Slartibartfast

I had a similar issue with mine for a while. I replaced a bunch of stuff (starter, battery, positive cable, inhibitor relay, ignition switch) with little effect. Turned out it was the stupid alarm system. The weird part was, I had already removed the alarm brain and joined the starter wires together at the end of it, so it was the harness itself that was causing problems. I don't know if there was a loose connection somewhere, or if my splice had somehow failed, or if the extra six or seven feet of wire was just dropping more voltage than the circuit could afford to lose. What I do know is that it has not acted up since I got that trash out of there, and unlike the rest of the stuff I'd tried, it didn't cost me anything. The alarm system was installed as an afterthought, so for the most part it connects between existing plugs in the truck's harness. Removing all of it requires removing the driver's seat, kick panel, and carpet edge trim, and the steering column clamshell. The alarm is the square box with the hole in the top, not the rounded one (that's your ABS computer). Follow the harness, undo the plugs, get the alarm harness out of the way, plug the truck's wiring back into itself like it was meant to be without the add-on crap in between. There are a few wires scotchlock'd in, and a couple wires going through the firewall to the hood switch and the alarm siren. Those are bundled with the fog light harness, so make sure you know which wires are which before cutting stuff. The alarm wires have labels printed on them, and AFAIK nothing else in the truck does, so if in doubt, look for that. If you can't be arsed to tear it all apart, take just the clamshell apart (very carefully, the screw posts inside are brittle) and follow the wires from the ignition switch to its plug, and then to the plug just after that one. Undo both plugs, push the alarm harness out of the way, and plug the ignition switch into the main harness like it was supposed to be. The door lock wiring will still run through the alarm brain, but AFAIK it should still work fine. If it still has problems, I would check the ignition switch, clutch switch, inhibitor, battery terminals, all that kind of stuff. If you need help troubleshooting the circuit, there's a diagram on EL-12 of the '95 manual, available free from Nicoclub. Auto and manual are different, but on the same page, so make sure you're looking at the right diagram. Also looks like they drew the battery backwards, so that's fun. Mr. Reverse did a writeup about hooking up a starter relay, so the starter solenoid gets full power even if the signal from the key switch is weak. (The wiring for manual trucks is like this from the factory--IIRC this was just a workaround for the jank way the inhibitor works on the auto trans trucks). I did a similar bodge on a friend's Toyota, and it worked great, until the key switch finished dying and stranded her at the grocery store, and I had to talk her through hotwiring it with a paper clip. We replaced the switch with a pushbutton, which also worked great, until she started it in gear one day and hit the garage wall. So that's something else to keep in mind--there's nothing to stop you from starting it in gear if you bypass the inhibitor by wiring straight to the solenoid. My parts car had a wire from the starter solenoid tied up near the battery (just touch it to the + terminal to crank), which would've made it real easy to run yourself over. Worked, though.

That sucks. I remember someone had the same problem with a set of GM wheels, and had them bored out to fit. Might be an option?

You could probably get a set of the stock roof rails from a wrecker. They're just riv-nutted to the roof. The screws are JIS, like Phillips, except you'll likely round them with a Phillips bit. You may well round them with a JIS driver too--they're quite small, and I think there's some kind of thread sealant on them. I don't think I've seen the clamp-ons used on one of these. I guess if it works?

If it turns over, and has spark, but won't even pop on ether, my money's on the timing. I would stop turning it over and check that the timing belt hasn't skipped a couple of teeth. The VG33 has less valve/piston interference than the VG30, so you're more likely to get away without valve damage, but there's no sense in poking that bear any harder than you have to.

Do the VG33 R50s have oil coolers? I thought that was just a VQ thing.

I had not seen that bag solution before. Looks like a solid option for an occasional-use light-duty sorta thing. For extended use, I'd expect the straps to dig into the door seals, and the bottom of the bag to chew up the paint on the roof, especially if dust gets in between. Sounds like they flap around if you don't fill them completely. I would also expect anything heavy to roll around in there. If it's that or a basket, I'd trust the basket more. Might also be worth looking at the clamshell ski boxes. My dad's Audi had one when he got it. It was not what I would call solidly built (the lid flexed like the plastic toboggan I had when I was a kid), but it bolted to the factory rails, could be locked closed, and seemed like it would keep the contents at least mostly dry. Might have slightly better aero than the bag. Again, not sure I'd trust it for heavy stuff, not least as I don't remember it having any tiedown points inside, but it might be worth a look depending on what you're planning to fill it with. If you park in a garage, and especially if you're planning to lift the truck as well, I would measure the garage door height and consider that when designing your roof storage. I'm not sure who would win if a roof rack fought a garage door, but it probably wouldn't be you.

