RJSquirrel

Don't waste your time removing the bed unless you are replacing it. Your frame is bent. Take it to a body shop with a frame rack. Your truck isn't rusty, so they should be able to bend it back no problem. It shouldn't cost more than a couple hours labor ($200 or so dollars). Replace the ubolts on the rear axle, and get it aligned. Sell/scrap the bed and put a flatbed on it.

Replaced the brake lines on the rear axle and re-bled the system. One line broke as soon as I put the wrench to it. Nice and Safe! Put it back down on all fours. Getting ready to turn it around to work on the driver's side frame. Rust never sleeps!

bfg ATs absolutely rock in the snow. They are so good, I rarely need 4wd, unless I'm trailriding, or the snow is More than 8" deep. I'd personally avoid anything wider that 11.5" (32x11.5s or 33x10.5"s fit great) as there are fitment issues unless you are willing to do some serious fender trimming. ATs tend to clog up with mud, because of their tighter tread blocks, but that is precisely what gives them great sand and snow performance. Siped MTs are probably the best compromise given your requirements. Hankook Dynapro MTs are also highly regarded, but they are only available in 12.5s in a 33"

Nissan pieces are generally considered to be the best.

Replace the brake fluid, and the clutch fluid, if its a manual. they both use DOT3 so you can buy a big container and not waste any. If you mean it smokes after you start it by its smoking out the exhaust, you probably have some sticking rings in one or more cylinder. Pour some Marvel Mystery oil through the spark plug holes, and leave it overnight. Turn the engine over with the plugs out so you don't hydrolock the engine. Reinstall the plugs(or new ones ) and then do the rest of the seafoam treatment. You'll probably need to do it a couple times. Its best to do the Seafoam treatment at night, because it often your neighbors will think you've set your garage or truck on fire, or call the cops on you if they don't like you or if they are treehuggers. If you do the Seafoam treatment (per instructions on can) be prepared to change the oil & filter in about 50 miles with all the sludge you'll break loose. Inspect the condition of the oil very often the first 100 miles as if the sludge is lifting out of the engine, the filter will really be taking a beating. Repeat the Marvel/Seafoam/Oil change cycle until the oil still looks clean 100 miles after its put in the engine. Once you get it running ok, flush the transmission(if auto) with new filter (and inline one too!) and then focus on other issues like stuck wheel cylinders, leaking shocks, transfer case and diff fluid changes.

No code reader will work until 1996. Up to there, you need to remove the passenger seat, and put the ECU in diag mode, and read the blinking light pattern. There is a stickied thread on how to do it For other vehicles, I use the AutoEnginuity system.

I've done the silicone spray on the door window tracks. Makes everything work like new. Truly amazing. If the locks are beyond repair, Alkorahil can set you up with a complete set of locks(doors/ignition/glovebox)for about $150 or so. I replaced the complete set of them in my Hardbody pickup in an evening, including pulling and replacing the door panels, drilling out the security bolts on the steering column, and putting it all back together. Your rear hatch switch is dirty. In fact, it sounds like most of the switches are dirty. Sounds like a good cleaning/lubing of each is in order.

Completed 2nd coat of paint on the outside of the frame, painted the inside of the rails with Eastwood Internal frame coating, and ordered a complete set of brake and fuel hard lines as mine are about rusted through.

Nah, I got it.

There isn't any adventure to changing plug #6. The wire comes off as easily as any other. You may need to use a couple of extensions to reach it properly. The only real trick is trying to get the new plug started. Use a spark plug socket to start the plug, or put a wrap of electrical tape around the outside of a regular socket(or the factory spark plug tool)just enough around the edge so the plug wont just slide out. Once you get the plug started, pull the socket off, remove the tape, and torque the plug down per spec. If you need to use multiple extensions to get the socket onto the hex portion of the plug, wrap a few turns of electrical tape around any connection you can't reach, so the socket won't come off the extensions and the extensions themselves don't come apart. Also, if you have access to compressed air, use a nozzle to blow all the grit out of the plug wells before you remove them so the dirt doesn't end up in your cylinders. Put anti-seize on the plug threads, and spread a dab of electrical grease on the inside of the plug wire boots so they don't stick next time.

