Slartibartfast

I suspect you're right about the liquid. Maybe it was boiling off or something. The gunk on the Buick MAF was pretty dry. I did a general search (not just this forum) and I'm seeing threads where both rich and lean issues clear up after MAF cleaning. Interesting. There are two wires in our MAFs, more in some others apparently. Maybe the computer does some comparison between them, and the symptoms vary by which wire is dirtier?

I'm pretty sure the stock alarm can only disable the starter. I suspect the failure is connected to the motor warming up. No spark when warm makes me suspect the sensor in the distributor.

If your rig has an LSD, it's a CLSD. VLSD (viscous) is a road car thing. My understanding of a CLSD is that you've got clutches packed between the spider gears and the case, and when those spider gears are loaded, they push out against those clutches. So if you have bugger-all traction and one wheel is spinning, there's not much load on the diff, and therefore not much load on the clutches (just the pre-load they're built with). Load the diff with the brakes and the spiders mash the clutches together, basically binding up the differential so it sends a little more torque to the stuck wheel. I wouldn't expect miracles, but I'd try it if I was stuck. You might put a little more heat into the trans and the brakes but unless you go full brakestand I doubt it'll hurt anything. I'd probably use the E-brake rather than the foot brakes, though. As for the sky, something something particles in the atmosphere scattering light

^^Fuse links would be my bet too. They're sections of slightly thinner wire with plug ends that burn out to save the rest of the wiring from burning out when something shorts out. This thread's got pictures of what you're looking for and even part numbers.

Nice valve covers! I would add a timing belt job, seals, and possibly spark plugs while it's out, just because it's easier than doing them once it's in.

Looks like an ARB. IIRC they don't make them anymore, so you're stuck looking for a used one or making your own.

Washed it and cursed the black paint for showing every scuff! Then put a battery in my parts rig to start it up and park it somewhere else. It hadn't started since last year but still fired right up like I'd just parked it yesterday. Stupid frame rot.

Sorry to hear about your R50, that sucks. Obviously check on when timing belts were done and check for rust. I think I see a hole at the bottom of the driver's side rear door opening of the '92 (last pic). That's an odd place for rust, which would make me nervous about where else it could be rotten. The '88 looks much cleaner from what I can see. The main difference (other than number of doors) is the fuel injection. Two-doors are (with rare exception) throttle body injected, four-doors are multiport.

Air flowing across the hot wire cools it. Gunk insulates the wire from the air and the wire stays hot, tricking the ECU into thinking there's very little air flow, throwing the mixture lean. I helped a friend with his dad's Buick a year or two back. White spark plugs, not a lot of power, went into limp mode if you drove it hard. We were sure it had a vac leak. Turned out the MAF filaments were filthy. We cleaned the MAF and the car ran fine until its unfortunate introduction to a tree.

MAF cleaning is pretty easy so long as you're gentle. You can buy proper MAF cleaner, but carb cleaner or denatured alcohol should work too. Just don't use something that will leave a residue. I would expect a fouled MAF to make it run lean, though, so I would be more suspicious of your oxygen sensor.

The oil pump just moves oil. The tight clearances of the bearings restrict how quickly oil can flow through them, and flow against restriction makes pressure. The pressure forces the oil to find every available exit (all the places it needs to go to keep the engine happy). As the bearings wear, the clearances get bigger, and the oil runs through them quicker. If the bearings wear to the point where the pump can't keep up with how much oil they're dumping, you lose oil pressure. Think of it like a compressor trying to inflate a tire that's got a nail in it (slow leak) vs a tire that's already come off the bead. I would expect the rod bearings to see the worst of it but you've got the pan off anyway, you might as well check the lot.

