Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Here's a holdback link.
Steve, Host
Thanks-
PNC
new to the board here. i'd like to buy an older PF (92~96 4wd) and use it as a work truck (taking out the back seat). in any case, i know nothing about these cars other than they seem to be pretty reliable. most of the cars i've been looking at have between 100K~135K miles. buying a car with this many miles on it, what should i be aware of? what should i be looking for and what kinds of repairs may i be looking at in the immediate future?
thanks for your comments,
k
Did the dealer look at the internal components of the window (ie, take off the door panel)? It may be just loose components (wires, hangings vibrating against each other, etc.) or a loose window seat. Window may need adjusting to seal and seat better. It may be a replacement for a broken OEM window but still has loose galss/debris inside door panel. It might be a wrong/poorly designed aftermarket replacment window that doesn't fit exactly. Hope that helps. Good luck.
Or you can probably manually re-adjust your idle speed if out of spec.
Option 1: SE with popular package, sunroof package, hitch, microfilter, mats, etc. ($32K sticker) Offer: $0 down, $346/month.
Option 2: Demo LE (4,500 miles, loaded, $35K sticker)Offer:$1,500 down, $359/month.
Or you can probably manually re-adjust your idle speed if out of spec.
You rule.
I also read that oil gasket leaks could be caused by a cloged PCV valve or PCV lines. Pressure normally alleviatede by the valve is built up in the engine and causes gasket leaks. If you have a gasket leak and stalling problems, it might just be the PCV system. Cheap fix.
I was wondering if anyone else has this problem. The front passenger seat belt constantly locks up for no reason. One minute all is well, then the next you are pinned to the seat. It is really annoying. The only way to temporarily fix it is by unlatching the belt and letting it retract and then re-belting. I have complained about this to the Nissan dealer at every service. They always say it is just fine.
Besides from that and one other issue, we are very happy with our Canadian PF. I actually just got off the phone with Nissan USA because we are having warantee issues. There is a leak (most likely water) on the drivers side somewhere that is constantly saturating the carpet and goes right through the mat. When I brought the PF for service I had them look at it quickly...they don't do this kind of repair on Saturdays. They said the PF would have to stay overnight at some point to find where the leak is. Anyway they went to look up my warantee and said it wasn't on the system.
Luckily, I followed John's every instruction and I transferred the warantee to the US when we got home. I even saved the case number. It sure came in handy. I heard that you can't transfer a warantee from Canada to US anymore...bummer. Anyway, Nissan was pretty nice about it on the phone. They said that the warantee is transferred and that they could not explain why the dealer had no record. They the person that helped me put me on hold while he called the local Nissan Dealership. Next thing I know I bring the car in next week to get the leak taken care of....I mentioned the seat belt too. Hopefully they will just replace it.
My only complaint is that my 2001 doesn't have the LATCH system. Installing a car seat is really a pain. I feel like I need 3 hands.
Thanks for listening to me ramble. Any advise anyone has is appreciated.
Thanks~Jon
I saw the tv commercial for the Chinook, if it's replacing the Chilkoot (like the 03 I have) why does it show the vehicle with a sunroof ? It's the base model, not the higher up SE or LE. My 2003 brochure shows sunroof standard on SE & LE, not available on Chilkoot. Is this a new change for 04 model ?
Personally, if I was in the market for a PF, I would either wait for the redesigned '05 model w/ 3rd row seating or pickup a '01 LE thereby saving a minimum of $10k in depreciation costs. The only reason why I bought new in 12/00 was because I wanted the VQ35 engine (new for MY01) and needed a car right away as I was coming out of a leased 99.5 PF SE. The PFs have not changed significantly since '01 --bigger wheels on the LE, some minor interior styling changes and recent availability of the VDC and tire pressure monitor options. And oh yes, the deletion of the nav option that appeared in MY01 and the deletion of the SE 5-speed option starting in MY02 I believe (or maybe it was '03?).
Only warranty left on your potential is corrosion and powertrain warranty for 5yr/60K miles. 2001 Pathy have very little maintenance besides simple oil changes and all filters until 105K mile interval.
