RCWD21

That $800 isn't including the lift I want! Lol 2 inch body 3 inch suspension. Nothing to crazy but plenty for my taste. As for the top end gasket set it was only $35 it came with victor reinz gaskets and seals and even a tube of grey rtv that I didn't know it came with until I checked the box. I get a lot of gaskets and seals from wiz parts on fleabay and I've had incredible luck with them even though they're "cheap". The only thing the kit didn't come with was the big rear main seal for the crank but they have that too for $10 and it even comes with the correct gasket. Plus they respond very fast to emails. Oh and one little thing to add to the update list is that thanks to having a parts d21 I can cut part of the bed out and weld it in place of the rusted hole in the real quarter panel area between the bumper and just behind the fender flare on the back left (can be seen in the pics earlier in the thread). Not sure why it rusted out right there but I suspect that something caused a hole and it was never repaired.

Another update! I've ordered and received the top end gasket set and ecu temp sensor I'm waiting to hear back on my offer for the oil pressure sensor since the old one leaked like crazy.. On order currently is: radiator cap, thermostat, oil pan gasket, oil pump, lower timing sprocket/ gear, intake and exhaust valves, throttle body rebuild kit with new filters, and rear main seal. I still have about another $800 worth of parts to get but I'm slowly getting there.. Still have to drill out the old studs from the heads for the exhaust and am debating on going to the 10mm studs.

I can't for the life of me remember what its called so with that its really hard to locate what I'm looking for. Basically its a metal sleeve that is sort of top hat shaped that is pressed over the crank shaft so that the seal has a "new" area to seal against. I know there is one for the vg30 but I can't find it. Anyone know or remember the name of what I'm talking about?

Just an update and a question for anyone that knows. I started ordering some of my parts this week. So far I have a gasket set and the temp sensor on its way to me. Now for the question: What year did the revised fs5r30a transmission come into production and what can they be found in? Seeing as the 3 speed is in a very questionable and unknown condition I'm going to go with a manual swap.

I've read so much about a 5 speed ecu won't let an auto function correctly but at the same time I can't figure out why a manufacturer would use two drastically different programs. Logically they'd use one part for both designs since you would think it only deals with the engine running and not the transmission. I'm debating on swapping in a 5 speed since the transmission is already disconnected and half the battle is over with lol. As for the 3 speed the current fluid is as dark as old used motor oil and it makes me wonder about what's left on the inside. I feel grit in it so I'm sure it's toast. I'm going to find a manual transmission that is the updated model with the higher fill hole. Luckily transmissions are fairly reasonable and I have an extra transfer case and a pedal assembly and the lines and I think even a slave cylinder. OK I've made up my mind, I'm going to go with a manual transmission strength and peace of mind. I'll keep updating this thread with any other bugs and issues I find.. This is going to take me a long time to get done right buy I'll have a pathfinder built to how I want it.

I cant find anything visually wrong with the ecu but something internal is damaged and not shutting power off when I cut the key off.

No its just the pic, it's got that resin coating on it and it's reflecting the light

Well that's kind of hard to do for me 5523, there are very few vg30i powered vehicles around here. What's the worst that can happen with putting a 5 speed ecu in an auto vehicle? Would it just not shift or would it fry some wiring? The fluid in the transmission right now is just as black as used motor oil so I question it's clutch plates. The fluid smells burnt and is probably the original in it. I may just swap to a 5 speed but am still on the fence about it. I wish I had another tbi vehicle I could test with just to see if mine is actually bad but I'm 99% sure that there's something wrong in there. I didn't know the ecu controlled the in cabin power to the lights and such..that's very strange to me..

I posted that pic earlier with my discovery but it didn't post either that or I screwed up and posted it wrong

I see it didn't post or something happened but I found out that it's part of my ecu that's causing the problem... I can plug in a different ecu (not sure if it's an auto or manual trans) so I just plugged in one plug and all my problems stopped. Everything works correctly. So I'm assuming that a battery at some point in time was hooked up backwards or that the circuits got wet or age just took over. I guess it's time to put the dash back together lol Here's the plug I'm talking about:

Figured out that something is wrong with my ecu. I took an old (not sure if it's for a z24i or a vg30i and plugged in just the plug that's removed in the pic above and everything works as it should. So now I have another question since this 3 speed doesn't appear to be computer controlled could i use the ecu from a 5 speed truck? And also how could I tell if the ecu is from an auto or manual vehicle?

