Slartibartfast

Ah. Yeah, there's no buggered like buggered off. Short of making your own you may be stuck until you find another one at the wreckers.

If you've got a code scanner that'll do live data, plug it in and check the throttle position sensor. Press the gas pedal slowly, see if the percentage changes in proportion to where the pedal is or if it jumps all over the place. If you've got a dead spot where the reading jumps around, that could be why the computer is reacting to inputs you're not giving it. IIRC the R50 has the same blinky-lights trans diagnostic system as the WD21, should be spelled out in the AT section of the service manual. Worth running those codes too on the off chance the computer has any idea what's wrong.

You could pull the spark plugs and see if one looks richer than the rest (darker soot deposits or, in an extreme case, wet gas), but if it was leaking that much I think you'd be chasing symptoms other than a fuel smell in the oil. IIRC the injector rail and injectors come out together (been a while since I had my intake off); if this is the case, you could run the fuel pump with the injectors where you can see them and look for which one is dribbling (or just pull the upper intake, run the pump, and see if you smell fuel from one of the runners). You might get away with just cleaning the injectors. I haven't had to try that myself but it sounds like there's not much to it. If you do have to replace one or more, check the color of dot on the injectors (under where the electrical plug goes IIRC). Should be black or blue, and ideally you want the same dot color on your replacement(s). That said, my '93 has five of one and one of the other (was like that when I got it) and it doesn't seem to mind. Again, though, do the fuel pressure test first to be sure you're not chasing ghosts. Also, are you sniffing the leak or the dipstick? If the dipstick smells like oil, there's gas in your oil--if it smells like gas underneath, but not on the dipstick, something else is leaking.

Clean rig! And yeah, I hear you on the carrier, they do get in the way sometimes. I've hitched up a trailer and gotten it all hooked up and then realized the carrier's open and won't shut because the trailer's in the way.

Weird that the antenna fuse takes out the stereo, I would not have expected that. Shouldn't surprise me too much, though, as these are the same engineers who mounted the control amp for the WD21 power antenna back by the tail light. Fixing the power antenna on my '93 was probably more effort than it was worth for the two or three times a year I actually use the thing, but I do enjoy how much engineering went into something so unnecessary.

How buggered are the pieces you have? You may be able to repair the clips if you can't find new assemblies. I busted the clips on some trim on mine and was able to put it back on by gluing on some spare interior clips.

Sounds like an adventure! On the trans fluid, make sure whatever you go with is GL-4 rated, not GL-5. The bronze synchros don't like GL-5. I've heard good things about Redline MT-90, but it's not cheap from what I remember. There's a TSB (and a thread here) about overfilling them to keep the countershaft bearings happy. There's a factory rear tire carrier on some of these, might find one at the wreckers, and a few threads on here about installing one on a truck that didn't come with it. Sounds like getting the nut plates in behind the sheet metal is the hard part. And yeah, these aren't exactly quick, even when the EFI is happy. Good luck with the Weber kit. We've got a Weber on our snowplow ('63 IH Scout) and it's been great.

Check for vac leaks and check the condition of the plug wires, cap, and rotor. I had a bad plug wire (chewed by rodents) and it created an intermittent misfire, mostly when cold/wet. Whenever it flared up it would be gone by the time I had the hood up.

Have a look at the exhaust the next time it's running like crap. If it's blowing black smoke, check the temp sensor and connector too. There are two sensors on the upper rad hose neck. The one with one wire is for the dash gauge, the one with two goes to the computer. If it thinks the engine is dead cold, it'll inject more fuel, and a bad sensor or loose connector can tell it the engine's colder than it is. A failed oxygen sensor can also cause issues, but AFAIK would only show up when it went into closed loop (warmed up and cruising, not idling or heavily loaded). If it's not blowing smoke, does it smell different than usual?

Exhaust leaks shouldn't be the issue, mine leaks too. Doesn't seem like there should be any connection between the flasher and the engine running like crap. The intermittent nature of the problem does point to an electrical fault. Checking timing's not a bad idea. Sometimes the dizzy craps out and it gets worse as it warms up, which could explain the issue worsening. Did you do anything else at the parts store, anything under the hood? I'd take a look at the MAF wiring, just see if it's obviously wiggly or corroded. Look around where you installed the flasher, make sure you didn't knock anything else out, though I'm not sure what/how that would be. Also try running codes, on the off chance the computer's got some idea of what's going on.

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.