The Nissan Path

so i just bought this 93 pathfinder 3 months ago. so far it has been an excellent rig. i am trying to come up with the money to have the timing belt, water pump, thermostat, timing belt tensioned, and the camshaft seals replaced. (figure since the mechanic has all of that taken off he might as well replace it all.. the rig has about 147k miles on it.)

while i am sure this is going to resolve a lot of the issues i am having i figure i will list them and see if there is anything else i should do.

1. when hitting the gas sometimes i can hear a short buzzing noise from the rear end. its completely random. i figure its something loose back there.

2. its very sluggish when accelerating, i feel like i am hardly moving. it also revs up pretty high (3000 to 3500) before shifting into the next gear.

3. when at low speeds (anywhere below 30mph) i can feel it shift kind of hard. it does not slam into gear, but more of a jolt. (linkages maybe?)

4. when i am cruising at 25-30 mph i can hear a high tone from the rear end. i checked the fluid levels of the rear diff and it appears normal. i am not leaking any fluid.


i plan on doing a tune-up soon when i get paid and finding a place where i live that has the machine that can replace ALL of the trans fluid and not just drain 4qts and refill.

thanks in advance for any help.

Hi mate,

I am going to guess that it's an auto?

If it's an Auto then get the gearbox serviced ASAP!
Basically, if it is shifting rough then the gearbox needs a good service.

The whining you hear could be a number of things, one, the transmission, if it's either on the way out or if it's short on fluids, or if it's in dire need of a service, or it could be the fuel pump, some fuel pumps whine, I had a car that whined a bit from the fuel pump... change all the filters asap and give the engine a nice new oil change, and new filters too..

See how that goes first before going to the mechanic to get the timing belt done.. cos it might save you a fortune in the mechanics... if you need info on how to change the oil etc then message me and I'll get some more details from you and give you a step by step guide, but it's fairly simple.

Let us know how you get on.

Simon

yes it is an automatic, the fluid isnt brown, but its getting there.. i plan on having the tranny completely flushed on payday.

the whine only happens between 25-30 mph. i am still looking into it. i will have to look at the fuel pump... i have been running carb cleaner through the gas tank... perhaps that will clear it up a bit.

i have also done a few oil changes since i have owned it. easy enough for me to do myself. changed the air filter too.

the reason i want to do the timing belt is just general maintenance. when i asked the seller when the timing belt was changed before, he was not sure. so i have to assume the timing belt was never changed. and the last thing i want is for that bugger to snap and destroy my engine.

change your tranny fluid immediately and bypass your stock cooler to an aftermarket one, these trannys don't like old fluid. Change your timing belt ASAP but you already know why on that one.

You can do a poor mans tranny flush by unhooking your tranny line and have a friend turn the engine on - the fluid will come out (into a bucket you have there) when it stops coming out kill the engine, add tranny fluid and do the above procedure again until the fluid coming out is nice new and red. Then fill her up to appropriate levels and your good to go.

yeah, as soon as i can i am replacing the belt and everything else they can since they have to take all that stuff off anyway.

i was thinking of doing that, but there is a transmission mechanic down the block from me that has the machine you hook it up to to cycle the tranny fluid. he is only gonna charge at most $180USD. which isnt bad. i dont have a garage (apartment dweller) so i am wary about doing anything like that on my own. (if i made a mess in the driveway the landlord would freak)

Yeah, a transmission flush also requires a nice new filter, or you run the risk of it all ending up like mud very quickly.

The transmission 'could' also be responsible for the whine, but once you've got it serviced you'll know on that for sure.

Simon

Well i got the transmission flushed. he said it was pretty bad. he is convinced the filters had never been changed . it shifts a little softer now.

i also had the timing belt, tensioner, camshaft seals, water pump, and thermostat replaced. good timing too.. the mechanic showed me the old belt and the teeth were just flaking off of it... after i did this it shifts a little better still but it still lurches when changing gears at slow speeds under low acceleration.

also, is it normal for the new timing belt to whine a little? i am told its because its still breaking in sorta... either that or its the tensioner.

now all i have to do to this monster is replace the plugs, wires, cap and rotor.

replaced the plugs, wires, cap and rotor. let me tell ya, that last spark plug is a pain in the ass!

but now i have a new issue... YAY!

coming back from the shotgun range i noticed a hot oil smell coming from the wheel well on the passenger side... i took it in to have the brakes looked at and they are fine. anybody have ideas as to why its doing this?