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What the hell... that' looks like a hole in the valve cover. Did something melt it or did a mouse chew into it?

This whole thing looks bad. If you do get the engine running you're going to have a serious oil leak issue and air breather issue. You'd better pull the dipstick to see how much oil is in there. You need to replace that valve cover and see what's going on beneath it before you even attempt to mess with anything else.

Lemon Law...

 

Looks like it cracked off where the engine cover screwed in? Yeah its starting to be a mess. Oil was slightly low.

 

Sure, you could JB weld it to seal the hole, but I would strongly recommend removing the valve cover to make sure there's nothing inside that could harm the camshaft lobes or valves, etc. What if a mouse had nested in there and left behind crap that's being sucked into the valves? The engine will never run correctly. And if something metal like a nut or bolt somehow fell into the hole and is inside the cover, it might bounce around once you start driving and destroy things and possibly cause a camshaft to seize which will throw everything out of whack which might cause the timing chain to break which might cause the engine to seize and cause severe damage everywhere.

If you're not planning to pursue a Lemon Law recovery, I would urge you to protect your investment by being methodical and careful about how you proceed, otherwise you risk destroying the engine and having repair costs exceed the price you paid for the car (or exceed the actual Blue Book value of the car).

You've got a hole in a valve cover that could have something inside that may start a catastrophic series of events if not removed before you possibly get the engine running and take the car for a quick test drive. This isn't a matter of putting new wipers on a busted windshield. You're talking about firing up the engine of an unknown car that appears to have a shady service history. I wouldn't want you to make matters worse by assuming nothing fell into the valve cover. If you can get your hands on an endoscope/snakecam, you could at least take a peek under there to see if there's anything to worry about.

 

Too me it looks like the TB might have been wrecked if they forced a cleaning, by pulling or forcing it open? The outside looked clean. Or can they be "relearned" procedure? I wonder? The hole looks small enough to JB weld maybe?

 

Cleaning the TB is a very delicate process that should be done carefully and when the person isn't in a hurry. If you force open the butterfly and tweak it just a smidgen, the engine may never run correctly again with that TB, and that kind of damage I don't believe can be relearned so that the engine will operate normally. The throat and butterfly of your TB look a bit sooty/oily. Don't like seeing those large particles stuck to the butterfly. Hopefully, there's not a cracked head that's allowing oil into places it shouldn't go. Have you checked the coolant in the radiator to make sure it's not contaminated with oil? How do the tailpipes look? Any wetness or caked on oiliness?

I believe I used a Dorman TB in my 2003 around 2015/2016, and it worked great until I had other engine issues in early 2021. I think I paid under $150 for it.

 

BTW, did you catch this? Looks like the circled area might be a hole in a metal cooling line. The screw above it looks corroded which could be from coolant spraying onto it.
I think it's the metal cooling line that runs along the top-front of the engine, and then a rubber 90-elbow connects to it and goes around the driver-side of the engine where it connects to another metal cooling line. You really need to take your time and slowly look over as much as you can so you know what to repair and in what order.

EDIT: I'm positive it's the metal line that has that rubber elbow on it (outlined in yellow in the below photo) because in your photo that line appears to go inside something on the bottom-left, which looks like the end of a rubber hose. You can refer to the following link which has various pictures of the 2nd Gen engine out of the vehicle. You can click on the pictures to zoom in, etc. It's very helpful in trying to determine how certain things are run. Judging by the online image, your picture is of the grille-side valve cover on the driver's-side corner (#6 cylinder). I can see that corroded screw, bracket arm, the orientation of the ignition coil matches, etc.

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Most of the hoses in your pictures look original. The one that I think goes to the heater core looks very cracked and dry and coolant flows through it - unless that's just caked-on dust/grime that's separating. If you can easily pinch coolant hoses and they are soft and collapse under minor force, you're better off replacing them as soon as possible than risking one blowing apart while you're driving and you become stranded or worse.

It does appear that black spray paint may have been used somewhere. Maybe on the old engine cover?

BTW, what's the mileage?

 

216k and yes I will further check out those places 1st.

 

I rechecked & the black "holes" are just dirt/grease. No holes and the black spray paint is just grime too. Im now trying to figure out how to remove the TB, the bottom right Allen bolt looks challenging to get any pressure on it. This 2nd gen doesn't seem engineered better than the 1st. The huge air box is crazy.

