Nissan tec. on board?

I have an 04 frontier V6, and figured the altenator was going out, only to discover the crank pully that drives the alt. is loose/spinning, on its hub. Is this by design? I figure no? It does power the alt, but figured it may be slipping when chargeing demand is needed. anybody? This is my christmas present this year, left me stranded friday/X-eve:angry7:

Thats spelled alternator dumbass, and to answer your question, NO thats not by design, DON`T RUN YOUR ENGINE, like that cause its part of the balance!! No I`m not crazy, just a little out there, and :angry7:. Back to your regular scheduled program.8)

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:

Dude, thanks for replying. OMG, I`ve been running this truck like this for several years:shock: I always thought it was a belt slipping during cold start up. I would turn the key and let the fuel pump stop and then start and the squeal would be slight or not at all, and the truck always seemed to run great. Man I hope I did`nt hurt it, what BS, and bad design. It`s friggen freezin here and I ain`t messin with it. As I type, my Bro inlaw`s neighbor has a rollback and is takeing it to the dealership and will be fixed tomorrow:clock: And your right about the alternator, inlaw tested with a meter and showed not chargeing, brought my meter, showed same, took to Azone, tested twice and showed good wtf?. Haveing shop test also before reinstall. My first new vehicle was an 87 hardbody, What a great little truck, 350,000 mi and ran decent when I sold it. I figured I would be foolish not to buy another. WRONG:angry7: Thanks anyhoo8)

I miss my old nissan, I never should have sold it :angry7: