Hello Everyone,
I am planning on replacing the starter on the Pathfinder 4wd. I see the front diff is in the way. Does anyone has an idea how to maneuver the starter out? It looks impossible. Thanks

It's not impossible, but not very easy.

Remove the nut and cable that connects the starter to solenoid.

This will give you access to the nut and cable from the battery to the starter.

Remove wiring plastic connector.

Move cables out of the way as best you can and remove two starter bolts - one front, one back.

Move the starter toward the front of the vehicle to remove it from the drive plate. Then rotate it slightly an maneuver it down and away from the front of the vehicle. You may need to move those cables a bit more. Remove the thin plate/gasket and put it on your new starter.

Installation is reverse, just remember roughly how it came out. Putting it in will be an exercise in maneuverability. Good luck.

walkabout wrote:Hello Everyone,
I am planning on replacing the starter on the Pathfinder 4wd. I see the front diff is in the way. Does anyone has an idea how to maneuver the starter out? It looks impossible. Thanks

I had to replace mine last year. Took one look underneath, and gave up before starting.
I had bought the starter at a local parts store, and decided to take my Pathfinder to my local mechanic. He replaced it for a flat fee of $120.
Best money I ever spent.
The guy that replaced it cursed at me and the Pathfinder the whole way. Not a fun job.
I could not have done it on my own, especially as I don't have a lift, and it would be done lying on my back in my driveway. No thanks.

I replaced my starter today. If you have 4WD, plan to spend some quality time underneath your truck - getting the starter out is about as easy as getting the ring off the contraption below.

It is tempting to cut it out with a torch, but it can be properly done by displacing the wiring and doing some careful maneuvering.

Accessing the 2 14mm starter bolts with a socket is easy enough, I needed a pipe on my ratchet handle to get them loose. Removing the power cable from the starter was tough as access is limited and it is covered by a heavy rubber boot. With a bit of trouble I was able to get a 12mm 1/4" drive ratchet on it.

I had the issue where I'd hear a click and the motor would not turn over on about 25% of starts. Problem solved. I could feel rough spot(s) on the old starter motor when turning the spindle by hand.

The alternator is one of the items on the path that is difficult == thankfully only one of mine has needed replacement. It pays to get a good replacement. I got a proper hitachi replacement from an online dealer when I had my 02's replaced a while back. The one spark plug and the second thermostat are up there with it.

Alt is not too hard to remove, but very difficult to re-install. I believe aftermarket alts come with an easier install kit.

Not sure what would be different OE vs aftermarket.

it needs to be done from under the car. I did my MB V6 a couple of weeks ago -- took me about 1hr including the tensioner and idler.

I found this thread w/photos to be helpful. With 2WD, it's an easy job, and I have not much to add. I did disconnect the + side of the battery in addition to - side, and cleaned the big connector to the starter with metal polish, then 90% alcohol.

The bigger question was what to replace it with, I didn't want to be in a situation where I was replacing the unit in a couple of years, even if the part was still under warranty. From InfinitiPartsDeal.com, I determined that the original starter is a Mitsubishi unit, and on Rockauto, saw that the AC Delco unit [model 336-1761] was a re-manufactured Mitsubishi, and should be equivalent to the unit on the car, which it was. One difference was that this was the only 1.7 Kw unit on Rockauto, the others being 1.4 Kw, and while gear reduction can compensate for less power, illustrated that the others were notably different than the OEM Mitsubishi unit. (I'm sure the Denso is a quality unit, but is more expensive with a shorter warranty -- it would have been my 2nd choice.)

Update: that AC Delco reman starter discussed one post above, after a couple of months the pinion gear would sometimes either not engage the flywheel, or would lose engagement in the middle of starting, causing a loud screeching noise. This can damage the flywheel long-term. I ordered a warranty replacement from Rockauto, props to them for the free shipping to me, and discounted shipping back. The new unit starts better, more like the original way back when, and appears to be now fixed for good. I did use blue Loctite on the mounting bolts, I don't want it coming loose.

