Harbinger

Actually, all Nissan offers anymore is the silicone boots. When I bought mine (had to drop them to install the new transmission), the other boots had been superseded by the silicone one.

I would look into an actual locker instead of swapping out a LSD axle. Since some of us with LSD's are considering just the opposite. Just my not so humble opinion. Today I replaced my lower radiator hose. If it is still leaking tomorrow, I'll order a replacement radiator. Also picked up the longer belt I'll need for installing that Quest alternator.

I like it! What thickness of metal did you use?

That makes an odd amount of sense, as at least on the wd21's, the 4x4 and neutral switches are wired in series. It might be easiest to compare the new switch to the switches on your truck, IIRC, they all have a different wiring plug. So match the new switch to the truck switch that shares a similar plug?

Today I ran to the junkyard, and came home with the proper tunnel cover, rubber bits, shifter boots, and a alternator from a '95 quest. Got the alty tested out at Autozone on the way home. So I'll be putting in a 110amp alty in the next week! Also changed my fuel filter, and cleared my codes on the ecu.Will see what pops up now. Also installed the c-clip installed so my shifter won't pop out anymore, and installed the new cover plate and shifter boots. I gotta say, it's kinda nice to not see the road through the floor anymore! Also figured out why my 4x4 light was coming on while driving (at 70mph none the less). When I routed the new transmission wiring it was done in a way that let it slip against the exhaust. Re-routed the wiring and patched up the melted insulation. Meant to get back to a parts store for a lower radiator hose, as my current "new" one, has a pin hole in it that is getting worse. Got distracted because I'm helping the g/f look for a new car, so hopefully will get to that tomorrow.

Forgot to mention, I also fabbed up a plate to cover the hole where the auto shift cable used to come through. Used stainless steel so I wouldn't have to worry about it rusting from below.

Been driving it for a few days now. Shifting is good, even got to use 5th on my way to school today. Currently getting just above 16mpg, hoping that will improve as I burn off this old gas. Have tune up parts/fuel filter to swap out this weekend too. One issue I ran into today was realizing I don't have the snap ring that holds the shifter in place. Twice today, after getting off the freeway, the lower part of the shifter was popped out of the transmission. Both times leaving me in 3rd gear. I ordered a new snap ring for it today from Alkorhrail, but it may not be here till next week. Welded on a temp exhaust pipe onto what was left of my y pipe. It was a larger pipe as we didn't have oem exhaust size pipe in the scrap bin at school. Slipped it over both ends and welded it up best I could, but the large mig torch was too bulky to get the very upper parts of the pipe, so I still have some leaks. Slowly but surely....

No risk. Just make sure you reinstall it before you need four wheel drive again. Sent from my LG-VM701 using Tapatalk 2

I attempted to take advantage of my Lifetime Alignment at Firestone. Apparently their alignment computer was acting up and they wanted me to reschedule. Other than that, I'm happy my heater still works, and I filled it up with fuel for the first time in years. Suffice to say fuel was much cheaper this time around!

I'm also running Rancho RS5000's. I like them well enough, but wish I had had the $$ to get the 9000's.

Yep. Definatley have an oil leak coming from either the RMS or the oil pan. Have a drip line (wiped it off yesterday) coming down the back of the oil pan, where the transmission bolts up to the rear of the engine. Hoping it's the oil pan, as I did replace the RMS over the summer....dammit.

Looks good. What did you end up doing to fill in the gap between the top of the bumper and the body? Today, I changed the drivers side CV axle. I'm getting better at it! Took around 2 hours. Then I pulled her out of my buddies shop, and drove her home. Pretty big deal when I haven't driven the poor thing in 2.5 years.

Several of us have swapped the auto for a manual. http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/33748-harbingers-automatic-to-manual-transmission-swap/ http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/23822-starting-my-at-to-mt-swap/?hl=swap http://www.nissan4wheelers.com/topic/auto-to-manual-swap-in-progress?page=1 It may be cheaper with a parts truck, but it definitely more labor intensive. To get the clutch pedal in you have to remove the steering column. Unless the donor truck is in really clean shape, you may have trouble removing some of the clutch hydraulic piping, especially the lower stuff. Most everything is bolt on. The one spot people seem to have issues is in the transmission support cross member. As the MT version doesn't fit on the AT trucks. I got away with it, although I'm going to post pics when it's warmer to make sure, as I'm not convinced I'm exactly centered in the tranny tunnel, although it doesn't seem near as off as other people have reported. When it was all said and done, I'm willing to bet I came in not far off from that $1100 mark, especially considering the amount of time my truck was down for the swap, and renting a heated shop space for me to work on it. Then again others have had much better luck, and aren't near as apathetic as I am.

Another Friday update. I brought the truck home today! So far have hit every gear except for 5th, with no weird clutch noises or other issues. Oddly enough, my tach works now. Nevermind the AT power button blinking at me like something is wrong! I decided to keep the original exhaust installed - it's so rusted I didn't want to launch into earlier today because I was pressed for time. I don't have the interior put back together yet, so I had exhaust wafting into the truck on the way home. I'll put my interior back together this weekend, and run the truck out to school next week so I can weld in the missing section of exhaust routing. With the passenger side not hooked up to the muffler, my pathy is finally louder than my motorcycle. I'm slightly concerned that my rear main seal replacement might have been botched, as I found oil on the back of the oil pan earlier. I've wiped it off and will continue to keep checking. Really hoping it's just extra oil from when my oil filter relocation was leaking/replaced. The good news of the day is I can now change a cv axle in roughly two hours. Replaced the drivers side one this morning.

