95 Pathfinder.....what to do

[blazinid]

Here is my dilema, I have owned this Nissan for about 8 month. Bought it from my inlaws, who told me they had kept it well maintained. In 8 months i've spent around $1,500 on repairs, maintainance (timing belt) and tires. Now the lifters are beginning to make noise and i'm concearned that an engine overhaul will be next. By the way its a 1995 with 97,000 miles on it. At what point to I cut bait and find me a nice solid axle rig to build up? I must say this was far from my first choice in a 4x4 but presure from my wife and the idea of buying a rig that I actually new the PO was appealling. Now i wish I had never bought it.
signed
confused

 

[madizell]

Not sure I can help you decide when to keep or not keep a given vehicle. That might depend on what you paid for it versus what it is currently worth on the market.

97,000 miles is not all that much for an engine that was maintained. Did your in-laws give you maintenance records? Perhaps if they had it serviced regularly at a dealer, that dealer will have a service record.

Lifter noise is generally attributable to dirt in the oil. If oil pressure is normal but the lifters won't pump up, something is clogged. A fresh oil change plus any number of additive products to free sticky lifters could solve the problem.

As for timing belts and tires, these are normal maintenance items, and with 97,000 miles, you are probably right at the replacement interval for the belt. Tires are worn out when they are worn out. That's something you should have noticed when you bought it.

So perhaps it is not as dire as you think. Pull the oil and be sure to use the right grade when refilling. I personally like full synthetic oil. Amsoil and Mobil 1 are good products. Be sure to change the filter with every oil change. If you add something for stuck lifters, such as Marvel Mystery Oil or any other such additive made for the purpose, be sure not to add more than recommended on the label so as not to overly dilute the oil. You can even add the additive to a running motor (idle) so that the additive is taken into the oil and main gallery a little at a time. Don't want to wash down the mains and rod bearings.

Ask your in-laws what they were using for oil and how often they changed oil (good maintenance in their mind might mean getting the car washed every week). Get any records they might have, if you can, and verify that service was performed as they said it was.

If possible, do oil changes yourself. I have never really trusted minute lube type shops. I have known guys to drive home with no lube in differentials, loose drain plugs, missing fill caps, and so on. Better to put in your own oil so you know what went in the engine.

 

[IggyB]

Timing belt and tires are required for vehicle with that mileage.

How do you know it's the lifters? All 3 liter nissans make ticking noise on startup for a minute or so. Use stock oil filter and not aftermarket stuff.

They've also always had a problem with a cracked right side (or both sides) exhaust manifolds. You'd hear a little bit of noise there too.

Neither one of the problems above will affect the engine.

If it's automatic you'll want to drain the tranny and put in external oil cooler, bypassing the cooler in the radiator completely.

 

[madizell]

If it's automatic you'll want to drain the tranny and put in external oil cooler, bypassing the cooler in the radiator completely.

Any particular reason?

 

[bigreen505]

If the frame is badly rusted and the body is rusted out under the rear seat cushions, park it. Otherwise I wouldn't worry about it. There are a few of us here who either do own or have owned WD21 Pathfinders. In my case I sold mine because the truck was due for some serious TLC (aka mild restoration) and it was simply too small of a vehicle for two adults, one baby and two dogs.

Make sure the car is solid and reliable, then replace the shocks with OME or ProComp ES9000 and if you are sagging in the rear, replace the springs with OME as well. Leave the factory torsions. Automotive Customizers (4x4parts.com) has good prices on anything you need and a lot of experience too. Stay away from their lift kits and springs unless you are going to be carrying a lot of weight. They are very stiff.

Please understand the the entire front suspension and steering system on the truck is absolute garbage and will constantly be worn out. There are several aftermarket options, but I am not familiar with any of them.

This is a mod thread that I wrote up on my Pathfinder about 10,000 miles before I sold it. Sorry about all the typos. In hindsight, I would say that if well maintained, Pathfinders have a good working life of about 300,000 miles and there are some who have stretched it to 400k. Mine really needed and end to end rebuild at about 300k.

 

[IggyB]

Nissans are notorious for having plugged AT coolers in the stock radiator.