I am somewhat glad that there are more people who felt my pain during this process as the starter seemed almost impossible to get out and my experience w/ the alternator was almost impossible to get reinstalled when that was a job. This whole thread has helped ease my mind with these simple jobs being time-consuming. '01 Qx4

To anyone looking to replace the starter don't get discouraged with most of these posts.
It's tricky but not tough at all. Just take your time have patience and remove the wiring harness out of the way.

walkabout wrote: ↑

Sun Sep 04, 2016 4:00 pm

Hello Everyone,
I am planning on replacing the starter on the Pathfinder 4wd. I see the front diff is in the way. Does anyone has an idea how to maneuver the starter out? It looks impossible. Thanks

here you can not do without a specialist)

I just tackled this job over the weekend. As everyone has stated, yes it's quite difficult and you will spend a lot of time cursing underneath the truck because you can see everything (nuts, bolts, wiring), it's just trying to figure out how to reach it all is the problem. But it's doable! 4WD driveshaft def makes it harder than 2WD.

I went to a local Pick-n-Pull and pulled a starter from a junked Pathfinder for $27 plus $7 for core, and luckily this one had the subframe removed so the engine was hanging down and the starter was easily removable. The unit I removed had Mitsubishi emblems on it, but no Nissan tags, so I'm thinking it was replaced. My truck's starter had both the Mitsubishi and Nissan tags on them, so I thinks it's original. FYI, my truck just turned 146k, and no idea on junkyard truck.

One thing I realized is that the nuts on my truck were a 12mm and 13mm, and the "new" junkyard unit, both nuts were 12mm. I could not get a socket in there, so I had to make do with a 12mm closed ratcheting wrench. The bolt that hold the starter in place can be accessed with a short 14mm socket, although because there is so little room to go back and forth, I used a 14mm socket on a 1/2 in drive to get more leverage/power. Just come prepared with boht 12 and 13mm closed-end wrenches and 14 sockets and you'll be good to go (and 10mm to disconnect the battery!!)

Another sticking point: there's a metal gasket between the transmission and starter, and as you maneuver the starter back into position, it's a PIA to keep it aligned. I probably spent a good 20 minutes fiddling with it before I got it right. Be patient and you will get it. Also, make sure to connect the circular ground points (I think) to the bolts as you put them back in, as I forgot to and had to retake out the bolt and reinstall with the proper connection.

Serdriver wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 09, 2020 8:11 am

... there's a metal gasket between the transmission and starter, and as you maneuver the starter back into position, it's a PIA to keep it aligned. I probably spent a good 20 minutes fiddling with it before I got it right. Be patient and you will get it.

I replaced my '02 Pathfinder's original starter last month. There was no thin metal shim or plate or gasket, or whatever that thing is called, for me to deal with. I could identify the starter I removed as original equipment and sort of doubt it had ever been replaced before but I also sort of think it might have been replaced in the past and the thin metal plate was forgotten when the starter was reinstalled long ago before I owned it. The Nissan part specs, which I no longer have confidence in being 100% correct, indicate it should be there but it wasn't. What's up with that?

Always possible the starter was simply pulled out for a seal fix or something and re-installed without it.

Slumpert wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 10, 2020 11:36 am

Always possible the starter was simply pulled out for a seal fix or something and re-installed without it.

So... This thing has me baffled thanks to Nissan's out of date and inaccurate information, aside from the fact that I don't have this thing on my starter motor and may never have had one. When I look up the item, I see it in a drawing as lookup code 23470P and can visualize how it would mount with the two starter motor mounting bolts, even though it looks a bit thick in the drawing. Something that would affect pinion gear engagement. However, I've read others describe it as a thin metal gasket. https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/n ... 72&Filter=()
The original part number is shown as 30417-4W000 and is described as a Cover-Plate, which is odd. It was replaced by part number 30417-4W00A and is described as a Bracket-Fan Pully, which is even more odd. The part looks nothing like the drawing and there is no way this thing could be installed on my starter, which is totally weird. What does this thing I am missing, or never had installed in the first place look like? Is it paper thin sheet metal or more like thicker plate steel? I'm just curious now. Whatever it is, or was, or whether it existed in the first place is discontinued now and my ride seems none the worse without it. I just wonder what others have seen on their R50 Pathfinders.

Okay... Never mind... Found it in a video, about 1:45 into it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzsehV6dB4M
For all I know, it may of actually been stuck onto the housing after I removed my old starter. I may not have seen it because it's so thin and it was facing away from me while I was flat on my back under my Pathfinder, which wasn't even lifted with a jack when I did the work. Yeah... I know... OCD

2nd Update: AC Delco re-man starter (warranty replacement from Rockauto), continues to start well 3+ years later, zero issues.