4xKory

Ill be sending you a pm- Ill take them regardless and put at least the new valves in. Is there somewhere I can get it checked for cheap, or maybe borrow a comp checker? lol x2 on the needing pictures! Unfortunately no I dont have really any friends other then my gf around here. So I may be stuck doing it in the cold and rain... Ill definitely be changing all of those above. I never do anything half assed so I will make sure I do everything correctly and as much as possible so that I get the maximum miles out of my engine and this job. Thank you all so much for the input and taking the time to respond. Im convinced I can do it myself and you all have inspired me 10 fold. Once I get it towed back to my apartments this weekend Ill start tearing it down.

Well that is kind of my dilemma. I live at some appartments so I dont have a garage to work in. I do have some tools but from looking at the process of the timing belt change, and other tight spots I will have to get a few extras for special jobs. I dont even think I have a decent jack anymore from when I moved down here from up north in Bellingham/Blaine area. So you could basically say Im in over my head at this point. <---me lol

Yeah I have been reading up on timing belt changes. I guess if I get to a point where I have any questions I will just stop and ask before moving on.

yeah it did, it sputtered and almost died, then a few seconds later went back to almost normal. and then again happened. Ill have to tow it home this weekend and work on it and see about the timing stuff, but ive never gotten into a motor that deep before so I just dont want to screw it up.

Damn murpheys law! So I fixed my dash lights, cruise control, door locks, interlock switch, and got everything running smoothly and had the biggest grin on my face! Until my gf got off work and I took her out for a test drive to show my accomplishments. It was running fine until I went up a hill and I heard some very loud ticking, so I stopped and popped the hood. *listen* Yup pretty sure its the valves smackin. So I shut it off and got it towed back to her parents house where I was workin on it. Im thinking the timing belt is on its last limbs or something. I was wondering if one of you local washingtonians could help me diagnose it and possibly help me with a rebuild when it comes time (when I get the funds together). I know I barely know you all yet, but I can really say I feel like Ive found my home in the world of Pathfinders on NPORA and I Will never give up on it. Most cars I would just sell it in this shape and get another, but this truck is my dream and Ill do whatever it takes to get it to get it back up and running strong. So I ask again please, if any of you could help me out around here I would owe a lifetime of friendship, and of course a few beers too. This pathy is just way too sweet to turn into a rust bucket... I cant let that happen!

LOL I dunno, but whatever red did it worked and my pic uploaded!

WOOHOO! It works now!

Ok, but whatever I do, Im NOT doing the rain dance, we got enough of that around here!

I was thinking it might work but I looked at a 94's dash switches and they have totally different connections on them from the earlier dash's. So Im probably stuck waiting until I can get a hold of one. I thought of a temporary fix last night though to fix my dash lights- take the negative wire thats giving me troubles, cut it, and run it to a ground on the truck, that should complete the circuit. May not dim with the dimmer switch, but who uses those anyways?? lol

I could really use the wiring diagrams to the 90 if anyone has it, or particularly one with the dash stuff, the chilton sucks really bad, doesnt even include all the wiring for a ton of switches and lighting. my diagnostics testing is going not so smoothly even with the help of a prof electrician (not an auto tech though). We have checked every relay, every fuse, and traced back wires which all looked good. but we dont know if we missed something because we dont have a diagram. I get 12 volts on my negative (pink/black) and cant figure out what is going on! Its happening with a bunch of switches and stereo stuff all junctioned somewhere. driving me bonkers!

its not a big deal, but I figured I would let you guys know. Thanks the info and I hope you guys can get it figured out Ill try an upload on a diff computer from a diff house later too. Maybe its an IP issue or something.

So I have tried a couple diff photos and they just wont upload to my main profile page. I made them under 100k and smaller then required size. It just wont let me upload and told me to notify an admin. Thanks

Ok so I think I may have nailed down my problem, but dont know how to solve it. I have power going into both negative and positive sides of the bulb. I believe one side should read zero and the other side should read around 12v (when not running, 14v when running) But I am not sure what I can link this to. Or if I am correct on this theory, any chime in??

also does anyone know the right bulb number for the little blue ones for turn signals and the clock? my clock one is out and couldnt find one at schucks that looked like a match.

ok i did some more diagnostics and this is what I get- NON SENSE! When I turn the lights on, I get 11.25v on both ILL sides (that link the bulbs) And when I turn them off it goes to 0.00v- so this functions as it should. I checked at each bulb and they are getting power, and are new bulbs, but they dont come on.... ????

Hmm, good note I will check to make sure all are pushed in very well.

ok so I got out the meter and tested all the connections on the back of my spedo and tested the connections on my dimmer switch. both came out positive and work good. I found out what two wires specifically light up the bulbs for the needles and clock etc and will trace those back because that is for sure where my problem is. Im going to put together some photos tomorrow and teach everyone step by step diagnostics on dash lights because without a tester its a big guessing game and that just costs money. Im going to include how to disassemble switches and a few other components as well. Ive looked at just about every thread with a complaint on dash lights not working and many of them are dead ends with no solid answers so I hope when I am done it can get stickied or something because it seems to be a real common problem at least in the older rigs. After banging my head all day I hope after I make this guide no one else will have to, at least as much as I did today and got pretty much no where lol.

I havent checked under the hood, what ones do I look out for specifically- i will check all i can find. I didnt pull the whole dash, just where the gauges are and the steering column- and gauges as well. Yeah I checked the dimmer switch each time turning both ways fully. I will take it apart again and check, and check connections on circuit too. thanks again guys!

So yesterday I was cleaning up some switches for my cruise control and defogger (which both work now =) and finished up and put the dash back together, I had not even touched the spedo console. I start up the truck, and turn on the lights and now I have no spedo/tach/fuel/temp/cig lighter lights, but all hazard lights and blinker lights and others work perfectly, not even dim at all. -Everything worked before I cleaned up the switches and took apart the bezel and steering wheel plastic. -I replaced all the bulbs (larger size red/brick colored backing) -checked the dimmer switch (and tore it apart and it was very clean, no bad connections i could see) -check all fuses like 9 times, and checked all the connections behind the spedo cluster. Everything seems good, but no luck. *I read there may be a ground behind the ash tray and looked for it but no luck* Anything Im missing? Thanks in advance!