Slartibartfast

I worked on a Chevy Tracker with one of those driveshaft disconnects a while ago. It was a toad (towed behind an RV, though it did also somewhat resemble a toad). Seemed fine for that purpose, but I'm not sure how far I'd trust it off-road, because all the moving parts were exposed to the elements. Shouldn't be an issue on the highway, but I wouldn't bet on its longevity if you added mud, snow, sand, and low-range to the list of things it had to deal with.

That does look a little scabby, and I don't see anything teeing off the distributor in the '97 manual (which you can download free here). I think you're right that it's been added on, possibly as an ignition kill for an aftermarket car alarm. I would follow the harness as far as you can and see where it goes. If I'm right, I'd expect one of those wires to go to the dome light circuit and another to go to the parking lights. If you find crimp connectors, and it doesn't merge with any factory harnesses, I would assume it's add-on crap. (If it's got its own hole in the firewall, that's another good sign it's not factory.) If it is left over from some long-gone aftermarket bollocks, I'd cut it out and repair the wires it was spliced into. That said, I'm not familiar with the wiring in the R50--do some more digging before hacking it out.

I'd be surprised if the alignment changed enough to matter. You should just be putting the rack back to where it was the last time it was aligned, unless the bushings were roached the last time it was aligned.

I had a guy try to crawl between the B pillar and the front seat once to get into the back. Took me a second to work out what he was trying to do. He nearly managed it before I told him it was a four-door. OP, you might also mention the mechanical door dinger. Not the crap synthesized modern ones, or the godawful '80s screaming-goat-that-never-ends ones, just two metal plates and a solenoid. I thought that was kinda neat. I mean, I still removed it, because it's annoying, but it's an amusing old-school kind of annoying.

Yeah, I kinda liked the IDX, especially the interior. Not crazy about the slab corners, but at least it's interesting. That is a clean two-door. Shame all the lead designer has to offer is marketing wank. Energy! Movement! Bold! Strong! This paint color means adventure!

No idea, but if you want to compare the pinouts of the two clusters, the '02 and '03 service manuals (which you can get from Nico) should have what you're after.

I replaced the switch on mine a while ago and I do vaguely remember having to screw around with the wiring to make it reach. Just bending, I don't think I had to splice anything. Worst case, yeah, you should have enough wire from the old switch to extend the harness. Good luck!

The usual test for the injectors themselves is to rig up a fuel pressure tester, pressurize the system (cycle the key to run the pump), then turn it back off and see how long it holds pressure. If an injector is leaking, it should drop pretty quick. I don't know if the R50 has the shrader valve on the fuel rail so you can easily hook up a pressure tester. If not you'll have to unhook the fuel line somewhere and tee in the tester. I would also pull the vac line off the fuel pressure regulator, cycle the key, and make sure fuel doesn't come pissing out. If it was I think you'd have noticed symptoms other than the smell, though.

It's still a FWD-based crossover that looks about like everything else. Maybe that's why they thought it needed the name spelled out in big letters across the hatch. Not sure what they were going for with the headlights. Also not sure what they were going for with the body color up the C pillars (did they think that looked good on the FJ Cruiser?) or the beige plastic growth on the rear bumper. I'd like the interior better without the iPad, but I guess those are standard now. Overall it's less aggressively bland than the last gen, so I guess that's something. Hopefully the nine-speed holds up better than the CVTs did. They say the Fronty facelift was "inspired" by the Hardbody, but I don't see the resemblance. I see Toyota cheek vents and Ford side windows, and the tail lights look very Ford-ish too. I'm not sure what purpose the orange interior accent parts serve other than being something to paint orange. That said, I like it more than I thought I would. It's not offensive, but it's not boring.

The trans is technically the same (RE4R01A), but it had some revisions over the years, and from what I've read the one you have is pretty much the strongest available variant. Converting a 2WD trans may be possible if you don't mind tearing it apart to swap the output shaft, but I don't know for sure what would be involved with that. The VG33 one would need the bellhousing swapped, which IIRC bolts on from the inside for some reason, and I don't know that the torque converter is the same. Unless you want a science project, probably best to keep looking for the right box. My '93 has a very lazy 1-2 shift under load. My '95 slammed second like it owed it money. I suspect both have/had an accumulator issue, though I don't know these transmissions well enough to know what else it could be. A friend of mine replaced the accumulator pistons and springs on his S10 Blazer (4L60E) when it started acting up, and that bought it a few years before the next thing failed, so that might be worth looking into. I plan to leave mine alone until it gives me a reason to swap the whole thing out. Before assuming it's actually broken, though, check your fluid level and condition again. Could be it's got a slow leak somewhere and it's acting up because it's low.

