spkeehan

I'm a 95 pathy owner. I just wanted to see where I stood with the rest of you owners to see if problems/concerns of mine were shared:

I get about 300 miles/tank of gas. I use reg. unleaded.

The underside of the car is severly rusty. So much rust, in fact, I had a problem changing the front brakes because the rust had sealed a nut needed to take off the shoes.

My O2 sensor went a while ago. I have been having tach problems (the needle bounces all over the place) since I got the car (used with 60K miles). The sensor is so rusted, that they are afraid that if they remove it, it will damage the exhaust...requiring more expensive repair.

Does anyone have these problems? What others are you experiencing with a 95?

 

capl3790

I have a 95 pf with 335 km's on it. I have a crazy tach but its wiring it would seem. I just replaced my 02 sensor and learned not to do it when it is warm. I left the threads in the cat and had to tap them out.

I have signs of rust in random places but I oil it myself every years which helps a lot. I also found that putting a good helping of greese on the inside of the rear wheelwell on the inside lip prevented rust form forming in that common spot.

I like to replace rust bolts with new aluminum or zinc bolts as well.

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shift_drew

NPath

You get over 480km on a tank of gas?!!!?? Lots of highway/freeway driving? I get over 400km on a tank.

Rust, I don't have much except at the very front of the rear fender flares.

O2 sensor wasn't much of a problem with regards to removal. Lots of lube, grunting and hopes of no threads stripping.

My other experiences are good, nothing to complain about. Going to be changing my timing belt and water pump soon, so hopefully I didn't speak too soon.

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NPath

95 Pathfinder SE
06 Pathfinder SE

Hua

I have rust on both sides, on the lower rocker panel just in front of the rear tires. Frame rails are rusting. Reverse gear just went out at 106k miles. Aside from that, everything else is like when it was new.

X-Traction

We had to replace the O2 sensor when the truck was 5 years old. Best mileage we've ever gotten was 27mpg Imperial gallons. 24 is more typical. You can do the math using the tank capacity for miles per tank.

We have surface rust creeping out of that place by the rear door openings, but the metal is fine. Have had a couple of small spots under the back seat. But we've been keeping it oil-sprayed, so there's not much else other than surface rust on the bottom. The frame and bumpers are solid.

Entire exhaust system has been replaced, but it still has the original wheel bearings, shocks, steering gear, clutch. (It's for sale, too.)

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'91 Pathfinder SE 5spd (now sold)
'06 Suzuki Grand Vitara JLX-L

 

spkeehan

Yeah, I get 482 KM to a tank of gas, and yes, mostly highway driving on this vehicle. I guess that it sounds like I'm right in line with what others get for that type of driving.

I'm worried about the thread stripping on the o2 sensor because of the past experience with the other parts being rusted.

I, too have replaced the muffler, but not the rest of the exhaust (yet).

My air conditioning is crap, also. I have recharged it, and it got cold, but ran out very quickly. Makes me think there is a puncture somewhere.

Does anyone know of a product that can be used to spray the entire undercarriage (since that is where my rust is)

capl3790

My ac was recharged but one morning I came out and found it all over the driveway. The accumulator was rusted and leaked it all out. Now I just have to replace that and all should be good.

If you already have a rusty undercarriage like myself, usually anything but oiling wont help. Any product that forms a thick coat will let your truck rust underneath it. It will hold in moisture.

Taping out the 02 sensor wasnt to difficult, finding a 36 mm tap or whatever it was, was difficult. I ended up going to a local machine shop and begging to borrow one.

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shift_drew

spkeehan

Sounds like I will let the "pros" do it. I'm not very handy in this arena since I've never really done anything like replace the 02 sensor.

NuBNPrince

I've got a 95 with approx. 170K miles on it. I get about the same mileage as you do, spkeehan - about 300 miles per full tank.

Current issues:

~ Whenever I'm running the A/C and I make a sharp right turn, I see water coming out from behind where the glove compartment is, onto the floor.

~ Rear right passenger seatbelt is dismantled.

~ A couple of panel covers/knobs have fallen out.

~ Cabin light flickers on/off when doors are closed.

~ Extremely rare & minimal power issues when accelerating hard in 3rd gear.

~ Original running boards rusted at the mounts so bad, I had to remove them by force - couldn't unbolt them, had to use pliers and rip them off.

Other than all that, she runs AWESOME.

stephank

I have a '95 with 171k miles, purchased it at 150k miles. The only issue I have had was with the timing belt. It slipped a little and I had a huge reduction in power. At first I thought aif or fuel filter, the easy stuff. None of these helped. I took it to a dealer for a free diagnosis. They informed me of the timing belt slip. They wanted a ton of money to change it. I did it myself in the garage. Took about 3 days for me to complete it (working straight, I could do it in about 9 hours). Total cost for me to do it was about $50 bucks (new timing belt and all new drive belts, plus coolant) I saved a ton of money. All the power is back.

Let me know if anyone is going to change their timing belt, it is fresh on my mind, I can provide do's and don'ts.

I also have a typical (slight) exhaust issue, waiting to do anything to it until it gets really bad. Dealer wanted $1000 to fix it.

I had the clutch changed, 170k miles on the original clutch, not bad.

The dealer also told me I needed to have my front cross-bar and idler arms changed out due to the play in them. This would also cost a bunch of $$. Turns out I can change the bushing myself in about an hour to fix problem. Total cost about $20 bucks.

No rust issues, pretty good since Salt Lake City salts the roads in the winter.

Here's to all of us do it yourselfers.

 

spdztr

I just traded in my '95 XE for a '98 Chilkoot, hoping for slightly better mileage, but my mileage actually decreased with the newer truck. I got between 350-400km/tank on the '95, and other than the infamous manifold crack, I never had any problems with it. I still love the pathy's, and would recommend it to anyone. Hopefully I can trade up for a 2002-2003 in the next year or so. I think the new ones don't look as good as the older ones - too boxy, and they've gotten too big.

X-Traction

I thought the '96-99's looked the worst. Beware that the 2000 (or around there) and up have larger engines that also use premium fuel. So it's gonna cost you. You might consider getting an X-Trail.

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'91 Pathfinder SE 5spd (now sold)
'06 Suzuki Grand Vitara JLX-L

NuBNPrince

Oops... a couple of other issues I forgot to mention:

~ The driver door feels like it's leaning off of its hinge slightly, and normal relaxed force is no longer enough to close that door - I almost have to slam it every time.

~ There is a brake fluid leak somewhere.

The issues above in green are most likely due to body damage incurred in an auto accident I was in a couple of years ago (a tow truck rear-ended me).

I've replaced the head unit & factory speakers with Kenwood products I got from Crutchfield. Unfortunately, they make no products that fit the 95 Pathfinder now.

I've also had to replace the clutch once (at 105K miles) and I replaced one of the headlights. I still have to replace one foglight, which was cracked a few months ago.

Animal

1. The A/C drain pan and/or tube needs cleaning
2. Possibly the rear hatch switch - a lot of folks end up disconnecting it
3. Worn hinge pins, common problem, looks easy but I've heard a PIA to change
4. refer to other post

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Life is too short to take it too seriously

stephank

I had the same issue. There is a little rubber drain tube that drains water out and under the truck. My problem was the drain tube was clogged. It is an easy fix.