sewebster

don't use water. I would try to use or make some kind of tool... maybe just a bent up coat hanger? Probably wouldn't matter much, but I would get it out. You can get pumps to fill your diffs/transmission etc.

I don't know which belt you are loosening, but yeah, there is the lock nut, and the tensioner bolt. Loosen the nut, then turn the bolt. Sometimes friction in the motion makes such that you will eventually have to push on the alternator or PS pump to get it to move. On my truck I usually end up using a pry bar to get the PS belt off because it's pretty tight (pry against it a bit and then rotate the engine with a ratchet until the belt comes off).

The stock manifolds have a connection with a gasket near the rear of the engine (up in the engine bay). I think all of the headers have continuous pipe down to under the truck.

Yeah, I'm always blowing that one for some reason.

Well, I bought it at a shop in Canada. I forget what I paid exactly. Now that I think about it some more, it might have been on sale and I paid less than that.

Heh, yeah, I guess the thought of seeing an unmodified cutting board strapped to the bottom of the truck is a bit dumb. I was more thinking of trying to find a big one and then cutting it up/bending etc.. But it's probably just easier to order some sheet instead of searching the city for a big cutting board.

Could be your old engine was on the way out too, making the difference bigger? Anyway, glad it worked out so well!!

I think I put about $100 worth of MT-90 in my transmission.

Just search the web for "gl-4 synchros" or whatever. Tons of info out there. e.g. http://www.ratwell.com/technical/GearOil.html

I was actually kind serious... I think they are made out of PE and some of them are reasonably thick. But if you are really interested in UHMW or whatever, then it's going to be hard to figure out what kind of plastic they are really made of. Of course, there could be some other reason why it is a terrible idea...

Ok, right, vibration problems. Thanks.

Cutting board?

I had my distributor in 180 degrees off once (because I was at #4TDC not #1TDC) and it turned over until my muffler blew up. If that's what you mean by backwards. It won't start up though!

What's wrong with the wire nuts? Are you guys suggesting soldering or just crimping? I guess I know nothing about audio wiring.

I don't think there's anything really in the FSM. For the passenger side it's pretty easy... you just need to unplug the PCV hoses and the electrical connection stuff at the front then undo the screws. I don't think you need to remove the plug wires. For the driver's side it is obviously more involved. You need to drain the coolant and then disconnect everything on the upper intake to get to the valve cover... throttle cables, TPS, plug wires, coolant hoses, EGR, AAC, air regulator, grounds, etc etc. It's not really so bad once you get used to it.

The FSM has a diagnostic procedure in the EF/EC section for backfire through the intake.

Pretty common I'd say. Usually it's just on startup... valve noise of some sort is common on lots of engines in general. Basically try to find out if it's coming from the top end or bottom end.

Vacuum leak? Check the timing itself? Injectors? But yeah, look in the FSM... they have troubleshooting procedures for all kind of symptoms.

I think I spent more like 2 hours getting 99.9% off, but yeah I guess I was worried about not being able to clean the oily used RTV well enough to get the new stuff to stick. Not sure what happens if you wipe it down with acetone...

Yeah, the 8 mm stud torque is quite low. Could be a bad lifter (or more than one).

I dropped the diff to do the oil pan, and it WAS a big pain to get it back in, even with my very strong friend to help. But I would definitely do it again because scraping the old gasket is a heinous pain. I would never do it with the pan in the truck. But I was pretty meticulous about getting all the old RTV off so it would seal for sure. Maybe you don't need to be so picky about it... hmm.

I'm pretty sure it's illegal to remove the cat in Toronto

The front end is supposed to sit somewhat lower than the rear, at least for the pathfinder version. Specs for setting the tbars are in the FSM.

I agree that it is lame the skid plate doesn't cover the oil pan. I plan to make up a piece that covers it properly. It's not going to be TOO easy to wreck it as is, but if you drop down onto a rock you could pierce the part that hangs down. I would replace the oem skid plate with something stronger too...