Advice on what to look prior to buy a 2001

[fabianoliver]

Hello all.

Nice forum, congrats!

 

Next year i'm planning to do a trip around South America with my family, but i don't have the truck yet, and i have always loved Pathfinders.

 

This days, i have seen that a 2001 SE ( 5 speed manual) 122.000 miles, that is published in my country.

 

I was reading a lot, to learn about pathfinders, but i would like to have a little help of you prior to go to see the beast.

 

Do i need to take care of some special thing? Rust? where are the most common rust spots that can give me an idea of the truck health?

Another area is the transmission. Is there a test to do it to check if it's working fine?

 

I've never had a 4x4 truck before, so i'm a neophyte on that....i have had lot of cars, but never a car like this one.

Any other tips, on what to take care on my first inspection is welcome!!

 

Here a picture.

Thanks a lot for your help!

 

[jjonez]

The manuals in the R50 are great and don't have problems if driven properly.  Clutch should be ok assuming previous owners knew what they were doing with it.  My 02 5 speed with 150k miles is a smooth operator and I LOVE driving it.

 

I think the most critical rust spot to check is in the front where the strut top plate bolts to the frame/body.

 

For the engine, biggest thing I think is the possibility of oil consumption. Unfortunately there's not much you can go on other than the owners word.  It seems to be hit or miss as to which trucks have it, and there's not a definitive answer as to why it occurs.  The general consensus is keep it topped up.  But that's the biggest gamble in my opinion when it comes to deciding to purchase a VQ35 R50.

 

There are engine updates between model years, hopefully someone else can give their input as to the significant ones.

 

That one looks to be in good shape and with low miles. In my opinion if it drives good and doesn't make any weird noises then it could be a winner.

[fabianoliver]

Hello Jjonez, thanks for your clear repply.

From the pictures it looks good.

Let's see if the owner has the records, on what it was done on  the unit...

if i buy it, i'll post.

 

Thanks!!