darthValiant

That does suck man. Inches away, but can't go and play. And it still amazes me how little people try to understand and work with their dogs. I always get looks of amazement form people when I have their dog sitting in 5 minutes, giving a paw in 6 and heeling in 10 minutes on a leash. They are usually even more amazed when I tell them they can house train a dog in 3 nights (assuming a normal, healthy, reasonably not stupid puppy,) by just watching them CONSTANTLY, never ever yelling (), just whisking them out the door to one specific spot when they get ready to squat, and praising and feeding them treats right after they pee. Works just about every time and three nights with short sleep are worth clean carpets every morning. case in point: My fiance's older dog (husky/shepherd/lab mix) just peed on our memory foam mattress topper last night Talk about some work to clean, I had to break out the vinegar and nature's miracle and work FAST. gah the thing is like a sponge. I am VERY glad our Collie is completely housetrained (was before we got him even, talk about luck) It is funny how I can talk dogs for hours and hours... Heck I bought the pathy so we could camp WITH the dogs easily. Too bad the collie gets car sick. (though I ALMOST have him trained to puke in a plastic bag on his own, we still have to hold it for him.) (yup, just learned to use the smileys) hey look! I helped threadjack my own thread! well I guess I'll have to start a thread in off topic about dogs shortly.

Yeah, here in MD they have a tech do a full inspection down to the last drop, hehehe. Otherwise I'd have rigged em to a switch. I am half tempted to not worry with the internals and hide a little momentary toggle on an arm under theshifter boot, sneaky bastard that I am. hmmm might just work, time to break out the bailing wire and heatshrink tubing... If I jb weld, I'll either drill a VERY small hole horizontally through the actuator, or put a deep ridge or knurl on it before I lay on the jb. loose bits inside a tranny is NOT something I am gonna want to deal with wih no inside workspace for my automotive projects Thanks again for all the good input folks! And when it comes to dogs, thread jack away. I plan to open a doggie daycare when I retire. Mostly cause I've never met a dog I didn't like and can't say the same thing about people. (present company excluded, pathys tend to draw some of the least crappy people out there... )

UNCC: yeah, I am not one to spend money on something I can make myself, especially a one-function tool. (It doesn't help that I never seem to be doing this stuff during normal tool dealer hours) I actually did probe each connector with my multimeter, and was able to isolate just the switch itself. All the other wiring has continuity. So I am thinking mechanical problems have reared their ugly heads. Also, I posted that post you linked, heheheh. I spent about an hour on my back with a flashlight and schematics before I figured out I was being dense and looking at the wrong set of switches. The dog is Tommy, and we got him at the local SPCA shelter at about 1.5 years old with no provenance. He is fairly border-collie-esque but much shorter and stockier and with those side mounted Yoda ears. The closest we can gather is that he is either full-blooded-but-badly-bred border collie, or some kind of border/corgi mix or potentially even corgie/pitbull (but that is stretching it.) We just call him a "Borderline Collie." MYPATH1: I think you may be right, I was asking my fiance, and she remembers the truck having backup lights working when I got it and parked it, but noticed them being out later on. So a worn linkage could be a definite culprit. I think the switches were the same length, but I will now have to double check. Hopefully even if the linkage is worn, a judicious layer or three of jb weld to the switch actuator tip will fix that. Otherwise guess I get to try and either talk my way into getting a pass on that issue or just wait the month and a half until I can tag it historic. Thanks for the input, Rick DarthValiant

Hi All, I've had a small hiatus from the forums while my poor '89 se pathy 4x4 MT sat lonely waiting for me to have time to get it ready for maryland state safety inspection. Now I have gotten it pretty well ready except for one thing: my reverse lights. I went through and traced all the wiring in the reverse light circuit and there are no breaks. verified the bulbs are working by grabbing the connector in the engine bay (passenger side near the interlock relay) and jumping the relevant pins with a paperclip (whoo lights!) I checked the switch and it was not working installed on the truck, so I pulled it (see below for the easy way to do this) Verified that the switch was bad Installed the new verified good switch (standard brand, part number to follow later when I find the box) plugged everything in, FAILED checked the switch: not working installed on the vehicle pulled the switch again, verified it was still functional I noticed that the switch I pulled had no o-ring on it (the new switch had one) Grabbed a piece of aluminum baling wire and made a hook, nothing came out of the socket reinstalled the new switch with no o-ring checked switch: nothing, no continuity Any thoughts before I pull my shifter and check the linkage? btw, I can't get it registered in MD without correctly working backup lights. Thanks for any input, Rick DarthValiant ps here is the tool I made to pull the reverse switch: grind a 1/8"-1/4" slot along one flat side of a 19mm or 3/4" deep socket, clean it up with a file or emory cloth so it doesn't cut the wires and maybe grind the socket a bit shorter on the open side .__________________________ .|. . . . ____________________| .|____| ...|o| ______ | . 19 . | | . __ . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | | . | (I used a 3/4" deep 3/8 drive socket from pep boys and cut the slot with a 4" angle grinder and cleaned it up with emory cloth. It was a bit too long and I had to set the socket on the switch then put on the wrench, break it free, then disconnect the wrench, back it off with the socket then pull the socket and do the last bit by hand. If you build one of these, try to find a socket with external hex on the base ie, not a smooth cylinder. so you can use an open ended wrench to do your turning OR get a slimline 3/8" drive ratchet.) also, a putty knife does great for disengaging your ratchet from a socket when you can't hold the socket still this has been the ascii tool minute from your friendly neighborhood "tech neck"

