310,000 miles - This is it, like Michael Jackson said

[EdBwoy]

Here's the truncated version of my story.

I own a 2002 Infiniti QX4, 4x4. Amazing vehicle for what it is and for the scant loving it gets.
I bought it 3 years ago with approx 260K miles. Don't ask, I was in school and wanted a "truck" pretty badly to pull stuff around... and I liked Nissans and Infinitis... plus the price was right. Book value for the car at the time was around 5K but momma didn't raise no fool. I paid a very small fraction of that knowing what I was getting into.


Immediately replaced the windshield and rear wheel cylinder (drum brake actuator) to pass inspection. Shortly after that I replaced the instrument panel as one of the green rear wheel LEDs was burnt out and it was driving me nuts thinking I'm one-wheeling it or 3-wheeling it around. Somehow I found one with undeclared mileage on eBay that happened to be within 2K miles of my odometer. Done deal. No emissions testing in that county so the minor-to-me codes were ignored selectively.
Off to the junkyard I went to get a proper tow hitch and harness to replace the mess that the previous owner had rigged together. I also picked up a moonroof visor and rear tailgate/hatch visor while at it. Plus a lot of coilpacks ya know, just in case. Oh and Nissan Pathfinder seats to replace the 260k miles of wear on the front seats.


Fast forward to a year later... phase crankshaft sensor, cam sensor probably then a bad IACV, fried ECM which led to a new IACV and repaired ECM plus a TPS that I never installed (Still sitting in a box) and it was back on the road. The consumables have been spark plugs once, valve cover gaskets, intake gaskets, brake pads, tires, front brakes and the other rear brake cylinder. Generally it's been a low maintenance vehicle. Maybe it shouldn't have been so.


Which brings us to today.
It has been a baby hauler and let's just say my culture on vehicle maintenance is very different than the primary driver's opinion on how to drive, when to drive, how often to drive, how fast to mash the go pedal, how abruptly to go from 40mph to 0mph, what to listen out for, how soon to report issues that come up etc...basically, it hasn't gotten all the love it could have in its last few thousand miles since I handed the keys over.
... which is no surprise that it now needs quite a lot of work to pass emissions and I reckon safety too.
- Bad death sway
- Goofy front wheel bearing or axle - rumble when turning bends at speed
- Cracked boots underneath the vehicle, but no leaks
- Probably needs an alignment, although the tire wear is very uniform
- Transmission might be slipping. Overdrive light used to flash and it has an OBD2 code for some solenoid.
- Check engine light with 10 codes currently, ranging from catalyst codes, O2 sensors to evap codes.
- Shifter lever is starting to get stuck in park (probably a cheap solenoid issue)
- I feel like it consumes oil almost as fast as it consumes fuel.
- It has no heated seats (I'm spoiled).
- There is some body damage that doesn't really affect too much but my symmetric angle can't help but notice a little offness in looking at it head-on.


On a positive note
- Strong engine. Starts and runs reliably every day. Leaks no oil externally
- The trans might take a while to get in gear when it's mildly cold, or the first start of the day, but has no drama during a drive
- ATTESA all wheel drive. Need I say more?
- I've gotten my money's worth out of the vehicle. If hauling stuff was the main purpose, then it has earned it's keep. I have towed trailers, motorcycles, cars and even towed another Qx4 6 hours over hills and valleys. I have transported engines, other miscellaneous car parts and lots of furniture in and on it. All the while on OEM brakes, transmission and cooling system.


There is a masochistic side of me that wanted to keep the vehicle going just to see what I could get out of it, but the little business sense I have says I shouldn't throw any more precious Dollars at this venture. Heck, just looking at the transmission could probably exceed the current fair market value for it. You gotta know when to fold 'em.

So what next?
I'll get plates for another year, because it is very easy to do so where I am registered at the moment. It costs 50 bucks a year and insurance is dirt cheap. It also makes one hell of a winter beater. During this time I will start to plan a proper send off for it. 325K miles sounds like a reasonable target,
1. Try to sell it back to Infiniti with half promises of buying the 5.6 SUV. Just kidding, but maybe I'm not. I could give it to them if they want to study it in exchange for some merchandise.
2. Sell it to an individual for a few hundred bucks with all the caveats declared
3. Give it to charity for tax purposes (because honestly, this "gift" would be more expensive than just buying a different car)
4. Call a junkyard to haul it off for a few greasy notes
5. Sell to an offroader/ wrecker derby
6. Donate it to a technical school
7. Do any of you guys want it for whatever reason?
8. Part out the useful bits then offer free metal for whoever wants to take it off my hands. I'm thinking headlights, wheels, my airlift bag kit, some engine components and whatever else my research will show. I'll probably just take the engine apart myself for fun.

I have some parts, odds and ends that I will be posting up for sale soon such as poly bushings for the rear trailing arms, that throttle position sensor mentioned earlier, a bunch of coilpacks and other things I'll dig up.


