Slartibartfast

To test a relay, first figure out which pins are which. Usually it'll have a diagram on the top with numbers, and if you unplug the relay and turn it over, the numbers are molded in by the pins. Identify which pins are for the coil and which are for the contacts. Assuming you're looking at the standard blue Nissan relay, you'll have four pins, two of which are for the coil, and two of which should connect when the coil is energized. With your meter set to ohms, you should get a reading from one coil pin to the other, but nowhere else. To test it properly, connect the multimeter (still on ohms) to the contact pins, and then connect one coil pin to ground and the other to positive. I usually just pop the hood and test them right on the battery, using alligator clips (the kind with rubber sleeves on them so they can't short out). When power is connected to the coil, the relay should click, and the meter should go from showing infinite resistance before the click to showing little/no resistance after. (If your meter has a "continuity" setting, turn that on, it'll beep when the pins are connected so you don't even have to look at it.) Be careful not to mix it up and apply battery voltage to the tester when it's in the ohms position. If you don't have alligator clips or don't want to fiddle around with the relay, find an identical relay in the engine bay labelled for something that still works, switch that relay for the one you want to test, and then re-test that circuit. If the circuit still works, the relay's not the problem. If it goes dead, and comes back when you put the original relay back in, you've got a dead relay. It would be nice if it was just a relay, but I haven't read about many failed relays on these. Depending on where you had it parked for that period of time, mice might've gotten into the wiring. Hopefully it's not that, but it's something to check. I would also take a look at the fuse links in case they got bumped out of place or snagged on something when you put the battery in. I have no idea what an IPDM is, much less where it is, so I'm no help there. You can download the factory service manual here, it might take some looking around but it'll have a diagram somewhere (body section?) of where the electrical units are hidden. It also has a lot of troubleshooting procedures that might help narrow this down if it's a computer issue.

Call over the friend who rolled your Jeep and ask him to hold the coil wire while you crank the engine over. Unplug the distributor end of the coil wire, set it down next to the intake, and watch for sparks between them while somebody else cranks it over. If you don't see sparks, remove the distributor cap, have your helper crank it again, make sure the rotor spins. I wouldn't worry about the knock code for now, they tend to crop up with other issues and go away once those issues are sorted.. And no, it's not the same as the crank angle sensor. I imagine that a malfunctioning crank angle sensor might not throw a code on a vehicle that doesn't start; the computer would think the engine wasn't turning, not apply spark/injector pulse, and not think anything of it. Don't worry about head gaskets, I'm just going to go ahead and say it isn't that.

My random gas smell ended up being a failing seam on the gas tank.

My '95 has black covers, and I didn't know other years had other colors. I don't think I've seen anything but black at the wreckers, but then I've never been looking for valve covers.

A dead alty shouldn't prevent it from starting if it's jumped to another car or if it's on a charger. If the battery is dead flat, or just really low, give it a few minutes of charging before trying to start it. Did you see any warning lights on the dashboard between mudding and it not starting? I would expect to see at least the battery light on with a dead alty. If you didn't see lights, and/or it still won't start with the battery charged up, maybe I was wrong about the alty. Another possibility is a shorted cell in the battery. When this happened to my grandma's Subaru, it wouldn't start even with jump leads on the battery. Oddly, when I moved the negative lead to the intake, it would start. An auto parts place should also be able to test your battery.

Sounds like it's still running lean. Maybe there are more vacuum leaks? Check the oxygen sensors? Also sounds like your transmission is slipping. That's not good.

The service manual should show you where the parts that are throwing the codes are located. Then I guess you could fill a Windex bottle with water, crawl underneath, spray one of them, see if 4x4 works, spray the other one, check again, spray the wiring in sections, and see what has to get wet for it to cut out. Hopefully someone who's worked with the automatic transfer case can suggests a less Homer Simpson way of doing it.

I pulled the grille off, JB'd the passenger's headlight seal to make it quit filling with water whenever it rained, and noticed how pockmarked/faded/oversprayed the grille was. Thanks to the magic of rattlecans, it's black again. I like it, except that it makes the rust on the hood stand out more...

How long did it take you to realize the VG30 was WOT? I can't really tell from the pics, looks like the kink was right by the firewall? I kind of want to check mine now, just to be on the safe side.

Yep, sounds like a dead alty. If you can pull it off, an auto parts place could test it and rule it out or get you a new one.

Zombie thread! But yeah, I don't always wash my truck, but when I do, Simple Green and a rag does the job. Gotta find something better for pitch, though.

