# 2006 Pathfinder Oil in Radiator coolant



## walkereod (May 20, 2014)

I have a 2006 Pathfinder automatic 4x4, I changed the oil and it looked good, no coolant or any other fluid mixed in. I opened the raditator cap and overflow tank cap and they both had a white oily mess in them. It is not pink at all so I'm sure it's not the transmission fluid thing. I would like to perform a compression check on the cylinders but I can't find the specs I would be looking for.

Also I have read other threads that suggested retorquing the head and flushing the coolant and refilling but nobody ever comes back and says if it worked. Any help would be appreciated.


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

don't do anything until you have drained some transmission fluid into a clean container and carefully inspect its' appearance
how many miles on the truck?


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## walkereod (May 20, 2014)

140,000 miles, I will check it this evening.


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

that's the main thing
the danger with these trucks is the failure of the transmission cooler inside the radiator
that will cause coolant and transfluid to cross-contaminate
this causes transmission failure
if you have coolant contamination of your trans fluid, the trans is probably toast
does the trans perform in any unusual way?


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## walkereod (May 20, 2014)

I got the low frequency vibration at 60 mph but other threads say thats the rear drive shaft and is common on these years.


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

if your fluid is good, I'd recommend either by-passing the cooler in the radiator *OR* replace the radiator
do it right away, as the cost for a trans replacement is many, many thousands of $$$
the by-pass takes about 30-45 minutes, really simple, no additional parts are necessary
check your u-joints carefully, front & rear
worn u-joints are somewhat common, especially at higher mileages


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## walkereod (May 20, 2014)

You are correct, I have coolant in the trans and it was a biege color not pink and white in the radiator. I will replace the radiator ASAP.

I replaced both rear U joints with Precision (Spicer) units from Oreilly but it still vibrates. I ordered a newer used rear drive shaft because everything I read on it people say that fixed the problem. Also installed new KYB shocks on rear.


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

that's a shame, sorry to hear it
you can try to save the transmission by immediately flushing it out several times with fresh fluid, in order to purge out the contaminating coolant
unfortunately, the damage is probably already begun
do the by-pass first to eliminate any _further_ coolant contamination
be sure to use OEM trans fluid or an equivalent
let us know how it's coming along


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## walkereod (May 20, 2014)

What gets damaged in the transmission that can't be repaired or replaced on the cheap? What bypass are you talking about?


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

walkereod said:


> What gets damaged in the transmission that can't be repaired or replaced on the cheap? What bypass are you talking about?


two things that I have heard of regarding the trans damage:
1) valve body rusts, preventing proper shifting at the proper time
2) clutches deteriorate
and I'm sure there is likely more than that.........
anytime water is introduced into a system that must be totally dry, there's bound to be trouble (corrosion & excessive wear)
the by-pass is a simple hose-swap to bypass the transmission cooler portion of the main radiator
the external transmission cooler is sufficient for cooling in nearly all cases
there's actually quite a history on the by-pass
more info here:
The Nissan Path :: View topic - I by-passed my in radiator tranny cooler (a long, but interesting read)
page 8 has a terrific diagram explaining how to do it


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## walkereod (May 20, 2014)

Well I'm screwed, I'm out of the extened warranty repair program which stops at 100,000 miles. The price to fix at Nissan is $6,700. I called corporate and they were not interested in helping at all. I guess I will try and find a used trans that this has not happened to yet.

What is the latest year that will bolt right into my 2006 SE 4x4?


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

Some owners' with contamination have done the by-pass (after the contamination problem happened), flushed the trans thoroughly, and hoped for the best.
I don't think that method has been successful (in the long run).
_*Can anyone else shed some light on that?*_


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

walkereod said:


> What is the latest year that will bolt right into my 2006 SE 4x4?


I personally don't know.
_*Can anyone else shed some light on this? *_
Some things to take into consideration is that with many different models & features, you have to be absolutely sure of compatibility.
You also need to be sure that a used trans does not have a similar issue.
If it were mine, I'd buy a re-man trans from a dealership, and install it myself (intense mistrust of dealership service departments). :|
What is the going price of a factory re-man?
Bear in mind, dealerships tend to be negotiable, and may be agreeable to price matching.


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## walkereod (May 20, 2014)

I will check into reman prices.

Right now I think my plan will be to flush it a couple times and then add some Lucas Trans treatment to it. Hopefully I caught it in time to last while I build up a savings for another transmission.

I appreciate all your help and maybe someone will chime in on transmissions that will fit from newer models.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Reman trans from Nissan runs about $4500. Aftermarket radiators can be had as low as $74 on Ebay. Castrol multi-import ATF is the same as Nissan Matic "J" and is a lot cheaper.


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## walkereod (May 20, 2014)

Priority Nissan in Chester, VA quoted $3300 for the reman trans. Got the bypass done and flushing with Oreilly brand Global which covers Matic-J. Also flushing cooling system with a cleaner right now.

Changed Drive shaft and still have low frequency vibration that starts at 40mph but only when accelerating slightly not when decelerating or when cruise control is set. 

