Thanks for the responce, I was leaning towards just
finding a used motor and swapping it out. My
concern of course like you say is continuing to
dump money into a vehicle 20 years old, although
for a '96 it's in really great shape, (Crank shaft
exluded of course). The kicker is I just bought the
pathfinder 2 months ago so I'm on the fence about
wether to cut my losses. My mechanic who is also
a good friend says he should be able to drop in a
used motor for $1200 to $1500. I was just hoping
to get some other opinions on which way to go with
it or find out if this is a common issue for that
model era. As it stands I'm into it for $2000 after a
new set of BFG A/T's and the cross your fingers fix
job my buddy did on the pulley. Like anyone buying
a high mileage vehicle, I knew I was taking a risk
when I picked it up at the dealership but I just
wanted something I didn't mind beating up a bit.
Where I could just throw my dogs and gear in and
head for the hills while my 2014 stayed nice and
clean in the driveway. I think if I could finess
another 50k out of it with another motor it would be
worth it but IDK.. my auto mechanic skills are basic
at best, so any other major problems and it's back
to my buddies shop.