Need Hep ASAP please-Should I buy?

[RG5384]

Went to look at an 01 Pathfinder LE 4x4 today. It has approx 130k miles, looks clean cosmetically. The test drive revealed the following problems:
The Good:
Car is very clean, minimal rust, minimal scratches
Inside is next to perfect
4wd system operated very smoothly with no problems
Engine started right up and sounded very smooth
Transmission Shifted well
All electrical accessories worked.
The bad:
1. Speedometer works fine up until 45, then sticks there, occasionally jumping higher
2. Loud bang/clunk when traveling at more than 40 mph and tapping the gas to accelerate(if you press veeery gently it does not happen)
3. CEL is on-code P1140
4. Valve cover gasket is leaking
5. Needs tires(no big deal just allows me to put on some BFG all terrains

My cap for what I'd want to put into the mechanicals is 1500-2000, I can do some work myself if it is easy but as I don't have a garage would probably just drop it off to a shop. The main concerns I have are the p1140, and the loud banging when tapping the gas.

I offered 3500 on it, they are thinking about it and are going to let me know tonight, which is perfect because it allows me to do some research as well.

Thanks in advance for your help!

[RG5384]

Decided to pass. Found a one owner one with no mechanical problems for a few hundred more-well worth it. I just need to fix the drivers seat motor and put in a new radio and I'm ready to roll.

[rwardell]

those seat motors usaly are just stuck from over travel, once you free them up you can adjust the stops and they usualy are never a problem after that.

[RG5384]

Good to know! I'll definitely give that a shot before forking out the 300.00 for the eBay motor set.

Everything else seems great, original owner etc. I'll post some pictures once I pick it up this weekend, already planning a camping/trail driving trip to gwnf

Only thing I'm kind of bummed about is it doesn't have the awd system from the qx4 like the other which would have been nice especially for my wife in the snow. Oh well one less thing to break with a manual transfer case I guess!

[Buzzman]

Couple of things: What year is the Pathy/QX4 you're buying?
Secondly, sometimes just giving the seat motor a good rap with a hammer or screwdriver handle will free it up.
If that works, just remember when you move the seat all the way back again, give it small nudge forward after it reaches end of travel.
That way it's not "jammed" up against the stop.

[RG5384]

It is a 2001. My only concern with the hammer trick getting the seat working is it isn't stuck all the way back, but more in the middle. All the other symptoms are as people describe here the clicking etc though. I guess I'lll find out on Friday

I'll be selling my BMW 330i to recoup the costs, going to miss the hell out of that car but with the road conditions up here my bilstein coilovers are just murdering my kidneys and back, so I figured I might as well get something that I can have a little bit of fun off road with, and be good in the snow as well!

[Leo1998]

Could be pocket change fell into the track, just happened to mine. I had to take the seat out to get to the coin.

[RG5384]

Picked up my new(old) pathy tonight. It drives amazingly well, had it up to highway speed etc and it is very smooth, I think i am going to enjoy driving this for a while after my bmw which rides like rocks(although handles like rails...will miss that...).

I got both the seats working tonight. Once I got under the seat I noticed the drivers side was TRYING to work but was somehow bound up. I got nervous that something was warped or twisted and all of the sudden it popped and started working just fine. I need to put some lubricant on the tracks and clean them up a bit as well as it is definitely rough sounding.(any tips for what kind of lubricant?)

The passenger side seemed to be the typical limit problem as one quick tap with the hammer and that side was back in motion.

The only other two problems are the clock is inop(supposed to be easy fix), and the BOSE POS stereo(face plate inop and cd changer has gone wrong). I have plans to put in a new head unit and also install my 12" sub into the back. Should be a nice stereo once all is said and done.

I ended up paying 4100 which I thought was a good deal. It was a one owner, garage kept, well maintained vehicle that has relatively new michelin's and no major mechanical problems. Interior looks mint and exterior aside from one ding, a small dent in drivers door(hope to pop out with suction cup), and having to attach one side of the rear bumper is in damn good shape for the age and miles(130k).

Tomorrow it gets registered and then we are planning our first trip to GWNF to do some wheeling and camping!

[saskapath]

I've looked at a bunch of info regarding that Bose head unit. You may have found the same, if so ignore the rest of the post.

