Slartibartfast

I had an RPM specific whine that turned out to be my timing belt tensioner, but that was over a range. Try removing drive belts, hopefully the sound will go away with one of them and point to a failing accessory or idler.

Huh, didn't know Ford radios came out like that. Bet they're a PITA to pull if you don't have the special tool. You might check over at InfamousNissan.com, they do a lot of round-dash swaps into lowered Hardbody pickups. I didn't see one right off but I'll bet there's a how-to on there somewhere. Seeing as how you have all the bits from the round-dash truck, why not just swap the electronic speed sensor into the '93?

Crimp connectors and screws through the faceplate... classy. The seats look good! Here's the Crutchfield wiring (for the stereo). It's the '95 table but IIRC the others are linked, and I can't imagine the colors changed too much. It won't help with the alarm but it sounds like you have ideas on that. If you're wiring a whole new stereo system, you might as well scrap the stock harness and run new wire... the stock wiring is really small, it's a lot longer than it needs to be, and of course the inline amps aren't helpful.

Short of a new harness... the FSM diagrams will be your friends. Looks like there's some info about the Clifford thing online, and if you can find a wiring diagram for that, you should be able to figure out which wires were cut to install it.

A stock Ford Ranger radio? Crutchfield has a writeup with the color codes for the stereo wires. You could find it through their site or look for the write-up I did on bypassing the amps, which has the links IIRC. I dunno about the dash swap, sorry.

Took me a minute to find your earlier posts... the Search function here won't show me anything over a year old, which is unhelpful. (Anyone know if this can be reset?) I wouldn't worry about the moisture coming out of the tailpipe unless it smells strongly of antifreeze; often you just get a bit of condensation in the pipe from sitting, and as hot air blows through, some of it turns to steam and some of it drips out. If it was running rich enough to drip gas out the tailpipe, I don't think it would be running (or if it was, the smoke would be black). It does sound like you've got a misfire, though. I'd start by checking the ignition system for a loose wire or moisture in the distributor. I've heard that a crack in the distributor cap can let water in, which can prevent sparks from getting to the plugs. A squirt of WD-40 is supposed to clear it up temporarily, though you should let the fumes dissipate before putting the cap back on. If your weather conditions were right for condensation in the exhaust, I wouldn't be surprised if it formed in the cap as well. The usual fix is a new cap, but a bit of sealant or glue in the crack would probably do the job. None of the US model Pathfinders came carbureted, so info's a little scarce around here. You might try posting a pic of the carb without the air cleaner, on the off chance that it's the same as an older Nissan or Datsun carb, which somebody on here might recognize. Nissan may have raided its older parts bins rather than designing a new carb from scratch.

I've never properly tested it to see if there's any correlation between its position and idle speed... but I know that each time I've checked for codes I've lost track of its original position, and my idle hasn't changed noticeably. IMO either they wanted to keep us out of it or it was originally intended it to function as some kind of adjuster. The second would make more sense to me... triggering diagnostic modes with a pot seems like a needlessly complex way of doing it as opposed to, I don't know, a couple of buttons, unless they'd already designed around a pot.

Amazon has a few aftermarket cruise kits, but I'd look into swapping a system in out of a wrecked Pathy or HB. Probably wouldn't work any different but mounting might be easier. I don't know if the '88s were offered with cruise, but if they were, I imagine it would be pure bolt-on. Mine will do 19 mpg on the highway at 60-70 with the cruise and the overdrive on. I imagine the wing might actually decrease drag by channeling more air into the vacuum that forms behind the truck.

Must be nice to have her going again.

