# 2001 Pathfinder odd oil leak (pics)



## uscboy (Jan 23, 2004)

Oil was changed 1700 miles ago and it's been leaking since. Not very fast, but enough to warrant kitty litter in the garage to soak it up.

Went underneath to take a look and remove the guard and it doesn't look like it's just a loose oil filter like I hoped. Looks like it's coming from some round brass colored unit near the oil filter... anyway, just wanted to see if anyone here had any ideas.

#P1000918 is from the back looking forward










#919 is the same, only zoomed in










#920 is from the back looking forward but wider shot, guard still on the truck










#921 is zoomed in on what's above that round brass looking thing - I don't see any oil coming from above it










#922 is from the front looking back after I took the guard off










#923 is the same, only zoomed in










#924 is the oil filter obviously - pretty clean looking










#925 is from the front looking back but wider shot with flash










#926 is the same as #925 only without flash


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## NPath (Dec 12, 2004)

I don't have a 2nd gen Pathfinder but the only thing I can think of power steering fluid? 

You didn't mention checking all your fluids, maybe you should or you may end up on the side of the road. Give all the fluids a check and you'll know what's leaking.


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## uscboy (Jan 23, 2004)

Yeah, didn't think about power steering fluid until I talked to my brother. He pointed out 
that in the pictures it could be spraying up onto that round, brass-colored deal (oil cooler?) 
and not dripping from it.

Anyway, I'll check that and update the thread later.


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## Richid (Oct 27, 2007)

*oil leak*

Hi,

I Had the same problem. It's the gasket for the oil cooler, search the forums for more info, but the gasket is <$10 and you can install it without unhooking the oil cooler. It only take 15 mins to do.

-Rich


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## cakedaddy (Oct 22, 2007)

Ohhh no! I’ve seen this. Upper cam seal/possible oil pump. I have a 98, but those pictures remind of my drama. I hope it's something easy, but.... good luck and keep us posted

My journal:
http://www.nissanforums.com/pathfinder/139673-consumer-rights-bad-work-my-local.html


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## 01PATHY (Oct 10, 2007)

I am having the same problem. I noticed it about a week ago @ 78k miles. My leak is alot slower. I hope it is a gasket. USCBOY, if you find the gasket part # please let me know.


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## uscboy (Jan 23, 2004)

No gasket part number, but that's what was wrong with mine. It's actaully 
an O-ring, not a gasket really.

Anyway, thought I'd update the thread - dealer cost for the O-ring on the 
invoice was $13.34 and they said it was a pretty common thing.


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## supraholic (Nov 21, 2005)

Why FRAM filter? I thought they were the worst in the market..


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## pathfinderbuddy (Apr 16, 2008)

*Great information regarding Oil Cooler Leaks 1999-2004 Pathfinder*

I've found a diagram for oil cooler parts. I'm going to try to change the o-ring and washer for my leaking Pathfinder oil cooler. I'm fairly confident I'm able to change these parts with a few tools. Skill level 2 out of 5. 5being mechanic. 

Pathfinder: 2001 model 1999-2004 Xterra, qx5, Murano, fontier, 
Mileage: 84,500
Regular Oil: Synthetics oil is thinner and can produce oil leaks on the 3.5 models. Suggestion don't use Synthetics with older engines or change your o-rings every time it starts to leak. 

I tend to drive my pathy hard so keeping it in good condition is really important to me.

Check the link below for diagram of o-rings:

213 Oil Cooler :: Exhaust & Cooling :: Genuine Nissan Parts :: Pathfinder (R50) 1996-2004 :: CourtesyParts.com


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## dkl (Jan 1, 2009)

Hi,

My 2001 pathy is having similar problem - see pics. Dealer wants $350-$800 to fix it, so I might try to fix it myself since several posts says it's easy. 

Few questions:

1) Do I need to drain the engine oil?
2) Looking at the diagram, looks like all I need to do is remove the center bolt to replace the O-Ring, is that right?
3) What does the two attached hose go and do? Do I need to remove them?
4) how can you tell if the entire cooler needs replacement?
5) is this the Engine oil cooler or Transmission oil cooler? I think it's engine cooler but I just want to be sure.
6) Diagram shows two O-ring is that right? what are the O-ring part numbers?

Any other tips you want to share is greatly appreciated! 
Thanks DKL.


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## 01PATHY (Oct 10, 2007)

Picked up the o-ring a few days ago. Gonna swap it out this weekend. Here is a pic & the part number. The parts dept said there were several part numbers for the same item, so numbers might be different.:thumbup:


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## dkl (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks for posting the O-ring pic and number.

Do you plan to drain the oil and undo the two hoses before taking it apart. I assume all you need to do is unscrew the center bolt and exchange the O-right, right?

