Guest 96max2fast Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I just purchased a 1991 Pathfinder 4x4 w/ an automatic transmission. I don't know much about the truck. I was visually inspecting it and I have a few questions which I hope you can help me with. First of all, my tranny has trouble shifting from 1st to second. I have to release the gas a bit so it can shift. Also, when I am stopped, it's pretty hard to turn the steering wheel. I have included a few pictures of things I have questions about. What exactly is this piece called and what is the purpose?. It appears as if a switch or something of that nature broke. I believe this is the tranny. Pic2 of the same piece Also, my Anti-lock light is on. Dont know what it coud be. I have a touring/sport button near the E brake and I dont know what it is for... I have some sort of power button on the right side dash, behind my steering wheel, next to the rear wiper switch and I dont know what it is for either... I really appreciate all the help! Sorry, the car was sold to me really cheap and I've never owned an automatic car, especially not an automatic truck!!! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solid snake Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 I will need to look at a diagram to see what that piece is for. As far as the anti-lock brakes, check the fluid level in the resevoir, on the master cylinder, the brake pads on the rotors and drums, if the pads are good. try bleeding your braking system, cehck for leaks. The touring/sport button you see is for adjusting the shocks on the truck from trouing/ street or highway use, to sport/ offroad etc. If the shocks don't work any longer, I can't see the benefit of having that option. The power button is used for "sporty driving or driving up long slopes. As the tranmission may always shift in higher engine revelution (higher vehicle speed), you can obtain powerful acceleration in passing or climbing". This info is from the owners manual. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rennwerkes Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 Regarding your ABS, as Solid Snake said do the regular maintenance stuff. But I wouldn't go crazy trying to find the problem. If your ABS isn't working, the brake system will still continue to function in a normally. As far as bleeding your system, if you can avoid it, do not use the pump the brake pedal method. This will often ruin the master cylinder piston and seals. My favorite way is to use a pressure bleeder that pressurizes the fluid reservoir and then all you do is crack the bleeder nipple and out comes the ugly old fluid. A second way is to use a vacuum bleeder on the nipple side. The irritating thing about this is that you have to make sure the bleeder nipple's threads are air tight or else air will be sucked in and out again, no fun! Oh, and make sure you use good fluid. Ate gold or Ate blue, both good stuff! better than DOT4. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted July 4, 2006 Share Posted July 4, 2006 that switch looks like the transfer case position indicator. when you shift the t-case into 4WD a little green lamp should show up on the instrument panel. If your's doesn't do this, that's probably the switch. It's not necessary for proper function of the t-case. It's just an idiot light to tell you that you're in 4WD. Mine caused a short-circuit somewhere, so i just unplugged it and called it a day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted July 5, 2006 Share Posted July 5, 2006 My ABS light has been on for a while, my sensor at the rear pinion is bad. For a while it just came on when in the rain and wet, now it's always on. I haven't fixed it because I don't feel like messing with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishpath95 Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 My ABS light had been on in my '95 since I bought her in Oct 05. The guy told me it was some $50-$60 sensor on the rear housing but I seem to stop just fine without it. Just the other day either it magically repaired itself or the light finally burned out because "no more ABS light". Either way, problem solved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unccpathfinder Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 hmm if i recall correctly u can clear that out by disconnecting the battery for a while and it most likely came from some1 replacing the brakes with the battery hooked up and/or not bleeding the ABS sensor... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rennwerkes Posted July 7, 2006 Share Posted July 7, 2006 Hmmm...not sure if you can "bleed" the ABS sensor. Unless there's another type, the one I'm familiar with is a pick up sensor that reads the movement of the wheel's hub and tells the computer when it stops moving so that it can actuate the ABS pump. Maybe someone can verify this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solid snake Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Well what i ment was to bleed the master cylinder and calipers cause I had a similar problem and this helped, and if the fluid is low, then why not bleed the system and clean it . If the fluid is low, the abs light will turn on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rennwerkes Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Ahhh...that might be worth a try. Remember, if at all possible try not to do the pump and bleed method. Use a pressure or vacuum bleeder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 96max2fast Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 that switch looks like the transfer case position indicator. when you shift the t-case into 4WD a little green lamp should show up on the instrument panel. If your's doesn't do this, that's probably the switch. It's not necessary for proper function of the t-case. It's just an idiot light to tell you that you're in 4WD. Mine caused a short-circuit somewhere, so i just unplugged it and called it a day. I will contact the nissan dealership to order that part. Guys, is there any type of sensor that helps the tranny shift smoothly?? Mine has trouble going from 1-2 gear. I have to release the gas so it can shift. It is annoying!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cdhicks99 Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 (edited) It sounds like the power button on your dash may be on, make sure that it's NOT switched to power. Edited July 10, 2006 by cdhicks99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nige Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 I will contact the nissan dealership to order that part. Guys, is there any type of sensor that helps the tranny shift smoothly?? Mine has trouble going from 1-2 gear. I have to release the gas so it can shift. It is annoying!!! i cehcked it out and it was $120 here in canada. Not worth it IMO. Just look at the lever if you really need to know if you're in 4WD or not Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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