Slartibartfast

The switch itself doesn't do what you need, but if you've got a relay and some wire, I think you can make it work. The square-dash cruise control switch is like an ignition switch. The brown wire (pin 1 in the manual) is your common, that'll get wired to power. The black wire with the white stripe (pin 2 in the manual) is your run position. And white with black (pin 3) is your start position. Pink/blue and pink/black (4 and 5) go to the dash lighting circuit. EL-81 of the '90 manual shows the pin numbering and the wire colors. Note that the pins are not in numerical order, because that would be too easy. If you don't have the '90 manual, you should be able to buzz out what's what with a multimeter. Run a wire from ignition-switched + (or your amp control wire) to pin 1 on the switch. Then wire pin 2 to one of the relay contacts (30 or 87). Then wire pin 3 to the other relay contact, and to one side of the relay coil (85 or 86), and also to your power antenna wire. Then ground the other side of the coil to the dash support. If you're using a five-pin relay, you'll have an empty pin (87a), and that's fine. Pin 1 gets power when you turn on the ignition, or the radio if you wired it to the amp. If the switch is off, nothing happens. If the switch is on, pin 2 gets power, but still, nothing happens. There are two sets of contacts that can connect pin 2 to the antenna amp, but they're both open. When you turn the switch to start, pin 3 gets power. That triggers the antenna amp and the relay. The relay closes the other set of contacts, so when you release the switch to the run position, the relay holds itself closed, keeping the circuit live and the antenna up. When power is lost (switch off or key/radio off), the antenna goes down, and the relay contacts open, resetting the circuit back to where it was at the start of this paragraph. If you decide to try this, draw the circuit out first and make sure it makes sense. It makes sense in my head. So have a lot of other things. Might be a good idea to add a snubber diode across the relay coil so it's not feeding the antenna amp EMF each time it loses power. There's probably a cleaner way of building this circuit using transistors, which wouldn't have that problem. I went a much simpler route on mine. I wired the amp turn-on through a toggle switch. It's a bit clunky, but the switch fills a hole in the dash, and I only listen to the radio a few times a year anyway.

Sounds like when the bulb popped, the filament bridged the high and low beam circuits together.

I have heard of people running the 3.0 crank in the 3.3, but it seems like a lot of work to run inferior parts. They made the later cranks bigger for a reason. It's rare, but the 3.0 crank snout has been known to shear off. The 3.0 oil pump isn't bad, but I'm told the 3.3 pump is better. I guess it comes down to where you want the modifications to be. Mod the balancer, brackets, and water pump to keep the accessories simple, or mod the accessories to keep the engine simple. I'm not sure which is less work. If your aircon works, then, yeah, there's a good reason to keep the V belts. If you want to run a great big honking alternator, you may be better off with the flat belts. The later (130/145A) Quest alt will bolt up, but from what I've read, it may be too much for a single V belt. I've got a 90A Maxima alt on mine and haven't had any trouble with it.

I've heard of this with the old WD21 RE4R01A. What happens from what I've read is that one particular snap ring breaks and chews up a sealing surface, which limits your line pressure (because fluid is bypassing internally). Reverse needs the most line pressure, so it's the first to suffer, especially when the fluid is warm and shoots past the damaged seal more easily. Sooner or later the part finishes failing and you lose the other gears. I thought the revised transmission that you've got had this failure mode revised out, but it sure does sound like it's found a way. Before assuming the worst, I would run codes on it, on the off chance the computer has another idea. AT-49 of the '03 manual (download from Nicoclub if you haven't) tells you how to run codes without the Consult scanner. The computer should be able to tell you if there's a wiring fault. Failing that, check the harness for any obvious damage. I wouldn't expect a wiring fault to only act up when cold, but it's worth a look. I would also check the fluid level, warmed up, on flat ground, at idle, though the last trans I saw with low fluid slipped when cold. AT-356 has specs for line pressure. I assume there's a diagram elsewhere showing where to connect a test gauge to get those numbers. If it's shot anyway, can't hurt to drop the pan and have a poke around, though I wouldn't go in expecting a miracle.

Look for a "location of electrical units" page in the EL section. That should show you where that fuse box is located, and hopefully the underside of the lid identifies which fuse you're after. I would assume underhood, near the battery, but I don't know the R51.

Auto/manual, not VG/VQ. Transfer cases used with manual transmissions came with the lip. I'm not sure why. There's also an early and a late variant, which I did some digging into a while back, because it was a rabbit hole and I have a weakness for those. But, yeah, grabbing the transfer from a 4x4 R50 of the same or similar year is exactly what I would do. Make sure your new front diff matches your rear. Looks like the 2WD trucks had the 4.3 ratio. If you're planning to run larger tires, this would be a great time to consider a 4.6 swap. Good luck with the conversion! Let us know how it goes.