I plan to visit the dealer Friday to get the O-right to start fixing my 01 pathy.

Please let me know how it goes.

Oh, is it safe to drive the car with this leak?

Thanks a lot.
DKL


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## Richid (Oct 27, 2007)

*WHAT ?!?!?*

How much ??? 

I didn't even think of getting a quote to repair mine. Mine had been leaking for a few months before I found the source - just check the oil regularly. 

I think the bolt head is 17mm - yes just remove the center bolt. The manual states that you need to remove a bunch of other things but there is just enough room to replace the seal by only moving the cooler out of the way. 

Mine took about 15 mins to change, while the oil was draining. I just did mine with an oil change so I'm not sure of the oil level behind it.

-Rich


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## dkl (Jan 1, 2009)

Thanks Richid for the info.

Yeah, dealer quoted $350 to replace the O-ring and ~$800 to replace the unit. And they said that's just an estimate without looking at the car.

Did I hear you correctly that engine oil WILL drain out from the cooler when the cooler is disassembled???

I read somewhere that coolant will drain out too from the two rubber hose, did you experience that?? If so did you get any air bubbles in the coolant lines?

Did you only replaced the large O-ring and not the O-ring on the bolt?

Sorry for all the questions, I just don't want any surprises while I'm laying under the car and getting fluids all over me.

Thanks


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## Richid (Oct 27, 2007)

No problem - I had trouble finding information on this leak originally.

Here's exactly what I did...
-Drained oil and removed filter (I waited until I needed an oil change to look at the leak).
-While oil finished draining, removed center bolt.
-removed cooler from block so I could wiggle center bolt out.
-removed old seal, cleaned oil filter mount and oil cooler mount.
-installed new sealed, reinstalled bolt and tighten.
-finished oil change.

I did not unhook the lines or completely remove the oil cooler - there is just enough room to work around it.

Hope that helps...

-Rich


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## dkl (Jan 1, 2009)

Great step by step instructions!

It doesn't sound so hard. I wonder why dealer charges so much to do it. Maybe the price includes an oil change.

I live in Northern VA and my pathy is due for the Jan/2009 state inspection. I wonder if this little leak will pass the inspection - any VA inspectors out there??

It's cold around here lately so I'm not too thrilled tackling this right now.

Thanks again for all your help!


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## red9987 (Dec 13, 2008)

yeah this happened to me too.(leaky oil cooler, the gaskets somehow got compressed) took a while for me to get around to getting it fixed... just went to a local mechanic and he charged 80 bux(1 hour labor) to put in the gaskets i brought in. nice and easy


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## Eautiger (Jan 21, 2006)

You guys are awesome. After spending 2 weeks working on my F250 diesel, my wife started dumping oil on the driveway from her pathy. You have just saved my day. I absolutley have this leak and am now headed to call Pat Peck Nissan to have parts held for wife to pick up.

Thank you wholeheardetly :banana:


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## Pathy089 (Nov 17, 2010)

Yea I just did an oil change on my 2000 pathfinder yesterday and noticed there was a small leak dunno where it is coming from but it was a little leak couldnt figure it out gonna take it to get it resealed


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## PF2001LE (Nov 24, 2010)

My wife noticed my 01 is dripping oil, so I decided to take a look on the 'net b-4 bringing it in to a shop and BAM! This thread's pics are EXACTLY what mine looks like!! So now I'm gonna get the o-ring & solve my problem without wiping out the kids' Christmas budget lol! Thanks for the info, you guys please throw down a brewsky on me! :cheers:


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## WaarrEagle (Nov 5, 2005)

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. My sister has an 01 Pathfinder with 100k on it and her oil cooler is leaking too. Looks like a pretty easy fix!


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## CARSHOPCARMAN (Mar 5, 2011)

just did this to my 01 pathfinder, only hard part was using a wrench instead of a ratchet other then it was piece of cake i didnt even jack my car up. nice tips guys my steps

1.) remove plastics in front of vehicle, place rag and bucket under cooler some oil will come out. but no need to drain oil
2.) remove 17mm center bolt from cooler
3.) pull cooler out (do not detach hoses)
4.) remove old o-rings 
5.) with clean rag wipe inside of cooler as thorough as possible to remove any debris
6.) wet new o-rings with extra oil in bucket, and put them in
7.) replace the cooler and tighten center bolt
8.) replace plastics, check oil level and thats it

easy job took 30-40 minutes, if you have a ratcheting wrench could be done in 15 minutes


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

me too!!