If that's for both (can't tell from listing) it's a better price than I got my MMs for. I've heard that MMs aren't as strong as Warns, and IIRC MauiTrailGuy grenaded one. I haven't really beat on mine yet, so I can't recommend for/against them.

If you have a voltmeter, check the battery; if you knackered your alternator (not uncommon in mud), it could still drive/start for a little while until the battery ran down. If you don't have a meter, try jumpstarting it. If it won't start on its own, but starts up fine with the cables on it, your battery was low. Also check the battery connections for corrosion/looseness. Mucked starter is possible, but the alty is my bet.

LOL sorry to darken your day with the mention of the accursed Minivan.

Another PDF to add to my files? Don't mind if I do. There's an info plate in the engine bay, passenger's side, back by the hood hinge, that has your transmission model stamped on it (among other things). Mine says RE4R01A, which is the first one listed in the PDF; I assume yours is the same. If so, then yes, it is applicable. Unless something else jumps out at you, I'd start with the code check procedure. Just make sure the section you're in is applicable to the Pathfinder, looks like there's a lot of different vehicles lumped together in there. Edit: Looks like it has you test for power at the trans computer. That's in the passenger's rear quarter, accessible from the cargo area behind the trim. You'll have to pull the strip under the rear hatch (be careful with the screws, they're plastic and strip really easily) to get the side off, and then IIRC there are three Phillips screws holding the trans computer to the sheet metal.

If your Pathy has a sunroof, you might try putting a shade on it as well. OEM ones are rare, so I just hacked up a cardboard box and hooked it to the stock latches with baling wire, and I think it's actually helping a bit.

Yep, did my glass struts a while back, IIRC there's a little metal clip over the ball-end that you have to pull off with a screwdriver. I seem to remember the kit coming with new ball ends for the window mounts, so you might not even need to deal with the clips there. The new struts will actually lift the window on their own on warm days, especially if it's been up recently. All I have to do is hit the window popper switch.

IIRC the R50 CV axles don't have the snap ring groove cut into the splines that's needed to attach an auto hub. WD21 axles have two grooves, one for auto and one for manual, but R50s apparently just have the one for manuals. I guess you could have them machined (or see if an Xterra CV would fit), but it would be a lot of trouble for auto hubs, and IMO they're not worth it. Auto hubs sound great in theory, but were a pain in my everything in practice, failing to engage, failing to disengage, coming half disengaged and chattering like the wheel was gonna fall off, and I never knew if they were properly locked or not until I either spun out or didn't (or the transfer case made grinding noises instead of slotting in). Of course, mine were pretty worn out, so your mileage may vary. Still, my understanding is that they won't lock unless you're driving forward in 4x, and you can't always do that. The other day I got myself stuck, couldn't go forward because there was a fence there, and didn't have the traction to back up in 2HI. I got out, locked the hubs, and walked it right out of there without even messing up the grass. With autos I would've needed another rig and a tow strap.

+1 on codes. My halfwit first guess is that the crank angle sensor's getting weird. It's not unusual for the tachometers on these to spaz out on their own, but having it spaz at the same time as the engine suggests a shared problem... and I'll bet the tach runs off the angle sensor.

The only reason I can think of to do a VIN check is if you've got a mid-93 truck and you don't want to take it apart to see if it's round or square tooth. Then again, I don't sell parts, so there might be something I don't know about. And the 96-99.5 VG33 motors are still interference, just not by as much (smaller cams). Nissan did make a non-interference VG33, but they only sold it to Ford for the Villager minivan.

My passenger's lock will unlock or lock all the doors, driver's will only unlock. I'll tear into it again one of these days and see if the contacts are all worn to hell. +1 on not putting powdered graphite in the locks, my locks went from the occasional hiccup to complete mayhem when I made the mistake of blowing flake graphite in through the lock hole.

The trouble, as I understand it, is that the transfer case on GM transmissions is on the wrong side, so you'd have to tear out the front end and SAS it to get the diff on the passenger's side instead of the driver's. Seems like a hell of a lot of work for a motor swap. I dunno though, might be worth it for a 4BT.

Custom bumper/carrier will probably work better anyway. Until then, you can take the rubber boot off the tire carrier switch, cut a little rubber circle from a scrap of something, stick that in the rubber boot, the put the switch back in (assuming that switch is the same design as the WD21). It presses the plunger a little further so the light doesn't flicker. I did this on my '95 when the switch started to wear out and flicker on bumps.

Good to hear it's back up! Hopefully it stays that way.