Going to have tires rebalanced and the alignment checked. Pep-boys seems to have a very hard time aligning my Pathfinder. The first time they did it was so far off that one tire went bald in like 2 weeks.


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## 24sevnlibrarian (Apr 23, 2015)

*What to Fix*

I knew my transmission was going to die eventually after replacing my tires and brakes did not stop my car from feeling like it slid to a stop at times and I finally did some research on my 2006 Pathy. Now that it did, I am questioning whether the transmission shop took all of the steps necessary to try to prevent a recurrence. Here is what they did:
Removed and replaced automatic transmission and torque converter. 
Flushed cooling system. 
Rerouted external cooler.
Stripped, cleaned, inspected and re-assembled automatic transmission (included performing any updates/corrections).
Replaced and reprogrammed transmission control module.

My concern is that they did not "replace" the radiator (if I am reading the repair descriptions correctly). 

If anyone has any words of wisdom on whether I need to have them do anything else to hopefully prevent this from happening again, please share!!!


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

24sevnlibrarian said:


> I knew my transmission was going to die eventually after replacing my tires and brakes did not stop my car from feeling like it slid to a stop at times and I finally did some research on my 2006 Pathy. Now that it did, I am questioning whether the transmission shop took all of the steps necessary to try to prevent a recurrence. Here is what they did:
> Removed and replaced automatic transmission and torque converter.
> Flushed cooling system.
> Rerouted external cooler.
> ...


If they didn't replace the radiator (if they did it should show on your invoice), then they should have by-passed the internal cooler.
I don't know what is meant by "Rerouted external cooler".


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## Path Fla (Jan 17, 2017)

*Maybe it's the oil cooler o-ring....*

Could the gunk spring from a bad oil cooler gasket that allowed the oil to mix with the coolant? I recently replaced the o-ring in mine and am monitoring the coolant in both the radiator and the overflow reservoir. The ATF and engine oil levels are holding steady after flushing both and I'm hoping that the remnants of the bad oil are working their way out of the radiator hoses and engine cavities. The ATF and engine oil were never contaminated as best I can tell.


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## Path Fla (Jan 17, 2017)

UPDATE: Nope, it was indeed the ATF mixed with the coolant. The busted oil cooler gasket is a totally separate problem. 

I did the bypass yesterday; pls make sure everyone knows that the hoses in question are at the bottom of the radiator - the long hose runs alongside the radiator. The only problems I've experienced with the trans is somewhat hard shifting from 1st into 2nd when cold and an occasional shudder at high speeds (which seems to have gone away since I flushed the ATF two months ago). Although there wasn't any noticeable coolant in the ATF I intend to flush the ATF again. Fingers crossed, my 211K will last a while longer. I drained the coolant (i just flushed it two weeks ago) and re-used it after pouring it through cheesecloth (twice!)

Is there any current recall or class action over this? Seems like everything has either been resolved or ignored by Nissan....


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## kukla (Apr 1, 2010)

Path Fla said:


> UPDATE: Nope, it was indeed the ATF mixed with the coolant. The busted oil cooler gasket is a totally separate problem.
> 
> I did the bypass yesterday; pls make sure everyone knows that the hoses in question are at the bottom of the radiator - the long hose runs alongside the radiator. The only problems I've experienced with the trans is somewhat hard shifting from 1st into 2nd when cold and an occasional shudder at high speeds (which seems to have gone away since I flushed the ATF two months ago). Although there wasn't any noticeable coolant in the ATF I intend to flush the ATF again. Fingers crossed, my 211K will last a while longer. I drained the coolant (i just flushed it two weeks ago) and re-used it after pouring it through cheesecloth (twice!)
> 
> Is there any current recall or class action over this? Seems like everything has either been resolved or ignored by Nissan....


The hose routing may vary with model year, things changed on (I believe) the 2007 or 2008 model.
Be careful that the cheesecloth doesn't contaminate the ATF with fibers or dust, as it may clog the filter screen and possibly result in poor flow.
Nissan had, (and may still have) an extended warranty program that covered specific ranges of models affected by this failure.
They had the info on their website, but I think it was taken down some time ago.
You might contact them to find out if there is any consideration for you.
I've heard of people getting by after a by-pass and thorough flush of the systems, but I don't have much long-term hope for a transmission that has been contaminated with coolant.
Good Luck with yours........


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Once they've been contaminated, it's usually a matter of time before the solenoids start failing. Shuddering at highway speeds is a common complaint. There were a couple of class action law suits; the most famous one was tried in New York State and ended up in an extension of the already extended warranty on the radiator and subsequent damage. Nissan then revised their extended warranty to that decided by the New York class action suit. The warranty was extended to 8 years/80000 miles for the radiator and subsequent damage caused by its failure. From 80001-90000 miles, Nissan provides a cost limit of no more than $2500 for repairs/parts performed at a Nissan dealer. From 90001-100,000 miles, the cost limit is $3500. Those mileage intervals are still held to the 8-year limit (from the time of original purchase date), so most of the R51 Pathfinders/Frontiers/Xterras affected by the issue are beyond the limits of the warranty. 2011 & 2012 models weren't affected by the issue.


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