Kingman

The only real cause for blowing a fuse is a dead short or ground. No resistance = too much amperage flowing = blown fuse.

All I have to say is have good shocks in the rear or you'll be wishing you had bump stops. Your tires will hit your fenders and they will be gouged apart. I learned that not too long ago. I removed mine and after 4 speed bumps there were chunks removed from the tires.

If you have an extremely high quality (not power rating) deck, you'll almost be guaranteed great sound. I have JBLs up front and Kenwoods in back and an Alpine deck that allows me to turn the volume up all the way with almost zero distortion and sound so crisp and loud it makes your ears ring. The previous Panasonic deck made everything sound like @!*%. It's so clear now that a separate amp for the speakers would be pointless. Mostly distortion from speakers comes from the internal amp on the deck it's self. The thing with car audio is, you'll almost never find any component that puts out as much power as it's labeled to. It's not really how much power you can produce, it's how well the component handles it's self while doing it.

There's a control box for the power locks, I think in a 4-door it's in the back behind the paneling? I know in a 2-door it's right next to the back seat on the driver's side. I would check and see if that looks alright, or if there's power going to it. Also, did it come factory with an alarm and a key fob? If so the control unit for that is under the driver's seat.

Emissions limit is 1100.

I was always taught to set idle wherever the engine will be running at it's lowest, which is in gear. Yes it was a long time ago...runaway truck...

It should be set when the engine is at operating temperature, in drive. Put a few bricks or something in front of the tires so it doesn't drive away from you. That last part is from experience by the way...

Yes. I'd take it to a welding shop and have them perfectly align the tubes and weld a few spots for strength. They should know to be careful enough not to penetrate or warp the metal.

Very possible. If the engine isn't running right, sensors change parameters and give wrong readings that can mess with stuff. A few examples: when my '93 Explorer had a bad fuel pump relay the transmission would shift hard and really high. My '88 Suburban had a cracked distributor cap and would randomly misfire and when that happened the transmission would barely shift at al. When the problems on both vehicles were fixed, everything was silky smooth again.

No RE4 transmission uses vacuum for shifting, it's all done electronically with the various engine sensors and pre-set guidelines from the TCU.

Did you check your MAF sensor and the connections? Being you pressure washed the engine, there's probably corrosion starting in some places.

It helps to unbolt the motor mount and lift the side of the engine up for clearance. Without any kind of a lift it's a bitch to do. Another thing you can try is lowering the front differential so the starter can drop down.

If it's an FX4 it shouldn't be 2WD. I wouldn't worry too much about it, just don't drive too far and don't drive too fast.

If you're blowing oil through your exhaust and you've got an under hood exhaust leak, it will show up.

Yes, the oil smells like gas because of the rings letting fuel past them. It's common as motors age.

Thicker oil or a new oil pump. Or pull the oil pan and see if the pick up screen is clogged with anything.

That's exactly how I feel! It sucks because I'm driving a Toyota!

Dude. If a TBI injected Pathfinder with 260K on it passed emissions with a Magnaflow high-flow cat, an MPFI should easily pass.

Whoa, calm down people... No need for calling names.

Take a video of the sound? Have you tried a stethoscope to see where the noise is loudest?

Replace the manifolds with studs, it's much safer that way. Running bolts through an aluminum head with as much torque that needs to be applied to the manifolds with the heating and cooling isn't that great of an idea. It would be different if the heads were cast iron.

Sounds top end. Here's what a VG rod knock sounds like. This was a spun bearing.

The front diff can stay right where it is. What needs to be removed is all the under bracing including the brace for the diff, torsion bars, starter, bracketing, exhaust y-pipe, axles, shift linkage, and a few other little things I can't remember. It's a royal pain in the ass. In my opinion it's easier to remove the engine. I just installed an Exedy clutch with my new motor, we'll see how well it works. Exedy has been around for a long, long time...

Yep, that's the balls inside the pump binding and now allowing pressure.

But whatever you do, don't install an LSD differential in the front...