Tech Thread - Nissan Frontier, Navara, Pathfinder.

[lighthammer]

so I got my Nav rear ended by M/towne POS traffic lights by a guy in a B13,
made the police report and proceed to get a quote from NM repair dept. before
proceeding to my insurance co. My entire rear bumper was damaged and the
end of the bumper did deflect and touch the body on the side, howeve the dent
was only about 3/4" size. The quote from NM was TT$9834.50 for bumper, dent repair
and labour. I'll see how the insurance responds to this.

sounds about right. when a guy swiped the right rear corner of the van (a B-13 coincidentally ) the bumper was bent. price for the bumper alone was $4500 + VAT. with labor to fix a small dent, total cost was $6000. and that repair was done privately.

check boddies in the bamboo ask to see the showroom, they have original bumpers and after market ones for cheaper ,the only difference i can see is the that black plastic on the top of the bumper seems a bit darker than on the original , but prices are good

Check ROC in bamboo too, they have very good prices compared to n&m, they even supply them sometimes.
Or hit filterproz a pm and see if he can organize u with a bumper at bess price

[vickyexp]

I didn't get to make the report to M1 because I was waiting for the vat clearance (some b.s. about lack of a/c in the vat office) and only got it late Tuesday. I am now stuck offshore since yesterday morning till maybe Tue or Wed next week, only when I get back on land, I will be able to make the report and have M1 look at the damage.

[biggy82]

biggy82 (or anyone else that can answer), with regards to that shifter cable causing the rear to lock up. What will result if this happens while driving? Will it also cause the rear to lock? My concern being, in case it happens on the highway where my driving speed will obviously be higher than you backing out your driveway...I assume lol.

highly unlikely that it would snap when already in gear. the shifter cable isnt under strain unless you are moving from gear to gear. when it happened to me, i was shifting from R to D.

unless you like to power shift from 2 to 3 to D then i would not worry about it

hey, any particular spot along the length did the cable snap? a point of contact maybe, or was it just the tension?
old girl recently hit 4 yrs and i'd rather prevent if i could.

if you look at the entire cable from shifter to tranny, there is a plate that mounts onto the tranny body. it is almost midway down the cable. it burst between the shifter and that plate

not heard of anyone else having that problem. maybe i was a one-off

[Keegz2130]

fellas , what could cause a delay or something to go wrong at licensing office ? my sales person keep telling me that he doesnt have d certified copy for my nav :/ ... i called to today and he told me that some big guy went on vacation and no one didnt want to sign the document !

[sliderz1]

how long did you make your purchase?

[Keegz2130]

ummm since novemeber 12th ... :/ ... i thinking next thing they hit my van and fixing it up ! cause i always on d road , and from seeing how theses people wit D plates drive i fear ://

[sliderz1]

oh you havent received it yet...
well then your Nav should be on the lot, get the chassis no. from the rep and have him/her take you to the said vehicle in lot.

doubt they'd hit it and cover up, too much liability that way
but i put nothing past anyone anymore, do your own investigation

[Keegz2130]

Well my rep called and fax d certified copy to my insurance agent , so i am guessing it really was what he told me :/ . I am still a little puzzled though ! Hopefully tmr i would it get

[Keegz2130]

got my nav to today ! all smiles and what not !!! Nissan Powaaa !! Lolz . i but i dont drive hard , d most i reach was 90 ! n planning to keep under 100 !

[trvs]

^ after the first two weeks we will hear yuh

Congrats man!

[Keegz2130]

hmmmm hear dat ... i can see what it really does , probs or jus fun tuh drive ? LOlz

[trvs]

Fun to drive man!

Just listening to that turbo spool makes you

[Kenjo]

i am confused!i thought my 2008 Navara had a chipped key but called the firm today looking for a spare and they said none of the vans brought through the local firm ahve chipped keys.has anyone had any experience with and this to verify?the difference is to get the none chipped key from the firm at $185 or a chipped key which on average goes for around $1200 minimum

[Aaron 2NR]

mine was chipped and came from the firm.....