Does anything else go out when it misfires? Lights, gauges, radio? Could help narrow down what's flaking out. I'd expect the key switch to override the remote start and make it irrelevant, but I don't know how it was installed. Would be a good thing to check first, make sure the connections are good. If your scanner supports it, I would also check for pending codes (in case it knows there's an issue but can't be arsed to tell you yet), and (with the engine off) check your throttle position sensor by watching the live data while slowly pressing the pedal. If the sensor's got a dead spot right around where you hold it for cruising, it could be telling the computer to let off when you don't want it to, though IIRC drive-by-wire typically has two pots in the pedal sensor and codes if they don't agree. If you haven't done the trans cooler bypass or replaced the original radiator, I would check it for signs of SMOD as well. Doesn't sound like that's what's going on, but I'd check it anyway. See if the gasket for the rad cap is swollen, there's mayo-looking schmoo floating in the expansion tank, or there's what looks like pepto-bismol on the trans dipstick. Like I said, long shot, only mentioning it because it's a common R51 issue.

If it's Doug Demuro style, you have to whine about it not having Bluetooth. Might also point out the flip-down "cupholders" in the console if yours has them. (If not, you're not missing out.)

Different types and chemistries of battery do prefer different charge voltages. I set up an off-grid solar system recently and the charge controller had different modes depending on which batteries you were running. Flooded and AGM were similar, but different enough to have separate modes. The instruction booklet had a table with recovery, bulk charge, and float voltages for each type it supported. The dual battery controllers I've seen advertised have a similar feature, as does the cheap battery charger I've got at the shop (unlike the old style, which is just a transformer with a rectifier and no other regulation, and will happily boil the electrolyte out of a battery if you leave it running too long.) An old-school internally regulated alternator has one target voltage and charges as hard as it's able to maintain that voltage. If the battery is very low, and the alternator is very powerful, it's going to charge that battery hard, possibly harder than it wants. Newer stuff has "smart" alternators with the target voltage set by the ECU, so they can adjust the alt's output to suit the state of charge, engine load, phases of the moon, whatever. Whether the battery life and fuel economy (?) gains are worth this added complexity, I don't know.

There's a '90 service manual on cardiagn.com, that's where I'd start. The EL section should show the wiring for each system. Nissan didn't really separate the harnesses, so if you're looking to take out everything non-essential, you're in for a bit of a fight separating everything.

Unlikely that both motors spontaneously quit at the same time. Freezing temps might be a factor if the leaky windshield let enough water into the dash, but I would expect that to either be more obvious (ice all over the place) or clear up when the interior warmed up. And while the timeline suggests the shop may have screwed something up, it doesn't seem like they would've had a reason to touch the dash if all they did was replace the windshield, unless maybe the rust they replaced was along the bottom edge and the dash was in the way. I haven't looked up the codes. They may specify whether it's an electrical or a mechanical issue. If they don't specify an electrical issue (no circuit open/short), I would check the cabin filter (if equipped) and blower motor for signs of mice. If it sat a while before having the windshield replaced, rodents could've gotten in there and packed enough crap into it to physically obstruct the doors. Long shot, but I've cleaned more mouse mess out of vent systems than I want to think about. (Hopefully the R50 is better sealed against rodents than the WD21.) The smell would likely have tipped you off if this was the case, though. If the service manual's diagnostics for those codes don't get you anywhere, I would try warming it up first (if you haven't) to rule out ice. If that doesn't work, and especially if the dash has been out and/or the codes do say something's open or shorted, I would check the service manual to see what the wires going to those motors are supposed to do, then unplug and test with a meter. If they're both missing a ground, and the wiring diagram shows that they share a ground, and where that ground goes, then you know where to look for a damaged wire. If neither has any life on any wire, check if there's another plug between them and the head unit or amp or whatever that might've been left undone. Good luck! Whenever I contemplate troubleshooting the auto HVAC in mine I wonder how much screwing around it would take to convert it to cables.