The pathfinders have remote amplifiers, one in each of the front doors and one in the back. I can't speak of how good they are but they certainly seem to out last the head ends. I yanked the head end from my 2002 and replaced it with an after market deck, mostly because I wanted something that would play Mp3 audio from either a USB stick or an iPhone.

Removing the old one was a snap. The wiring diagrams are available on this site and were accurate. It was an easy job to wire the remote outs from the new deck to the inputs to the remote amplifiers. However, those amps need a very high drive voltage and the new deck provides about half of what is needed. On the highway I have to have the volume turned up all the way and it's still really not quite enough.

The next step for me is to add a pre-amp between the deck and the remote amps. The alternative it seems is to bypass the remote amps completely and rewire the vehicle, adding some heavy gauge wires to connect the speakers to the deck. That's probably going to get you better audio but I don't have the time or ambition to dive into that project.

Keep an eye on your dip stick. I thought I had gotten a pretty good deal on my 02 until I found that it's using a quart of oil every 500-600 miles. There seem to be lots of similar vintage pathfinders with the same issue. When I have time I'm planning to replace the passenger side valve cover and PCV valve to see if that helps. If that doesn't help I suspect that it might be time to pull the engine and haul it off to a shop for a re-build.

Good luck!

[Buzzman]

Keep an eye on your dip stick. I thought I had gotten a pretty good deal on my 02 until I found that it's using a quart of oil every 500-600 miles. There seem to be lots of similar vintage pathfinders with the same issue. When I have time I'm planning to replace the passenger side valve cover and PCV valve to see if that helps. If that doesn't help I suspect that it might be time to pull the engine and haul it off to a shop for a re-build.

Using that much oil is not normal.
I have 287,000 KMS on my '02, and I only use a litre of oil between changes, which is every 6,000 KMS.
BTW, if you take off the plenum to replace the PCV valve, then that's a good time to check the power valve screws.
They have a tendency to come loose and get ingested into the engine. There's lots of information on here about that problem.
Good luck.

[saskapath]

Yes, it's pretty much fill the oil and check the gas with this one. I've cleaned up a few other issues on it and it seems pretty solid otherwise so I'll sink a few more dollars and hours into it. It's a 5spd manual trans and my understanding is that it won't have the power valves that the A/T versions do. Hopefully that's a correct assumption.

[Buzzman]

It's a 5spd manual trans and my understanding is that it won't have the power valves that the A/T versions do. Hopefully that's a correct assumption.

Your assumption is correct.
One less thing to worry about.

[RG5384]

Quick update: it is at the dealer tonight and tomorrow for both recalls. I sure hope the fuel filler neck stops my gas leak on fill up and constant gas smell by the lefy rear. Saturday I plan to replace the axle seals, and totally rebuild the rear brakes. If time allows I will replace the one torn cv boot as well with a new axle. So much for my thought to be problem free purchase, but I did budget a grand or so for misc expenses, as anyone should with buying any old car.

A few fun bonus items with the car: I found all of the original carpet mats in brand new condition under the rear cargo mat, and the secondary passengers side sun visor still had the plastic wrapping on it! Rear seats and passenger seat look like are absolutely brand new. So, I'm hoping with a few mechanical tweaks I'll have a great truck on my hands

[RG5384]

Got the front axle replaced, rear brake shoes and drums, and passenger side wheel cylinder replaced. Braking does not feel any better now, but not sure what i'm expecting in that area. I also got the passenger side rear wheel seal replaced, but was unable to gain any access to the bearing to repack it with grease. Time will tell how long that bearing is going to last without a constant supply of gear lube and no bearing grease, my gut tells me not long.

It goes back to the dealership on Wednesday to get the fuel recall fixed, they did not have the parts even though I called in ahead of time to ensure they would. They also said there is another fuel line that "Looks damp" and is probably where the faint smell that I get when driving is coming from. Whatever that problem is i'm going to have them just fix it while they are already doing the recall. I may ask what they would charge to repack that bearing with grease for me as well, and if its under a few hundred bucks just tell them to do it. As you may be able to tell, I've over fixing things myself in my parking lot, I really miss having a garage.....