Slartibartfast

The coolant loss suggests a leak somewhere relieved whatever pressure did build up. I don't think there's a clamp on that hose, so if there was pressure behind it, the coolant might've just pushed its way out between the hose and the nipple. I doubt the rad cap would be damaged, but take a good look at the rubber seals on it to be sure they're not dried out and cracked. Now that you've got the line clear, I'd just run it and see if it's still losing coolant.

I tore one apart a while back and filmed what was inside, if you're interested. They're actually pretty simple inside. I was never able to tell the difference between the two modes on the street; maybe they worked better when they were 100k miles younger.

Huh. Maybe something gave it a good whack from underneath and broke one of the windings inside. Nice of Nissan to mount it so low on the motor, huh?

I would expect the Lokka to act like a welded diff and put power to the one wheel you locked the hub on. I'd also expect the steering to pull one way or the other when you got on/off the power, which is probably not what you want on the street. My understanding is that locking one hub is a workaround to make steering easier with a welded diff; I'd expect the ratcheting action of the Lokka to make this unnecessary under most conditions. One hub locked with an open front diff wouldn't break anything (provided you didn't try to shift to 4x while moving) but it wouldn't get you anything, either. One hub unlocked means the diff can piss away any torque it gets through that side rather than powering the one wheel that's actually connected. (This is how 4x4 disconnection works on a lot of trucks; they don't have a 2x/4x slider in the transfer case, or locking hubs, they just have an electronic or vacuum disconnect on one of the front axles.) If you wanted to engage 4x with an open diff and one locked hub, you'd have to stop and get out to lock the hub. If you had one hub unlocked and tried to engage 4x while moving, the front driveshaft wouldn't be spinning and you'd chew up the transfer trying to engage a spinning input to a stationary output. (If you've got the electronic transfer case, you'd want to keep it out of auto mode, just like driving with both hubs unlocked.) Hopefully someone on here who's running a front Lokka can give you a better idea of their street manners. I would expect it to behave itself with the hubs locked if you left the transfer in 2WD and only engaged 4x when needed (which is how I drive on patchy snow anyway). Lokkas are out of my price range, unfortunately, so I have no first-hand experience with them.

I like your heated paint booth!

I like the rubber hose idea! I think I just put a shop rag between the jack and the door when I did mine.

I don't remember which my dad's '03 had, but it was split/rattling as well. He just had them welded up.

I haven't had one to bits myself, but a couple guys on here have done auto trans rebuilds, hopefully one of them has some pointers. Xterra transmissions are a bolt-in replacement for WD21 Pathfinders, so most info here should cross over. From what I've read, losing reverse first is common. IIRC the seal on the pump fails, reducing line pressure, and reverse requires the most line pressure so it's the first to go. The AT section of the factory service manual might give you some idea of what you're up against.

Quart/1k... reminds me of my dad's R50. +1 for hitting the wreckers. And if you're willing to fit a universal top, you might as well check out the consoles in other rigs at the wreckers. You may find something close enough to use, either by wrapping its skin over your existing lid or by swapping it out entirely. When I needed a cover for my console (a 50 cal ammo can), I just went to the wreckers with a friend and the lid off the ammo can and checked each car for a proper console. 80s Trans Am fit great, but was trashed. Ford Explorer was close but no cigar. I ended up with the lid off a Lexus ES300, which, once the latch and inner beauty cap are gone and a little plastic is trimmed back, fits a 50 cal can surprisingly well. Not quite made for it, but it fits tight enough to stay put and it doesn't clash with the seats. Oh, yeah, and it only cost $5!

Figures--it's been long enough since I had a fender off that I couldn't remember for sure. Thanks for catching that! You lucky bugger! Mine gave me all kinds of grief. Jimmie, I recommend a hammer and some kind of punch. A steel rod with a small dish in the end (drill a shallow hole in it) should stay on the tip of the pin better than a flat-ended one, so you're putting more force into the pin and less likely to put speed holes in the door by accident. Also, penetrating oil. The pins on mine were seized in their bushings (turning in the brackets instead, which of course wallered out and made the door sag) and they took much more persuasion to remove than they should've. Beat them one way, beat them back the other way. Apply heat (being careful not to set fire to the door seals) and quench. I even drilled a hole in the bushing tube to spray oil directly into the seized bushings. Because mine had seized and worn like that, the bushings actually weren't too bad but the pins were loose in the brackets. I put it back together, jacked up the back of the door until it lined up with the sill, and then welded the pins to the brackets where they were supposed to be. Then I lubed the holy hell out of them with sticky chainsaw oil in hopes I'd never have to do that job again. Hopefully yours come out more like Wacky's and less like mine!

Bizarre. Maybe the old alt was making some weird current ripple that the computer didn't like? Good to hear you got it in the end.

My dad's '03 was like that. Blip the pedal and the engine revved a moment later. I think it's just the drive-by-wire taking its sweet time to register your suggestion, decide whether it thinks that's a good idea, and then open the throttle. Older rigs (like my WD21) have a mechanical connection between the long skinny pedal and the throttle body. Foot's down, throttle's open. That's probably what you're used to.

