Slartibartfast

I imagine a welded front would be fine on a dedicated trail rig, or, yeah, one that only has the hubs locked off-road. I leave my hubs locked all winter because I'm in and out of 4x so much dealing with snow, so the old Lincoln locker ain't for me. There are LSDs out there that you can swap into the front end (at least on the WD21, I assume on the R50 as well), but from what I've read, they also tend to make the handling a little spooky. Mr. 510 ran (runs?) one that's ramped, so when you get on the power, it grabs tighter. I forget his exact description of its handling quirks in the snow, but it did not sound like fun.

The tan box on the front wiper motor is the intermittent amp for the front wipers, and that's all it does. The rear wiper has its own amp. I know where it is on my US-spec '93. Hopefully your Terrano is similar. Pop off that lower cargo area side panel you've got the access door out of. (Grab and pull, but mind the front corner that goes under the rear trim.) Look at the hole you were looking at before, then at the upright just in front of it, that the trim panel hid. At the top there's a screw holding the front end of a relay bracket. Below that screw are two more screws, holding a U-shaped metal bracket, on the end of which is a black box that sorta hides behind that upright. On the back of that black box is a sticker that says AMP ASSY WIPER. EL-69 in the '90 manual (free on cardiagn.com last I checked) has the circuit diagram for the square-dash. The '94/'95 manual on Nicoclub (also free) should be about the same, though the round-dash moved the switch from the dash to the wiper stalk. I have not found a manual for the Terrano, unfortunately--both of those manuals are US-spec. Hopefully the pinouts and circuitry are at least similar to what you're working with, and there isn't some down-under-only koala-sensing-wipers option that changes everything around. All that said, start with the simple stuff. See if the wiper motor is getting power and ground. Chase whichever side of the circuit isn't giving it what it needs. I would not be surprised if the hatch glass lockout was acting up like Hawairish mentioned above. If you strike out on the simple stuff, then dig in deeper and see if the wiring has any similarity to the US model. IIRC there's a surprising amount of moving stuff in the hatch for a single wiper, so be careful around it when it's powered up. I would not want to try and stop any part of it with my hand if the wiper motor kicked on unexpectedly.

Banned for not understanding the economics of luxury planet creation!

And here I thought you got thirsty! I hadn't thought about the finger hole for hanging it on stuff, that's a good idea. Might have to snag one of those out of the recycling. Did some digging, found some PNs. Looks like all VGs use are 10005-12G01 for the front. Up to '97 uses 10006-12G04 for the rear, '96-'03 uses 10006-0W060 instead. Out of stock most places, but looks easy enough to replicate with some scrap metal and a few minutes with the welder.

It's not every day that engine bay Plinko turns out to be a good thing! I haven't used muffler tape or Exhaust Weld, but I'd be surprised if they held up for long that close to the engine/catalyst. The manufacturers likely list a maximum temperature, which you could compare with an IR gun to see if there's any hope. Metal zip ties are a thing, again I haven't tried them, but I've heard they're good. Depending on how the shield is constructed, how buried in the engine bay it is, and how it's failed, you might be able to weld or rivet the pieces back together. Personally, I would still reach for the baling wire. Hopefully whatever you reach for is successful in silencing the fat lady.

You do need that snap ring. It retains the axle and keeps the back side of the wheel bearing sealed. It does not however stay in that inner groove when you switch to manual hubs. For the auto hubs, the snap ring goes in the inner groove, capturing the inner workings of the hub (the cup, the coppery looking deal, and the splined washer in front of that). If you're running manual hubs, the snap ring goes in the outer groove, capturing a larger part of the mechanism (the whole body on aftermarket hubs, or just the drive clutch on the factory style). If you're trying to fit the manual hub with the snap ring still sitting in the inner groove, that's probably what's stopping you. Remove the snap ring, remove the dial assembly from the hub, install the hub, install the snap ring, make sure it's actually snapped in and not just sitting next to its groove (might need to reach around and pull the axle towards you while you push the snap ring home), and then reinstall the dial. Check the torque on the hub bolts after driving it for a bit, especially if the hub has a paper gasket, as those tend to compress after a bit. The service manual wants you to check endplay on the CV after installing the snap ring. Should be 0.1-0.3mm (4-12 thou). If it's wrong, you can replace the snap ring with one of a different thickness to dial it in. The manual also wants you to replace the snap ring each time you take it off. I didn't do either of those things, and I don't think many people do, but, yeah, there is a spec for that. I assume it keeps the seal at the back of the hub tight enough to do its job but not so tight that it burns up. WD21s aren't usually powerful enough to hurt themselves (at least not the drivetrain), but from what I've read, it is usually a hub that lets go if anything does. I've seen one picture of a broken CV shaft (wasn't even the joint that failed, the shaft itself snapped off), but that was on a heavily-wheeled truck with a hotrod VG34 and the factory manual hubs, which are supposed to be the strongest you can get for these. I doubt you will have that problem with Ali Express hubs and what I'm guessing is a TD27 or a carb'd four-pot.

