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The MAF is a good thought, and an easy one to check if you've got a half-decent scanner. Could explain the hard starting, too. That said, I wouldn't expect it to only cause problems on one cylinder. The service manual offers a little troubleshooting for misfire codes. Might be worth a read. Looks like you've tried most of what they suggest, though. I would follow the compression test with a leakdown test. When the head gasket let go on my neighbor's Toyota, the compression still tested fine, but when I applied shop air to #4, it bubbled out of the radiator. (I didn't have a leakdown tester at the time, so I stripped the compression tester down to just the hose, and stuck the air nozzle in the end.) It's probably not the head gasket--I don't remember anyone else on here having a head gasket let go on a VQ, and I imagine you would've mentioned if it was losing coolant--but it's still worth ruling out. When you replaced the plugs, did #1 stand out from the others? Color, deposits? Might give a clue if it's a mixture issue. When you installed the injectors, did they all go back in the same holes they came from? And did you flow-test them after cleaning them? If #1 has its original injector, untested, I would not rule it completely out yet. Are you sure what you're seeing in the exhaust is fuel? My dad's '03 burned an alarming amount of oil, especially on warm starts, though I don't remember it throwing misfire codes. Have you checked your your power valve screws? Long shot, but if one of the butterfly plates fell in, I can imagine it getting stuck in front of an intake valve or something.

If your scan tool reads live data take a look at your Mas airflow sensor and make sure it's reading at least 3.5gs as I had a very similar issue and just like your self once the engine was warmed up when ever I came to a stop at a red light I would experience a bit of a stumbling idle. Turned out to be a bad Mas airflow sensor that was under reporting data 2.97gs to be exact. Oh and I have a video you can checkout on said issue as well. Here's a link. Chris.

Ok the title may be a bit dramatic, but I definitely need help. I've been around here for years since I got my first R50, but I honestly don't remember if I have ever posted. I have mostly just read and absorbed until I've come across an issue that I can't seem to figure out. Thought I might see if anyone has an ideas for me that I haven't tried already. I'm on my second R50 now, which is a 2003 with the VQ35 and about 135k miles. A while back I started feeling a little roughness in the idle but only once the engine was fully up to temp and at its lowest idle (in gear). At the time there were no codes aside from one regarding the key chip not being recognized some of the time (I forget the acronym) because I'm using some cheap aftermarket key. Regardless, I figured that shouldn't have any effect on anything once the engine is running. Time goes on, the roughness in the idle gets a bit worse and I finally pull a Cylinder 1 Misfire code (probably P0301 but I'll have to confirm later). Started with replacing plugs then swapping coils around to see if it followed, it didn't. Compression test showed within a few percent of the other 5 cylinders' PSI. Injectors were all pulled, tested, and cleaned on a little homemade rig I made out of a 12v battery, some spare hose, and a can of carb clean. Fresh o-rings and those went back in. Aside from maybe running slightly better overall, the same idle issue and Cyl 1 Misfire code remains. No apparent vacuum leaks, and the one leak I did find with the "spray carb cleaner around the engine bay while running" test was a huge crack in the underside of the intake hose/pipe which has since been replaced and apparently wasn't the problem, despite my excitement in thinking I had found the issue. One other likely important detail that I forgot about until this point in the post is that sometimes I'll have to crank the starter for 3-5 seconds to get it to start, and when that happens it seems to dump quite a bit of fuel out the exhaust immediately after start. I'm assuming this is fuel that is being passed through Cyl 1 without being ignited while cranking. This hard start also seems to only happen if the engine is warm but has been shut off for greater than a couple minutes. If it's cold or was just shut off, it usually starts just fine. Any tips or help would be massively appreciated, as this has been keeping me up at night quite a bit. I'm usually fairly decent at diagnosing things like this but apparently I'm missing something. I know there is a ton of experience rolling around in these forums, so I'm hoping one of you knows exactly what's going on so I can feel dumb and have a smooth idle again.

A friend and I did that on his Blazer. Got a bucket with measurements on it and poured in the same amount that came out each time. It would've worked better if we'd kept better track of the level in the bucket between rounds, but we got there in the end, and we didn't overfill it like I did mine. I did a bunch of work to the truck right after I got it, including the trans fluid, so I never really got a baseline for how it shifted before. After the flush, it shifts pretty well, apart from a lazy 1>2 shift under load. It hasn't gotten worse over the last 26k miles, and the transmission is still alive at 257k miles, so I'm not complaining. While you're in there, consider adding an external cooler, especially if you wheel or tow (the hotter the fluid, the faster it degrades). I also plumbed in a Magnefine external filter while I was in there. I don't know that it's doing much, but there was a little metallic shimmer in the old fluid, so I figured adding an actual filter was a good idea.

just thought I would let you know I ended up finding Transfer Case Module with the same part number as mine for $189 a lot better then paying $2000 from Nissan,thanks are bunch for your help Slartibartfast hopefully it's just plug and play and no reprogramming needed.

Definitely. With the enlisting of the old man we’ll get it done.

And here's what they look like with a bed resting on them when the in-tank fuel temp sensor is throwing codes and emission tests are due soon...

