In a few hours, I'm going with my brother to look at a 2005 pathfinder w/ 110k (private party). I'm well aware of the SMOD transmission/coolant failure with this model. I have a 2001 R50 QX4 and know that isn't common with that model.
Other than inspecting the coolant and transmission oil color for strawberry milk shake, are there any obvious signs to look for? I plan on checking for any odd transmission sounds when shifting between all gears and taking on the highway.
If everything checks out, we plan on doing the transmission cooler bypass immediately after we get it home. The eventual plan is to replace the radiator (assuming it's OEM).
Thank you! My brother has his heart set on this truck and I'm trying to be the voice of reason/messenger. This is the only problem I'm really worried about for him (unless I should have other serious things to look for that would be deal breakers)
looking for last minute advice. helping brother look at 2005 Pathfinder 110k
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Legend11
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:36 pm
- Car: My Car: 2001 Infiniti QX4
Dad's Car: 2001.5 Infiniti QX4
Re: looking for last minute advice. helping brother look at 2005 Pathfinder 110k
In case this is helpful for anyone. All fluids looked normal. Did the radiator/transmission bypass tonight and changed oil... will update this thread as I find out more; car is parked after 30 miles driving
Re: looking for last minute advice. helping brother look at 2005 Pathfinder 110k
Looks like you have it under control and congrats to your brother!
Ultimately the best practices solution is to replace the radiator but for now the bypass will do.
All aftermarket rads are immune from the SMOD ( and the newer Nissan rads as well)
With an 05 model years its good you did the bypass right away.
Most people report good results with the bypass even for years.. but understand that when towing or going offroad you might be pushing it as the in-rad heat exchange does contribute to transmission cooling (temp measurements have proven this)
The 05 Pathys transmission is actually quite strong and durable (unless it gets sabotaged by SMOD as you seem well aware) consider doing a drain and refill on it.
(but at this age not a dealer flush, which can push a lot of dirt into tight places it doesnt need to be, which can plug up galleys in your valvebody. I know from experience with a 05 Xterra which has the exact same transmission, instead of a flush machine do a drain and refill with exact same amount of fresh fluid... and then next month the same..)
IMHO the R51 Pathfinder is one of the best kept secrets in the used SUV markets and a maintained R51 Pathy is almost unbreakable as its basic Titan based "bones" are IMO overbuilt for an SUV application.
Other than paint and looks I consider it the equal of the Lexus GX 460 in function, despite the Lexus having a V8.. the acceleration times of the Pathy are same or better, the internal space is same (or better) in the Pathy with broadly similar external dimensions...
The R51 also outperforms the 4Runner of those years by a margin.
Which state do you live in?
Ultimately the best practices solution is to replace the radiator but for now the bypass will do.
All aftermarket rads are immune from the SMOD ( and the newer Nissan rads as well)
With an 05 model years its good you did the bypass right away.
Most people report good results with the bypass even for years.. but understand that when towing or going offroad you might be pushing it as the in-rad heat exchange does contribute to transmission cooling (temp measurements have proven this)
The 05 Pathys transmission is actually quite strong and durable (unless it gets sabotaged by SMOD as you seem well aware) consider doing a drain and refill on it.
(but at this age not a dealer flush, which can push a lot of dirt into tight places it doesnt need to be, which can plug up galleys in your valvebody. I know from experience with a 05 Xterra which has the exact same transmission, instead of a flush machine do a drain and refill with exact same amount of fresh fluid... and then next month the same..)
IMHO the R51 Pathfinder is one of the best kept secrets in the used SUV markets and a maintained R51 Pathy is almost unbreakable as its basic Titan based "bones" are IMO overbuilt for an SUV application.
Other than paint and looks I consider it the equal of the Lexus GX 460 in function, despite the Lexus having a V8.. the acceleration times of the Pathy are same or better, the internal space is same (or better) in the Pathy with broadly similar external dimensions...
The R51 also outperforms the 4Runner of those years by a margin.
Which state do you live in?
