Slartibartfast

LOL, the computer's too old to replace the CV axles? I didn't mean to write a novel, but, well, here's the novel. It's been a while since I did my CVs, so hopefully some of this is right. Like I said before, you'll need a 12mm 12-point. Make sure it's impact rated. Use an impact if you can. If you have to use hand tools, put the transfer in low range 4x, with the other front wheel on the ground, to stop the axle from turning when you go to loosen the bolts. You'll need a 6mm Allen (and possibly a torch) to get the hubs off, and some snap ring pliers to get the snap ring off the CV. (Technically you're supposed to measure the endplay of the axle in the hub and select a snap ring of appropriate thickness to dial it in. I didn't bother, and I don't imagine most people do. The instructions and specs are in the service manual if you want to do it properly.) Wouldn't be a bad idea to replace the inner hub seals (seals against the CV to protect the front wheel bearing) while you're in there. You may need to unbolt the shock for access to the CV bolts, though this may not be needed if you're taking the whole knuckle off anyway. The ball joints unbolt from the arms, but you'll need pullers to get them out of the knuckles. I think I used a puller of this style, but a pickle fork would probably do the job. I picked up one of these for tie rod ends and it's great. Shouldn't need anything special for the sway bar links, but I remember screwing around with a jack or a ratchet strap or something trying to get the second side close enough to get the nut started. You may need some wiggle room for those, so get one side started, then get the other side started before tightening anything down. If the old ones are stubborn, it may be quicker to break or cut them out, assuming the kit comes with new hardware. Do you have a torque wrench? I wouldn't bother with it on the sway bar links, but it's a good idea for suspension work in general. I shoot for the low end of spec on castle nuts, then tighten more as needed to get the cotter pin hole to line up. Otherwise, shoot for the middle. IIRC the axle bolts don't have a torque spec in the manual, so I did mine to German spec with the impact. If you're rebooting, there's a special plier for putting the boot clamps on, though I think I brute-forced it with normal pliers. You'll also need a vise to hold the axles, and a big punch (preferably brass). And some gloves. And a lot of paper towels. You'll need an alignment after replacing steering/suspension components. I aligned mine myself because I wouldn't trust the guys at the Les Schwab to put training wheels on a bicycle. I checked camber with a digital angle finder and a piece of flat steel laid across the rim (while parked on flat ground, obviously). I haven't found an easy way to check caster yet, and didn't have room to adjust it anyway. Both are adjusted by adding or removing shims behind the upper control arm spindles. You may not need to mess with these if you're not changing the ride height. You can get the toe somewhere close by measuring the existing tie rod assembly, then adjusting the new assembly to the same length before installing it, but it'll still need adjustment afterwards. My go-to method for setting toe uses a tape measure and two lengths of angle iron (bedframe). With the truck parked on flat ground, not on a jack, set the angle iron on jackstands, tight against the front wheel sidewalls so it's parallel with the wheels. The usual method is to measure in front of the wheels, then behind, and the difference is your toe. I measure in front, and then the tires' diameter in front of that, because there isn't a truck in the way. Either way, I try to get the front measurement 1/16-1/8" shorter than the back. Adjust to where it looks about right, drive it around the block to let it settle in, then re-check and readjust as needed. You'll probably end up doing this several times before you're happy with it. If you're only replacing one tie rod end, start by adjusting only that one side. If the alignment was good beforehand, and the other work you did didn't change the geometry enough to matter, then you should be able to get the toe right and the steering wheel straight by adjusting just that one side. Make sure you've got a good set of jackstands, and use them. I slide a wheel under the truck as well, so if it falls off the stands, it has something other than me to land on. Do one side at a time so you can check the other side if you forget how something goes together. If the new joints have zerks, grease them. And clean out out the wheel arches before you get in there so you're not constantly showered in dirt while you're working. Provided nothing fights you--no broken bolts, nothing seized, no surprises--a couple of days should be easily doable. But have a plan B in case something does fight you or a part doesn't fit like it should. Speaking of parts not fitting--the tie rod ends aren't all the same for these. The taper size changed for some reason in '92. Probably July of '92. Check the date on the sticker in your doorjamb before ordering parts. I got burned on that once, and still have a '92 knuckle in the corner that I had 90% installed before discovering that my tie rod end was too big for it. Also make sure you get the correct thread--inner and outer TREs are threaded opposite where they go into the adjuster, and there's no guarantee the existing assembly is installed the right way around. There is a difference in the CV axles in four-cylinder vs V6 trucks, but they bolt up the same and take the same boots--I know because I have one of each on mine. Just don't get the early (two-door) 27-spline axles, those won't work with your 28-spline hubs.

