Intro for Kev9180

[kev9180]

Gentlemen / Ladies,

 

Hows it going everyone? New member here, just got my pathfinder about a week ago. First pathfinder, first 4x4 vehicle in general. Vehicle before this was a 95 honda civic, so that gives you an idea of my experience with SUV's and Pathfinders, haha. I had a 2000 Kawasaki KLR 250 bike that i would take up Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, AZ to go hiking/camping, and an '86 honda rebel 250 i would ride around town. I sold both of those before i joined the AF and got moved out here to Illinois.

 

Got this 1990 Pathfinder SE 4x4, 5-Spd, 180k miles about a week ago for $1k. It's rust on both fenders clear through, rust near the door frame on the rear fenders, and some rust on the bottom of the doors. Lot of rust, frame looks okay though. Alignment is off, veers to the left, and some other issues. Guy before me installed an aftermarket CD player and the wiring seems a bit faulty (front speakers currently not working, cuts in and out, etc). Cruise control isn't working, windshield washer isn't working, and don't have key for the door locks so i just don't lock it at all lol.

 

I got this Pathfinder because I've always wanted a 4x4 SUV that could get me all the places i couldn't get to in my little Honda Civic, with the added bonus of extra carrying capacity, which was limited on my KLR 250.

 

My ultimate goal is to keep it running and in as good as possible shape, with hopes to get it back to Arizona in 3 years for some desert off-roading / camping / etc. For the time being, it's going to be my daily driver until i can get another KLR once springtime gets here. Currently in Western Illinois and (hopefully) here for another 3 years or so. Never dealt with rust, so I'd like to fix this fender rust and some of the other rust, and get some maintenance done on it. It's got some more issues that I'm gonna go ask about in the forums.

 

So far, I love the pathfinder. Couldn't ask for a better vehicle. I'm gonna take care of her, in hopes that she will take care of me.

 

Great to be here! Cheers!

 

Kevin

[CDN_S4]

Welcome, we like pictures here.

[kev9180]

Will be sure to take some more pics and get them posted in the next day or two!

Edited December 30, 2014 by kev9180

[teixeira]

We sure love pics

[hawairish]

Welcome, Kevin. Mt. Lemmon...man, haven't been up there for a while. Lived in Tucson about a decade and got up there occassionally. Did a fair amount of camping on the backside up in Oracle. Good little spot.

 

The rusted fenders should be an easy fix with replacement fenders. But if you're going to be in IL for a while with hopes of bringing it back here to AZ, I'd just wire brush off whatever rust you see and put some protectant spray/sealant over them. The IL winters will trash any new stuff, especially if you don't get them primed/painted. If the hole is bad enough and you just need a temp patch, there are a few options. I'd keep it simple with sheet metal, rivets, adhesive, etc., just for the sake of keeping the elements out and promoting more rust.

 

No key for the door locks? Did the guy change the locks or something?

[kev9180]

Hawairish - another Tucsonan, awesome! The backside of Mt Lemmon near oracle is amazing. I've got two favorite camping spots up there... one is not too far down the road near the top past the fire station, there's a rope swing on one of the trees that someone installed which is pretty fun. Great view and not too many other spots around. Then there's a spot in Peppersauce Canyon right next to a big rock wall right before the path to Rice Peak. Some great spots, with the added bonus of Peppersauce Cave not to far down the path.

 

I've never done any rust repair or body work before on a car, so I'm hoping to keep it easy. Whatever i can do to keep the 'finder in good enough to condition to last out here for a while and get back to AZ lol.

 

And the guy i bought it off of told me the keys used to be all the same, but the ignition was changed out and he got a different key for that. Previous owner lost the door keys though, so I'm stuck with two different keys (but only have 1 for the ignition). Went to the dealership today to get a key made for the door but got referred to a specialist to make a key lol.

 

Here's some pics:

 

 

Well, there she is! You can see the rust holes on the fender and other parts that I'm talking about.

[hawairish]

Well, pseudo-Tucsonan anyway. Moved there during HS, then went to the UA. I'm up in Phoenix now after a 4-year stint in the Twin Cities and Chicago. But yeah, Peppersauce...tons of memories there. The last couple times I had been out there, though, the local ranchers had been letting their cattle graze too much...cow pies everywhere at the main spots. But, we usually went further in, too.

 

That's the big perk about AZ...rust isn't an issue. The main thing is to chip away all the crusty stuff and brush off the surface stuff so that if you put some protective spray on it, it won't just flake off with the rust. You can probably also get matching rattle can paint from DupliColor (love that blue, btw.) in addition to some rust-protection primer (some other rust-belt guys might have suggestions). There's also DIY rhino-lining.

 

But some of the spots there might be a lost cause unfortunately, in particular the fenders. The goal at this point is to prevent additional rust...short of replacing the front fenders, you'd probably want to see how the inner wheel wells are holding up, too. I'm pretty sure Hardbody fenders are an exact fit.

 

If the door lock specialist charges more than $30 or so, I'd think about skipping on the service. You can buy replacement lock and key sets on eBay for both doors for pretty cheap. I'd look into door panel clips while you're at it, also very cheap (you'll likely break them when removing the door panels, if you go that route. And it looks that radio just pulls out! Surely too deep for that opening, and probably the cause for some shorts or bad connections.

 

The good news about everything is that they're pretty easy things to tackle, a fairly inexpensive, too.

