1990 Nissan Hardbody Pickup Base King Cab review from North America

When I got the truck I knew it was a fixer upper and so I bought it with a blown transmission. It had the engine replaced before I bought it. Since I bought it I have had to replace the U-Joints (HORRIBLE JOB, they are "non- serviceable" so after getting several different sizes I opted to do some fabrication and tack weld them in since there are no c-clips and my drive-shaft is out of balance now. I guess you are supposed to buy a new shaft set which is totally not worth it), the oil pan (couldn't get one and went through hell trying to get it patched up), the rear main since I was in there, the door locks work intermittently and the passenger lock often gets stuck in the locked position, currently my gas tank is leaking. Parts are ridiculously hard to find.

When I first got this truck I knew it was in rough shape but the engine sounded good and it was solid. I only intended to get a couple of years out of it. Having said that, in the six months I've owned it anything that can go wrong has and you can't get parts. There are always parts listings but when they come in they don't fit.

Don't get me wrong, I love this little truck. Its cool looking, pretty easy to work on, it handles great, it is overly simple which I think is a major benefit, and I think the engine would go forever if treated properly. I think however that unless you have owned the truck since new you shouldn't expect to get anything over fifteen years out of them. All the parts are "non-serviceable" so if you need to replace the u-joints you are supposed to change the whole drive-shaft etc etc. I heard the line of thought is that if the transmission filter needs to be changed then the entire transmission is toast. I understand that line of thought but on a vehicle designed to be abused like a truck it doesn't fly with me. Next time I am getting a ranger or a Toyota if I win the lottery. It looks like next time is going to be within the next month.