Nope, no brake interlock on the starter. Just the park/neutral relay (auto) or clutch relay (manual). SC-12 in the '03 manual shows the starter circuit, and there isn't much to it.

Yeah, those fill the arches better. Given that 33x10.50 mostly fits at stock height, you should be good with that lift, so long as the offset on the Yota rims isn't too crazy. Normally I'm not a fan of modern rims, but those ain't bad--especially for the price!

Always fun tracking down intermittent issues. Is it fixed or is it hiding again? Hopefully the new inhibitor relay keeps it happy.

The thunking before the oil change makes me think the previous change might've been done without the LSD additive. I've heard that makes the clutches chatter, which can lead to them breaking up. If clutch chunks escaped and got into the bearings, that could be your problem right there. Checking the temp isn't a bad idea, but I wouldn't expect to see much unless the rear end was absolutely shredding itself. You could drop the oil and see if any chunks come out with it. If you do end up diff shopping, look into the 3rd member from an early Xterra. Same 33-spline H233B, but they packed the LSD a little tighter than they did in the R50s. If you've gotta swap it out, might as well upgrade, right? If you want to really dig into it, Hawairish did a great writeup on repacking the LSD up to WD21 spec or better. Life expectancy for these should be pretty good. I haven't heard of many H233Bs outright failing, though the clutch-type LSD will wear out eventually. Mine's done over 250k miles and it's showing no signs of weakness, though I suspect it's had a pretty easy life.

Sounds like an easy place to start. I wonder if the starter itself could be causing this--something wrong with the contacts maybe. Does it make a click noise when you turn the key, or is there no response at all? You could run a wire up from the starter, taking the key switch out of the circuit entirely, and see if you still get the hesitation when basically hotwiring the starter. If it still acts up, then you'll know the key switch circuit isn't the problem.

The symptoms sound like the rear end (worn bearings messing up the gear mesh), which makes sense given the rear end was giving you issues before. Could be the new control arm bushings are a little stiffer than the old ones and transfer the noise better. The loose bearing is interesting/worrying. If I'm reading that right, the wheel is rocking up and down? Like a front wheel with a loose ball joint? I don't know how a solid axle would do that unless multiple things were pretty borked. The length of the axle shaft means it would take a lot of play at one end or the other. I assume you've ruled out loose lug nuts, spacers, junk on the mating surfaces?

Had a look at my parts car as the shifter's out already, and it looks like the same 194 bulb that's in the cluster and front parking lights.

I had a similar thought when I had my front end to bits. I didn't have a press at the time, I didn't want to open a can of worms, and the old bushings really didn't look that bad. I gave the spindle a couple half-hearted whacks with a hammer to see if it would move easily (it didn't), decided the old bushings were fine, and then put them back on. I have a press now, so that would be my go-to. Otherwise, unless you can rig up something like a press, you're probably stuck burning them out.

Nicely done! I like the low profile. How's the quality on the Hazard Fright rack?

You can get the service manual here--the AT section will be your friend. I would start by checking that there's no obvious damage to the shifter or the shifter cable. If the shifter's position doesn't match what's going on at the trans, that would explain the positions being offset, and why the shift interlock (park/neutral safety) is giving you trouble. Maybe someone tried to yank it out of park when the shift lock was on and tweaked something? Might have to pull the console out to inspect the shifter mechanism. Also check that the position switch on the side of the transmission isn't obviously damaged or messed with and checks out electrically, and that the wiring isn't obviously hacked anywhere. I doubt the service manual has a troubleshooting procedure for exactly this issue, but there should be some electrical checks and hopefully an adjustment procedure to get the shifter and trans synced up properly once you've dealt with whatever the damage is. Good luck and let us know what you find.