IIRC - All the 4wd Pathies get their speed info from the transfer case.

Thanks for the info! Well, quite a bit of progress today! Finally finished my wiring loom coming from the transmission. Jumped pins 3&4, and 6&7 where the park/neutral relay used to sit. Wired up the starter, and put a fresh charge on the battery. After two tries, she rumbled to life! Not bad for sitting for 2.5 years! One of the hoses for my oil filter relocation developed a bad leak, so I put an OEM size filter on until I can get some new hoses made. Obtained a proper length banjo bolt, and got the slave cylinder connected. Filled and bled the system only to find my rebuild on the clutch master cylinder didn't go so well. So obtained a new clutch master, installed it, and bled all over again. The good news is with the clutch engaged, she slips right into gear! Haven't given her a proper test drive yet, but I'm beyond giddy. What's left: Obtaining a new (to me) crossover pipe for the exhaust, since I cut my existing one. One has already been pulled at the local pick-a-part so I'll grab it tomorrow. Also have parts to replace the drivers side CV axle, and do new plugs/rotor/wires and fuel filter. Then I can start working on getting my interior put back together.

Ok, so if I'm hearing(reading) you correctly. The plastic clip coming off the starter (looks to be connected to the starter case) connects to the other plug from the harness. While the single female spade connects to the oil pressure sender?

Time for a Thanksgiving update! I manged to get some things done last week, and got down there yesterday also. This is really becoming a story of bringing a parked truck back from the dead, so bare with me. All the transmission bell housing bolts are in and torqued. I've got Redline MT90 in the tranny and the transfer case. Also changed out the gear oil in both diffs. Both shifters are installed! I've got a new track bar installed, while I try and get the bushings replaced in my old one. I know, not transmission related, but wanted to install my drop down bracket since I need an alignment anyway. Changing a cracked lower radiator hose revealed a hole in my radiator. I pulled it yesterday, and the guy I'm working with soldered it back up. All seems to be good now, but we'll see how she holds pressure later. Current hold ups: I seem to have a ton of banjo bolts and none of them are the right length for the slave cylinder. Will be calling the dealership tomorrow, and hopefully they will have the correct length. Looked for one in the scrap yard yesterday, but all Nissan currently in the yard are autos. Reinstalling my starter - I have the main power cable on the starter, but am not sure where the other plug that grounds the starter body goes. Coming from the harness, I have one plug, and one random female spade connector. I know the oil pressure sensor wiring is part of this, but with my lack of notes, it might take some playing around to figure out what goes where. So other than those two issues, I just have some wiring, and then we'll go about getting her started! I'll be back working on her on Friday.

What Nefarious said. The 1996+ 5 speeds have the higher fill plug, so thus you don't have to over fill them like the older ones.

Today I: Finished installing and torquing my bell housing bolts. Got the last two bolts in the transmission cross member. Installed my starter. Didn't get to hook up the electrical yet though. Also drained the rad to replace both hoses. Started filling it back up, and realized I have a hole in my rad, pissing all over the inside of my engine bay. The guy letting me use his shop said he can solder it shut, but I dunno. Either way I have to pull it. Also noticed some oil leaks that I need to chase down. It really was one of those days!

Ok, I'm overdue for an update. A couple weeks ago, I had the truck hauled down to a friends shop. Last Saturday, we Installed the clutch, and replaced all associated springs,bearings etc. The Transmission is mostly installed, I just ran out of time to give things a final check, add fluids, etc. The torsion bars are back in too, as are the drive lines. Interestingly enough, it looks correct, despite us not modifying the transmission cross member. On the transfer wiring, I ended up running the joined green wire to a separate ground. *shrug* I'll be headed back down on Friday. Hope to do a double check on all the bolts, fill and bleed the hydraulic system, and do some maintenance. Noticed my lower radiator hose is cracked and leaking, so am flushing the rad at the same time. Also have new gear oil for both diffs. I'm getting close!

I'm in the middle of swapping a 1998 R50 5 speed into my truck. Bolt patterns are the same on both ends, but have no idea if the gearing is different.

Finally got the new transmission mounted up, and the new sway-a-way torsion bars installed. Should be finishing her up in the next week or so. I can't wait to have my truck back!

X2 - Angle grinders are very useful in the welding world. I have two of them at school. The most common size is a 4.5" - which you can then run a 5" sanding pad on. Don't forget your PPE though! (Personal Protection Equipment). If you have to ask why, just google "Angle grinder injuries". I prefer the ones with the paddle switch. It acts as a dead man switch, and turns off power if you let go of the handle. I've not had much luck using wire wheels to remove mil scale - but a fresh 36 grit sanding pad usually does the trick. Without a break or other bending apparatus, with an angle grinder and straight edge, score a line in the plate, and that will assist in bending it. 110v Migs have there place. Mostly for portability and working with thinner sheet metal. Get into the larger machines, and you have trouble finding rollers for smaller diameter wires. I concur with GrimGreg on the saws. I've never used a cold saw, but all we really use at school is band saws. If I had the money and the space, I'd buy an Ellis. http://www.ellissaw.com/. We have an abrasive chop saw, but it's really only brought out for specialty cases, working with hardened metals, etc.