Slartibartfast

I would not pay $800 to have somebody who clearly doesn't know how to use a voltmeter continue to mess with my wiring harness.

Yep--I've never had a dizzy do it but I've read a few threads where bad bushings confused the computer. I've dealt with a few little motors in fans and things where the bearings start to wear oversize and they'll start squealing and the whole fan or whatever will vibrate like crazy. My best guess is that the shaft is grabbing the surface of the bushing and running around inside of it like a planetary gear. The sensor's just an optical deal like in an old computer mouse, so if the shaft is weeble-wobbling like crazy, the speed and/or position data the sensor's picking up may not make a whole lot of sense to the ECU. Now that I'm thinking about it, though, unless the bearings were so wallered out that the sensor did nothing and you had no spark, I would be surprised if bad distributor bearings stopped the engine from at least trying to start. You say it has spark and the rotor spins, so the timing belt isn't stripped, but I am starting to wonder if it might've skipped a tooth or two. I've read they'll run like crap one tooth off and quit at two teeth off--perhaps your issue started when it slipped one tooth, then it slipped another and refused to start again. Because the dizzy is geared from the cam, your ignition timing would be off by as much as your valves. I don't know if the ECU--especially the TBI ECU--is perceptive enough notice the timing being horribly wrong and throw a position sensor code because of that, but it does seem plausible. Do you have a timing light? I'd want to make sure that the #1 spark plug is hitting on time when you crank it, and (hopefully) rule out the timing belt as the issue. (I'm assuming you've already checked for fuel and the filter's not clogged.)

Any codes now? And did you replace just the angle sensor or the whole dizzy?

The connection method seems kinda hokey to me--not that there aren't hokier ways of doing it. It'll be interesting to see if/how long they hold to hundred-watt bulbs.

The computer should try to tune out a lean condition by adding more fuel. Running lean also tends to make the mixture predetonate, which the knock sensor reports to the ECU, which adds fuel and pulls timing to compensate. Predetonation and the heat associated with it are hard on the engine. Apparently some rigs will intentionally run lean under certain conditions, but there's more to that than just introducing a constant vacuum leak. It is possible that the leak was offsetting something else being wrong. I'd go through the standard tuneup stuff, clean the MAF, clean the throttle body, make sure the EGR valve's not jammed up, and see if that changes your mileage any.

A hole in the PCV system would be a vacuum leak, which would cause a lean condition. Retarded ignition timing will make the exhaust manifold hot as hell, which I guess might've softened the hose--if you suspect that's what happened, check the other plastic and rubber components in that area for similar damage.

Looks like there's a diagram on BF-10 that covers the glass latch and the rear wiper. Looks like it switches ground but I'm not gonna study it now. I'll need to have a better look at some point though as I've been thinking I should rig it up so that the cargo light comes on with just the glass popped open to reduce the need for groping around in the dark for the dome light switch. Seems like it would be simple enough to just run a wire from the hatch switch to the cargo door switch, assuming both are switched grounds... one of these days I'll get around to it. But this is not that day! Try EL-49 too, looks like it's the thing on the top left.

You'd be drawing warm air from the engine bay instead of cold air from the fender, and it might be more vulnerable to splashes--I remember one guy put a cone filter on his and bombed through a puddle and managed to splash enough in there to cause problems. I remember somebody (My1path?) had a sort of mini-snorkel inside the fender of his WD21 that looked like it pulled from back by the door hinge.

Interesting. Hopefully your guy tracks it down--it's gotta be something on the TPS circuit, either the wiring or the sensor itself.

The manual steering box isn't a replacement for the power box. Guys gut the steering bits out of them so it's just a shaft in a box and mount them up on the passenger's side instead of the stock idler arm. The only other reason to mess with pitman arms is if you're doing the 2WD HB steering swap and need the small-taper pitman (later trucks have larger tapers). I picked one up for mine but have had second thoughts on the swap since--I'm not running a lift (or planning to) and it sounds like it introduces some tire scrub issues. IIRC yours may be early enough that it's got the small taper already, if you decide to go that way.

Wow. I thought the quart per thousand miles in my dad's '03 was bad. I never got the chance to open up my dad's rig and see what was wrong with it. Replacing the PCV did nothing. The more we looked at it, the more it looked like a major undertaking to pull the thing apart and try and diagnose what was wrong with it, let alone fix it. A rebuilt engine cost more than the truck, and none of the VQs in the local wrecking yards had consistent compression. He sold it to a guy who was planning to put a rebuilt engine in it. IIRC the guy had replaced the engine in his R50 due to similar oil consumption, then totaled the truck, so he had a lot of money into the motor and wanted a new box to put it in. Given that I don't know what actually goes wrong with the VQs, I can't say if just replacing rings and seals would do the job. If it's just bad valve seals (what we suspected on the '03), then that shouldn't be too difficult. If it turns out the power valve screws dropped in and chewed up the cylinder walls, maybe not so much. You mention getting gassed out by the exhaust. If the engine has excessive blow-by due to trashed rings, that's all going through what was the PCV line, through your catch can, and then venting in front of the passenger compartment. Hooking the PCV back up wouldn't make the motor any less trashed but might save a few brain cells.