1 x [21304] Rubber Oil Cooler O-Ring - Pathfinder (R50) 1996-2004
21304-R50001 $6.07 $6.07
1 x [21334] Oil Cooler O-Ring - Pathfinder (R50) 1996-2004
21334-R50001 $6.02 $6.02


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

How did you guys torque this up to spec ?
Yes a ratcheting wrench would make this so much easier / faster
Make sure you replace the little one too !!


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## WaarrEagle (Nov 5, 2005)

I replaced these gaskets over the weekend on an 01. It was a little harder to get to than some described, but I used this ratcheting wrench set from Harbor Freight to get the bolt off: 5 Piece Metric Offset Ratchet Wrench Set

My standard 17mm wrench would not fit. Thanks for all the useful info in this thread!


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## Double02 (Mar 10, 2008)

*Awesome*

I just love this site! 

Sitting in the den watching the Canucks and Preds..... and I'm thinking I should research the oil leak in my wife's 01 Pathy. It took me 2 minutes using the search feature and found this thread. That's exactly my issue, should be an easy fix.

thanks to you ALL!
:givebeer:


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## AmandaNicole (Jan 18, 2011)

I would like to open up this conversation again just for a second. I want to reiterate the "coolant" factor. We will be undertaking this replacement in the near future and want to confirm no futher fluids need to be drained, no lines need to be pinched and we wont get coolant in our face  

On another note, we were advised to have the seal that is located between the oil cooler mounting bracket and the engine block. Anyone else do that? or need to?

Thanks all!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

As long as you don't disconnect the coolant lines from the cooler, which you do not need to do to replace the "O" rings, there is no need to drain any coolant or pinch off the coolant lines. All you need are the two seals shown in post #24.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

smj999smj said:


> As long as you don't disconnect the coolant lines from the cooler, which you do not need to do to replace the "O" rings, there is no need to drain any coolant or pinch off the coolant lines. All you need are the two seals shown in post #24.


^ x2

Its a tight area to work but do-able. The garage that found the leak wanted to charge me 4hrs plus parts, it took about 20 mins .......


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Yeah, the garage is ripping you off if they want to charge 4 hours! The first time I came across one of these leaking (years ago), I had to replace the entire cooler because the "O" seals weren't available at that time. Even then I had it done in 30 minutes on a lift by pinching off the coolant lines.


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## 2001pathy (Jan 12, 2012)

some shops rip people off. I do these all day for .5 so $50.00 labor. and $6 orings. these are common on these 3.5's. especially around 90k miles. Muranos, Pathfinders, Maximas, they all leak from the oil cooler o-rings no way to prevent it.


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## cube (Jan 29, 2012)

Did the job in under an hour thanks to the posts here. My question is just an assurance type question. I noticed when putting the cooler back onto the cooler mount, that there was no specific alignment notches or the such. In other words the cooler just kind of lays against the cooler mount with the O ring in between. Is this the way it should be?

Thanks!


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

Yes, that's it. As long as the hoses to it aren't kinked, you're good!


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## p3210 (Jan 7, 2012)

*thanks*

I just changed the oil cooler O rings on my 2001 pathfinder. Thanks all that contributed to this discussion; very useful info here.


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

on your PF, there are 2 o-rings, one one each side of the cooler
the big one pt# 21304-17F20 $6.53 (inside)
the little one pt# 21334-30F00 $6.48 (outside)


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## Nay_Sayer (Jun 29, 2014)

Do any of you guys know of anyone near Chicago who is familiar with this issue? I have a 2001 Pathfinder with 200k on the clock that I purchased recently. It has an oil leak. It was popping codes P1110 and P1135. Took it to get the oil changed yesterday and the tech told me it was down a quart of oil. After getting the oil changed and driving it for a bit, the check engine light went out. I'd like to have some who is familiar with the o-ring issue look at my truck to determine if that is the reason for my oil leak.

Thanks.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

If you check the codes they dont seem to have anything to do with low Oil.

An Oil change tech was the one that told me my cooler was leaking. Didn't even know I had one !! Took 20 - 30 minutes as I remember, easy to do.
These 3.5's use Oil. A quart low between changes would not be unusual IMHO 
Check around underneath for wet areas or have a Tech check it out for you.
I have leak at transfer case to Auto. Other than that all is good.


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## ccarlmcNissan (Feb 29, 2016)

I have just acquired a beautiful 2003 Pathfinder that was a one owner car in my family, I have all service records – and my only issue is a darn oil leak.

I have all service records… And it looks like it started leaking around 105,00 miles... And at that time they had the dealer replace the valve cover gaskets.

It looks like there are notes around 140,000 miles that there were oil leaks again.


For whatever reason they took it to a regular shop in town at 151,000 and paid someone to replace the valve cover gaskets again.

