Slartibartfast

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.

The Pathy VG33 will fit, yes. The X or Fronty VG33 is preferred because the accessory brackets they come with fit the engine bay better, but it's the same engine.

I doubt it's flooding with fuel, but the EGRC solenoid is open when not powered, so unless it's been blocked off somehow, that EGR valve is wide open. (I remember my '95 stalling out once, barely ran, wouldn't idle, turned out the EGRC plug had fallen out somehow. Started right up when I plugged it back in.) Maybe the fast idle/cold idle is providing enough air to keep it going when the engine is cold. I had a look at mine and the wiring for the EGRC solenoid runs along the driver's side valve cover, under a couple of vac lines, and is attached by a clip/zip tie to a tab on the valve cover towards the back, right under the IACV (fast idle valve, the tall one with the plug on top). Mine doesn't have an EGR temp sensor connection on the valve itself (pretty sure that was California-only), but there's an empty connector not far from there that might be related. If the wiring is jacked up, or you want to confirm that it's the EGR, pull the vac line off the EGR valve (and plug it with a golf tee or something, it should be sucking air if the engine's running and the the EGRC solenoid is open). If the EGR valve is working, that should close it. If it's not working, you could loosen the bolts holding it to the manifold and slip a piece of pop can or something in between as a temporary block-off. Download the service manual from Nicoclub and check out the EF&EC section. Lots of diagnostic info in there. The EL section has a harness layout that should help you find where the EGR connections are supposed to be and which harness they're in so you can track them down. Hopefully some muppet didn't hack up the harness. It's also possible that the EGR is already blocked off and something else is giving you issues as it warms up. Given that the EGR has obviously been messed with, though, I would start there.

I don't know of a direct bolt-in upgrade, but you can make just about anything fit if you don't mind modifying the seat/tracks. This guy used Mustang seats in a WD21 and seemed pretty happy with them. I'd say sit in some cars at the wreckers, see what feels good/is in good shape, and start comparing measurements. I would avoid seats with power everything, seems like that could turn into a science project. Newer stuff will likely have airbags in the seats. I would also avoid newer Hondas, as the two CRVs my mom had ('07 and '13) had some of the worst seats I've ever sat in. How bad are your existing seats? If it's just a seam that's gone, that's not hard to sew up once you've got the upholstery off. I "rebuilt" my driver's seat recently with a fresh foam pad from a junk passenger's seat and fresh vinyl where it needed it. It's not going to Pebble Beach, but I'm pretty happy with the result, and it wasn't really all that difficult, though a pair of hog ring pliers and a sewing machine would've made it go much faster.

I guess it's possible that the dongle was making some kind of interference, though I don't know how that would make idiot lights come on. If it was shorting out, I would've expected that to blow a fuse. Sometimes electronics cross-talk in weird ways. Hopefully that's all it is. I'd run it a while without the dongle (or with a better one) and see if the issue pops up again.

Yeah, $150 for a connector is silly. Good to know that resource is out there, though. Sounds like you're up against some kind of weird first-year bollocks. I would check if Nissan used that same MAF in other applications (starting with the 3.3 R50, on the off chance Nissan just had a bunch of MAFs left over when they switched engines and used up their stock), and see if there's a plug listed for those applications, or someone on a forum for another model with the same MAF has found a part number or workaround. Might give you more options for donors to check at the wrecking yard, if nothing else. Failing that, you might try Digi-key, Mouser, maybe McMaster-Carr, on the off chance it's a standard plug that's still available. If the connector is the same style as the wrong ones you've got, or you can work out what style it is and order a kit for building them, and you can get the old plug body apart without destroying it, you may be able to re-pin it, either with new pins/wires or the pins/wires salvaged from the incorrect plug you received. This may require special tools, or you may be able to fake it with a small screwdriver and a little swearing if you're re-using the crimped pins/wires. The last time I borked a connector that I couldn't find the plug for, I found that the pins were about the right size for some spade terminals I had. If the plug is unobtanium, and borked beyond repair, I would consider doing the connections with individual spades for each pin. This would be easy to screw up (keep the old plug on hand so you know which wire goes where), and a pain to deal with in the future, and you would need to wrap the connector in tape or something to keep moisture from getting at the spade terminals. This is less than ideal, but it would get you back on the road, and it wouldn't lock you out of doing it properly later if/when you track down the right parts. Another possible bodge: you could get matching waterproof connector pigtails, solder one to the harness, and solder the other to the terminals on the MAF, then pot the MAF plug with silicone to protect the solder connections. Then you've got whatever commonly-available connector you want. Easy to install, easy to remove, but it means you can't replace the MAF in the future without modding the new one.

A little spray lube and gentle tapping sounds like a good call if it's stuck. Been a while for me too, but I think mine just pulled off by hand. If the nick is enough to catch a nail on, then yeah, try to knock down the high spot without chewing up the metal around it. If you can't catch a nail on it, I would leave it alone.