Good work finding it before throwing parts at something else! Figures it was the security system acting up. And thanks! It's been sitting for a while now, I need to get back on it.

I'm not familiar with that scanner, but anything that'll read OBDII codes should be fine. No codes is also a result--just means the computer doesn't know what's wrong either. If you've got carb cleaner, that works too. Which engine do you have? In the US, an '04 would have the VQ35DE, which has a timing chain. Earlier R50s have the VG33E, which has a timing belt. There should be a data plate in the engine bay (the one with the vin #) that'll list what engine it's got if you're not sure. And yes, slipped timing would absolutely cause a crank/no-start. It could also cause valve damage, so hopefully that's not what happened.

Service manuals for the US models are here, hopefully the same/similar equipment to what you're working with. I doubt the line is clogged. Injectors clog, but it would have to be all six. More likely there's an electrical problem, or the computer isn't getting the data it needs to know when to fire them. Does it run on starting fluid? Any trouble codes? Your description of running like the timing is off before not running at all has me thinking a crank sensor might've gone. Hopefully it's not the valve timing. Haven't heard of a VQ doing that, though again I'm assuming yours has the same engine as the US model of that year.

That's gonna need some welding. Kinda scary to think that was holding the tire carrier on.

Welcome back! I imagine the axles would be pretty quick and easy for a shop to replace. They're not too bad to do yourself, but the bolts holding them to the front diff are 12mm 12-point, so make sure you have a 12-point impact socket before you get into it. I rebooted my old axles and swore I'd never do it again--there must be some trick to getting them apart that I didn't know, because good lord those things fought me. I've read that the OE axles are usually better than whatever reman crap is out there, but after the time and aggravation of re-booting, I might roll those dice. Looks like you highlighted the sway bar end link (very easy, probably needs the bushing that holds the swaybar to the frame too), upper and lower ball joint (not too bad, thankfully Nissan didn't rivet them in like some makes do) and tie rod end (also easy). It'll need an alignment afterwards, so any other front end work it needs, you might as well do at the same time. If you haven't done the strut rod bushings yet, they're probably due too, and may require some welding.

I think they were Timken L68111. They weren't perfect, but they were close enough. And, yes, weld-on. Weld it good and hot, there's a lot of carbon in that bearing steel.

AFAIK any mid '93-'95 (round dash, pre-airbag) D21 should have the same wheel as yours. A really low-trim one might not have the cruise control buttons, so watch out for that. I would avoid the '96/'97 D21 wheel with the airbag. I imagine the splines in the airbag wheels are the same, but they've got a clock spring instead of the sliding contacts, so you'd have to do some screwing around to get the horn and cruise control buttons working. And then of course there's the 26-year-old pyrotechnic device in the middle of it. I'll second Adam's idea--check out other pre-airbag Nissans of similar vintage. I looked up a '94 Maxima wheel and it looks like it's got the same cruise buttons, so that's promising. Couldn't find a picture from the back, but if that's the same, it may bolt right up. The trick is finding one in better condition than what you've got now. If you try to pull the wheel off its splines without a puller, thread the nut back on a few turns before reefing on it so you don't slam it into your face when it lets go.

Hopefully that's got it and the trans settles down. If it keeps acting weird, check the fluid level, at operating temp, in neutral, engine running. It's a pain to get set dead nuts on, but too high or too low can make it act up.

The manual VQ R50 is kind of a rare bird, so you may have some difficulty sourcing parts. Last I heard new flywheels weren't available. The service manual does show some minor differences between TX10A (manually shifted) transfers for auto or manual trucks. The manual version has a lip under the input shaft seal and a couple of bits internally that I don't know the purpose of, and that aren't present in earlier manuals. AFAIK the auto version will bolt to a manual transmission without issue. If it's got the ATX14a transfer case (knob on the dash), looks like they only made one version of that. I have no idea if that box was even offered with the five-speed. If that's the one you've got, I would check the wiring in the service manual to make sure it's not relying on the auto trans computer for something. AFAIK the driveshafts are the same, but don't quote me on that. No idea on the computer or power valves, sorry. RE your other post, sounds like you know most of the issues with the VQ. I would also inspect the front strut towers. They rot out badly enough that there was a recall in some states, and Nissan "fixed" some of them in an alarmingly half-assed manner.