[vickyexp]

question for you guys,
I recently got rear ended & M1 has now seen my vehicle, I don't want to wait 3 mts for payment for repairs and want to replace the rear bumper immediately (my funds of course). The thing is that NM quote me $8,500 for the Navara rear bumber but has none in stock, I've phone the following places & this is what I've got so far:
LV Marketing : $2,000 (said it's original)
M&N : $3,700 (original) & $2,000 (china)
Bobby's : $3,950 to $2,000

How do I know which is original, because I use my tray very often & mostly stand on the bumper, I really don't want to purchase a chinese one and have it start to bend 2 months later.

[trvs]

I saw the ones by ROC earlier this week. The place was very busy so I did not get a chance to ask someone the cost. From my inspection it looks very original except for the plastic.. its a darker color as well as the numberplate housing lights housing darker than the original as well. So I guess it's aftermarket.

vickyexp, ask Ryan (filterproz) for a quote on the original bumper.

Or you can look into getting a solid steel one fabricated by kennicon or something.

Check these links: http://www.powerfuluk.com/products/niss ... arket.html

http://www.powerfuluk.com/products/niss ... issan.html

[Keegz2130]

yess so far ive only carried it out d road , using my other to go work ! those lil trips out the road are daz all i can say .

[vickyexp]

trvs, I already checked filterproz but he's got none in stock and won't be able to provide one till sometime next year. I haven't checked ROC yet but I'm hoping I can do some shopping around this weekend.

[trvs]

Okay cool man. Make a spin and check it out.

[Keegz2130]

so guys i was diggin up in d nav .... and d engine compartment in the manual . i saw in d diagram this device called sedimentor ? somewhere on d right hand side in d engine bay ... any infor , will b nice !

[sliderz1]

thought i'd do a quick DIY on how i changed the front 'house/personal light' bulbs

so unlike previous model Sunny's and Sentra's the entire top consol isnt required to be removed to change the lights.

start by removing the centre cover [around the central switch]


with a couple clips on the assembly to the front and back, push to one side and pull down the other and it comes out pretty easy


removed the electrical socket from assembly


so its out


upper part of the unit.


remove the light covers/blinds, becareful not to break the clips


swap out those old bulbs for the new ones


re-mount the unit in reverse ordered steps

and

voila

[lighthammer]

Makes it look soooo easy!

[lighthammer]

Last week during an off-road run with Side B, my front wheels started making a knocking noise... kinda like a dull - "thud... thud... thud.." while rolling, especially when turning left. Didn't happen when turning right, nor when going straight... and it got louder the faster I went.

Over the next couple of days, the noise got progressively louder until it started occuring when driving straight.

So I jacked up the Nav and had a look around, turns out the Right Front wheel had a LOT of play on it when I shook it back & forth. (none side-side nor when turning the steering wheel). Left front wheel was ok, no play on the wheel at all.
Nothing else seemed out of place, no leaks or loose stuff.


There was bad news and worse news - the bad news was it seemed the right front wheel bearing was now damaged and needed replacing.... the worse news was that Nissan made the Navara's front bearings sealed within the hub, can't press it in/out... and the worser news was that N&M only sold the ENTIRE hub, they didn't sell the bearings separate. Gone are the days where you could replace a wheel bearing by going to a machine shop with your hubs and pressing out the old bearings and pressing in the new ones.


So, called N&M.... each front hub for a 4wd navara costs $4000.00 TT... and they wanted me to bring in the vehicle so they could service it right away.
No... Way...

Immediately started calling around.... got another set of hubs from another source for MUCH less and it was genuine Nissan as well.

SO here's my mini-thread on how to change your front hubs on your Navara....

Tools needed:
- Full socket set, including deep-impact socket (sizes 14, 17, 19, 22, 32) plus ratchets & power bar /breaker bars
- jack & jackstands
- wheel spanner
- needle nose pliers
- large hammer
- flathead screw driver / pigfoot aka. crowbar aka pry-bar



1. Before jacking up the vehicle, loosen the wheel lug nuts on both sides of front wheels. Also a good time to try to break out the axle nut on both sides, using a power-bar/breaker-bar (i also used the iron handle from my jack to add extra leverage) and a 32-deep impact socket. Take off the cotter pin on the axle end before breaking the 32-axle nut.



