Canadian Nissan Truck Club

Thinking about shopping for a 2008 pathfinder with 5.6L V8. I know nothing about the 5.6L. What is the good/bad/ugly with this mill?

Some info in here

http://www.cntc.ca/phpBB3/viewtopic.php ... ada#p79458

Thanks, I had read that, I want engine specifics not pathfinder specifics. So known issues or maintenance problems unique to the 5.6L.

I do not plan to off road this vehicle should I get one as I'm not willing to mod it that much to deal with the electronic controls.


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Vk56 is bullet proof, forged crank, 6 bolt main bearings, coated pistons you aren't going to blow it up, ever. Trans/tq converter and rear end... different story.

Thanks for the reply!

I didn't know the pathfinder trans/rear end were weak, what's the deal? Is this just for mods or towing or what?

Bow_Tied wrote:Thanks for the reply!

I didn't know the pathfinder trans/rear end were weak, what's the deal? Is this just for mods or towing or what?

That's the titan.

The diff in early models was weak.
There's no trans problems. They can suffer the same radiator issue that all the 05+ trucks can. Just needs bypass mod done.

The only issues I've seen, is timing chains from lack of maintenance, and bad catalytic converter/manifold assys.

Thanks mike. Cat issue requires a new manifold? Sounds expensive.

So it's a different trans than the Titan? I'm most concerned with towing. Trailer gvwr of 5-5500lbs. Engine should handle but the trans is my concern.

These trucks have OE pre-wiring done to support a brake controller?


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Ya, they're manicat's. Same thing tho, lack of maintenance is generally the reason they go.

That truck has 6000lb tow with the V6 or 7000lb with the V8.

I'm not sure about the brake controller tho. The ones that were prewired still needed some extra stuff added, relays and whatnot.

V8 sounds very sexy.

The V8 is impeccable.

The manifolds are garbage. That they crack is bad, that the catalytic is know to fail in a way that the engine ingests the material is a lack of diligence and due care in the design.

The V8 Pathfinder is rare and heavy, might as well spend less and get more in an Armada.

The rads are weak, but I didn't know they were susceptible to the transmission failures that were seen the the Frontiers and Pathfinders. That may be unique to the V8 Pathfinder being a 5.6 in 4.0 application, please enlighten me.

Morpheus wrote:
The only issues I've seen, is timing chains from lack of maintenance, and bad catalytic converter/manifold assys.

What maintenance does the timing chain require?

Miner wrote:The V8 is impeccable.

The manifolds are garbage. That they crack is bad, that the catalytic is know to fail in a way that the engine ingests the material is a lack of diligence and due care in the design.

poop. Well, how does one deal with that?? I wanted a non-modified rig for my wife to drive. I don't want to be screwing around with headers on a daily/winter driver very bad.

Miner wrote:The V8 Pathfinder is rare and heavy, might as well spend less and get more in an Armada.

This rig is for my wife to daily drive, so mid-size SUV is the largest size vehicle I can consider. Heavy? Maybe, but that is good since I want something with at least a 6k tow rating, preferably closer to 7k lbs so I have something capable to tow a 5k GVWR travel trailer without regular struggling.

Miner wrote:The rads are weak, but I didn't know they were susceptible to the transmission failures that were seen the the Frontiers and Pathfinders. That may be unique to the V8 Pathfinder being a 5.6 in 4.0 application, please enlighten me.

I understand this is the rad's trans cooler failure issue as found in the 4L Xterra. A simple aftermarket cooler to bypass the rad fixes that.

Miner wrote:

Morpheus wrote:
The only issues I've seen, is timing chains from lack of maintenance, and bad catalytic converter/manifold assys.

What maintenance does the timing chain require?

Oil changes.

You'd be surprised at the number of times I have customers come in with 60,000+k with tchain noise. When you review the maintenance records and they should have 10 oil changes, and they've only had 3

Hey man,

The engines are monsters for power and torque. It moved my 6300+lbs armada down the street no problem and tow a car trailer with vehicle with ease. The tranny in my '08 was great because it had the tow mode, tranny rad and tranny temp gauge. Not sure if the pathfinder offers that but if so it's worth it.

