Guys - I'm in Steamboat Springs, CO. I'm new to Xterras but have been shopping for one for a while now, and have my sites on a couple.
One option is to buy an '06 SE that is currently sitting with a bad trans (SMOD). It has 110,000 miles on it and appears to be in near perfect shape other than trans. One owner, maintenance records etc. Unfortunately it has been sitting parked for a year with the SMOD in the trans.
I'm looking for help with a few questions, none of which I could find through 2 days of searching the forums (maybe I'm not searching correctly....). Any help with the following would be appreciated:
1) Should I do a manual conversion?? As far as preference I would probably prefer manual, but wouldn't incur extra cost or effort to have it. I'm wondering if it might be cheaper to do the manual conversion than it would be to get a quality reman'd auto in there?
2) If i go manual - anybody with experience doing the conversion on a 2nd gen? What is my best bet for finding the parts? I'm mechanically inclined but have never gone junk yard hunting etc. I'm a little leary about buying used parts and don't really know how to shop for them.
3) If I keep it auto - where should I look for a replacement trans? It seems to me that I would be better off spending $2500-$3,000 on a nice reman'd auto than paying the same to have someone rebuild the SMOD trans, right?? Same as #2, I'm a little leary about buying a used trans because I don't know what to look for or who to trust. I'm also not really equipped to go pull one out of a junkyard. At least I don't think I am....
4) If I'm buying a replacement trans - can I just buy a reman tans from JC Whitney/Certified Trans/etc. etc. and bolt it right in? It looks like they come with a reman torque converter but will I need to buy anything else? Does the new one plug right in?
5) I think it best to replace the radiator as well. Thoughts? Probably put an aftermarket unit in after doing the cooling line bypass?
6) Will also be putting a locker in the rear, but can dig up info on this through the search.
Thanks!
One option is to buy an '06 SE that is currently sitting with a bad trans (SMOD). It has 110,000 miles on it and appears to be in near perfect shape other than trans. One owner, maintenance records etc. Unfortunately it has been sitting parked for a year with the SMOD in the trans.
I'm looking for help with a few questions, none of which I could find through 2 days of searching the forums (maybe I'm not searching correctly....). Any help with the following would be appreciated:
1) Should I do a manual conversion?? As far as preference I would probably prefer manual, but wouldn't incur extra cost or effort to have it. I'm wondering if it might be cheaper to do the manual conversion than it would be to get a quality reman'd auto in there?
2) If i go manual - anybody with experience doing the conversion on a 2nd gen? What is my best bet for finding the parts? I'm mechanically inclined but have never gone junk yard hunting etc. I'm a little leary about buying used parts and don't really know how to shop for them.
3) If I keep it auto - where should I look for a replacement trans? It seems to me that I would be better off spending $2500-$3,000 on a nice reman'd auto than paying the same to have someone rebuild the SMOD trans, right?? Same as #2, I'm a little leary about buying a used trans because I don't know what to look for or who to trust. I'm also not really equipped to go pull one out of a junkyard. At least I don't think I am....
4) If I'm buying a replacement trans - can I just buy a reman tans from JC Whitney/Certified Trans/etc. etc. and bolt it right in? It looks like they come with a reman torque converter but will I need to buy anything else? Does the new one plug right in?
5) I think it best to replace the radiator as well. Thoughts? Probably put an aftermarket unit in after doing the cooling line bypass?
6) Will also be putting a locker in the rear, but can dig up info on this through the search.
Thanks!