Posted: Dec 18 2007 at 6:28pm | IP Logged

I'm starting to feel like my 2003 Frontier Crew Cab XE was kind of a dumb investment. Biggest fault of my own..was taking a six year loan on it. Traded in a 1996 Nissan Maxima towards it...and that was my down payment. So now...I'm at 78,000 miles, in good condition (just tuned up, 1 year old good michelin tires, new brakes), and I still owe $7k on it, and it's worth maybe $8k as a trade in.

Biggest gripe is the 180 hp engine. NOT strong enough..and I knew that....I just couldn't afford the super charged turbo at the time, it just maxed out my budget. And now I'm hearing that pencil hitting the fan rattling noise every time I accelerate even a little...and the mechanics say it's in fine shape, nothing wrong.

I feel like I'm kind of SOL. I just bought a house...and I'm not really in a position to take on the new truck investment that I want (which, with all the complaining, I still wouldn't mind a newer beefier Frontier). I like the truck, I just bought the wimpy engine.

Any motivational responses/ideas/thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

thanks a lot, Dnice in Boston

Posted: Dec 19 2007 at 7:57am | IP Logged

First Nissan has never made a Super charged turbo 2 differant things 2nd might want to try a cold air intake and an exhaust system that will help a little also headers will help to but they will set you back about 500.00 go to this web site you might find a few other things in the perfomance section

www.4x4parts.com

Posted: Dec 24 2007 at 11:40pm | IP Logged

"And now I'm hearing that pencil hitting the fan rattling noise every time I accelerate even a little...and the mechanics say it's in fine shape, nothing wrong."

... What exactly is this?... I don't know what you're referring to.  Is this a known defect?

Posted: Dec 25 2007 at 2:03pm | IP Logged

..

Dnice;

First welcome to the group!

Sorry but I just now found this thread.

It's possible the knock sensor is bad or the EGR is carboned up. It may be a pre-ignition ping you are hearing.  Run some Techorlean (or Chevron high test) from Chevron or some Lucas fuel treatment. You may have to run a whole tankful to notice an improvement. 

Well I gotta go gather up the reindeers crap off the roof and get a move-on..

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Ho, Ho, Ho, (as in laughing ) Make Mary and Jump for Joy… Halleluiah brothers… Amen

Posted: Dec 26 2007 at 7:57am | IP Logged

since my 1st crying post, I have found out some things...

I had my passenger side mirror clipped at a construction job-site, so I had to get it replaced, and had a dealership mechanic check a few other things out.

1. The "pencil hitting the fan" is actually just a heat ring that is loose near the engine, and every time I accelerate or change gears, it's rattling. It's a simple fix of an hour labor by the mechanic.

2. What I also found out from the dealership mechanic..is that I have a cracked head gasket, and it's time to change the belts, including the timing belt. Kind of a bummer, but it's not unusual stuff. approx. $2k in total repairs.

I have decided to keep the truck, and run it out. Just seems more foolish to trade in now, with money still owed. I'm feelin better already about the decision.

thanks for hearing my lame problems.

p.s. Allanh - thanks for the point, makes sense, and is also what most people have told me as well.

Posted: Dec 26 2007 at 4:48pm | IP Logged

1. The "pencil hitting the fan" is actually just a heat ring that is loose near the engine, and every time I accelerate or change gears, it's rattling. It's a simple fix of an hour labor by the mechanic."

That sounds like something I've got happening on my 04... I've never heard the term "heat ring" before.  Does anyone know where exactly this is, or what it looks like?... I'd like to crawl under there and figure it out.  My noise always happens under heavy load, like backing up our tent trailer or a hard accelerationg...   Anyone?

Posted: Dec 27 2007 at 8:57am | IP Logged

Maxbaby, I'll come back to this when I get it fixed, and find out more detail. that's what the dealership told me. Reminded me of that Seinfeld episode "You need a johnson rod". the hell is that?

I'm a real novice when it comes to the nitty gritty of car/truck parts. I know the basics, and that's about it.

I'll post back.