hawairish

You do have to have the CV fully removed. It's supposed to be in tight, so putting up a fight isn't unexpected. Most of the time, I will resort to the following processes, in this order: 1. Loosen the nut, but leave it in place at the bottom of the stud. Smack the knuckle with a sledge hammer a couple times, then smack the bottom of the nut upward. Repeat. 2. Ball joint tool on the joint, tightened up so that there's tension on the joint, then sledge hammer to the knuckle. Joint tends to pop here. 3. Pickle fork. People seem to dislike them, but I've never had it not work, it's just usually a little more aggressive. 4. Heat the knuckle for a little bit, then do #1. Smacking the knuckle a few times is key. Just changed my passenger ball joint a few days ago. #1 was all I needed, but I'm fortunate to live in a dry region.

According to ARB, the R230 and H233B use the same 33-spline (both in spline count and axle shaft diameter). That front Patrol unit won't work because it's 31-spline. It's possible the 33-spline unit would fit an R230 carrier, given how close dimensionally they might be, but even if it does the R51 stub shafts use retaining clips to stay in place and it's unknown if it would clear the Lokka's side gears, or if the edges are chamfered to aide installation or removal, among other potential issues. Air locker options exist. ARB (RD137) or a cheaper TRE 4x4 (TR137), assuming you have 3.54 or higher numerically gears.

I tabled them here:

So you had to hold the button when starting the truck in lieu of depressing the clutch? On the Taco I mentioned, I think you just pressed it but didn’t have to hold it. It reset before next start attempt.

Right on. The 4.9s came in the latter years, I think just 03-04. The other two ratios were always available for the entire 00-04 run. Ratio depended on trim, engine, and transmission.

First time I'd heard of and used an interlock switch was in a 99 or 00 Tacoma 4wd 5MT, can't recall. Momentary switch that allowed one-time use to start the truck without the clutch pedal depressed. Particularly useful if on an incline and needing to start the truck with the foot on the brake. I'm happy to see this feature existed long before I saw it in a Taco, but I'll presume the WD21 acted like the above.

Not necessarily. Photo wouldn't help unless it was of the stamping on the ring gear. The tooth counts are too similar to see a difference. 48 ring teeth : 11 pinion teeth = 4.363 51:11 = 4.636 49:10 = 4.9 If the front and rear were mismatched, you'd feel driveline binding when in 4wd. 2001 Xterra didn't have 4.9. If it came from an automatic or an SE, it's 4.636; if manual, 4.363

Some were. 4.363, 4.636, and 4.9 were available. The ratio is stamped on the ring gear.

Now that you mention it, there were timing chain guide issues in early 2nd Gen Xterras, but not sure if it bled into Frontiers and Pathfinders, but seemingly plausible. The guides wore prematurely and caused rattle noises. Don’t recall seeing much about them manifesting into timing issues, since the noise was fairly obvious of an issue. Personally, I go the scanner route. Mine supports live data, but also shows pending codes. Presuming they all do.

I'm inclined to say yes since there's instructions in the FSM to do it on the 3.5L; same process as you'd expect with the #1 coil. However, even if you know the timing, I feel like the nature of the VQ prevents you from making any sort of adjustments. Notably, a decent OBDII scan tool can return the timing advance value if it supports Live Data views. I've been face down in my scanner dealing with BS on my R50 lately and have been monitoring that, among many other things.

They were standard at some point; 2002 sounds about right. There are two switches on the door, actually. One for the rear hatch glass, and another for the fuel door. You'd also need the hatch latch mechanism and all the wiring. Not worth the hassle, IMO. It's a nice to have, I'll say that much.

That void is where my hoist was, but there are the bumpers.

Those are the bumper pads that get sandwiched between the spare tire and chassis. Need new push clips to install them.

I think I've seen a stripped one on a buddy's R50 before, so I guess it happens. And yes, applying a dry torque spec to a wet fastener results in more torque being applied.

Right? It appears it used the same switch as the WD21, which apparently was in use from 1994-1999, but I don't see any mention of it in 97+ FSMs. Interesting feature in a rather feature-less R50 platform. There were some other oddball features that existed, like rear heated seats, TPMS, and dropdown monitors + VCR systems. Add adjustable shocks to the list.