I'd like to see that picture too, might make my VG33 swap easier when I get around to it. I have to ask, though--why is there a maple syrup jug on your strut tower?

I haven't heard of that issue before. Maybe they were designed to fit later trucks that didn't come with auto hubs? I don't know if the R50 spindles have those castellations or not. I imagine you could get away with grinding the spindle so long as you keep the shavings out of the wheel bearing. Does the snap ring look like it'll line up if the hub is seated the rest of the way? It would suck to modify the spindle just to find out that something else is wrong with them. I don't know of a source of new auto hubs, but the last time I checked (which was at least five years ago), new clutches to rebuild them were still available from Nissan. IIRC they were similar in cost to the manual hubs I wanted, so I just bought the manuals instead. Even when they worked how they were supposed to, the autos were more of a hassle than they were supposed to save. There's a writeup here with info on four different manual hubs (no idea if they're available/affordable down under). The hubs in your picture look a lot like the Rugged Ridge hubs Hawairish reviewed. In that thread, I linked to an old video I did when I installed my Mile Marker 435s, which also shows the setup I used to modify the hubcaps to fit. I don't know if the earlier style of hubcap has the convenient ring to run the router bearing around, though, so you may need to get creative there. I think the 435s stick out slightly more than the auto hubs did. Hasn't been an issue for me.

I imagine a mechanic would go about it similarly to how any of us would, with the exception of having a lift for easier access to the underside, or maybe having a few more common culprits in mind. Mine (VG engine) has a brief rattle on startup, especially if it's cold, especially if it's time to change the oil. That's just the lifters making noise until they see oil pressure, not sure if this is as common on the VQ. There is another ticking on mine that is worse when cold, and worse under load, and that's the exhaust leak. An exhaust leak at/near the engine can sound surprisingly metallic, and if it's a small leak, it may close up a little as the system warms. I don't know the VQ's weak spots for exhaust leaks, but if you're staring at the exhaust, keep an eye out for soot marks. (If it was a VG30, I'd say look for broken exhaust studs, but AFAIK Nissan had figured that one out by the time the VQ came out.) Could be a heat shield no longer has room to rattle when the system is warm. I don't know the VQ well enough to say it's definitely not the timing components, but I would expect most internal noises to get worse as the engine warms and the oil thins. If it was pinging I'd expect the computer to be all kinds of unhappy, and if the knock sensor wasn't working, I'd expect it to complain about that, too. If you want to rule out a lean burn, check a spark plug. I worked on a friend's Buick once that was running lean and going into limp mode if he stepped on it. I suspect it was running lean and pinging, and the knock sensor was triggering the limp mode. All I know is the plugs were white and the MAF was filthy, and cleaning it resolved the issue. Doesn't sound like your issue. I like the idea of brakestanding it to see if you can make it act up, but, yeah, I wouldn't roll under a brakestanding truck. I'll bet you could clamp a pair of vise grips to the the shield you suspect of making noise, and take it around the block, and see if the noise goes away. Even if you can't vise grip the shield to something solid, I would expect the weight of the grips hanging off the side to silence the rattle, or at least change it somewhat. I have removed loose heat shields without issue. Easy when they're rotten. Harder when they're still welded/bolted on most of the way around.

Not making the noise when you rev it in neutral makes me think it's not a timing chain guide or an accessory bearing (they shouldn't know if it's in gear or not). When the cat honeycomb broke free on my friend's Chevy, we found it pretty quickly by smacking the exhaust from underneath and listening for the rattle. Sounds like you've ruled that out too. Start with the shields you know are loose. If you can't get a hose clamp around them, try baling wire. I think I still have baling wire wrapped around a loose U bolt on my exhaust. That one caused a rattle from the transmission area, but only at part throttle/moderate load, which had me much more worried than I should've been.

Yeah, the upload function here basically doesn't work. I use flickr, but it's not built for it. If you'd rather I can send you my email address, you can send me the picture, and I'll upload it from there. Not sure if that's less work or not.

