New 93 XE in the CA foothills.

[crab]

My new to me 93 XE (253k miles) has been abused. No maintenance has been done that I can see. apart from the motor and trans, everything is broken.

Rear windows on both sides don't roll up, afraid to try locking anything because

Key does not lock or unlock the doors

One window is stuck halfway down.

Rear window lock is gone.

At least the front windows go up and down.

Driver door sags badly.

Console does not look original, not bolted down. ebrake not centered in the slot in the console.

Odd wiring harnesses lying around that don't connect to anything, like under the console and front seats.

The relay that is supposed to be on the firewall just to the right of the left hood hinge is just not there. Wonder what that was for?

Some crazy stereo was installed at some point then tore out with a pliers, wires hanging out of everywhere, power for an amp just dangling ion the rear of the car, etc.

Dash is crap, of course. Why is the trim around the dash air vents always missing on these vehicles? I've seen 20 at local JYs and they are all messed up in the same way.

In the hunt to stop the check engine light,In the last 2 weeks I've done

New Oxygen sensor

Cleaned EGR valve

Cleaned MAF sensor

New PCV valve

New Idle air control valve

6 new injectors

New plugs, wires, cap, rotor and coil

Replaced about 20 hoses

Also did front rotors, calipers and pads. Rear brakes just adjusted, couldn't get shoes that match what was on the car, what I got at Napa wouldn't fit. Tried several shops, they all had the same ones that don't fit. Another mystery.

Runs like a champ now, though. I know I have to do the timing belt soon. Parts are in the garage.

New tires and we are good for the winter. Going to try the 235/75 15 Hankook DynaPro AT. $96, free to the store at Walmart. I'll take them to my local guy to get mounted.

[Cuong Nguyen]

I'm partial to the 93 model. The plastic trim for the vents were made of a brittle soft plastic what melted warped and broke over time In the sun

 

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[mickmutante]

Lot of work you have in your Pathy...

 

Welcome!

[crab]

ah, ok. I found one piece at the JY that's about 75% still there, might make a mold of it to create a complete piece. The cast it out of steel or something.

 

 

I'm partial to the 93 model. The plastic trim for the vents were made of a brittle soft plastic what melted warped and broke over time In the sun

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[crab]

PASSED SMOG TODAY. what was I sweating, no biggie.

 

I only did the ECM code dance for a few weeks.

 

Oxygen sensor
then

Injectors ( one was bad, fouled the plug. replaced them all. that was fun, they wouldn't come out, had to remove the rails. Then the first set wouldn't go in AT all, crushed one with a C clamp. Next set went right in)

 

At this point I had spent more for parts than I did for the car.

 

Next and final code was EGR function. We had forgotten to replace the vacuum hose. THANKS NISSAN! Decided to replace PCV valve and that hose since it was sitting there all lonely.

 

Lot of work you have in your Pathy...

 

Welcome!

 

[Slartibartfast]

That to-do list should keep you busy for a while!

 

There are some plugs that are left with nothing plugged in from the factory. Some are options not fitted (plugs under the seats for the seat-heaters), a couple are diagnostic (above the driver's foot well).

 

Not sure which relay you're talking about, but it sounds like the factory fog light relay (passenger's side between the hood hinge and the firewall). If there's a harness under the console with a green, a yellow, and a purple wire, that's where the fog light switch went.

 

I was able to glue my center vents back together but the ones on the ends did not survive removal. Wish I'd know the end ones didn't have to come off to remove the dash. They go for $50 each on eBay last I checked.

 

Hopefully your door sag is just the bushings wearing out. There are two pins per side that are supposed to lock to the hinge plate bolted to the body, and the door is supposed to pivot around those pins on bushings. On both of my rigs, those bushings seized up, breaking the pin free of the little splines that were supposed to hold it to the hinge plate. The splines then wallowed out the holes to the point where new pins would flop around the same as the old ones. The seized pins also make disassembly interesting. I tried doing it right on my '95 with new plates and pins, but the door cylinders were so corroded (and impossible to clean out since they're welded to the door) that the bushings were still extremely tight and the pins twisted free of the plates literally before the door was back on the truck. Once it was on, I found that the aftermarket upper hinge plate was poorly made and needed shimming for the door to open and close properly. For my '93, I said screw that. I replaced just the bushings that needed it, put the pins in, and jacked up the door from the back corner until everything lined up right. Then I pulled out the MIG welder and made sure those pins aren't going anywhere ever. Worked great!

 

(You can't just weld and go, though; I tried that on the passenger's side and opening the door broke the welds. Get the pins broken free first, do bushings if you need to, then weld. Then oil the bejeezus out of it so you don't ever have to do this again.)

