Nissan tec. on board?

I've been a Nissan/Infiniti technician for too long.... and yes, this is a common problem.

On the 3.0 V-6's the crank can seperate from the hub, usually starting by sounding like a bad fan belt on cold-start. You'll have a squeaing or chirping sound on start-up that will usually be accompanied by a bad idle, almost like an injector/ignition signal is intermittent. This is because your engine is out of balance and shouldn't be driven. While it's not a bad job (be thankful it's not a Quest or Maxima with the engine transverse) on a Frontier or Pathfinder, you'll need a puller. The hub on the crank can be slid off using a pair of 8 X 1.25 mm bolts (10 mm head) about 2 1/2" long (stop at Sears or Pep-Boys as they usually have a nice hardware selection) and a standard crank puller. Since the pulley is shot, you *might* be able to GENTLY pry it off with two LARGE screwdrivers CAREFULLY wedged against the front cover near a bolt or bracket. If you mangle the timing belt cover you'll run the risk of contacting the timing belt, causing more headaches. And while changing the crank seal might be suggested by some while your in there, remember it's behind the timing belt drive on the crank, and not easily accessible without removing the belt, which should be done @ 105K miles.

BTW: Those alternators are crap too... Have it professionally load tested to make sure you don't have 2 problems. While those older Nissans are bulletproof, some of the sub-systems can be problematic. For example: If your brake light bulb burns out the loose filiment *might* back feed through the transmission control unit and put your transmission in fail-safe (2nd. gear only...) when you put on your lights. You don't want to know how that kicked my *** one day. Or two.... :angry7: