XPLORx4

CEL blinking = misfire. Sounds like you got water where it shouldn't have gotten. I would check your spark plugs and plug wires again. You have probably gotten water into the hole that the spark plug sits in, which can cause the plug wire to short out. You can usually clear out any residual water by blasting compressed air into the holes (except, of course, the holes that are buried under the intake plenum). Also, as a precaution, check the MAF sensor. If it's wet your engine won't run well.

It sound like you might need to replace the distributor. The coil is an integral part of the distributor.

Anyone with the space to store tools, a place to work on the truck, and the interest to do it should spend money on the tools to do the job, instead of paying a shop to do the work. I agree that the "zip gun" (aka air chisel) works great to remove the old bushings. I still haven't gotten around to replacing my upper link bushings. It's been over 5 years since I put poly bushings in the lowers.

Front A-arm rear bushings Front A-arm front bushings

They would work "better" but I can't make any guarantees.

First, you can buy replacement polyurethane bushings for the front A-arms at 4x4parts.com. You do need some creativity to get the bushing off the A-arm, though. I don't remember exactly how I did it, but I think it involved a vise and a sledge hammer. The front bushing may have involved the use of an air chisel. It's very easy to remove the A-arm, and does not require removal of the CV axle. All you need to do (once the truck is in the air and the wheels are off) is to remove the front bolts and rear bolts holding the A-arm to the frame, and remove the 3 14mm nuts holding the A-arm to the lower ball joint. The A-arm should drop right out. If you decide that the ball joint is also in need of replacement, then you will need to pull the axle out of the hub. Remove the hub cap and remove the snap-ring holding the axle to the drive flange. Remove the 6 bolts holding the inner CV to the differential case and pull the axle away from the hub enough so that there's adequate clearance to pull out the ball joint. Tip: whack the side of the knuckle using a 2-lb sledge to knock the ball joint out. The impact will pop it up; you don't need a pickle fork.

There is no way you will fit 285/75R16's on a wheel with 5" backspacing on an 8"-wide wheel. 4.25" BS is probably the limit. What tire size are you getting? 265/75R16's MIGHT fit, but you'd need to test fit to be sure...

33 splines in the R50 H233B. You want ARB p/n RD135.

The way you're doing it (fast in one quick motion, with firm pressure on the lever) is absolutely correct. If you delay during the shift you will get the grinding noise. So, the solution is: don't delay while shifting! Don't worry, you won't break anything by quickly and firmly shifting the lever.

LOL, I have a photo somewhere of my Pathy sittin' on the lift, getting a front diff with a new ARB locker bolted up. I should try and round that up for your viewing pleasure.

IQX4X4: Many auto repair facilities do not want to install customer-supplied parts because of warranty/guarantee claim liability issues. I will assume that your QX4 has spent most of its life in California, where rust and corrosion are not as much of a problem as they are in the Northeast. If so, working on your ride will be relatively straightforward. Where in the Bay Area are you located? I've installed lifts on several R50's before, including doing the same thing a couple different times on my own ride. Last month I replaced the front springs on my R50 (with a friend's help) and we completed the work in just under 2 hours. The rear springs and shocks are even easier to replace. I have quite an assortment of professional-level tools, including a strut compressor and a hydraulic lift. The strut compressor I have: This isn't my car, or garage, but this is the lift I have: If you want to save some money on labor costs, are willing to get a little grease on your hands and can spend a day in San Jose, I can install any suspension parts you might have (with your help of course).

You might try a electronic speedometer calibration device, which accepts the signal from the VSS and multiplies it by a correction factor so that your speedometer is more accurate. I don't have any experience with this, but I bet something like this device (designed for motorcycles) will work. They have a universal car/truck kit. The device costs $80. Contact them for compatibility info.

