Faults:
The exhaust system from the catalytic converter back fell off from rust.
Brakes, pads and rotors in front, shoes and drums in back.
The power steering belt broke, and had to be replaced.
A couple tiny spots of rust, mostly around the wheel wells.
General Comments:
Good acceleration for a four-cylinder engine with automatic. It's not a Corvette, but I never have any worries when trying to pass somebody. Gas mileage is about 20 miles to the gallon, which I don't think is very impressive for a four-cylinder engine with only rear-wheel drive.
Only rear-wheel drive, but still good in snow. I don't even have snow tires, and I can drive more confidently in snow than most anything else, even front-wheel drives. It's a truck, it has high clearance, it can drive in snow where anything else will get stuck.
Handling is relatively carlike in most driving, but it could be better, it can feel very tippy just going the speed limit on curving rural roads and highway onramps and offramps. Steering is very stiff, which is fun when you're trying to have fun driving, but gets on your nerves when you just want to get somewhere. Steering is more precise than most trucks I have driven, less precise than most cars I have driven. High center of gravity, which means heavy winds can make it feel tippy.
Ride is good for a truck, bad for a car. It gets better with a load of firewood in back. The seats are better than in most Japanese cars, but I'd still prefer a big old American car with a bench seat and an armrest.
Extended cab is a good option. The jump seats in back are cramped, of course, but even adults are fine for short trips. Good for storage in back, too.
Like all the chrome, the chrome wheels, bumpers and grille. Would definitely recommend the chrome package.
Has held up fairly well, but not quite as well as I expected from a Nissan. The engine is already starting to ping a bit on the low-grade unleaded. The brakes that went were not the original brakes, and at least two sets of brakes in 80,000 miles seems excessive. My Dodge Diplomat's brakes went at 133,000, and those were the original brakes. I only had to do the front brakes on that, I still have the original drums in the back of that thing, and it stops beautifully. The Diplomat has been driven hard all its life, first by the police and then by several teenagers; the Nissan was owned by an old man for many years.
But that's a minor criticism; everything else has held up fine, it has started every time and always driven well. It's a good truck, probably the best small truck you can buy.
18th Aug 2005, 21:52
What is the location of the relay you changed? I have the exact problem with a 1993 Nissan pickup, and think I have the same starter problem.