Getting to Know the Nissan D21 Hardbody

Forum for the Xterra, Frontier and Hardbody, the smaller workhorses of the Nissan lineup!
Vmax
Posts: 1
Joined: Sun Mar 09, 2014 11:27 pm
Car: 1997 NISSAN D21 Crew cab 4 x 4 Diesel

Post

It's so nice to stumble upon a site that caters to the needs and wants of a diehard Nissan fanatic like me.
I drive a '97 D21 diesel 4 x 4 Crew Cab. She's the love of my life having endured years of use. She now enjoys weekend unladen cruising to keep her in tip top shape. I will post some pictures soon. Thanks for all the valuable information, am having a great time!


User avatar
Rev_D21
Posts: 6897
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:49 pm
Car: 1986.5 D21 LB HD 2WD V6 5Speed
1991 D21 Reg 2WD Auto
1995 D21 Reg 2WD 5Spd
1996 D21 Reg 4WD 5Spd
2012 Versa 1.6S 5-Speed
Location: Somwhere in Western NY
Contact:

Post

Update:

Discovered that my injectors are side feed. Build date 2/1995 and the truck does not have OBDII. I added this information to the time line. If anyone has side feed injectors and their truck was built before Feb/1995 please let me know.

User avatar
Akoshuggah
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 10:23 pm
Location: Hungary

Post

Hi,

I've never used such forums so far, so I had no clue about where to put my questions, sorry... Reading through this thread it seems to me that if you can not help me, then nobody can... I live in Hungary and my English is quite poor - especially in car mechanic expressions -, sorry if I can not use the correct grammar forms or names of car-parts! And I am not a car mechanic, so...

I bought a 1992 Nissan Pickup King Cab 2.4L 4wd z24 5speed truck. It has been working well in the past one year, but now I have problems with it, which I'd like to solve, but the more I read about these cars, the more confused I am... First of all I give you all the info that I could find in the registry papers and on the plates inside of my car and I uploaded some not too good quality photos here: http://postimg.org/gallery/2m2kjuj8/
- VIN: JN1KNMD21U0407726 (I searched it and in US database it does not exists, European database says only that it is a Terrano from 1991/6...)
- motor number: Z24 438558W
On the aluminium plate under the hood there are these caracters:
- ABE E082
- the above mentioned VIN number
- Farbe. polst.: KNLMD21FQWY (where Q is maybe a G)
- Type: KNMD21
- Color trim: 002 K

a) This car is petrol fueled but it has been converted to petrol/autogas(LPG) fueled by the previous owner. The confusion started when I was reading about Z series engines that those were manufactured only untill 1989 and in those engines every cylinder were double sparkled (except before 1982). Mine has only 4 sparkplug cable, so non-NAPS-Z and mine is from 1992 (as its papers say)...

b) The body seems to me a Pathfinder's body (the ordered Nissan King Cab's rear lamps were approx 3 cm (approx 5/4") smaller then it should have been, but the Pathfinder's fitted into it perfectly).

c) I have problems with (maybe) the ignition system (cylinder 2 and 4 doesn't work), so I tried to look for some parts to find out which of the parts went wrong, but in my car's distributor (under the rotor) there is an ignition condenser which has two cables coming out directly from it and I have read somewhere that these types were fitted into 720's distributors with 8 voltage and I have 12V 55Ah 390A accumulator in it. (Don't know if matters or not...)

d) I searched through the Vac Lines of 720 - because I started to think that I have a 720's engine built into a Pathfinder body - here http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/nissan ... guide.html and I realized that several Vac Lines are missing in my D21. Or 720. Or Pathfinder.... If you see the photos that I uploaded and the photos in the thread of yours which I linked above, you will see that the line from the exhaust manifold and lines of point A and B are totally missing. I don't know if it was necessary because of the LPG conversion or just a big mechanic mistake or a model/type thing...

e) Also the fuse box is different from the one which is pictured on a plate under the dashboard...

So I think now you can see how much confused I am with even this car's type and model and engine. I couldn't find out which type and year of truck I have, which year of engine my car has, so I got stucked here. For being able to go further on the way of renewing this vehicle I will need your knowledge about these vehicles. I have a small thought that I am a victim of a scam and I bought a car which was built from parts of several different types and years of Nissan Trucks...

Please, help me out here if you can! Thank you in advance!

Ákos

User avatar
AZhitman
Administrator
Posts: 71061
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2002 2:04 am
Car: 58 L210, 63 Bluebird RHD, 64 NL320, 65 SPL310, 66 411 RHD, 67 WRL411, 68 510 SR20, 75 280Z RB25, 77 620 SR20, 79 B310, 90 S13, 92 SE-R, 92 Silvia Qs, 98 S14.
Location: Surprise, Arizona
Contact:

Post

Welcome to NICOclub, Akos! Your English is quite good, and I think we will have no problem helping you.

