Slartibartfast

That is a weird place to have a leak! You may be onto something with the fluid following the wires. If the wires do in fact run to the 4WD switch, then the harness likely connects to the transfer case as well, which would explain how the fluid is getting on the wires in the first place. If a seal on the transfer case is going bad, it could be leaking onto the wires. I wouldn't bother with additives, they'll just mask problems for a while if they do anything at all. Check your fluid level in the transfer case. If it's low, you have your culprit. If not, give the area a good clean and check it again in a couple days to see if you can spot the fluid. I had a scare a while back when I noticed a thick black fluid leaking out of my truck from behind the rear mud flap. I was sure the axle was buggered somehow. Turned out the bottle of poorly-mixed fake blood in the cargo area (long story) had tipped over, soaked through the carpet, and was running down the the inside of the fender and out through the drain holes.

+1, I had a rock chip in one when I got it but replaced it and have had no problems with them since. I prefer glass lenses actually because they don't UV degrade. If you want plastic lenses though, looks like Fleabay has you covered:

Push-button start? Maybe they were having trouble with the ignition switch.

Suddenly, hellaflush.

Electrical units (ECM, ignition parts, etc) might come in handy later, especially if you find yourself trying to track down an intermittent issue. Couldn't hurt to pull a few interior bits (looks like arm rests sell fast on here). You could even swap the interior over if you liked the 95 dash/etc better. Other than that, depends on what your truck needs and how much space you have!

How on earth does the top rot out?

A bad heater core dumping coolant into the vents would probably make itself more obvious (and the title of the thread would be something involving skin grafts). My bet's on the clogged air conditioner drain.

Great fun! I just put a new one of those in mine. And yeah, with a car of this age you can reasonably expect to put more into parts than you paid for the bones. Depending on how long the truck was driven with the wrong fluid, the clutches could very well be lunched or the fluid could have clutch material in it. The clutches can be rebuilt, if you're up to that. IIRC My1Path did a writeup on rebuilding his. I wouldn't bother with the diff for now, fix the brakes and give it a week or so to see if the clutches improve any. For all I know they'll wear in.

The prophet has spoken. Though from what I've heard, most vehicles will tolerate a dot3/dot4 mix.

Riding on bump stops would explain the issue but I'm not entirely sure that's what's happening here. I'd expect to see it in a lifted or lowered truck. Yours (judging by the wheel well gaps) is at the same height as mine, and mine doesn't ride that bad. Maybe your shocks are so blasted out that the suspension is traveling farther and hitting the stops? Those don't look like OEM shocks, but depending on how hard the PO beat them they could be wiped out. If you can't tell if the stops are hitting, grease one side, take it for a drive, see if the other side gets grease on it. (I hear toothpaste works well too.)

I jacked it up from the UCA, stuck a crowbar under it, and couldn't really make the wheel rock. I visually inspected the bushings and the rubber looks good, no cracks, but there might be a little shrinkage. Thanks for the link, I'll look at that with my dad later. I know he tried it once but maybe we'll do better with instructions. Seems like all the junked Pathfinders out here have more miles on them than mine. I'll check them for looseness next time I'm at the yard, though. IIRC I'd need a 94 or 95 only box too, since the size of the hole at the end of the pitman changed (I think this came up in Tungsten's 2wd swap thread).

You can pull out the screen, it's got little notches around the outer edge, hook one of those and the whole thing slides out. Figure out the cap because brake fluid absorbs water from the air... keeping air away from it is therefore a good thing. You might grab a cap from a junkyard just in case your new one is defective.

If you're still fighting this I'd take a look at the wires in the body panel over the left rear wheel... just in case there's a loose ground or something getting jostled around.

Trim, dash, speed sensor (cable vs electronic), whether the EGR has a BPT valve, there are differences. For most of what you need though it'll be a good resource.

"You'd have to ask the boss, he makes the decisions... no, he's not here."

