'02 JR50........ Love It!

A forum for the legendary Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4.
AceEngineer
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 10:09 am
Car: 2002 Infiniti QX4
Location: Albuquerque

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I recently bought my wife an '02 Infiniti QX4 and we just love the vehicle. The wife drives it to work every day and next winter I won't worry so much when the roads get bad. I also appreciate that it is a true 4X4 and I can take it up in the mountains and get anywhere a jeep can go. Great for camping. The SUV came equipped with all the extras like heated leather seats all around, climate control, Bose stereo, 6 disc CD changer, intelligent cruise and navigation. Plus the previous owner had installed a K&N CAE and upgraded front brakes (slotted & cross drilled discs and ceramic pads). Since we have had it I have only had two problems, one of which I have not solved yet. :confused:
I have a rattle/clunk coming from what sounds like the right rear interior. Sometimes it clunks over every minor bump and other times it takes a major whack before it shows up. I have eliminated the 6 disc changer as the source, but that is the area where it appears to be coming from. Any ideas? :gotme
The other problem, which I have solved, was the nav touch screen. A couple of weeks after we got the vehicle, the combination nav/climate control touch screen got real pinkish and then died. I could still somewhat read the screen LCD from exterior light, but it was a major problem. Much web research later I found out the following:
The unit costs more than several grand to simply replace the OEM unit.
It was manufactured by Clarion.
After market units would require getting a climate control from a vehicle without nav plus the aftermarket unit, complicated and costly.
I found a clarion parts house that could sell me the just the touchscreen assembly for about $350.
Luck as with me and I found a cheaper solution. Here is what I finally did:
I removed the unit and disassembled it down to the display backlight which I took to a neon shop to have checked. The bulb was bad and the neon guys said it was a cold cathode florescent lamp (CCFL). This gave me confidence that the bulb was the culprit, not the power supply. My web research found a CCFL supplier that made very similar bulbs. After some back and forth, I sent them my bad bulb and for about $185 total they made me 10 exact copies of my bulb (their minimum order quantity for custom bulbs). The bulbs came complete with insulators, spacers, wiring and the correct connector. Took about an hour to reassemble and reinstall the nav unit and now the display is nice and bright and readable.
:mike
Interestingly, when the unit was out of the vehicle, the climate control still worked, but there was no way to control it. It controlled the temp to the last setting before the display was removed.
Anyways, I now have 9 spare bulbs if anybody out there needs one. Let me know :cool:

AceEngineer


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THatfield
Posts: 85
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:52 pm
Car: 2003 Infiniti QX4
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA

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Welcome to Nico! Great group around here. Just got my JR back in October and have loved every minute of it.

The clunk could be sway bar bushings or a bad shock, from what you have described. I know guys around here recommend changing the rear sway bar bushings with Poly Urethane Bushings to increase longevity. Good Luck and welcome.

P.S. We like pics! (or at least I do!) :biggrin:

AceEngineer
Posts: 20
Joined: Thu Mar 14, 2013 10:09 am
Car: 2002 Infiniti QX4
Location: Albuquerque

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I appreciate the advice and will crawl under and check the entire suspension. It's not the shocks though, they are relatively new KYB's.
Poly bushings are something I would never do on a daily driver. They make the suspension stiffer but their life is no-where near that of the OEM rubber bushings. Poly bushings require regular disassembly and lubrication or they will severely wear the metal parts where they rotate. OEM rubber bushings take all the rotation in the distortion of the rubber and there is no sliding rotation thus no wear.
Since my last post, I have observed that one particular clunk seems to happen only when my foot is on the gas. Let up and it stops, lightly apply the gas and it is back. I will look at the whole exhaust system and the motor mounts for this one, but a cursory examination doesn't reveal anything loose. The other rattle still sounds like it is coming from inside the right rear fender, but I cannot find the source.
:confused:

AceEngineer

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THatfield
Posts: 85
Joined: Sat Sep 15, 2012 6:52 pm
Car: 2003 Infiniti QX4
Location: Columbus, Ohio, USA

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Hmm. Good info on the bushings, I hadn't read much into the PolyU bushings. I'll be sure to order mine OEM instead when they need replaced.

I wonder if it could be a drive shaft clunk. Perhaps U-Joints? Does it vibrate at all? The rattle could be exhaust heat shield.

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patqx4
Posts: 187
Joined: Sun Oct 31, 2010 3:53 am
Car: 2002 QX4
Location: Halifax, NS

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Glad to hear you like the qx4 so much! You should post some pics of it. I've had mine for about 2.5 years now and I still love it, it's given me no major headaches since I've owned it and it has been my daily driver the whole time. I hope yours treats you just as well.


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