Are you sure it's the rack that's bad, and not the bushings that hold it to the crossmember? I remember hearing about those going bad and letting the rack slop from side to side. The oil leak may have sped up that process. Could be an easy fix. It can be tricky to tell where an oil leak is coming from. Sometimes you have to clean it up and keep an eye on it to see where it's coming from. The valve cover gaskets are probably bad if they're original. Look for oil residue around the valve covers. Rear main is a possibility (mine's been leaking for years), but it wouldn't be oiling down the rack. If it's coming from the front of the engine, that could be the cam or crank seals, which are behind the timing belt. Not a horrible job, but there are several "while you're in there" parts that'll need doing, and it's not something to half-ass, given it's an interference engine. If you can do the work yourself, both could be cheap fixes. If you're paying for labor, especially if you're paying "go away I don't want to work on leaky junk from the '90s" rates, then, yeah, that's gonna be an issue. Looks like a clean rig from what I can see in the pictures, apart from the pep boys fender vents.

EL-146 of the '01.5 manual has the full diagram. It shows three fuses (weird setup), but two of them are for the other two power sockets, which it sounds like yours doesn't have. The lighter should be on fuse 13, 15A. Using a voltmeter or a test light, check from a known good ground to the fuse (check for power on both sides of the fuse to rule it out), then from ground to the center contact of the 12v socket. That'll give you some idea of where the circuit is broken. If it's hot all the way to the socket, check the ground side. Looks like the lighter socket has two ground points. I'd be surprised if they were both bad. I would also be surprised if the wire itself failed (that's what the fuse is for), unless your BIL tried again with a much larger fuse after the first one popped, or one of the wires was previously damaged in a way that made it weaker than the fuse. If you want an always-hot socket, you can run a wire from the battery with an in-line fuse holder. I added an outlet to the back of mine like that. Just remember not to leave stuff plugged in/turned on when the truck is parked, or it'll drain the battery. I used one of those lighter socket pumps a couple of times. It didn't blow up the wiring, but it wasn't good at blowing up tires, either. I remember letting it run for like half an hour trying to air up a passenger car tire with a slow leak.

That's a surprisingly tough one to track down, especially as I've never worked with the throttle body injection system and don't have one to go look at. This is the only diagram I've found that shows it. Nissan calls it "Connector, B," which doesn't tell us much. Weirdly it has a different part number depending on which transmission you have. 14876-12G00 if you have a manual transmission, 14876-12G01 for automatic. Looks like it was supposed to have a cap on the top fitting. The vacuum diagrams in the manual are in schematic view, so I can't tell which bits connect where. But I can see which vacuum lines connect to the manifold. There's one from the air cleaner (for the vacuum motor that controls the flap that makes it suck warm or cold air), one from the AB valve (looks like that stands for Anti-Backfire, bleeds air past the throttle body if there's excessive manifold vacuum?), one from the carbon canister, one from the solenoid for the EGR valve (though it looks like that port is on the throttle body), and one from the air injection solenoid valve. I would check that those systems and their vacuum lines are still present, and if they are, follow the vacuum lines back to the manifold to make sure they're still connected. The picture of the manifold in this post shows a very short vacuum line coming off of that connector. Maybe it had been cut for a while, or maybe whatever it hooked to was supposed to be nearby. This guy figured it was smog related and blocked it off while deleting the rest of his smog gear. If you can't work out what it's for, I would put vacuum caps on both nipples (on the fitting, not your own, unless you're into that) and leave it alone.

A press would make it easier, but you could probably make due with a bench vise. Use a socket to drive the bearing, and make sure you're putting force into the race you're trying to move, not through the bearing balls. (If you're pressing the OD into the pulley, press on the outer race, not the inner.) I'll bet the center spacer and dust shield whatsit would pop out of the old bearing and into the new one. I doubt you'd even need a press for that, should just slip out if it's like other idlers I've messed with.

