2002 4x4 SE

[NorCal]

Hello all,

Just purchased a used 2002 SE 4x4 for my son. I was wondering what I need to look out for in the not to distant future. Currently, the rig has 176k miles on it and runs like a raped ape. Tomorrow, I'll be changing out all the fluids: front/rear diffs, transmission, transfer, oil, and radiator fluid. While I'm under the beast, is there anything you guys would recommend that I put eyes on. Thank you in advance for any helpful info that you might be willing to part with.

[Hooligan]

You're off to a good start. If the vehicle has been relatively trouble free then there are several things that are nearing the end of their useful life.
Take the car in for a front end alignment and have the mechanic thoroughly inspect the front suspension bushings and ball joints.
Look for movement in 10 rear suspension bushings.
If they haven't been changed then the radiator hoses and heater hoses are nearing the end of their trouble free life as are the belts.
If the timing belt has never been changed, you're overdue.
Other than that, check for brake fluid wetness on the inside of the wheels.
Good luck

[smj999smj]

2002 Pathys don't have timing belts; last year that used a timing belt was 2000. There was a recall put out about a year ago for the front strut towers; call you local Nissan dealer or 1-800-NISSAN-1 with your VIN # and check for any open recalls or campaigns and have them done. Worn rear suspension link bushings were perhaps their biggest issue, as they will dramatically change the handling characteristics of the vehicle for the worst when they are bad.

[NorCal]

First and foremost, thanks for all the advice. I'm a mechanic by trade (jet mechanic), and have turned wrenches on all my own vehicles for the past 28 years. With that said, I picked up the rig today and brought it home. Earlier today, I went and bought all new oils/fluids for everything on the truck. One thing I need to replace is the passenger side front mudflap; its cracked and is kinda hanging out there in the wind a little. I searched Amazon and Ebay and couldn't find anything that was reasonable. All I'm looking for is a replacement set for the front (cheap), but not so cheap that their total crap. Aside from the oils/fluids, I need to replace the O-ring for the oil cooler. No biggy, I had to do the same on my own truck (2008 Nissan Titan 4x4 SE) at 48k. I picked up the O-ring and gasket at the dealer today, along with the matic D for the transmission and transfer-case. I opted for Valvoline 80/90 for the front/rear differentials, and Mobil 1 extended life full synthetic for the engine oil (15k miles). What else? I looked over all the hoses again and they are all in pretty good shape. While I was at the dealer I had them run the vin and pull all their records for the vehicle. Would you believe that they were able to provide me with just about every bit of maintenance that was done to this vehicle, right up to about the 160k mark. All recalls for the vehicle were accomplished. And, all scheduled maintenance was accomplished by the Nissan dealership from which it was purchased from. The brakes (front/rear) are like new. The rear shocks and front struts appear to be fairly new as well. The radiator, however, is OEM. Should I be worried about this...if so, where's a good place to get a replacement? Lastly, I think I am gonna buy a new battery and install it. The truck is for my son who is stationed at Fort Carson, Colorado. It gets pretty cold there, and I don't want him to run into any problems this winter. The wife and I plan on driving it out to him in a couple weeks (we live in Northern California--Bay Area). Well, thats about it. Anything else you guys can think of that I might need to put eyes on please let me know. Thanks again for the input....my son and I truly appreciate it. Oh, I forgot to mention that this vehicle was purchased in California, and has resided here from day one. The vehicle has absolutely zero rust.

[Hooligan]

It sounds like the car has been pretty well taken car of. Just to share my personal experiences, remember that the hoses may look good on the outside but, deterioration is mostly from the inside.

[smj999smj]

The older Nissans didn't have the radiator issues with the trans cooler like the 05-10 Pathys/Frontiers/Xterras nor the lower radiator tank issues like the Titans. It should be fine. FYI, you can use most aftermarket synthetics in place of the NissanMatic Type "D" ATF and they will be less expensive and be better, overall. Valvoline Maxlife ATF or Castrol Multi-import ATF are good choices for both your R50 Pathy and your 08 Titan. You don't want to use regular Dexron III in Type "D" applications because Nissan has determined they may cause sticking of the valves in the control valve assy. I usually get a gallon jug of the Maxlife ATF for around $22 from Advance Auto Parts.

[NorCal]

Well, I decided I would just go ahead and change the upper/lower radiator hoses, along with the oil cooler hoses as well. In addition, I have decided that I'm just going to swap out serpentine belt and alternator belt now while I can. My son is not very mechanically inclined. So, the more little stuff I can knock out now will save him some money down the road. Thanks again for the advice guys. I don't suppose you guys know where I can get a cheap set of front mud flaps. Oh, I need a replacement decal for the roof rack too; any ideas on where I might acquire said items?

[smj999smj]

You should be able to order the decal from any Nissan dealer.

[NorCal]

Finished changing out all the oils, fluids, hoses, and oil cooler gasket today. Needless to say, I'm very happy. All of the oils/fluids I drained look dam near brand new. I was wondering: Do these rigs come with an engine skid plate? If so, I'm missing mine. With that said, anybody know where I can get one of these plates for cheap? Besides the dealer that is, they are too expensive I'm sure.

