Moderator: volvite
what's wrong with the transmission? coolant damage? valve body?trifioso wrote:Hello friends. Well, color me HEARTSICK. My beloved Pathfinder has 147,000+ miles on it, and yesterday my mechanic confirmed what I suspected - the transmission is shot. He has been keeping it on life support for a year now, but it's time to make a decision - do I spend $3800 to have the transmission rebuilt, or do I call it a day and use that money to get a new vehicle? I LOVE my Pathfinder, and there is little else wrong with it at this time. New tires last year, brakes are great, I have been faithful and timely with oil changes and all services. When is it worth it, and when is it throwing good money after bad?
From what I understand, the options are - rebuild the transmission at a cost of around $4k, try to find a replacement out of an old Pathfinder, not knowing the status of the recall/refurb there, or give up and try to find another vehicle.[/quote]trifioso wrote:Hi, and thanks so much for writing back....
what's wrong with the transmission? coolant damage? valve body?
It has been throwing out a list of codes for about a month now. The transmission guy cleared out all the fluid, which he said looked fine, and reset all the codes, but was also honest with me - the transmission was apparently part of a recall and copay situation, but at its current age and mileage that is long past being an option for me. He said to pray the reset held, but I didn't even make it home before the light was on again. The truck is now in fail safe mode, so accelerating from a standing position is like pulling a heavy load through fudge.
what year is the truck? model? trim? 4WD?
it's a 2009, pretty basic, not too many bells and whistles.Yes, it's a 4WD, no idea what else.
what would an equivalent replacement cost?
Bless, you, Kestral, that is EXACTLY what I am struggling with. New tires within the year, brakes are great, all service has been maintained, NO rust, due to mostly indoor garaging during NE winters. But.....how to know? Drop $4k and next week someone takes my front end off....the eternal gamble.Kestral wrote:How is the body and frame? Is it a rust bucket?
If it's 4K for a rebuilt trans you need to ask yourself what can I buy used for 4K? ... Not much! ... Some used piece of sh--!
If it's in good shape other than the trans I say keep it.
I know what you are saying but you could spend 10k on a nice used car and two months later the trans goes! You just never know.trifioso wrote:Bless, you, Kestral, that is EXACTLY what I am struggling with. New tires within the year, brakes are great, all service has been maintained, NO rust, due to mostly indoor garaging during NE winters. But.....how to know? Drop $4k and next week someone takes my front end off....the eternal gamble.Kestral wrote:How is the body and frame? Is it a rust bucket?
If it's 4K for a rebuilt trans you need to ask yourself what can I buy used for 4K? ... Not much! ... Some used piece of sh--!
If it's in good shape other than the trans I say keep it.
I dont recall that it has been, noKestral wrote:I know what you are saying but you could spend 10k on a nice used car and two months later the trans goes! You just never know.trifioso wrote:Bless, you, Kestral, that is EXACTLY what I am struggling with. New tires within the year, brakes are great, all service has been maintained, NO rust, due to mostly indoor garaging during NE winters. But.....how to know? Drop $4k and next week someone takes my front end off....the eternal gamble.Kestral wrote:How is the body and frame? Is it a rust bucket?
If it's 4K for a rebuilt trans you need to ask yourself what can I buy used for 4K? ... Not much! ... Some used piece of sh--!
If it's in good shape other than the trans I say keep it.
How is the timing chain in your Pathy ever been replaced?
I think this is the key.trifioso wrote:[
has it ever suffered coolant contamination due to a defective radiator at any time?
No.
something like this is notoriously hard to diagnose over the internet.Greg B wrote:My 2006 Path is stuck in safe mode (3rd gear). O/D off light always on, reverse is full power and there are NO CODES??? Check Engine light is not on, no codes on OBDII scanner, I also took it to a friend at Tires Plus where they hooked it up to a Snap-on computer that was able to communicate with the transmission. They found no codes as well, said it must be a loose wire in the shifter. I removed the shifter & panels, found no issues. I disconnected the battery overnight and did the ECU relearn procedure.
Oh, this first started when I jump started the truck because I thought the battery was dead, but it just turned out to be a loose positive battery clamp. (didn't cross the wires or anything stupid)
Checked all fuses & relays.