New guy from Albuquerque, NM

Cruecible

Cruecible

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Location
Albuquerque, NM
Hello! I'm glad I found an active Xterra owner site, after having come over from one that seemed to be dying, especially with local folks. I'm hoping to connect with local owners in and around Albuquerque to shop talk and hit some trails with.

I bought my Xterra back in April 2013 and have been loving it more and more every month. She's a 2004 SE/SC, 4x4, a little over 125K, Super Black with the rugged leather option, and a few other little things I've done. I had a few issues with it initially, the cats were bad and the dealership replaced them which was awesome. However, they screwed up the wiring when they re-connected everything and it took me the better part of 3 months to figure it out. After many sleepless nights, frustrating driving, and of course money it's now back to normal. Which means I can start focusing on the fun things.

The only other 4x4 I've ever owner was a 1994 Bronco, so I'm not really versed in the ways of off roading, but I'm getting better.

The mods it currently has are as follows: 2" body lift, 1" suspension lift I believe (not entirely sure, but it does have after market UCA's and "older" Rancho shocks), and the resonator delete with drop in K&N. In the future I would like a higher suspension lift, 33's, beef up the under carriage, steel bumpers, sliders, CB, and replace my damn headliner. Pretty much the usual wish list I imagine.

I'm looking forward to soaking up as much info as I can and hopefully meeting other X owners!

Below are a few pictures I took a couple weeks after I bought her (Mudflaps removed shortly after photos lol)







 
rokdaddy

rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
Welcome Crue... from one of the ABQ members that the others mentioned.

Seems that you have a great start on your build, let us know how it goes. January/February seem to be modification months for most of us out here and the rest of the year is spent wheeling/fishing/paddling/camping.

Maybe we can catch a trail run sometime...

-Rok
 
Cruecible

Cruecible

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Location
Albuquerque, NM
Thank you guys for the warm welcome and compliments on my X. I'm super pumped to see other NM owners and would love to hang out with you guys and learn all that you'd be willing to pass on to me.
 
Cruecible

Cruecible

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Location
Albuquerque, NM
Haha that's true. Unless you're in San Antonio or somewhere over there. Every time I've been to Texas I always wind up drunk at some point.

Hopefully I'll be able to start a build thread soon when I have some worthwhile things to show off. In February I'll be getting some new to me wheels and be selling my S/C ones with the tires (probably like 80% tread left). I got some stickers coming in from Creepy and I'll post up pictures of those.

My first big mod idea was a full suspension lift, or a steel front bumper since I hate mine and all its rattling with a fiery passion. However, lately I think my steering components may need to be upgraded. Mostly for peace of mind, but also partially when at full lock and moving, there is a non normal sound coming from it.
 
2011XTERROR

2011XTERROR

Wheeling
Location
Texas
Cruecible said:
Haha that's true. Unless you're in San Antonio or somewhere over there. Every time I've been to Texas I always wind up drunk at some point. Hopefully I'll be able to start a build thread soon when I have some worthwhile things to show off. In February I'll be getting some new to me wheels and be selling my S/C ones with the tires (probably like 80% tread left). I got some stickers coming in from Creepy and I'll post up pictures of those. My first big mod idea was a full suspension lift, or a steel front bumper since I hate mine and all its rattling with a fiery passion. However, lately I think my steering components may need to be upgraded. Mostly for peace of mind, but also partially when at full lock and moving, there is a non normal sound coming from it.
Click to expand...

i vote putting money in the maintenance first so you have a long lasting truck. then probably a bumper because your truck still sits higher than a second gen stock lol. so you can still go further.

yeah i am just a short 30 miles from austin. that's north of san antonio but it's still 5 hours just to TOUCH new mexico haha. and why do you stay wasted in texas? that's what i do too haha.

btw why sell your s/c rims? those are cooler than any other xterra rim bro!
 
rokdaddy

rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
Cruecible said:
My first big mod idea was a full suspension lift, or a steel front bumper since I hate mine and all its rattling with a fiery passion. However, lately I think my steering components may need to be upgraded. Mostly for peace of mind, but also partially when at full lock and moving, there is a non normal sound coming from it.
Click to expand...

A steering upgrade is probably a good place to start. The stock centerlink on my 2000 was shot after ten years of light mom-mobile duty. If you have been any harder on yours, it may be time to swap it out for something stronger. Grassroots makes an upgraded center link that a lot of people have been happy with. Let me know if you decide to go that route and I'll give you my old centerlink to send in as a core deposit. I think it will save you about 50 bucks or so.

-Rok
 
Cruecible

Cruecible

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Location
Albuquerque, NM
rokdaddy said:
A steering upgrade is probably a good place to start. The stock centerlink on my 2000 was shot after ten years of light mom-mobile duty. If you have been any harder on yours, it may be time to swap it out for something stronger. Grassroots makes an upgraded center link that a lot of people have been happy with. Let me know if you decide to go that route and I'll give you my old centerlink to send in as a core deposit. I think it will save you about 50 bucks or so.

