hawairish

In your case, since you're going from WD21 to WD21 (right?), I think it's much much easier. You should only need to pull the entire axle shaft/brake assemblies and the hard brake lines from the donor, and it's a straight swap; no further disassembly. I'm certain there are a couple other write-ups for this. Someone else will need to confirm, but I think the only other notable was something about a thrust block in the carrier being needed for drums, removed for discs...can't remember if that was for open or LSD diffs, though. The braking specs between R50 and WD21 drum models.

Yeah, that's probably not good.

Did you transfer over any sensors or switches from the old transmission? Chance that the park/neutral switch on it is faulty? I presume this wasn't happening before the transmission was replaced. Is the transfer case in neutral? Under normal conditions, the ATP light illuminates when both transfer case and transmission are in neutral.

Excellent! Haven't used the diamond hard (is that a specific flavor?), but I do use enamels when I can. They tend to hold up pretty well.

Primed then painted. It has held up well, including a heavy power washing last weekend. OTOH, I had my sliders and tire carrier powder coating, and can't say I'm pleased by it. I think it's because of the guy I took it to, not necessarily the process. So does that mean you have blocks ready??

I use the PSB ones for my trailing arms. Well priced, got them off eBay. The purple ones that AC sells are from SuperPro, a reputable AUS brand. I run those up front, as well. I couldn't find a better price for them than AC, so that's where I got them. Have had both sets installed for about 2 years now. No complaints.

http://www.nicoclub.com/manuals/Pathfinder/1998_Pathfinder/ma.pdf See MA-13. Concept is pretty simple: there's a bolt and a nut for each tensioning pulley (in your case, 2 idlers and 1 on the p/s pump). The bolt loosens or tightens the belt tension by moving the pulley, and the nut holds the pulley's position. The diagram shows you which nut to loosen, which bolt to turn, and where to measure for belt deflection.

Are you having the same symptoms as above? It's normal for the light to come on when both t-case and transmission are in neutral...it's a warning that neither of those will prevent the truck from rolling. Is that the happening, or something else?

There were at least 5 climate control units shared across QX4 and R50 models that I'm aware of. One was integrated into a NAV unit, one unit required a specific bezel (where the double-DIN radio was somewhat trapezoidal), and the other 3 were variations of a box-like unit that had a standard double-din radio unit beneath them. As far as I can tell, the latter 4 probably used the same harnesses. But, I wouldn't see the advantage to changing them unless you plan to also swap out the hazard switch, radio, and whatnot. There's a massive write-up on NICO that covers some other swap for those that had the NAV unit. Couple interesting ideas in there. I for one would love it if the radio in mine were mounted higher than the AC controls, but it looks like a lot of work.

Interesting read. I see their logic for limiting the warranty like that, but yeah, it would be nicer if they could base it on expected lifespan, and also not based on age/mileage at the time of repair/replace. But for those who qualify, it's better than nothing.

My buddy got a notice, too. He had his engine replaced for this reason, but might have been just outside that warranty window. He's still looking into it, though. Guessing that's a CA-only settlement, though, as my buddy lives in OC and not SF county. Haven't seen an AZ version here (not that it would apply to me anyway).

I see I've replied to this previously. Given this latest symptoms list, my money is on the driver's side motor mount (if not both mounts). Assuming for a moment that this motor mount is busted in the way I've personally seen it busted (upper half still bolted to the engine, the lower half still bolted to the subframe, each with their own big chunk of rubber still attached in between), here's why it makes sense: At rest or low speeds, the engine is just sitting on the mount. Assuming the passenger mount is still intact, it's now just acting as a flexible pivot point for the engine. Rapid acceleration will cause the engine to lift under torque; when the transmission shifts, the engine will come down on the mount. Rapid deceleration (in the context of letting off the gas, as you noted), will also cause the engine to come down from being under torque. Hitting a bump fast enough at freeway speed will bump the engine off the mount, and it will come back down. At freeway speeds, the engine revolution may hit natural oscillation, potentially just bouncing on the mount (the same way an imbalanced tire and a worn shock or strut will cause the tire to just bounce up and down at a given speed...in case you've ever seen this before). In all these scenarios, the 'falling' engine will land on the mount, compress the driver's side front suspension a little, which most likely will cause the passenger rear to lift in response. When one side of the rear lifts or compresses, the axle will shift left or right in response because of the panhard. Under those 'fast' conditions, only the PHB bushings can do anything to dampen that amplified response. At a low speed, can you produce any minor bump when steadily accelerating while the transmissions kicks up to the next gear? That was the symptom in my buddy's truck. Looked fine at visual inspection, but the piece literally fell off the mount when I unbolted it. You may need a floor jack to lift that side of the engine from underneath, or a engine hoist to lift the engine a little. You might be able to see some lift from engine revving, but you really need some sort of torque load from the transmission and driveline to produce something distinguishable in that scenario.

The V8 would be a nice upgrade for power; same engine in Titan and Armada, among others. The remaining pros/cons depends on your use. The R51, in my opinion, has a downgraded drivetrain over the R50. If you offroad, keep in mind it's a fully-independent suspension vehicle, and I'm not sure about what drivetrain upgrades are available. The ride is probably comparable to the R50, though. I believe it to have more interior cargo space as well, and some had 3rd row seats which come in handy. I did a trail run with a guy on Saturday who has an R51 Off-Road package and Titan Swap. He had to do a lot of custom fabrication to get an appreciable amount of lift. Any particular features of either truck that appeal to you?

And is that a new lift in your garage?

