Towncivilian

Examine your fuel lines, change your fuel filter (NAPA Gold 3023 is $14 and made by Wix, or Nissan OEM should be around $14 too) to begin with. Perhaps try cleaning your MAF sensor with some MAFS cleaner (will likely require a tamper-resistant T20 Torx bit).

Alright, I'll sand the wrinkles down tomorrow (should I use lower or higher grit? I think I have 500 and 2000 available here) and respray, hopefully won't wrinkle again... I'll make sure to clean after sanding too. I didn't mix any types of paint - I used Rustoleum plastic primer (except where I taped off the step strip obviously - maybe the paint doesn't like whatever plastic primer that came on the bumper originally?) then Duplicolor trim paint and the rest of the bumper looks fine. If only I could find flat black Krylon Fusion... maybe I'll go pick up a can of the glossy black crap at WM tomorrow and spray my old bumper to see if it's tolerable.

I fixed the damn ashtray LED bulb that keeps vibrating itself loose every few months. I tried bending the leads outwards to get a tighter grip in the socket, but it still comes loose eventually. Does anybody know a more permanent solution other than superglue (I'd like to be able to replace it if the LED fails)? I removed the masking tape around the step strip of my rear bumper. It looks like @!*%. I sprayed more, and now the paint is wrinkling. I'm switching to Krylon paint... but first, how the hell do I fix this wrinkling? It just peels off if I try to lightly sand it off. Luckily the rest of the bumper looks alright, it's just around the step strip where it's wrinkled and ugly - most of it is above the step strip where it'd only be visible if the tailgate is open. I can live with it, but is there an easy fix? I also added some ATF - seems that I'm a bit low, even though I checked after installing my trans cooler and the level looked fine. Perhaps I was improperly checking or some air worked its way out or something... must check later once the trans is hot and all the fluid has drained off the dipstick tube. I checked PSF and it's 1mm below the max "HOT" line so it's perfect until the next oil change (about 5.5k) where I'll do another siphon & fill.

Wow, your engine bay is clean! ... sorry for being useless.

I sprayed some more paint on the bumper, looking more even. I think once this last coat dries it should be good enough. I did notice a couple sections of wrinkled/cracked looking paint on the driver's side upper section of the bumper... what happened there? How do I fix this? 2000 grit sandpaper and more paint? What about switching paint? I've looked into Krylon Fusion and have read good things about it, maybe switch to using that instead of the Duplicolor Trim paint? Amazon has flat black Krylon Fusion for $9.59/can with 2-day Prime shipping...

A friend and I tried the Duplicolor on my rear bumper cover today. It came out rather light in some places... I'll try to get a picture in the afternoon. I cleaned thoroughly using some Windex, then sanded lightly with some 500 grit sandpaper and cleaned again. The step strip was taped off, since the primer black would be sufficient and I was concerned that feet, etc would damage the paint over time (should I have painted this too?). One coat of white Rustoleum plastic primer was laid down, and 30 minutes later we touched up the spots we missed with some more primer. An hour later, we laid down the first coat of the Duplicolor and added a coat roughly every hour, and sprayed a total of about 4 coats. There appear to be gray/whitish spots in some spots - were our coats not thin enough, or did we not provide enough time to dry the coats? Like I said, a picture will illustrate this better but my garage lighting is too poor for a good photograph at this time. If the Duplicolor comes out well enough, we'll probably move on to the front bumper cover and fender flares. I'd just hope it lasts a while - if it starts to flake or fail I'll just shell out for some Wurth paint and do a quick respray.

Went 100 on the freeway. First time I ever went 100, actually. I removed my rear bumper cover to paint it black - I had received it black primered, but just felt like throwing some plastic primer & paint over it. Maybe it was a bad idea, since so far it looks like the paint is uneven and there are light spots in places. I hope it looks better in the afternoon... I was hoping to paint the front bumper & fender flares black too if I had luck with painting the rear bumper. In addition I siphoned out the PSF reservoir and replaced it with some Mobil 1 synthetic ATF. Need to check the HOT level. There's also a giant (for Florida) amount of rust behind my driver's side taillight, from Maaco's work fixing my dent. I need to either have them fix it (would they?) or fix it myself with some sandpaper, primer, and 10 minutes of time.

Welcome to NPORA! Only thing I'd be worried about is the power valve screws possibly coming loose (rare, but still possible; read here and here) and the condition of the transmission (if it's been serviced regularly - drain & fills, etc). To check your transmission fluid level and condition: 1. Drive around for 10 minutes. 2. Park on a level surface, apply parking brake. 3. Starting from P (Park), select all the gears and then return to P. 4. Pull the transmission fluid dipstick, wipe clean, and reinsert. 5. Pull the transmission fluid dipstick again and read level on "HOT" side. It should be within the notched marks. If low, add slowly until you're at the proper level. Check for color and smell (should be pink and not smell burnt) and for contaminants (small metal flakes, which is clutch material). If brown, or smelling burnt, do a drain & fill.

Yeah, it does. VQ35DE must not produce as much crap as Fords or Dodges that need those giant FL-820S or Mopar M0-090 filters...

Put red threadlocker on my power valve screws. All screws were accounted for and tight upon removal at 126,460 miles. Good to have peace of mind, though. There was a lot of carbon build up inside the upper intake manifold collector. Cleaned the throttle body very well since it was off. Replaced the two brackets that have the engine cover studs; one had a broken stud, and the other stud was bending. I'll make sure these new ones don't break from overtightening this time. Greased tailgate door and glass hatch struts with wheel bearing grease (where the cup inserts into the ball at the base of the strut) I'm probably forgetting something small, but it was a productive day. I'll have to have the Nissan dealer torque my throttle body, though, since I didn't have the proper hex key socket - hopefully they'd do it for free... EDIT: Oh, I cut open the last oil filter I used (first filter I ever cut open). Purolator PureONE PL14610, in use for 2745 miles: Filter was cut open using a Dremel. Anti-drainback valve was still soft and pliable; after puncturing the can, oil leaked out. Not that it matters much since the filter isn't at an angle where oil can drain back into the sump. I still have this filter, if someone wants pictures of something else about this filter let me know.