Should be in the service manual, I'll PM you a download link for the '89.

What did the first mechanic do? Make sure the overdrive off switch on the shifter isn't triggered accidentally (don't figure you would've missed that, it's got an idiot light, but worth checking before diving deeper). I very much doubt it's the cluster. Is it shifting normally between the other gears? And when you first turn the key on, before you start it, does the light in the E-AT switch flicker?

Personally I'd stick to stock or very light tint on any window you want to see through at night. Tinted windows are like sunglasses, you don't want them at night (unless you're Corey Hart). The PO of mine tinted everything but the windshield and the sunroof. I don't know what percentage it was, but it was way too dark. It felt like I was driving a cave. I don't normally get claustrophobic, but, yeah, that crap had to go. I left the rear doors and the cargo area windows dark (can't see through those anyway), but swapped in a stock-tint rear window so I could see out the back, and stripped the front windows bare. I like the result a whole lot better. I don't know what the factory percentage is, but I would expect a place that installs window tints to have a meter they'd let you use, probably the same type the cops use. And yes, I would expect the % blocked to add up like that, assuming the films aren't polarized.

Never would've thought to check a Honda, good thinking!

No worries, and, yeah, I get not wanting to pull it apart again! I had a knock-down drag-out with my brakes a couple years ago and since then I haven't even wanted to think about brakes since then, but I know gonna have to open the system again sooner or later. Good luck with the California smog!

The CEL is supposed to come on with the other dash lights when you turn the key, so just cutting a wire or removing the bulb would be pretty obvious, and I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time they'd seen it. You could disconnect it from the computer and jumper it to another idiot light that you only see at bulb check, but if the mixture's far enough off that it thinks it has an injector leak, I'd expect the sniffer to notice that no matter what the dash says. I think you were on the right track checking for injector leaks. Better to figure out the issue than waste time (and hack up your harness) trying to hide the issue.

The symptoms (minus the smell) sound just like when the idle control valve on my '93 stuck closed. I like your zip tie bodge, I'll have to remember that one. The smell's not a good sign. Blown electrical components don't always fail in visually obvious ways, so I wouldn't assume the computer's good. Work out which wire going to the IACV is supposed to be switched by the ECU, then check for power there with a voltmeter to see if it's doing it. You might have to cycle the key or try to start the engine before the computer powers it up. Download the service manual here if you haven't yet. That should have the wiring diagram for the IACV and the TPS info you're after as well. If your scanner does live data, you can check the TPS with that too, just watch the throttle position as you slowly press and release the pedal and see if the numbers agree with where your foot is. If it jumps all over the place or has dead spots, the sensor is junk.

Bad valve cover gaskets can run down the back of the engine and look like the rear main is going. Not to say it isn't the RMS, just that I'd check the valve covers first. A couple drops of oil after you park it makes sense if something's leaking--it takes time for the oil that's leaked out while the engine was running to run down the outside and drip off. There's always the question of how much you want to do "while I'm in there." It's easy to go down a rabbit hole, but at the same time you don't want to have to repeat half the work later to get to the thing you didn't replace while you had it apart before. If the leak bothers you and the money's not an issue, go for it. The RMS in mine leaks a little, but not enough that I want to drop the transmission. That's not happening until the engine or trans gives me a reason to pull it apart.

You've got the same info I do, then. I'm confused that the pump would turn at double crank speed. I'd expect it to go half crank speed, in sync with the camshaft, like the distributor on a gas engine. If this is the case, it could well be possible to set it up backwards (with the crank 360° out, at top dead exhaust instead of top dead compression). I would roll the engine over until #1 is on its compression stroke, then see if you've got marks on the idler gear to match to the gear on the pump.

The '94-'95 FSM (free download from Nicoclub if you haven't already) will be more applicable to your truck than the earlier Chilton, but AFAIK the procedure to replace the CVs should be the same for any 4WD WD21. The thing that hung me up when I did mine were the stupid twelve-point bolts holding them in. I didn't have a twelve-point 12mm impact socket, so naturally I destroyed a chrome socket before borrowing the one I needed. I haven't found a torque spec for those bolts, but I didn't install them with a torque wrench.