 

I rechecked & the black "holes" are just dirt/grease. No holes and the black spray paint is just grime too. I'm now trying to figure out how to remove the TB, the bottom right Allen bolt looks challenging to get any pressure on it.

If you're fortunate enough to have a ball-end Allen wrench, it makes removing those types of bolts/screws much easier, since it goes into the receiving cavity deeper and more securely while allowing you the freedom to angle the tool many ways to get a better position. Looking at the photo you posted, I wonder if the top-right bolt used to be on one of the bottom corners. Looks pretty mangled. If you need to, you can always use an Allen wrench with a pair of pliers/Vice-grips to help give you better force to turn the bolt.

Glad that hole wasn't a hole at all. It looked very Chestburster-made, and I figured that maybe someone had used a pointed screw to try to fasten down that corner of the engine cover, and they accidentally tapped into that cooling line, causing the metal to lift as the screw bore in.

 

Ah yes I do somewhere I do. Im hoping they got it off, cleaned it, and that was the cause of its issues and they are now finger tight! LOL I can dream can't I? How goes your 1st gen? Any hope of saving it?

 

Given the mileage and numerous original parts involved (big and small) I don't feel it's worth tossing in even a used engine, transfer case and CVT. Too many other things that really should be replaced at this point. It's merely something to look at from time to time. I offered it for sale for $1000 as parts, but everybody kept trying for $700, which is a junkyard buy.

This kind of car has too many things that can go wrong that could really become a money pit very quickly. And once you invest a couple grand into getting it going you're almost stuck throwing more money at the other failing things in order to justify the original investment. IMO, these aren't cars from the 70s and 80s that can be easily and cheaply restored and made to run well for a few hundred bucks (back then)... Far too many electronics and support components to make them cost-effective salvages at this high mileage. If I were a young guy looking to restore a car today, it likely would not be a Nissan Murano.

 

Sorry to hear that, I had to learn that about Modern BMW's too. Just not worth the headaches and cost.
*My update: Speaking of parts new & used, my whole rear end has been replaced, Hubs, Control arms, front & rear Brakes, rotors, Front & rear struts. MY Hatachi TB should be in today.

 

Todays update: Got the new Hitachi Throttle body in, topped off the fluids and after a battery charge she fired right up and ran smooth. Went into gear forwards & back...But I haven't mastered the TB Relearn evidently...nothing more than a purrrfect idle....
I did find the Horn relay in between the battery & the front. Haven't reinstalled it...
Is there a end all do it yourself Relearn procedure everyone recommends?

 

What do you mean when saying it went into gear forwards and back? Did you drive it at any normal speed, or did you do a simple test to see if the car would move in each direction a few feet? Not to be doomy, but having the car idle is the easy part. Once in "gear" and everything is engaged is where things can get tricky and it can be tough to figure out what's causing what to do something wrong. Again, lots of support components and sensors that can trip you up. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

The last relearn I did with my 2003 AWD I used the CVTz50 app. I believe it took two or three times before it completed successfully. Before that, in 2015, I just did what everyone else basically described doing and I didn't encounter any problems. I don't recall exactly what I did and where online I found the info, but the steps contained in the included screenshot seem familiar, and I do recall using my phone's stopwatch to be sure I got the timing right.

 

Update: The new aftermarket APS part from Advanced Auto Parts was wrong, Drove a hour to South Bend, squeezed in 2010 and after a few hours of cussin & had a Part from U-Pull it for much less than the $390ish posted on some sites.
I was almost startled after doing the relearn once more & having it fire to life with a blip of the throttle!
Thanks so much all you guys & Cryo for helping me stay patient!
Tomorrows job: Change the tranny fluid & oil change.
Happy TGIF Guys!

 

Codes are being thrown for both sensors in the APP sensor. APP sensor is wired directly to the ECM, which is located next to the battery. You found a mouse nest in the engine compartment and they really like to chew on things. I suspect the problem is probably broken wires.

Disconnect the APP sensor with ignition switch OFF and check for continuity to ground on Terminals #1 (gray wire) and #2 (black wire) with DVOM. Then turn the ignition switch ON and check for 5 volts on Terminals #4 (brown wire) and #5 (green wire). If unexpected results are found, you'll need to remove the air filter box completely and look for damage to the wiring harness.

 

Mine doing this now what was the issue with it

 

The answer is in the second post above this.