Questions and Answers

Nissan Pathfinder Fan Noise Q. I have a 1996 Nissan Pathfinder SE. It has about 85,000 miles and a V-6 engine. Every time I start the car, the fan makes a weird noise and as I accelerate the noise stops. When idling, the fan still makes noise? Is there anything I can do to fix this? Laurel

A. I assume you mean the engine cooling fan.

At 85,000 miles it could either be the fan clutch or the water pump. If I had to guess which is the more likely, I'd say the water pump. If you grab the fan and move it back and forth, you should be able to see which is bad. Obviously look to make sure there are no missing blades on the fan as well.

Did you have the timing belt replaced at 60,000 miles? If not, this would be a good time to get both the timing belt and water pump replaced.