The Nissan Path

I have been chasing a very slight chirping rattle when I hit overdrive and about 1100 rpm is when it’s most noticeable. I pulled the belt today, tensioner pulley had a little play in it so I swapped that and a new belt. When I had that off I checked the other pullys and the power steering pulley had me a little stumped. No issues with turning or anything abnormal or typical with a failed pump but the pulley when spun definitely sounds like a bad bearing. Unless I’m missing something and when I spin that pulley shouldn’t it be quiet? Or is it the internals making a rotation noise and normal? And finally has anyone replaced this part themselves? If I have to do it I’d rather not spend an arm and a leg at the shop. I can get a pump used off a low mileage totaled vehicle easy enough from car-part so if it’s easy enough to swap I’d like to do it myself. Any and all help is appreciated pathfinder family.

It should be quiet when you spin the pulley. If you feel or hear any roughness, grinding or squeaking, it may be a bad bearing. If you have decent mechanical skills and the tools to do it, it's not a hard job, but, of course, that's all subjective to the individual. Make sure you get a couple of new banjo bolt washers and use red P/S fluid or ATF (i.e. Dexron III/Mercon, Valvoline Maxlife ATF, NissanMatic Type "D" ATF or P/S fluid). If you need access from the side, you may find some if you remove the front passenger wheel and plastic wheel well liner, although I don't believe you'll needed. You'll need to drain the coolant to remove the upper rad hose to be able to get the fan shroud and electric fan out of the way (as well as the skid plate to remove the lower shroud cover and detach the trans cooler lines from the shroud). Torque the banjo bolt to spec (I think it's around 50 lb-ft, but check the service manual to be sure, which you can access by clicking on the "service manuals" tab at the top of the page).