pathfounder Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 My 1997 Pathfinder, just as it became less and less reliable, finally let me down. We were raising it up on a hoist when I looked into the driver's wheel well, and there it was, an 8-inch rip in the strut tower. A small bit was hanging on, but we could see that it too was failing. So, the purpose of this thread is to ask what to do with it. It's not in good shape overall but it does have some valuables, such as about $400 in rims and tires. If I bring it to the dealer, and they deem it unsafe and then "buy" it from me, am I able to reject that offer and have it towed home? It seems like an owner of a vehicle is entitled to determine its fate (roadworthiness aside). My concern is getting a low amount for it, below what I could get by parting it out. What kind of money are people getting for these? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Check in the later pages of this thread, people have been getting well over KBB values for their rusted PFs. Sorry to hear about the rust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfftourRoadie96 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Do you mind posting pics of the "Rot"???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathfounder Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 (edited) Do you mind posting pics of the "Rot"???? I don't have any pics at the moment, but basically, take the "cylinder" that forms the strut tower (not the hemisphere wheel well) and picture a 1/4" gap between it and the top of the uniframe channel. The one piece hanging on has visible plastic deformation, so it's not just rusting and flaking off, but actually failing. Towncivilian's link makes me think I should take a few things like the floormats, jack, etc, and then maybe put on the crappiest wheels and tires I can find, then bring it in. They'll either repair it or buy it off me. I seriously doubt it's ok as-is. As I said: it's not flaking off rusty bits, but tearing. Edited November 23, 2011 by pathfounder Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) Yeah, I would probably get as much as you can off the car (as long as it isn't obvious and doesn't trigger a CEL) if I were in your case, but that doesn't really leave a lot. Maybe even take the spare tire. Edited November 24, 2011 by Towncivilian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 (edited) they have been repairing some, and buying out the particularly bad ones. My parents have an 01 and hasn't shown any evidence of corrosion like that. Sucks it's happening, now you feel a little bit of the same disappointment WD21 owners do re: their frames. Edited November 24, 2011 by nige Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted November 24, 2011 Share Posted November 24, 2011 You seem to be pretty handy with vehicles, could you not just beef it up with some metal and a welder? My dad got 5500 for his 2000 almost 2 months ago. His wasn't even that bad but they bought it from him anyway because he wanted to buy a new xterra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathfounder Posted November 25, 2011 Author Share Posted November 25, 2011 You seem to be pretty handy with vehicles, could you not just beef it up with some metal and a welder? I definitely considered this, and really the only thing holding me back is that if I did that, I'd still have all of the other problems with the vehicle, and my life has changed such that I don't have the time to put lots of work into cars anymore. It's only been 12 days since I found the tear and bought another vehicle, and I do miss it a bit, but I think letting it go is the right thing to do. If Nissan repairs it, I might just keep it on the road but not do any repairs other than ones that are absolutely necessary for my own safety. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pathfounder Posted December 24, 2011 Author Share Posted December 24, 2011 They're going to repair it. I'm stunned. The 8" by 1/4" gap didn't scare them I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 They're going to repair it. I'm stunned. The 8" by 1/4" gap didn't scare them I guess. whoa. do you have pictures of that behemoth? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 I wish the dealers could also repair WD21 frames. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Igetstabby Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 My buddy just got $5200 CAD for his rotten 97 LE... (He paid like 600 bucks for it almost 2 years ago.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 They're going to repair it. I'm stunned. The 8" by 1/4" gap didn't scare them I guess. Dude, when you get it back to Ottawa, can we get together so I can see this repair? I'd love to see what it looks like in person. Your pathy didn't seem too rusty to me when I saw it but then again it was getting dark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pezzy Posted December 24, 2011 Share Posted December 24, 2011 My buddy just got $5200 CAD for his rotten 97 LE... (He paid like 600 bucks for it almost 2 years ago.) Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 My buddy just got $5200 CAD for his rotten 97 LE... (He paid like 600 bucks for it almost 2 years ago.) He can buy a nice WD21 for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAXPATH Posted December 25, 2011 Share Posted December 25, 2011 He can buy a nice WD21 for that. He can also buy a nice R50 for that much...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kefferjoe Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 I got recall papers for my pathfinder warning about strut rot on drivers side....the dealer should fix it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kefferjoe Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=30159 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OfftourRoadie96 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) I got recall papers........the dealer should fix it. Oh, Really???? LOL.......I'd do some more research on the topic if I were you, you might be in for a big surprise! Nissan Will NOT Just Fix It!. THEY'll JUST TAKE YOUR PATHFINDER! Edited December 29, 2011 by OfftourRoadie96 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1996pathfinder Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 wow im glad there gunna fix it!! do any of ya'll got pics of the strut rot? im gunna look over my R50 and hope I dnt find any rot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) http://s2.postimage.org/b8glhtw5j/DSC_0165.jpg From this thread. Edited December 30, 2011 by Towncivilian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 From this thread. I can't see the 2nd picture but... Is that strut rot or FRAME rot? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 (edited) read the linked thread and answer the question yourself Edited December 29, 2011 by nunya Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 read the linked thread and answer the question yourself it was a lot of words and no pictures. calm yer ****. I read the linked thread and I saw plenty of horror stories of people's Pathfinders being taken from them because someone deemed the truck totaled. I didn't known the word frame was interchangeable with strut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted December 29, 2011 Share Posted December 29, 2011 R50s are unibody, they don't have a frame in the traditional sense, only a subframe. The frame is not rotting, the pictures and rust issue are in the driver's side wheel well. The passenger side is also checked/inspected. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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