The trans will work, but the R50 is a whole different platform, so I would be surprised if much other than the transmission fits yours without a lot of screwing around. The R50 manual is improved over the WD21 manual (they fixed the oiling issue that takes out countershaft bearings on the earlier ones), so it's a good choice of gearbox, but you'll need a WD21 or D21 donor for the pedal box and hydraulics and whatnot. Make sure you get the right oil! GL-5 rated oil eats the synchros in these, you need GL-4.

The trucks that came with carriers have reinforcement/nut plates inside the fender. I don't think the non-carrier trucks generally have the brackets, but I don't know for sure that yours doesn't. Stick your hand up in there and see. It is possible to retrofit a carrier to a non-carrier truck. It has been done. The tricky bit is those reinforcement brackets. I pulled the brackets out of my parts car for @vzcraig70 a couple years ago, and found out why ninetyfivehatch cut his down to fit. They were clearly installed before the quarter panel went on, which is why it takes a little butchery to put them in after the fact. Hawairish used rivnuts to mount the carrier on his R50. Seemed to work alright for him, but after seeing NissanBoston's pictures on the last page of that thread, I don't think I would trust rivnuts alone.

+1 for putting it on the charger for a while. I would also check that the battery terminals are clean and tight. If it still cranks slowly after charging, the battery itself could be damaged. Going dead flat is hard on batteries, and so is sitting around while dead flat. Hopefully yours bounces back.

Ah, you kept the VG33 accessories. That explains it. If it's just the bearing that's clapped, you may be able to rebuild the old one.

What are you looking for? The WD21 power steering belt does not have an idler pulley. That looks like the aircon belt tensioner for a VQ R50, or at least there's an SKP part listed for that on Rockauto that looks nearly identical.

There was one when I did it! That's the thread I can't find. I did however save a screenshot of the diagram. Credit to whoever worked it out, IIRC a few of the Infamous guys contributed to that thread (looks like Kurruppt posted this picture). If anyone with better google-fu than me finds the actual thread, let me know! I couldn't find crap. I remember I put mine together and found that both LEDs were backwards, but I don't remember if that was my mistake or if the diagram had them backwards. Something to check with it hay-wired before it's all soldered up. And obviously be careful poking around in connectors that go straight to the computer--I don't know what would pop if something shorted at the check connector, but I doubt it would be easy to replace. I didn't have a plug end for the check connector, so I got some small-ish male spade connectors, trimmed them down slightly to fit, and put a dab of hot glue on each to hold them in place. There is almost certainly a more elegant solution, but this has held up, it's reversible, and it did not require hacking the harness. If I did it again, I might consider gutting one of those Snap-On adapters, or just buying a connector and pins (if not the whole assembly) from KivPanther. I mounted mine through the blanking plate for the hardbody under-dash e-brake. It's out of the way, it's removable, and I can see it from the driver's seat.

Oof. Yeah, that's crunchy. Too bad it chewed up the housing. Any luck tracking down a 3rd?

Sounds like a hell of a project! How did you find a QD32 in the US? The closest I've heard of to that was Ekim Naelcm on the FB page making a VQ R50 auto trans work with a TD27 in a WD21. He swapped the bellhousing and had a custom torque converter built to join the two, though he thought the VG33ER flexplate and converter might've worked instead. No idea if the TD and QD share a bellhousing.

Agreed that it's likely a fuel issue. Twelve-year-old gas could well have seized up the fuel pump. Do you hear a brief whir from the back of the truck when you turn the ignition on? If the tank's not full of goo/corroded to hell, might be worth throwing a pump and a fuel filter at it to see if it'll come around. But yeah, good chance you'd be into the injectors next. I hear you on not having the time/expertise. (And having cleared out some rancid fuel tanks, I can tell you that you're not missing a good time there.) Non-running will limit buyers, as I imagine will 2WD, though maybe less so down south. Might be worth asking around with any minitrucker groups in your area. Hopefully it turns into a good deal for somebody. That was how I got my '93. Sold cheap, unknown engine trouble. Turned out a rat had nested in the air filter box, and its nest was choking the engine. Good luck!

