01XterraPhilly Build Thread (Pic Heavy)

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
I figured I give this a whirl since all the cool kids are doing it.

My truck:

2001 Xterra SE 4x4 Auto
General Grabber AT2 265/76/r16 (31s)
Custom Rock sliders
Painted Plastics (70% complete)
Resonator deletion mod
Interior D-Rings
Rear Sway Bar removed
Bilstein 5100 rears/4900 fronts
Calmini Idler Arm Brace
Calmni Shackles with PML
Cobra 19 DX IV with Firestik II 4'
Crap load of stickers
Hula Girl copilot
Lobo Rack
Diff Breather Extension mod
Mag Light mounted with QuickFists
Hi-lift

Future Mods:
Custom Switch Panel (in progress)
Rewired secondary fuse box
Auxiliary Electric Fan
2" BL
33" Procomp Extreme ATs
Snorkel (either Navara D22 or homemade)
Rear container storage box

Here's is how she looked the day I got her:


Next Thing was to remove the step rails and mud flaps. If I was going to do any off roading this was necessary.


Next step was find mud, dirt or anything I could get into. Living in a big town there isnt much but I went on my bachelor party and drove some fire access roads in Hickory Run State Park in the Poconos. From that trip I determined that I need new tires. After tons of research and see what I could get in my limited budget I went with the General Grabber AT2s in 265/70/r16 (31").




The next step was to get to offroading. April 2013 was the first of many visits to Rausch Creek. A group of Xterras from GPAX and NExterra showed up, about 7 or 8 in all. Had a hell of time. My wife wasn't too keen on it but she's grown in to liking it.



At this point I decided I needed rock sliders to protection. Definitely got used up at ECXC. I also decided to start painting the plastics. Also did the resonator deletion mod and switched the old air filter for a K&N drop in:




My wife's aunt's boyfriend and I made my rock sliders using 2"x2"x 3/16" steel. Painted them with truck bedliner but now i gotta redo them because of rust.



When we made my rock sliders I also installed a Calmini Idler Arm Brace and it has done its job. A corner of the brace is missing a chunk from a rock that had my name on it at Rausch Creek. Next thing I needed to do was remove the rear sway bar and install my new Bilsteins. I was rather giddy about putting these on since they have an excellent reputation and it set me up for a PML.





I would say the shocks needed to be replaced.
That would be the last thing for a while until I got my PML thanks to the help of XterraMike. For the PML I got the calmini shackles for 1.5" of lift and cranked the torsion bars.
 
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01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
Here is my CB radio setup, nothing fancy. Its a Cobra 19 DX IV with a 4' Firestik II antenna. CISO1969, aka Lee, helped me out one freezing night to get it all set up for the shocker run.




I have on the way a 32" 180W infection bar light for $225. Cant wait to get this!
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
haha i did paint the grill, just gotta do the bumper. I have pretty big rust spot near the drivers side tire. so ill get that sanded and everything else i need to do.

 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
yea im really happy with how it came out. i think what im going to do is take the grill off and paint the bumper. with the grill off there is a like a 2" gap between the lights and bumper so itll be easy to paint with it on.
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
Alright...i got tired of having my glove box off and looking like sh*t so I finally put it back together. Also, I got a on/off switch from pepboys. Didn't have much wire left to get the switch where i really wanted it but I like it. Its on the side of the middle console next to my knee when i drive, plenty of room so i dont hit it:



Also relocated my cb mic location. Was hanging in the window from the rear view mirror but now its in a much easier location to reach and take off/put in the holster:

 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
So i finally got around to painting my plastics more and i also painted my wheels. A lot of people that paint their wheels use bedliner and originally i was going to use it but i didnt have enough so i ended up using the stuff i painted the plastics on the body with. I like the way it came out. here are some pics:





Here is it with the wheels back on, also retinted my tail lights:



In the process of removing the wheels i broke a lug nut and forgot that one was broken on another wheel:



I am also in the process of getting the front bumper ready for pain. i have two big rust spots near each tire. I sanded them down to prep for paint.



The next thing to do is research what to do as far as stopping the rust and priming it to get the paint to adhere and prevent further rust. But i like where it is going and how the satin finish looks on the truck. will post more as soon as i can do more
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Looking good!

