GrimGreg

I think Nissan tried to shy away from true offroad appeal, even with the Xterra. There is plenty of room to do hidden winches in most of the models after 2000, but aftermarket winch bumpers are really the way to go.

Yeah, the easiest way to tell is the headrests. Everything else was an option and could be on an XE.

That actually sounds typical for the Maxima swapped alts. Mine will sometimes not charge well at idle either. I think Simon or someone else had it do it on theirs as well. I think it might be a pulley size issue.

Replaced the PCV valve and it got a little better. Adjusted the idle screw to get it where it should be after that.

I did not read your links, but read an article on Top Gear about a 314mpg VW. Assuming it is the same one, I am highly doubtful we would see anywhere near that amount of efficiency in anything developed from it in the USA. The diesel restrictions here are stupid, that powerplant would probably not pass. I know VW is about the only manufacturer with a diesel on the US market, and they barely got it OKed.

If you cut it, the rest of it will still be stuck in place and still need to be removed.

Looks like Lee's setup (the L from L&P).

Keep a roll of duck tape around, put yer drink in it.

Never had an issue myself (I guess yet...) with the MAF ground. I know it is a known common issue, and what the fix is. This weekend looks like it might be nice enough to allow me to tear into it and check my sensors.

Drove past there twice but never stopped. Aside from a couple drives E-W, I stuck to the coastal areas while I lived out there. It is amazing how much open space there is in CA, like B said, the population there congests itself into 3 main areas. There are places out there you can walk for 5 days and never see a road or anything else made by man. So different here in the mid-west, no matter where you are here, pick a direction and you'll find a road in a few hours at most.

I tried washers, adjusting the latch and wrapping tape on the catch and still had the lights come on around corners. I just unplugged the hatch switch. If I need light when I open the hatch, I'll just turn it on by hand. As for the door switches, those are easy "pocket parts" at the j-yard. Keep those working, the floor lights don't have a separate switch and will kill a battery if left on.

I had to pull the hose off the PCV valve to get to one of the IACV screws. I hit it with some intake cleaner while the hose was off, but didn't test if it was stuck. And I had the intake off to clean the TB. I'm running a custom straight pipe intake with the vacuum lines tapped into it. The pipe and joiner clamp areas were in good shape. I'll probably tear into it more this weekend.

What did you mess around with?

I made a 3/16" thick steel t-case skid for my 93 a long time ago. i just templated off the stocker.

A guy I used to work with put a system on his Dakota, it maybe gave him 1-2 extra mpg.

Nope, tends to be old people who can't reach their chandelier or retail stores with inept employees.

Well, my next plan was to start checking sensors with my multi-meter. I (surprisingly) do not have the FSM.

Tonight I pulled off the intake and IACV and cleaned the TB and IACV. Started it up and it runs the same. Although one thing I forgot about was that it is only on the hot idle that the rpms are low. When it is first started it runs at 1100 RPM on cold idle.

The oil pan, y-pipe and (if auto) tranny pan are the major things that need protection. Everything else is stout enough to handle a little abuse. I used cutting boards on my 88 and they worked well. Bought some for my 93 but never installed them. They are better than metal because they'll slide on rocks rather than catch, and they are light weight too.

I'm a "professional " Handyman, and have been for almost 6 years now. I was a commercial carpenter for 8 years before I switched to handyman. I get calls to fix just about anything, from changing lightbulbs, to sealing doors on a grain elevator 15 stories in the air, to complete remodels.... The nice thing is the hours, I get paid based on billed hours, of which I get an average of about 20 a week. Leaves more "play time". My first job was a cook at a Carls Jr.

Yeah, first thing I checked was the vacuum lines, and I would assume that the timing is good since it ran smooth at 300 RPM. Going to clean up the intake and check my sensors when I get the time.

I used a RainX kit on my Frontier, it has 3 sanding grits, a polish compound, and a final clear/protective coating. It worked OK, but not great. It could be user error and I didn't sand enough, or polish enough, who knows. I tried toothpaste and another commercial lens polish on my old van in the past and both looked good for a day or 2, then crap again. I did my Frontier back in October, and it still looks good, so at least the RainX lasts well.

My 93 wants to idle at about 300-500 rpm, it idles smooth at that speed, but it won't keep the alt charging enough to idle very long. I haven't done much searching yet, but my best 2 guesses are either an IACV or TPS issue. Any other suggestions on what to look at for a cause? For the moment I just put a spacer in the stop bar on the throttle so it stays open more and keeps the idle up around 1200.

3 monkeys with a football?

Thank you KovemaN for the LEDs for the truck and RC!