1994 Pathfinder improving information

[bob_kelso]

Hi everybody ,
I just bough a 1994 Pathfinder
My first 4wd actuallly , the body is not too bad , lots of rust under the truck , and a small hole in the driver floor , and it did'nt move for a year or two ,that's for the bad point .
I got it for 1000$ with brand new set of winter tire, 4200lbs winch , it has heated leather seat and the LSD , quite a sweet ride for a beater , the best part of it , 48 000 km !!!! yes , brand new !!!
I had a lot of problem at the beggining , seized caliper and pads (original one....fall apart right away ) , poor idle and huge fuel consumption !!(8/10 mpg )
Long story short , changed spark plug , oil , o2 sensor (engine was cominng from time to time code 33 ) , brake pads and probably other stuff i dont remenber now
It's now running nice and smooth !! Still taking a lot of gas though...

My questions are the following , knowing that it's my commuter for now but will be my go away truck , so hard 4x4 trail and heavy loaded with gear :
Is a aftermarket transmission cooler would be a good idea for that truck ?
Is there a cheap and easy way to lift it about 2 inche ?
Has any of you has a trick to reduce the fuel consumption ? (except have a lighter right foot , i need more autonomy ...)
The transmission is revving pretty high before shifting , is it a known problem or normal (3k rpm )?

2014-12-05 by ptn6, on Flickr

[atraudes]

Congrats on the new ride!

In answer to your questions:
- A transmission cooler is definitely recommended if you'll be doing any towing or hauling. You could probably get away with not installing one, but for the price and effort, why not?
- In regards to lifts, check out our Suspension Lift 101 thread: suspension-lifts-101-t491011.html
- 8/10 mpg is pretty dismal, even our our vehicles There's probably a number of things going on that are contributing to that, so start running down the list of things that aren't right. Is it throwing any codes? Is it hard to start, does it have idle problems, does it stall, blow black smoke, anything like that? The only things the system wouldn't catch outside of extreme cases is a clogged air filter, spark plugs (already done), spark plug wires or oil (already done).
- I remember my ex's (similar year) revving pretty high before shifting too, so I think that's the way they are to some extent. 3k seems kind of high, though, so getting it eyeballed by a transmission shop may be worthwhile. If it only shifts that high in the mornings or something, then I'd say you have a transmission problem.

[atraudes]

Another thing to consider (probably immediately) is the strut housing recall, especially since you said the bottom was pretty heavy on the rust:

97-04-pathfinder-qx4-strut-housing-corr ... 34872.html

Make sure there isn't anything too rusted over, also, like the coil springs. I remember seeing one member here who had a spring rust through and collapse.

[bob_kelso]

Thanks a lot for this information !
I think i on the good way to find the over consumption reason ,like i said with all i replace , and didnt had the opportunity to drive on the highway, i did yesterday and everything looks better , my idling is just a bit high ~900 , ill fix that today probably .
Now i noticed a other problem the transmission fluid is quite high , it was pretty high when i got the truck so i flush about a liter , the level was perfect and now its back as high as before im quiet worried about the famous radiator leak....

[atraudes]

Another thing to consider (probably immediately) is the strut housing recall, especially since you said the bottom was pretty heavy on the rust:

97-04-pathfinder-qx4-strut-housing-corr ... 34872.html

Make sure there isn't anything too rusted over, also, like the coil springs. I remember seeing one member here who had a spring rust through and collapse.

Disregard that. I thought I saw that yours was a 97 for some reason...

Cool! Let us know what you find!

[04pathse]

Thanks a lot for this information !
I think i on the good way to find the over consumption reason ,like i said with all i replace , and didnt had the opportunity to drive on the highway, i did yesterday and everything looks better , my idling is just a bit high ~900 , ill fix that today probably .
Now i noticed a other problem the transmission fluid is quite high , it was pretty high when i got the truck so i flush about a liter , the level was perfect and now its back as high as before im quiet worried about the famous radiator leak....

I though the infamous radiator/trans leak issue was only on the 2005-2008 model years.

[atraudes]

Thanks a lot for this information !
I think i on the good way to find the over consumption reason ,like i said with all i replace , and didnt had the opportunity to drive on the highway, i did yesterday and everything looks better , my idling is just a bit high ~900 , ill fix that today probably .
Now i noticed a other problem the transmission fluid is quite high , it was pretty high when i got the truck so i flush about a liter , the level was perfect and now its back as high as before im quiet worried about the famous radiator leak....

I though the infamous radiator/trans leak issue was only on the 2005-2008 model years.

Sho' nuff. Good call! I thought it affected earlier years too, but hey, cheers for us!

post6586174.html

[brc19761]

I also have a 1994 Nissan Pathfinder 4x4. I bought it a couple of years ago and it had 73,000 original miles on it. It is a LE model which sounds like what you have. Mine has the heated seats (that don't work), sunroof, chrome bumper, grille, and mirrors. The LE model was basically the top of the line model with all options. I was lucky my interior, frame, and under carriage looks brand new. The body does have some dents and scratches.

I have done a lot of research over the past two years on my Pathfinder. The issue with the transmission is that the factory radiator was made to small and can cause the auto transmission lines that run through it to clog and it makes the transmission to over heat and sometimes ruin the transmission. I was also told to put a aftermarket radiator on mine to keep it from happeningon my Pathfinder, but I have yet to do. They say it is recommended to do the transmission at higher millage.

The rust issue is very common for the wd21 Pathfinder. That was the first thing I kept coming up with my research. My Pathfinder was bought and kept here in the southeastern US where it hardly ever snows. Most of the Pathfinders (4x4) where bought for snowy weather and the salt used on the roads which causes lots of rust. But the wd21 pathfinders had a rust problem anyway. If you look at your vin # If the first letter will probably be J b/c even though the hardbody (d21) trucks by 1994 were manufactured in the Syrama, TN. The Pathfinder was still made in Japan and other parts of the world b/c it was sold in many other countries besides the US.

Another thing that I came across is changing the timing belt according to the factory recommendation. I have read where people get 300,000 miles plus out of the 3.0 liter engine. I am at close to 90,000 on mine so far. When it comes to idle problems it is controlled by a black box located under the passenger side seat. It is the ecu (the computer for the pathfinder). It has adjustments on the back of it. I have never fooled with mine b/c I was scared I would mess up something. But they say it controls idle and a host of other things. Check your fuse box b/c there is a fuse for the ecu.

Have any questions I will happily answer what I can.

brc

I have the original window sticker price that came with the Pathfinder and it says that you only get 16/18 mpg.

[bob_kelso]

Yes thats the model i have , heated leather seat (mine working ^^) , sunroof and lsd , the only option it dont have is the piloted suspension .
I'm in BC canada , so i took a LOT of snow and salt , but it's honestly not too bad for a 20 years old truck , ive seen way worst !
I did the timiung when i got it , just for safety as it's a interference engine and almost didn't run for the past 10 years i didnt want to take risk of blowing it a only 48000km !
For the idling you have a little screw on the intake too .
I just dont like the way it shift , always between 2500 and 3000 , its really high , i wonder if everything working in there....
I really like that ride , i can in the bush with 20 inche of snow no problem !