[kev9180]

Good to hear about the easy and inexpensive fixes. My main concerns at the moment are draining my trans and replacing it with the 5L of MT-90, taking care of the rust, and finding out whats up with my frame (different thread, long story short my frame is bent a bit causing my alignment to fskc up).

 

Whoever put the cd player in did a real ****** job on wiring lol. Very bad connections. I actually just finished up taking off all the tape he used and connecting all the wiring with butt connectors and getting em good to go. But like you said, i can pull it out of there no problem, and its constantly shifting. Are there any mounts i can get to keep it in place or anything?

 

Thanks for the advice hawairish. Hope you're loving that Phoenix weather!

[kev9180]

Good to hear about the easy and inexpensive fixes. My main concerns at the moment are draining my trans and replacing it with the 5L of MT-90, taking care of the rust, and finding out whats up with my frame (different thread, long story short my frame is bent a bit causing my alignment to fskc up).

 

Whoever put the cd player in did a real ****** job on wiring lol. Very bad connections. I actually just finished up taking off all the tape he used and connecting all the wiring with butt connectors and getting em good to go. But like you said, i can pull it out of there no problem, and its constantly shifting. Are there any mounts i can get to keep it in place or anything?

 

Thanks for the advice hawairish. Hope you're loving that Phoenix weather!

[hawairish]

No prob!

 

Probably worth changing the front and rear diff fluids too, in case you have any doubts about the previous owner's maintenance habits...ha. Hope the frame damage isn't too bad...whole truck looks pretty straight from the pics. Is there visible damage?

 

For the radio, Google/eBay/Amazon for "ND-K770". This is a $10 insert that moves the mounting surface out. It looks like it's for a knob-style radio, but you knock out those pieces, mount the radio's installation sleeve to it, mount it to the truck, and then insert the radio into the sleeve. Doesn't look like the install sleeve is on the radio, though, which you'll need. I've got a Pioneer sleeve sitting around, as well as the removal keys...should work fine with your Pioneer since I doubt they've changed the sleeve. What's the model number on the radio? I can tell if it'll work pretty quickly. They're yours if you want them; you'd just need the plastic trim ring to finish installation look. PM me your details and I'll drop them in the mail.

 

Also, is the 80 in your handle a ref to birth year, and did you go to HS in Tucson?

[hawairish]

And about the alignment stuff...if you don't see any visible frame damage, it may be the steering components. I'd check for bends on the tie-rod end links and the center link, and other steering components. Can the truck simply not be aligned, or doesn't hold an alignment? If it veers, the first thing I usually check is tire pressure of all things. On a truck like yours, I'd also check the rear axle...leaf spring mounts and perches for any signs of shifting (um, I think these were leaf sprung trucks :-). You can use a tape measure to square/compare things all around. I know the newer FSM's have diagrams that show the measurements between frame/unibody points to check for square and alignment. Aside from having to roll around on that freezing pavement, at least this is also a free way to check on things.

[hawairish]

This is probably everything you need to know about the body:

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Pathfinder/1990_PATHFINDER_Body_Repair_Manual.pdf

 

Check page 22 for the frame measurements...this could at least narrow down how bad your frame might be off.

 

This is for a 1994 model, but should come in handy on a lot of stuff for you:

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Pathfinder/1994_Pathfinder/

[kev9180]

I can't see any visible frame damage, other than what the tech saw today at the dealership when i went to get the alignment. Just a torsion rod making physical contact on a piece next to it which he said is a result of the frame being bent a bit. I probably should change out all the fluids, i just got some redline MT-90 online so i can do the transmission and overfill it to the 5L according to that TSB that got sent out.

 

That would be awesome! Would really help out with the some of the minor issues I've got so far. Hope its not too big of an issue. I'd be more than happy to compensate you for any shipping charges. CD player is a Pioneer Super Tuner III D model number DEH-P1Y. I'll have to roll around on the pavement this weekend on my days off lol, thanks for the reference. There's so much info out there I'm having a bit of trouble finding all of the correct stuff pertaining to the wd21 pathfinders.

 

I'm also gonna be taking the truck in to the shop that i got referred to for my frame so they can do some tests and see exactly where the frame is bent and how bad it is.

 

80 in my handle is just a random number, was born in 91 (i'm a youngin haha), but I did go to Flowing Wells HS in Tucson

[hawairish]

Can you get a picture of that torsion rod (bar?) area? The way you described it (if a torsion bar) seems odd...I'd imagine a very noticeable bend, among several other things, if anything was encroaching on a torsion bar. You should definitely post up a pic in the WD21 board and get some other opinions there, too.

 

No problem on the sleeve; I'll never use it. No worries on shipping, either (got your PM).

 

A youngin', but all good. I was up the road at CDO . My folks were out at DMAFB; you spend any time there?

[kev9180]

Here's my other thread i posted over in a different area: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/39429-i-guess-my-frame-is-bent/

 

From the pics, the torsion rod does look a little crooked/bent, but it's just an optical illusion. When we had it lifted up today, both the torsion rods were straight as an arrow. In the picture of the driver's side torsion rod, you can see that it's making contact with the mounting bracket for the thrust rod (what someone else said) on that side, which is supposedly due to the bent frame. I'm definitely gonna take it in to the shop they referred me to to see exactly what is up in the next few weeks (they were booked until 19 Jan). So once i get all of that @!*% figured out, i'll post with some more info.

 

Until then... changing my fluids, rust, and the radio! lol