sewebster

Mine pops out of 4th if I'm off the throttle. I thought it was a broken dog gear or whatever they're called. So yours pops out when you are OFF the throttle or ON? Mine will not come out if I'm on the gas. I plan to get the transmission rebuilt or replaced because it's annoying (and it squeals in 3rd and 5th too).

So you're sure that nothing is seized and that everything is moving properly, just not far enough? Rear drums or discs?

Thanks guys. Did some more reading and now understand that I don't really need a spool gun at all for what I want to do now. It looks like they probably just make wire changing easier and are important for softer metals that won't feed the long distance inside the regular gun/cable. That cheap welder looks tempting, though sometimes I don't have the best luck with cheap tools No Harbor Freight up here in Canada. I could get one from the US but it does add some hassle to deal with the border (esp. if I want to return for warranty).

So, a couple weeks ago I finally got around to tackling my alignment. The driver's side shims had clearly not been touched by the shop, thumbs down to the kal tire on marine in Vancouver. Anyway, I pulled all the shims out (measured and recorded how they were arranged!) and then looked again at the FSM chart. I think what we had figured out earlier (MY1PATH calculations) were off somehow. I'm pretty sure I found the mistake, but I forget the details now, I think it was that the FSM uses degrees and minutes to specify angles, not decimal degrees, so in the book if it says 1deg30' that means 1 degree and 30 minutes, which is the same as 1.5 degrees (60 minutes per degree). Anyway, based on the shims I had (didn't buy more in advance and it was nightime, this was dumb) I rearranged the shims to get more on the front bolt and less on the rear. The truck seems to drive a lot better now, much less or no pulling. The only problem is that the FSM specifies a maximum total shim thickness per bolt, max difference in shim thickness between bolts, maximum number of "fork" style shims etc. Currently I think I am just barely out of the range on some of these. So ideally I'll replace the fork shims with round washers of the correct thickness (also they won't be able to fall out). I don't think I can achieve the perfect castor/camber angles with my current lift (1") and stay within the specs, but it seems to drive well now right at the spec limit, so I'm happy. Just thought I'd post this follow up since this thread was left hanging, thanks to all those who helped out with advice.

So, I have some holes in my floor (gas pedal, under rear seat, rear cargo area) and it seems that I can get a used welder on craigslist for the same or possibly less than it would cost to get a shop to fix it. As a bonus I might learn something about welding. Since it's just the floor I'm not super concerned about doing a bad job, plus I have some friends who can likely help. Anyway, I have minimal storage space and was thinking what I would do is try go get something small (120V) and just use some flux core wire. Looking around it seems like what I need to do is get a small mig machine and then just not use gas (gives option for later)? I haven't noticed the option of not getting a gas setup at all (the "stick" setups are all inappropriate for sheet as far as I know). So, looking at the small migs (which I see are available for as little as a few hundred bucks used, more like $1000 new), they mostly have spool guns as options. I guess this is a dumb question, but how do you feed any material without the spool gun? Is there a separate wire feed that I just can't see that is associated with the gas nozzle/trigger? Do I need a spool gun for my simple starting out setup? I know a bunch of people here sing the praises of the ready welder, but then I still need a power supply... Any tips welcome, I tried searching btw

I believe there is a notch in the round part that the crossmember lip is supposed to sit in. So your driver's side might not be quite right. Should be able to tell better when you get it apart. Make sure you have the c clips, but I think they really prevent everything from going too far back, not too far forward. It can't fall out in the forward direction at least

Ah, I see, so the "up pipe" (pic was posted a while ago in this thread) connects to a pipe from the passenger exhaust down below the engine I guess?

Here's a naive question... is there any "unbalancing" effect from having a turbo on only one side of a V engine? I guess having the turbo someone disrupts the exhaust stream, but presumably this has minimal effect on combustion in those cylinders...?

Right, time to make some calls, and then try to coordinate a drop off visit with picking up some parts...

So you guys are saying I could get some cash for my old cat? Where should I take it?

I have a clutch fan... the reasons it seems to me that an e-fan would be good are: -faster warm up, since the fan won't come on when you start your truck cold -quieter, because the fan won't always be spinning -easier to find noises and exhaust leaks in the engine compartment because the fan won't always be noisy and blowing air everywhere But as others have pointed out, there are some disadvantages too. Obviously what I wrote above only applies if you use a temp sensor. Maybe I'll stick with my clutch fan for a while longer...