I will wait for our D21 experts to speak up soon.

User avatar
Rev_D21
Posts: 6897
Joined: Sun Jan 12, 2003 9:49 pm
Car: 1986.5 D21 LB HD 2WD V6 5Speed
1991 D21 Reg 2WD Auto
1995 D21 Reg 2WD 5Spd
1996 D21 Reg 4WD 5Spd
2012 Versa 1.6S 5-Speed
Location: Somwhere in Western NY
Contact:

Post

Akoshuggah wrote:Hi,

I've never used such forums so far, so I had no clue about where to put my questions, sorry... Reading through this thread it seems to me that if you can not help me, then nobody can... I live in Hungary and my English is quite poor - especially in car mechanic expressions -, sorry if I can not use the correct grammar forms or names of car-parts! And I am not a car mechanic, so...

I bought a 1992 Nissan Pickup King Cab 2.4L 4wd z24 5speed truck. It has been working well in the past one year, but now I have problems with it, which I'd like to solve, but the more I read about these cars, the more confused I am... First of all I give you all the info that I could find in the registry papers and on the plates inside of my car and I uploaded some not too good quality photos here: http://postimg.org/gallery/2m2kjuj8/
- VIN: JN1KNMD21U0407726 (I searched it and in US database it does not exists, European database says only that it is a Terrano from 1991/6...)
- motor number: Z24 438558W
On the aluminium plate under the hood there are these caracters:
- ABE E082
- the above mentioned VIN number
- Farbe. polst.: KNLMD21FQWY (where Q is maybe a G)
- Type: KNMD21
- Color trim: 002 K

a) This car is petrol fueled but it has been converted to petrol/autogas(LPG) fueled by the previous owner. The confusion started when I was reading about Z series engines that those were manufactured only untill 1989 and in those engines every cylinder were double sparkled (except before 1982). Mine has only 4 sparkplug cable, so non-NAPS-Z and mine is from 1992 (as its papers say)...

b) The body seems to me a Pathfinder's body (the ordered Nissan King Cab's rear lamps were approx 3 cm (approx 5/4") smaller then it should have been, but the Pathfinder's fitted into it perfectly).

c) I have problems with (maybe) the ignition system (cylinder 2 and 4 doesn't work), so I tried to look for some parts to find out which of the parts went wrong, but in my car's distributor (under the rotor) there is an ignition condenser which has two cables coming out directly from it and I have read somewhere that these types were fitted into 720's distributors with 8 voltage and I have 12V 55Ah 390A accumulator in it. (Don't know if matters or not...)

d) I searched through the Vac Lines of 720 - because I started to think that I have a 720's engine built into a Pathfinder body - here http://www.nicoclub.com/archives/nissan ... guide.html and I realized that several Vac Lines are missing in my D21. Or 720. Or Pathfinder.... If you see the photos that I uploaded and the photos in the thread of yours which I linked above, you will see that the line from the exhaust manifold and lines of point A and B are totally missing. I don't know if it was necessary because of the LPG conversion or just a big mechanic mistake or a model/type thing...

e) Also the fuse box is different from the one which is pictured on a plate under the dashboard...

So I think now you can see how much confused I am with even this car's type and model and engine. I couldn't find out which type and year of truck I have, which year of engine my car has, so I got stucked here. For being able to go further on the way of renewing this vehicle I will need your knowledge about these vehicles. I have a small thought that I am a victim of a scam and I bought a car which was built from parts of several different types and years of Nissan Trucks...

Please, help me out here if you can! Thank you in advance!

Ákos

Welcome to NICO! I will try to answer everything I can for you but my knowledge is limited to USA D21 trucks so I will try the best I can.

A) The Z24 was used in the USA until 1989 but it could have been used longer in other markets which your particular truck might suggest. The US has very strict tailpipe emission laws compared to other markets. Knowing your truck ran a 4 spark plug z24 as late as 1992 is very interesting information indeed!

B) The box, or tub in some markets, on the D21 trucks varies widely outside of the USA. I have seen 4 different tail lamp variants so far that I determine to be factory and not an aftermarket add on. I should make a thread about the many faces of the D21 outside of the USA since we are seeing more members post from other countries. Note to self: Make that thread happen. Looking at your image gallery I would say you have the standard box/tub with the same tail lamps the USA trucks came with. I have seen smaller lamps but those are mostly found on the trucks that have the hooks on the side of the bed.

C) Once again my expertise is limited to USA trucks so I am unfamiliar with 8v systems, all of the USA trucks were 12V. Nissan made different Z motors for different markets and models. I have read there were Z18, Z20, Z22 and Z24 variants though only the Z22 and Z24 made it to USA shores and those all had 8 spark plugs. Wish I could be of more help on that one.

