How do you change the belts on the 98 Nissan Pathfinder?

Answer 1

I have a 96 Nissan Pickeup XE, so I am only assuming the belt configuration is the same or similar. It's handy to have your owners manual when you replace the belts, because if the Pathfinder is like the XE, there are three belts and each are totally different sizes. You'll need to know which one you need, in order to get the correct one from the store. One runs your Power Steering pump, this one should be closest to the front of the vehicle. The next one is your alternator belt, which may also run your water pump. The third one is your air conditioner compressor belt. The first one comes off by loosening an adjustment bolt that is just below and to the left of the power steering belt. Then you also have to loosen the bolt on the power steering pulley. That should give you enough slack in the belt to get it off. The belt has to come off this pully and off the crank shaft pulley, then you have to finagle it around the blades of the fan to get it totally off. (If your air filter breather runs across the front of your engine space, you may want to remove it to give you more room. All the belts on my truck are directly below the breather adn are hard to reach unless you have really skinny arms.) The next two belts are removed in similar fashion to the first-- loosen the adjustment bolt, then the pulley bolt, then work the old belt over the fan. Obviously the appropriate belts have to go back on in the same manner, and in the proper order. Once the new belts are back on, tighten the pulley bolts first, and then adjustment bolts. Check the tension where your owner's manual indicates and be sure there is just a little "give" to them. You don't want the belts to be too tight. Hope that helps.-But if your pathfinder is different than my pickup, this may not help a bit. Good luck.