Interesting. I got mine through Walmart, too. Got them in '19, dated 48th of '17. Wasn't thrilled with that but didn't figure it was worth mentioning. Guess I should've done! Maybe they don't have enough turnover to keep things fresh, or maybe they pick up unsold inventory from other places.

That's a better outcome than I would've expected! Who did you buy through? A neighbor brought me a set of mounted snow tires to put on his van last winter. No cracking, great tread, rubber still felt soft. The date codes said they were made in 2000.

From the picture, it looks more like some bolts/clips are missing (or the sheet metal that holds them has rotted out). The front of the flare shouldn't be curving back like that.

The connector sounds like a good bet. 2001 was the year Nissan switched from the 3.3 to the 3.5. Looks like the 3.3 MAF has four pins (or a connector built for four with one missing, the Rockauto pictures varied) and the 3.5 MAF has five pins, so I'll bet that's the mixup. Transition years are always a pain. I would try ordering a plug for a 2000, assuming you've got the 3.3. I buy a lot from Rockauto, if I'm buying enough at once to justify the shipping. If I just need a couple of things, Amazon is sometimes cheaper (usually more expensive per part, but free shipping). For stuff that's more difficult to find, I use the parts lookup on nissanpartsdeal.com to get a part number and go from there. I ordered some rear wheel bearing lock washers for mine a while back through partsouq, and was surprised when they shipped from Saudi Arabia.

I've read that synthetic gear oil shifts better in the cold than the standard stuff, but I don't think I've heard of someone switching one of these to ATF. Some manual transmissions do run ATF, including the Tremec in my dad's hot rod. The transfers in these can run ATF (that's what's in mine right now), so if it's good enough for those gears and bearings, seems like the gears and bearings in the trans should take it just as well. I guess the question is how it treats the syncros. Might be a question to research on BITOG, if you're looking for a rabbit hole to fall into. If you decide to stick with it, check back later and let us know how it's holding up!

Hopefully all you'll find is orange gas that smells like wood stain and a little sediment in the low spots. It doesn't need to be perfect, but the less loose stuff you've got waiting to clog the fuel pickup, the better. The tank for my dad's F150 had a layer of white crap at the bottom, which I removed with a wire wheel for a drill, extended by welding a few feet of steel rod to it so I could work the end around inside the tank. This worked pretty well. If it's bad enough to warrant this, I would go ahead and drop the tank. I've heard of people cleaning rusty tanks by sticking a chain or something inside and just shaking the hell out of it so the chain bangs around and loosens up whatever's in there, so that's another trick to consider if it's right proper crusty inside. Obviously make sure the tank is empty and the vapors are gone before getting anywhere near it with anything that makes sparks. The worst I've seen was a Jeep tank that sat full of gas for something like fifteen years. The substance formerly known as fuel had eaten through the sides of the tank and congealed into a thick black schmoo that moved like silly putty and looked like bear crap. There was no saving that tank.

I've never bothered disconnecting the battery for an oil change, but yeah, that's not a bad idea given where you're working. There's a switch on the dash that lets you select between "power" and "economy" modes. If you've got the round dash, the switch lights up if it's on. If it's square dash, the dummy light is below the cluster (orange light that says "POWER"). In power mode, it shifts later. Something to check. If it's shifting over three grand with hardly any pedal input, I would check the throttle position sensor. The service manual (free download off Nicoclub for the round dash, or cardiagn.com has a '90 manual for the square dash, also free) has info on testing/adjusting that sensor and graphs of where the shift points should be by vehicle speed and pedal position. Mine tends to shift too early (I think whoever programmed the trans computer figured on more low-end grunt than my old VG30E has), so I leave it in power mode all the time. It's less eager to grab overdrive and less fussy about downshifting. Also watch that power mode indicator on startup. If the trans computer thinks something is wrong, the light will flicker. The manual has instructions for decoding which flash is longer into which circuit it's unhappy about. It does sometimes trigger when nothing is wrong (the trans computer was not programmed with doughnuts or snow drifting in mind and has no idea what's going on, so it assumes the sky is falling), but if it flickers consistently, check the code and see what's got it upset.

I've seen a picture of an oil filter with burn marks from falling on the starter. Hasn't happened to me yet, and I've dropped a couple of them. IIRC there's supposed to be a rubber boot on the positive cable, but, yeah, best not to test that by setting a piece of sheet metal on top. I bought a bunch of Carquest R85361 filters a while back and have been slowly going through them. Not sure how that relates to the sizes you tried.

I don't know for an R51, but I resolved a fogging issue on mine by filling the housing with water (bulb out, obviously). Dry the outside and you'll see pretty quickly where the leak is. Mark it, dry it, JB weld the area that's not sealed. I won't pretend it's the right way to do it, but I never had fog in that housing again.