Nissan Pickup/Half Ton

alipounce

I recently bought a 1996 Nissan Pickup and have been unable to find a message board, chat, or forum. Please let me know if you are aware of a decent forum I could join to get some extra information on fixing up this old fogey.

jackka

Thanks for bringing up the topic.
There are a few Nissan discussions in the archives, but there's been little recent activity.

I bought my 98 Frontier in June and I love it. I've made a few inquiries about aftermarket power windows and doorlocks but have had no response.

Maybe somebody whe sees this post can help.

Since many posts seem to involve complaints about their pickups, maybe the absence of traffic about our Nissans is a sign of satisfaction.

mullins87

it's the title. I came in here thinking there was going to be a discussion of a new pickup Nissan was building. Maybe even poke a little fun at another compact truck wanting to be a full size truck. Shucks!!!

jackka

give up, mullins87, what did you have in mind? We're interested.

mullins87

probably something to do with pulling one backwards while having another one in the bed of my truck.

But seriously, I'm surprised Nissan/Toyota hasn't made a "real" effort into the full size market.

lspangler1

There is an interview with the platform chief from Nissan on pickuotruck.com. He states that the Toyota is not a full size. I saw the SUV last week and it looks pretty cool.

obyone

old news. Comparing specs its closer in size to the Dakota than to any full sized truck. Don't know where their hauling ratings come from unless riding on the bump stops is an acceptable practice.

mrl1973

I just noticed this forum and wanted to post a few comments/questions to see if anybody has had the same experiences. I have had my 2wd king cab 1996 pickup for a little over a year now. It only has about 60k miles. I have been fairly pleased with it. It has a couple of little nuances that I was wondering if anybody else has had the same experience. First, it will not idle very steady. It will randomly bounce around about +/- 200rpms. I have had the dealership look at it and they spent a considerable amount of time trying to diagnose it(even replaced the intake manifold gasket-thought there was a leak) but eventually concluded it was just a characteristic of 1996 fuel/ignition system on the 4 cylinder engines. Also there is another component inside the engine compartment that is hard mounted to the passenger side of the firewall that makes random clicking noises while the engine is running and is quite audible inside the cab. I also asked the dealership about this and they said that again this is normal. It is some type of regulating valve. It seems to be worse when the air temperature is cooler but again there is no pattern to the clicking. Has anyone had the same experience?

Thanks.

dahuber

Yeah, my old 95 Nissan 4X4 2.4 liter did the same bounce at idle. It never seemed to hurt anything, though, and it was going strong when I sold it last year with 75k.

Dave Huber

analogfoo

First let me say I love my Nissan truck. I hear all those "full-size, gas guzzler" guys making fun of the size of compact trucks...I know that my truck with 235,000 miles will last four times longer than any of those bigger trucks. What it lacks in size, it more than doubles up in reliability and fuel economy! I always say that they must be trying to make up for their "manhood" with a bigger truck, smile!

Anyway, although these are great little trucks, they are not without some bugs (like all vehicles). The idle bounce is a common problem and is due to a negative wire in the engine wiring harness. It is caused by a point in the wire that splits into two wires and the wire doesn't ground. You have to open up the wiring harness and find the connection (not an easy task...close to the firewall) and solder the connection point so it will always ground. This may not be the only thing that causes it to idle up and down, but it was for mine. Once I fixed it (years ago) it has been fine since. If not sure what I'm talking about, just ask a dealer, THEY should have a service bulletin on this, if not...go to someone who does or call 1800nissan1.

dustyk

.....that was big enough for my requirements, I might not have bought something else. I most certainly would have put Nissan high on my list.

I just sold the best car I have ever owned...a 1993 Sentra SE 4dr sedan. My only unscheduled maintenance item was an alternator after 100,600+ miles. I knew about the squeaky front brakes, the low miles out of front pads, and the weak door hinges. Still spent less than $1200 in total repairs (and that includes tires) during the time I owned it. It was the only car in that class (1993) that had a timing chain, as I recall.

Only one person that I've ever talked to had less than almost perfect sevice from a Nissan. Even our '99 Toyota Avalon cannot match the quality of assembly and reliability of the Nissans I've known.

If Nissan wanted to make a splash in the industry, the mid-size truck market could use a Nissan product. The Dakota and the Tacoma are the only players right now. Both are better than average machines, each have their strenghts and weaknesses, but are not perfect.

Nissan would need to come up with a little more powerful engine, especially to compete with the very popular Dakota. But Nissan quality alone would bring buyers into the showroom.

Actually, my local Nissan dealer told me last spring that Nissan was going to be bringing out a "full size" truck. Anybody ever hear what happened to it?

Regards,
Dusty

obyone

My idle bounce on my '91 Nissan hardbody was caused by a leak in the intake manifold gasket. Added a little sealant and no problems. Be sure to change that O2 sensor and PCV valve while you're at it.

PF_Flyer

On my 1986 Nissan King Cab 4x4, the fuel filter was back near the tank and easily accessible through the wheel well. I had a problem with the filter element breaking apart and blocking the fuel line so I'd visully check it from time to time. Ah... I miss that truck!

PF Flyer
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silver_bullet

I bought this truck over two years ago with only 34K miles showing; an extremely clean one-owner trade in (at a Lexus dealership!). Now at 43K, and it runs like a champ. I replaced the stock shocks with Bilsteins, and have fitted a set of 15" alloys from a '98 Pathfinder SE. Amazingly, a factory AM/FM/CD unit from a 2000 Xterra slips right in, and replaces the stock cassette unit and pocket perfectly - even the harness plugs match. Am running full synthetic lubes throughout, but still have a tough time shifting in cold weather until things warm up - it's fine once warmed up a bit. Rock steady idle, and no unscheduled maintenance required with the exception of the oil pressure sender which developed a very slight leak - check yours when you change the oil filter, it is an easy ten minute fix. I love my truck!

rsholland

http://www.autonews.com/files/2003_detroit/nissan/titan/

frey44

http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=42017