Precise1

Hey all, been a while... hope you have been good. I'm that jerk that nags my wife to check oil/water/tire pressure/spare before a trip (just a weekend can be 600+ miles). She hates that I don't just do it for her, but she has to know how and why as well, so tough schitt. Well, she managed to avoid it a few times, but just before ThanksGiving last year, I made her do the rounds, and guess what? Yep, that is what the 14 year old tire looked like. Granted it is a micro-emergency tire, but it has never been used in the 10+ years we have had the vehicle... it just sat in it's space saving well and rotted. Imagine being stuck somewhere only to find that this is what your spare looks like! Needless to say she went from "Why do I have to do this?" to "OMG what if I needed it?" real quick. The real point is that you won't find these tires at any tire shop, it is only at the stealership, and they probably don't have it in stock... I know, I called 1/2 a dozen. In this case, the oddball size was made by Continental (in Germany) and they would mount/balance/tax me for about $165. o_O So the wife now has a new full sized steel wheel ($60), a used tire from a local shop ($50) held down with some HF tie downs ($5)... $115 for the math challenged. This way she could just keep driving, across the state if need be, and not be limited to 50 miles/50mph with the factory sized crap. I yoinked the plastic holder thingie from the well, and that area is now hidden storage for everything from jack to water to change of clothes/shoes to emergency gear. The fulll sized spare takes up a little room, but it is worth it. (when will manufacturers stop this stupid schitt? Put a full sized spare tire in/on/under the car, anything else is a travesty.) Anywho... check your spares... well. B

So, what I would do is find yourself another VG33E block and go through it, top to bottom (I'm sure there are some aftermarket parts available), but specifically focus on porting/polishing the heads, any valve upgrades available and installing upgraded cams. Smooth out your intakes and exhaust manifolds, consider high flow cats, but definitely go with a after market/custom cat back exhaust. When your old motor tires/fails, swap the waiting one in with mostly stock components, and enjoy a fresh motor that performs 10-20% over stock. For road vehicles that has always been my strategy: Stock motor (maybe cam replacement) and peripherals (unless there is an inhibiting/fail prone component) for reliability, and then make it breathe like a cheetah and fart like an ox. Just think of an engine as a self driven air pump; as long as it has sufficient fuel, all it wants is all the air it can draw and not having it backed up on the way out. Oversimplification, but you get the point. You might want to consider setting all of this up and then doing the swap on your own schedule. Not only is it more convenient, but then you have a running motor to sell... BTW, unless you are extraordinarily hard on vehicles, you shouldn't be having issues. The VG series is known for 250k miles (400k km) without major issue at norm; we have a 1999.0 with 300k km that runs flawlessly. B

I should add the nickname that my wife gave pathy #3, the part out: WHEN ARE YOU GOING TO GET RID OF THAT THING! B

Just for fun, or be pedantic, do those bearing codes have something to do with diameters and angles, or are they just an in house nomenclature? B

Which one? I drove one to the store... I walked past the other one... I put the battery charger on the next one... Y U SO PIKY? Dude... Don't get me wrong, but the WD21, without major mods, is a base level SUV that is surprisingly capable. The WD21 with some mods is awesome for a base level SUV (We're past Jeep here). The WD21 is a base level SUV unless you full on Steevo it. At that point, buy something else... (No slight on Steevo, he has taken the WD21 as far as it goes, that direction) ruggedrocks if you don't know. It's all good... WD21's are awesome! B

You are in good hands.... So, consider if you do any towing, heavy hauling, there are quality airbags that go inside the rear coil springs and can be set to 0-15 lbs (IIRC). Point is, install the super lift arms (they are good, I have them too), install the rear bags (of you haul/tow), inflate the rear as appropriate, adjust the front with in it's bounds, then have it aligned. I think you get the point. You should be good from there... B

Sorry, just have to brain fart. It is the ExBrit in SoCal that has good info on this, made it fit right without much trouble. I'll try to link if I recall, but search for XJ bumper or ExBrit (why the hell is he here) R50 bumper, or whatever. You'll find it, and yes, it works... (thanks ExBrit, hope to meet you some day) B

