Slartibartfast

I've had two OE masters fail the same way as yours. At first I assumed that hole was supposed to be plugged, but after inspecting the stripped-down carcass of the master from my '93, I think it's actually supposed to be open. I can shine a light right through that hole into the bore where the rear brake proportioning valve lives (behind the silver sticker and the big Allen plug at the end of the master). The manual doesn't show an exploded view of the prop, or explain how it works, but as near as I can tell, it's basically just a piston with a spring behind it softening the pressure to the rear circuit (giving the fluid another place to go). The air behind the piston has to go somewhere, and that somewhere is out that vent hole. This works fine until the seal on the piston starts to leak. Sealing the vent hole somehow would stop the leak, but it would also lock up the prop valve, so don't do that. Rockauto has a piston kit for this master, but the picture shows the main pistons only. So that's no help. I'd be surprised if Nissan even showed the prop valve components in the parts diagrams given they're not in the manual, but it wouldn't hurt to check. Aftermarket cylinders have a different style of prop valve (I don't know how they work) and the boss for the vent hole isn't drilled. Maybe that same style is retrofitted into the reman ones, and that's why the hole is plugged off. TL;DR your MC's whupped. Make sure you match the replacement MC to your rear brakes, drum or disk. The listing should say which system the internal prop valve is set up for.

Ah, damn. That sucks. If it's only rotten at the flared end, and you've got a line flaring kit that'll fit the line (the cheap ones for making brake lines usually have a few larger sizes), you could cut off the rotten end with a pipe cutter and put a new flare on what's left. Then replace the soft line with a longer piece to make up for what you cut out.

Looks just like the stock part on mine. Coolant has corrosion inhibitors that are supposed to stop rust. That only protects the inside, though, and only so long as the coolant is good. I found that part listed on Nissanpartsdeal as 13049N, under Water Pump, Cooling Fan, & Thermostat. The actual PN is 13048-12G01. Naturally they don't have it. These guys and these guys do, but I'd buy a piece of exhaust tubing and weld a tab to it before paying what they want. I'd check a wrecking yard first or see if anyone local has a parts truck. The '94/'95 manual on Nico is good, but the '90 manual you can get off cardiagn.com is more accurate for the square-dash trucks. Sadly though neither includes part numbers. They've got model numbers for a few things, but they don't cross-ref to part numbers in any way I've figured out.

Some people really like the VQ. My dad's '03 had plenty of get-up-and-go, but the oil consumption was worrying, and I never liked the drive-by-wire. The VGs aren't as powerful, but they're less problematic, provided you keep up on the timing belt and other maintenance. My dad's Tundra with the 4.7l V8 gets the same mileage as my WD21 with the VG30E. It's kind of embarrassing.

Rubber hoses can crack at the ends. Probably what's happened with yours. While it's off, though, check the hard line for signs of corrosion, make sure it doesn't have a pinhole or something. You shouldn't need to drain the tank, but I would pull the fuel pump fuse and run the engine until it quits to relieve the fuel pressure. That'll stop it from spraying from hell to breakfast, at least.

^^Born nailed it IMO. The things that endear the R50 to off-roaders (the rear suspension flex, the low-range transfer case) aren't going to show up in an on-road test, and most people who see a stock R50 won't think to take it off-road. Most original buyers probably didn't, either. If your only experience is driving one around town, all you're gonna see is another bloaty 2000s SUV for driving the kids to places they don't want to go, built around the time Nissan stopped giving a damn. RCR can get pretty in love with himself, but he has his moments.

No worries, hopefully those work. Good luck with the old studs. When I get around to mine I'm hoping I can get the welder in there and do it the easy way.

Some do. Sometimes there's an access panel under the back seat, my dad's Audi is like that (it makes up for it with a massive fuel sending unit that barely fits through the hole and some of the most fiddly connectors I've ever worked with). The WD21 pump access door is a little more fiddly than it could be due to the stupid plastic fasteners holding the rear trim (and the carpet) down, and the stupid Phillips bolts holding the cargo hooks (and, again, the carpet) down. Once those are out, though, four 10mm bolts and you've got access to the pump.

