01 Pathfinder diff help

[diablo9420]

i have an 01 se, i read it does, but im not sure cuz the others dont, my friend was talkin s*** sayin my truck blows and couldnt burnout if it tried so i reved it up and dropped the clutch (bad idea) specially when i held the break down, i heard the engine but no tire squeal, he said the tires were squealing but no marks were left and after that it smelt like burnt clutch, did i hurt the clutch in my diff if its that kind of lsd? or was it my transmission? the next day it still smelt like burnt clutch but my other friend said thats normal if u burnt it bad, and when taking off in first low rev it was acting funny but now its gone, was the clutch just glazed?

i will appreciate any help, im honestly afraid to drive my car thinking its gonna get worse, ive done burn outs in front wheel drives and never had this issue or the burnt clutch smell, i read u cant do burnouts with lsd, but i see videos where people do so idk what to think any help would do thanks

also i would like to purchase the k&n cai and was wondering if it will improve my mpg,i know it looks fresh and increases performance a little, but mpg is my thing cuz im in college and do alot of back and forth, i run 93 and the gas mileage has been going down from when i was running 87, was getting around 17-18 now im getting 15 or less, thanks again for any help

[Towncivilian]

How many miles on your Pathfinder?

I don't know much about manual transmissions or differentials, but depending on mileage you may be due for a change of MTF, gear oil in the diff(s), and a clutch bleed by now. The first two accumulate wear material and become oxidized from heat and shear from use, and clutch fluid is brake fluid, which is hygroscopic and absorbs moisture from the atmosphere which can lead to corrosion and a lower boiling point of fluid.

Regarding your mileage, is your driving style the same? Are you getting 93 octane at the same gas station? Where are you located?

[diablo9420]

i live in bing ny, yea the driving is the same, i did notice i kinda push it to 2000 rpm where i shift at, but im starting to calm down with that, it has 166k i got it with 164k, mostly highway miles from previous owner ik him well so no bs when bought, what is the mtf? i got it from 2 diff stations both hess stations though, are u aware of what the rpms should be at 60mph cuz mine are at 2450 in 5th and seems bery high to me

[Towncivilian]

With my automatic, I am around 2100 RPM at 60 mph. This obviously does not apply to your manual transmission. About your MPG, check your air filter's condition. If it looks thoroughly clogged, replace it with an OEM (about $18). Check tire pressures as well. It's strange that your MPG would suffer with higher octane - generally there is a very small improvement running higher octane if the engine can advance timing enough to make use of it (and our VQ35DEs can).

Have you had the manual transmission fluid and differential fluid changed since you got the vehicle, or have service records proving that it was done within the last 50k miles? Do you have a 2WD or 4WD?

Since you live in NY, you really should get your vehicle inspected at a Nissan dealer for a recent rust-related recall. It's free, and if little or no rust is found, you will receive a free undercoating, or a repair if there's a large amount of rust.

[diablo9420]

wow i think i might go talk to them next week about that are u sure its for my car? i dont wanna look like a jackass lol, im running on a budget, im 18 and no job currently full time student, but i am going to replace the fluids beacause idk if he has, i havent gotten any records sept for what ive done, ik he fixed everything that was wrong when the problem was presented, there is 2 cel lights on p1491 and p1320, ive read the fix for the one is new ignition coils but he just replaced them about a month before he sold it to me, and i remember him sending it in for the repair, i love my pathfinder and what i did to it last night was stupid ik and im honestly scared i messed something up

[yeldogt]

Obviously -- what you did is hard on the drivetrain. It dangerous on an old car with worn components. You don't want to manage the output with the clutch -- it just burns up. Whatever damage you did ........is done.

You should inspect all the fluids as you don't know what the previous owner did --- changing the differentials is easy and cheap.

[diablo9420]

well my biggest confusion on the whole thing is why didnt it burnout, and the burnt clutch, ive done it several times with other cars no clutch burn, and the clutch is still pretty good for the mileage unless what my uncle (mechanic) told me about the clutch is wrong, the closer to the floor it starts to grab the worse it is, and mines about half pedal still, and i dont see changing a diff as cheap, its like 800 for a rebuild how much would it cost for a diff?

[Towncivilian]

Any work related to the recall will be 100% free. It does apply to your Pathfinder.

You don't need to buy a new differential. yeldogt was suggesting replacing the fluid. Do you have a 2WD or 4WD, and is it LSD? To check if it's LSD, you should have an orange sticker on the rear differential saying that it is.

[yeldogt]

I would bet the smell was from the clutch slipping. My suggestion regarding the fluid inspection was based on the age and lack of knowledge of any servicing -- at a minimum you want to make sure the level is correct.

You really can't tell the remaining clutch life from the pedal location - at your milage you don't have much at your milage.

[diablo9420]

its 4wd and im not sure ill look when i leave my house and let uk, and illl probly replace the fluids next weekend, try to make some money this week to get it, is there a transmission filter like in an automatic?

