hi,

I just acquired a new to me Pathfinder with 170k miles and now I need your help.

It has some maintenance records, but nothing to great I have to say. So I want todo some maintenance stuff to avoid problems. After all the truck is just broken in...

I will do all the work myself and I'm handy, but never worked on a pathfinder before.

- replace manual transmission fluid, does anybody have a writeup with pictures for this please? I love pictures... What kind of oil do you recommend?

- replace transfer case oil, what kind of oil do you recommend? And a writeup with pictures would be great too

- re grease front and rear differentials, again what kind of lube do you recommend here? I won't tow anything. Just basic 4x4 use in the snow

- engine oil change

- diagnose the check engine light, it just passed smoke. So I guess it's something else. Maybe needs some new spark plugs. Still searching for a codereader...

- tachometer is not working, maybe a sensor? Could be related to the check engine light

- air filter

- the left side valve cover seems to seap (oil burns off before it hits the ground). What could be the cause for this? On my old passat it was always the cloggled PCV system. So before I replace the valve cover gasket I want to make sure I fix the cause for the leak...

- the seats are really beaten up front and rear. Anybody knows about some good and cheap cover to put them over?

thanks for your help and time

ok this what I found so far regarding liquids and quantities:

Does this look correct?

fluids:


transmission:

GL4 75W-90

differentials:

GL5 80W-90

transfer case:

DEXRON III
? ATF fluid ?, found GL-4 80W90 recommendation found here: http://npora.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=28134


engine:

5W-30

capacities:

Engine, with filter..........4 quarts

Manual Transmission, 4WD..........5.4 quarts

Differential, Front..........2.15 quart
Differential, Rear..........2.9 quarts

Transfer Case, Part-Time..........2.35 quarts

torque specs:

Oil Drain Plug.....22-29 ft/lbs

Manual Transmission

Fill Plug 18-25 ft/lbs
Drain Plug 18-25 ft/lbs

Transfer Case

Fill Plug 18-25 ft/lbs
Drain Plug 18-25 ft/lbs[/url]

ok I managed to

- lube the differentials
- do the engine oil

and replaced the transmission oil.

But for some reason I only managed to put 4.8 quarts of oil in and not the specified 5.4 quarts, which makes me a touch nervous and wounder why didn't I get it all in.

I admit the car was not 100% level (changed the fluid on the street and had no level...) Could this be the reason?

thanks for your help!