As far as the rust, you'll have to use a grinding wheel or an abrasive pad on a drill to knock off all the rust down to bright shiny metal. Then coat liberally with a primer for good sealing and adhesion.
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
i got some surface rust off with a wire brush. I need to get one of those rotor pieces for a dremel or a drill like you said...i just dont have time as i am on the road most of the time from here on out
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
A few updates...got a sanding wheel to get the rust off...forgot the primer though...oops..but i also picked up more of the satin paint for the bumper...Also i ordered the extended stainless steel brake cables from AC and the calmini AAL pack. the only thing now that i need to get for my lift are UCAs which im going to get from AC in a month or so probably and then ill be trying to put together a mod day...yayay
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
got a couple videos up from a pine barrens run this past weekend...here is a short one of me crossing some deep water

[video=youtube;BJDKn20hrl0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJDKn20hrl0&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
So I finally got the mod bug bite again and did some work to my X. First thing first was to order UCAs from AC and AAL from Calmini. I got the AAL from Calmini bc I had their shackles with the PML and didnt feel like taking them off and putting the old ones on and wasting $65 on shackles. I also had to replace an engine mount and as it has been pointed out to me, i did it the white person way. Break something and upgrade...hahaha. thanks dani. Anyway, got those parts all ordered and started working on my front bumper. I got the grill off and got the metal middle piece that holds the bumper together off.

33612DCF-E09E-4CC0-949C-B669BC52CCCC_zpsjphynsto.jpg


I got a sander wheel and sanded down as much as I could of the big rust spots. I didnt get it all the way down to the shiny metal so I got this rust stopper which is suppose to stop rust growth and act as a primer in one. I didnt realize it but it came in black which was awesome bc I was painting my bumper black:

22BB3CA3-A336-4F3A-8183-DB2B89752C00_zpsppnjf8dh.jpg


You can see in the next pic my engine mounts from rugged rocks and the UCAs from AC.

54E360D6-48C4-405D-BAD7-4476A3483028_zpsejmgpd7e.jpg


Here is a pic of the truck lifted now with the UCAs from AC and AAL from Calmini

788722E5-B8FD-4128-A910-B6FF9E1424AA_zpsaq3ibpvf.jpg


Next up on my list of things to do is an alignment...apparently STS wants to charge me like $190 for an alignment bc of the lift and aftermarket parts which is bull hockey. but then I gotta figure out where some leak is coming from, re-wire my CB bc I think its giving the radio more power after the engine shuts off (stays on for 5-10 sec. after engine is off), and I still need to paint my bottom bumper piece and change out my brake lines for the stainless steel brake lines....mtc
 
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01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
I don't remember if I mentioned in the post but xterramike did all the work since my mod day flopped. So a huge shout out to you for the help. Also, I fixed the problem of how the radio was staying on after I shut my truck off. Wh
3ACC35D1-CE08-4787-8E5E-FD17E10DF320_zpsdpvfsznv.jpg
en we wired it to the secondary power plug it some how kept the car radio on. So I snipped he wires and now just have to wire it To something else. Maybe straight the battery or to the fuse box. Not sure yet.
 
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Muadeeb

Nissan al Gaib
Admin
Location
Dallas
One of the ports is powered full time, the other is only when the truck is running. I can never remember which is which.
 

Xterra Mike

Test Drive
Founding Member
Location
Philly
I don't remember if I mentioned in the post but xterramike did all the work since my mod day flopped. So a huge shout out to you for the help. Also, I fixed the problem of how the radio was staying on after I shut my truck off. Wen we wired it to the secondary power plug it some how kept the car radio on. So I snipped he wires and now just have to wire it To something else. Maybe straight the battery or to the fuse box. Not sure yet.


Thanks brother!
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
so i met this kid at my gym last night and we got to talking bc him and his friends form was terrible and needed correction (they were going to blow their shoulders out). anyway while we were talking i somehow mentioned the X and the kid was like "THATS your Xterra!! every time i come here and its here i kick myself in the ass bc i want to park my jeep next to it!!!" hahaha it made my day. but the kid has a pretty nice cherokee sport that he does blues and blacks with at rausch...he told me he's done the yellow jacket trail and what not stock...i want to get him wheeling with us but he refuses to go to rausch in the winter with snow...what a puss
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
So just to give an update on the X (Im horrible at this), I did a few mods, nothing crazy but they have been handy since doing them...