Rancho 9000 shock part numbers ending in 9010 are extended length shocks for a lifted R50. That's what I'm using. I started with RS9010 (original RS9000), and now I have RS999010 (latest RS9000XL). Note that the RS9000XL shocks MUST be mounted with the shock body on the axle, or they won't work right. Unfortunately, because the 9000XL shocks have a much larger diameter, the panhard bracket on the right side of the axle will dent the shock body when the axle articulates (left wheel up, right wheel down). I used to run my RS9000's with the shock body attached to the frame (i.e. "upside down") and they worked fine like that for many years. Convenient access to the adjustment knob, too. BTW, the shocks on the R50 are what limit the suspension downtravel. During extreme articulation or loss of ground contact, the shock(s) will be fully extended. This will occur whether you have stock length shocks or extended length shocks. In 13 years and 163000 miles, I've never had a blown shock on my R50. Rest assured, the shocks have been at maximum extension quite often!

First, clean your battery terminals and check the battery cables for corrosion. You may also want to check the battery cable connection at the starter motor itself. After you confirm the wires and connections are good, if the starter still doesn't engage reliably, it sounds like the starter motor may need to be replaced. However, if the starter cranks the engine but it does not fire up, that's a whole different diagnosis.

Wow. After watching that video, it looks like your electrical problems are going to be a small part of your overall repair bill. What a tragedy for you. I hope your snorkel is fully functional and completely watertight. If not, it's possible that you sucked water into the intake and potentially hydrolocked the engine while attempting to crank it. If so, your MAF sensor is likely contaminated or damaged, too. And since you let it sit overnight, it's even more likely that water got into places it should not have, such as the front differential. Since you can't crank the engine, it's unclear whether your alternator is damaged. If you've checked and double-checked ALL fuses under the dash and under the hood, and they're all OK, then I hope you have a wad of cash or a high credit limit handy. The symptom you described about the dash lights glowing dim when you turn the key indicates that you may have fried the PCM (Powertrain Control Module) and the security system computer, both of which are mounted under the dashboard, which appears to have been submerged. A $90 dealer diagnostic fee is going to be a drop in the bucket for your repair costs. I'd guess you're looking at a minimum of $1000, probably much higher, in parts and labor to get your vehicle back to being a reliable daily driver. You may want to consider filing an insurance claim here. Keep us posted on your progress! Good luck, dude.

I should probably share my experience with electric fans. I have previously installed 2 different electric fan models in my Pathfinder, for all the reasons mentioned above, and ultimately I swapped the stock fan back in. First attempt: Flex-a-lite #210 puller This fan does not cover the entire radiator, leaving approximately 20% of the surface area without forced cooling. Result: overheating at high engine loads at low speeds (i.e. climbing uphill in 4LO), especially in summer (ambient temp > 85°) Second attempt: Flex-a-lite #295 27" dual electric fan unit. This fan covers nearly all of the radiator, so it's efficient. However, its shroud takes some modification to make it fit in the R50. The steering box is very close to the radiator, so the shroud needs to be dremeled out in order to clear it. With this fan installed, I actually had the most problems with my truck: FAILURE 1 (user error): Location: Niagara Rim OHV area, Sierra Nevada range, central CA. Weather: over 100°F Event: water crossing. I forgot to turn off the fan before crossing. Result: nearly half of the fan blades breaking off the fans. This effectively ended my 4WD playtime, since cooling efficiency was reduced to 50%. I drove home without AC. Remedy: Replace broken fans. FAILURE 2 (electrical system failure): Location: a remote 4WD trail in the Feather River canyon, northern CA, 50 miles from the nearest village, and hundreds of miles from an auto parts store. Weather: 85°F-100°F Event: Alternator failure. My battery was in a weakened condition from having spent 3 nights camping. I actually needed a jump start to get my truck running. As our group started to depart, another vehicle required a jump start, so I jump started that vehicle. Oops. Result: the alternator fried, since my battery was still nearly dead. Without a way to provide electric power to my truck, I could no longer operate the electric fan to cool the engine. Unfortunately, we had a 45-minute 2000' steep climb up the canyon to reach the highway. Remedy: swap in the battery from a friend's truck until I could reach pavement, then swap back to mine. At highway speeds, I turned the fan off to let ram-air cool the engine. I drove over 200 miles on battery power alone, with all accessories off, making it to within 20 miles of my house. FAILURE 3 (another electrical system failure): Location: Goler Canyon Road, Death Valley NP, 130 miles from the nearest auto parts store, 30+ miles from pavement. Weather: 75°F Event: Alternator failure. I limped along for 2 days, getting frequent "recharging sessions" using jumper cables from rigs I was traveling with (or swapping batteries), whenever we had an opportunity to stop to sightsee. When we reached Furnace Creek (our destination), I called Autozone in Pahrump, NV and ordered a new alternator, which would arrive the following day. The next day I got a ride to Pahrump and replaced the alternator. FAILURE 4 (user error): Location: Saline Valley Road, Death Valley NP, 50+ miles from pavement. Traveling without other vehicles. Weather: 45°F-70°F Event: I switched the fan off to try to diagnose a loud suspension rattle, and forgot to switch it back on. Result: Engine overheated (254°F), top tank of radiator cracked wide open from end to end. Remedy: Fill water containers (9 gallons worth) from a natural spring, and drive the road as long as possible, watching the water temperature. Every time it reached about 220, I stopped for about 20-30 minutes, filled up the radiator (and engine block), then drove some more, shutting off the engine during descents. I ended up driving about 4-5 miles between stops, and consumed all 9 gallons of water before barely reaching Big Pine, where I called AAA for a tow to Bishop. I left the Pathy in Bishop, rented a car, drove home, pulled the stock fan off a shelf in my garage, bought a new radiator and coolant, returned to Bishop the next day and set everything back to stock. I haven't regretted ditching the electric fan one bit. Your results may vary.