-
Legend11
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:36 pm
- Car: My Car: 2001 Infiniti QX4
Dad's Car: 2001.5 Infiniti QX4
Re: looking for last minute advice. helping brother look at 2005 Pathfinder 110k
Thank you for the reassurance and all of the info. My brother and I are going to take his truck to the local Walmart to pick-up some Valvoline MaxLIFE ATF and do a simple drain and refill (shows 4.5qt so the 5qt jug should do the trick). I may recommend another drain and refill sooner, but thinking every 30k would be fine going forward.PalmerWMD wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2020 10:54 amLooks like you have it under control and congrats to your brother!
Ultimately the best practices solution is to replace the radiator but for now the bypass will do.
All aftermarket rads are immune from the SMOD ( and the newer Nissan rads as well)
With an 05 model years its good you did the bypass right away.
Most people report good results with the bypass even for years.. but understand that when towing or going offroad you might be pushing it as the in-rad heat exchange does contribute to transmission cooling (temp measurements have proven this)
The 05 Pathys transmission is actually quite strong and durable (unless it gets sabotaged by SMOD as you seem well aware) consider doing a drain and refill on it.
(but at this age not a dealer flush, which can push a lot of dirt into tight places it doesnt need to be, which can plug up galleys in your valvebody. I know from experience with a 05 Xterra which has the exact same transmission, instead of a flush machine do a drain and refill with exact same amount of fresh fluid... and then next month the same..)
IMHO the R51 Pathfinder is one of the best kept secrets in the used SUV markets and a maintained R51 Pathy is almost unbreakable as its basic Titan based "bones" are IMO overbuilt for an SUV application.
Other than paint and looks I consider it the equal of the Lexus GX 460 in function, despite the Lexus having a V8.. the acceleration times of the Pathy are same or better, the internal space is same (or better) in the Pathy with broadly similar external dimensions...
The R51 also outperforms the 4Runner of those years by a margin.
Which state do you live in?
Re: looking for last minute advice. helping brother look at 2005 Pathfinder 110k
Sounds like a good plan.
If the ATF that comes out when you do the drain as extra dirty, consider doing another drain/refill sooner rather than later.
Also these trucks are recommended premium fuel and do run quite strong on premium (once its "used to it", the ECU will set the timing more aggressive)
Chances are previous owner only used regular.
I used mid range on mine most of the time.. when I was in the mountains I used regular as altitude reduces the need for Octane.
When driving hard in summertime and/or near sealevel you may notice it pulls a bit harder with premium.
PS: At the age of the vehicle one might consider a new radiator at some point anyway.....it is a decade and a half old vehicle.. when new these were generously sized but age reduces the ability to move away heat..
When the rad temp is elevated the ECU may pull some power.. and you may never know.. as with most modern vehicles the coolant temp gauge is dampened and only moves on larger temp differences.
In the meantime a "trick" is to take out some coolant, maybe 1.5 quarts.... replace it with 1 bottle of redline wetter water (reduces cavitation at the water pump and may increase heat transfer at the internal "fins") and top off with distilled water to thin the mix out just a tad for summer.. this will increase heat capacity of the system.
Be careful to properly "burp" the system.
If the ATF that comes out when you do the drain as extra dirty, consider doing another drain/refill sooner rather than later.
Also these trucks are recommended premium fuel and do run quite strong on premium (once its "used to it", the ECU will set the timing more aggressive)
Chances are previous owner only used regular.
I used mid range on mine most of the time.. when I was in the mountains I used regular as altitude reduces the need for Octane.
When driving hard in summertime and/or near sealevel you may notice it pulls a bit harder with premium.
PS: At the age of the vehicle one might consider a new radiator at some point anyway.....it is a decade and a half old vehicle.. when new these were generously sized but age reduces the ability to move away heat..
When the rad temp is elevated the ECU may pull some power.. and you may never know.. as with most modern vehicles the coolant temp gauge is dampened and only moves on larger temp differences.
In the meantime a "trick" is to take out some coolant, maybe 1.5 quarts.... replace it with 1 bottle of redline wetter water (reduces cavitation at the water pump and may increase heat transfer at the internal "fins") and top off with distilled water to thin the mix out just a tad for summer.. this will increase heat capacity of the system.