Fast forward to me now owning the car for six months and living with this stupid oil leak… I take the car to a dealership because there is an airbag recall and they seem to think they can fix this oil leak by just replacing the oil cooler seals.

Someone pinch me, could this really be what this Pathfinder needed the last two years?

I am not a good candidate to do this by myself, but my only reservation with having the dealer do this is "will this really fix the oil leak?"










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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

ccarlmcNissan said:


> I have just acquired a beautiful 2003 Pathfinder that was a one owner car in my family, I have all service records – and my only issue is a darn oil leak.
> 
> I have all service records… And it looks like it started leaking around 105,00 miles... And at that time they had the dealer replace the valve cover gaskets.
> 
> ...


I have a 2003 Se 4wd I purchased at 25K miles and 15 month old. When i first had it it had an oil leak, since it was under warranty i complained and they blew me off with its just oil from the Oil change that spilled. 
Fast forward several years and while in Pep boys for tires the mechanic said the Oil cooler was leaking. Sure enough I get under there and the cooler adapter to the block is leaking. Purchased the seal and installed in 10 mins. fixed.
Now its much older and have other leaks at 130K miles, transfer case and from back of engine, hoping for valve cover gaskets.
hope this helps.


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## ccarlmcNissan (Feb 29, 2016)

IanH said:


> I have a 2003 Se 4wd I purchased at 25K miles and 15 month old. When i first had it it had an oil leak, since it was under warranty i complained and they blew me off with its just oil from the Oil change that spilled.
> Fast forward several years and while in Pep boys for tires the mechanic said the Oil cooler was leaking. Sure enough I get under there and the cooler adapter to the block is leaking. Purchased the seal and installed in 10 mins. fixed.
> Now its much older and have other leaks at 130K miles, transfer case and from back of engine, hoping for valve cover gaskets.
> hope this helps.



It helps to know that Nissans leak oil I guess! 


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## U2cando (Mar 19, 2016)

*ucando*

A poster who knows the value of high quality photos and...dare I say...a picture of the actual dealer part in the package showing the Part # number? OUTSTANDING!! Great Job.
Thank You.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Well here we are again, and the Oil cooler looks like its leaking again.

Both of the part numbers I found are updated from the ones shown earlier.
21304-JK20A
21334-30F0A

Also the price of the Big seal has gone down a bit.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

ccarlmcNissan said:


> It helps to know that Nissans leak oil I guess!


well it is 14 years old now.
My daughters Santa Fe had less miles, still under 10 yr 100,000 mile warranty and leaking from valve covers, power steering hose/s and somewhere Else i forget.
They wouldn't fix the power steering hoses but did the rest after I complained with my flashlight showing them the error of their ways.
( she sold it as it hit the 100 K mark. )


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## dnorto03 (Feb 3, 2016)

Hey...on the 2004 Pathfinder, you have to drain the coolant...the coolant flows through there to "cool" the oil. If you don't it will drain all over the floor! Take your time...this is an easy fix and your floor will be dry again. If you don't have a haynes or chilton manual I highly recommend it! Best wishes!


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

dnorto03 said:


> Hey...on the 2004 Pathfinder, you have to drain the coolant...the coolant flows through there to "cool" the oil. If you don't it will drain all over the floor! Take your time...this is an easy fix and your floor will be dry again. If you don't have a Haynes or Chilton manual I highly recommend it! Best wishes!


You should not have to detach the Oil cooler unless you are replacing the whole thing, not just the seals. you can take out the bolt and clean up, put in new seals and reassemble.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Here is the new large seal, the design is improved according to parts man. note the change in material and the beveled design.
The smaller seal was not in stock.


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Just purchased the small seal, Number 21334-30F00


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## 24sevnlibrarian (Apr 23, 2015)

*Oil cooler location?*

Changed the o ring on my 2006 Pathfinder. Went to change the 2 o rings on my daughter’s 2001 Pathfinder and I don’t see anything that looks like an oil cooler much less one behind the oil filter like on mine. Can someone please tell me where to look for it? I never had the impression it would be hard to find once the plastic guard was removed under the front of the vehicle...thanks!


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

On the 3.5 its on passenger side , on block, mid to rear. You can see it and work on it from underneath the car. I assume your 2001 is 3.5 not last of the 3.3.


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## ccarlmcNissan (Feb 29, 2016)

Just sold the one owner 2003 I got from my sister. I couldn't do the oil leak anymore. Good luck guys. This thing had leaked for probably 8 years 

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## Neo23 (Aug 21, 2020)

dkl said:


> Hi,
> 
> My 2001 pathy is having similar problem - see pics. Dealer wants $350-$800 to fix it, so I might try to fix it myself since several posts says it's easy.
> 
> ...


Did You Ever Find The Problem


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