Reinforced the solder joints of my clock. Some were looking a little on the thin side and my clock's digits have been dimming or cutting out once in a while (generally when it's extremely hot out) so I hope this will help.

I just spent 15 minutes sanding the rust off the hinge in my ashtray. Seriously. I know, there's still rust on the inner part of the hinge. Time to reinstall the hinge and apply some wheel bearing grease to it...

Please do! Wouldn't a 3 micron filter flow rather poorly? What's the filter model and its beta ratio?

I found a very interesting and informative post over on Bob Is The Oil Guy regarding spin-on transmission filter change intervals. Read it here. Basically, the average transmission does not generate a significant amount of wear material, especially after break-in, and even with no fluid change since new a filter could last up to 520,000 miles without entering constant bypass due to full capacity (assuming 13 gram contaminant capacity filter). I also think one or several hard drive magnets on the exterior of a spin-on filter would be beneficial to trap any ferrous wear material which the filter's media may not trap due to the size of the particles. I've currently got a Magnefine in-line transmission filter which combines traditional filtering media with a magnet. Perhaps I will look into a spin-on filter set up in 30k (which is Magnefine's recommended filter change interval - but after reading the aforementioned post on BITOG, I'm pretty sure it can handle 60k without an issue, but then again I do not know the capacity of the filtering media).

My R50 is 2WD, and did not come with a bulb installed in the "A/T OIL TEMP" dummy light position. I have installed an LED bulb there and it lights when the ignition switch is "ON". I have an auxiliary transmission cooler so I will likely never see this light illuminate. Next time I do a pan drop, should I look for a similar probe as in the OP? I'm wondering whether this dummy light actually would light at a certain temperature on my 2WD. For the in-pan filter, I don't recall what my Beck/Arnley aftermarket pickup screen looked like. I know it had a round pickup tube, but I don't know what the screen itself looked like. Is this something I should be worrying about with my 2001.5 RE4R01A?

Brake fluid - any DOT4. DOT4 is completely compatible with DOT3 and has a higher boiling point than DOT3, and is roughly the same price. Power steering fluid - use a synthetic ATF as power steering systems can run quite hot. Mobil 1 ATF is easily found at your local auto parts store, but it can be somewhat expensive. Valvoline MaxLife is a cheaper alternative and I believe it is fully synthetic. I don't know about the suspension grease/lube, sorry. I'd imagine a synthetic grease would work well, perhaps something moly-fortified would be good. Don't forget to grease the front driveshaft either (FSM doesn't seem to display a grease fitting for the rear driveshaft). Have you changed your fuel filter and differential oils at some point relatively recently?

I agree. I've knocked out two things on my short, easy list in the span of about 2 months (damn I'm slow) but now I need to replace the PSF with some M1 ATF, try to fix my clock by reflowing some solder, apply some grease to my back hatch struts where the cup snaps into the ball, fix the ashtray light and grease its rusty hinge... all easy stuff, but it's still that many more things to do... You guys all have such big plans compared to me, but then again I'm a poor college student and can't afford the nice things you all do

I'm assuming you've got an actual spin-on filter mount? I was actually wondering the same thing if I ever feel the need to mount such a filter. Currently I've got a Magnefine in-line filter installed like this: Pretty terrible pictures, and also a pretty terrible location as the size of the Magnefine prevents me from reattaching the plastic undercover. I should try to relocate it, but it's not a necessity. My post here is all but useless as I've got an R50 and can't offer any helpful suggestions. I would suggest that you throw some hard drive magnets on the outside of the spin-on filter to help catch ferrous material, however!

I like the styling of the WD21 better. I've never driven one, so I can't comment without bias. But I'd buy a WD21 or a D21 in a heartbeat if I found a nice one for cheap.

Greased the driveshaft, drove 140 miles, and put more gas in it.

Drove 135 miles and put in $58 worth of gas before doing so. Broke 126k miles too.

Generally, high mileage oils contain a more robust additive package (more detergents, etc) than their "normal" equivalent. Some have had luck with high-mileage oils and they may take a few oil changes to have any affect. I've read of situations where a particular brand of high-mileage oil did nothing for a leak, but then a different brand slowed it. HM oils are usually on the thicker side of their grade as well (so a 30wt oil would be barely below a 40wt oil before shearing). I'd imagine HM oil is intended for smaller leaks; if your engine burns a quart every 200 miles HM oil ain't gonna help.

@DesertFox: if you need a rear wiper motor I have one from a 2000 you can have for shipping costs What color interior does your 97 R50 have, smoke? If beige, does the passenger visor have mirror with lamps?

I still haven't gotten around to doing this, but I decided I won't bother to take the fender flares off - I'll just tape them off and spray them, significantly easier that way. Bumper covers are easy to remove so I'll remove them to paint of course. I still haven't decided on a paint, either. I'm still wondering how long any typical spray paint will last, especially for the front bumper as that's gonna get the brunt of everything (wind, rocks, bugs, etc). And how will it hold up to washing?

Oil change! 125,908 miles Out: Pennzoil Yellow Bottle 10W-40 / Purolator PureONE PL14610, used for 2745 miles In: Mobil 1 High Mileage 10W-40 / Mobil 1 Extended Performance M1-110