Be careful to properly "burp" the system.
-
Legend11
- Posts: 51
- Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2014 11:36 pm
- Car: My Car: 2001 Infiniti QX4
Dad's Car: 2001.5 Infiniti QX4
Re: looking for last minute advice. helping brother look at 2005 Pathfinder 110k
Yes, I'm glad this is working out for him so far. This truck looks fairly easy to work on (I have quite a bit of experience with my 01 QX4 and see the similarities). Forgot to mention that I'm out in Denver. Because of the high altitude, I have put 85 gas in my truck the entire 6 years I have owned it and have not had any issues. I'm not sure if the R51 is as forgiving.PalmerWMD wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2020 3:18 pmSounds like a good plan.
If the ATF that comes out when you do the drain as extra dirty, consider doing another drain/refill sooner rather than later.
Also these trucks are recommended premium fuel and do run quite strong on premium (once its "used to it", the ECU will set the timing more aggressive)
Chances are previous owner only used regular.
I used mid range on mine most of the time.. when I was in the mountains I used regular as altitude reduces the need for Octane.
When driving hard in summertime and/or near sealevel you may notice it pulls a bit harder with premium.
PS: At the age of the vehicle one might consider a new radiator at some point anyway.....it is a decade and a half old vehicle.. when new these were generously sized but age reduces the ability to move away heat..
When the rad temp is elevated the ECU may pull some power.. and you may never know.. as with most modern vehicles the coolant temp gauge is dampened and only moves on larger temp differences.
In the meantime a "trick" is to take out some coolant, maybe 1.5 quarts.... replace it with 1 bottle of redline wetter water (reduces cavitation at the water pump and may increase heat transfer at the internal "fins") and top off with distilled water to thin the mix out just a tad for summer.. this will increase heat capacity of the system.
Be careful to properly "burp" the system.
There are a couple items I want to look at on his truck that I'm hoping aren't serious:
1) his 4WD light stays on - transmission seems fine as well as 4 wheel drive during test drive.
2) high oil pressure gauge is showing high - possible sensor? oil level was fine
Putting together a checklist of things to get done for him:
-transmission drain and refill (a second drain/refill will be done if it looks necessary).
-new radiator (coolant drain and refill will be done) - Going to go with Denso and OEM radiator cap
-new air filter - aftermarket is fine
-new spark plugs - NGK
After this, new tires and alignment.
To be honest, I might start window shopping the R51's in my area, but I will keep my 01 QX4 because it's been good to me.
Re: looking for last minute advice. helping brother look at 2005 Pathfinder 110k
Its great that you have the skill, tools and space to work on it!
Most people miss 1 or 2 out of those 3..
-So the 4WD engages and disengages fine?
Despite the light?
Were you able to feel it?
There should also be a code to pull.
(in a pinch a replacement transfer case can usually be gotten for low cost from junk yards since they dont fail too often)
- High oil pressure is a much rarer as an actual malfunction than a bad sensor.
But keep in mind on start up the cool oil will show high(ish) pressure on the old school pressure indicator the 05s still have, but you likely understand this quite well (on later model years it shows middle spot regardless of actual pressure, as its in acceptable range)...
Most people miss 1 or 2 out of those 3..
-So the 4WD engages and disengages fine?
Despite the light?
Were you able to feel it?
There should also be a code to pull.
(in a pinch a replacement transfer case can usually be gotten for low cost from junk yards since they dont fail too often)
- High oil pressure is a much rarer as an actual malfunction than a bad sensor.
But keep in mind on start up the cool oil will show high(ish) pressure on the old school pressure indicator the 05s still have, but you likely understand this quite well (on later model years it shows middle spot regardless of actual pressure, as its in acceptable range)...
Re: looking for last minute advice. helping brother look at 2005 Pathfinder 110k
For peace of mind, you may want a transmission shop to check for any contamination in the fluids as well, but sounds like you're in the right direction so far.