-Rok
Click to expand...

You da man Rok! I'll definitely do that. I've been creeping around through steering upgrade posts and trying to get a good idea of what I should do. Personally, I've never done anything mechanically with steering but I have a really good mechanic who will probably do it for me. For ease of purchasing, I was looking at the Calmini setup, or the one on 4x4parts. But the more I read, it seems that people piece the whole setup together with various components.
 
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Cruecible

Cruecible

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Location
Albuquerque, NM
2011XTERROR said:
btw why sell your s/c rims? those are cooler than any other xterra rim bro!
Click to expand...

It'll be hard to see them go, especially because I do really love them. However, as the Cap'n said the cost difference of the same size tire on a 17" wheel and a 15" wheel is hard to justify keeping mine. Additionally, they have good tires on them (265/70 BFG A/T's) too, but the deal I'm looking at for Desert Runners is too good to pass up, and I've been wanting some for a while. When the time comes, I'll post my old wheels on here first before going to Craigslist, unless someone wants to put dibs on them now :happy:
 
NMTerras

NMTerras

Suspension Lift
Location
New Mexico
You will definitely want beefed up steering if you go to Moab. IAB and HD tie rods at a minimum, grassroots centerlink also is a good idea. Also, when you're looking around the interwebs for x stuff, start with xterraperformance and rugged rocks. They care about us and are happy to answer questions.
 
Cruecible

Cruecible

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Location
Albuquerque, NM
NMTerras said:
You will definitely want beefed up steering if you go to Moab. IAB and HD tie rods at a minimum, grassroots centerlink also is a good idea. Also, when you're looking around the interwebs for x stuff, start with xterraperformance and rugged rocks. They care about us and are happy to answer questions.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tips, I'll definitely go to them
 
rokdaddy

rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
Can you get a picture of your UCA's and rear leaf springs/shackles? That will help us figure out if the stuff that I have will be of any use to you.


-Rok
 
rokdaddy

rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
Looks good... you have the 3" lift UCA's from Automotive Customizers: https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/xterra-front-suspension-lift-p-79.html

If your torsion bars are adjusted properly, you should be able to get about 3" of lift. It's hard to tell from the pics but it looks like you torsion bars have sagged a bit or maybe the installer intentionally set them low. You can check for yourself by measuring the gap between the control arm and the black rubber bump stop located under the small steel disk welded on the UCA. You should have about a half an inch of clearance if you want to get the most lift out of the UCA's.

The rear lift is just a single add a leaf lift, simple, inexpensive and effective: https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/xterra-rear-addaleaf-p-148.html


If your torsion bars are set low, you should be able to crank them up to a full 3" lift. The rear can be lifted further using longer shackles or more leafs in the packs. When you get a chance, measure the gap on the control arms and let us know what you have.

Good news is that you already have the parts needed to achieve the max suspension lift while keeping the stock lower control arms. With a little adjustment, you may be able to get exactly what you were looking for.

-Rok
 
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NMTerras

NMTerras

Suspension Lift
Location
New Mexico
Rok correct me if I'm wrong, but can you get the full 3" from the stock T-bars, or do you need to go to the beefier sway-aways? Probably not a bad idea anyway...
 
xterraminator

xterraminator

Wheeling
Location
Maple Ridge,BC
I got about 2.5" from a PML and not adding new UCA's. One thing xterras are notorious for and that is they always have that "nose dive" look. I adjusted my suspension to get rid of that, made the truck level and oh my goodness what a better ride and braking ability. Nose diving makes braking harder. It sucks.

Next you have to add longer shackles, get rid of the rear sway bars(bid bonus on the trail) but you will have to add longer shocks or else you will pull the stock ones apart. I learned that the hard way. Get rid of your rear hitch, sidesteps, go with beefier 31 or 33" tires(need body lift) and the small plastic trim just behind the front wheel. Nice truck, love the supercharged ones, just becareful in the trails, these like to stay cool.
 
NMTerras

NMTerras

Suspension Lift
Location
New Mexico
xterraminator said:
I got about 2.5" from a PML and not adding new UCA's. One thing xterras are notorious for and that is they always have that "nose dive" look. I adjusted my suspension to get rid of that, made the truck level and oh my goodness what a better ride and braking ability. Nose diving makes braking harder. It sucks.

Next you have to add longer shackles, get rid of the rear sway bars(bid bonus on the trail) but you will have to add longer shocks or else you will pull the stock ones apart. I learned that the hard way. Get rid of your rear hitch, sidesteps, go with beefier 31 or 33" tires(need body lift) and the small plastic trim just behind the front wheel. Nice truck, love the supercharged ones, just becareful in the trails, these like to stay cool.
Click to expand...