The aluminum skids at 1/4" thick do quite well actually. I have the older version of his front and mid skids, and they've done fine...added some new scrapes to them on Saturday, actually. Steve: I do have some questions about the rear skid... 1. I presume this will work with your older crosslink? 2. What's the mounting setup to the transmission crossmember? Is there another plate that connects to the cross member first, and if so, do it prevent the tail-end of the skid plate from bending up into the t-case? Asking because I'm curious to know if I can make this work with an SFD (noting to others that if you have an SFD, your crosslink will sit lower that the transmission crossmember). I noticed you're now just overlapping the front and mid plates to the diff crossmember, but thought I'd note that I liked your previous 'mid-plate' that provided separate front bolt holes for the mid skid. Not sure if this was the original design, but I bolted that piece directly to the crossmember (instead of the front skid sandwiching it with 4 bolts) so that I could remove the front skid without leaving the mid plate hanging there or otherwise needing to remove it. I imagine you can still replicate convenience with two more holes in each plate rather easily. If none of this description makes sense, I'll send you some pics.

I think it's for the temporary clutch override so that you can start the truck without depressing the clutch (like if needing to start the truck on a steep incline). Surely a remnant from when the truck was MT.

Actually, I think the 2nd harness is white/opaque. Either way, the two were taped together stashed in the back/bottom of the radio area.

I believe the harness is already there. That's how it is on my 2004 SE that didn't come with heated seats, anyway. There are two harnesses (one blue, one black, I believe) under the radio, both are live when ignition switch is on, and they fit the OE seat heater switches (which I pulled from a QX4, same colors as the harness). I'd have to check under the seat, but I'm pretty sure I'd find another harness. Eventually I will add aftermarket heater elements to the seats and tap into those harnesses (if they exist). But again, if the switch harnesses exist, I'd presume the rest is there.

I'll also add that with a little luck, you can also just loosen the tie rod or ball joint nuts, whack the knuckle a little, then whack the nut upward a few times and it might pop out. Don't plan on re-using the nut or joint.

I see. Still a bit surprising. I wouldn't imagine anything in that regard would wear out. I mean, how much time do you spend in reverse? Well, as far as the switch goes, since it's an OE one it probably has more than one contact. You need a multimeter to find the two contacts that show continuity when the switch is closed. Then just hook up the wires to those two contacts. Doesn't matter which wire goes to which contact; the switch just needs to complete the circuit.

Sounds like you need an FSM! (Factory Service Manual) Steering: http://www.nicoclub.com/manuals/Pathfinder/1998_Pathfinder/st.pdf See ST-24 for all the torque specs. Suspension: http://www.nicoclub.com/manuals/Pathfinder/1998_Pathfinder/su.pdf See SU-10. The instructions for each procedure are also in those chapters. For everything else: http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/Pathfinder/1998_Pathfinder/ For the tie-rods and ball joints, get a cheap ball joint separator. A pickle fork will work, but it's more work. Loosen the nut, but don't remove them. Put the ball joint separator on the knuckle, tighten it up, then give each knuckle a whack with a mini sledge, then tighten the BJ separator some more. They should pop right out. If you can avoid twisting the outer tie rod off the inner tie rod, you can use it to size up the new rods and potentially avoid needing an alignment.

You do know that a replacement switch from Rock Auto is $6, right? And it's just a simple switch. Two wires; one from the battery, the other to the reverse lamps. Just put a switch between the wires. If you want confirmation, just touch the two wires together and the lights should come on.

Haha, so yeah, that's been the kicker about this entire black/yellow wire conversation...it's only relevant to starting the truck, not shutting it down. But, seemed like a "better to know, than not know...you know?" discussion. I think the only way the alarm factors in is if it has some remote start and/or starter disable function, and it's malfunctioning. For remote starters, the alarm can purposefully shut down the vehicle...typical scenario is if the vehicle is started remotely and the alarm never senses the ON signal from the ignition switch within some timeframe, for instance. But, any malfunction here could shut the truck down. Honestly, if you have no dependencies on the alarm (is it even wired into the door signals or control power locks or windows?) and aren't even sure what it does (or doesn't), I'd be removing it. One less failure point. Conversely, if you want a new old remote start alarm I've got one from a long time ago that I never installed, I'll sell it to you for a couple bucks . Could also try a more brutish approach to recreate the problem: start the truck, and start smacking and tugging wire bundles, relays, harnesses, keys while in ignition, etc. Can't help on identifying those relays, but the quickest test is to pull them up and see what wire is grounded, put a 12v source on the opposite contact (typically labelled "86") and see what turns off. If the wires are connected using slide terminals, make sure they still have firm contact.

Ha, what timing...I just got my renewal email today.

You're missing it because you said yours started as a MT truck, which doesn't utilize an inhibitor circuit. That probably means your current AT inhibitor switch is part of the equation that's causing the black/yellow to read as a ground when in P/N. I'd guess that if you look into that relay socket, you're missing some of the slide connectors that would be necessary if a relay was installed. Take a look at this: http://www.nicoclub.com/service-manual?fsm=Pathfinder/1993_Pathfinder/Starting_charging_AT_wiring If you lacked both inhibitor switch and relay, the B/Y may in fact be grounded. For an MT, B/Y led to the clutch interlock. Guessing some magic occurred during the engine/trans swap. The FSM suggests there are two active leads when the ignition switch is turned to Start. B/Y is supposed to be one of them, but I can't determine from the FSM what the other is. It's the wire below the open/missing connector, and from a picture of the harness, it looks like it might be black/green. If that's true, perhaps it's the lead to your starter?