Obligatory "haven't tried this mod, but..." Unless the gap between the stock shifter and the console is hilariously bad, I would be inclined to come up with some kind of adapter bezel instead. That said, the R50 and WD21 use basically the same slushbox, so the shifter throw at least should be the same. If the cable ends match, the shift interlock is the same, and the electrical diagrams in the service manual match, you could probably make it work. I would be surprised if it was plug-and-play, though. Maybe the plastic cover for the R50 shifter would work with the WD21 innards? I tried to take my shifter apart once and decided to stop before I broke something. IIRC there are two screws on the back of the handle, but either the shift lock mechanism or the overdrive switch wiring was still holding it down, and I couldn't be arsed to take the whole thing out and puzzle it out on the bench. The transfer case shift knob just unscrews, yes. It may need reminding of this. Wrap it in something first so you don't tear it up with the channel locks. Measuring a curved console against a padded trans tunnel doesn't sound like fun to me either. I would remove the front seats and belt receivers, fit the console where you want it (get your shifter and front mounts sorted first), then trim as needed until the receivers fit again. You might get away with passing the sleeves on the seat belt bolts though the plastic, so long as the seat belt is still bolted metal-to-metal when you're done. If there isn't enough length on the spacers, either you'll warp/break the plastic when you run the bolts down, or the seat belt bolts won't be seated properly. Hooking up the outlet wouldn't be too hard. You could splice wires into the circuit for the cigarette lighter, or run a separate feed if you're planning to run heavier loads. I ran a separate feed to the outlets on mine because the stock lighter has hilariously tiny wiring, and I wanted to run an inverter. Sounds like you're going the right way for the look you want. The pictures I've seen of this mod completed looked pretty good. I went a different direction and made a console from scrap steel for mine. It does not look factory (it's hard to disguise a .50-cal ammo can, not that I tried), but it's got cupholders and it doesn't rattle.

If the dash harness has been hacked up I would check the wiring to the switch first. Work out where each wire goes and make sure it actually gets there. Then re-check any fuses associated with the circuit, could be one blew when the PO shorted something with their electrician's machete. Hopefully they took out a fuse and not a control module or something. US models got the VQ40. I don't think we ever got the YD over here.

I'm not sure how applicable it would be to the Australian model, but I would download the '05 manual from Nicoclub and see if it has troubleshooting info for the transfer case that doesn't require the special scan tool--or if that's useless, look at the wiring diagrams and see where it's supposed to have power vs where it actually does. That should narrow it down if nothing else. That manual for the US model, so wire colors and engine options may vary, but it might give you some idea of what's going on. It's also free. If it looks like it's had recent work done on it, especially in the dash or engine bay, look carefully around that area for any obvious harness damage. Could be as simple as some muppet not plugging the dial back in after messing with the stereo.

3.3 is the popular choice and I too have one waiting to go in. This thread should get you started. He bored his out for higher compression, and he's got the old TBI system rather than your MPFI, but the rest should give you an idea of what you're up against. It's the same family of engine, so it mostly drops in, but there are a few differences that'll need attention. To use your existing fuel injection, you'll need to swap over your old intake. The 3.0 cams are an upgrade for the 3.3. The big one is the harmonic balancer. The trucks with the 3.3 had flat belts, the 3.0 trucks had V belts, and the pulleys and balancers do not interchange between them. If you want to keep your V-belt accessories, you can buy an adapter from Mr. 510/David Carroll (the guy who wrote the thread linked above) and do a little bracket tweaking here and there. If you're good with flat belts, get the engine with the accessories from an X or Fronty, they're supposed to fit easier (similar frame to the WD21, accessories in similar positions), though IIRC someone on here did manage a 3.3 swap from an R50 with a little fabrication. If you tear down your 3.0, I would be interested to hear what went out. I'd be surprised if one cylinder's rings went on their own unless that cylinder had an injector issue or something. Valves, maybe? What were the other five at?

Before going full gorilla on the latch, I would remove the pegs holding the bottom of the glovebox (at least on the square dash--don't remember how the hinge works on round dash) and see if that gives you any ability to work it around. Might get you enough wiggle room to jimmy it. Worst case, probably better to bust up the lock than to potentially wreck the dash and the glovebox door with the screwdriver. I may have a glovebox in my parts car, will have to check.

Welding BBs can mess stuff up, but I would be surprised if one managed to sever a wire. It might mess up the insulation, which could theoretically allow it to short to another circuit, but I would expect that to blow a fuse on the other circuit rather than take out the ground. Wouldn't hurt to check the work area for obvious burn marks, though.

Will do! Probably sometime between now and summer I'll get around to it.

