1991 Nissan D21 Pickup base from North America - Comments

Both rear wheel cylinders were leaking when I purchased the truck. Replaced at 73K, along with new brake shoes and resurfaced drums.

Shocks replaced @ 73K.

Both CV shaft boots were torn when purchased, replaced both shafts at 73K (my fault, should have put new boots on right away)

U-joint on drive-shaft replaced @ 75K.

Thermostat replaced @ 76K.

Starter replaced @ 78K.

There are some funny noises coming from the transmission, I suspect throwout bearing is going out.

Timing chain rattles a bit on startup, but goes away after a couple minutes.

Every once in awhile, it will puff a little smoke out on startup. I suspect valve seals are worn? Not a big deal, because oil consumption is very little between oil changes.

Overall, this truck has been fantastic. Not the most exciting thing to drive, but it has never left me stranded and starts all the time.

Has more power than my previous Toyota pickup.

4 wheel drive works great!

Recently hauled almost 2000lbs. of stone in the back box, and it performed like a champ! I just had to keep it slow, and take it easy.

I can see that rust is showing up in various places. A couple rust holes are starting to show up in box. The rear wheel-wells are rusting (who's the genius that designed the factory wheel flares that trap dirt and water?)

Be sure to regularly spray out the insides of the frame! It's a boxed design, and dirt gets trapped in there and will clog the drain-holes!! This is very important. I've seen many people neglect this, and they wonder why the frames are wasting away.

Do the general maintenance on these trucks, and they will last forever.

I also have a 1991 D21 nissan pickup, 2WD. it has 211XXX miles and it still starts better than any vehicle I have which includes a 99 jeep grand cherokee and a ford f150. I replaced the clutch about 3 years ago and that is all the seroius replacements. I have myself redone the front brakes once and regularaly change the oil.

I can't speak highly enough about these trucks... I have a 1990 2wd 4cyl model that I just recently put in the garage to start doing the body and paint (infamous Nissan peeling paint)... so I went out yesterday and bought ANOTHER one as a spare... simply put, one of, if not THE, best vehicle I have ever had... period.

I own a 1991 Nissan Navara Pickup that is fitted with the Z24 engine + A/C and Auto Trans.

It's great, the car currently has 550,000 Kilometres on it and is still going strong!

There is no rust at all in the body (The tray is another matter entirely!) and the engine does not use blow smoke or use more than the ordinary amount of oil for any engine between oil changes.

The oil is changed every 5000Klm and only a high quality semi-synthetic oil is used.

Recent work done was a new thermostat and I replaced the plastic fan as one blade had stress cracks at its base.

The ute will cruise all day at 100KMh (60mph) and starts first time, every time in the cold mornings by tapping once on the throttle to set the auto choke then cranking it over.

It's a great car and I can't see myself parting ways with it for a very long time.

Jeff in Australia.

I have an original 86 1/2 D21 pickup. Needed a head gasket so replaced the head, valves and gasket last year. Clutch was replaced at 120k miles and is due again probably next spring. The trip meter quit working about 1 1/2 years ago with about 270k miles showing so I estimate the truck has around 300k miles at this point. Other than general maintenance and wearout repairs like brakes, tires, etc and it needs new injector seals now. This truck keeps on going and going and going... the best, most reliable vehicle I have ever owned. It is not the most comfortable as someone else mentioned, but this is the vehicle that the military should have considered instead of the HUMMER.

I have a 91 hard body with 618,xxxkms on it.

I have the valve train noise as well, but it's common in KA24Es, noisy lifters and timing chain slap. I do my regular maintenance on it and the only thing that has really gone wrong is the drive shaft U joint going to the transmission sheared, so I got another one. Suspension is all blown, the dirt holds the oil inside the motor so I don't clean the engine bay and I baby it. This truck was bought for 1000 bucks, and was a Nissan parts truck when it started life. I've had it for just shy of 100,000kms and take it on long road trips on a regular basis 2 years ago from the Lower Mainland BC to Olympia WA. Keep up the basic maintenance and it'll last forever.