The argument interested me enough to push me into the rabbit hole, so here we go. Near as I can tell, Nefarious is talking about adjusting the idle speed by reprogramming the ECU, not screwing with the mislabeled diagnostic pot. It's an odd point to bring up (seeing as how most of us don't have the tools to reflash our ECUs) but he is correct in that setting the idle from the ECU should not be necessary. If the engine's idling too high or too low, it's not that the computer has the wrong goal, it's that, for whatever reason, the idle air valves can't make it happen. I had a look at the EF&EC section (page 14 specifically) to get a better idea of what goes on in the idle air assembly. The computer controls the engine's idle via the Auxiliary Air Control valve, which appears to be a simple solenoid valve that varies airflow by duty cycle (not unlike a fuel injector). This part allows the computer to adjust the idle. (High idle during warmup is handled by the IACV, which as far as I can tell does not communicate with the computer.) Small adjustments to the screw don't change the idle because the computer tunes them out with the AAC. With large adjustment or mechanical issues (or the IACV being open) the idle can and does change, so clearly the AAC can only do so much. I suspect that the purpose of the idle adjustment screw is to get the idle close enough to right that the AAC can fine-tune it. This would explain why the FSM's adjustment procedure for the screw says to disconnect the idle air assembly first. True, adjustments to this shouldn't be necessary on a stock vehicle, but after years of ingesting PCV gunk and whatever else I'll bet the air flow through the throttle body changes somewhat. Thorough cleaning/repair of the throttle body and the idle air valves would probably be the proper fix, but I don't imagine that simply adjusting the system to work around the gunk/leaks/etc would blow your engine, fry your ECU, or retroactively lose WWII for the Allies. If you've done significant intake/engine mods you may want to adjust it anyway.

That's a whole host of things! I can't imagine how the trans would prevent the engine from starting, unless it was full of concrete. The 2k rpm thing sounds like the ECU is going into limp mode... any codes/check engine light? I wouldn't suspect the pump quite yet, but you might try swapping the fuel filter if that hasn't been done in a while.

I'm guessing that's the ABS actuator. I haven't heard of many problems with them, and I can't say I've ever gotten mine to kick in. How did you set the belt tension?

If it ran, I imagine the valves are okay. Amazing that it ran like that... I'm interested to see if it feels much different when you put it back together.

My uncle bench bled mine before putting it on and I'm pretty sure he didn't have a kit for it. According to this you can do it by hand.

If yours didn't come with the carrier, you'll need the brackets from inside the fender as well.

Had to pull the fan on my friend's Astro this weekend, and found that a special tool was needed to hold the water pump still. I didn't have the special tool but an aluminum clipboard with a 1/2" hole drilled near the bottom edge fit right over one of the pulley bolts, braced on another one, and was thin enough for us to get a pipe wrench in there and unscrew the fan. Best part was, when it was time to put the fan back on, we just turned the clipboard over and braced the pulley the other way.

That's a hell of a project! I like the front bumper drink cooler too.

Methfinder... that ain't normal. I don't know enough about brakes to know what's wrong, but I'd hazard a guess at one of more of your rear brake shoes being knackered and dragging. My brakes aren't perfect (a little play to the pedal since replacing the MC, dunno if it's just the MC or if there's air in the ABS module) but if they were that bad I'd be worried.

So long as they've both got the VG30, the transmissions should interchange. I'm sure someone on here's done a rebuild (and the FSM details it) but I don't remember seeing pics. IIRC the shape of the shift lever for the Hardbody transfer case is a little different, and people use them with body lifts. Shouldn't be a problem, and if it is, you can just swap for your old one.

My locking system has seen better days. Sometimes it fights against the key, other times it unlocks as soon as I lock it, sometimes it locks as soon as I unlock it, it locks all the doors if you shut the passenger's front door hard enough... tying that into a noisemaker would be a bad life choice. Might sound more like a Canada goose, now that I think about it. Anyway, back to making the doors beep...

If the owner's manual came with it, it's probably got a section on how the remote start should work.

I live in an area that produces icicles with hoarfrost on them, and I didn't know the mirrors were heated until... well, probably until I read something about them on here.

My understanding of it is that the fluid level is too low to properly lube some of the bearings, so they wear out faster than they should. Depending on how far gone the bearings are, more fluid might not stop the noise, but it would probably make the bearings last longer. IIRC the later transmissions have the fill plug higher up to fix this.

D'oh, for some reason I was thinking R50. Disregard my post, sorry for the confusion.

You can get the whole link and bushing assembly together, or you can get new bushings. The problem is that the bushings have to be pressed in, which is apparently a PITA. You can also get aftermarket poly bushings, which go in more easily, but you still have to tear out the old ones. Buying whole links is the easy way to do it. More info >>