Instead of modifying a 1-1/2" wrench, you can buy an inner tie rod tool, which makes things a whole lot easier. You don't need to worry about "spinning the gears in the rack". The trickiest parts about doing this are unbending the inner tie rod's lock washer flat, so that the inner tie rod socket will unscrew, and reinstalling the boot. If you don't have the correct boot clamp tightening tool, it's a chore to figure out how to tighten it without screwing up the clamp. You're correct that you need to count the threads showing at the outer tie rod, so that you can get back to reasonable alignment. BTW, it's completely unnecessary to remove the outer tie rod end from the knuckle. You can just unscrew the tie rod. There's a hex/flattened section in the middle of the tie rod that accommodates a 13mm open-ended wrench.

I have the same JWT POP charger intake, and I noticed a definite improvement.

LOL. Just fine! There's lots of folks here whose R50 knowledge equals or surpasses my own, so I'm free to lurk now!

The lower pic is of the POP charger without the filter element attached. The filter fits over that.

You don't carry a spare tire with you?

These gears, teamed up with dual ARB lockers and 32" Goodyear MTR's makes a pretty versatile R50, too!

I installed the low-range 3.7:1 gears in my R50 about 4 years ago, and they completely transformed the way I go 4-wheeling now. With the stock 2.02:1 transfer case gears, for rock-crawling, you will burn up your clutch in a hurry (MT), and you'll ultimately bang up the undercarriage a lot due to excessive speed while going over rocks. With the auto tranny, you MUST use 2 feet all the time to keep the torque up (torque converter slipping). One foot on the gas, one on the brake: it gets old. Additionally, at higher altitudes (7000+ feet), the stock engine does not have enough power in 2.02:1 low range to climb any kind of steep slope. If you rock-crawl at all, and need the low-speed control of the crawler gears, they work great. To give you an idea of how much reduction the gears offer, when I'm at near redline in low-range and 2nd gear (AT), my speed is just a few mph less than running near redline in 1st gear with the stock low range.

Yeah, my 97 LE has the dual sunvisors with Homelink, too. I wonder if only LE's in the early R50 model years had the dual visor+homelink.

I believe it's on the blower motor itself. Here's some helpful reading material.