My 2002 Nissan Xterra had 260 K miles on it, I repaired an engine seal leak but now leaks coolant near the clutch/ engine area. Its a small leak but its burning the coolant and it smells when riding for along time. Lately, my change oil / Engine light is coming up while driving. Any idea what could this new oil change light that come son momentarily and the goes away could be?
On a 2002 shift stick Xterra . Anyone knows?
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Not 100% that the engine is fooked. It can come about from a clogged oil intake screen in the oil pan. It can also come from a bad oil pump. Another thing to check is the oil pressure sensor (AKA Oil sending unit) as they can/do go bad and are both easy and cheap to replace if that's the issue.
It's also possible to have it come on when the oil is low. All in all, I wouldn't recommend driving it until you can get it sorted out.
It's also possible to have it come on when the oil is low. All in all, I wouldn't recommend driving it until you can get it sorted out.
For the coolant leak between the engine and transmission, the most likely cause is one of the two heater hoses located behind the intake plenum right up against the firewall. The coolant leaks down from here, drips onto the back of the engine, and then drips down the transmission towards the front of the bell housing. Repair of this type of leak involves removing the intake plenum and replacing the coolant hoses with new hoses (recommend Nissan molded hoses although universal ½” I.D. heater hose will work). These hoses are notorious and the repair is kind of a PITA. While you’re in there, you might as well also replace all other heater hoses and gaskets as preventative maintenance.
As far as the oil pressure sensor light, you could have one of a few issues:
My first recommendation would be to not drive anywhere if possible until this is figured out. Driving with issues 1, 2, and 3 will destroy your engine beyond reasonable repair if left unchecked.
I would then start by performing an oil change (and filling to manufacturers specifications) and replacing the oil pressure sending unit concurrently (as replacing the sending unit requires draining the engine oil). This is a cheap, easy fix that (in my opinion) will most likely fix your problem.
Performing an oil pressure test would be good as well if you have the tools/gauge to do it to verify that your oil pressure is actually ok and that the oil lamp light is just a false indication. If your oil pressure is, in fact, too low, then you’ll be looking at a larger repair along the lines of issues 1 and 2 as listed above.
As far as the oil pressure sensor light, you could have one of a few issues:
- Oil pressure is too low due to engine wear. The internal arts of your engine wear over time and create clearances that are too large for your oil pump to effectively produce oil pressure. This requires a full rebuild and IMO is most likely not worth your time or money.
- Oil pressure is too low due to oil pump failure. From my understanding, the oil pumps on these Nissans are pretty robust and I have never heard of one actually going bad… but it is possible.
- Oil level is too low, engine needs more oil. If you notice the light only comes on while braking or cornering, this is a likely cause.
- Oil pressure sending unit is failing. This sends the signal to turn the oil lamp light on when oil pressure is low. However, these go bad and can give false alarms.
My first recommendation would be to not drive anywhere if possible until this is figured out. Driving with issues 1, 2, and 3 will destroy your engine beyond reasonable repair if left unchecked.
I would then start by performing an oil change (and filling to manufacturers specifications) and replacing the oil pressure sending unit concurrently (as replacing the sending unit requires draining the engine oil). This is a cheap, easy fix that (in my opinion) will most likely fix your problem.
Performing an oil pressure test would be good as well if you have the tools/gauge to do it to verify that your oil pressure is actually ok and that the oil lamp light is just a false indication. If your oil pressure is, in fact, too low, then you’ll be looking at a larger repair along the lines of issues 1 and 2 as listed above.
I have, it's a little bit of a PITA but totally worth it. Also, it's something you can do over the course of a few days if you'd like since you can drive around without a headliner while you work on it. You remove the sun visors, interior lights, and some trim and then can pull the headliner out. Then, you have to remove the old fabric and have to scrub all the old foam/glue off. Before you apply new fabric/glue with headliner adhesive. Doesn't take any special skills, it's just kind of tedious. The following thread provides step by step instructions on how to remove/replace the headliner.
I would definitely address the oil pressure/coolant issue first though if I were you 😅
www.clubxterra.org
I would definitely address the oil pressure/coolant issue first though if I were you 😅
How to/diy: Replace headliner on 2000-04 xterra!!
Alright guys, I just recently changed my headliner. It was really getting annoying, and personally, I thought the look was horrible. So I decided to replace the whole thing. This is Write Up of how I did it, and it looks way better than before! This is not done by any professional... nor did I...
www.clubxterra.org
I just did mine last week. Thanks to the FSM and youtube I felt prepared. Watching the videos gave a lot of insight on what NOT to do in some cases. Be patient...especialy with removing the plasic stuff--some of my stuff was pretty brittle (I own stock in J B weld). Do it, life is short, and so far I'm very happy with the result.
Hey @Ocala X, you wouldn't mind posting some pictures of your drawer system would you? I'm trying figure put how I'm going to do mine, but your's looks pretty nice from what I can see.
Sure Murph...Interior Overland Build
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