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I recently found a 1993 Pathfinder. Paid my disgruntled neighbor $500 for it after he was unable to obtain satisfactory repairs at both local Nissan dealers and a couple of independent wrench shops. He has since said he will never buy another Nissan Product. Sad, since we have a Nissan plant right here in Tennessee. And he has to look at my 3 Nissans, 2 Toyotas and Porsche 928 in the back yard... Ah well, Karma, I suppose.
I pulled the Pathfinder into my back yard home shop building (Amish Built 400 square foot = "my palace of solitude") and started a complete diagnosis. Here is what we have:
The vehicle:
197,567 miles; almost all city and highway; no rough stuff. 4-door, 2-wd, VIN JN8HD17S7PW109362 All indicators are normal; emissions, etc all are within normal ranges.
The complaint:
After normal starting, pressing the accelerator will result in a gradual starving out of the engine; in other words, when you try to make a smooth start in 1st gear, the engine will balk and stall.
By pumping a couple of times and running the RPM up to about 2250, you can start off by slipping the clutch and then move out. Any grades or inclines will cause the engine to slowly lose power.
He is what the previous owner had done during the past 1 year:
New Tires
New Brakes all around
Air and oil filter plus synthetic oil;
Replaced O2 Sensor
Replaced Cat converter
Replaced Idle Sensor and wire
New Spark Plugs
New Spark plug wires
Drained gas tank, cleaned inside
Cleaned fuel pump
Used some kind of "injector cleaner" via gas tank several times
Alignment
Minor body work
As you can see he spent a load of money, doing what I think was throwing the money at the car after ignorant wrenches kept guessing what the problem was all about and charging him for their tinkering around time.
Here are my ideas, even before I pull the hood off, the whole top of the engine and start looking like a Roto-Rooter Guy drinking Valvoline:
First Idea: One or more fuel injectors are faulty; either seriously clogged or with either an adjustment or electrical problem. My plan with them is to pull all 6 and ship them to Bob Ida at PerfectPower for rebuilding ($15 each). Bob did the injector set on my Porsche 928 and I am now able to outrun almost all Tennessee Highway Patrol Cars, with the exception of their Dodge Hemi chase car last month. Personally, I think his radar was faulty - they aren't supposed to read over 175 mph are they?.
Anyway, My first thought is a fuel injector problem
Second, the symptoms "feel like" starvation, but with everything new and adjusted in the air flow path, what's up with that? Throttle Body? A cleaning rag stuck inside the intake manifold? (I pulled a dead mouse out of the intake of an old 1953 Kaiser Traveller with the Continental Red Seal straight Six, one time.)
Third, the computer system is hosed one way or another. I don't even want to think about that, but suppose that I have to.
Fourth: Leaking gaskets? I don't see any evidence of leakage but maybe leaking gaskets or a crack (which I also don't see) in the Intake components which screw up the fuel air mixture on rpm increase and higher demand.
I would sure appreciate your thoughts in this matter. I am going to start working on the Pathfinder right after I recover from New Year's Eve. If after everything I can't get it going I am looking at two options:
1. Taking it up to Fort Campbell and donating it to the Assault Helicopter Minigun target range.
2. Pulling the engine and chop off the front at the windshield and making it into a camper trailer.
Regards and Merry Christmas to all.
Dave Mann
CWO-4 US Army, Retired.
Brentwood, TN
I pulled the Pathfinder into my back yard home shop building (Amish Built 400 square foot = "my palace of solitude") and started a complete diagnosis. Here is what we have:
The vehicle:
197,567 miles; almost all city and highway; no rough stuff. 4-door, 2-wd, VIN JN8HD17S7PW109362 All indicators are normal; emissions, etc all are within normal ranges.
The complaint:
After normal starting, pressing the accelerator will result in a gradual starving out of the engine; in other words, when you try to make a smooth start in 1st gear, the engine will balk and stall.
By pumping a couple of times and running the RPM up to about 2250, you can start off by slipping the clutch and then move out. Any grades or inclines will cause the engine to slowly lose power.
He is what the previous owner had done during the past 1 year:
New Tires
New Brakes all around
Air and oil filter plus synthetic oil;
Replaced O2 Sensor
Replaced Cat converter
Replaced Idle Sensor and wire
New Spark Plugs
New Spark plug wires
Drained gas tank, cleaned inside
Cleaned fuel pump
Used some kind of "injector cleaner" via gas tank several times
Alignment
Minor body work
As you can see he spent a load of money, doing what I think was throwing the money at the car after ignorant wrenches kept guessing what the problem was all about and charging him for their tinkering around time.
Here are my ideas, even before I pull the hood off, the whole top of the engine and start looking like a Roto-Rooter Guy drinking Valvoline:
First Idea: One or more fuel injectors are faulty; either seriously clogged or with either an adjustment or electrical problem. My plan with them is to pull all 6 and ship them to Bob Ida at PerfectPower for rebuilding ($15 each). Bob did the injector set on my Porsche 928 and I am now able to outrun almost all Tennessee Highway Patrol Cars, with the exception of their Dodge Hemi chase car last month. Personally, I think his radar was faulty - they aren't supposed to read over 175 mph are they?.
Anyway, My first thought is a fuel injector problem
Second, the symptoms "feel like" starvation, but with everything new and adjusted in the air flow path, what's up with that? Throttle Body? A cleaning rag stuck inside the intake manifold? (I pulled a dead mouse out of the intake of an old 1953 Kaiser Traveller with the Continental Red Seal straight Six, one time.)
Third, the computer system is hosed one way or another. I don't even want to think about that, but suppose that I have to.
Fourth: Leaking gaskets? I don't see any evidence of leakage but maybe leaking gaskets or a crack (which I also don't see) in the Intake components which screw up the fuel air mixture on rpm increase and higher demand.
I would sure appreciate your thoughts in this matter. I am going to start working on the Pathfinder right after I recover from New Year's Eve. If after everything I can't get it going I am looking at two options:
1. Taking it up to Fort Campbell and donating it to the Assault Helicopter Minigun target range.
2. Pulling the engine and chop off the front at the windshield and making it into a camper trailer.
Regards and Merry Christmas to all.
Dave Mann
CWO-4 US Army, Retired.
Brentwood, TN
