Faults:
I love my truck. In 4x4 low, it drives like a tractor. I could not believe how many times it got me out of between a rock and a hard place situations. I only have gotten stuck once in the mud when I drove it in 4 ft of quicksand. Other than basic maintenance, I have the issues listed below.
1996 - the clutch went out. I was lucky that the tow truck driver had the same truck, and installed it for a reasonable fee.
2006 - The tranny started going bad as I started losing gears. Attempted to fix it by replacing parts, but buying new parts (etc. shift fork) from Nissan was over double the cost of buying a rebuilt tranny.
After the rebuilt tranny was installed, and after I put it in 4x4 mode, the differential grinds. I've taken it to shops, and all they can tell me is that the bearings most likely went out, but cannot confirm that until they take it apart, and it'll cost too much to take it apart. The bearings going out does not make sense to me, as it worked perfectly before the rebuilt tranny was installed. At this point I have been out of work from a workers comp injury, which has not allowed me to afford repairs.
A couple of weeks ago, I was about to sell it if it did not pass smog. The only thing I did was change the oil, add carburetor TX and an O2 sensor, and it passed.
Issues: Not able to lift it as high as I wanted, as my research has shown that the manufacturer that made lift kits for this Nissan stopped making them years ago. I know that I could lift it by adding spacers on top of the shocks, but it will not be the same. Wear & tear, and the crawling that I have done on this truck, has caused damage to the torque bar, so I can't lift it too high. Only have 31" tires right now, but would like 33".
If there's anybody out there that has 33" tires/rims for this vehicle, you can email me at (todlimit@yahoo.com). Also if you know of a good honest mechanic in the N. California area, give me his/her contact information to fix my differential.