Slartibartfast

Sounds like a hell of a trip! From the responses above, it looks like you're on the right track, unless you've got the plastic valve covers. Loctite your power valve screws while you're in there (also make sure there aren't any other parts/gaskets listed in that writeup). I haven't worked on a VQ myself, but IIRC there's some kind of coolant pipe between the heads at the back of the engine that likes to leak, might be good to have a look at that while it's apart just to make sure everything's good back there. Also IIRC the PCV valve is a pain to get to unless it's already torn apart, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to swap out while you're in there. Having extra coils on hand sounds like a great idea. Oil weight shouldn't have much to do with the leakage, I'm running 5W30 in my '93 with 240k+ miles and it only leaks a little.

Have you tried cleaning it? Doesn't seem like a thing that should get dirty, but I imagine a little gunk in the linkage or plunger could be enough to bind it up.

That's a new one! Good work sorting it out.

Bet that's a relief! Might be worth tracking down a picture of what the linkage should look like if you think it might've been assembled incorrectly.

Yeah, I'd be surprised if it was damaged internally. If it wouldn't leave high range at all, I'd think maybe the high/low selector was stuck somehow, but going into neutral rules that out. If the low range selector or gears were damaged, I'd expect noises and chunks. Anything I can think of that would've jammed up the internal shifting mechanism should've shown in the oil, unless maybe someone went full gorilla trying to slam it into low with the input spinning and bent something. Whether that something would be internal or external, I don't know, but you might try and track down a photo of what the linkage should look like on the off chance someone managed to bend yours. Seems unlikely, especially if it goes between 2H and 4H properly. Speaking of unlikely things, there was a thread a while back where a guy couldn't get his transfer into low range, and it turned out that he had the wrong lockout plate. I can't find the thread now but it looks like the truck was a WD21 and he'd swapped in the transfer from an R50 (likely with a transmission swap). The R50 plate didn't give enough throw to get into low range, and also made the 2/4 shift too easy. It seems like a very long shot that someone would've a) had a reason to swap your transfer case, b ) used a transfer from a different year or model with the wrong lockout, and c) never noticed or cared that 4LO didn't work afterwards, but it's something I'd want to rule out before going through the hassle of removing the transfer case and tearing it down. If the shifter is stopping before it reaches the end of the slot in the lockout, then it's not the lockout. Good luck!

Best I can think of is have someone try and shift it while you watch from below, you might see what's hitting or what's not moving. Have a good look at the lockout plate like my1path said above. Might also check that the inner boot's not screwed up and wadded up between the boot and the edge of the floor, limiting the movement of the stick.

Worked some more on my overkill sheet metal steering column clamshell, and I'm pleased with how solid it is now that I've got all the mounts worked out. I'm hoping a couple coats of bedliner will hide my various crimes against geometry.

New battery. I think I had the wipers on my '95 do that once. It was a long time ago but IIRC I just cleaned up the hubs (removed the soft metal that had worn off the arm and fouled the splines) and tightened it back down and it held just fine after that.

Looks good from here!

Depends on the cost of new parts vs used. If new parts are reasonably priced, they might save you some time. If you can get straight and rust-free panels from the wreckers, you might save some money, though it would mean you had to drill out all those spot welds twice.

Check the oil pressure sensor wire, near the starter and oil filter. The wire might be sorted on something.

Reminds me of a drive a friend and I attempted a few years ago. We didn't expect snow on a forest service road in May, but there it was. We weren't prepared and neither were our trucks, so we ended up turning around before we got both trucks stuck at once or broke something. Gotta throw some chains in the back eventually. What brand are you running? Oh, and good luck on the TB job. Definitely do all the seals, you don't want to get it all back together and end up having to do it again.

