Overflow Tank..Simple To Replace?

[AED1999]

Got the bottle on line at partstrain...but looked at it Saturday and a bit stumped as to ease of replacement...I need to take of the grill anyway, as I was eventually going to blackout the grill, fender flares and such..but the fricken plastic is so brittle, the first fastner I touched just broke apart...but, where to start, remove the gril or go from underneath the left-front wheel well?

[edicer2]

http://www.courtesyparts.com/pathfinder-parts-r50-1996-2004/genuine-nissan-parts/exhaust-cooling/214-radiator-shroud-fitting/-c-4700_4701_4724_4730.html

 

looks like a bolt from the bottom and from the front inside the grill.

 

[AED1999]

you know..it looked simple enough...ordering it online sure was easy,,,but when I went to install, what stumped me was do I take off the grill, headlight, turn signal, only to find out, I should have/could have gone in from under,,,getting at all that would be a bit easier if I had the assistance of a keebler elf..

[AED1999]

Got it done today....took me about 1.5 hours....if you have a good set of tools give it about 1 hour

 

Readers Digest Version:

 

Loosen all the nuts/bolts/pastic quarter-turn-fastners to the grill....including a 'hidden' plastic faster behind the Nissan Grill Emblem...you dont have to remove the emblem..its behind the entire grill assembly

 

Pull out the side marker lights, didnt disconnect them, but they'll hang lose on the wires/cables

 

Remove the lower metal trim (runs the length of the grill, just beneath the grill and above the bumper)

 

Pull out the grill.

 

Loosen the left/side headlight to give you some elbow room

 

Unhook the hose to the old reservoir jug

 

Loosen the left and right nuts from the bolts and pull out the jug....mine was so brittle it just collapsed.

 

Get the new jug in place...it will take some maneuvering and just outright muscle to get it in....the two holes may not line up at first....but there is a small tab on the bottom of the jug that must go into a bracket, and then align the holes to the protruding bolts...(when the holes didnt line up when first inserted..thought I got the wrong part, but it did end up matching and it was a tight solid fit)

 

Realign the headlight and tighten back in place.

 

The hose...Partstrain sent a new hose atached to the jug...but it fell short of the required full length..the old hose was in good shape, so I just re-attached it to the jug, and a cable fastner to keep it from moving around

 

Put the gril back in place, but dont tighten anything yet

 

Put the side marker lights back in place

 

Put the trim piece back in

 

Lined up the all the pieces and tightened.

 

I looked on line, at a local dealership...that replacement jug was $80....Partstrain was about $25....not sure what the labor would have been at a shop..

[devonianwalk]

Thank-you for the follow up. Great post! (although the sign says "good")

[Precise1]

I was going to point you to the FSM, but I suspect you did a better job writing it up. Glad you got it done and rest assured, you saved something like $100-150 depending on rates and shop minimums.

 

B

[jyeager]

I had to replace my reservoir last month.

The old ones must all be like chalk by now. Just touch it and it collapses....mine was the same as yours.