Couple things - 2.5" is the max with the stock UCAs ... your mileage may vary. Some folks get 1.5 to 2". Regardless, 2.5 is pushing the stock ones to their limits. As for shackles, you do NOT have to add longer ones (and the really longer ones, particularly the AC ones with the reinforcement bar in the middle, I really don't like). there is more than one way to get rear lift - I added a leaf and re-arched my stocks to get a full 3" and level with the front. The rear sway-bar delete is a good idea not just because of the increased articulation, but also because the crappy design is dangerous. When those suckers let go, they tear up the rear end. Get under there and look, see how close it is to the passenger-side rear shock. No bueno. Just don't remove the front sway bar - minimul benefit vs. putting lots of stress on steering components. Replacing the shocks with longer ones is also a smart move.
 
rokdaddy

rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
NMTerras said:
Rok correct me if I'm wrong, but can you get the full 3" from the stock T-bars, or do you need to go to the beefier sway-aways? Probably not a bad idea anyway...
Click to expand...

There shouldn't be any problems running the stock torsion bars at a higher ride height; the bars still see the same forces that they would see at stock ride height, they're just "clocked" at a different angle. Heavy duty bars have a higher spring rate and are usually used to help support heavy add-ons like skid plates, winches and aftermarket bumpers. I installed the Sway-A-Ways when I installed my suspension lift, but I just like the feeling of replacing all the old stuff with new. They will probably come in handy when I install my bumper and winch later this summer.

-Rok


-Rok
 
Cruecible

Cruecible

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Location
Albuquerque, NM
Sorry for the delay. After measurement it looks to be 1.5". It's not straight up and down, they are off center from each other but I assume it's designed that way for angular flexing. Back when I lurked CX, I was really into all the common stuff people do and I even thought how it was strange that the gap was pretty big. Or maybe I'm just crazy.

The rear sway bar is gone, albeit after 5 days of PB Blasting away. I wouldn't mind putting new T bars on it because I share the idea as you where I'd just like to replace the older stuff. If new shackles are not needed, I'm cool with that but if they aren't too expensive I could always get some newer ones if you have a direction to point me in towards good ones. I use the hitch to haul around a trailer with an ATV so that might stay for a while.
 
rokdaddy

rokdaddy

Wheeling
Founding Member
Location
New Mexico
Cool, that's what I suspected. You should be able to raise the front bumper about two to three inches by simply rotating the torsion bars. Your stock ones should work fine but they're pretty easy to swap out when your in there adjusting your ride height.

You may want to see how high you get your front end before deciding if you want to add shackle lift to the rear. If you do decide to add shackles, I have a couple of new pairs you can have. One set is the common lift shackle from Automotive Customizers:

https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/xterra-rear-lift-shackles-p-145.html

The other set is a custom set of heavy-duty stainless steel shackles that should provide about half of the lift that the AC ones provide. Like I said before, both sets are unused and will continue to sit around gathering dust until someone finds a use for them.
 
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2011XTERROR

2011XTERROR

Wheeling
Location
Texas
rokdaddy said:
Cool, that's what I suspected. You should be able to raise the front bumper about two to three inches by simply rotating the torsion bars. Your stock ones should work fine but they're pretty easy to swap out when your in there adjusting your ride height.

You may want to see how high you get your front end before deciding if you want to add shackle lift to the rear. If you do decide to add shackles, I have a couple of new pairs you can have. One set is the common lift shackle from Automotive Customizers:

https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/xterra-rear-lift-shackles-p-145.html

The other set is a custom set of heavy-duty stainless steel shackles that should provide about half of the lift that the AC one provide. Like I said before, both sets are unused and will continue to sit around gathering dust until someone finds a use for them.
Click to expand...
hey rok, can I get the shackles from you that he doesn't choose?
 
Cruecible

Cruecible

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Location
Albuquerque, NM
rokdaddy said:
Cool, that's what I suspected. You should be able to raise the front bumper about two to three inches by simply rotating the torsion bars. Your stock ones should work fine but they're pretty easy to swap out when your in there adjusting your ride height.

You may want to see how high you get your front end before deciding if you want to add shackle lift to the rear. If you do decide to add shackles, I have a couple of new pairs you can have. One set is the common lift shackle from Automotive Customizers:

https://www.4x4parts.com/nissan/xterra-rear-lift-shackles-p-145.html

The other set is a custom set of heavy-duty stainless steel shackles that should provide about half of the lift that the AC ones provide. Like I said before, both sets are unused and will continue to sit around gathering dust until someone finds a use for them.
Click to expand...

I completely spaced the part where you told me that you had had the shackles. I feel that I would need to compensate you in some way, maybe some tasty beverages perhaps. Additionally I have no clue how to crank the T bars. So at this point should I go ahead and purchase those steering components and the add a leaf? The AC T bars would have to wait another couple pay checks if I went with this route. The calmini ones would even be a little further out if that was the recommendation. After said purchases, get in contact with you for installation assistance?
 
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