I remember someone talking about an end-float spec for the CV axle that could be shimmed, maybe that's what your extra washer was for? I don't remember finding anything different side to side when I removed my auto hubs, but it was a while ago and I was in "get this crap outta here" mode by that point. When the autos on my '95 started getting flaky, I took one apart and cleaned/relubed to see if that would help. While it was apart, I checked the clutches (the FSM calls them brakes) against the spec on FA-19 and found that mine were entirely hooped. With the old grease cleaned out, the hub finally realized it had been worn out for a long time and started half-engaging and going clack clack clack clack and generally making a nuisance of itself. Besides the clutches, the hub was actually in really good shape inside, and a new set of clutches probably would've brought it back. I looked into replacing the clutches but IIRC, the price of the clutches wasn't far from the price of the manual hubs I wanted anyway, so I swapped and didn't look back.

LOL fair enough. And Citron, if you think heated steering wheels are silly, check out the new cooled seats. And the heated/cooled cup holders!

Creaking sounds like it's loose, or maybe some rubber trim that was supposed to be in between the tracks and the roof is missing.

Fuel in oil and smoke when it runs sounds like a leaky injector to me. Or the ECU is richening the mixture to absurd lengths. I don't know the TBI as well but I'd start by doing the ECU self-test on the oxygen sensor and checking the temp sensor to see if it's in spec.

Walked around the truck two or three times trying to get the passenger's door unlocked. Unlock it, try the handle, door locks itself. Finally realized the lock knob wasn't going up all the way. Looks like I need to take that door apart and evict some gremlins. Is that a heated steering wheel switch? I didn't know that was an option on R50s.

You can download the factory service manual here: Index of /FSM/Pathfinder Just go to your year and then download the section(s) you want (or the whole thing so you have it for reference later). AT and MT cover the transmissions and might have the electrical; if not, try EL.

Sounds like you've ruled out your ignition switch, then. I'd check the relay next, just because it's easier to get to than the starter is. Make sure the relay is clicking like it should, check for power at the plug, jump that power to the appropriate pin to simulate the relay closing and see if the starter kicks. Also try turning off your clutch interlock if you haven't yet, just to be sure it's not the clutch safety switch locking you out (seems unlikely but easy to check). If it's not the relay, and the terminals are all tight, and you're sure the battery's good, all I can think is that the contacts in the starter solenoid are fouled up and not making contact anymore. I doubt the static shock from the door has anything to do with the truck's electrical system. The air in your area is probably just drier than usual. A direct short generally results in either a blown fuse or a fire, and you have to try pretty hard to shock yourself on a 12v system. As for the brake warning light, check your brake fluid level. Is it throwing up any other lights?

That grille mod reminds me of the foglight grille ahardbody had on his Pathy. Nicely done!

No worries man, good luck! Hopefully I didn't forget anything LOL.

All hail the fire wrench! Good to hear you got it in the end. I'll have to remember that fast pumping trick. And the line back to the MC trick, LOL. Good luck getting all the brake fluid off of you. I helped a friend do a transfer case seal once and ended up laying on a tarp in a puddle of ATF. I think my hair would've held a flame after that.

It was 24° F here today. I like my doors where they are! It's been a while since I pulled the door off my '95 to fix the buggered hinges but I remember the only tricky bit was the electrical plug. Pretty sure I had to remove the driver's kick panel (remove the long trim strip along the bottom of the door opening first) to get in there, then lay on my back in the footwell and bend my fingers in unnatural ways to fish the SOB out of there. Not fun, but as I remember, it was much easier than fishing it back through to reconnect it afterwards. Once the electrical connector is disconnected, tap out the roll pin holding the door stay to the A pillar (should just tap up and out). The two door hinge plates have two bolts each holding them to the pillar. Of course, Nissan went and put a fender over those bolts, so you'll have to pull that, too, unless you've got some special wrench that works around corners. The fender's got a clip holding the flare to the bumper valance (not sure if the older style bumpers have this), some plastic push pins holding the inner plastic to the fender wall, and a bunch of 10mm bolts. Two of them are sort of tucked behind the bumper, but IIRC I was able to remove them with a ratcheting wrench and get the fender off without pulling the bumper. I seem to remember you don't have to pull the wiper cowl, but don't quote me on that. (Oh, yeah, and then you've got the antenna to detach from the passenger's fender before it'll come off.) Then you can unbolt the door hinges. If the door's never been off before, you may have to pull a little to get the hinges out of the seam sealer. Don't try to lift the door off by the handle! I did that on mine and shattered that cheap plastic SOB. Roll the window down and lift from the window opening, or put a ratchet strap through there up to a rafter, or something along those lines. I only took the driver's front off. I imagine the rears will be the same story, except of course easier access to the bolts, and you'll probably have to pull the lower B pillar trim to get to those plugs. Oh, yeah, and if you've got the courtesy lights in the front footwells, those will stay on until you remove the little push switches that the doors are supposed to hit when they're closed.

Chunks in the pan isn't a good sign. Good luck.

"We need a new provincial bird. Something majestic. Something our people can look upon with pride." "... the seagull." Hopefully the provincial splatmark washes off.