If you decide to change/remove the rotors yourself, you won't necessarily need to repack the bearings or install a new grease seal, but as long as you've got the hub off, you might as well do that little extra work.
You'll need a grease gun and a bearing repacking tool, which makes repacking the bearings a lot easier.
You will probably want to get some new inner wheel bearing grease seals, too. The whole process isn't really that hard, it's just a little time consuming and quite messy. Have a decent supply of paper towels and/or shop rags close by.
The process is relatively simple, but time-consuming:
1) Remove wheel
2) Remove brake pads
3) Remove brake caliper
4) Remove drive flange (Refer to these photos.)
5) Remove locknut retaining washer (use a Phillips screwdriver to remove the screws; the screw heads are very easy to strip, so be careful!)
6) Remove bearing locknut
7) Remove outer bearing
8) Slide hub/rotor off the spindle
9) On the back of the hub, unbolt the rotor (six 14mm bolts)
10) Take rotor to an auto parts/auto repair center to be machined
11) Remove inner bearing and grease seal: Place the hub face-up while supporting it around the edges on a vice or blocks of wood. Tap out the inner bearing and seal from the top, forcing the bearing and seal to pop out from the bottom. Use a wooden dowel or hammer handle to pop out the seal, tapping around the circumference a little at a time. Do not pry it out from the back. *Note the orientation of the seal before removing it.
12) Repack the bearings.
13) Wipe off old grease from the spindle and the hub, reattach rotor, reinstall inner bearing and grease seal
14) Reinstall everything in the reverse order it was removed.
Here's a photo write-up of the bearing repacking process on the Xterra, which is very similar to the Pathfinder, once you're down to the hub locknut. The main difference between my procedure and the one described in the link is how to remove the inner grease seal.
If you do opt to repack the bearings, be sure to buy new grease seals.
Limited-slip differential (LSD) gear oil:
Only LSD gear oil:
API GL-5 and SAE 80W-90*2 approved for Nissan LSD*3
Let us know your Bridgestone experience. Price, model, comfort, wear....etc.
Steve, Host
I guess I am lucky in the fact that I do not have vibrations at all in the duellers. I bought it used at 26K though. Don't know if previous owner corrected the problem or not. I am lookin to get New Bridgestone Dueller A/T Revo tires next year. Heard they were quiet, smooth, good traction, and have great treadwear. Maybe even the Yokohama Geolanders.
Good job in solving your problem. Sounds like you got a great deal from Costco.
Hope this helps!
The 97 LE rear suspension lower control arm bushings have a tendency to wear out, which can cause the vehicle to sway disturbingly side-to-side at freeway speeds. If the bushings or control arms have not been recently replaced, it's a good idea to do it. Each lower arm costs about $90 and labor to replace both lower arms will probably be around 1.5 hours.
Also look for leaking struts (front suspension) or shocks (rear suspension). Do the "bounce test" at all four corners to see if new shocks/struts are needed.
The 3.3L engines on both model years have a tendency to develop exhaust manifold leaks. If you hear a tapping noise when starting a cold engine (which goes away after it warms up) there may be an exhaust leak. The warranty for exhaust manifold issues was extended to 100,000 miles.
As for the vibration many talk about, I haven't had any problems a simple tire balancing hasn't taken care of.
Thing is, according to Edmunds and other sites, this truck is way below retail market by about $1500-3000. And it's being sold by a Ford dealer.
I am SO tempted to take the risk but what I really want to know is is what do you think the odds are that it is something serious? I know nothing about its history at all.
One more thing. The driver's side passenger door is really stiff. The vin on the door matches the vin on the dash. And I can't see anything to suggest that the door was repaired or replaced. There is no paint overspray, mismatch, etc. And the door doesn't creak or grown, it's just stiff. Any idea why?
I am salivating over this truck, but I'm going to have to buy it as is. Want to decide in the next day or so. After 3 weeks of looking, this is the first nice one I've seen.
Thanks!
Still wonder about the door, though...
Any inputs highly appreciated.