How to Fix Heater Piping for Rear Heater Nipple on Nissan Pathfinder | Part 92414 | Redneck Fixes
I recently broke the nipple off of the heater hose assembly that connects to the heater core on my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder. In researching a replacement for the assembly (part 92414) I found that it was going to be between $180 to $250 to fix it. In a failed attempt to look for just the piece that has the nipple, which is labeled 92415 on the schematic below (courtesy of Courtesy Parts) I was just about to purchase the entire assembly.
Click to enlarge.
Then I got a call from my mechanic friend who was also trying to help me come up with a solution without having to buy the entire assembly. He had a similar problem with a BMW that came into his shop and in speaking with a parts representative at O’Rielly Parts he was recommended Flow Mix Plastic Welder from VersaChem. In trying it out on the BMW it worked great so we came up with a plan to fix my broken nipple.
I purchased a 5/8 to 3/4 heater hose connector. We then sawed off the connector just behind one of the lips, leaving about 2mm of connector behind the lip. This created a perfect fit into where the nipple used to connect by creating a perfect union between the two lips. We placed Plastic Welder on the inside just behind the lip so that we had a seal from the inside and inserted the hose connector into the opening of the other connector. We then took the remaining amount of Plastic Welder and created a seal around the outside of where the two lips join. (It’s best to have on latex style gloves when doing this) Make sure to create the seal all the way around the connector.
As you can see in the images below, the hose connector created a new nipple, which happens to stick out a bit further, and is stronger than the original nipple.
We let the epoxy set for about 90 minutes before connecting the hose to it. It’s been 4 days and it’s working like a charm. There is no evidence of leaking at the seal.
Good luck and if you have any questions please leave a comment below.
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Hey great write up. What about the bottom connection coming from the back heater core? The connection that goes on the bottom.
Hey Jerry, sorry about the delayed response. I’d have to look at that piece again to see if it would work, but for the price, it could be an option worth trying.
This isn’t designed to be a long term fix, but one that will get you buy until you can get it fixed properly.
Hey Tyler,
Great step by step instructions. worked great for me. I have been looking around for Ideas for this problem and yours was and is the best. The dealer wanted over $250.00 for the OEM part and this only cost me $11.00.
Thanks again for the great advise.
Chad
Hey Chad, I’m glad you were able to save some money! I was thrilled when my buddy Chris came up with the idea so I had to share it with others in hopes they’d benefit from this solution as well.
Tyler
Thaks for posting this online! I have the same problem with my 2005 Nissan Pathfinder LE. I got the 5/8 to 3/4 Hose Connector from Autozone today for $2.99 and followed your instructions. I already have some JB Weld in my garage and I used it to bond the hose connector to the existing heater pipe together. It looks solid and will last a long time.
Ben
You’re welcome! I’m glad the fix worked for you.
My husband trying to fix my vehicle but is having problem finding the plastic connector have any idea where to find one
I believe I found that part at the hardware store.
It could have been at the auto parts store also.
Just thought I’d pass this along…
Same thing just happened to my ’06 Pathfinder SE. I thought about trying this even before I saw your write-up today. I decided to do the opposite and suck it up and buy the OEM part. PITA to put on but I’m glad I did. Why? Because ALL the plastic crumbled on mine when I remove the old one. It was all dry-rotted. Imagine that. After only 6 years. 🙁
I’ll be watching to see the longevity of this fix. The last thing I wanted to do was be on a trip to FL from NC and have another leak 500 miles from home. I can fix it myself (and did just this afternoon) if I’m at home but it’s not quite as easy and affordable at WDW. 😉
I’m glad it worked for you but I’m glad I decided to “do it right.” Good luck. I’ll be watching for updates.
No criticism. Just a different perspective.
Hey Bob, thanks for the comment! When mine broke we tested the remaining plastic to make sure it was secure, both before and after we applied the fix. Though, I don’t typically take my Pathfinder on long trips as my other car gets much better gas mileage. I expect that I’ll need to replace the whole OEM part in the next 6 months, but we’ll see.
So far it’s held up well, even in this heat with the air conditioning running on full.
How much did the part cost?? And did you have to go to the dealer?
That was also my experience Bob. The plastic parts from the housing crumbled as I tried to take off the hoses. Its was a major PITA to arm wrestle the new assembly into place. Had to take the front passenger side wheel off to get better access. My pathfinder has been relatively trouble free up through 140k beside catalytic converters. Since then its been problem after problem but still better than a new car payment 🙂
Hopefully all you Pathfinder owners have done the radiator bypass for the transmission cooling otherwise you will be in for a rude surprise down the road.
When I see a circa 2005 pathfinder on the road, i am tempted to give a thumbs up because I know what the owner had to do to keep it running.
