Nissan Truck Fan - Just Found this Forum

[300K+ Guy]

Hello all, I bought a new 1991 4 cyl 5 speed truck for less than $8,000. I was driving a 1985 Fiero that was full of problems. I was always borrowing my wife's Subaru while my Fiero was getting fixed. I wanted a small truck and she talked me into looking at the Consumer Reports auto ratings book. Toyota and Nissan had the best ratings. The Toyota was a little more money, and the Nissan I found was bright red with the chrome wheel/trim package. I bought it the next day.

At first I was kind of disappointed. The interior seemed cheap and the radio sounded bad. When I turned it up loud enough to hear it, it was distorted. The problem was just some small inefficient speakers. They were paper cone 4" speakers mounted on a sheet metal adapter to make them fit in the hole sized for 6-1/2" speakers. I bought the best sounding 6-1/2" 3-way speakers I could find and the radio was transformed into a MUCH louder and bassier system. The difference was like night & day. The speakers were too deep to fit into the door, so I had to make some 3/4" thick spacer rings to move them into the cabin area farther. I used some 3/4" 13 ply marine plywood painted seme-gloss black to match the speakers. They're 14 years old and still sound great. Eventually this truck became my favorite vehicle ever. It never failed to start, the engine still runs great, and it NEVER left me stranded. I have never had to align the front end, it still tracks straight down the road. It has all original front suspension and steering parts. Of course I greased them regularly, installed fittings for the ball joints, and used a grease needle on the other joints.

I still have this truck today and it has 334K+ miles on it. The engine has never given me any trouble except for a leaking water pump at 270K. Other than that it's original. It has the original clutch...yes...334K on a clutch. It has a very slight chatter once in a while, but it's minor.

When I was close to 300K, I was worried the '91 could die any day. I bought a new 2002 Frontier, also a 4 cyl 5 speed (best fuel economy). I have 38K on the 2002 with no real problems yet. The only two minor things were very corroded license plate bulb sockets and the center brake light would fill half way with water. The brake light was replaced under warranty. They wouldn't do anything about the license plate bulb sockets. I'm looking forward to attempting more than 400K miles on the Frontier, now that I know more about taking care of these for the long haul.