Grab a voltmeter and check for power at the sockets. If there's none, check for power from the sockets to body ground (or battery negative). Then check from battery positive to socket ground. Both being out at once sounds like a ground-side fault to me. Looks like all four turn signals ground to the same place for some reason, so that suggests it's not the ground point that's gone, but the wire in between. Hopefully a visual inspection of the harness leads you to the problem. If everything checks out electrically, try wiggling the bulbs. The sockets on mine were all corroded/dirty and the bulbs would randomly stop working. I had a knot of scrap wire jammed into one of the sockets to hold the bulb in place for a while, until I got around to replacing both housings.

You're gonna have to make a lexan hood to show this thing off once it's back together.

I don't see anything in the service manual about indexing the flywheel to the crank. EC-198 of the '97 manual (I assume '99 is the same, you can download it from Nicoclub to check for yourself) says the crank sensor on the VG33 is not used for engine control, and exists only for the onboard diagnostic system's misfire detection. I assume it gives the computer a higher-resolution speed signal than the one the computer gets from the cam position sensor (more pulses per degree of crankshaft rotation), allowing the computer to spot slight dips in crank speed, which it can then match to which cylinder was supposed to be firing at the time. (The computer uses the camshaft position sensor in the distributor for its spark and fuel timing.) The troubleshooting section for the crank sensor's trouble code shows electrical checks and a visual inspection of the sensor, but says nothing about indexing. The EM section has a spec for allowable flywheel runout, and of course a torque spec for the flywheel bolts, but no information suggesting there's a correct orientation on the crankshaft. TL;DR, near as I can tell, it doesn't matter which way it goes on. The other thing I found regarding the flywheel is that the '97 manual says to replace it rather than resurface it. Naturally they don't give a reason. I checked the '95 manual to see if it was the same, and it doesn't mention resurfacing, but suggests "repairing" any "slight burns or discoloration" on the flywheel or pressure plate with emery paper. I'm not sure if Nissan had some engineering reason for this or just liked selling new flywheels rather than paying for machine work. I haven't done a clutch in one of these, but I have not heard of a resurfaced flywheel causing an issue.

There were indeed two systems. I'm not sure if it was a trim thing or a dealer option or what. My '95 SE didn't have the pushbutton unit, my '93 SE does. The pushbutton unit's reason to exist is the automatic mode, which changes temp and fan speed on its own in response to two temp sensors and a light sensor on the dash. It's a neat piece of engineering to save you from the harsh manual labor of moving a slider a couple of notches now and then. You can adjust the fan speed manually, except that they lost a spot on the slider when they added the auto position, so they wired the three remaining positions to 1, 2, and 4. I do like that the slider knobs on the pushbutton version light up, so you can see where they are. Also, I cannot fault its reliability--at 250k, it all seems to work, apart from a little relay chatter when I pass the auto position, and that's probably just dirty contacts on the slide switch. All the same, the next time my dash is out, I'm downgrading to the manual controls off my parts car. Swapping from one system to the other not as simple as swapping the head unit, but it has been done. This thread on Infamous should give you some idea of what you're up against. Your symptoms sound like the cable sheath has come unhooked at one end. You may be able to just snap it back in, or repair a broken clip, and get it working again. If the cable is binding, silicone spray might bring it around. If you do go looking for a replacement cable, make sure the ends attach the same way as yours. I grabbed a manual HVAC head from an early Hardbody a while ago and found that the cables were built and retained differently.

https://www.grassroots4x4.com/product-page/1988-1992-pathfinder-and-harbdody-4x4-centerlink Looks like he's out of stock and planning a run early next year, so his schedule may match up with yours.

Ah, sorry, I missed that you're working with an R50. I see what you're up against now. Unless the lines are rusty, or there's something in the way, you should be able to bend them around a little without damaging them. I wouldn't call steel brake line easy to work with, but unless you try to bend it all in one place, it's reasonably forgiving. I've bent steel line around a 3/8" extension without it kinking, though not easily. There are also tools for bending brake lines cleanly. If the existing lines don't want to play ball, your idea with the soft line sounds like it would work. I would be inclined to bend up a new hard line instead--fewer fittings to buy, fewer places for it to leak. If they're the same as WD21 brake fittings, they're M10x1 inverted flare. Old VWs use M10x1 bubble flare, so don't just go by threads when you're looking for fittings. Hopefully your clutch works better when you're done. The only clutch damper I've messed with was on my Honda lawn tractor. I took it off when adjusting the clutch (dry disk clutch, weird little tractor) and never felt the need to put it back on.