The front bumper is the same as the D21 pickup, so I imagine minitrucker demand keeps those available. The rear bumper is WD21 only. Best I can do is a couple of part #s. 85017-60G10 right side, 85016-60G10 left side. I googled one of them and found one available through Nissan Canada, but they were pretty proud of it.

Can you post a picture from your owner's manual? I'm not doubting you, just confused. The only paper owner's manual I've got is for a '95. I was able to find a PDF version of the '93 owner's manual, but it shows what looks like a '92 or earlier cluster on page 1-2, and I don't see the Christmas ornament idiot light listed with the other idiot lights on page 1-6. I have several service manuals for these ('87, '89, '90, '94/'95), but I have not gotten ahold of the '93 (irritating given that's what mine is). Usually the '90 is close enough, but it seems we're up against some one-year weirdness here. Does anyone have a copy of the '93 FSM? The one thing I can say for sure is that this light is not connected to anything in mine. The wires dead-end at the connector to the dash harness. In a vehicle where the dash harness does include the wiring for this light, I would expect the other end to connect to an engine oil temperature switch like this, this, or this. I did not find an oil temp switch advertised for any gen of Pathfinder.

I would check the steering rack bushings and the rear trailing arm bushings, see if anything moves that shouldn't. Also look into the Missing Link. It's a simple mod, connects two points on the undercarriage that look like they were supposed to have a crossmember but for some reason don't. Might firm it up a little. Did they give you a printout of the alignment?

What part of the handling is letting you down? Grip, body roll, steering feel, dancing on washboard?

I popped mine out today to have a look. Is this what yours looks like? I'm not sure what to make of the sweaty free-balling Christmas ornament second from the right. The drip says some kind of fluid is involved, and the color says it's urgent, but I don't see anything indicating heat. The '87 service manual shows a fuel filter light in the warning lamps section, specific to the SD25 diesel. I suspect that's what this is supposed to be. Maybe the bit at the bottom is supposed to be a sediment bowl? Naturally the manual only shows the circuit schematic, not the picture that the bulb lights up. The manual also shows a glow plug light, but nothing about that idiot light says "glow plug" to me (not that it really screams "filter," either). There is a bulb in that slot, and it's wired to the plug on the back of the surround, but the dash harness that plugs into it is not pinned for either of this bulb's wires. The left side has two idiot lights for the auto trans (O/D Off and Power), one blacked-out idiot light slot with no bulb in it, and a low washer fluid light, which does have a bulb, despite being marked Canada-only in every service manual I've looked at. I did not chase the wiring to see if the washer fluid light or the empty slot are wired in the dash harness, but I did see that the dash harness plug has five pins, which is more than the two lights for the trans should need. (I'm also curious whether the manual US-spec trucks have a different rack of idiot lights for the left side, or whether it's just completely blanked out.)

I've got the same '93-only cluster in mine and don't remember seeing one of those while I had it out, though IIRC there was at least one symbol that I couldn't work out a purpose for. Like Adam, I assumed it was diesel-related. Does yours say engine oil temp or is it a picture? I might have to pop mine out and have a look with a flashlight. I haven't found a '93 FSM yet, but '90 and '95 have no mention of an engine oil temp light. Operator's manual, you mean like the one in the glovebox, with the jacking points and whatnot?

First I've heard of it. There's a transmission oil temp light, haven't heard of an engine oil temp light or sensor though. Where on the cluster? Round dash or square?

Good idea with the grease nipples, haven't seen that done for bushings before.

I doubt there would be much of a downside, other than looking like you've got too much stuff in the back.

I would expect heavy-duty front springs to change the ride or at least the rake in the summer. I think our plow rig (old IH Scout) has standard front springs, and they do just fine. My only reservation with putting a plow on an R50 would be figuring out how to mount the thing to the unibody. It's bolted to the frame on the Scout, and those mounting points take a hell of a beating. This might give you some ideas for mounting, if you don't already have that side of things locked down.

Nissanpartsdeal lists 33251-2W510 for an '03 R50 with the ATX14A (which their diagrams call the XN3) auto transfer case, and 33274-7S110 for an '06 R51. The pictures look reasonably similar between them, but they've only got a line drawing for the R50 actuator. I suspect you'd be better off tracking down the right part from a wrecker vs trying to make the R51 actuator work.

Nice! Did you do anything to it, or is it just the neutral>reverse trick keeping you going? If that's all it takes to make it grab reverse, I wonder if the shift cable might just be a little wonky.