I got some Quickfists and removed the driver grab handle and put my Maglight there

88A8DFE4-2ADA-4DB0-A2B0-CC33033E2CD2_zps3buhdd8z.jpg

I did made a lobo rack out of 5/16" rope and some rope clamps (no pictures yet). Also did the diff breather extension mod. Now my rear is good to go up to like 6' deep of water. Hopefully I want wont be going that deep but its there and I have the piece of mind for it now (again no pics).

I started to make my switch panel for switches that I am going to be installing for future electronics. Here are some pics from that build:

This is the first template I made to mock up to the truck...I sanded down a part of the trim to make it fit and sit relatively flush between the trim and the radio holder/harness thingy.

D1436F5D-E174-4F65-B5E4-B88FD0B6A66A_zps09nbsk8f.jpg


This is my work station for cutting the sheet metal

B162F453-B284-4D50-AE03-F423098A3E21_zpsdqi6egn0.jpg


This is the first panel I made. The holes are crappy and not lined up so I got a titanium step drill bit and made them a lot nicer

7BFF6A90-D5B6-4CCF-8157-04C4035040BA_zpscrgaufwk.jpg


I painted them black to match the truck and give them a clean look

F5C34D97-DD83-44D0-BD3E-A045D9780438_zpsmeh99bpi.jpg


The panel Im going to use, just need to glue it to the trim and get some more switches and wire them up and glue them to the sheet metal. The metal is a little too thin and the switch spins.

0487699E-F453-4DAA-AD22-C386FFEEC953_zpsdm8ap56v.jpg


The next step is picking up four more illuminating switches from Pepboys and installing and wiring them to light up. Im following a video from the Bleepin' Jeep youtube channel for the wiring. Also, Im rebuilding/wiring a fuse box from an old Cherokee since its the one the youtube channel uses and it'll be a direct copy of the video (for the most part).

Another thing I did was move my light bar forward on the roof rack so its sitting flush with the wind dam. This allows me to use the bar at night and not light up my cab through the pop-up window.

C747B45F-CA2C-47F4-B3E0-00F80CE51927_zpsa9n1m4dz.jpg


And I was told that my Idler Arm was bad so I got the Bandit4x4 bushings and installed them...I still need to get an alignment done. Hopefully Firestone will be able to do that for me since I want to get the lifetime alignment deal.

BB1D27CD-A13B-414A-80EC-838FFB9503BC_zps3ydtyea0.jpg
 
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01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
Alrighty, I havent updated this in a long time and a lot of things are happening right now to not update. IDK where to start so Ill try chronologically. First thing is I upgraded my gears to 5.13s from what I thought was 4.6s but turned out to be 4.9s. Not a huge upgrade but it was awesome on the trails regardless:





Next I broke my centerlink wheeling...dont have any pics except on Facebook. oh well. Then I picked up some rock lights, which arent installed yet. Then picked up some used shrockworks full set of skids which arent installed yet. Then, I had to replace my CV axles and found out my driver side hub was bad. So I ordered new Warn Premium Manual hubs. Dont know if I'll like them but I'm willing to give them a try.

bad fixed cam assembly



new hubs



I also got some ProComp Steel Wheels which will be going with a set of Goodyear Wrangler MTRs with Kevlar in 33x12.5x15



Also installed a hi-lift mount on the rear bumper. This will be nice when wheeling to have easy access it to

 
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01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
When i pulled apart the hen to replace the cv axle the fixed cam assembly piece fell apart. When I put it back together and on the axle, it wouldn't disengage the 4wd. It was making the ride bouncy or choppy if you will.
 

01XterraPhilly

First Fill-Up (of many)
Location
Conshohocken, PA
You said you thought you had a 4.6 in the rear when in fact it was a 4.9? Is this possible? What year of truck and what does the ratio say on the drivers door?

It is possible because I bought it off of a guy on Craigslist. I thought I was the second owner but found out through taking my glove box apart im in fact the third owner. Some chinese dude in philly owned it first, then a white guy out of west of me, and then I bought it 4 years ago. The door sticker definitely says HG46 but when we pulled the gears, they guy that did it for me (who is a nissan tech and Xterra owner), did the math conversion on the gears and it came to 4.9......... So my guess is somewhere in its lifetime, someone changed them and didnt mention it...OR the gears were wrong in the first place idk.
 
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