762mm
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- July 13, 2004
- Messages
- 197
- Reaction score
- 0
- City, State
- Canada
- Year, Model & Trim Level
- '99 XLT (4x4, SOHC)
So, up to not long ago, I thought our X's parts were overpriced... But today I've learned (or rather reinforced my opinion) that if I had a Nissan truck, things would be much worse.
Here's the story.. My parents' '97 Pathfinder with the 3.3L V6 has been sounding like a russian T-34 WWII tank for the past year or so... The noise seemed to be coming from the front of the engine, but since it's such a rat's maze in there, I never felt like taking it apart to check why (seemed like maybe a bad idler or noisy belt). Anyway, today I decided to take a look... Got the Haynes manual and removed all kinds of junk to have a nice access to the drivebelts (all 3 of them, lol!). Prestone-brand drivebelts were on sale at a local parts store and I was off from work, so it was a good time to do it all in one shot. I went and got the belts at a decent price, and then I proceeded with the 2 idler pulleys... surprise, no aftermarket parts store carries them - dealer only (for a f*#king idler? whatever...). Ok, so off to the dealer I went, expecting to be obviously ripped off, probably at 50$/pulley or something... What do they quote me? $111.28 + tax each! Just for each pulley, nothing else with it (no bolts, etc). I laughed at the guy working at the counter and left right away, jumped into my Ford (that looks way better than anything they have in the lot anyway) and peeled off, never to come back if I can help it.
Anyway, after searching for an hour for some place that would have the bearings and getting the run around, I finally found a bearing distributor and the guy sold me exactly what I needed for 40$ (both), then sent me across the street to a machine shop to have them installed (press out the old ones, press new ones in for 10$ cash). So, overall I saved +- 200$ by working my way around the stealership and their rapist ways, lol... The whole repair (with the belts) came to about $100, which is less than the price of 1 pulley. The noise seems to be gone as well, and the truck runs much better now.
In comparison, I have done the same intervention with my X recently (1 month ago). The pulleys (idler and tensioner) were 28$ and 23$ respectively. Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it? Whenever you think your X costs too much, tell yourself that it could be worse... you could be driving a Nissan product, lol!
P.S. This isn't the first time the Nissan needs dealer-only parts that are usually widely available for other trucks... Every time I need to do anything on that damn thing, it's like hitting a brick wall. Ask me if I'll ever buy one...
Here's the story.. My parents' '97 Pathfinder with the 3.3L V6 has been sounding like a russian T-34 WWII tank for the past year or so... The noise seemed to be coming from the front of the engine, but since it's such a rat's maze in there, I never felt like taking it apart to check why (seemed like maybe a bad idler or noisy belt). Anyway, today I decided to take a look... Got the Haynes manual and removed all kinds of junk to have a nice access to the drivebelts (all 3 of them, lol!). Prestone-brand drivebelts were on sale at a local parts store and I was off from work, so it was a good time to do it all in one shot. I went and got the belts at a decent price, and then I proceeded with the 2 idler pulleys... surprise, no aftermarket parts store carries them - dealer only (for a f*#king idler? whatever...). Ok, so off to the dealer I went, expecting to be obviously ripped off, probably at 50$/pulley or something... What do they quote me? $111.28 + tax each! Just for each pulley, nothing else with it (no bolts, etc). I laughed at the guy working at the counter and left right away, jumped into my Ford (that looks way better than anything they have in the lot anyway) and peeled off, never to come back if I can help it.
Anyway, after searching for an hour for some place that would have the bearings and getting the run around, I finally found a bearing distributor and the guy sold me exactly what I needed for 40$ (both), then sent me across the street to a machine shop to have them installed (press out the old ones, press new ones in for 10$ cash). So, overall I saved +- 200$ by working my way around the stealership and their rapist ways, lol... The whole repair (with the belts) came to about $100, which is less than the price of 1 pulley. The noise seems to be gone as well, and the truck runs much better now.
In comparison, I have done the same intervention with my X recently (1 month ago). The pulleys (idler and tensioner) were 28$ and 23$ respectively. Kind of puts things in perspective, doesn't it? Whenever you think your X costs too much, tell yourself that it could be worse... you could be driving a Nissan product, lol!
P.S. This isn't the first time the Nissan needs dealer-only parts that are usually widely available for other trucks... Every time I need to do anything on that damn thing, it's like hitting a brick wall. Ask me if I'll ever buy one...
