Guess you didn't get that? :scratchhead:

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Can anyone tell me what this broken part is called? This is the rear of the lower control arm on the driver's side....

 

IMAG0113.jpg

 

I'm thinking that is part number 23 in the below image.....

 

57453484001988.png

 

can anyone verify this for me?

 

Thanks!!!!!

Edited by Meandmy92Pathy
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