2. Remove the wheels from the hub and then disconnect the ABS line that comes from the hub and connects to a jack just above the upper control arm. Remove ABS line from brackets and store safely, this line will come out with the Hub and the new Hub has it's own ABS line.






3. Remove the brake caliper assembly from the steering knuckle by using a 19-deep socket to unscrew the two bolts seen on the caliper here....




(I had some trouble removing the caliper assembly, so I thought I'd try removing the top half and then the disc pads, then the rest of the body came off easily... however if you can remove the entire assembly in one piece, it's much easier to put back in later...)

Pro Tip: get a piece of wire to hang the caliper assembly off the Upper Control Arm... this is to prevent the hydraulic brake line from snapping under the weight of the calipers and all the fluid leaking out.


Pro Tip: don't place the rotor on bare floor!! Remember it's a machined surface that's constantly under friction.... so make sure to put the brake rotors onto a soft surface like a cardboard box!





4. Next step is to get the hub out from the steering knuckle. Luckily, Nissan made it relatively easy to get the hub out, all it's held down by is 4 size 19 bolts on the rear-side of the steering knuckle. Easy to take out with a ratchet and 19-socket, may have to use a power bar if yours is caked in mud and mild corrosion like me (*** tip - hit it with some WD-40 beforehand to make cracking the bolt a bit easier)




(** see the 4 bolts right next to the velocity joint boots? Just crack those off and the hub is supposed to come off easily).


Unfortunately, my hubs were a bit corroded and caked in mud/sand.... so it took quite a few whacks with a hammer and use of the pry bar to get the hub off the steering knuckle once it was unbolted..... take your time and have patience, try hitting the hub on alternating sides, front/back, side/side and use the pry bar or large screwdriver if you have one. A good few solid whacks should get the hub loose, and you can still use WD-40 if you're having trouble cracking it out.



5. Once the hub comes out (may take a few whacks, so take your time and be patient!!) try to clean out the brake shield with some diesel/pitch oil.... and try to clean the hub-seat on the steering knuckle as well. Apply some grease to the splines of the hub and on the axle too, to help keep moisture away from vital moving parts. The bearings are sealed, so no need to grease the bearing and bearing collar.









6. Almost done now! Simply line up the splines on the new hub, replace the brake shield properly onto the knuckle and then bolt-back in the hub onto the steering knuckle. Re-assembly is basically a reverse of the scrap-down process.... so take your time and make sure you re-check and re-torque all the bolts and nuts before putting back on the wheels!

[sliderz1]

with all respect, i believe its that darn salt water yuh hit in Cedros that slowly took effect

[trvs]

Good one LH.

How's the new one working now?

[lighthammer]

smooth as silk man....

now have to work on the steering arms, they limp and hanging.

[Kenjo]

smooth as silk man....

now have to work on the steering arms, they limp and hanging.

could not help resist to ask if you tried viagra for the steering arms?

good write up as usual man!

[gready123456]

OK so i have some questions

I have dropped neal and massy
i changed my oil and filter my self and was just wondering about the drive train / drive shaft crosses do i need to grease these ? In-fact a list places i need to grease would be nice some one help me out here
I was told to grease the cross and that there will be some grease nipples there i have not seen any in the nav

any way lighthammer please guide me as to what i can grease and any other maintenance times would like to share

thank you

[sliderz1]

there are no greaseable crosses, ends, shackles or boots on the Nav, all are sealed as are on the older Frontiers.
Once they're durable as the Frontier's then you shouldnt see a problem in the near future as our's has 12yrs on the original parts.
But, they will last longer if you opt to have them drilled and nipples inserted, remembered when my old man did that to the Cressida back in the 90's.

[Keegz2130]

so guys ... so far enjoyin my nav , ride and power ! not d best ride but compared to a mazda b2500 dat i was drivin , it bess ! ...

Whats d biggest tyre and rim can you put on d nav witout voiding d warranty and any rubbing issues ... i lukin tuh put some 17's or 18's ... whats d biggest tyre ?