I bought a set of studs and nuts from the Acadiana Sports Car Orphanage a while back. I think they were for a 300zx, same size as WD21 but supposedly better steel. PN BK056-0030. Looks like their website is currently down, though, so I'm not sure that helps you any. I haven't gotten around to installing them, so I can't comment on their fitment, but I can tell you that they've got 19mm of thread on the head side, 11 mm of shoulder, then another 19mm of thread on the manifold side, and then a little hex head on the end of that for installation. The thread is M8x1.25.

1) High range (2HI/4HI) stays the same (1:1). Low range gears only change low range. 2) I'm not sure I understand what whoever told you that was talking about (and I'm not sure they did, either). With a TX10a, in low range, the front and rear driveshafts are locked together by the chain, so one cannot spin faster or slower than the other, regardless of the gear ratio.

Not sure, I haven't done the swap myself. If you want to keep V belts (to use your old accessories), you'll need an adapter for the crank pulley. if you can use the donor's accessories and brackets, you don't need the adapter, so that's one less thing on the parts list (assuming the accessories came with the engine and didn't cost extra). The usual recipe as I understand it is VG33, VG30 cams (not required but recommended), VG30 intake/exhaust/distributor, and mod the oil pan (and possibly the oil pickup) as needed to clear the front diff. I would plan to do the timing belt and just about every seal I could get to while the engine is out, as well as engine mounts, given what happened the last time I went into an engine swap without new mounts on hand. This thread goes well beyond a simple VG33 swap, but if you skip the bits about porting the heads and fitting larger pistons, it's still a good look at what you're up against.

The fuel efficiency isn't great on these to begin with, but sensor issues can make it a whole lot worse. I expect 15/16 MPG from mine. Best I've seen was 19mpg on a long trip on mostly flat ground. If yours is worse than it should be, I would check the oxygen sensor and coolant temp sensor (the two-wire sensor, the one-wire is for the gauge only) first. A bad oxygen sensor can make it think it's running lean, and a bad temp sensor can make it think it's cold as hell, and in either case it'll run rich trying to correct.

The difference is the proportioning valve built into the brake master. The prop valve limits pressure to the rear brakes. Disks need more pressure than drums to work properly, so a disk master may feed more pressure to your rear drums than they need, which could lead to them locking up under hard braking.

Check the air filter box for critters. Might check behind the blower motor resistors, too.

Welding tanks is sketchy, that's why none of the pros would do it (that and not wanting to spend all afternoon chasing pin holes). If it smelled like gas, used-to-be-gas, or whatever the rad shop boiled it with, I'd purge it too.

Most stuff I've bought off Rockauto has been fine, but I don't count on their returns/service being worth anything. I bought a door handle for my '95 that their computer said would fit, so they insisted it was the right part. Nevermind that it said Sentra on the bag and it didn't fit on the door. Nobody else has complained, they said. Yeah, because they know there's no point. Also got a set of VG33 manifold gaskets listed as fitting a VG30, that was a fun job to do twice. Didn't even try returning that crap. Most orders have been fine, though. I'm sure it's more of a PITA when you're dealing with shipping to South America!

I had some trouble when I did mine, too. I replaced just the mast on my '95, which wasn't actually that difficult, but things got interesting when I tried to swap that assembly over to my '93. I couldn't work out how to get the antenna cable out of the truck, short of cutting it, and naturally the '95 mast was different than the '93 mast, so I ended up Frankensteining the two assemblies into one in the wheel well. Good to hear you got it in the end. Hopefully there's enough on the radio where you live to make fixing the antenna worth it!

If you've running the usual dropped ball, and that's what's hitting, you could also try a raised-ball setup like this. It wouldn't get you a whole lot, but it would be a cheap place to start. If that doesn't do it, a company called Dobinson makes a spring kit. I'm not familiar with the R52 and I don't know how good its stock trans cooler is or isn't. But given the reputation of Nissan's CVTs, and the stress of towing off-road, I would be looking for overkill.