You don't need a scanner to pull codes from one of these. There's a writeup here for pulling codes, or you can find a more in-depth version (including troubleshooting info) in the EF&EC section of the factory service manual, free download from Nicoclub. It's not particularly difficult, though it would be easier if the computer wasn't under the passenger's front seat. If you really want a scanner, you may have some trouble tracking one down. There is a connector under the dash, but it's not OBDII, and it's not Nissan's own Consult system. Looks like Snap On made an adapter for their Modis system, if you happen to have one of those kicking around. AFAIK the original scan tool was just a box with a button and two blinky lights--basically the same interface that's on the back of the computer, except it's in your hand instead of under the seat. I don't think I've ever seen one, though, unless you count a bad scan of a grainy picture from a service manual for a 200SX. This guy on Infamous Nissan is selling a homebrew version of the blinky lights box. Another thread on that site (which I can't find now for some reason) shows the wiring schematic for it. I built my own from that thread, and mounted the button and the lights through a blanking plate on the dash. Again, it gives the same info as the lights on the back of the computer--it's just easier to get to. But yeah, if you just want to see why the money light is on, click that first link and go from there.

Well there's something I didn't know existed!

The WD21 (Pathfinder/Terrano) and D21 (Hardbody/first-gen Navara) tanks are very different. The WD21 tank is behind the axle, and the D21 tank is between the driveshaft and the frame rail. There's been talk of adding a D21 tank to a WD21 as a second tank, though I haven't heard of anyone actually trying it. Even the smaller D21 tank (looks like they're either 15 or 21 gallons, depending on wheelbase) would add a fair whack of fuel capacity, and might be easier to make room for than the big chungus extended model that you're looking at.

There's a part number for a stud to mount a steering stabilizer, so I imagine some of them came with one. I added one to mine, but, yeah, I can't really tell it's there. To be fair, I used the cheapest stabilizer I could find (>$20 IIRC, probably some Monroe crap), so your mileage may vary with a better unit. I'm also running a Grassroots centerlink, which has enough drag to do a fair bit of stabilizing on its own. The clunk and the pull are likely related. +1 for checking the UCAs. The camber and caster are adjusted with U-shaped shims, and if the bolts back out, the shims fall out, and then your alignment goes full stance nation. The squeal while turning is interesting. I doubt it's the pump--it shouldn't be able to tell which way you're turning. Might be a blocked passage or something in the box, but I haven't heard of one doing that, and it wouldn't explain why it only makes noise when you're moving. Maybe one of the wheel bearings is loose enough that the rotor is hitting the backing plate? Again, could be a shared cause with the clunk and the pull, depending on what's rubbing on what. Add bearings and brakes to your inspection list if they weren't there already. If nothing jumps out at you when you inspect the front end, run it without the power steering belt and see if the noise goes away. That should rule the hydraulic components in or out.

Sometimes it takes some digging to find good info on these. Good on you for doing the due diligence to make sure you're doing it properly. Nissanpartsdeal has factory parts and a pretty good lookup for them. For harder-to-find parts, try Amayama or Partsouq. For parts that don't need to be OE, I use Rockauto. Reliability will depend mostly on condition and maintenance. Mine's been pretty reliable despite 260k on the clock, but anything this old will have some age and wear-related issues sooner or later. Addressing the timing belt early was a good move. I would change (or at least check) the various fluids if that hasn't been done yet, check the brakes, check the front wheel bearings, look for play in the front end, do your strut rod bushings, all that kind of stuff. I'm guessing rust isn't a huge concern in Texas, but it wouldn't hurt to clean out the frame (they like to rust over the rear axle) and the floor pan under the rear seats. The exhaust Y pipe under the driver's feet tends to leak and rust out the floor, potentially setting fire to the carpet, so check on that. Also check for leaves behind your blower motor resistor. I glued a piece of metal screen over the HVAC intake to keep leaves and rodents (mostly rodents) out of my vents. I've done some minor reliability mods on mine, mostly to keep the slushbox alive and simplify the four-wheel-drive--things you don't have to worry about. You might look into relaying the headlights. Helps keep the switch alive, hopefully provides a little more power to the bulbs. Just make sure you use good parts for that! I used a cheap fuse holder on my first one, and it left the chat one night without warning.

Is the donor VG33 or VQ35? VG33 should be the same as what you have. VQ might be a bit of a science project. Based on what Ekim Naelcm posted about his swap, the VQ version takes a different torque converter. He had one made to fit his TD27, but said a VG33ER converter and flexplate might do the trick to mate one to a VG. I would link that post, but it was on Facebook, and I can't find a damn thing on that goldfish-brain dumpster fire of a website.