Did I get a Lemon - Axle coming out of differential, oil leaks, etc.

[MCorlione]

I bought a Lemon of a Nissan Pathfinder Armada Offroad Edition in NV, live in MN, so returning it not easy. I've got a lot of things they have found wrong with it. (fixed several different oil leaks already) Wondering if anyone has some insight or can point me in the direction of an independent Nissan mechanic (don't care for the dealerships or their price).

Problem 1 - the passanger front axle goes in and out of the differential way to easy. It was out when I brought it in. Anyone ever tackled this?

Problem 2 - there may be oil leaking from the timing cover or the differential, but hard to tell as the power steering line is leaking (getting fixed at $450 locally) everywhere. Anyone ever tackled that?

Problem 3 - The ride is throwing me all over the place. Does this edition have different shocks/struts, and if so can I replace them? Talked to 3 dealerships and got 3 different answers.

Any help at all easing the pain would be greatly appreciated

[C-Kwik]

Problem 1 - the passanger front axle goes in and out of the differential way to easy. It was out when I brought it in. Anyone ever tackled this?

Not sure I can be of much help here. I've never seen the front diff for the 4WD. I'd imagine you might have to open the diff to figure out why its not locking into place.

Problem 2 - there may be oil leaking from the timing cover or the differential, but hard to tell as the power steering line is leaking (getting fixed at $450 locally) everywhere. Anyone ever tackled that?

First step should be to determine what kind of fluid it is. Gear oil has a distinct noxious smell. Motor oil is fairly mild. Though, it could be hard to tell if the leak is light.

Problem 3 - The ride is throwing me all over the place. Does this edition have different shocks/struts, and if so can I replace them? Talked to 3 dealerships and got 3 different answers.

If its anything like the OE shocks on the Titan, then they are junk. They work well when new, but based on some research, it seems the OE Titan shocks use foam instead of a spring or nitrogen pressure to keep the oil under pressure. When the foam breaks down, it no longer adds pressure which allows the oil in the shock to aerate as it passes through the valves. I recently swapped my shocks out with Bilsteins and they made a huge difference as my stock shocks were toast.

[MCorlione]

Problem 1 I found a cheap and honest mechanic. They took the differential off, opened it up, replaced pins/clips on both sides and the seals on both sides. This took are of it and it is just like new now. I'll caution you though, the $5 clips and $50 seals took care of it, but the dealer will automatically suggest replacing the whole thing which is $1000's compared to $100's.

Problem 2I had replaced. Nissan part only. They are backordered for the entire US!!From what I was told I got the last one that a dealership was keeping off the inventory system.

Problem 3 Still looking for some help!!!!I replaced the front struts, but the back are Auto Leveling Air Shocks. I can't find any aftermarkets for these babies. If I can't replace them (except for factory for $1000's) is there any way I can make them ride softer, maybe like the QX56 I am assuming rides? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[C-Kwik]

Is the air shock integrated with the damping shock?

[CPS]

[QUOTE=MCorlione]Problem 2I had replaced. Nissan part only. They are backordered for the entire US!!From what I was told I got the last one that a dealership was keeping off the inventory system.[QUOTE]

Umm, no. My dealership has two of these in stock and we have no issues getting them on a stock order. It may be an issue in your particular area or something but not a nationwide backorder.

[MCorlione]

So I got the differential fixed last year, couple of seals and pins and it was going. Two weeks ago the case burst a hole in it the size of my hand from a bearing. Funny thing is, inside the case, everything is clean, no signs of any previous internal damage.

Now mine is the '04 Off Road Edition Pathfinder Armada (heavy duty version), apparently pretty rare. When they checked to find a used unit (could not find any used cases to rebuild), only 5 turned up nationwide. (I guess it has a different gear ratio than the normal Armada). Of those 5, upon inspection by the various salvage yards, 4 of them also had holes in them. I did a little research and found some lemon horror stories for the differential, but mostly on the Titan.

So after that long story, has anyone heard of that problem with this specific model??? I emailed Nissan for help, but got no response.

On a more fun note, I got the one an only used one, and it seems to be fine. I have put a few additions under the hood, anyone want to have fun and suggest the next step for some horsepower/performance?? I got a K&N, throttle body spacer, (i think catback from the headers, but not the whole exhaust?? might have been done by previous owner), and is superchips tuned at 93 octane. What's next?

Thanks for the posts!