The Nissan Path

Hi everyone! I'm set to return from Saudi Arabia in August and finally get my Pathfinder back from my parents. There's one hitch though...as they were flying over here for the summer the A/C quit working. They only had a few days so they didn't get to take it to a garage themselves.

I replaced the compressor a couple months before I left, and had Koons Nissan religiously look for leaks after I did, fixing one or two. It could be a small leak from the install, but from what the rear A/C line looked like I'm betting it finally let go. (I'd meant to get around to cleaning and preserving it but ran out of time before shipping out...hoped it would last just sitting in my parents' garage!)

For those who've gone through this before: if that is where the leak is, how long does it take a Nissan dealership to get the kit in and repair the line? I'm kind of on a schedule...fly in the first week of August, drive to San Diego, move into an apartment and check in with the new job prior to the end of the month.

Obviously I am not keen on driving across the southwest in August without air conditioning

I'f you're talking about what I think you're talking about it's a big job, fro my understanding they have to life the whole frame off of the body in order to change out those lines due to the location of them. If you do a forum search, you should be able to find some posts regarding them, most people just cap them off.

pandarturo88 wrote:I'f you're talking about what I think you're talking about it's a big job, fro my understanding they have to life the whole frame off of the body in order to change out those lines due to the location of them. If you do a forum search, you should be able to find some posts regarding them, most people just cap them off.

Yes that's one way, but there's apparently also a Nissan kit for the dealership to do it without lifting the frame. That's what I'm curious about. Tech has referred to it in posts before...can't seem to find them or I'd refer back to it.

Curious to know if anyone (particularly Tech) knows about how long this would take...

ShipFixer wrote:Curious to know if anyone (particularly Tech) knows about how long this would take...

how long in terms of how many days in the shop to repair it?
or how long in terms of hours and tenths to actually do the repair?
either way it will depend on how busy the shop is, how serious the damage is, and how skilled the repair technician is.
have you asked the dealership for a time estimate (and cost estimate)?

There are A/C line kits on the aftermarket to do such repairs without having to replace the whole line. Dorman #800-600 is one such kit. Here's a link showing how it works:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 7387446607

I've added a link below to a business on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. They know it's becoming a common problem and they have a write up and pics on what they see and the repair done. They don't say how long it'll take to repair.

http://autocheckauto.ca/page/pathfinder

pandarturo88 wrote:I'f you're talking about what I think you're talking about it's a big job, fro my understanding they have to life the whole frame off of the body in order to change out those lines due to the location of them. If you do a forum search, you should be able to find some posts regarding them, most people just cap them off.

After looking @ the link I posted, can't believe Nissan initially said the whole body has to be lifted off the frame.

pandarturo88 wrote:I'f you're talking about what I think you're talking about it's a big job, fro my understanding they have to life the whole frame off of the body in order to change out those lines due to the location of them. If you do a forum search, you should be able to find some posts regarding them, most people just cap them off.

What is this "cap them off" you speak of? It's my rear heater lines that are leaking, and I'd like to cap them off, I'm sure the process is the same for either A/C or heater lines, they are the same material, just different diameter.

Can you explain how people cap these lines?

I've seen 2 methods. If you have the tools, you can braze or weld caps onto the lines. Or you can get caps (rubber usually) and use hose clamps.

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Since they are only coolant lines, why not just cut the area and use a piece of heater hose and clamps to fix it, rather than "cap off" the lines?

smj999smj wrote:Since they are only coolant lines, why not just cut the area and use a piece of heater hose and clamps to fix it, rather than "cap off" the lines?

As far as rear a/c I can see the appeal in fixing the leak. But as far as rear heat goes....ehhh, the rear passengers can freeze!

nutbar78 wrote:

smj999smj wrote:Since they are only coolant lines, why not just cut the area and use a piece of heater hose and clamps to fix it, rather than "cap off" the lines?

As far as rear a/c I can see the appeal in fixing the leak. But as far as rear heat goes....ehhh, the rear passengers can freeze!

Yeah, but if it takes just as much time to cut the line and put in a piece of heater hose and clamps as it does to cap the lines off, why not just fix it so the heat does work?

smj999smj - you are absolutely right, if it took the same ammount of time I would certainly do the repair properly.

Anybody recommend the correct tool to use to cut these lines? I know that the 2 outer, narrower diameter lines are the a/c lines and the center larger diameter lines are for the rear heat.

Sorry for the threadjack!

Well I have just had a leak on the rear AC fixed at the dealers. I was told it was a good will repair due to corrosion even though I had an ASP Nissan warranty. Well the repair was to the bigger of teh two pipes and they did the repair with rubber AC line and 2 compression clamps. Not done the way I would have thought but lets see how it holds up. They did it all by removing the exhaust and the heat shields and working it that way.
I would be interested in any info from Canadian owners who had the proper lines replaced.

You are saying that they repaired the larger diameter line?