Have a lot of Pathfinder fixes to be done

[WxChaser]

Hey,

 

I have a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder SE, 4x4, 138k miles. Been a great running rig so far, but there's a few issues that I want to fix before something really breaks.

 

 

Below I'm going to compile a list of things that are either broken or sound like they could be going down. Bear with me as it'll be a lot.

 

 

1. When driving home from school (2.5 hour drive) I noticed the hum (sounds more like a fan) coming from the trans. It's not loud, but if you turn down everything and just listen, you'll hear it. I drive a 5-speed, manual trans. I know it's the tranny because I took it out of gear on the highway and the sound stopped. I've read that I could just put some Redline MT-90 through the shifter boot. Might do that. What are the chances that I may need a trans rebuild (It had one done 39k miles ago with a different owner)?

 

Also want to add that the clutch grinds going from 5th to 4th or when I'm running high RPMs from 3rd to 4th.

 

 

2. Whenever I make hard turns (wheel all the way over, making a uturn kind of thing) and it makes a sound like the undercarriage is scraping or something. I know it could be the CV axle, but when one was going out on my previous vehicle, it was a lot louder and made the well known clicking sound. I don't think I'm too concerned about this.

 

 

3. Door locks. I bought the truck and it didn't work, but I went to the junkyard and bought another door switch (the one that has the unlock, windows down switches for the driver door). Replaced it and the locks worked for about a week, then stopped working. Every time I push the lock down manually I hear two clicks in the rear tailgate. That's it. Any idea what I'd need to replace?

 

 

4. I purchased a keyfob, one with 4 buttons (Unlock, Lock, Glass pop, and Alarm). I followed the instructions thoroughly and it will not program. The security light is blinking (blinks every 2 or 3 seconds).

 

5. Hood. The hood release isn't working well. I pull the handle and the hood doesnt pop up.. I just have to pull the handle, and go pull the hood up a little for it to pop.

 

 

6. Door chime. The door chime consistently goes off, especially if I make a turn. All doors are shut properly. I removed the ground switch in the passenger door front frame because I thought it was only that door.. But now it does it for the rear hatch too. Finally I just went and unplugged the door chime so I don't have to hear it anymore.

 

7. Flood lights. These I'm not too worried about as I'll be pulling them out anyways. One of the lights has a burned out bulb, and is missing the little clip to hold the light to the housing. The other one is connected and works, but you have to hit the housing with your hand to turn the light on. Hit a bump, and it turns off. Not sure why. Again, these lights will be taken off in a month or so for the new brush guard. I'll be asking for some cool flood lights for Christmas to mount to the brush guard anyways.

 

 

 

Thanks for the help... I know this is a lot of stuff but I feel that some of the things are related (door locks, security, etc).

[ahardb0dy]

1. have you checked the level of fluid in the trans? May be low

1.a - check fluid in clutch reservoir or may be time for a new clutch

 

2. scraping sound when doing a full lock turn especially at low speed or when going up an incline most likely is the steering stops, they usually have plastic caps on the bolt heads to minimize the scraping noise, apply grease to the stops and the curved metal part the stop hits against and the noise should go away. If the steering stops do not have the plastic covers (early trucks did not come with them) you can add them and than grease them.

 

see below:

 

 

3. do all the locks not work? If so the switch you bought may be bad, try cleaning the switches with electrical contact cleaner and after spraying them work them each way a few times, will the locks work if you press really hard on the switch? The noise in the rear hatch may be the lock actuator, the rod may have popped off, pull the plastic cover and have some one press the lock button while you look at the actuator to see what it is doing.

 

4. no idea

 

5. try greasing the latch and the part the latch hooks on too, slowly close the hood while watching where the u shape part on the hood lines up to the latch, the latch may be out of adjustment, easy to adjust I think it has 3 bolts. If the hood closes hard (tight) it may be engaging too low which would make it hard to release.

 

6. first thing I removed when I bought my 94, don't want to hear that annoying chime all the time, most likely a problem with the rear hatch sensor, does the light come on showing the rear hatch is open when the chime goes off? There is a thread on here on how to adjust the sensor.

 

7. the clip that holds the lens to the housing, you would need to find a new clip at a junkyard, you are removing the lights soon anyways so no problem. If you are going to use the stock wiring for the new lights you may still have a problem with the new light going on and off when you hit a bump or something, most likely this is a bad ground to that light. If the new lights ground thru the mounting bolt I would recommend adding a seperate ground wire from where the bulb sits ( should be a tab for a push on crimp terminal), to a good ground, you can tie the ground wires from both lights together and run the ground wire to a bolt on the radiator support.

Edited October 6, 2012 by ahardb0dy

[Trogdor636]

He covered most, for #4 post a picture of the fob. Where did you get it? I bought one off Ebay with 4 buttons that works, but the original only has 2. Your remote may not be setup for our Pathfinders.

 

This is the OEM....

http://www.ebay.com/...0328423&vxp=mtr

 

Here is the one similar to what I bought...

http://www.ebay.com/...e2f6616&vxp=mtr

 

Beyond all that, just because the light is blinking, does not mean it is working. My buddies 93 just blinks, doesnt do much other than that. We've got to diagnose it more to figure out whats going on.

