are there known problems with these 5 speeds. im looking at buy an 89 and the owner says the trans makes a noise wether the clutch is depressed or not. im not a nissan guy so is there anything i should check for an easy fix or is going to need a tranny? i think i can pick it up for $600 bucks is it worth it?

Some of the 4 cyl., 4X4 manual trannies on the Hardbody trucks had problems with the input shaft bearing running dry. Nissan addressed it with a countermeasure case with a higher fill plug that adds another quart of oil to the capacity. Some will just raise the truck on the left side to add the additional oil, but you have to be careful if you should ever check the level; if you don't jack up the left side, the oil will likely come pouring out of the fill hole. Otherwise, not really any issues with these transmissions. The V6 is a different model trans compared to the 4 cyl. Any manual trans noise, assuming it is not just due to a low oil condition, is a big job as the trans will have to be removed whether it involves the clutch or the trans. Since it does it regardless of whether the clutch is engaged or not, there's a good chance that there's a bad bearing inside the trans. This would require a trans overhaul to fix.