My clutch is gone. Clutch kits are not hard to find and prices are very reasonable. I would like to replace the flywheel too. Everything I'm steered to is for 3.3L, mine is 3.5L. The only replacement I can find is from Nissan and costs just over $800 plus shipping. This vehicle is in decent shape and runs perfectly well, but it's got 196k miles. Anyone know of a reasonable alternative?

Is yours out of spec for surfacing? I know not many shops bother with doing it, but some still can. I've got a local O'Reilly's that still offers the service.

Thanks for your input. I'd love to relate all the circumstances, but that would result in a, (typically unappreciated), lengthy post. Here's the meat and potatoes version: I've learned that my model year is equipped with a dual mass flywheel. This can be resurfaced, (maybe?), but requires a bunch of B.S. that no machine shop on the planet wants to deal with. I haven't dropped my tranny yet, but I'm not expecting to see anything encouraging. On the grand scale of things, a healthy flywheel seems like a very trivial thing to pray for, so, at this point, I plan to MacGyver some sort of 120 grit pneumatic sander flywheel mill. This will probably constitute a complete waste of time but I'm pretty damn cheap so I'll stubbornly pour 2 days into it. That should give me time to decide whether I want to dump the Pathfinder or drop almost $1k on a flywheel for a vehicle about to turn 200k on the odometer.

(From what I've gathered, Nissan incorporated the dual mass flywheel for the 2001 Pathfinder which coincides with the switch from the 3.3L to 3.5L engine. Shortly thereafter, (2003?), Nissan no longer offered the, (2nd generation) Pathfinder with a manual transmission.)

THANKS AGAIN!

Ah, dual mass flywheel. Did not expect that. My understanding, too, is that shops won't machine those.
With as rare as the VQ 5MT was, especially with the discontinuation 03-04, there's not much info around. Probably still a challenge to find/change to a single mass?

At that rate with 200K, I'd probably just slap a new clutch on it and be done with it, unless the flywheel is definitely in need of TLC.

I finally got transmission out. Flywheel is NOT dual mass. It shows no sign of scoring, but it's been plenty hot. After entering VIN on Nissan Parts website, I've discovered that the part I initially found, (for $800+), is not a good fit. The site identifies 1 flywheel that does fit. It's been discontinued. The field with the title, "Replaced By", says "(MultiSupersession)". Hopefully, I can just get my existing flywheel MultiSuperResurfaced. Looks like it's going back in, regardless.

I appreciate your input very much! Thank You.

Sounds like a good discovery then. Honestly, I was surprised to think that Nissan would've not used a single mass flywheel. The trucks were still very primitive in 2002, and the Pathfinder drivetrain was practically identical to the Frontier and Xterra, aside from the use of the 3.5L.

I just realized I didn't take a look at the FSM to see what it says about the flywheel, if anything. Well, there's not much there. I didn't dig deep, but the only take-aways were to be careful about the integrated signal teeth and..."Do not surface flywheel. Replace as necessary." I'm surprised to see that. Seeing how it's made of unobtainium these days, sounds like resurfacing is still your best bet.

Keep looking a wee bit more and one just may SURFACE ! !

That "multiple supersession" stuff is the one and only thing I hate about NPD. Call the dealer with the last 8 of your VIN, they can tell you whether there's are current supersession that you can still buy.

Lo and behold, I've found a place, in Denver, that can resurface a flywheel! I won't be surprised if there's extra setup charges. If they can do it, I'll be elated. If they can't, I'm just going to pretend that they did and re-install it anyway. I'm thinking if I get a Kevlar clutch it might last long enough to drive the vehicle off a cliff!

And if you put the word's spaces back in your handle , ya got damn good fortune cookie going

What?

A wonderfully uplifting notion the World can use today ..." United We Can Fix All " , now that's Beautiful ....! !

Hawairish wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 26, 2023 10:55 am

What?

Don't interrupt Bluto... I mean, Mac... he's on a roll.

Don't need no stinking meds

Meds might help.