I removed a set of brackets from a WD21 and ended up cutting it up like you did on your donor, and even then there was some screwing around involved. Hopefully there's a little more room in the R50 quarter panel.

If you can fit the whole bracket in there, just use the nuts on the bracket instead of the riv nuts. The riv nuts are just a way to avoid having to deal with the brackets. Maybe you could remove the nuts and use the riv nuts to hold the brackets to the panel--but I would expect that to be a PITA to line up, and also weaker when you're done, and I don't know if there's enough length on the riv nuts to clamp through the bracket and still hold themselves in. From what I remember (and can see in the picture), that truck has great big honking tires on it, so any strength you can add to the tire carrier mounts will be a good thing.

Ouch. Headlight sure looks tweaked in the last shot. Might've just popped the ball out of the bracket. The grille might be alright, or at least salvageable. Super glue worked pretty well on the grille for my '95. Works great reinforced with baking soda. I used sawdust, don't remember why, but that also worked. Bumper's junk, bumper brackets probably are too. You won't know more until you start pulling it apart. Hopefully it doesn't take much to bring it around, looks like a really clean rig otherwise. When I hit a deer a few years ago, I figured the insurance would want to junk it/be more hassle than it was worth. I just put a strap around the bumper and pulled it straight enough. The rad support needed a little tweaking to get the fender to sit flat, but a couple hours' work got it close enough. One of these days I want to build a stronger bumper, so I didn't bother getting it perfect, but unless you squat down and really look at it, it doesn't show. Hopefully injuries in the Honda weren't too bad. That sounds like a recipe for whiplash.

Some options are pre-wired on these, and the '87 manual shows power mirrors as an option. I'd be curious to check behind the dash and the mirrors see if the pigtails are there already. If they are, it should be an easy upgrade. Otherwise you may need to run some wires. I would not be surprised if the power mirror pigtails were part of the harness for the power locks and windows, so if you don't have those, but the dash is pre-wired, you could get door harnesses from a higher-trim donor and make it work that way. If you have to recreate the harness from scratch, it looks like a reasonably simple system. There's a wiring diagram for it on BF-43 in the '87 manual, or BF-45 of the '89 (which I have on dropbox here). Might need to find the wiring for the rear defroster if you want to get the heaters working.

I'm not sure what the factory used. The service manual calls for their KP610-00250 sealant "or equivalent." The description on NissanPartsDeal says "gasket-liquid," which does sound like Hylomar, but it also says FIP, which I assume is form-in-place, which has me thinking silicone. Let us know what you find when you tear it down! I would expect either type of sealant to do the job provided it's applied properly and the mating surfaces are clean. Unless I had a good reason to use something else, I would use black RTV. Seals are a good idea while you're in there. A seal that isn't leaking yet may change its mind after being disturbed. My front crank seal did that after a timing belt change. I haven't opened one of these transfers, or dropped one on its own, so I don't have much in the way of specific tips. The shift linkage is removable, that might save you some trouble. If you drop the whole transfer case, a transmission jack will make your life much easier. You may need another jack to support the back of the transmission while the transfer is out. I would be tempted to try and remove the back case half without removing the rest of the transfer from the truck, if there's clearance for that vs the torsion bar crossmember. If you need to remove that crossmember, 1) make damn sure the front end is on jackstands first (the torsion bars hold the front end up) and 2) mark or take a picture of the adjusters before taking them apart. They're a bit fiddly to adjust, so having their starting position marked in some way will save you some time trying to trial-and-error it back to where it was. Oh, and you'll need some way of getting oil back into it when you're done. A hand pump will do, slowly. I fabricobbled a jar with a hose and an air chuck to make it easier. When a friend and I dropped the transfer from an Exploder a while back, we overfilled it, installed it, then removed the fill plug to drain the excess. Worked great.