A couple guys have turbo'd WD21s, and IIRC someone turbo'd a VQ35 R50, but I'm not sure I've seen someone do a VG33 R50 yet. I don't think there's much (if any) aftermarket support for the ECU, so you'll probably need a standalone to tune it properly. Some Z-car guys swap in VG33s, so it might be worth tracking down one of their build threads to see what they use. Unless something off (or for) a Z-car happens to fit in the R50 engine bay, you'd probably have to make manifolds and piping yourself or have it done. Here's a WD21 turbo build thread. Short of that, you might try swapping out the cams. I've heard the stock VG33 cams are pretty wimpy. Guys swapping VG33s into WD21s tend to reuse the cams from the stock VG30 they're replacing. Aftermarket cams are also available.

My '93 is running generic dex/merc without complaint.

Suddenly mine seems easier in retrospect! The WD21 doesn't have a fiberglass pad on the firewall.

I'm pretty sure that first one's a fuel injector. My '93 has a dropper resistor for the trans in a similar location to the thing in the second pic, so I'm betting that's what you're looking at there. The service manual should show both units, though it may take some trial and error to find the right diagram.

Yeah, I remember those heater hoses being all kinds of fun on mine.

They're spot welded. This body repair manual is probably the best you'll find. If you have replacement panels, you drill out the spot welds and weld in the new panels. Some damage can be hammered out. I straightened my core support with a strap and another truck a couple years ago after a hoof rat bent it up, but the damage there wasn't too bad to begin with.

I've seen teardowns of that kind of junk on Youtube. All they do is flash some lights to look busy.

IIRC there was a thread recently where somebody found a source for WD21 disk parking brake cables. Might've been an eBay listing? Pretty sure they were new parts. Also, I found my ABS module, so you can see what that bracket's supposed to look like. Looks like it's held to the module with push-clips rather than proper fasteners.

Wow, there's some nastiness in that hose. What the hell even is that? I had my VG30 that far apart shortly after I got it to clean the dirt and rat crap out from the plug wells (and for the TB of course). If you pull the lower manifold, you can get all the crap out of the spark plug wells, and you can also knock out the casting flash that prevents the plug wells from draining like they're supposed to. If you go that far, make sure you get the coolant pipe running under the manifold done up before you put the manifold back on, or you won't be able to get to its fasteners. I forgot that part on mine and had to pull it apart again. The crank sprocket on mine just slid off. Maybe the leaky seal behind it helped prevent corrosion. If yours is stuck, maybe a little gentle beating from the front might break it free, plus a little heat and some penetrating oil. I'd avoid trying to drive something in behind it, the washer between the sprocket and the seal probably wouldn't appreciate that. Also remember that's your oil pump behind it. It doesn't look bad, hopefully it doesn't fight you too hard. The camshaft sprockets are bolted, so you'll need something to hold them while you remove and install them. I made an F-shaped tool out of steel rod that slots into the holes in the sprockets, but I've heard a pair of vise grips and your old timing belt work just as well (used sort of like a strap wrench). It's really not that bad to put back together, just keep in mind what you're doing and what order things came off in and you'll get it eventually!

Always has to be the hard one to get to, doesn't it? The only thing I've managed to do with a normal easy-out is snap it off inside the fastener. I've seen sockets that are cut like an inverted easy-out, if that makes sense. Might give that a go if there's room for it. Given that the fastener's borked anyway, you could try slotting its head (if you can get a hacksaw back there) so you can get a straight screwdriver on it and try to work it loose that way. If you can get a drill to it, you could just drill out the head like a rivet, freeing the manifold, and then extract the stud with vise grips (or weld a nut to it if you have a welder). You could probably cut the head off with a hacksaw blade or grinding it down to nothing with a file if it came to that. Hopefully it doesn't come to that!

If it's only intercepting one sensor's signal, how would it get feedback for whatever it was "tuning?" +1 for it being a plastic box with a resistor inside, if that.

AFAIK the strawberry milkshake of death problem was only an issue with the original radiators, so a decent aftermarket rad would probably be alright. Having seen what happens when the stock cooler fails, I'd want to get that junk out of there.

LOL yeah, that block of wood isn't factory. Mine had a bracket. I'll dig it out and get a picture later.