Yeah, that doesn't sound healthy. First thing I'd check is the fluid level, it might just be having issues because it's low (due to the leak at the bellhousing). Check it running, warm, after going through each gear. Seems like low fluid would cause issues in all gears, though. Not going into third or fourth makes me suspect it may have a solenoid issue, but I haven't dealt with that on mine and don't know the trans well enough to say. When you turn the key on, does the POWER light on the dash (or the light in the E-AT switch, depending on which dash style you have) flicker? If it does, the trans computer thinks something is wrong, and there's a procedure to figure out what it's upset about in the service manual. Even if it's not flickering, I would have a look through the AT section of the manual anyway--you may find your symptoms listed in the troubleshooting section.

Well, there's that ruled out, then. I'd have a look at the hoses/carbon can/etc for the evap system on the off chance something there is allowing fuel vapor to escape. Depending on where/how bad the leak was, it might even throw a code. I've heard of R50 carbon cans dropping their carbon into a solenoid and causing issues, but I don't remember anyone complaining of a gas smell along with that. Also now that I think about it there was a recall for the fuel filler neck in salt states. They rot where the bracket in the wheel well meets the tube. It's ref # NTB07-078, I think I downloaded it off Nicoclub a while back. Worth checking given where you are.

What it'll need depends on mileage and how well it's been kept up. Check the fluids, make sure the timing belt has been done or do it yourself. I did mine when I got the truck because I had no record of when it had been done last. Cam and crank seals, tensioner, water pump, and bypass hose should be done at the same time, and I replaced a rad hose while I was in there because I didn't like the look of it. While you're looking at the engine, if the vacuum lines are original/cracking/brittle, might as well replace those before they're a problem. Vac line is cheap. Valve cover gaskets, again, if they're original, they're probably rock hard and leaking. Check for cracks in the tube from the throttle body to the MAF sensor, and if it's torn, check your engine mounts. Check the front wheel bearings, they may need adjustment and/or repacking (you have to take the bearings apart to replace the rotors, so if it needs those, plan for both at once). If it's still got automatic locking hubs on it, consider upgrading to manual hubs. Also check for corrosion issues. These like to rot in the left side floorboard where the gasket for the Y pipe fails and blasts exhaust right at the floor (which can set fire to the carpet), and under the back seat. Mine also had rust in the right rear floor (wasn't expecting that) and the left rear wheel well, in front of the wheel. And of course the frames like to rot in the back, over the axle. And speaking of things that catch fire, check/clean out the heater box. On left hand drive trucks (not sure if you're RHD or LHD in NZ, and I've never been into a RHD dash), you remove the glove box and the plate behind it, remove the blower motor resistor, and then you can clean out the pine needles and leaves that accumulate between the fan and the aircon evaporator. It's not super common but I have heard of hot blower resistors setting that stuff on fire. I glued a screen over the intake to my blower motor to keep the mice out, and it keeps the leaves out too. Check for play in the front suspension joints, including the steering linkage. If the strut rod bushings (rear of the LCAs) are original, plan to replace them--they usually look fine and they're usually trashed. Oh, and the manual trans needs to be overfilled to keep it happy. Make sure you use the correct fluid.

I haven't seen him around here in a while, but he's active on the NPORA Facebook page. David Carroll. Last I heard he was still selling them.

The fuel pump only runs with the key on, but a leak on the fuel rail might drip for a while after you turn it off until the fuel pressure drops low enough that it stops. They were a bit of a pain to get to on my WD21, and I'd expect mostly the same on the VG33. Pressure regulator's a good thing to check too, around the back of the manifold. Pull the vacuum line and see if there's gas in it.

When my '95 smelled like gas, I found that the rubber elbows connecting the fuel rails together had shrunk a little and were leaking. I just snugged up the hose clamps.