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Teaching my son to wrench--1993 SE-V6


RAWags44
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My son and I have been looking for a project to work on prior to him getting his license in a few months. We live in the California Central Valley and can be up in the Sierra's in an hour. Lots of great trails. We found this 1993 SE-V6 for $400 bucks on the site OfferUp. Headed over to see it the seller said it had been sitting for 3 months with a bad alternator. Used our minivan to jump it and she started right up. Shifted the gears and they all seemed to work. Went ahead and had it towed home with our Geico roadside service. The boy paid for it with his own money.

 

This weekend we installed the alternator and made a trip to Pick-n-Pull in Stockton and got rear fender flares, window shocks and a new steering wheel (old one was all torn up and spongy). The truck is running great, AC is ice cold, seems to run fine. 4-Wheel drive works, doesn't overheat, the interior is dirty but intact. It's a California car and the body is very straight with no rust. It was purchased new in Manteca, and looks to have been a local car (we purchased in Modesto).

 

First negative is the mileage, 290K.... Second negative is the automatic transmission won't shift out of first without lifting off the gas, then it goes right into third. Doesn't seem to have fourth. In reading through this forum it seems like it could be a front break band. Going to try adjusting it. Half a can of Seafoam transmission additive didn't help. Thinking the Pathfinder is in good enough shape to go ahead and put in another transmission if needed. Am debating if I just detail the interior and sell for a quick profit....Any thoughts?

 

Looking forward to learning from you all, you've already been a huge help!

 

 

 

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:welcome: Sorry to hear about the trans. Not uncommon though. My 93's got 223k on it and I'm hoping it doesn't get ideas anytime soon! At least it's all wrench work if it does, though, not like the rotten frame on my '95.

 

Did the PO say anything about when the timing belt was done last?

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:welcome: Sorry to hear about the trans. Not uncommon though. My 93's got 223k on it and I'm hoping it doesn't get ideas anytime soon! At least it's all wrench work if it does, though, not like the rotten frame on my '95.

 

Did the PO say anything about when the timing belt was done last?

 

No, they didn't know when it was done last. So, we're going to need to do it. Looking through the forum it doesn't look like the worst job.

 

Grateful for no frame rust.

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UPDATE: The Pathfinder passed smog with flying colors. Smog guy was shocked at how good it runs. Said it's at 25% of all the limits. He offered to buy it. We detailed the interior finding condoms (still in wrappers), mini vodka bottle, half a loaf of bread, a love letter and a metric ton of cheerios and french fries. Interior shampooed up nicely and it looks almost new.

 

Had the boy sand the surface rust off the tire rack and then pulled it off and gave it a coat of flat black paint. Also did the chipped/faded wiper blade arms, front and rear. They turned out great. Couple hours of work and $6 bucks worth of paint.

 

It's been over 100 degrees here for the past couple days. The heat coming from the sunroof felt like it was melting my bald head. I took a thick cardboard box and cut it down to size. It fit in nice and snug. I was planning on finding some bolts to screw into it using the existing holes but it fits up there fine without them. Amazing how much this helps with the heat in the truck when getting back in after being parked. Also, appreciate how much light it blocks out.

 

Got the title and registration taken care of at the DMV today. Feeling a bit guilty as I lied to them about having an appointment. They looked and the list, couldn't find my name but gave me a slot anyways. Was out of there in under 15 minutes.

 

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Poor

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Love these older Pathfinder. I recall the first time I saw one as a child, couldn't find the rear door handle to save my life. Still love the look of them today!

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You're not alone, Zero, I had a grown man try to climb between the front seats into the back once because he didn't know it had rear doors!

 

Looks like it's cleaning up nicely. I did the same thing with the cardboard on my '95 and it worked great. Yours looks better, though, mine said Home Depot on it.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

UPDATE: The first Autozone Duralast alternator we put in failed. Worked for a couple weeks then took a dump. Got Autozone to bench test the replacement in the store prior to installing it. On of my friends has a pit at his shop I was able to use. Made is so much easier to see what we were doing.

 

While there I wanted to replace the strut rod bushing but the bolt got the best of me. I could not get them loose. Sprayed with PB Blaster a few hours prior, no help. I didn't have a breaker bar out at the ranch. Will try again soon.

 

I'm searching for a new transmission. Would like to find out of a Xterra. I've read they're better but I can't find anything specific as to why. Anyone know?

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Second Autozone alternator failed today. Worried it might be something wrong with the truck that is frying them?? With the transmission on having 1st and 3rd gears, I'm only driving in town. Maybe that is it...

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I doubt driving around town is killing alternators, unless your town is three feet deep in mud or you're running a football stadium's worth of lights. If it was shorting out and overloading bad enough to kill the alty I think the tiny little charge wire Nissan used on these would've burned up by now. Wouldn't hurt to check the connections on the off chance something's funny there but my money's on the reman alty being put together wrong. Could be that the brushes aren't sliding right. I'd open up the alty to see if it's something simple... then again, maybe the next one they give you would work right.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Ready to tackle the transmission now that it isn't Africa hot in the Valley any longer. Quick question. I've found a great condition transmission our of a 1994 Z32 300ZX for $250 bucks. What is involved in getting it to work with my transfer case?

 

Would I be better off looking for something out of a 4x4? I've had my eyes open for one out of a Xterra but haven't had any luck.

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