I hadn't done a timing belt before I did mine. There was a learning curve, and it took a while (partially because I did a bunch of unrelated work while I was in there), but it really wasn't that terrible. Some people may remove more stuff to make things easier, others don't mind reaching around stuff. I was doing a bunch of other work at the same time so I removed whatever seemed like it was going to be in the way and wasn't welded on or pressurized. If you accidentally turn the cam sprockets a little, it's not the end of the world. Don't turn it around and around just for the hell of it, but if you turn it a little and it jumps, don't sweat it, one of mine did that and I turned it back it didn't hurt anything. Make sure you know which sprocket came from which side. They're marked left and right IIRC but you get to wondering, my right or the truck's right... take a few pictures as it's coming apart and you'll save yourself some trouble. You have to take off the cam sprockets (bolted on) and crank sprocket (should just slide off the crankshaft once you're in that far, and be sure you don't lose the key between it and the crankshaft) to access the seals. To pull the seals, I heated up a flathead screwdriver with a torch and bent it like a paint can opener. Then I polished the convex side with 800 grit sandpaper so it wouldn't scratch anything. Work it between the shaft and the seal, get the bent part hooked under the seal, and give it a pull. I've heard that tapping the seal in a little first can break it free so it comes out easier. I slid an impact socket onto the bent screwdriver and used it like a slide hammer, tapping against the handle, to help bring the seals out. Get it off, make sure the shaft looks alright, wipe clean if needed, then put a little oil on the new seal and work it on. I used the end of a nut driver to push the seals into place, working around them until they were flush with the surface around them, but I've also heard of using a large socket to push the seal more evenly. The more you think about it, the more intimidating it seems, but it's not terrible once you get into it. It's not a Steinway and it's not made of glass. Make sure you've got a few days so you're not rushing yourself. And if you decide you're not up to it, the dealer's not your only option. A local independent mechanic did the belt on my '95 and charged about $800 IIRC. Oh, and don't get hung up on the blue book value. If you're not fixing it to flip it, who cares what it's worth to somebody else?

This got me curious. The diagram for the outside of the trans looks the same in the '03 R50 and the '02 WD22 manuals, except the turbine revolution sensor in the WD22 is marked VG33ER only. The cross section diagrams are a little different but who knows if the WD22 diagram is the standard version or the supercharger version. Why couldn't they ID the transmission model #s like they did in the WD21 manual?

I'll add those drain plug rubber whatsits to my "avoid like the plague" list. How the hell did that get past the screen on the pickup? I can't say I'm optimistic about what you'll find digging deeper into that thing but I wish you luck all the same.

^+1, sounds like constant power's unhooked. FSM shows a red wire with a green stripe and a 10A fuse in the box in the dash. EL-57 in the '95 FSM. That thing must've been top of the line in '91! Does it have the changer box in the back too?

Yep, you've got a WD21. I'm toying with the idea of making a custom one for mine. The stock console does have something pretending to be cup holders under the arm rest, but I found them to be a ) perfectly situated to dump the drink into the center console and b ) right at elbow height.

Needle nosed vise grips with fuel hose on the tips are supposed to work pretty well.

Good thinking testing with the thermometer. If it's running properly on four pots and bad on two, it's not your timing. It could be the cap (+1 on checking that). A compression check wouldn't be a bad idea. I'm also wondering if you might have a fuel delivery issue on those two, maybe a couple leaky injectors? Did you notice any fouling when you changed the plugs?

Wrecking yard is your best bet there. I've read that the R50 console will fit but, like you said, the e-brake has to be moved. I don't remember if there's a bolt-on solution to that but I would expect to have to cut/weld something. If you want direct fitment, the console out of any square dash rig should bolt right up. The later round dash console is a little taller in the front and won't fit below the older square dash.

I did the same with the crank bolt when I did my timing belt. Worked fine for me. I didn't bother locking the cams down. They don't jump when you take the belt off and I had to remove mine anyway to do the seals.

Sounds more like an issue with the sending unit. Maybe the float sunk a little, maybe the resistor it moves is dirty. All I can think of for why it would take more in Arizona is that the gas nozzles might be slightly different due to CARB or something and cut off a little sooner.

The LC section of the service manual has you check pump clearances with a feeler gauge, but the stick-it-in-a-bucket-of-oil test is probably what I'd do too. Looking at the exploded diagram, though, I see that there's a gasket that goes in between the pickup and the pump. Are you sure that gasket went in properly? If that's missing/torn/seated wrong it could be letting the pump suck air instead of oil.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Pathfinder/

Bad pump or trashed bearings.

Tail lights don't go through the dimmer switch. Do your front corner lights work? Could be the circuit that does your corners/tails isn't working. I don't remember which wires are which on the dimmer, but the dash illumination wires are pink with a different color of stripe for +/-, if that helps.