The Nissan Path

2005 Pathfinder SE 4x4. Storm Grey
Purchased at 97k miles. Transmission dead at 97.3k miles. As is no warranty. I relied on myself to detect any problems and took it in the shorts on this one.

The Pathfinder replaces a 1998 Honda Prelude that was my baby for 10 years and ironically I decided to sell because the transmission was going south so I gave some kids a great deal and moved on (265k miles and no major trouble other than a cracked radiator & an ECU issue). I also needed a safer and larger car for my growing family (1yr old + 1 on the way).

I'm not sure that I've made the right choice.

I've been lurking/reading for a few weeks, trying to decide what to do to avoid another 5k on a transmission.

There are so many posts and opinions on Trans Cooler Bypass - Bypass & external trans cooler - Radiator replacement I'm feeling totally overwhelmed. Need to figure it out this week.

welcome. i did my bypass with no issues. i think the additional cooler is not needed. when you bypass the radiator it just takes the fluid longer to warm up so in colder climates the trans will shift alittle more firm. the radiator is not a cooler, just a warmer. it only cools the coolant.

did you replace or rebuild the trans? what were the issues?

Sorry to hear that. It hits close to home, as I have a 2005 4x4 with 140k miles on it, and I abuse it pretty good by towing my humungous camper behind it.

So far, the only issue I notice is that the shift from 2nd to 3rd when cold is a little rough, but that is easily fixed by letting her warm up before taking her out on the highway.

Also note, that I have had the transcooler bypassed since about 75k miles.

I replaced the tranny with a remanufactured one. The day before it failed I had a weird downshift while doing 55, it was a very hard shift that rattled the whole car.

I made an appointment to drop it off the next day but on my way to work I got a weird shudder for about 2-3 seconds as if I was on a rumble strip but I could really feel it through the pedal. Then it felt like it shifted down and would never go past 2nd, anytime the rpms went to about 2.5k it would make a squealing noise. I was able to drive off the single lane offramp that I was on and called a tow truck.

Fluid was burnt pretty bad, Stealership confirmed dead tranny but not due to trans cooler issue. (I had been reading about it since I bought the car)

Now I have the car back with the remanufactured tranny and I want to avoid having any issues, especially another tranny replacement. I was leaning towards a new radiator because I don't have much skill with a wrench and the 3 mechanics treated me like a moron (maybe rightly so) when I tried to explain the bypass and said they wouldn't do it.

I talked to the Dealership multiple times about radiator replacement and they gave me a price of $1075 but would not acknowledge that there is any issue with the radiators.

Welcome. Sorry to hear about your trans.
I think you should to the bypass and external cooler. its not hard at all.
You have to know someone or have a friend that can help you.
I have 08 v8 with 88,000 it has factory external trans cooler. I am working on upgrading to larger external cooler. Also i am replacing trans oil pan to larger capacity pan with cooling fins.
If you are worried about the winter months like me than also install Thermal by pass. which will bypass the external cooler and keep the oil out of it untill the oil worms up. This way you will never have to worry about it happening again. Getting new radiator even if its better there is never knowing if something can go wrong with that one. another trans will cost you 2 much...

Thank you for your advice, I really appreciate it. I just had a new Koyo Radiator installed and I should have it back in a few days.

I think I may wait until the summer on the bypass. You should post the items you installed and let us know how they are working out so I can look into doing it when the weather warms up.

Thanks again.

Yeah no problem i will make a post on my install and will send you a link when i do it.

Pokey, post pics of your Pathy

Will when I get it back. Still in the shop from radiator replacement and maybe CA intake.

Welcome...

which CAI are you getting?

I have the airaid with a throttle body spacer.

Is there a noticable improvement?

noticeable power And sound.

I decided to hold off on the CAI, but I'm still probably going to put one in this summer. I've used the INJEN CAI's on 2 other cars, 2001 Prelude and a 2004 TSX and there was a noticeable improvement in throttle response and power. A slight gas mileage(1mpg hwy) increase on the Prelude but not sure on the Acura, I didn't drive it enough to know- it's my wife's car.

Though those are both small JDM cars, never put one on something like the pathfinder.

Trying to get some plastidip done before i post any pictures. As of now it's the same as any other 2005 in the storm gray color.