Mr. Pickles

Replace it. Check the local junkyard for one in good shape for cheap, or you can go through Nissan, but I believe I heard they wanted quite a bit. You can get a bushing kit for cheap, either stock replacement or poly. I think I paid around $25 for both sides IIRC for an Energy Suspension kit. While you're at it, inspect the other side and at least replace the bushings if the rod is ok. You can get the bushings through the local shops or even eBay. Ebay auction

Concrete + 4wd = NO! Polished or not, that's bad policy. You may end up fine, but you're risking damage. Try a gravel, dirt or snowy road- you need to allow for slip among the tires, meaning one needs to spin faster than others. Concrete has no give, so you're either asking your tires to give way and slip (the "chirping," but different tire styles and brands can react VERY different on concrete), or something in your drivetrain to either bind up or give and break.

The Rough Country UCA's are built by Superlift, AFAIK. I've heard they were toughening up their stance lately, probably cause they were stuck with 100 rear Hardbody lift kits cause we bought the front end. LOL. I got in fairly early, and got the UCA's for lie $130 shipped in 2005, and they've been great. And yes, those front shocks should fit perfect, rear is unknown though...

Exactly... minus the pampered part.

ditto on connecting a hose to the heater core, put it on the "out" and let the "in" drain. Vice versa too. They're no fun to replace, regardless of the vehicle.

K9sar is the man, FYI. Hooked me up a while ago for my 94, and its great. Thank you thank you thank you!!!

I'd vote original equipment for original performance specs. If you're reading this site, you're probably not looking for OEM performance. I've run Bosch Platinum +2 for about 45K miles now, no complaints, still good to go. NGK is good as well, I had them in my last Nissan truck, an '85 that I finally sold in great running condition with 255K miles on the original engine. Maintenance is the key, regardless.

Nice score! Are they attached to the TBI in those trucks, or in the air cleaner or something? (please forgive a MPI owner!)

Fair enough. If it was body lifted, it will look a couple inches taller than other Pathy's, and you'll see a bit of the frame sticking down below the body under the doors, not to mention lift blocks in places like in the front wheel well just behind the bumper. If not, on to step 2. You're down to checking the wiring, wiggling the plug at the switch, replacing the switch on the tranny if needed, etc. Another thought is, have you had any other stuff stop working, like accessories/lights/etc.? I'm not sure if there is a fuse, or what circuit it would be on, but check all of the fuses in the fuse block under the dash. Nissan had some funny circuits with weird items tied together. That's an easy and free test, if anything. If they are still dead and money is tight or you can't mess with the wiring for some reason, you could pick up a cheap set of fog/driving lights to mount on the rear for a cheap and easy fix, probably $10-20 and a little time. Been there, done that when on a college student budget and schedule.

Ditto on the Haynes, that's what I started with too. It can be quite helpful most of the time, but can also confuse you a bit too. Read closer about what models are covered by your book. Mine says "Pick-ups (1980 thru 1997) Pathfinder (1987 thru 1995)" right on the cover. Besides the difference between the 2 generations of WD21 Pathfinders, it also covers the Hardbody and 720 trucks (early 80's till 85 iirc). I used to have a '85 720 truck, and like all of the above, some things do mix and carry over between the models, but there are also VERY different and distinct details. There are difference between the 4 cylinder and 6 cylinder models, including TBI vs MPI versions, and then those differences may mean other differences drivetrain, etc. Long story short, the Garage is here for questions, big and small. Don't be afraid to throw up a pic of your part or question too, if you need and can (Photobucket or similar is appreciated!). We don't bite... well, some might nibble a bit...

Ditto the steel and welding. Fiberglas over a rust repair is a band aid in the long term. The rust may come back, most likely worse that before, and/or the fiberglas could crack, especially at a point where the body flexes. Sand/grind and properly prime and paint if possible if there is still solid metal, or replace it and/or have it done if you're worried about the long term. If the rest of the truck matches with rust, though, well... do what ya gotta do. I'm getting ready to tackle the under-seat area, which will be cut out, new steel welded in, and primed and painted. I did the rockers about 4 years ago, but it was moderate surface rust. I wire wheeled and grinded it down, primed with a rust converter, and painted with a gold Rustoleum spray paint that was close enough to my paint color. All of the above was then covered by diamond plate, courtesy of an idea by 88Pathoffroad. My plating is the bed rails from a mid-90's Chevy S10 found on eBay for like $20 shipped, flipped upside down and cut as needed. Good luck! (you can see them in this pic, a handy solution to avoid the finish body work- sorry, its dark outside right now!)

Mine has done this since I bought the truck at 100K miles (now up to 165K miles, 6 years, and a clutch later now). Sometimes its just a stubborn bitch, but I can usually back it toward 2nd gear, then slide right into first, or it will just take a little *extra* push and go in. I never really thought about it too much, since my 720 pickup did the same thing every once in a while. Must be another Nissan thang.

It sticks out of the transmission on the passenger side. Climb under near the door, it should be most of the way up the transmission and near the bell housing. Visually check this and the wires going to it, like MWS said. There could be a broken wire or something simple. You should be able to read a current on one of the associated wires or at the plug when the truck is in reverse (with the ignition on). On a side note, do you have a body lift? If yes, the issue could be the boot or floor not allowing the shifter to fully move back when in reverse if the shifter or boot hasn't been modified to allow for movement. Mine has been like that for 3 years, so I've gotta pull back slightly. Guess I'm lazy to fix it. Good luck

"is that sarcasm or just someone trying to get me to spend money on something that just needs a new boot....... there is nothing wrong with the split boot... " Have you done it, or looked at a manual? There is quite a fair amount of work involved in replacing a boot, even once you have it out of the truck. I'd bet its quick on your 2nd or 7th attempt, but the cost difference between buying a split boot vs. a replacement isn't too bad. Much worse if you're paying for the labor. And yes, there are long term issues with split boots over time.