 

At least there's one bright side... if that amp feed still has a fuse and a hookup to the battery, you can put a 12v socket in the back. Custom!

[crab]

thanks for all the info, that's great! I was thinking of taking the rig to a body shop to get the door right. I hope someone will do it.

 

Didn't think of the usefulness of the power amp wire, I was ticked with finding something else broken every day. I will salvage that wire for sure now.

And I need to take a picture of the grill. this is my first Pfinder, and I've noticed there seem to be several trim packages. Mine has what looks like mounting rings for lights down low on either side of the license plate, but the rig was in a fender bender and there's nothing in the mounting brackets now. Auxiliary lights are always tempting on a rig, yes?

I have not seen replacement factory fog lights, if in fact that's what used to be in my grill.

 

Thanks again. I have a million questions.

 

Crab

[toughroad]

Seems like it needs a lot of man hours in completion of the maintenance and repair. If you need any help we are happy to help you out.

[crab]

Seems like it needs a lot of man hours in completion of the maintenance and repair. If you need any help we are happy to help you out.

thanks, I will definitely be pestering you folks.

 

who's the expert on the door electronics? any good threads on the front door windows going up and down, but not the back?

Also, the locks dont work at all. Do you need to get to the lock cylinder to tell Nissan what key you need, or can they use the VIN?

 

 

we will be doing the timing belt Saturday. What's the best thread on that one? any gotchas?

 

One more. Is it true that you need to get a front end alignment done at a Nissan dealer?

 

thanks

 

Crab

[crab]

this is my grill area. did it have fog lights at some point?

 

 

[mechanicalbaron]

this is my grill area. did it have fog lights at some point?

 

 

If it had them they would have been mounted under the bumper. Also you would have a switch on the left side of the dash.

 

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[mechanicalbaron]

thanks, I will definitely be pestering you folks.

 

who's the expert on the door electronics? any good threads on the front door windows going up and down, but not the back?

Also, the locks dont work at all. Do you need to get to the lock cylinder to tell Nissan what key you need, or can they use the VIN?

 

 

we will be doing the timing belt Saturday. What's the best thread on that one? any gotchas?

 

One more. Is it true that you need to get a front end alignment done at a Nissan dealer?

 

thanks

 

Crab

The rear window regulators tend to break, listen for the motor running when you operate the switch. Mine were locked in the upper position using screws and didn't find out till I pulled off the door panels.

Hardest part of doing the timing belt is removing the crank pulley.

Not sure a dealership is the best for your lock problem. To expensive. Maybe a mobile locksmith? Maybe pulling the front door panels and checking the linkage between the lock cylinder and latch.

 

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[mechanicalbaron]

thanks, I will definitely be pestering you folks.

 

who's the expert on the door electronics? any good threads on the front door windows going up and down, but not the back?

Also, the locks dont work at all. Do you need to get to the lock cylinder to tell Nissan what key you need, or can they use the VIN?

 

 

we will be doing the timing belt Saturday. What's the best thread on that one? any gotchas?

 

One more. Is it true that you need to get a front end alignment done at a Nissan dealer?

 

thanks

 

Crab

Alignment, a dealership doesn't necessarily need to do it, however alignments are tough on these. I would recommend replacing the upper control arms bushings, lower control arm bushings, radius arm bushings, steering center link and upper and lower ball joints. Likely they are all worn, but inspect them and make sure they are bad before you replace them . If everything is OK in the front end then find a reputable place to do your alignment.

 

 

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[crab]

The rear window regulators tend to break, listen for the motor running when you operate the switch. Mine were locked in the upper position using screws and didn't find out till I pulled off the door panels.

Hardest part of doing the timing belt is removing the crank pulley.

Not sure a dealership is the best for your lock problem. To expensive. Maybe a mobile locksmith? Maybe pulling the front door panels and checking the linkage between the lock cylinder and latch.

 

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Thanks for the tips about the windows. Thought it might be a single point of failure since they both dont work but the front does.

 

The lot that sold it to me had a locksmith try for an hour to get the locks working, no go. I made a fresh key from the old copy, no go there either. I was HOPING it might just be that the key is too worn.

 

Crank pulley...check. Any special tools needed?

[crab]

Alignment, a dealership doesn't necessarily need to do it, however alignments are tough on these. I would recommend replacing the upper control arms bushings, lower control arm bushings, radius arm bushings, steering center link and upper and lower ball joints. Likely they are all worn, but inspect them and make sure they are bad before you replace them . If everything is OK in the front end then find a reputable place to do your alignment.

 

 

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Yes, the ball joints are worn, but so is my checking account.

