Slartibartfast

Looks like a little citrustrip or denatured alcohol would fix those right up.

I do it in my WD without issue. If the hubs aren't engaged, I put it in 4x when the car's parked. From there, I can pop in and out whenever (so long as it's not spinning out) until I drive it backwards a bit in 2x to unlock the hubs. Stock R50s don't even use hubs, at least in stock form, so that bit won't apply to you. The clanking you heard was probably from the fronts trying to catch up to the rears. If the rears are spinning when you drop it in, it's got a difference in speed that a solid coupling can't compensate for. So it has to slow down the rears, or speed up the fronts, or just not engage properly. If I wait to engage mine until I'm stuck, it clunks when it engages. Try to engage the 4x4 before you need it.

Check fuses/plugs. The timer's pretty easy to get at and resolder. I've done it on mine, but it wasn't the problem. When I got the truck, the driver's lock didn't work at all. The little baffle inside had busted off and enough crud had gotten into the mechanism to stop it up. Also, it sometimes locked the doors when I shut one of them. So what'd I do? I blew a bunch of graphite into the driver's lock mechanism. It works now, but half the time the lock solenoid fights against the key, and when I hit unlock sometimes it'll unlock, lock again, sometimes repeat a couple times. So, I'm not sure what to tell you, only don't do what I did. The windows often get slow over time. I've heard a little silicone spray in the tracks works wonders. Mine are slow, but still work, so I haven't tried it yet. Good to hear the frame's solid. My understanding is that it's the dirt accumulation that's the problem: it holds the salty water against the metal longer, plugs the drain holes, and rusts it out. I suspect lousy metal plays a part, though, because I've seen car frames from the 40s embedded in river banks with less rot than some of the Pathys/HBs on here. Also, wood? Didn't know they did that.

My understanding is that a frame shop could bend it back, but I don't know what they'd charge or what this would involve.

My first thought was a busted leaf spring, though the front would be off too if this was the case. Given the Bondo'd cab and the bent U bolt, I wouldn't be surprised if the collision it was in was enough to torque the frame or the body mounts. The damage probably wouldn't show up just looking at it unless it all happened in one spot (slow curve rather than kinked). Try measuring diagonally across the frame and comparing the sides or something? Did the PO/dealer say anything about collision damage?

To ease the OCD, you can pick up blanking plates from a Pathy console in a junkyard. I'm not sure if they're the same plates between the square dash (93 and back) WDs and the round dash (94 and 95), so see if you can find a round dash. Mine's got two blanking plates in it where the seat heat switches would be, if it was so equipped. You can just pop out the switches and pop in the plates, and it looks OEM. Good to hear you're getting it back together. How's the frame?

I've never seen rear holders in a Pathy, but if your kids aren't using the little spin-out ashtrays, you could easily mount holders there. Then again, kids slam doors... maybe a holder on the back of the cooler would work better. But yeah, fill that cooler with bacon and you're halfway to awesomeness. (The other half involves a frying pan welded to the exhaust manifold.)

Depends on if the solenoids and locks are a single unit. If not, it shouldn't be too difficult. Assuming the wires are there, you're good to go, except that it probably won't have the lock timer and the sensor for the keyfob. Those could be J/Y picked though.

Wait, we're not supposed to weld on the frame? Most of us WD guys are screwed then.

So he threw it on the GROUND.

Yeah, I'm not entirely sure how mine are still hanging on. Then again, I don't think I've ever hit one with the axle.

Before going much further, pull the trim off of your doors, look inside, and ask yourself: how much time do I want to spend reaching around in there? I tried to fix a power window on my friend's Pontiac a while ago, and while the trim came off easily enough, the panel was so small inside that I could barely get my arm in there, much less see. I ended up drilling a hole through the window slider mechanism and putting a screw in it to keep the window up. Hopefully the Pathy doors are a little more spacious inside, and you're better at this than I am. I'm not saying it's not doable, but it might be easier to just pick up a set of p/w doors from a wrecking yard. If not, like Tungsten said, you should still pick up the trim from p/w doors, unless you have plans for the hole where the crank won't be anymore. I'd like to assume that the doors themselves are the same, with different bolt-in mechanisms, but I wouldn't bet on it. That said, good luck, and post pics if you figure it out.

I don't use the console cup holders, but my passengers do. And if I'm taking food home, I'd rather put drinks in holders than worry about drenching my carpets every time I hit the brakes. My dad's R50 (pretty sure) had a fold-out cup holder in the back of the console, which was great. Come to think of it, that would be a great mod for the... ... this counts as feeding the troll, doesn't it?

I suggested removing the bumpstops when my dad, uncle, and I went at the frame. They both said it was a lousy idea, because if a tire went out, the axle would travel too far or something. They're both car guys, but their experience is mostly with British sports cars. Maybe PM Shasdakota, looks like he just put 9.9109s on his rig: http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=29263&st=1200

I read something recently about heated cloth seats, so it's probably possible. I imagine you'd have to tear into it a bit, though; when I pulled my seats out they didn't look like they'd really come apart without some degree of seam ripping. I didn't try, though, so maybe it's easy and I just don't know. You can get seat heating pads from various sources, like electric blankets only 12v, some of which look like they could be sewn in. They probably wouldn't be difficult to splice into the factory wiring. Or, for a quick-and-easy, just get some kind of over-the-seat pad and call it good. Bonus, if it's lumpy or doesn't work right, it's not sewn in. Or, you know, don't bother. I've got the cloth seats in my 95 and they don't transfer heat the way leather seats do. The steering wheel gets pretty cold, but that's about it. Also, welcome. I lurk a lot too, only I can't keep my mouth shut.

There's a word for a 100k VG... well, two words. Broken in.

Chop out the bad stuff, chop a new section out of a junker, weld it up? With a little grinding/putty you could get it looking right again. How's the spot under your rear seats? If it's holey too, might as well cut both patches at the same time. Your rust makes me feel much better about mine! Before/after (different sides, same deal): Left this alone until I can weld it myself: Rear floor (don't have a before pic, but I could put my fist through it):

My 95 kept stalling after starting/at low RPM, and apparently it was something with the plug for the throttle position sensor. Then again, sounds like you've got a different engine.

There are shocks out there that use a magnetic sort of fluid, which puts up more resistance (harder ride) when current is applied, but from what little I found in five minutes on Wikipedia, those are used more in full computerized ride control systems. I'm pretty sure ours have valves somewhere inside that open an easier path through/around the damper, or something.

One thing I've found about snow driving with an auto trans, and this may be obvious to most of you: if you're stuck, gear down and try again. Once your wheels are slipping, the faster they go, the less traction they have. So when you're trying to climb a snowy hill, the tires start to slip, and the trans gears up, and then you're sliding back to the bottom. Drop it to second and it'll walk right up. Oh, and turn on your headlights! Your car (especially if it's white or silver) is pretty much invisible to other drivers in overcast conditions.

Yeah, if it wasn't for the cancer and the auto trans coolers, these things would last forever!

Well, yeah, when he's throwing rooster tails and launching from dunes he's not exactly hypermiling. But it couldn't do that stuff before. I figure what it could do before (normal driving) it does more efficiently now with the higher compression ratio. Slick250, want to end this discussion?

And I thought mine was rusty! Looks good now, I like the red.

The stock clippy things are a pain. I've replaced most of mine with zip ties.

Good to see progress! Your bumper looks great. I'm still a little hazy on how your three shifters work, but I guess it's a good anti-theft measure at least. +1 on keeping the 'spirit' of it intact.