Thanks , I needed that ................comment LOL

I'm concerned. I'm probably not the only one who read the fortune cookie remark and immediately suspected fentanyl abuse. Now more meds are being encouraged. Are meds really the answer here? The real question: Is it even possible to fix mac? (Mac-Don't you dare jump on the "fix" pun!)

Back to business: The flywheel is NOT dual mass, but it's not 1 piece either. The reluctor ring, (aka signal plate for crank position sensor) is attached with E-Torx bolts. Also attached, (w/ E-Torx), is a plate with the mounting holes to attach assembly to crankshaft. Welded to this plate, is the gear ring for starter motor. That plate needs to remain when resurfacing. I removed reluctor because service manual cautions mishandling it. Why? I don't know. It's got 180 identical teeth spaced evenly. No missing teeth, just 360 degrees with no discernable difference all the way around. Good for RPM but not position of crank. This topic deserves it's own thread.

Here's a before and after pic of flywheel. ("Before" pic shows flywheel with Mounting plate and reluctor removed.)

I've got clutch installed. The transmission is suspended about 2" from motor, and probably 1 or 2 degrees out of alignment. I'm doing this on garage floor. I have transmission jack but my pathfinder is 4WD so transfer case adds another dimension of complexity and adventure.

Thanks Hawairish! I couldn't find a machine shop that turned flywheels. I finally called my local Oreilly's and got number for place that gave me number for other place that gave me name of machine shop: Gunn Automotive 145 S. Federal Blvd. Denver 303-934-3134. Cost $70 and was ready the following day. Very cool folks.

UnitedWeCanFixAll wrote: ↑

Sat Sep 02, 2023 4:09 pm

I removed reluctor because service manual cautions mishandling it. Why? I don't know. It's got 180 identical teeth spaced evenly. No missing teeth, just 360 degrees with no discernable difference all the way around. Good for RPM but not position of crank. This topic deserves it's own thread.

The early VQ's were like the VG's, they really only used the crank signal for the tach and misfire diagnostics. TDC and other position data were derived from the cam sensor and simply correlated against the crank. The FSM even refers to the crank as the "1 degree signal", and that's really all it is. However, vagaries in it can confuse the ECM for exactly the reason you mentioned, because there's no index gap in the reluctor. Warping it or any other other sort of damage which affects the clearance or magnetic angle between the wheel and sensor will cause signal timing problems and can even cause false misfire detections. That's why they urge caution in handling.

After thinking about it, it dawned on me that the FSM was written for real Nissan techs. Quite a difference in perspective between someone like me and a guy who's not only expected to do the job right, but finish it today! There's no way to justify resurfacing the flywheel when you have a brand new replacement sitting on the shelf. If the flywheel is still in good shape, the environment merits a word of caution or it could easily end up staged in a space saving pile of despised, heavy parts that are normally indestructible.

The "1 degree signal" and "180 degree signal" are foreign terms to me. There's tons of info about 18 and 36 tooth reluctors with a signal gap. I finally found something about 180 teeth providing high resolution which enables the ECM to determine optimal timing much sooner. All I wanted to know is if I needed to orient that reluctor correctly. If so, there would have been a 1 in 3 chance of getting it right. A wrong guess would result in turning the key to discover I was 120 or 240 degrees out of phase. At that point, do I pull the transmission again or just shoot myself in the head?

I didn't want to add another tangent to this discussion, but now it's relevant. That "magnetic angle" you mentioned is no joke. This vehicle was throwing a P0505 DTC when I bought it. (Cheap, because it wasn't drivable.) This was a bloody battle that ended when I spent $3.99 and replaced the IACV stepper motor driver on the ECM. This was so significant that I put up with an intermittent P1336 DTC for a few months. Then I struggled with it for 2 years. It wasn't until I pulled the transmission for this clutch job that I was able to see a spot where 3 or 4 teeth of that reluctor were ever so slightly bent to one side. I straightened them out when I removed the reluctor to get the flywheel turned. The clutch job is all wrapped up. The new clutch feels great. The engine is running like never before, (since I've had the vehicle, anyway.) It's been a tough adjustment, but I'm starting to get used to the lack of illumination from the CEL.