Would I do it again?
~ Probably, as long as I got one with heated seats and make sure it is the all wheel drive version.
~ Maybe not, it is pretty tiny inside compared to other SUVs in the market and gets dismal gas mileage in my book.
~ Definitely not. I do not have the time I had as a student to chase multiple vehicles needing maintenance work. I haven't needed to tow very much recently either and if I do again soon, I will get something more heavy duty because of the nature of my current projects.

- with best Regards

[Tyyyyler]

Awesome story!
I hope my pathfinder will last that long.

I just purchased my first Nissan, a 1989 WD21 last week. I got it for dirt cheap because the previous owner couldn't find out what was wrong with it. It only has 122xxx miles and everything looks in great shape. I fixed it a few days ago and it's been running great. I drove it for 6 hours tonight in stop and go traffic delivering food and it ran flawlessly. The engines really noisy and the 5 speed is a little slow to shift but I have a feeling it'll last forever!

[EdBwoy]

Thank you forum brethren.

...
I just purchased my first Nissan, a 1989 WD21 last week. I got it for dirt cheap because the previous owner couldn't find out what was wrong with it... I fixed it a few days ago and it's been running great...

That is how most love stories begin. I bet you'll enjoy it for a very long time.

[DAiNiUS]

Great story! I hope it magically runs until 400k!

[EdBwoy]

Thank you. You're thinking like I was, but I'm gonna need a lot of motivation and even more donations to get it there.

[EdBwoy]

The alternator finally gave out - perfect timing with the ambient temperatures we're experiencing here.
My favorite option at this moment option is to spend at most 100 bucks buying the part online and doing the labor myself.
It's a slow death my friends, but retirement is definitely around the corner.

[EdBwoy]

That's all folks. At 314,xxx miles, I watched her back up out of my driveway and go with another man.

I sold it for $600, with all the necessary declarations for the death sway and sometimes-trippy transmission and gearshift. Boy, did I getting a lot of inquiries or what!?

Keep on trucking my friends.

[sigman70]

That's all folks. At 314,xxx miles, I watched her back up out of my driveway and go with another man.

I sold it for $600, with all the necessary declarations for the death sway and sometimes-trippy transmission and gearshift. Boy, did I getting a lot of inquiries or what!?

Keep on trucking my friends.

Well you had a nice run there with her, congrats...wonder how far she'll go with the new owner? Will you still be sticking around on the board?

[EdBwoy]

Yes it was a good run. The gentleman seemed very excited to keep it going and said he was going to take care of it. I told him, it really hasn't needed much to keep going, just oil changes and lots of fuel.

In all honesty, that engine was rock solid. When i came back to actually do the oil myself, i realized oil consumption was very low, even compared to other VQ35S we've had. The CEL had popped on for a catalytic converter, one O2 sensor and the knock sensor. Depending on where you sourced these, it wouldn't cost too much to make it pass emissions.

I still have the poly bushings I bought to install, and he said he'd be interested. I feel like I would have been able to get it back to very good condition for under $2,000 doing the work myself, but again I was tapped out. Didn't want to spend so much time & money on something a buyer wouldn't give me any more than $2,500 for. I was just comparing what others were going for on craigslist locally.

Oh, and the kicker. Code P0740 for the transmission. If I had the time and space I would have taken it apart and used the engine & ECU for something cool.

But I'll still be around. My sandbox is the M35/M45 forum, but I am always checking the Pathfinder and Q45 ones as well as the M37/M56. I can always add a thing or 2 to certain threads because I have seen a thing or 2 in the many Nissans I have tinkered with.

[sigman70]

I can certainly understand that...I know most people think I'm insane for putting so much money into mine to get it back running! The place where I had it rebuilt ran me $4600, and I probably have another $1200 or so to go in additional parts. But I just really enjoyed her too much to just junk it, and plus there's a sentimental value I have with all the trips I took with my boys to the beach. I really want to get it up and running soon so that I could drive her back to the beach this year...that's the goal anyways. Well I'm glad that you'll still be around the board...again I appreciate all the help you've given to me!!!

-Dave

[EdBwoy]

Somehow missed your response.

You're welcome Sir. And I really do hope you guys get your R50 back on the road soon so you can create more memories. Post some pics of your project if you can.

[r8ersazfan]

Awesome story!
I hope my pathfinder will last that long.

I just purchased my first Nissan, a 1989 WD21 last week. I got it for dirt cheap because the previous owner couldn't find out what was wrong with it. It only has 122xxx miles and everything looks in great shape. I fixed it a few days ago and it's been running great. I drove it for 6 hours tonight in stop and go traffic delivering food and it ran flawlessly. The engines really noisy and the 5 speed is a little slow to shift but I have a feeling it'll last forever!

I had a 1987 pathfinder and the odometer stopped working at just over 300,000. It must have had around 400,000 plus before I sold it for $3000.