Now the major downfall in the 5.6L..... The fuel mileage is not good to say the least. And for some insanely stupid reason they made the 5.6 Pathfinder run on premium fuel. You probably know this already but I know you will hate the cost of fuel.

Not sure if this helps?

steelcityslicker wrote:Hey man,

The engines are monsters for power and torque. It moved my 6300+lbs armada down the street no problem and tow a car trailer with vehicle with ease. The tranny in my '08 was great because it had the tow mode, tranny rad and tranny temp gauge. Not sure if the pathfinder offers that but if so it's worth it.

Now the major downfall in the 5.6L..... The fuel mileage is not good to say the least. And for some insanely stupid reason they made the 5.6 Pathfinder run on premium fuel. You probably know this already but I know you will hate the cost of fuel.

Not sure if this helps?

Hey Bud!

Yes, it does. I have looked into fuel. When towing, I don't care - I want power. The rest of the time it is of course a consideration. This vehicle would likely see < 15k km/yr so I estimate that the cost would be ~$75/month. That really adds up, yes, but in the grand scheme I likely spend that much on crap now I don't need to... I'd rather that than have the V6 struggling up hills, trans hunting, and other towing issues.

I might be in the hammer this weekend to look at a rig for sale - we should hook up for lunch or something.

steelcityslicker wrote: The engines are monsters for power and torque. It moved my 6300+lbs armada down the street no problem and tow a car trailer with vehicle with ease. The tranny in my '08 was great because it had the tow mode, tranny rad and tranny temp gauge. Not sure if the pathfinder offers that but if so it's worth it.

I didn't know anyone, on here, had an Armada. Post pictures and details some time.

Bow_Tied wrote:
Yes, it does. I have looked into fuel. When towing, I don't care - I want power. The rest of the time it is of course a consideration. This vehicle would likely see < 15k km/yr so I estimate that the cost would be ~$75/month. That really adds up, yes, but in the grand scheme I likely spend that much on crap now I don't need to... I'd rather that than have the V6 struggling up hills, trans hunting, and other towing issues.

I'd expect 14-16 l/100km highway driving, 15-17l/100km country driving, 20l/100km winter and city driving, and 18-27l/100km towing.

I question your $75 cost estimate. Using 15,000km a year and assuming an 18l/100km average and $1.30 for premium that's $3,510 a year or $293 a month, if regular is $1.16 that's $3,132 a year or $261 per month. The delta of $32 a month, or a dollar a day is negligible. I'd add a note that my 5.6L has returned better fuel economy (best of 13l/100km) on premium fuel, which erodes the difference further.

The fuel economy $ I mentioned was in addition to what we spend now. I guess that was ambiguous, sorry.


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Bow_Tied wrote:
I might be in the hammer this weekend to look at a rig for sale - we should hook up for lunch or something.

Hey Ronnieboy!

I'm sorry man but I'm working all weekend. Where are you looking in the hammer? A lot or private?

I was thinking more about your purchase. Perhaps you should take an Armada out for a spin? You won't spend much more on fuel and have the benefit of a higher towing rate, bigger brakes (?), and it definitely won't be hunting for a gear in the tranny. The tow pkg was awesome in that there was a noticeable change in the auto shifts. The tranny cooler with the temp gauge was also very handy. It's a big truck but easy to drive esp with the back up camera and parking sensors. They are very safe with the traction control and stability control. I know you love your pathfinders so I'm not trying to be that guy! Lol

Miner wrote:[

I didn't know anyone, on here, had an Armada. Post pictures and details some time.

Hey Miner,

it was a 2008 Armada LE. I bought a US model because I wanted the middle bench seat instead of the mid buckets which was not offered in Can models at that time. It was loaded except for a dvd. It spoiled the heck out of my wife with all the safety features and creature comforts.

Sux that you're working. I still have the emblem letters for you.

I'll be all over the GtA looking at rigs. But not just pathys. They're quite rare so I can't limit. GMs gmt360 platform has several V8 options so those are on the table and is more likely what I'll end up with.

The armada is cool but just too big for the mrs.


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