They are nice pieces. Popular with Porsche & BMW owners for years. The "N" variant of these valves has a nipple to attach a length of hose to so oil changes on lifted rigs are not so messy as when arc of the hot oil misses the catch pan on the ground. Just direct the hose from the valve to the pan.

So where can one buy one of these BG things? It seems like I could pay for one pretty quickly with all the old junk I play around with.

Header wrap on a daily-driven vehicle is a bad idea. Header wrap is intended for situations where maximum power(racing) is desired, at the expense of component life. Header wrap collects dirt and salt which become extremely corrosive at high temperatures. The photos of full-out race cars showing header wrap in sales brochures omit the inconvenient detail that those headers in the race cars are made from Inconel, and can tolerate temperatures far higher than any steels can. The ceramic coated headers do a good job of keeping the heat in the pipe, and a well-designed exhaust system will help reduce underhood temperatures by getting the hot gasses out of the exhaust system. If you have a localized hot spot, a heatshield made from a larger diameter pipe spaced and clamped over the exhaust pipe will provide an air break, and the refective barrier needed to keep the heat away from the floorpan. The spray can ceramic coatings don't last. The only product that works is to have the pieces shipped to Jet-Hot and have it done professionally, but that is big $$. BTW, stainless steel is a relatively poor conductor of heat, so stainless pieces tend to keep the heat in better than mild steel ones do.

Put the first coat of paint on the outside of the passenger frame rail. Ordered a paint gun to paint the inside of the rails.

It's not so much the number of pipes, but the order the exhaust pulses flow down the exhaust. One pulse helps draw the next one along (scavenging). With duals, you effectively create two 3-cylinder engines where each side won't pulse often enough for the next one to scavenge properly. If you want to understand more, I highly recommend the "Scientific Design of Exhaust & Intake Systems" by Smith and Morrison. It's not very math-intensive, and is a pretty easy read. It was written in 1971, so its dated, but the principles are all there.

2 1/4" or 2 1/2" single exhaust is all you need. If you were going to go duals, you'd only need 1.5" pipes.

I personally wouldn't bother with power window swap. Manuals work rock solid and don't have issues with bad switches and dying motors. I wish my pathfinder had manual windows. That being said, its all factory parts, so find a junkyard car with the parts you need and buy the complete setup.

I think you mean longitudinal vs. transverse. Most front wheel drive cars have transversely mounted engines. You need an engine intended for longitudinal mounting. Cheaper ring and pinions can be had by swapping them from xterras or from other (W)D21/D22s. WD22 xterras came with 4.90s, and should work fine with 33s. its a direct swap in the rear axle, and not too bad for the fronts. You will need different halfshafts and hubs for the different spline counts in the later units. bigger injectors aren't needed if the engine isn't moving more air. Injector upgrades are only necessary if going with turbos or superchargers. If you want more power,headers, and performance cams will help greatly. If you want more, head porting / vG33 swap / VG34 build or VG36E build is more what you need. If that still isn't enough, add turbos and superchargers. with 110k kms on your engine, its time to change the timing belt. You might not like 153 hp, but with busted engine from a blown timing belt, you'll have 0hp to play with.

If your driveshaft was the problem, it would do it all the time at a resonant speed(80kph in your case) but it wouldn't matter what gear your transmission was in. Is the engine misfiring? When was the last time the transmission fluid & filter was changed? It sounds to me like your torque converter is failing.