[smj999smj]

There should be a plastic cover between the bottom of the rear bumper cover and the crossmember, basically a splash shield to keep road water and debris from getting up to the front of the engine and drive belts. Dealer and junkyards are the only place I know to get them.

[NorCal]

Um, yeah, my cover is MIA. I guess I have to hit up some pick-n-pulls then.

[NorCal]

Okay, heres's one for you. Today, after driving about 10 minutes I get a SEL light. After running the self diagnostic I was able to pull 3 codes: P0420, P0430, and P0432. From what I read these codes all have to do with the O2 sensors and/or cats. What are the chances that it's just a sensor? The codes suggest that both cats are bad...what are the chances of that happening. Could it be just a sensor, which, in turn, is throwing the other codes? As always, thank you for any/all help! Since I bought the truck (last Friday), I have put on about 180 miles prior to the SEL coming on. Also, I might add that I put a can of Lucas fuel/engine cleaner in the truck and filled it up with gas (full tank) right before the light coming on (about 20 miles after the fill up the light came on). Any chance there is a connection here? Lastly, I've read that using a infrared heat gun to check the temperature fwd and aft of the cats is a great way to diagnose a bad catalytic converter. If the aft temperature of a cat is significantly lower temp than the front, there's a 99.99999999999% chance it is bad. Well, I guess I will by me a heat gun and trying this first. A 40-50 dollar heat gun for troubleshooting verses 400 in O2 sensors is a little cheaper in my opinion...

[smj999smj]

I think you mean an infrared temperature reader, not heat gun. It has a laser and when you point it at an object, it tells the temperature of that object at the point of the laser. I would hold off buying anything right now. Burn through the tank of gas with the fuel additive, refill with just gasoline and erase the stored codes to see if they return. If they return, then I would go about diagnosing the problem.
Typically, if one of the oxygen sensors are bad, there will also be an oxygen sensor trouble code to go with it. Most of the time, if there are no exhaust leaks, the P0420 and P0430 codes set due to inefficient catalytic converters or due to a lean condition, such as a dirty or faulty MAS. Typically, that would also trigger either MAS or lean condition trouble codes, but not always. In order to diagnose properly, you really need a scantool to view datastream info from the ECM. Catalyst efficiency is determined by the ECM by comparing the rich-lean cycling frequency of the front oxygen sensors to that of the back while cruising at normal operating temperature, which should yield an approximate 2:1 ratio. A 1:1 ratio would indicate an inefficient catalytic converter.
So, my recommendation in summary, burn through the gas in the tank and erase the codes. See what happens before you waste a lot of money!

[NorCal]

^^^Roger that^^^ Road trip here I come.

[NorCal]

Update: I have driven the truck now for the past few days and managed to burn the gas down to a half tank. Additionally, I purchased a code reader and have been watching any/all codes that pop up. The first time the SEL came on it was producing 3 codes: P0420, P0430, and P0432. Since then, I have cleared the codes and reset the SEL. With that said, the SEL has come 2 additional times, one at about 30 miles, and one at about 50 miles. Both times the SEL reappeared the code reader was only pulling one code: P0340. What happened to the other two codes, I have no idea. I used a infrared gun to check the inlet and outlet temperature of the bank 2 cat (left side aft), and, as far as I can tell it is functioning properly (outlet temp is consistently about 200 degrees warmer than inlet temp), which is what it is supposed to be. However, I'm not gonna rule it out just quite yet.

Question: Previously, I made note that I had driven the vehicle several hundred miles just after the purchase with zero issues. And, it was only after I poured in a bottle of Lucas Engine /injector cleaner did I start to get the SEL, literally within the first 10 miles. With that said, is it possible that the cleaner is is doing its job a little too good? And, by do so, the cats on this rig are getting saturated and thereby throwing the code and SEL. Subsequently, each time I have reset the SEL the distance between the next SEL has increased each time. You can probably see where I'm going with this; however, I am hoping that once the tank of gas is completely gone, the SEL will be gone as well.

Ultimately, though, if I do have a bad cat, which it may very well be, how far can I drive this rig without any major issues that may or may not come about due to the degradation of said bad cat? My plan is to drive this truck to Colorado next week (1289 MILE TRIP) Once there, the vehicle will be registered and re-titled to Colorado status. The county that my son resides in DOES NOT require smog inspections, whereas others do. If this cat is bad he can get it replaced their quite cheap. In fact, he can get all four replace for the price of one here in California. I just need to know that I am NOT gonna hurt this rig by driving on a bad, or suspected bad cat.

Lastly, I have read up on this band aid fix that will keep the SEL from coming on (AKA The Spark NON Fowlers Mod). I actually bought some and prepped them in the event the cat is, in fact, bad. What are your thoughts on using these spark plug non fowlers? From what I understand, all these do is add additional space between the O2 sensor and the exhaust flow/stream, thereby faking out the onboard computer and preventing the SEL from coming back on. Does this sound about right? As always, thank you all for you thoughts.