43 PSI with the vac line off, 34 with it connected (at idle) is correct. The pressure going to zero as soon as you turn it off is not. It will bleed down eventually, but normally you have to pull the fuel pump fuse and run the engine to bring the pressure down before you open the system, or you spray gas from hell to breakfast. It shouldn't just snap to zero when you turn the pump off. Sounds like fuel is getting out of the rail too easily, and the pump is having a hard time keeping up when the engine is under load. This would also explain why it's taking longer to start. You don't mention a puddle, a fuel smell, or being on fire, so I'm going to assume it's not leaking externally. Idling normally suggests it's not leaking through a bad injector. Sounds like a problem with the regulator to me, but it holds pressure all the way back to the tank on the high-pressure side, so it could be something in the pump assembly leaking back into the tank--though I'm not sure how that would come and go. A clogged filter can cause drop under load, but it wouldn't cause the pressure dropoff when you turn the pump off. Did you check fuel pressure while it was running normally, or while it was acting up? If you can catch it when it's falling on its face, that might give you a better idea of what's going on. +1 for running codes as well, on the off chance the computer has something useful.

Intermittent issues are always a PITA. The EL section of the service manual will do you a lot of good. You can download the '94/'95 manual for free from Nicoclub. There's an underhood diagram that calls out where the relays are. IIRC the inhibitor relay on my auto-trans '93 is near the washer fluid res, not sure if the manual trucks put it somewhere else. There are also diagrams of the auto and manual starter circuits. The alarm being turned off won't necessarily prevent issues. I had the alarm brain fully deleted, starter kill wires spliced together, and the circuit still acted up until I got rid of the harness. The spazzy door locks are classic Pathfinder. Mine does it too, sometimes, usually when it's cold and I can't be arsed to chase it. My first one was really bad about it. I suspect something electrical in the driver's door is worn and makes or loses contact if shaken hard enough, which the lock timer sees as a lock signal. Some people have reported success from resoldering the lock timer, but that didn't do much for mine. The switch for the rear cargo light is a weird design. It's built into the latch. On my '95 I rewired it to the switch for the tire carrier warning light, which worked, but only after I added a diode so it couldn't backfeed the cluster.

I've never had one apart to find out what goes wrong, but here's a walkthrough for getting rid of it.

I had a similar problem with the starter circuit in mine. Sometimes it would do the classic click/no start, sometimes it would release the starter and then power it again so it barked to gears, sometimes it would crank slow like the battery was flat, when it wasn't. I checked and replaced a bunch of stuff, some of which seemed to help a little, but what finally killed the problem dead was deleting the harness for the car alarm. I'm not sure exactly what was wrong with it, but it's gone now, and so is the starting issue. The alarm is pretty easy to get rid of. Two or three Scotchlocks, everything else just unplugs, and the harnesses it intercepted plug back into each other like it was never there. Given yours is manual, I would also check the clutch switch, if you haven't yet. If that doesn't do it, you can install a relay between the factory harness and the starter, as Mr. Reverse describes here. I did this years ago on a friend's Toyota that wasn't worth the cost of a new ignition switch. It worked great, until the switch finished dying, at which point it got a pushbutton. Possibly your mechanic is a Ford guy and is thinking of the pushrod ignition they used in the '80s/'90s F-series trucks. If you've already done the ignition lock cylinder, and the switch, I don't think there's anything else in the column that's relevant to the starter circuit.

I went with 555 joints for mine. I've been told they're good, haven't tested them head-to-head against other makes though. IIRC I looked at the pictures in the Rockauto listings and found some where the parts were stamped 555, but they were being sold under another brand name. Cranking the torsion bars provides the lift. The lift UCAs are supposed to correct what the lift does to the upper ball joint angle (so the joints last longer) and the camber (so you don't have a fat stack of washers between the UCA spindle and the frame). I have read that the Superlift/Rough Country UCAs fix both issues, but the AC or 4x4parts arms only correct the camber. I have not worked with either, though, and I don't know what's still available or if designs have changed. If you were hoping to install lift arms now, in preparation for a lift later, don't. I don't think the front end would align properly at stock height with lift UCAs. If you're planning to lift the truck, then, yes, you will want the UCAs to match. Any lift puts more stress on the steering linkage, which isn't great to begin with. There are a few solutions for this. The most common is an idler arm brace and a Grassroots4x4 centerlink. Some people run the 2WD Hardbody centerlink instead; some love it, others say it handles poorly due to excessive bump steer. Calmini made a pretty skookum-looking linkage for these, but between the price tag and Calmini's reputation, I didn't consider it as an option. I've got a Grassroots on mine, and it's been alright, except that the bolts holding it on loosened up a few times. It hasn't done that in a while, but I'm still not crazy about the design.

I don't know the R50 front end well enough to know if that would fly. If you try it, pay close attention to the length of the bolts. Unless there's 15mm of unused threads sticking out past the nut once they're tightened down, you will need to source longer bolts of the same grade.