Slartibartfast

AFAIK the transfer cases bolt up just the same.

Use your old transfer case. The electric-shift transfer case (ATX14A) is a complicated little bugger, and yes, it's computer-controlled. If you want to see what you'd be up against, go on Nico and check out the transfer case section of the '03 or '04 R50 service manual.

There are a couple of ways to track down a vac leak. One is to spray fuel at the suspected leak location with the engine running. You should hear a change in idle when the engine sucks in air and carb cleaner instead of just air. The other involves a smoke machine. Block off the intake, hook up the smoke machine, then look around for smoke coming out where it shouldn't be. A small flashlight can be helpful for picking up where the smoke's coming from, especially if it's not a massive leak. Proper smoke machines are great if you can borrow one, but there are lots of walkthroughs on Youtube for making them on the cheap.

I think Adamzan tracked down a set of new (old stock?) replacement adjustable shocks for his. I'm sure they weren't cheap. I'm not aware of any direct-fit aftermarket replacement, unfortunately. I replaced mine with standard (non-adjustable) KYB Excel-G shocks and taped up the wires in case I find some use for them later.

That looks like it'll putty out just fine. And yeah, skip the foam. Water will always get in one way or another, better to let it drain than to hold it in place where it'll fester. The rocker has drains from the factory (along the bottom seam IIRC), so make sure those aren't stopped up. POR15 is supposed to be great when properly applied, but from what I've read, it can be fussy to work with if the surface isn't clean enough for it, so regular spray paint may serve you better here. Sometimes you can get the nozzle from a can of PBlaster or something (with the straw) to fit the spray can so you can shoot it into tight places. An oil undercoat isn't a bad idea, either. Oil coatings can't lift, peel, or trap moisture, and they wick into seams where paint might not go. One guy I watch on Youtube swears by bar and chain oil, cut with thinner so it sprays better. I've also heard good things about Fluid Film, but it sounds like it washes off easier.

Pretty much what he said. The only things you need from that kit are the UCAs. There's a lot of info around here on which UCAs are best and how to get them without buying a whole kit, I don't remember offhand which/how though. And yes, the "sport" mode is built into the stock shocks, so swapping them out deletes that system.

This thread has lots of pictures of a teardown, probably all stuff you've seen by now of course. Looks like there's some kind of thrust washer endplay spec, though if that was wrong I'd expect it to clamp the rotor and bind it up, not straight-up break it. There was something about a ridge, maybe that could be catching something and holding it cockeyed during assembly? There's also a link at the end to this thread, which is a fairly deep dive into the RE4R01A, though it's for a Skyline. All I know is that I'm very tempted to manual-swap mine if/when my autotragic gives up. Good luck!

Check the front diff mount bushings. If those go bad, the diff can flop around, resulting in a weird pinion angle, which, if the driveshaft is turning, causes vibration. I think I remember reading where somebody's vibration in 4x turned out to be that.

Damn, that sucks! I don't know the insides of these well enough to know what could be going wrong in there. Doesn't seem like the rotor should see any force when you're bolting up the pump, much less enough to break it. Are there any witness marks on the busted rotors for where they hit something? Maybe a bolt got mixed up to the wrong hole and is extending too far, fouling on the rotor somewhere? Compare the bad trans vs the one that keeps eating rotors, see if there's anything obviously different that might be making the pump go on cockeyed or something.

Nice work!

Had a look at mine today. There are three holes in each side of the tow bar. Two per side to the frame, one to each bumper bracket. If you look at your bumper brackets, you should have a little bracket bracing between the bumper bracket and the frame. Remove those little brackets. The captive-ish stud coming down from the frame (retained by a big flat head welded on so it won't spin) goes through the rearmost frame mounting hole on the tow bar*, and the hole in the bumper bracket should line up to the hole on the side of the tow bar (hopefully you saved those fasteners off the donor). BF-8 of the '95 FSM shows how it goes together without the hitch if you want a better idea of what it is you're removing. If you lift the hitch up and get the rear holes lined up, you should be able to see if the front holes are present and correct. I'm not sure if there's supposed to be a nut welded inside the frame or a plate or what. Hopefully they're where they're supposed to be and the threads are clean enough to use. *I don't know if the tow bar kit came with alternative hardware for this stud, or if you were supposed to reuse the stud that held that little bracket on. If you got the hardware off the donor, I'd compare and use whatever looks stronger.

That's a very high idle. I've had some stuff apart where there's a little play between the throttle plate and the screws, which allows you to tighten the throttle plate just cockeyed enough to where it won't close fully. (Check the throttle cable adjustment while you're at it.) If that checks out, I'd check the PCV valve (should be able to blow through one way but not the other) and its hoses. I haven't heard of many computer failures on these, except in cases where that puddle was an awful lot deeper than it looked. On the off chance you haven't seen it yet, this might have some good info.

I think I've got that same hitch on mine, I can get pictures/measurements of the mount locations if you'd like.