I know this is an old question. I did however run into this question while diagnosing the reverse lights on my '89 se pathy manual. The switches described here are NOT the reverse switch. Though I am not quite sure exactly what they are I do know that they are about a foot or so too far down the transmission / x case. I think they might have to do with 4wd indicator lights? dunno. The reverse switch itself is not easily seen even from under the truck. It is tucked up on top stick out straight towards the passenger side. I also has a different connector than these one wire switches on my 1989. It has a 'push-button' release, not a 'pry up' release. -Rick DarthValiant

Howdy from Baltimore!

Hi all, My two sets of dogs: Tommy the Borderline Collie (what real border is stocky and clumsy?) and his buddy Maya the husky mix (fast, blue-eyed, and deadly): My other dogs (at my mom's) Laddie (Sir Galahad) the 120lb german shepherd / bernese mountain dog mix doing physical therapy for his blown and surgeried ACL: and his boss Emily Ann, the 17lb french bulldog regards, Rick

Hi all, Just thought I'd give a few words of encouragement from a newbie that just got his aftermarket head unit working. I have an 89 SE Pathfinder, the prior owner's install was OK except for a lack of back speakers. So I installed an old panasonic CD head unit I had lying around. I used the wiring kit that was already installed. There are two multi pin connectors to wire in: One for the power connections and front speakers, the other for the rear amp switching circuit and rear speakers. I was lucky that all my panasonic's harness wires matched the kit EXACTLY in color pattern. The hassle was installing new rear speakers in the stock location. On my 89 I had to remove 2 and a half interior panels on each side: all the panels are just held on by barbed connectors but DON'T just go yanking on your panels, they can crack. Instead, try to pop each connector out as close as gently as possible (a kitchen tablespoon can do WONDERS here) First: the panel that spans from the cargo area past the rear seatback and into the passenger compartment needs to be pried off (hint: pop the rear part off, then flip the seat bottom up and pop the rest off.) Second: Remove the top front seatbelt bolt from the A pillar Third: Remove the bottom panel from behind the door (the one the seat belt runs through This one can be left connected at the bottom to save some hassle if you want Fourth: remove the panel with the speaker grill (which was molded in on mine) Fifth: remove the four screws and pull the speaker out, press the little flat button on the speaker T connector to release. Sixth (if you're me): beer Seventh (also if you're me): yank one connector out of the T connector with needle noses, Eight: Install your 4x6's (I THINK that is the size) I used some old pioneers from the back deck of my valiant, install everything in the reverse order, do it again for the other side and crank some tunes. Regards, Rick

well, seeing as how I have now read EVERY post about wd21's on NPORA... i think they have succeeded. I will still be an old school mopar fan, but I'm guessing that between my 'new' pathy and the great experiences from my mom's sentra and (jump in the wayback now sherman) her old b210 datsun hatchback, I will be more and more of a Nissan guy. Rick

I was hoping there might be a few other Old Liners here. pleasedtameetcha laxman

Hello everyone, I just made a handshake deal to buy an '89 pathfinder for $1,800. I will be picking it up Tuesday. I seem to have suddenly found a good chunk of time that I used to spend car hunting... looks like this might just be the place to spend it. I've never had a 4x4 before so I have NO experience on trails. I am, however, a pretty decent shade tree mechanic. That is because my prior daily driver is a 1966 Plymouth Valiant /6 4dr (hence the screen name.) Now, onto the fun stuff: specs as I currently know them: 1989 Pathfinder SE 5 speed v6 95,550 miles (yeah, that's what sold me) pretty nice red paint stock sized General tires with decent condition all the bells and whistles electronically (good lord but I hope the ones I didn't know how to test yet work OK) body is straight and rust free frame is pristine as far as I could see interior is gray cloth in fair to good condition aftermarket radio roof rack flip top roof (another meaningless but nice selling point, I even know it doesn't leak due to a test drive in torrential rains!) the only problems I noted: needs front alignment (could just be badly inflated tires.. but I am thinking alignment after I read the newbie tech post) dent on the pass side roofline (branch ding about 1" across) glove box has a broken hinge I will post the pics that were on the craigslist ad I get to pick it up tuesday... more pics will follow as well as a more detailed rundown (if anyone is interested) until then, Rick