I ran a split boot replacement for 2 years, no problems. Then... problems. BTW, I paid $20 for a split boot, plus tons of cussing and bitching getting those tiny little nuts and bolts into those tiny peaks and valleys, with grease everywhere. The local NAPA has reman'd half shafts, in box with warranty, for $62. Screw it, if you're already under there tearing into things, why monkey around with fixing an old part. Replace and call it a day. If not, like others have said, save yourself the PITA and just duct tape it until you can get around to replacing. Seriously.

3 5/8 quarts is correct, same on my 94. You'll want to drain some out. They put a dipstick in engines for a reason. Low vs. Full/High/"Stop here!" Drain some off until you're near that high (top) mark.

I've got a 94 with the 8-speaker setup. I started stock with a stock amp in back (which I cut the wiring and bypassed eventually), and I believe another stock amp up front that was killed when the stereo was installed. Now the only stock parts left now are the rear tweeters, but I've run a few different wiring configurations along the way. I now have some aftermarket tweets up front, Infinity Reference main speakers, Rockford Fosgate Punch 500.2 for the main speakers, and an Alpine 1000 watt amp with a 1 farad Monster capacitor to a single Fosgate HX2 DVC 12" sub. First was a new stereo head unit (Eclipse) and the 4 bigger speakers (Infinity's), with stock amps. Volume control was an issue, as has been noted by others. Next was pulling the factory amps, cutting the harness and testing by trial and error to re-route those stock speaker wires around the amp. Finally I bypassed all factory wiring, and ran new and heavier gauge wire all the way around. Anyways, enough run-on by me, sorry. Just saying, been there, done that. The last version, simply running all new wire, is by far the best as far as quality, and in all honesty, if you're already going in there to do any surgery (remove stock amp or even just put in an aftermarket one), it will most likely be just as easy or even easier to simply run new speaker wires altogether, rather than messing around with the stock wiring and cutting it up. You'll end up with bigger gauge wiring for better sound and quality. Plus, you could return the system to stock much easier if you wanted to for some reason, as the stock wiring isn't cut up into confetti. Just my 2 cents.

Have you checked computer codes (and can you on an 87?- sorry, I'm not sure)? If you can, there are instructions in the garage section, its pretty simple. Sounds to me like a computer or electrical issue, something like going into "limp mode"). You mention it ran fine *after* an oil change. Was there an issue prior, or was that change just precautionary?

Mine generally sits close to level with a full tank, 1/2" or so higher in back toward empty. But I also have air shocks in back, so I can pump up if its really loaded. All in all, I like the slight stance with the truck barely leaning forward. In reality, you're going to always get more and easier flex and lift with the solid rear axle vs. the IFS anyways.

Yes, its torsion bar independent front suspension. I recently replaced a CV shaft, and my 94 truck started its life in Ohio, giving it an early birth to rust even though its been in Washington for a decade. I hope the penetrating oil works (PB Blaster?), and if not, perhaps you could heat the a-arm with a torch without touching the BJ. I definately wouldn't be hitting the ball joint itself with a hammer, however. That's gotta be bad new for the BJ. If you're worried about the price for a torch, I just picked up a basic propane torch kit from Walmart a bit ago for all of $13 or so. You can use it for lots of other stuff (heating, plumbing, burning stuff...). If it doesn't go at first, grab a BFH. Oil soak, wait, heat, try, oil soak, wait, heat try... It will break loose.

I've wheeled the hell out of my 94 WD21, and have recieved props from many rigs, Nissans, Toyota's, Chevy's, built Sheep and such. My previous 4x4 rig was a Nissan 720, which I also ran and used the hell out of. I've run dirt, mud, water over the hood. I've chased a lifted Rubicon in the sand dunes near Ocean Shores, WA, until I buried the front up the frame. Of course, I backed out, corrected and followed through, and he was pretty amazed. Fire roads, ski resorts, forest service trails and such. This old truck has got me through some serious muck and stuff. And yes, its still a grocery getter if I need, never seen a trailer (yep, seen the back of a tow truck a couple times though), its been beat to hell and polished back to shine, tires ripped and shredded here and there, parts broken and replaced. I'm a firm supporter that its driver skill, experience, and of course equipment. I've made it through some stuff early on where the truck saved me, but more and more with experience, I'm sure I can put the truck and its assets in a better situation and get to better places than most people on the trail. Why do people get so defensive about their rigs? Yep, its an 19XX/20XX beast or miniBeast, body-on-frame or unibody, whatever. Its suits your use. Why whine who drives what, especially within a global brand, one which already gets limited aftermarket and media support as it is. Can't we all just get along?

Calling Captail Obvious....

Mine with 3+3 and only 31" tires. 10", I don't think so...

I heard somebody say that, although I haven't seen one myself. I believe it just deleted everything from the front seats back: rear seats, carpet, speakers, maybe interior panels, etc.

Not sure which they're called (or both names), but I'm thinking it may be time for some attention. Its a 94 with 162XXX miles, the last many thousand miles with a locker in the rear diff causing all sorts of movement Nissan didn't plan on. I haven't poked around yet, but there's a bit more play it seems lately, which has me suspecting wear. From what I could see, there are some bushings available on AC for like $35 each, and you'd need 4 sets to do the upper and lower arms. Ouch. Has anybody swapped these, and if so, from what source/how much/etc.?