. I am currently looking at buying a 2002 Nissan pathfinder Chilkoot edition ( in toronto Canada ). It is a 5 speed manual 4x4 with the 3.5L v6 engine and has 170,000km. I saw the suv in person and it looks very good, no visible rust anywhere on the body ( i checked the door jams and behind the fenders). The dealer sold me the car im currently driving about 3 years ago and he is a family friend of ours so he is honest about the cars he sells to me. I took it for a test drive and the rpm gauge seemed to be lagging a bit. ( i am a rookie at driving stick) it seemed to run fine and the engine pulled strong. Now comes the problem... after the test drive i realized i forgot to check the fluids while the engine was cold, i checked the oil level and it was below Low borderline empty!. he added a bit of oil and the level went up right away to just above low. I called the original dealer where it was first sold and they said that the suv was serviced up to 120,000 km and they didnt have anything past that. My mechanic is going to inspect it tomorrow and take it for a test drive and put it on a hoist to inspect the underbody. Is there anything specific i should ask him to look for ? do a compression test to check for oil consumption? also the strut mounts seemed to be making minor noise on some bumps... also i plan on heading out to alberta to work in the oil industry in december which is why i am in the market for a 4x4 vehicle due to the nasty winters up there.
Possibly buying a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder Chilkoot Edition
Possibly buying a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder Chilkoot Edition
Hello everyone, new member here . I am currently looking at buying a 2002 Nissan pathfinder Chilkoot edition ( in toronto Canada ). It is a 5 speed manual 4x4 with the 3.5L v6 engine and has 170,000km. I saw the suv in person and it looks very good, no visible rust anywhere on the body ( i checked the door jams and behind the fenders). The dealer sold me the car im currently driving about 3 years ago and he is a family friend of ours so he is honest about the cars he sells to me. I took it for a test drive and the rpm gauge seemed to be lagging a bit. ( i am a rookie at driving stick) it seemed to run fine and the engine pulled strong. Now comes the problem... after the test drive i realized i forgot to check the fluids while the engine was cold, i checked the oil level and it was below Low borderline empty!. he added a bit of oil and the level went up right away to just above low. I called the original dealer where it was first sold and they said that the suv was serviced up to 120,000 km and they didnt have anything past that. My mechanic is going to inspect it tomorrow and take it for a test drive and put it on a hoist to inspect the underbody. Is there anything specific i should ask him to look for ? do a compression test to check for oil consumption? also the strut mounts seemed to be making minor noise on some bumps... also i plan on heading out to alberta to work in the oil industry in december which is why i am in the market for a 4x4 vehicle due to the nasty winters up there.
. I am currently looking at buying a 2002 Nissan pathfinder Chilkoot edition ( in toronto Canada ). It is a 5 speed manual 4x4 with the 3.5L v6 engine and has 170,000km. I saw the suv in person and it looks very good, no visible rust anywhere on the body ( i checked the door jams and behind the fenders). The dealer sold me the car im currently driving about 3 years ago and he is a family friend of ours so he is honest about the cars he sells to me. I took it for a test drive and the rpm gauge seemed to be lagging a bit. ( i am a rookie at driving stick) it seemed to run fine and the engine pulled strong. Now comes the problem... after the test drive i realized i forgot to check the fluids while the engine was cold, i checked the oil level and it was below Low borderline empty!. he added a bit of oil and the level went up right away to just above low. I called the original dealer where it was first sold and they said that the suv was serviced up to 120,000 km and they didnt have anything past that. My mechanic is going to inspect it tomorrow and take it for a test drive and put it on a hoist to inspect the underbody. Is there anything specific i should ask him to look for ? do a compression test to check for oil consumption? also the strut mounts seemed to be making minor noise on some bumps... also i plan on heading out to alberta to work in the oil industry in december which is why i am in the market for a 4x4 vehicle due to the nasty winters up there.-
greengumby
- Posts: 84
- Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2014 6:37 am
- Car: 2002 Pathfinder- "ole Rusty"
2006 Honda Pilot - Location: ValleyCottage NY
Re: Possibly buying a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder Chilkoot Editio
Welcome to the club!..
I also have the 02 pathfinder biggest thing I found is RUST.. if you have next to none you are already head of the game. Check the usual areas..strut / shock mounts ... as you surf here you will find a lot of cool and very knowledgeable people here . I'm sure they will chime in also .. I would look in the manual to see what was changed since the stealership was doing all the maintenance until 120k shouldn't be that bad ..If your mechanic is really good he / she should already have a good idea on what to look for in terms of issues.
Your right TO's winters are Nothing to compare to Alberta's ... I'm from Ontario myself .. hope this helps a little
I also have the 02 pathfinder biggest thing I found is RUST.. if you have next to none you are already head of the game. Check the usual areas..strut / shock mounts ... as you surf here you will find a lot of cool and very knowledgeable people here . I'm sure they will chime in also .. I would look in the manual to see what was changed since the stealership was doing all the maintenance until 120k shouldn't be that bad ..If your mechanic is really good he / she should already have a good idea on what to look for in terms of issues.
Your right TO's winters are Nothing to compare to Alberta's ... I'm from Ontario myself .. hope this helps a little
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Buzzman
- Posts: 2079
- Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 2:35 pm
- Car: 2016 Lexus RX 350
2023 Kia Stinger Elite V6 AWD.
Re: Possibly buying a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder Chilkoot Editio
I have a 2002 as well (In Ottawa), with 287,000 Kms, and even with regular oil spraying and rustproofing, it's still starting to rust. Very annoying.greengumby wrote:
I also have the 02 pathfinder biggest thing I found is RUST.. if you have next to none you are already head of the game. Check the usual areas..strut / shock mounts ...
Can't stress enough about getting it on a hoist and doing a thorough check underneath.
Important: Check the VIN number to see if the strut corrosion recall has been done.
The last thing you want to do is buy this thing, and then have it declared a write-off six months later.
Check the sticky for the strut recall thread. It's long, but worth scanning through.
FYI, a compression test could be time consuming. Getting the plugs out of these things is a PITA.
Re: Possibly buying a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder Chilkoot Editio
ive decided not to get it, going to keep driving my current car for another 2-3 months and save up some extra cash and go for something a bit newer.
Re: Possibly buying a 2002 Nissan Pathfinder Chilkoot Editio
Just a comment on checking the oil level in the 3.5, you need to let it sit overnight and check it the next morning to get an accurate reading. For some reason it takes forever to drain back down.