Jason82

Hi there. My name is Jason and I bought a '98 QX4 this weekend. I owned an I30 (Maxima) before this and I always posted on www.maxima.org. This looks like the place to be for Pathfinder/QX4/Nissan truck owners. I always post a lot of questions/concerns so it's nice meeting you all.

Here is some info on the new wheels:

1998 Infiniti QX4 4x4 3.3L V6. 111k. Pearl/silver on beige leather. Bought it for $7500

The guy I bought it from gave me the phone # to the shop he had the timing belt service done at. I called the shop and they said the timing belt, water pump, and cam-something or other was all done about 6 weeks ago when the car had 109k.

Question 1: What "cam" thing was he talking about? I'm familiar with the timing belt and water pump, but the not the cam thing.

Question 2: My owners manual says to use 87 octane but in parenthesis is says something else about 91 AKI rating or something. Should I be using 87 gas or something else?

Question 3: I consider myself to be a shadetree mechanic... I can do brakes, belts, switching parts in and out, etc. What's the best manual to get for my '98? Haynes? Chilton? Cough up $80 for a '98 Pathfinder Factory Service manual?

Question 4: How similar are Pathfinders and QX4s? What's different?

Question 5: What are the speaker sizes in the doors? This has the bose headunit and all the speakers / amps immediately.

Question 6: Any certain type of spark blugs to use? On my maxima, only NGKs were recommended. The previous owner put in Bosch spark plugs in September and I'm wondering if I should take them out.

Question 7: What are common Pathfinder/QX4 problems? On the I30/Maximas, there were a handful of problems that almost all owners experienced: knock sensors failing at 100k or so, 5-speed tranny differential bearings failing, etc. What does the Pathfinder have problems with?

lewisnc100

Question 1: Probably replaced both cam seals, passenger side usually leaks by this time.

Question 2: Use 87.

Question 3: Pay for a 1 day subsciption to nissantechinfo.com and download the service manual, or get an alldata.com subscription.

Question 7: EVAP vent control valve, struts, TPS adjustment, wheel shimmy at 60-70mph, rear control arm bushings. Lots of info here to search for.

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1997 Pathfinder XE
Air Lift Air Bags, Warn Hubs

Jason82

Awesome, thanks for the info. So the $19.99 one day charge is worth the download?

lewisnc100

If you have a fast connection it sounds like its worth it from other posters, but I haven't tried it. I've got an ALLDATA subscription that has all the service manual info, plus DTC diagnostic info, TSBs etc. About the only time I ever pull out my Haynes manual is for the page with torque values.

__________________
1997 Pathfinder XE
Air Lift Air Bags, Warn Hubs

Conner

Welcome.
I bought a 97 QX4, similar mileage, similar price, a couple of months ago. I've been very happy with it so far. Sounds like you got the dealer-recommended tune-up for 100k miles like mine did. They probably replaced the water pump while in there.
As far as I can tell there is little to no difference, mechanically, between the QX4 and the Pathfinder LE 4x4. I believe that parts are interchangeable for the most part. That said, I have been frustrated by the extremely thin aftermarket for these vehicles.
Read up on NPM's Project Pathfinder. Although theirs is an older Pathy with the 3L engine and different chasis (so the parts they use don't necessarily fit our vehicles), it is an excellent source of information.

b67

Its worth it, its the entire factory service manual in PDF format - you need to save each section individually though - no so bad

The alldata definitly has more features though