Slartibartfast

+1 on that. Don't bump an old thread just to say "hey man that's sweet," but if you've got a question or something to add, it's cool.

Check and make sure the ratio's the same, there should be a plate on your door jamb (?). If it's a different ratio, it'll work, but your speedometer will be inaccurate.

It's a little tough to get in around the bumper; it's easy with the bumper removed, but that's a PITA. The best way to do it is probably to jack the truck up, pull the wheel off, and hose it out through the cleanout holes. A needle-spray attachment should help. Spray around from different angles until the water stops coming out brown, and make sure water's coming out through all the drain holes along the bottom. I usually try to shoot a little water in there when I'm at the self-serve car wash, but it's tough with the wheel in the way.

I assume the Rubicon is a full-time 4WD, so it's not designed to be disengaged. If the width was right, it probably could work (if a close gearset's available), but you'd always be turning the driveshaft, even if the transfer case was disengaged, like a stock R50. Here's a stupid idea... Narrowing axles is fairly common, right? How much more trouble would it be to weld on different ends? Why not take a jy Pathy rear end, cut it down, and weld ends on from pretty much any front axle? You'd have to do a little work on the shafts, but if the donor front axle was wider, you'd have room to cut and re-spline for the 233b. Sounds like a lot of work, but the ratio would be perfect. Just throwing it out there.

Three, actually. I've seen a few HBs around here with them.

I take it back, that's horrible.

Unless the contacts in your solenoid are truly knackered, it shouldn't be running at all unless it's engaged. There is a one-way clutch in the starter gear (which engages the flywheel) to prevent the starter from flinging apart when the engine starts. Once the engine's going, if it's still engaged, it should turn without too much resistance... maybe easily enough that you wouldn't hear the gears. The only thing I can think of (short of an extreme case of noob-rigged wiring) is that your ignition column switch is sticking. I'm not sure which wire does what, but the lower part of the dash is easy to remove, and the ignition contacts are right out in the open once you remove the cover around the steering column. Disconnect the battery and mess around with a voltmeter (or a battery and a tail light bulb) to figure out which wire goes to the starter, then see if it's sticking. If this is the case, I'm not sure how your starter is still functional. I'd expect the motor to burn out pretty quickly, though perhaps without a load it doesn't heat up as much. You might also try rigging some kind of switch to the starter's positive lead. Start the car, disconnect the lead, see if it's still making the noise. If it is, it's not the starter, though I can't think what else it could be.

LOL I was in a PT cruiser a few years ago, and was actually impressed with the interior. My mom said it drove well. It was still a minivan, but nice for what it was. But yeah, it's just a badge. There's probably going to be as much similarity between Datsuns as between the new crossover Pathfinder and our rigs. But, hey, they might surprise us all with something decent.

The problem is if the iPod's rigged in, and the wires to the stereo are intact, some of the signal will be lost to the stereo. Probably best to try whatever you hook up with a cheap old CD player or something first. I accidentally plugged my iPod into a line out instead of line in once, and pretty well fried it. It still worked, it was just a whole lot louder on one side than the other. IIRC the end of the plug is ground, and the two bands are signal R and L... double check though, I could be wrong.

http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/pathfinder/1995_Pathfinder/ This: the Factory Service Manual. Hugely helpful.

With the price of gas rising, Lord Humongous had to downsize a little...

I can feel the difference when I'm trying to rock the truck, but not so much when I'm driving. Then again, I don't generally drive on washboards. Stupid question... can the factory shocks be rebuilt?

Looks like it's coming together! Is that the overhead lights reflecting, or does it have LED parking lights?

My factory spare held air until the day we got rid of it... despite deep cracks in the tread and sidewall. Glad I never had to use it!

I managed to make it come on once, when I thought we were going to have to drop the tank to do the frame. It was sort of intermittent; it would be on when I parked, then off when I started it again. Never gotten it that low since.

When I'm driving it, it's 'Pathy.' When I'm underneath it, it's 'Son of a Dog-Faced Whore.'

Sorry to hear, it's a good looking truck. Maybe find a blown motor/cash for clunkers truck with a frame under it and build one out of the two? Got any pics of the break? I hate to be a hearse chaser but I'd like to see what failed.

Boxed, except it's sort of open at the top IIRC. Road dirt gets in, can't get out, and holds water against the metal. If there's any salt in that water, it'll eat the frame. You can tell rust vs solid by the sound. Tap it on the top (should be solid there)... it'll make a sort of ping. If you hit rust, it'll go thunk, as what's left of the metal gives a little. For reference, here's where mine rotted out. As you can see, it was full of dirt. You can't really look into the rail without removing the bumper, which is a real PITA. A flashlight wouldn't hurt, but the hammer's still your best bet. If you can put the rear axle on a jack and pull a wheel off, you'll get a much better look at the frame! Also check the driver's rail above the exhaust in the back, mine had what looked like a crack, turned out it had about a foot-long rust hole. And this is on a car with almost no body rust. Sounds like the one you're looking at is really clean, hope everything works out.

Any chance it's a California truck?

Make sure it's not just a clog in your tranny cooler, that could reduce the pressure enough to screw with things. A new (clean) cooler might help. Though, if you've been driving it for a while like this, it might well have buggered the clutches.

... I have to ask. What happens when you have 68 PSI at the injectors?

If you plan to reuse your factory flares/mud flaps, eyeball the mounting holes to see if they're the same. I know the mounts in the back changed between 93 and 95, because the 93 flare I picked up won't fit my 95... They should be the same, but it can't hurt to check.

Mine was an Idaho car. Definitely check for rust, maybe even pull the rear wheel off. (I didn't notice mine until I tried to clean the rail to undercoat it.) The price does seem a little high, but if it's as nice as you say, it's all about what it's worth to you. I figure resale value only matters if you're looking to flip it. If you end up paying full price, though, make sure you inspect the holy hell out of it.

I wasn't thinking IFS, I was thinking the ends off a solid front axle. And are the knuckles mounted straight up and down? I don't understand all the steering angles and stuff very well... especially if it was locked straight on-road, and used on the trail, I guess it wouldn't be an issue. With the offset diff, wouldn't the angles put more strain on the U joints and cause more vibration? LOL I know what you're talking about. after someone asked about making one amphibious, I was staring at my truck for weeks thinking about where to put ducted water jets, and where to tie them in... If nothing else, 4WS would be great in tight parking lots! edit: derp

I don't figure you'd need to mess with the gears, just flip it over. Of course, the steering angles would be all weird, but you'd have to mess with them anyway (as it would be essentially running backward). And then there's the offset driveshaft... My dodgy and generally dangerous idea is to take the ends of a front axle, with the knuckle mounts and all, chop the ends off of the stock Pathy rear axle, and fit the front axle bits in their place. That gives you full control over the angles, the mounts are there already... adapting the shafts would likely be a PITA, though. Or, swap in axles from one of those crazy long missile transport trucks or something... try calling the local jy with that one. Edit: word salad