My company bought Nissan 2005 pathfinders; all experienced same problem after 100K. Some blew its engine block as water drained out and over heated
Our vehicles were plagued with over heating issues due to failing materials at about 100,000 km. Its common knowledge the oil cooling heat exchanger will fail at 100K followed by radiator, aluminium block then hoses For all of our Nisaan vehicles over 100K, we placed audible overheating alarm as replacement part were outrageous.
Needless to say, we no longer have Nissan issues
You’ve got it in one. Codnul’t have put it better.
My hose is fine bit the plastic housing broke and leaking antifreeze.
Thank you very much for your idea. I used JB Weld instead of the plastic welder. However; my vehicle is now fix. I also used a 3/4 to 1/2 in plug no one had the 3/4 to 5/8 I just had to add more JB Weld. Thank you again, nissan wanted to much money. My full cost to fix was less than $15.00.
This is awesome! I did the same thing yesterday when trying to pull thw cam shaft sensor off the back of the block. A simple job turned into a nightmare. I had the same idea and this is complete validation that it works! For the time being, I was able to take a dremel and shave off the original lip so that the hose would slide over that, but I think this solution is a much more stable fix.
Thanks for posting!
Kevin
hey great post i just broke one. and yes all the plastic is brittle.sad design. so what i did was pull that hole piece and thru it away and put a 3\4 tee in place and a couple pieces of 3\4 hose problem solved. its the rest of that mess that will pose a problem down the road. good thing it isnt my car. good luck yall
Thanks for sharing this idea Tyler. My neighbor just had the same problem this weekend; his mechanic was trying to fix something else and, I guess the guy put too much pressure on the hose and broke the inlet (or outlet) coupling (part 92415). Guy was thinking of buying a brand new part at the dealership and I told him about your fix. We just tried it, epoxy is setting right now and we will let you know how it turns out in a few days. We actually had to drill a hole in the coupling to make sure it will allow the coolant to flow from the bottom hose (92412). BTW, we did buy the 5/8 to 3/4 coupling. We are hoping this will buy us enough time to find a replacement part at a local junk yard ($50.00 – $75.00). The temporary fix, so far, came up to $3.15 for the coupling and $5.00 for the epoxy tubes 😉
Hey JO, I’m glad you were able to see my post and it helped you out! I hope it holds as well has mine has!
Jo did the epoxy hold? I just did this to my vehicle tonight but i used pvc pupe.. do u think the pvc pipe will b hold
Thank you. I fixed my path. I broked too the another conection, I put a metalic 1/8 npt and 1/2″ hose.
Thanks for posting. I performed this fix yesterday and worked like a charm. Saved me hundreds on parts and hours of labor. The original Nissan design is very poor.
You’re welcome! I’m glad the fix worked for you!!!
This is just a poor design. I have a 2005 Pathfinder and having the same issue. Thanks for the comments. I will post up how I fix this issue in a few days.
Thanks for posting this DIY Fix. I did the repair like you suggested and it has worked great! Like the others are saying, the dealer wanted $211.00 for the part + $235.00 to install + the antifreeze ($20.00 a gallon”2″) + tax = $500.00(+)
I did it all for $53.00. I had to buy the 5/8″ to 3/4″ connector, JB Weld Plastic, & 2 gallons of antifreeze.
It seems stronger than the original, but I agree Nissan did not have a good design for this part!
Thanks again for saving me hundreds of dollars!
I love people who are resourceful AND share. Rediculous how Nissan makes you buy the entire assembly. They must know it’s faulty. If this holds the savings I guess will be about $450, saving tow, parts and labor. Hope my friend appreciates it. Some days I wish I was an attractive gal instead of a competent caring romantic FOOL. Somega will know what I mean.
I did what you said to do but took it a little further on my wifes 06 pathfinder. I notched the bottom of the fitting for the vertical line coming up so not to effect the flow to the rear of vehicle and made it so that i could slide the fitting in all the way
Can you tell us how you did your fix?
While tying to bypass the front heater core due to leaking,i broke three nipples off of the plastic manifold. I was attempting to remove the heater hoses. Might try this fix or find a metal tee and bypass the whole week WEEK design. I really don’t think that the oem will hold up either. Plastic and heat and cold don’t mix.thanks though for the post and being the guinea pig.
hey guys, thanks for write up, i did this fix to get home………plastic was brittle so went ahead and bought the entire part…….nissan in Chattanooga tn has entire assembly with heater control valve and rubber bends for rear heater for $260.67……OR a stripped down version with control valve and rubber pieces for $130…….also had strawberry milkshake in trans last year….. $3700 to replace trans with shift computer in 07 pukefinder…….so bypass your radiator cooler NOW if not already done……….appreciate the write up bro
sorry meant stripped down version WITHOUT control valve and rubber bends for $130
Thanks Tyler!! Just did this on my wife’s 2006 Pathfinder.