Clean rig! Reminds me of my old '95. No idea what anything's worth in your area (or mine for that matter) but good luck with the sale. Jack it up and wiggle the front wheel that's making noise. If it doesn't have play in it, I'd suspect the auto locking hub. When one of mine started crapping out it made a noise like someone slamming gears without using the clutch.

^What he said. Either build the '96 (assuming it's not a basketcase) and part out the '01, or sell the donor and find a VQ for the '01. Do your research before buying a VQ, there were some variations in the early years and I don't know how the cross-compatibility works there. Auto vs manual were different (I think that's just the intake manifold though), '03+ were e-throttle. They also have a reputation for burning oil, as I'm guessing you know given what happened to yours. Swapping in the VG33 would be possible but a ton of work, mainly because, yeah, the electrical system. You'd have to swap pretty much the entire harness from the '96, which would mean gutting both vehicles. I don't know if you have smog inspections where you live, but I'd expect a title that says '01 and a computer that says '96 to let the smoke out of somebody's clipboard. The trans wouldn't be that hard, though, just find a WD22/D22/early R50 manual trans.

Yeah, if you have the scanner, I'd just clear the code with that. I don't know the year range that the reset code applies to, but you can get the service manual for your year with all the instructions here.

The scanner's the easiest way if you have access to one. I went through the reset procedure on my dad's '03 once and it took a couple tries to get the Konami code punched in right. You could also try leaving the battery unplugged overnight (not sure how long it takes the R50 ECUs to lose their memory). Failing that, the check light might turn off on its own after a few drive cycles without the sensor acting up.

Yep, looks like you've got a mix, though I think you've got early/late mixed up. The early caps have the fake lug nuts, the late caps are smooth. Unless you're building it for pebble beach I'd go with whichever style you like better. As far as I'm aware, any Lego center cap should fit any Lego wheel. I sanded mine down where they were peeling and spray-painted them aluminum/silver. Worked pretty well, just take your time with the sandpaper. 7/92 was probably when they transitioned to the '93 models. '93 had a redesigned instrument cluster and AFAIK was the first year with the smooth hubcaps. Then in late '93, they went to the round dash and the round-tooth timing sprockets (among other weird little changes). They also changed the tie rods, knuckles, pitman arm, center link, and I think the fender flare mounting as well between '92 and '93. I don't think Nissan ever waited for the new year to change something, which can make having a transition-year truck interesting. Annoyingly, there were also two types of Lego rim. Most of them have acorn lugs, but I found one on a junk Hardbody that took mag lugs. Different part number (cast into the rim). Might've been a first-year-only thing. I got it home before I noticed that one of these things was not like the others. Something to watch out for if you go looking for a matching spare. I think it had the same hubcap mounting tabs, though. What color/style of console lid are you looking for? I may have one off my '93 on the parts pile, can't remember if I sold that already or not.

The service manual calls for 15° +/- 2° for '90 and up. (The hood sticker on my '93 agrees.) Set the timing with the engine warmed up and the trans in neutral if yours is automatic. The '89 manual shows 12° +/- 2° for the VG30i and 10° +/- 2° for the Z24i. I haven't experimented with the timing on my '93 but I doubt that a few degrees either way would make much of a difference. I'm no help on what's a good timing light, I've got an old crappy Sears one that's not even inductive.

Wow! That's not good. Do you have a timing light? 15° BTDC +/- 2, in neutral, with the engine warmed up. (I've set mine cold and it was off when it warmed up.) I went with a pair of cheap chrome ones off eBay for mine after both handles snapped off my '95. They bolted up and have given me no further trouble, unlike the plastic one I got from Rockauto (after I broke the first one), which was labelled for a Sentra and didn't line up to the holes in the door. And I don't know from good shocks, but I've got KYB excel-Gs on mine and I have no complaints about their ride quality. Certainly better than the craptastic blue Monroes that only lasted a few years on my friend's S10.

Huh. Yeah, that does kinda look like something's missing, and I think I see stubs where it would've attached. Looks like a thermistor or something in the oreally listing (and the listings on Rockauto). Hopefully the engine chewed it up and spat it out without issue. Seems odd that it would've come completely off, though. I would've expected one leg to fail before the other (assuming they failed from vibration or something), and that should've coded right then, not waited for it to fall completely off. Maybe it fell out when you removed the sensor? I'd check the intake tube and the airbox to see if you can find it. Otherwise, new sensor, send it, hope for the best.

Grab the distributor, from what I've heard the aftermarket ones aren't as good as OE. If it's got the sunroof shade, that's worth money, as are the front door arm rests if by some miracle they're not destroyed (driver's side especially). Grab the lights. Fuel pump might be nice to have a spare of. +1 on the headlight and wiper switches. Window switches aren't a bad idea either. Might even grab the steering column clamshell if that's still intact.

Yep. As much as you can. I wish I still had the shell of my '95 out back, it had a lot of parts left to give, a few of which I could use now.

I can smell it from here!