D) The heater duct from the exhaust manifold to the air intake frequently falls off or is forgotten. It directs the heat of the manifold into the air intake which tried to help speed up the engine warm up and cold start process. A piece of flex hose is all that is needed to repair that. As for the vac lines...I didn't see what was missing in the pics.

E) Someone may have grabbed a random cover off another truck just for piece of mind.

Based on what I see you definitely have a D21 Hardbody/Navara truck on your hands, not a Pathfinder or Terrano.


If I uncover any more useful information I will be sure to update this thread.

User avatar
Akoshuggah
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 10:23 pm
Location: Hungary

Post

Thank you Rev for your infos! I will try to do my best on investigating and repairing my car. If I will have some useful infos for this forum, I'll share them.

I found here a guy who has 1997 Z24 with 4 spark plugs, he is from middle east.
Creating a thread about non-US D21-s seems to me a good idea.

All the best!

User avatar
AZhitman
Administrator
Posts: 71061
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2002 2:04 am
Car: 58 L210, 63 Bluebird RHD, 64 NL320, 65 SPL310, 66 411 RHD, 67 WRL411, 68 510 SR20, 75 280Z RB25, 77 620 SR20, 79 B310, 90 S13, 92 SE-R, 92 Silvia Qs, 98 S14.
Location: Surprise, Arizona
Contact:

Post

Akos, do you have the factory service manual for your truck? If not, we have it for you to use!

User avatar
Akoshuggah
Posts: 3
Joined: Tue Jun 24, 2014 10:23 pm
Location: Hungary

Post

AZhitman, no, actually I have only the 720's manual. I haven't been able to find the D21 manual yet... It would be great if I could have it, thank you in advance!

azhapp
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Sep 15, 2014 8:34 pm
Car: 1989 Nissan D21 King Cab 4x4 4cyl Still 4-wheelin'!

Post

Lovin' this site. I have my Dad's 89 King Cab 4cyl 4x4. It's all original, runs great. It has a few scrapes n dents, but he did a lot of bird hunting and 4-wheeling in it. I want to put a windshield shade/visor on the exterior when I get the body work and paint done. Anyone have a recommendation on the shade?
Pilileu, great stuff, thanks for sharing!

User avatar
AZhitman
Administrator
Posts: 71061
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2002 2:04 am
Car: 58 L210, 63 Bluebird RHD, 64 NL320, 65 SPL310, 66 411 RHD, 67 WRL411, 68 510 SR20, 75 280Z RB25, 77 620 SR20, 79 B310, 90 S13, 92 SE-R, 92 Silvia Qs, 98 S14.
Location: Surprise, Arizona
Contact:

Post

Welcome aboard!!!

ARTadpole
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Mar 14, 2011 4:11 pm

Post

Anybody know the paint codes for a 1986 D21? I've got a couple of small spots by the license plate that need a minor touch-up.

This past summer (June 2014) my AC compressor clutch died. I guess it died from old age since there is only 106,571 miles on the truck. A couple of days ago I got on the interstate for the first time since having the ac repaired and realized that my cruise control was not working. I drove the truck to where I had the AC repaired and told them about the problem. Long story short, the mechanic who worked on my ac and disconnected the cruise control no longer works there. And I soon discovered I would need a definitive repair/service manual to connect the cruise control back.

Is the1986 Nissan Pick Up Truck SERVICE Shop Repair Manual the only manual available that has detailed information in it? This manual is not cheap as I have discovered. I have a 1982 Datsun 720 King Cab with 383,811 miles on it. The only manual I have ever used is the Haynes Owner's Workshop Manual that is specifically for the (1980-1982) Datsun Pick-Up 720 Series. It only covers the 720 for two year models. The Haynes manual I have for 1986 D21 covers 16 years of pick-ups (1980-1996) and 8 years of the Pathfinder (1987-1995). This manual reminds me of my first wife, TOTALLY USELESS!

Anyway, sorry about the rant. Needless to say I love my D21 with an automatic with overdrive on the column. People who ride in the truck for their first time usually comment about how they have never seen a small truck with automatic that looks the same way as a full size pick-up.

2jzhardbody808
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Nov 14, 2014 1:19 am
Car: 1987 Nissan hardbody 2wd pick up

Post

I have an 1987 hardbody/pick-up and im having the hardest time finding parts. I live in hawai'i on the island of Maui and really need a left front quarter panel, ( would like two 4x4 front quarters but not picky) as mine get some rust, also I've been looking into putting a sr20 in it but would like to know what I need to do the truck before it's ready to handle that much power, such as frame, suspension, mountS and what ever else is needed. And a ruff estimate of build cost would be nice. Aloha


Return to “Nissan Trucks Forum”