I cut the 5/8″ (the smaller diameter) section off with a multi-tool, including its lip. I then used the multi-tool to shave off the little barbs remaining on the next-closest 3/4″ section. I sanded this section as well before it would slide in.
Like Israel, I notched the bottom of the new coupler so I could insert further and still maintain the flow out the bottom connection.
The little covered nipple on top of my original assembly also broke off, leaving a hole. The new connector covered about 3/4 of the hole when inserted fully, and JB Weld covered the rest. Also coated the inserted section with JB weld. The fit was tight (great!) so JB weld got pushed to the back to also form a nice layer at the lip union.
Was hoping to attach pictures but doesn’t look like an option, so hopefully the description above is clear in case it helps someone else.
I’ve created a permanent fix for roughly 60 dollars . Will post pics soon .
Because even replacing with oem will inevitably fail again
Awesome! I look forward to seeing the pics.
Thanks a lot guys worked like a charm saved me 250$ did all steps instead of using plastic weld it didn’t work the first time so I got didn’t cut the pipe and I used the regular jb weld it has a higher psi …I put the glue on smaller end put it in glued around it let it set repeated until I ran out of glue
Could this work on a 2007 Nissan Pathfinder for a while? until I get the money to fix out the whole part ? I just need it to work for about a month and a half .
Just had this happen…unfortunately I was trying to diagnose a misfire with the engine running, while doing so with my hand on the rear coil, this piece snapped off and I currently have a deep 2nd degree burn from the coolant. My hand was stuck and when the plastic nipple broke, I could not get it out in time. It covers about a 5″x7″ area on the back of my hand.
Poor design and Ill be suffering for a while. Car is down until my paw gets better. Dr says 3-4 weeks.
This post saved me about $600. Thanks Tyler. One small difference that worked for me was that I purchased a 3/4 by 3/4 heater hose connector. I sawed off the nipple on the end that goes into the fitting(not the heater hose end). I then sanded it down until it tightly fit into the connector. It took a lot of sanding, (I think down to about 11/16″), but I had to use use very little JB Weld. It has been working great for 4 weeks now. Thanks again.
Glad you were able to save money with this fix! Thank you for sharing what you did to make it work for you.
Is this still holding up?? I’m interested because the jbweld epoxy didn’t hold on mine due to heat.
Mine held for a couple years then I needed to have it replaced due to a different issue.
Mines held up for a year
Tyler, (2005 Nissan Pathfinder, 168K 4.0V6 )while trying to change my cam shaft sensor I broke the larger inbound hose to the heater core. I repaired it with your instructions. Man, what a life save. I’m letting the JD weld Marine to set up for 8 hours. Before drive to work in the morning. I’ll test before I leave the driveway. This is my plan A, for plan B, I purchased 3 feet of heater hose, and 2 ea of 3/4 in connection kits with clamps. If I’m leaking in the morning, I’ll hook up the large hose for a connector and 3/4 pipe and same on the end of the aluminum tubing connecting to the small pump, So is this the correct procedure for the bypass? Do I need to disconnect the pump. In the picture I saw a 3/4″ right angle connector. Did work and for how long. Thanks
Hi Jerry, I hope the fix holds for you. To be honest, that fix was a while back, so I can’t remember all the details. I’m pretty sure what you mentioned is correct. My fix worked for a couple of years, but eventually had to have the whole thing replaced due a different issue. My Pathfinder is still running strong with 208,000 miles.
Thanks so much Tyler, well the fix work but unfortunately it is now leaking down at the lower heater core connections. Plan A is to check the clamps down at lower hoses. So for Plan B I’m going to Lowe’s and getting some 3/4″ PVC parts and build a U and clamp to that. And Yes, For Plan C is to buy a whole new unit. which isn’t a big deal other that I purchased the truck 2 months ago, I have an airbag sensor that is flashing, I had to replace a Crank Shaft Sensor and now I have a Cam Shaft Sensor that’s bad and now I have a Heater plumbing issues. The Pathfinder was in immaculate condition for vehicle with 166K. I just hate to have to rig things. Thanks so much for your help.
Hey, I had the temp fix work for more then a year now same is happening to me from bottom. What’s the part number so I can just replace whole unit
Whats going on with the 90 degree fitting on the right?
Can anyone tell me the part number for this?
2011 Nissan Pathfinder SE
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Does the 5/8 -3/4 connector have to be cut off and what about the notch so not to affect bottom hose flow. Do I have to go that and if yes can someone show me a pic what it’s supposed to look like when done before job welded in