Knowing what I know now about the pathfinders, I would not buy one unless you check this very single thing : power valve screws.
Don`t get me wrong. I love my truck and it has been extremely reliable to me. basically never had a breakdown. The fact that the previous owner was the wife of a infiniti head mechanic did help though. Everything on it had been done the right way (coils, maf, power valve screws, recalss, etc...)
i'm at 235000km on it and the engine/trans are all original and running very strong . No cliks in the engine and no misses in the trans. I religiously change the trans, diff and transfer case oil after I went in deep water. So My truck has new oil in it probably 2-3 times every year. I'm sure I can do 300,000 to 400,00 km with this drivetrain. That`s how confident i'm with this truck. Ho, yes,, and I trail the sh*t out of it each time I get a chance... so I can only imagine if you keep it on the road on 2wd.!
To get back on the power valve screws... Like I said, If I was to buy one, I would personnaly spend the money on having a mechanic look (and show me) if all the screws are there... If they are not, I WOULD NOT BUY IT ! and gladly pay the guy while I say thank you for preventing from buying a truck that would have probably cost me a fortune in engine replacement down the line. If all the screws are there, I would pay the extra money to have them locktite then reassemble.
Then if the rest of the truck in ok, I would buy it... The screws are a real show stopper. A rebuild engine will cost you more than the entire truck... so a small ammount of money can save you alot ... It`s prbably a 2 hour job...and it`s worth every penny...before you buy !
for the timing chain, this thing as an auto adjuster I beleive. This thing will simply not die.. so no worry there.
For the rear seats.I don`t recal if they fold completly flat, but when I go trailing, I simply remove the lower seat (where you put your bottom !), with a simple ratchet. It`s two bolts and 2 minutes to remove, and then you can fold the other part completely flat and gain a good 4-5 inch more. When I do multiple days trail, I have a setup where a full queen size inflatable matress fits no problem and I sleep better in there then in my house bed sometimes : here`s a picture, . You do not see fully inside, but it works great :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/41982847@N ... 182115981/
hope you will not buy it before checking the valve screws.. (forgot to say.. these screws only exists in the automatic version... So I assumed it was)
Steve.