I by-passed my in radiator tranny cooler

BMXPath · Postby **BMXPath** » Tue Feb 16, 2010 6:43 am

bellwilliam wrote: Before

After

Did mine last night, it was easy. I did mine the way bellwilliam illustrated.

I have to say that I was happy to see my tranny fluid still looks good! Especially with 105,000 miles on my Pfinder, and I only had the transmission serviced once at 56K.

SilverGhost · Postby **SilverGhost** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 8:38 am

I've searched this enitre board and can't find a conclusive answer. My '06 PF has a build date of May 2006. Is it possible that I don't need to be concerned about the internal tranny cooler cracking and leaking? I can certainly do the bypass if needed, but would prefer to leave well enough alone if I'm not at risk.

slavabon · Postby **slavabon** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 1:49 pm

SilverGhost, I don't think there is a way to determine if you are at risk or not, unless you can figure out at what point Nissan stopped using these faulty radiators. There has bee a number of 06 models with this issue, but not as many as 05 model year trucks. Personally I think it has more to do with age than model year. By the time 05s started popping up with this problem, there was a huge number of 06 truks on the road with the same radiators. I'd say its safer to just bypass it and not worry about it. Even if you have extended warranty, etc., warranty replacement of the tranny due to failed rad is a "grey area" according to the dealership. Some cover it, some don't. Failing part is rad, so they will definitely replace it. Tranny fails due to rad and its up to them to make the call to fix it for you. There have been some people that have been denied a free fix whil having powertain warranty. I have 06 Path with extened warranty and have done this, just to be safe. Even if it was to go and replace at no charge, I don't feel good about replacement tranny, etc. I think its best to keep things as they were installed at the factory. Just my opinion.

BMXPath · Postby **BMXPath** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 5:05 pm

Has the radiator just been updated for the newer models? Looks like 05 to 09 use the same part number.

http://www.factorynissanparts.com/partl ... atalogid=1

kramer · Postby **kramer** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:34 pm

I wouldn't count on any year being excluded from having this problem. Most of the trucks that have this issue are '05 models, but that's most likely just because they're the oldest now. Wait another year and the 06s will start popping up in shops too, guaranteed.

Fix it!!! It takes 25 minutes and $3 worth of parts. There's no excuse.

08Datsun · Postby **08Datsun** » Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:06 pm

There's a thread over on thenewX.org on their radiator problems. Some members have newer models that have been affected. One of the members reports that a Nissan tech said it was the fault of the Matic J fluid and that's why the changed to Matic S. Whether I believe that or not, I don't know.

I haven't done this mod yet. I'm thinking of adding a cooler without restricting more airflow when I do.

BMXPath · Postby **BMXPath** » Wed Mar 03, 2010 6:35 am

kramer wrote: Fix it!!! It takes 25 minutes and $3 worth of parts. There's no excuse.

If you do it like bellwilliam did, it is Free!

dshontell · Postby **dshontell** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:18 pm

I did the '06 Pathfinder and my '05 Frontier in about one hour. Feel better getting it finished up and out of the way. I just swapped lines and only lost drops of trans fluid. Soaked it up in my hair to keep the driveway clean!

Brokentoy1 · Postby **Brokentoy1** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 9:43 am

Should I do this mod on a 2010 that is under factory warranty? I would hate to lose my warranty over something preventative if that makes any sense.

kev1n · Postby **kev1n** » Tue Mar 30, 2010 11:03 am

Brokentoy1 wrote:Should I do this mod on a 2010 that is under factory warranty? I would hate to lose my warranty over something preventative if that makes any sense.

That's a tough call Brokentoy,

You have to weigh in the following

1. Your truck is new and so far its affected early pathfinders. However time will tell if it is an issue accross the board. I've heard of some 06's having this now and it could be more apparent due to the car getting older. So you don't know for sure if you will be affected yet and by the time you find out, you will probably be out of standard warranty

2. In some cases despite having powertrain Waranty the dealers have been know to charge for the repair due to the fact that it is caused by the radiator.

I would probalby wait till the basic warranty expired then do the change.

pawjr74 · Postby **pawjr74** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 3:48 pm

I live in Arizona with summer temps above 110 degrees for a good portion of the year and this mod makes me nervous. Not doing it also makes me nervous. Has anyone talked with a knowledgeable Nissan tech about this?

kramer · Postby **kramer** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 4:14 pm

Don't be nervous, and don't worry about the Arizona temps. You're only bypassing the small internal trans cooler, there's still a big external one in place!

There's nothing to worry about, seriously. I suspect that the internal cooler serves more to WARM up the transmission in cold winters than it does to COOL it down in the summers. Keep in mind that your coolant temp in the rad is probably around 185-200F on summer days, which is actually around the same temps that the transmission fluid is probably at anyway.

Do the mod, no worries.

2006R51MD · Postby **2006R51MD** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:17 pm

I want to do this but I would assume that this would void any warranty...correct?

eieio · Postby **eieio** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:02 pm

2006R51MD wrote:I want to do this but I would assume that this would void any warranty...correct?

I don't think it can "void any warranty".
But it may give "them" "wiggle room" to back out of a repair of what may otherwise been a "warrantable defect repair", because of a "modification".

That said, i'd do it anyway, because any transmission repair (warranty or not) would be particularly distasteful to me. Other than coolant contamination, nothing is likely to cause a transmission issue with this model.

eieio · Postby **eieio** » Wed Mar 31, 2010 9:21 pm

BTW, there isn't much that can "void any warranty."
For example, if one were to do the transmission cooler bypass, and say, the voltage regulator failed, the warranty should still cover the regulator, since it is entirely unrelated to the bypass.

However, if one were to do the bypass modification, and then experience a warrantable transmission failure, it may put warranty consideration into a "gray area" as far as the transmission repair is concerned.

I by-passed my in radiator tranny cooler

Radiator Bi-pass

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