 

[IggyB]

Please understand the the entire front suspension and steering system on the truck is absolute garbage and will constantly be worn out. There are several aftermarket options, but I am not familiar with any of them.
.

I disagree. If the front suspension is not cranked up for large tires, like 33's or larger, it will work for a long time.

32" tires will fit with a minor 1" crank on the torsion bars. While it does not look as "cool" as the front end cranked 3" and Ford coils in the back for rear lift, it will make the front end last.

Also, get an idler arm bracket. Such as the Calmini sells.

There's a limit to the Pathy front end, and excessive lift will wear it out in one good 4x4 trip. Lift it only enough to prevent tire rub, use stock wheels as no aftermarket wheel has the same offset and you'll have a solid truck.

 

[blazinid]

One of the repairs I had done was the exhaust manifold warped and broke a manifold bolt that needed to be extracted. The EM was decked and replaced. I thought that the ticking noise was all due to that problem. It seemed better after the repair, but either i'm more sensitive to it or it is getting worse. Took it to my mechanic and he put in Rislone (spelling) and told me that if the noise didn't go away that lifters where the problem and would need to be addressed. i consider myself fairly mechanically inclinded. And relized a few of these issues apon buying this truck ie the tires and the ticking. In hine sight i should have investigated more be for buying.....I think I felt as if I had I would be tell the inlaws thanks for the great deal on your pathfinder but I don't trust you and need to check it out. Guess that would have been better than the alternative.

 

[bigreen505]

I disagree. If the front suspension is not cranked up for large tires, like 33's or larger, it will work for a long time.

Sounds like your luck was better than mine, glad to hear it. I went through centerlinks, idler arm busings (the brace kept the arm straight) and both front sway bar mounts (either Nissan or AC came up with a much better design). I kept with the stock 31x10.50 tire size.

Let me be clear, the Pathfinder was unquestionably the best car my family has owned. Total "unscheduled" maintenance costs were probably about $5,000 over the life of the car, including a transmission rebuild, suspension lift/replacement, manifold studs (use the ones for a 300zx), starters, alternators, a/c compressor, etc.

Purchase price was $25,000, sold at 330,000 miles. You do the math.

 

[spencyg]

I have owned many D21's and WD21's. The VG series engine (both the 3.0 and 3.3) are AMAZING and will last forever if taken care of (even not taken care of). I just rebuilt the VG33E in my '96 R50, just because I had the truck apart and it was a relatively easy thing to do. At 136k miles, there was a bit of main bearing wear, and THAT WAS IT!
I've done the whole WD21 solid axle thing. Don't. It ruins the reliability of the truck, and you'll never think of it as a "oh...I'll just drive 3 hours away with my Pathfinder" vehicle ever again. If you really want some suspension upgrades, do a Fabtech control arm lift complete with steering linkage upgrades (I think SLR has them) and be done with it.

Spence

 

[canucksafari]

I agree that the 3.0 L engine is amazing. We had the 3.0 in the Villager (AKA Quest). At nearly 400,000 kms it was still going strong until my wife was t-boned by a lady running a red light. A couple exhaust manifold studs popped at just under 300,000 kms. I figured it wasn't worth the 1500 bill (engine would have to be pulled to redo them). However, going up hills under load it sure sounded like a bad lifter.

If you want reliability in an older Nissan, then I suggest importing a 1983 or older MQ or MK Patrol/Safari LWB for Australia. The 3.3 L diesel in some of them is a nice engine.

 

[pathfinderdriver]

I agree the 3L is a great motor. I've got just over 280,000 miles on my 93 with no issues. It was my dads truck so I know how it was maintained since it was new. The lifters make a little noise when the oil is older or when I first start it up in the cold. I try and change the oil regularly at 3K miles. Also make sure to keep on the timing belt. I know the 93 was every 60k miles, I think they upped it on the 95 to 100K, but if you don't know if was done then do it. Also plan to change the water bumper and tensioner.

As for the exhaust, you don't need to pull the motor to do the studs, I did mine while in the truck, both sides. Make sure to use the newer version of the studs and washer/spacers from the dealer.

 

[Webfur]

I would change out all the fluids, i mean all the fluids. order everything on amsoil, I know it's hyped up, but I'd go with them. Seafoam the whole truck. it will clean everything. and see how that goes.