As you all can see, the rail is completely trashed. It was literally full of rust as I started to open it up. I picked up this Hardbody to be my winter beater, but I didn't realize how beat it was when I got it. Thank goodness it hasn't started snowing here in Chicago yet. The passenger rail was completely rotted out from the upper suspension mount all the way to past the door. I had to cut out the rust on the side of the frame, and on the bottom where it had rusted out. The entire side and much of the bottom is new between the suspension mount and body mount. Beyond that, I cut out old frame rust until it was about even with the center of the holes on the sides of the rails. The last photos show it treated with Ospho so it won't rust until I can get more Argon and grinding wheels, and get back at it next weekend. I put 20+' of bead down. I bought a 4x4' sheet of 1/8" sheet. I had to recreate large portions of the frame. I'd say the repair is about 6' long from start to finish. I was able to cut out all the rust and get to solid steel, but every once in a while I'd hit a thin or weak spot and blow holes where only a 1/4" away things are solid. Chalk it up to bad technique, but even as I was getting the feel of everthing, I don't think it was all operator error. I could see up into the bottom of the rail to make sure I wasn't just welding into rust, so the corrosion/contamination is within the steel itself. It really does give credence to the assertions that frames on 95s are garbage metal. As you all can see, I'm not a master welder, not by a long shot. I got a lot better from the start of this project to the end. I compensated for my lack of welding skill with lots of time on the grinder, grinding the welds flush to anneal the metal, and to locate any areas with poor fusion, so they can be ground out and rewelded. All the patches are butt welding into place. Fitting the pieces into place was tedious to the point of being maddening. If any of you all attempt a project like this, all I can say is that tightly fitted and properly prepared (clean, and beveled) joints greatly increase your success in getting complete fusion. Thank goodness I have a 220V Mig welder, a plasma cutter, lots of clamps, lots of grinding wheels, an anvil and several BFHs. The work you see is about 7 full days of work time, mostly on patch fabrication, and weld grinding. There is still much work to do before its ready for paint. Added Photos: Before: After much cutting and welding and grinding: After much more grinding, and cutting out and rewelding areas with incomplete fusion. It needs more work on the bottom of the rail still, but I am out of Argon and grinding wheels... I wonder if Airgas has a cyber monday deal?

We should have a TOTM for rust before & afters. I know of two good entries

As you all can see, the rail is completely trashed. It was literally full of rust as I started to open it up. I picked up this Hardbody to be my winter beater, but I didn't realize how beat it was when I got it. Thank goodness it hasn't started snowing here in Chicago yet. The passenger rail was completely rotted out from the upper suspension mount all the way to past the door. I had to cut out the rust on the side of the frame, and on the bottom where it had rusted out. The entire side and much of the bottom is new between the suspension mount and body mount. Beyond that, I cut out old frame rust until it was about even with the center of the holes on the sides of the rails. The last photos show it treated with Ospho so it won't rust until I can get more Argon and grinding wheels, and get back at it next weekend. I put 20+' of bead down. I bought a 4x4' sheet of 1/8" sheet. I had to recreate large portions of the frame. I'd say the repair is about 6' long from start to finish. I was able to cut out all the rust and get to solid steel, but every once in a while I'd hit a thin or weak spot and blow holes where only a 1/4" away things are solid. Chalk it up to bad technique, but even as I was getting the feel of everthing, I don't think it was all operator error. I could see up into the bottom of the rail to make sure I wasn't just welding into rust, so the corrosion/contamination is within the steel itself. It really does give credence to the assertions that frames on 95s are garbage metal. As you all can see, I'm not a master welder, not by a long shot. I got a lot better from the start of this project to the end. I compensated for my lack of welding skill with lots of time on the grinder, grinding the welds flush to anneal the metal, and to locate any areas with poor fusion, so they can be ground out and rewelded. All the patches are butt welding into place. Fitting the pieces into place was tedious to the point of being maddening. If any of you all attempt a project like this, all I can say is that tightly fitted and properly prepared (clean, and beveled) joints greatly increase your success in getting complete fusion. Thank goodness I have a 220V Mig welder, a plasma cutter, lots of clamps, lots of grinding wheels, an anvil and several BFHs. The work you see is about 7 full days of work time, mostly on patch fabrication, and weld grinding. There is still much work to do before its ready for paint. Added Photos: Before: After much cutting and welding and grinding: After much more grinding, and cutting out and rewelding areas with incomplete fusion. It needs more work on the bottom of the rail still, but I am out of Argon and grinding wheels... I wonder if Airgas has a cyber monday deal?

Sounds like a plan to me...

Not according to the breakdown posted above, but I will take your word on it.

Just as a point of reference: My 1995 Hardbody XE 4x4 extended cab with a 5 speed and a KA24E is marked HG43 on the door frame sticker. The rear is definitely a H233B, and the front sure looks like a R200A, though I've never knowingly seen an R180. It even has factory manual front hubs! Maybe its a unicorn, but its sitting in my garage right now.