Edited October 6, 2012 by Trogdor636

[ahardb0dy]

I ripped the alarm out too when I bought the PF, one less thing to worry about !! LOL

[Alkorahil]

aHardbody and Trogdor got most of it! I agree with them. I would be inclined to bet the previous transmission was not filled properly per the oil filling TSB.

 

As to the blinking light n that pattern on the alarm.....that means 'error'.

I was thinking it could be tied to the door lock problem you have. If the door locks are not working it would cause the error.

Without the remote it should still arm when you close the doors and disarm using the key in the ignition.

 

I would also take a look at the hood pin for the alarm. It is under the hood near the window wiper motor. Make sure the black pin isnt corroded/broken/missing. It is spring loaded, it should travel up and down freely when you push on the top of it. If it is broken, etc it will cause an error

And...belive it or not...check the wiring and connections on the alarm siren speaker. If the connections are not making a connection it will also cause an error.

[Trogdor636]

aHardbody and Trogdor got most of it! I agree with them. I would be inclined to bet the previous transmission was not filled properly per the oil filling TSB.

 

As to the blinking light n that pattern on the alarm.....that means 'error'.

 

 

And...belive it or not...check the wiring and connections on the alarm siren speaker. If the connections are not making a connection it will also cause an error.

 

My buddies 93 just fast blinks...does that mean error as well?

 

And good to know on the siren....that's something I would of never thought of...check that on his as well.

[WxChaser]

Wow, lots of help! Thanks!

 

The trans issue is no longer an issue.. It was the fan clutch. Yesterday when I started hearing the sound, I took it out of gear (into neutral) which no longer made the humming noise. I then revved the engine up to about 3k and held it there and could hear it just as it normally was (still in neutral) so I know for sure that I was just hearing the fan. Stupid me! The scraping sound according to my dad when he drove it, was just the bushings, but the caps you were talking about were likely it. Not a big deal, apparently. I may try and get an OEM factory key fob and see if it'll work. The hood release... I MAY try to look into that tomorrow or Tuesday. If not, at least I'll have something to do next weekend at school. I don't believe I have a hatch light on the dash, but it also could have burned out too! I removed the chime so I'll just have to remember to turn my lights off.. Not a big deal considering they're only on usually at night anyway. I'm guessing the grounding issue is the main issue for that light. What I may end up doing is running the new lights from the relay to the lights themselves instead of using the wiring that's already there. That way I know it'll work just fine.

 

Seems that I'll just have to adjust the hood latch, maybe the rear hatch, and take a look at the actuator in the back. Guess we'll see!

 

 

Trogdor, the 4 key one you have is the EXACT one I bought.

Once I clean up the truck tomorrow, I'll be sure to look into doing some stuff with it!

[nunya]

Don't forget to check and adjust the rubber stops on the rad support for your hood release issue as well. The rest seems well covered for you

[Trogdor636]

The key fob works well, but when you replace the battery it has to be completely reprogrammed which is why I'm going to buy an OEM one.

[92Path_68CJ]

I have a flood light/foglight for sale if you want one.

 

I even had one extra clip for the lens. I'll go look tomorrow and see if I still have it, if I do, it's yours.

[Alkorahil]

My buddies 93 just fast blinks...does that mean error as well?

 

And good to know on the siren....that's something I would of never thought of...check that on his as well.

 

Yes. rapid flashing is an error. Usually a door or hood pin switch.

Edited October 9, 2012 by Alkorahil

[Tungsten]

Don't forget to grease the hood latch. Mine failed from the lack of lubrication but once I re-lubricated it again, it started working good as new. The adjusting doesn't really do much, it's more of a fine tune.

[ahardb0dy]

"5. try greasing the latch and the part the latch hooks on too,"

[Tungsten]

 

Nevermind but let me add that lithium grease works quite well for the job.

 

For the door locks, there is an actuator assembly at the bottom that tends to malfunction from solder joints cracking. It's the thing that pushes the lock pin up and down by itself.

[Alkorahil]

I agree, lithium grease will work fine. I would add, before you do, get some brake cleaner and spray your hood latch - get rid of the old buildup on there before applying new grease. A light coat on the hood male end of the lock would be ok as well.

[WxChaser]

Thanks, I'll get some lube in a couple weeks when I go home, and I'll see if that'll work. Sometimes I pull the switch and then go pull the hood open, and it'll pop up.. Other times, I stick a little wedge between the grille and hood and it'll pop right up once I pull the handle.

[Leo94]

Does the factory alarm have the flashing light at the ignition barrel?

[normtwofinger]

Thanks, I'll get some lube in a couple weeks when I go home, and I'll see if that'll work. Sometimes I pull the switch and then go pull the hood open, and it'll pop up.. Other times, I stick a little wedge between the grille and hood and it'll pop right up once I pull the handle.

 

I had the exact same problem. A little WD-40 on the latch and it works like new.

[WxChaser]

Perfect. I wasn't able to do much work on it, but between cooking thanksgiving dinner and eating, I'll probably work on a couple things. I'm in Puerto Rico now, so obviously I'm unable to go work on it this weekend.