2000 SE has Developed Serious Problems

[BissellAve]

I hope this forum is still active. My 2000 SE has developed serious problems; enough so we had it de-commissioned for about nine months and purchased an other vehicle. The Pathfinder stalled going up hill in town, and does not have enough power to get out of it's own shadow. The OBD II Codes read P0325 and P0446. The vehicle failed our state inspection for an oil leak at the valve covers, so I wonder if the mechanic may have messed something up. The knock sensor is picking up an actual knock. I thought it may have been a torque converter, but I did start the unit today and put the transfer case in neutral and the transmission in gear. No problems.

 

It would be a shame to retire the old gal. We used it to pull a 16ft travel trailer from Nevada to Western PA with only one incident in 2013. (A tail pipe rusted out and was blowing hot exhaust on the gas tank. It was noisy, but when the gas cap flew 20 feet when I tried to remove it; that told me something was seriously wrong.) It would be a shame to retire the unit to a junk yard, or start parting it out.

[RedPath88]

I split this off of the "Common Problems" thread and moved it into it's own where you should find better exposure and hopefully more assistance

[Precise1]

Download the FSM from the pinned thread in the Garage section. P0325 is the knock sensor which is picking up an issue, generally not the cause. P0446 EVAP vent control valve, possibly linked to the tail pipe issue (I believe it is in the rear of the vehicle). Go to page EC-305 of the FSM and read up on the system and recommended diagnostics. Searching for P0446 here might give some info, and EVAP as well.

 

Not necessarily related, but how many miles on it and when was the last time the timing belt was changed. The good news is that since it isn't your daily driver, this shouldn't be too hard to sort out in your spare time.

 

B

[96Pathfinder4x4]

If the valve covers leak, you fail state inspection?

 

Or you failed because the CEL was lit up?

[hawairish]

If the valve covers leak, you fail state inspection?

 

Or you failed because the CEL was lit up?

 

You'd think with the OP's city name of Oil City, they'd cherish a good oil leak. But it would be odd to fail an inspection because of it. In AZ, you fail automatically if the CEL is lit.