-rebuild transmission (5 speed) -pull huge dent out of a rear door -weld on new compression rod cups -patch holes in floor under drivers feet and rear passenger seat -replace windshield -replace abs speed sensor -replace front left bumper end -fix smashed rear left bumper end -spray salt off bottom of truck and possibly apply some sort of rust proofing?

Yeah, I agree, the problem is that there is lots of stuff that a car manufacturer won't want to deal with fixing (cost of fix > value of truck) but you might want to, especially if you can do it yourself, or with help etc. This sounds a bit tricky though... Also, after they confiscate it, can you pull all your mods off and still get the compensation? If not, then people need to choose if they want to strip their truck or take it in...

I would find a new mechanic.

They probably just knocked the oil pressure sender connection off when they changed the filter. If the wire touches ground, then the light lights up, right? I doubt driving it as far as you did with too much oil did anything, and I doubt the starting problem is related.

The FSM says to remove the transmission from the vehicle. Page EM-39 for my 91 manual. I've never done it that way... I removed the engine before I got the FSM... what I did was drop the t-bars and remove the cross member. I left the front diff in place. If you haven't taken the rad and fan out yet that might give you some more wiggle room (required for FSM procedure, I removed the rad but not the fan). FSM also says to remove the hood, but I kinda doubt that is really necessary.

Peeled back the carpet and looked at the hole underneath the driver's feet. The exhaust pipe is so close to the body there... seems like it will just rust over again when I put some sheet in.

Your pics are of the stabilizer bar, not control arm... but I assume you're just moving on to something else. I haven't done the control arms, but probably you can do whatever you want to get the old ones out (drill whatever) because you don't care about them. I'd be more worried about getting the new ones in properly.

Ok. I guess what I'm saying, is that I have a manual transmission (from the factory) and it has this pot on the TPS unit as well, and it's plugged in (in addition to the idle switch). But maybe my ECU just ignores the signal? The FSM says this (91 EF & EC 13): "Throttle Sensor & Soft/Hard Idle Switch The throttle sensor responds to the accelerator pedal movement. This sensor is a kind of potentiometer which transforms the throttle valve position into output voltage, and emits the voltage signal to the ECU. In addition, the sensor detects the opening and closing speed of the throttle valve and feeds the voltage signal to the ECU. Idle position of the throttle valve is determined by the ECU receiving the signal from the throttle sensor. This system is called "soft idle switch". This one controls engine operation such as fuel cut. On the other hand, "hard idle switch", which is built in the throttle sensor unit, is used not for engine control but for self-diagnosis." There is a picture of the TPS unit. The hard idle switch connector is right on the unit itself, the throttle sensor connector is on a small wire bundle coming off the unit. On my manual truck I have both these connectors and both are plugged in.

Various places on the web seem to indicate that nistune will now work with some pathfinder ECUs but they still don't list it on their website. Anyone on here figured that out? To me the appeal is more of a diagnostic nature than performance, but of course it wouldn't really be worth the money.

Regarding the TPS... my manual TPS has two parts, the idle switch, which is just on-off, but also the actual TPS which has a continuously varying signal as you open the throttle like 1-9V or something. How is the auto TPS different?

Something looks not great, but it doesn't even look that bad to me. Those links get beat up fast. But cheap and easy to replace.

He means real automatic locking hubs that lock and unlock, not drive flanges that are "always locked" I think...

Are the m30 maps really "just better?" Or are there some tradeoffs made... like "sportier" performance but worse towing capability (or something, I'm just guessing here)...

It is good for your drum brakes to be "adjusted," meaning that the shoes are close to the drums and engage with little pedal travel. You might already have this achieved. If you take the drums off, you can more easily see how turning the adjuster affects things, and probably get a good feel for how close they are already. If they are adjusted correctly already, you might have difficulty gettings the drums off, in which case I think you are done. If the drums are totally loose and come off trivially then you might want to spin that wheel a bunch. With the drums off you can easily tell which way you need to turn it, and get a feel for what you have to do through the access port on the rear. Personally I find adjusting them through that port to be a real pain and can't tell what is going on, but I haven't tried it on nissan drums. You don't have to get it super perfect, because they are self adjusting over time (but it does take a long time to go from totally loose to properly adjusted). If this all makes sense to you, then I'd say dive in and check it out and see how it works. If it sounds too overwhelming then you could just get a shop to check them out. It should take very little time to do. Lots of places give "free mechanical inspections" with tire rotation or whatever. Often they'll try to sell you something at the end of it though