Plus that light's supposed to kick on when the brake fluid level drops. I wouldn't have known I had fluid squirting out the side of the master cylinder if that light hadn't come on. I suspect that the lights are triggered by multiple sources so pulling the sensor from the MC probably won't do jack unless the float is stuck. (Couldn't hurt to check the float, it's the bluish foam thing beneath the screen. If it's stuck down it's your problem, not sure how it'd do that though.) Now that I think of it I was messing with the reed switch (sensor) from my old MC the other day and I noticed that it could lock closed if I swiped a magnet over it wrong. You might just pull it out (the whole sensor slides out of the res) and check it with an ohmmeter. It should be closed when there's a magnet directly above it and open when there isn't.

93 and earlier flares WILL NOT FIT a 94-95. At least the rears won't fit. I picked up a rear flare from a 93 (assuming they were all the same because why wouldn't they be) and the mount points are different.

I think I'll leave the 'mystery of life' to the intentions of elderly drivers and the ingredients of deli food. I haven't had a chance to try the other wheels yet, but I jacked it up and checked for mechanical issues today. I didn't see any slack in the UCA bushings when I jacked it up but then I'm not really sure the best way to check them short of tearing the suspension apart. I did notice a sort of knocking sound when I turned the wheel back and forth (with the engine off), and tracked this sound to the box with a redneck stethoscope. It doesn't seem like a huge amount of slack, but I imagine it becomes more significant at speed. I'm fairly sure it's not supposed to make a knocking sound, anyway. To those of you who've done a box swap: how much of a PITA is it? The main bolts/banjo fittings look easy enough but I'll need a puller for the Pitman arm, correct? I considered grabbing a box from the junkyard, but I can't imagine it'd be in better shape than mine. And just in case the alignment place missed the UCA bushings, any tips for checking those? I'm considering strapping a camcorder to the wheel well where it can see where the arm attaches and then driving with it in place, but if there's a non-Red Green way of doing this please let me know.

I'd be concerned about the weight as well, but if you had to put it up there, couldn't you stretch a tarp or something over it and tie it down at the corners? That should cut down on drag a bit.

Does sound like the LSD then. Hopefully the additive clears it up. The fluid specs are a little odd on that, seems like the manual-transmission trucks call for gear oil and the auto-trans trucks call for ATF, presumably in case a seal failed and one gearbox leaked into the other. It's the same transfer case. Just put in whatever's in your transmission and you should be good to go. Make sure you can get the fill plug out before you drain the fluid!

We all ramble about Pathfinder problems, you're in good company.

An LSD with non-LSD oil (or without an LSD additive) will act funny as well, so if you do have the sticker, try adding some additive and see if that sorts it out. I have no idea on the temp thing, mine goes up to halfway and stays there, OD engagement as soon as required. You might check on your fan clutch and make sure it's not seized. Has it only done this since you put the new thermostat in? It may just be a lower-temp unit than your old one.

I pay very little attention to the 4x4 light. I'm not sure exactly what it's hooked to but I don't trust it. If you think the front end is spinning, cinch a zip tie to the front driveshaft so it'll hit the floor as it goes around. If you hear whap whap whap whap then the shaft is turning, either because the hubs are on or because the transfer case is engaged. (If you drive backwards a short distance in 2h, the hubs should disengage.) Auto hubs are common in salvage yards, and manual hubs are way less than the dealer quoted you for autos. Unless the hub is busted to hell inside you can probably just pop it open and grease it. I've been meaning to do mine but dreading fighting the frozen bolts. Just for giggles, put your transfer case stick through its full range of motion, from 2h to 4lo. Make sure it's moving right and that it goes all the way forward when you're done.

The hubs may very well be stuck, but unless the diff has been welded this shouldn't cause any kind of crabbing unless the transfer case is stuck in 4x.

You might check here: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/35026-1995-nissan-pathfinder-part-out/ The dimmer in it should be exactly the same as yours.