General topic, maybe off-topic, but still PF love! I've been hoarding LE wheels (9 of them so far) for a while and finally got around to slapping a set of them on my 98 Frontier. Had a shop in town strip them down, repair all scrapes and curb rashes, then powder coat them in "wet charcoal with satin finish". The results came out great so I thought I'd share the journey. Started out with 17x7 4Runner wheels shown below. Tires were old (Fall 2016, installed early 2017) with only 4,100 miles and tons of tread left, but showing their age. I started a new job at the beginning of April which has me commuting again, so it was time to change them. TownDawg helped me visualize (a la Photoshop) what the LEs would look like on it... And with a little bit more drop (only 1" in the pic above)... Truck's been undergoing a slow restoration for a while (body, paint, and glass done 2022, new tint and interior around the corner) so the plan was to get a set repaired and put new tires on them. All the ones I had have varying issues, but fortunately no major ones. As much as I like the factory silver on the T4Rs and the LEs (both similar color as the original wheels), the color has always been out of place in my opinion. And for what it was going to cost to refinish each wheel (5 of them), it was actually more expensive to go with a factory finish than a powder coat ($275/ea vs $225/ea). So, bought 5 new tires and took my 5 crustiest wheels to the shop to scope color options. Was looking specifically for something that keyed off of the inset of the grille. Found a pretty good match... The results... I also stripped down a set of center caps so they could be paint matched...not too bad! Cut new adhesive for the emblems as best as I could... Installed... Just the right amount of stick-out, no spacers... Kinda gray, kinda charcoal, kinda black...depends on the light I suppose. But they came out great! New lugs and lock nuts seal the deal. LEs are 17x8 and the 235/55R17 tire is supposed to be about 27.2" diameter, but according to GPS speed it's much closer to a 26" (stock size). 27.4" tires should have offset the H233B w/ 3.9 gears (stock 3.7) according to my calculator, but I still needed to use the 18-tooth speedo pinion gear (stock 17) I had previously installed. Speedo's spot on now.

Been eyeing this for a while but can never find any good completed pics. So, pics please!

Perfect thanks so much for the info, I will give this method a try! Maybe I should measure how much actually comes out and try to refill the same amount. Think I won't bother with the filter either then. Did you notice any difference in trans performance?

If neither CV spins when the driveshaft spins, something is very wrong with the front diff. That said, it's an open diff, so if one hub is locked, it'll spin up the CV on the other side rather than doing anything useful. The diffs are also hell for stout on these, and surrounded by weaker components, so, unlikely failure. The fuel gauge knowing about the outside temperature is weird. Not sure which way to send you on that one. I'd probably check under the access plate in the back first (under the rear carpet), see if there's a bunch of mud around the wiring connections that's shorting them out when it's wet or something.

lol right? I stopped asking my self similar questions when I found this is how they spell optional throughout the instructions.

Nice find! It's been too long since I built a model kit. Funny that the box lists the engine specs like they're something special. I'm also wondering what mistranslation led to it having a "fog roof."

Anyone have a source for smoothie wheels for our trucks?

Oh, and I only replaced the parts that were broken. I think I re-tapped a few threads also, just in case.

Interesting. I never looked closely enough, but that seems like it. That's what my cats looked like. I intended to replace them, but the kit I bought was total @!*% and effectively non-returnable. Lost a few hundred bucks in the process and just slapped my OEMs back on. Maybe one day when I'm not sour about the purchase I'll try replacing them again.

@hawairish so I figured out why you couldn’t find the ring gasket and wire mesh gasket. In the attached photo is the inside of the cat looking from the outlet. Where the honeycomb starts is where mesh gasket and ring gasket are weirdly enough. That would suggest the entire honeycomb structure is pressed into the cat body from the inlet. Also might mean back in the day you could get the cat actually rebuilt instead of replacing the whole thing. No idea why you would need a gasket though in that location still. The photo below is the inlet side of my cat. Some chunks missing and melted, what do you think, doneski? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, I think that's the same knob that's on the US trucks with the all-mode. Anyone here with the all-mode box want to check the numbers on your module? Long shot that the US-spec computer would be the same.

I have considered converting my vehicle to a manual transfer, but the amount of work involved is overwhelming. Unfortunately, I am not skilled enough to do it myself and there are no shops near me that would take on the task. I am hoping to find the right transfer case module, but it seems like a long shot. It might be best to cut my losses and replace my vehicle, even though I really don't want to. It's starting to look like one of those 'if all the stars align' situations

yeah this is the 4WD Knob that's currently on my R50 sorry for the quality picture I grabbed this off google https://photos.app.goo.gl/R3LXPNDLNDSL6i4G8

You are very welcome. Chris.

I have no idea what fits what, but I did a little more poking around. I found a whole lot of modules that start with 33084, for a bunch of different vehicles and transmissions, but none with your full PN. Looks like 33084 says what it's for, and the rest of the part number says what it fits. I couldn't find any transfer modules listed for an '00 R50, or any year R50 that I searched, which is weird. But yeah, given how many flavors there are of this thing, I'm guessing the numbers do need to match up. IMO you've got two options at this point, and both involve scouring wrecking yards. Option one, find the same-ish year R50, same engine, same transmission, same transfer case, and hope it's got the same module in it. Option two, find an R50 with the TX10A manual transfer, and grab that, the shift linkage, the center console, probably the trans tunnel plate too if they're built that way, and convert yours to a transfer case that doesn't need no stinkin' computer. I don't know for sure that having that module gone wouldn't take something else out, but if it drives around as-is, and everything else seems to work, then hopefully it won't mind. I am still assuming I know what transfer case you've got. Does the knob have an "auto" position? I haven't heard of any other transfers being used on these, but Nissan does seem to enjoy changing weird things for no apparent reason.

He answered it all, thank you.