I've been scratching my brain for the past few days trying to figure out why my dash lights, blinkers, headlights, basically everything that is supposed to work only with the key on, works with the key in the OFF position! Hook the battery up and everything is right. Cut the key on and then back off and everything still has power too it. I noticed that the blue wire with a red stripe will cause the "check relay" to click when I back probe it with a test light but when I remove the test light it doesn't click again. It's confused me to the point where I'm almost lost and the FSM isn't helping me at all... Well today I discovered that if I unplug a certain plug on the ecu that the beeping and the gas gauge and all the power is cut and everything returns to its non powered position. Could my ecu be bad and cause it where the powe're won't cut off to things? I can cut the key on and off and everything works correctly with this plug unplugged. But if I plug it back in there's constant power to everything. I hope this made sense if not please say something and I will try to clear it up for you. Also the ecu doesn't smell burnt or anything like that but it may or may not have gotten wet at some point. I have no idea as I got this thing in non running condition bit it was running before the timing belt broke.

I'm curious as to what is actually going on with the pathy. If it's something major we're here to help. Post some pics if you can. It might help clear things up some

I found out what was under that big wad of electrical tape! It was a half melted jumper/ fusible link? And if I disconnect it the dash lights cut off (I have the problem of constant dash lights even with the key removed) when I hook it back up there's a little relay in between the cruise control vacuum assembly and the long relay box on the passenger side fender well. I can't find where it goes so I guess I'll have to do some investigating with a test light to see if I have a short somewhere. I hope not.. I've even considered hooking up a toggle switch in place of this link to cut all power to the dash. With it unhooked I still get power to the clock and windows. I don't have headlights or blinkers or flashers until that link is hooked up. But again with it hooked up the dash lights refuse to cut off even after 10 minutes.. I'm lost on this but will keep trying to find the problem...

Now I have a little problem and can't seem to find any other instances of this happening. I can hook up a battery (lawn mower battery just for a 12v source for gauges and lights) all the lights and gauges work perfectly (also found out that the oil pressure gauge works when the wires are grounded out. Not sure if it's grounded through the sensor or not but I'll yest that tomorrow) when I cut the key off the A/T Temp light, battery light and one other light refuse to cut off. I messed with it a bit and the relay labeled "check relay" sated to make a buzzing noise like it had a lack of power. Does the check relay suply power to the gauges and stuff? In my 90 the same lights stay on and you hear a relay click and then the lights go off. I know this 87 "should" do the same thing. I guess I'll be switching relays and checking wiring tomorrow as well as checking on the price for having everything hot tanked.

Today I cleaned the water pump area, smoothed out some very blunt edges as far inside the block as I could get. I cleaned up the "snail shell curve" on the block and opened up the hole where the thermostat housing bolts to. Probably going to have the block, heads, crank, and cams hot tanked to get ever spec of oil and scale out of the engine and have the cylinders honed in preparation for the new rings. If it gets dirty it's going to be from me! Also drilled a hole for water to be able to drain out of the valley.

I pulled the pressure regulator out of the oil pump today and after I removed the spring from under the bolt and drained the little bit of oil I heard a small metal clank on the floor only to look Doan and see something small and shiny bounce under the bench to be lost forever... then when I went to remove the screws (even took a hammer and tapped the bit into the head of the screws) with an impact gun on low every single screw was stuck and the head got rounded out. So since I found a mysterious piece of metal in the pump (no idea where it could be from) I'm going to be slapping a new pump on the parts list. So far I'm at $300 for new parts and another $200 (leaving room for a few other things) from the junkyard.. so I'll be in this monster about $1k which isn't too bad I guess but if I had know about these issues I wouldn't have gotten this one.. oh well... too late now! This has become my "dream build" for a pathfinder so it's all out at this point to get it "perfect".

The problem bushing and LCA are on opposite sides and even that side is still ok. I think fixing the wholes helps a lot too. I used hardened washers back to back and welded them in and smoothed everything I could off. They're good now, just need the LCA bushings re done

Thanks I'll be posting more today so feel free to check in often

Time will tell.. I hope its real though.. I don't understand why someone would troll a forum like this

Super clean short block thanks to purple power and a scrub brush!

Look at the carbon build up on the pistons from the stuck rings! Nasty!

Pulled the block today, it was nasty! There was old RTV on the pump strainer and a good bit of sludge in the pan. I pulled the crank and pistons and discovered that the oil scraper rings were stuck from carbon build up on the rings. If this thing ran I wouldn't be surprised if it smoked and burnt oil.. I found out that the RMS and input shaft seal for the transmission were leaking and the fluid in the transmission was almost as dark as the old motor oil... I inspected the bearings and they looked almost brand new. No scuffs or wear marks except a very tiny and I mean tiny amount on the outer main bearings.

Well the component lay out doesn't exactly pertain to my questions but I still have it book marked and I completely forgot about nicoclub lol haven't been on there since I had my 240! That was 3 years ago now.