Platinum_Racing Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 And I think I've found one... It's a 4WD 1997 Nissan Pathfinder with the 3.3L SOHC 2V/cylinder engine and an automatic transmission. The truck is fully loaded... Alloy wheels, ABS, cruise control, working A/C, dual air bags, power everything, sunroof, 6 speaker stereo with CD/Cassette, climate control, fog lights, and a roof rack. Price... $3,000. The truck is very, very clean. No scratches, dents, or dings. Best of all... No rust. Even the control arms, rear axle, undercarriage, and suspension are free of rust. The body doesn't have any signs of rust at all, not even the rocker panels or around the doors. The interior is clean and free of stains, rips, burn marks, and foul odors. Everything seems to be in working order and clean... Including everything under the hood. It has a new battery, new tires, new brakes (Checked them), new (Looking) distributor cap and plug wires, and it fires right up and runs smooth as silk... No hesitation or misfires. Idles perfect too. 148K miles on it. The only mechanical flaw I was able to find are the shocks. They aren't totally gone but the truck is a little bouncy up front. No bounce to the rear though. I have just a few questions... How do these hold up? I know Nissan likes to use timing chains instead of belts on some of their older cars, so this is a plus, but what can I expect from this truck in terms of mileage in a best case scenario? The truck is impeccably maintained inside and out, and it looks like it spend the majority of it's life in a garage. When I took it for a test drive I was impressed with the low end torque and the smooth transmission. The steering wheel doesn't jitter either. Braking was extremely touchy but smooth... No vibrations or indications of a warped rotor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sactojesse Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Those are very good vehicles, but you should know that the 3.3l V-6 has belt driven OHCs, not chain. That's one of the reasons why I went w/ the 2.4l KA24 in my '98 Frontier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 Those Nissans in that generation are like old Toyotas. They won't die until you do like a dying horse and put a bullet into them. And on top of the fact that it's clean underneath shows that someone took care of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 Ok, so I put a deposit on the truck and will hopefully take delivery tomorrow if all my plans work out. Here's the confusing part..... I got a CarFax on the truck, and noticed something strange. The CarFax shows that on 11/5/2000 someone bought the truck with 34,856 miles as reported by the DMV. On 12/19/2000 the truck was issued a title or registration. A loan was taken to pay for the vehicle. On 6/01/2001 the vehicle was purchased again, this is 6 months or so after the previous owner bought it. The mileage now reads 61,379 as reported by the DMV. The next entry for CarFax is on 8/27/2001, when the vehicle was serviced. The service station reports the mileage as being only 40,962. That's 20K miles less than when the car was sold to this owner. I don't think the odometer was rolled back under this last owner, because he drove it happily for the next 8 1/2 years. The mileage increases realistically on all the other reports after the 40K mile odometer reading. Either way the car is still at least $1,100 under the Blue Book Value, so it's still a deal, but do you think I'm buying a car with 148K miles, or a car with 168K miles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolksey85 Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Maybe just a typo? Happens often enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 I hope so. Like I said, either way it's way under Blue Book. I'm going to keep the Legacy just in case anyway. I can't just put my faithful steed out to pasture like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 And no meter rollover? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTTuner Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 1st thing I'd do is a timing belt. They are due every 105K on that vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platinum_Racing Posted January 20, 2010 Author Share Posted January 20, 2010 Every 60K??? That sucks. I'll see if he has reciepts from the last time it was done. At 148K it should have already been done at 120K miles. Does anyone know if this engine is an interferance engine? I know it has 2V/Cylinder and a low compression ratio of about 8.9:1, but is there clearance for the valves if the belt snaps? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTTuner Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 Yes it is interference, I was at a Nissan dealer and saw one crash. Those 3.3L motors are excellent engines. EDIT; The timing belt is 105,000 miles. Sorry for the confusion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTTuner Posted January 20, 2010 Share Posted January 20, 2010 One thing I know is an issue on that body style are the bushings for the rear suspension trailing arms and panhard rod. They wear out and cause funky handling over bumpy roads. You would know just by driving it, it will swish left to right as the rear end jounces up and down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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