[keelhaul]

No burning smell would be produced from your diff under these conditions. The smell you smelled was definately the main clutch burning as it slipped. The clutch on the pathfinder is fairly weak and when pushed too hard it will slip with the peddle all the way out. once it starts slipping it will heat up very fast and slip even easier. when i smoked my clutch quite bad the clutch disc disintegrated and when i dropped transmission to replace it it literally fell out in pieces. Be nice to your clutch. keep it cool( test clutch by driving up hill on highway 4th gear 70km/h and accelerate to 100km/h+. any noticible difference between speedometer climb rate and engine rpm climb rate. aka clutch slippage. If there is no slippage than clutch isnt totally screweed

clutch fluid would not affect the clutches ability to fully engage. this is done by springs in the pressure plate

[diablo9420]

thanks, i got a question for u since u have a standard, what is yr rpms at 60mph

[keelhaul]

thanks, i got a question for u since u have a standard, what is yr rpms at 60mph

I have 32 inch tires on mine so my speedo is off. at about 78mph(125kph) im at 3000rpm. stock tire size the rpms would be a little higher. mine is an 02 with vq35. i know these manual pathfinders tend to rev high at highway speed. It is supposed to be better for fuel consumption believe it or not

[diablo9420]

hmm dont make since to me but im not car expert lol

[Innovazn]

4 words for you diablo.... "Dont Do It Again"

Your truck isnt young anymore, if you try to show up your friends by doing stupid crap theres 2 things that can happen,

You blow your truck up (or something less dramatic which will cost you) and your friends laugh their asses off at you
or
You dont do it and walk away knowing you and your rig is still in one piece even if you "know" you could do it.

If you go for option 2, gauruntee, so long as you maintain your ride, youll be the one laughing cuz your rig will more then likely outlast theirs.

Like everyone else has said, change your transmission fluid and check for metal filings. good start there. if problems and smell persist, take it up a notch. process of elimination. best of luck to you

[diablo9420]

im changing the fluid this weekend, before i got to the auto store with not enough money, is there a filter for manual transmissions? this is my first manual car and i remember my maxima had one but it was auto, so is there or no?

[Towncivilian]

No, no filter. The drain plug is probably magnetic, be sure you clean it off well before reinstalling. Torque spec for the fill & drain plugs is 18 to 25 ft. lbs.

[diablo9420]

ight thanks man

[Towncivilian]

Yep, good luck. Have you picked a fluid yet? The service manual spec's GL-4, 75W-90 which is difficult to come by except at a Nissan dealer. I wouldn't run a fluid that claims GL-4 and GL-5 compatibility as it's possible that certain friction modifiers (or additives, or something) is incompatible with the soft metals in the transmission. I know this fluid is popular amongst the WD21 crowd, but it is quite expensive...

[Towncivilian]

I edited my post, read it again... sorry for the stealth edit :P

I would suggest using 3qts of this fluid for the rear diff - use coupon code A123 at checkout and pickup in store to get this fluid for about $23. Is your PF a 4WD?

Torque spec for the diff plugs is 43 to 87 ft. lbs for both. The drain plug is magnetic, clean it off well before reinstalling. You may have great difficulty with removing these plugs, even with a 2ft 1/2" drive breaker bar - try some PB Blaster (penetrating oil) sprayed once a day for a few days if you have difficulty... if that doesn't work, you may need to apply heat to remove these damn bolts. I supplied my own fluid and new bolts to my local Nissan dealer and they changed the fluid and bolts for $25, but ultimately that costed me around $90 due to the cost of new plugs... but if you're in a bind and can't change it yourself, just roll by and see what they'll charge for a rear diff. fluid change if you provide your own fluid.

[diablo9420]

so im guessin 45$ wont cover the fluids i need?

[diablo9420]

yea and i think its lsd i have to jack it up to find out and been busy with school today, well i could go do that now since im in between classes

[Towncivilian]

Heh, read my post again, I edited it. :P

Doesn't matter if you have LSD or not using the Mobil 1 gear oil I recommended, it already contains the friction modifiers required for LSD.

$45 probably won't cover the MTF, you'll need to see how much it costs per quart at your local dealer or save up your pennies for the Redline fluid. The fluid capacity depends on if you have 4WD - you still haven't said if you do or not.

[diablo9420]

yea its four wheel drive, well ill see how much it costs cuz i have a few $ i can pull outta my gas fund if need be, the person i got it off of never changed the fluids and ran it for 80k i think its long over do so if i need to scavenge a few dollars form the folks so be it

[Towncivilian]

You will need 5.38 quarts of manual trans fluid for your 4WD manual transmission. API GL-4, viscosity SAE 75W-90 only. 3qts of the Mobil 1 fluid for your rear diff, and 2qts for your front diff. With coupon code A123 5qts of the M1 gear oil is about $35.

[diablo9420]

the advance site im on only shows 1 type of mobile 1 gear oil is that the correct kind? or is there multiple? http://shop.advanceautoparts.com/webapp ... fragment-1 and what should i do first cuz i dont think i can pull 90$ tomorrow so i could jus do 1 at a time

[Towncivilian]

Yes, that is the one I linked and it will do fine.

You don't need $90 total. The fluid is $35ish... assuming you are able to remove the plugs, you can do the changes yourself. Try to remove the fill plug first, because if you remove the drain plug and can't get the fill plug off you're going nowhere.

[diablo9420]

i ment for the transmission fluid and the diff fluid, and im confused on what im lookin for each fluid, the m1 gear oil says mt-1 and gl-5, and u said i need gl-4 only, or is that jus for the transmission? and in that case what am i lookin for for the transmission fluid... sorry for being a pain in the a**, i jus dont wanna mess nuttin up

[diablo9420]

another quick question i only have like 20$ on my card so if i mention the discount for the fluid will they give me it at the store?

[Towncivilian]

Use the Mobil 1 gear oil for the differentials only. The manual transmission will require 5.4 quarts of GL-4 only fluid such as the Redline MT-90 or dealer fluid.

You need to buy online to get the discount - it's identical to buying in store, all you need to do is print out your order details and walk in and they'll give you what you ordered.