[crab]

If it had them they would have been mounted under the bumper. Also you would have a switch on the left side of the dash.

 

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So the area next to the turn signals didn't have a light at one time. there are broken off bits that look like they accepted screws in an earlier life.

[teixeira]

Show us more pics, sure have some work there

[crab]

I dont have any more right now, but Ill upload them when I do. Thanks for the interest.

[mechanicalbaron]

The windows are just based off mine when I got it, pulled off the rear door panels and found the regulators locked in the upper position using screws. Best to actually check for power and ground at the motor itself. I have a running light socket and bulb I use on stuff like that to verify power and the ability of the circuit to carry the load.

A three jaw puller should work on the crank pulley, I have a special one at work that uses the threaded holes in the pulley, I'll try to get a pic of that setup tomorrow.

My recommendation on the front end bushings and stuff is mainly due to having to take so much apart just to do one thing, if you are going to do ball joints you may as well do all the bushings. I got a set of polyurethane bushings for about $40 for the upper and lower arms, way cheaper and easier than replacing with rubber ones. Downfall being they are noisy.

With mine is pulled out both of my door lock cylinder and liberally sprayed WD40 into them and worked them with the key. Was able to get them both to work. I'm pretty sure you can get a full lockset from the dealership with both door lock cylinders, ignition cylinder and keys, but that's gonna cost some cash.

 

 

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[mechanicalbaron]

Factory fog lights are mounted under the bumper directly below the turn signals. The brackets for them are bolted to the core support.

 

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[toughroad]

If it had them they would have been mounted under the bumper. Also you would have a switch on the left side of the dash.

 

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He is correct. There should be a switch mounted in the dash area for those fog lamps.

[crab]

The windows are just based off mine when I got it, pulled off the rear door panels and found the regulators locked in the upper position using screws. Best to actually check for power and ground at the motor itself. I have a running light socket and bulb I use on stuff like that to verify power and the ability of the circuit to carry the load.

A three jaw puller should work on the crank pulley, I have a special one at work that uses the threaded holes in the pulley, I'll try to get a pic of that setup tomorrow.

My recommendation on the front end bushings and stuff is mainly due to having to take so much apart just to do one thing, if you are going to do ball joints you may as well do all the bushings. I got a set of polyurethane bushings for about $40 for the upper and lower arms, way cheaper and easier than replacing with rubber ones. Downfall being they are noisy.

With mine is pulled out both of my door lock cylinder and liberally sprayed WD40 into them and worked them with the key. Was able to get them both to work. I'm pretty sure you can get a full lockset from the dealership with both door lock cylinders, ignition cylinder and keys, but that's gonna cost some cash.

 

 

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My more knowledgeable buddy says I need ball joints sometime soon, he sees the grease coming out. I guess I'll pass on the alignment till that gets done. thanks

[crab]

He is correct. There should be a switch mounted in the dash area for those fog lamps.

I see now what I have. this is from ebay:

 

I guess the PO just destroyed everything, fixed nothing. Was anything mounted to the right half of the housing? The upper area sure looks to have mounting holes.

 

Edited January 7, 2016 by crab

[crab]

I'm partial to the 93 model. The plastic trim for the vents were made of a brittle soft plastic what melted warped and broke over time In the sun

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

 

thanks. The side vents dont bug me too much, but the center just looks like I was broken into. After 17 years in NYC, I know what that looks like. I need to cover that up with something.

[crab]

The windows are just based off mine when I got it, pulled off the rear door panels and found the regulators locked in the upper position using screws. Best to actually check for power and ground at the motor itself. I have a running light socket and bulb I use on stuff like that to verify power and the ability of the circuit to carry the load.

A three jaw puller should work on the crank pulley, I have a special one at work that uses the threaded holes in the pulley, I'll try to get a pic of that setup tomorrow.

My recommendation on the front end bushings and stuff is mainly due to having to take so much apart just to do one thing, if you are going to do ball joints you may as well do all the bushings. I got a set of polyurethane bushings for about $40 for the upper and lower arms, way cheaper and easier than replacing with rubber ones. Downfall being they are noisy.

With mine is pulled out both of my door lock cylinder and liberally sprayed WD40 into them and worked them with the key. Was able to get them both to work. I'm pretty sure you can get a full lockset from the dealership with both door lock cylinders, ignition cylinder and keys, but that's gonna cost some cash.

 

 

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as far as the windows and doors go, I have a multi-tester and limited knowledge of how it works. Any good links to circuit basics on a vehicle?

 

Also, I tried to remove one door panel and promptly popped the clip through the hardboard. Any threads on removing door panels with destroying anything?

 

Thanks again.