Little Stomper Because it feels like driving a Tonka Truck would/should, but it will never grow up to be a Bigfoot. Just the way I like it... B

Adam, the metal aftermarket ones, or the stock plastic ones? If the metal AM, yes I would like dimensions, but the stock, no point. For the former, I'd just send you calipers and teach you how to use them... Let me get the lathe first. B

That is a pretty penny for that motor, but you should be able to sell some of the parts you can't use in the swap to even it out. I have no idea if you are still looking, but I have a VG30E out of a '91 to sell. B

Grassroots centerlinks are NLA? That sucks, because it was to go to part for durability. Those, and an AC idler brace would have been my reply... Those bushings seem like a good replacement, but I think they are terribly expensive (normal plastic replacements are 1/4 the price), and I question using a high hardness nickel/bronze material without knowing the hardness of the idler arm shaft. You might find that the bushings have long wear, but when they need replacing, the idler arm does as well. (I have experience with this material in mold applications) I'd think oilite bronze or even the oil impregnated UHMW PE would be good candidates instead. I should have a lathe this summer, so maybe I'll get to experiment... B

I charged the batteries on 2/3s of them. B

Holding steady at 106.5k miles on my 1995... B

Apparently it has been found in a side yard of some questionable home, and then left there. Not sure on the details, but he moved on a bought another? The Mr Jim man doesn't come around here anymore, but Farsebook has details. NPORA had pooled together and resurrected the Mr Jim Pathfinder and gifted it back to Mr Jim the person. That was a success! It, and the principle, continues to live on here on this website. B

Which one? I drove the 1999.0 Swatted some wasps off of the 1995 Opened up the 1991 to start with the dismantling B

Probably gas separation/water from condensation which will leave the unwanted on the top. Add the HEET and then a few gallons of gas and see what it does. If it is still an issue, try jiggling sensor wires when it is hot and running. Still an issue? You might want to try draining the tank again, but hopefully that isn't the case. Get back to us before that... B

^probably right Just toss them in a spare jar... B

Well, water doesn't compress so you don't want to risk hydrolocking the motor. I'd just start out cautiously and go from there. It is the steam that does the cleaning from what I understand. Here, read up on it first... https://www.physicsforums.com/threads/decarbonizing-an-engine-with-water-myth-or-fact.793344/ B

Headers... And to follow up on my brain fart, I was talking about the enclosed K&N Apollo cone filter for a snorkel. The exposed cone filter wouldn't work for obvious reasons. B

Very little! I would probably just spray a mist down the intake tube while it was running. Start out gently and slowly. Water injection was a known, short term performance enhancer. The Germans used it on some fighter planes in WW2... B

Wiggle the connector for the TPS (throttle position sensor), the thing off to the side of the air intake (plenum) right after the rubber flex hose from the air filter box. It might be other things, but mine acts up occasionally, meaning the RPMs are a few hundred higher. It will reduce immediately for me, so instant results or on to the next thing... B

Just to avoid confusion, please post a picture of your motor. Hard to mix it up that way, but I'm betting on the VG30 for a 1995 and a VG33 for a 1998... 2001 will probably have the VQ35 and will not bolt up. VG series trannies are interchangable though. B

Damn, Adam, chill out a bit... What I was told from Nissan Master tech that frequents this site is that Dexron III/Merkon is perfectly adequate, but might need more frequent changes due to heat specs. That said, my 1995 needs new fluid, so I'll probably flush it out with some D3/M and then add the Castrol Transmax. I've had good luck with Castrol products over the last 20-30 years. Maybe there is something better, but hey, maybe the brand is to be trusted in this application? B

Agreed (although any HP increase is welcome). Please keep in touch and give us dinosaur floggers some feedback... B

I'll just add x10 to this. MAYBE it does something if you have a VG33 transplant or VG34 build, but for a stock VG30 (even with cams and headers from what I can tell), there is no point. The stock VG30 system seems to breathe better than the motor needs. Farting is another story though... If you want to run a snorkel, it is a good way to go then. B