adamzan

I know this sounds stupid but on that distributor, can you grab the rotor and kind of force it in the direction you need it to go? I had this happen on one of mine years ago. After a timing belt change it ran like ass and had no power, the timing was too retarded, couldn't get it advanced enough and the next tooth on the distributor the lowest I could go was 20 degrees. I was able to turn with less force than I thought was necessary, and was able to get it so I could time it properly. Obviously not "correct" but something is probably similarly off with yours. Not sure what happened during the timing belt change but assuming someone must have hit it or knocked it out of spec. 17 is close enough that I'd just leave it though... And you'll have a tickle more power (lol on these engines take all you can get). I remember at 20 or 25 degrees it had great take off but living dangerously. BTW. I went to go check mine on the weekend for the mixture, and my fuel sending unit has @!*% the bed, the wires are too corroded. Try finding another one of those that isn't $500.

Yup, group 34 is the best size.

I can go fire mine up and check after work this week. If someone else can't. @Slartibartfast still uses his as a DD so he might get to it quicker.

There is a reason I prefer the VG powered pathfinders lol. Way simpler, less power, but reliable like an old tractor.

Mine's been down for almost 2 years at this point but I feel your pain. I hate working on exhaust so much!

I know this isn't what you want to hear but it sounds like something was missed/not done correctly during the head job and you should take it back. It is an awful coincidence that all those sensors would just fail all at once. You don't have any codes now? Does it use any oil? If you want to post photos is easiest to use something like imgur and just post the link and it should embed just fine.

None of the nissan trucks had a high mount alternator from the factory, unfortunately. But some people have made brackets to put it just below the AC compressor, or in place of the AC compressor, but it would require some fabrication.

On my first wd21, I was able to just replace the studs and put the manifold back on, it seemed flat enough when I put a straight edge against it. The studs were known to break on their own, not from taking them off (that's just an old car problem as I'm sure you know lol). Being in california you probably have a lot less corrosion than us. What brand of o2 sensor is it? I have had them bad out of the box/shortly after replacing before. Also check that you haven't melted the wires of it against the exhaust... Been there too.

The one they are talking about is the one that connects the intake manifold vacuum to the fuel pressure regulator, not very long and easy to miss.

That could definitely throw things off. These rigs are getting long in the tooth.

I put a new water pump and t belt on my golf last year. Now I'm adding coolant every month.... At least it's somewhat easy to do. And it's driven by the belt. These weren't cheap no name parts either. I used Continental which is the VW OE.

I don't know if you've already tried this, but there is another diagnostic mode in the ECM that will blink the lights in a certain pattern and will let you know if the mixture is within specification. If you don't have access to the factory service manual, I can probably find it for you. Actually it is contained in this post. https://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/21-ecu-self-diagnostics-for-87-95-pathfinder/

Have you tried going to a different shop, maybe a 2nd opinion would be good. These trucks are pretty simple as you know. The only other thing I could think of is the BPT valve (part of the egr) or maybe your iacv or aacv is broken some how allowing extra air in. Mine had this problem and it caused a lean condition, but oddly it always passed the emissions test.

Excellent work, always appreciate the detail in your posts! Many of these parts probably translate to the WD21 as well, but I haven't verified yet.

It is possible that the cat is bad. If everything on the fuel management side is working as intended. Or maybe their sniffer is broken.

I have used these for years and they work well for a transmission filter: https://magnefinefilters.com/ As far as coolers go, anything in addition to the OEM radiator one will be a bonus, but the stacked plate type seem to be preferable over the older fin and tube style. I have a Hayden one, but not sure what is available over there.

The o2 sensors are so cheap, I'd just replace it if you're unsure of it's age/status. Make sure the timing is correct, as well as egr, etc is functioning correctly. I hated doing this test when they had it here, would always fail and make me waste hundreds of dollars.

After having done this 3 or 4 times on Xterra and WD21 I'd agree pulling the diff is much easier than wrestling the transmission back far enough, because I also had to pry the torsion bar xmember down or just remove them.

That's insane the @!*% with ups... I can only hope this insanity stops soon. It's not good for either side of the border.

I have an old set of yokohama winter tires on lego wheels, that I use as "rollers" for my projects. The date code is from the year 2000... Of course these don't see the road.

I know a lot of people like to delete stuff like those lines but the truck just runs better when you don't try to engineer it yourself lol.

That sounds more like sommething external to the motor. Do what @Slartibartfast said, if that isn't it, these trucks were kind of known for the harmonic balancer separating (it's a 2 piece press fit rubber thing IIRC). I would check that out as well. My parents 2000 R50 with the VG33E had this happen, twice. The first time, the dealer replaced a ton of parts before finding it. An easy way to check rod knock is to loosen all the plug wires at the distributor and then while the truck is running, remove one at a time and see if any make the knock go away or less pronounced. Good luck and keep us posted. For what it's worth, of all the Nissan vehicles I've had with the VG engine, I only ever had one with a rod knock and it was severely overheated several times/ran without coolant.

Thanks! Glad to help out.

That same guy has the username "Nefarious" on here. He hasn't been on in a while but maybe PM him and it'll email him to remind that npora still exists lol.

Any first gen Pathfinder, hard body, Xterra, or frontier wheels will fit. Supercharged Xterras came with 17" wheels. Probably not hard to find a set of those. The 2nd gen Xterra/frontier like slart said have a different bolt pattern and won't fit. Many aftermarket Chevy wheels will also fit. Be careful with Toyota wheels, you'll likely need different lug nuts for those.