The light not flashing is good--it means the TCU doesn't think there's a problem that it needs to tell you about. This does not mean there's no problem, though, it just means that problem is not something the TCU knows about. The computers on these things are not especially perceptive. +1 on what Snowboard said about testing the sensor. If there's a limp mode that limits the truck to 20 MPH, this is the first I've heard of it. The ECU limp mode I'm familiar with limits the engine to around 3k RPM. Is the transmission shifting? What are the revs at when it hits this apparent limiter? I'm wondering if an ECU limp mode plus a transmission that doesn't know to shift out of first gear might be causing your issue.

I have the part number 12303-12G03 saved on my computer, I assume I read it here somewhere. I think that's the balancer you need. Don't quote me on that, though, I haven't ordered one up and tried installing it.

Thread chaser's not a bad idea. Just make sure you have it in straight! And +1 for cleaning the wells. I actually took the intake off when I got mine and cleaned those out because they were full of rat crap. Nissan went to all the trouble of designing the plug wells so they'd drain and then couldn't be bothered to clean out the casting flash that keeps the wells from draining!

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/26865-rockautocom-discount-code/

If the transmission computer thinks something is wrong, it'll lock into third gear and not shift until you turn the ignition off and on again. Interesting that it's happening on startup. There is a self-test in the service manual where the light in the E-AT switch is supposed to flash to tell you what the TCU is upset about--it's in the AT section of the service manual. I haven't had to run that test myself so that's about all I can tell you there.

Hmm. I don't think there'd be much under the dash that would take vacuum. I know some people install vacuum gauges that are supposed to give some idea of engine efficiency or something. The only other reason I can think of for vacuum in the cab is if Nissan decided to dabble in vacuum operated vents or something, which, AFAIK, they didn't. I seem to remember you swapped the engine in this rig at some point. If you've still got the old engine around, I'd have a look and see if it has a vacuum hookup somewhere that this one doesn't. I know the vacuum routing changed a little on the VG30s when they added the BPT to the EGR system, could be there's some similar small difference that's left you with an extra hose.

I haven't had any electrical issues from washing mine. The individual relays don't have or need covers so far as I'm aware, though the box on the passenger's fender wall that has the headlight fuses and a few relays in it is supposed to have a cover. Mine came with a fussy little cover over the dizzy and another clipped over the coil, neither of which I put back on. I wash mine with just a garden hose and a sprayer end. I used to use the high-pressure jet at the car wash, but one time after doing that I found some strawberry milkshake looking schmoo in my power steering res--all I can figure is that the water pressure pushed its way around the cap. The fluid below the strainer was clear and the PS pump never complained, so I think that little plastic strainer did its job admirably. All the same, if you're going to use a pressure washer, I'd be careful around the PS res, the oil cap, and the master cylinder(s).

Nice trick with the shim stock. I don't remember mind giving me trouble, might've been a different brand/slightly different ID though. I don't remember how much play there was in mine, but I don't think it was very much. Does the key have play against the sprocket or the crank? Given how much of the surface it bears against on the crank is gone, I'd want it fitting in there as tight as possible. I know a few people on here have dealt with similar issues.

Good to hear it's working again--and good luck tracking down what popped the fuse.

Couple extenders and a U joint it is then! Might take a little screwing around to find the right combination and to find the plug itself (hard to see back there) but it's entirely doable.

If it's sucking, it's leaning out your mixture, especially at idle. Enough to matter? That I don't know. Good luck finding where it goes.

Yeah, if it stops steaming once it's warmed up, it's probably just condensation. Most engines will smell a little until they're warm just because they're not running as efficiently--hopefully that's all you're smelling. Keep an eye on your coolant level. Not sure about the barb on the carbon canister but I'll bet you can come up with something. Maybe a piece of larger plastic tubing (body of a pen maybe) would fit over what's left, and a barb would fit inside that? Or maybe you could drill out the hole enough to slip in a new fitting and glue it. Worst case scenario, I don't think a lot of people go looking for carbon cans for these, so I'll bet you could find a usable one at the wreckers. My '95 had a lot of soot in the tailpipe too. I figured it was running a little rich but never tracked it down.

Could be. I'd have a look at the service manual to see which wires are supposed to see power and verify that they are in fact seeing power, it could be that a wire has broken in the section between the door and the pillar where they have to flex whenever the door's opened. If you were really feeling ambitious you could pull the actuator from the other side, plug it in, and see if it kicks when you hit the switch. If it doesn't, it's not getting power... if it does, your other actuator is borked. The actuators themselves come apart pretty easily and there's not a whole lot inside that can go wrong, so if you think it's shot, open it up and see if there's anything obviously wrong inside.

The governor effect you're talking about makes me think it may have been in limp home mode--something spooked the ECU and it limited power to prevent damage. I would expect it to run richer than normal in this condition, which would likely make the catalyst heat up. A failed catalyst would not have gone back to normal and you'd have secondary O2 sensor codes, so I doubt the catalyst is the problem. I don't know if the intake valve timing issue would put the ECU in limp mode, or if a stuck intake valve control whatsit would limit power on its own. Not everything that goes wrong will code. My dad's '03 developed some problem with the swirl valve solenoid control thingus that made the truck buck violently if you tried to get on the gas, and it never threw a code. I would expect the computer to code for something that put it into limp mode, but I'm not too familiar with the R50 ECU so I'm mostly guessing here.