Should I buy a pathfinder?(200k miles)

[Gonakru1]

Hey guys, im wanting to buy a pathfinder someone has locally but it has 225k miles on it. Interior is in phenomenal shape(9/10) and it had a new transmission put in at 187k. Its a 2003, is the vq35 reliable with that many miles? I want this truck to be a project however I cant afford a new engine for 3-6 months.

[MisterH]

Best thing to do is pay to have a knowledgeable Nissan mechanic do a thorough inspection FIRST. You may pay $100-125 for that but it will save you grief and money down the road.

[barnaclebob]

How much do they want for it? At 225k it will always be a gamble. You may get another 100k out of it or you might only get 15k. Make sure to inspect it for structural rust and leaks in the engine, steering rack, AC, etc.

If the engine runs well, I'm not aware of any coverups that the previous owner could do to disguise a bad engine that will crap out in 3 to 6 months. Its always possible that they reset the CEL so bring a code scanner with you to make sure all of the monitors have set and it wont get a CEL the first time you drive it more than 50 miles or something like that.

[Buzzman]

A lot depends on where this vehicle came from.
If it spent it's life in the south, in a nice sunny environment, then it's worth checking out.
If it came from the northern snow belt where they use road salt in the winters, I'd think twice.

[QCtech]

I got mine , a 2003 with 270K on the odometer. I posted here what I had to change( rear main seal). What is the price? What is your experience as a mechanic? If you want it to be a project them I guess you have some skills. Did you check the passenger side front strut area for the Service bulletin or damage in that area? If it have damage Nissan would take the car from you if you go to the dealer to repair it, IF the damage is beyond a certain point. Or you could use that damage to lower the asking price and then fix it yourself. The kit for fixing it is on the service bulletin and Nissan still sells the kit for 60 dollars. Is the engine or trans leaking? Does the engine looks excessively dirty? Do you have a code scanner to check it?

[bryanmenard]

If it has had its transmission off, then whoever did it would have been a fool not to have changed the rear main seal. That was most likely done unless the mechanic was a complete idiot. If that has been done, you were in better shape than most Pathfinders of that era

It all depends upon how the vehicle has been cared for. Take it to a competent mechanic and find out where it's at.

These cars last a really long time when taken very good care of. On the other hand, if they are not cared for, very often you will find vehicles that have a mountain of work that needs to be done and it's simply not worth doing

[Gonakru1]

Hey guys, thanks for the replies. He was asking $2800. Decided not to go with it. However, im checking out another on Monday. A 2003 with only 130k miles on it, great shape aside from a tear in the drivers seat. Im just concerned since ive been reading about the power valve screws. Is it hard to loctite them? Ive done brakes and struts before, so Im wondering how hard that might be. I know this probably isn't the place to ask(nissan forum lol) but the same guy has a 99 4runner with the same amount of miles for only 3k as well. Trying to decide between the two.

[Gonakru1]

I got mine , a 2003 with 270K on the odometer. I posted here what I had to change( rear main seal). What is the price? What is your experience as a mechanic? If you want it to be a project them I guess you have some skills. Did you check the passenger side front strut area for the Service bulletin or damage in that area? If it have damage Nissan would take the car from you if you go to the dealer to repair it, IF the damage is beyond a certain point. Or you could use that damage to lower the asking price and then fix it yourself. The kit for fixing it is on the service bulletin and Nissan still sells the kit for 60 dollars. Is the engine or trans leaking? Does the engine looks excessively dirty? Do you have a code scanner to check it?

Thanks for the reply, ill be sure to take all that into consideration. I have some experience(Valve cover gaskets, spark plugs, ignition coils, struts, brakes) Is the rear main seal a difficult job or would a six pack and a few hours cover it for someone not that experienced?

[PathyPop]

The RMS is probably the easiest gasket/seal to replace but the most difficult to get to. You need to drop the transmission and likely the transaxle (if 4x4). I was quoted $680 from a small shop, for about 8 hours work. BUT, I tried Blue Devil sealant and it went from a significant silver dollar size daily leak to near zero and now it is a dime size leak. I still don't want to spend the money so I have a velcro pad that absorbs the oil from the weep hole. It's been about a month with no drops on the floor.

[Upgrayedd]

I bought my '02 LE for my daughter to drive. It had 192K miles on it when we bought it. The seller wasn't the original owner but had the service records from the original owner and it looked like it was taken care of. Overall condition was pretty nice and the price was under our budget so we bought it. Originally a California vehicle so no rust.

Since buying it I've had to put a fair amount of money into it to fix many things. I hated spending so much money on it but figured once I had started I didn't want to back out of it because it is otherwise a decent vehicle and my daughter loves it.

So far I have done the following (done myself):
- new tires
- new belts
- replaced the rear upper & lower control arms
- replaced several instrument panel & HVAC control panel light bulbs (some were burned out)
- replaced the driver's seat motor (seat had quit moving)
- fixed the oil cooler leak
- fixed passenger side valve cover leak (replaced gaskets on both sides & installed new spark plugs & PCV valve since I was already in there)

The rear main seal was leaking too. I swear it got a lot worse when I changed the oil & went with high mileage oil. So I took it to the dealer and had them do the following:
- replace rear main seal and upper oil pan gasket
- replaced steering rack boots on both sides
- installed new front brakes
- replaced driver's seat belt (done free as part of the safety TSB)

I hated spending the money at the dealer but I will say they did a great job. I didn't even have to mention the upper oil pan gasket, they told me up front that they like to replace it as well as a matter of procedure. The best part is no more oil leaks on my driveway and I feel better knowing that the vehicle is now squared away. Hopefully my daughter won't wreck it or it doesn't have a major breakdown (engine or transmission) *knock on wood*.

[Blindaviator]

Im just concerned since ive been reading about the power valve screws. Is it hard to loctite them? Ive done brakes and struts before, so Im wondering how hard that might be. I know this probably isn't the place to ask(nissan forum lol) but the same guy has a 99 4runner with the same amount of miles for only 3k as well. Trying to decide between the two.

The power valve screws are actually quite easy to do. Should take you less than about 2 hours to do them. You just have to be VERY careful when you remove them (one at a time) so as not to drop them down the intake. I would suggest that if you decide to do the powervalve repair that you go ahead and get a little further into it and replace the water control valve. It sits just below the intake on the rear of the engine and is impossible to reach without removing the intake (you are already half way there with the power valves). The water control valve is a fancy name for a thermostat that controls the flow of water out of the lower engine block. If it fails the engine will overheat in seconds before the gauge ever registers anything. The temp gauge sending unit is beside the water control valve on the water transfer pipe (2 sending units there, one is for gauge and other for ECU.) I had to hit the Stealership for the water control valve as no parts stores had it but the cost wasn't too bad at less than $15.

I was looking at a 4Runner before I picked up the pathfinder. The Toyota's have a very bad tendency to blow head gaskets. Look around on craigslist and you will find that about half of them are selling because of blown head gaskets.

I picked up my pathfinder with about 200k on it and started having issues with it pushing coolant out at highway speeds (it runs fine around town.) I would suggest that if you are looking at a pathfinder you make sure to get it on the highway before purchasing it. Look at the coolant level in the overflow and then Run it at least 10 miles with the A/C on and check the coolant overflow afterwards. If the level has increased then you may have issues with it.