The Nissan Path

I was at the dealership today ordering my foam seals in preparation for the radiator swap. I plan to put in an aftermarket one. I was telling the parts manager that Nissan should at least cut the price on the OEM replacement (about $490) since they weren't going to do anything other than extend the warranty. He said there is now a Value Added Radiator from Nissan for the 2008 for $261.63, part #B1D60-EA21JNW. I was planning on installing the Spectra Premium CU2807 for $137, and the Nissan does have the usual 1 year warranty- which might be worth the extra money. This forum is my main source of information and I hadn't seen anything about this radiator. Anybody know about it or have any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

doesn't the spectra have a lifetime warranty? at least matches the nissan 1 yr.

The Spectra has a 2 year warranty. I am still leaning towards it since so many have had no trouble with them. But, I'm happy with this dealership and I know if there is any problem I know right where to go. I have had problems with 3rd party warranty claims in the past.

I was wondering if Nissan hadn't just lowered the price on the redesigned OEM radiator because they were losing so much business to the aftermarket ones. Thought maybe one of the forum members knew how to find out who makes these.

My '08 has 65,000 miles on it and I'm hoping to have it for another 150,000. I put over 200,000 miles on my '01 QX4 and it still ran great with the Infiniti dealer doing all the work (which was very little)- that's why I'm reconsidering this better priced OEM one.

I also have a 2008 V8.

will the new radiator B1D60-EA21JNW fix the issue ? Did they reroute the coolant tubes differently ?

ebay has them for $220 shipped.

thanks

When I asked that question of the service advisor at my dealership, he said this is the one Nissan told them to use for any replacements of radiators. He's been with them quite a few years and is good. Management didn't give specifics to him, but implied it's been redesigned. It's new to their line, so I can only assume they fixed it and didn't want a repeat of the problem and another class action lawsuit.

thanks. So going with that new radiator, I wouldn't need to do the bypass method anymore right ?

Correct- no by-pass. It's either swap the radiator or do the by-pass. If you do the by-pass, you can stay with your original radiator. By swapping it out you should be all set for the life of the car. Though there is a lot of discussion on the pros and cons of the by-pass method in this forum, I prefer having the intended additional heating and cooling benefits designed into the system, especially since you live in a generally warm climate and I in a cold one. I have Airlifts on mine because I load this thing up regularly and like knowing the radiator is keeping the transmission oil temp where it needs to be.

which radiator did you end up going with ?
did you do the install yourself or the dealership and how much did they charge you ?

thanks.

I went with the original OEM #21460-9CA2E, which is the newer number after fixing the problem and had my dealership install it. If you read my link (above in the same thread) from my problem with the Stillen/CSF radiator, I was tired enough of the problem to just go with what I thought at the time to be a better radiator. Looking back I should have gone with the Value Advantage one. I wouldn't be surprised if it isn't the same radiator as the OEM. I suspect they've lowered the price to get more of the business back they lost to the aftermarket ones. If I had to do it all over again, I would do the Value Advantage and save the money. I'm sure it's a good radiator.

I paid $470 for the OEM one. I used the price quoted by Courtesy Nissan in Texas 972-231-2600 (recommended highly by other forum members for parts sourcing by the DIY'ers) to get the price down at the dealership I like so much. Labor was $275. I did have a coupon which took $75 off the total of those 2 numbers. With taxes, coolant, seals (see below), new cap, and discount it was $827 out the door.

After looking at some of the step-by-step photos to replace the radiator on these, I think you'd have to be a serious weekend mechanic to take this on. And, if I remember right, the V8 is a little trickier than the V6, due to it's additional size. Well worth the money to me to have it done right by someone who knows what they're doing. If you decide to do it yourself, there are a bunch of good posts of the experience others had in doing it. Also, others had recommended the 4 new seals (not expensive), which go around the outside of the radiator, regardless of who does it, that turned out to be a good idea:

21497-EA000
21496-ZS20A
21496-ZS22A
21496-EA000

I also had them replace the hoses in and out of the radiator while they had it open. Not expensive. They are not included on this bill because they were swapped during the Stillen/CSF fiasco.

One other thing not relating to the radiator (I should post under engine). My service advisor (who was a wrench turner for a bunch of years before moving out front), heard a slight hissing coming from my engine bay when I was last in for an oil change. I couldn't hear it. Turns out 1 of the 2 exhaust manifolds was cracked and therefore leaking. He said the catalytic converter on these V8's is bolted right to the block (something like that) and generate a bunch of heat. It was under emission warranty (8yr 80k) and they fixed it no charge to me. He said he's seen this a bit in the Titan's (which use the same engine), but never in a V8 Pathfinder. I think the V6 is altogether different. He also said there is no way to test for it and it won't show up in diagnostics. They test by just sticking their head kind of in both front wheel-wells with the engine running and listen. Another reason I have most of my work done at the dealership. They've caught a few other things as well (pinion seal, shock). A quick change oil place never would have noticed this. I signed up for my dealerships emails and they send me coupons for discounts on oil changes and service all the time. It's actually cheaper than my local quick change. Anyway, just my 2 cents.

thanks. I ordered the OEM valued radiator and 4 OEM seals off ebay.
I'll take that to my local dealership to have them install it.
came out to $264 shipped for all the ebay parts.

That's a good price to not worry about the whole failure thing. That fix should last the life of the car. Wish I'd done what you're doing.

Nissan has had a "value" line for years. They started it back in the late '90s, if my memory serves correct. They used to call it "Key Value" and then they changed the name. Essentially, they are parts made by OE suppliers but offered at a more competitive cost then the "regular" Nissan part. I remember back then, if you bought the "regular" Nissan part and had the dealer put it in, it would have a lifetime warranty. The Key Value part would only have the 12000 mi/12-month warranty. They had value line wipers, brake pads, mufflers and clutch kits. They never advertised it very much. Initially, the brake pads were terrible! The squealed and put out a lot of dust, but the eventually got them straightened out. I haven't used any of the value line lately, so I'm not sure of their current quality. I'm sure it's fine, though.

I picked up a Nissan value line air filter about 6 months ago and it looked great. Then again if it fits tight and looks well made its hard to screw up an air filter! .. Dealer said that is all they use now if you come in and need one for service. Don't recall the price off hand but it was around $10.00 less then the normal Nissan AF.

According to fedex, I will have it on Saturday. I'll take pictures and post them here. I'll have my mechanic do the swap.
"Cheap" insurance. I'd rather blow a cheaper radiator than a transmission..

Still no recall from Nissan on that known issue..crazy..