Slartibartfast

LOL, the ad says he didn't bend the frame. It has no frame. But yeah, if you've got a good front end laying around, screamin' deal.

I see them everywhere in varying condition... but I always hear that they run forever. One guy I heard about was tired of his, and left it at the junkyard with the keys and title on the seat. The junkyard guys have been driving it around the yard since.

Did you remove the resonator stuff when you hooked the snorkel to the airbox? They have little drain holes in them (and lousy press-fit connections) which I imagine would let in a whole lot of water.

How's the EGR kill the engine? And I thought the EGR was only operative while cruising/at idle? I can see how scrapping a busted or worn-out EGR would make a difference...

^^ Yep... air doesn't really go through them, they just sort of muffle the whooshing noise I guess... like you breathe more loudly when your sinuses are plugged up. And yeah, there's no way to get to the one in the fender w/o pulling the fender. Unless you're running a snorkel or mounting a cone filter I wouldn't bother with it.

Whenever I'm above 45 mph (and not accelerating or taking a hill) I put it in overdrive. The rest of the time, I leave it off. I read on here somewhere that it helps keep it cooler (?) and it seems to pull a lot harder that way. That said, if your driving habits haven't changed but it's acting differently, that's definitely something to look into. I'd suggest fixing the EGR before trying to diagnose the trans. It sounds like the engine computer does talk to the transmission computer, and if the engine's running like hell, that could lead to the trans malfunctioning. You might be able to fix the EGR without replacing it... I just shot some WD-40 in through the vac connections on mine, blew/sucked the line until it quit squeaking and sticking, and put it back together. Also check the tubing... one short fat connector in mine was dry rotted through in the back, where I couldn't see it. If the fluid's good, and you have reverse, then either the clutch packs are legitimately worn out (I would expect to see the flashing e-at light with this) or the control circuitry is doing dumb things... hopefully it's the circuitry.

Is this with the overdrive on or off? Mine always feels like pushing a cow up hills if I've got the overdrive on. Are you sure it's actually a clutch slipping and not just an open torque converter?

The burning smell is interesting... I wouldn't expect a busted timing belt to do that. Not saying you can rule out the belt, but I'm thinking electrical. You can check the fuses easily enough, but I'd also take a look at the fusible links (little loops of wire coming off the positive battery terminal). If something shorted elsewhere, those might be blown, and I'm sure that would cause problems. Check for spark as well (pull a plug wire, hold it next to the intake while somebody tries to start it, see if you get sparks). If not, you can narrow your search down to the ignition. How low was it on gas when it died? Mine crapped out about a month ago because I ran it low on gas, and it sucked some gunk from the tank into the fuel pump. There was fuel in the system, but it couldn't push it through fast enough. Pulling the pump out and cleaning it solved the problem. It stumbled for a few miles before it died, though... yours sounds more out-of-the-blue. From what I've read, an engine with a busted timing belt sounds different when you try to start it. (There's no compression since the valves aren't opening and closing.) You say it's still trying to start, so that could be a good sign. Also... if you held the starter for too long, there's a chance that the burning smell came from in there. Hopefully something here helps.

Sure water can get in... not like the intake's underneath it, though. Unless it's raining buckets and you've got a cracked distributor cap it should be okay. I've wondered a few times if the stock 'vents' on the front of the hood could be hollowed out, and if they'd do any good that way.

You might look at the plugs used for hobby R/C batteries. I'm sure a Tamiya or similar battery hookup could handle a couple lights.

My dad saw me messing with it and suggested just pulling it up like the boot in his stick-shift Triumph. So we did. Seems to work better. I got the trim boot back in... nice to have this back together after six months! Thanks all.

Not sure on the R50, but on the WD you can get see the cruise cable and the throttle cable separately... maybe have someone look and see which, if either, pulls? If neither, maybe the air valve they control has lost its butterfly? There should be a plug or something around the cruise that he could disconnect, maybe rule it in or out. Or maybe the R50 is set up entirely differently and I'm just making myself look like an asshat.

LOL yeah, first time I drove after removing what was left of the old one, it just about took the hair off my leg! I'll try moving it up an inch, that sounds rational.

Anyone have their hinges fail where it's not just worn out bushings? Turns out mine are... My stock bushings are all but welded to the pins, to the point where even the BFH doesn't do much (and we're worried we'll just break the door trying). That's the problem: it's been turning the pins in the hinge pieces for, well, probably a long time, because they're seriously hogged out. Anyone else had/fixed this problem? I checked my other doors, and each of them is the same way... not loose yet, but every hinge but one has the pin seized to the bushings and is rotating in the plate that bolts to the body. Good to know Nissan thought this design through. Any options besides new hinge plates? Or a new door? Edit: ordered new hinge plates... any ideas for how to fix the other doors before they wallow out?

$26.21 plus shipping. Part number's in the Factory Nissan Parts thread.

Auto. I might be overthinking this one... I've been known to do that.

So, I just got my new transfer case boot from Rob. Right part, quick shipping, all good there. I decided to install it today. I've got the bolts in right, but I wasn't sure how far down the shaft I should push the bit with the hole. The shaft tapers towards the bottom, and then notches to very narrow on the way down to the case. I pushed it all the way past the notch, but suspect I did it wrong, as the rubber has to deform quite a bit for 2H, and I can't actually get it back far enough for 4LO. Does it just need to break in, or am I doing it wrong? Thanks for any input.

My condolences... at least you made it out, though!

My name... is not important.

One more thing to look for next time! Thanks for doing the research for the rest of us. I open mine up when I park it in the sun, but it only does so much... so I've got a little computer fan rigged up to clip into the opening and help keep the air moving. Pretty much like the infomercial solar-powered things, only mine plugs into the dome light and cost one easy payment of jack squat.

Bad grounds are always a pain. I installed a fish finder on my neighbor's boat a couple years back, the power tested good, but it wouldn't power up... turned out to be a bad ground. It gets just enough of a connection to make the voltmeter think it's good... then you ask it to pass however many watts your lamps are, and it can't handle it. Sort of like how the dash lights can come on but the truck won't start if the battery clamp is loose. Glad you got it working!

IIRC, the blue Nissan relays I used for my headlights are different. I don't even look at the numbers unless I have the manual in front of me, I just go at it with the alligator clips, figure out which contacts make it click, and go from there.

Exhaust gas recirculation... puts a little exhaust back into the intake for some reason. It's supposed to cut off under load, but if the hoses are dryrotted (mine were/are) it'll stick open... the mechanic who did my timing belt said the EGR was fluttering, so I taped/replaced a few lines and WD40'd the valves until they quit squeaking. It seemed to pick up a little bit... but nowhere near this kind of improvement! Good to hear you finally found the problem! You might try doing the hoses before replacing/bypassing the whole unit.