Jason Paul's 2002 XE mod thread

J

Jason Paul

Test Drive
Location
Webster, NY
Hello everyone.

As of a week ago, I became the owner of a 2002 XE 4x4 w/ 174,000 miles

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I've built a few Jeeps and Fords in the past and was actually browsing for another XJ when I came across this particular Xterra. I've always wanted an import truck and looked at Tacomas many times but could never justify the prices they fetch.

Anyway, this Xterra came from North Carolina (which is big news here in upstate NY), has zero rust, a ton of maintenance paperwork and was priced right.

I am excited for the new platform and this thread will serve as a running record of mods and maintenance as I check things off my list.

My other baby is a bagged and fully worked 2010 Audi A5

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Lift the trucks and lower the cars... keeps me balanced haha
 
bottobro

bottobro

I'm a pretty girl!
Supporting Member
Location
Long Island NY
Welcome bro from Oswego NY Nice X maybe I'll see you around at points. If you need a hand webster isnt too far from me
 
J

Jason Paul

Test Drive
Location
Webster, NY
Thanks for the warm welcome everyone...

Been a busy week and especially these last few days getting the truck perfect.

It was a clean truck in the sense that it had zero rust and the interior was mint...

...but the white paint was flat and stained, the bumpers and trim were faded and blotchy and the windows all had serious water spot etching (worst I'd ever seen) among other things.

As somewhat of a perfectionist, I need to fully restore a vehicle to acceptable condition before I can start modding.

Well here's some before and after:

...starting with removing the fairing and basket to see what lay underneath :0mg:

IMG_5127_zpsb76fca2d.jpg


Spent an entire afternoon and half a bottle of polishing compound cleaning that up

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J

Jason Paul

Test Drive
Location
Webster, NY
Here's the before and after on the windows (which came from hours upon hours of my detailer buddy dave polishing them with a machine and wool pad):

IMG_9804copy_zps8946ff1e.jpg


I can't phathom wtf someone did to this truck in it's past life to cause etching that bad... but whatever, it's gone now.
 
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J

Jason Paul

Test Drive
Location
Webster, NY
Last up for the exterior cosmetic changes:

-painted the bumpers and all the trim black with SEM bumper coater

-removed mud flaps and side steps

-bought new center caps

-polished/restored headlights

-full paint correction and detail from www.areteautosalon.com


Maintenance addressed this week:

-front driver wheel bearing

-both front lower ball joints


...and here's the new and improved:

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Prime

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Jason Paul said:
Since 2 of the 3 cluster bulbs were blown, I also did the LED retrofit to match the pioneer headunit:

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Click to expand...
Did you just direct swap the bulbs? I currently have an entire cluster on my bench in the garage exploring different lighting options. Do you have and hi-low spots in the brightness? I've found that Cell pictures are deceiving of what they look like to the eye.
 
J

Jason Paul

Test Drive
Location
Webster, NY
AngelSpeedFreak said:
Love the LED Retrofit. I really need to do that, mine are so dull and dim that I can barely see it with it turned all the way up.

Looking good.
Click to expand...

Mine was the same way, hence why I did this. Once I took it out, I found that only one of three factory bulbs was operational. I'm guessing you'll find the same.


Prime said:
Did you just direct swap the bulbs? I currently have an entire cluster on my bench in the garage exploring different lighting options. Do you have and hi-low spots in the brightness? I've found that Cell pictures are deceiving of what they look like to the eye.
Click to expand...

Yes, direct swap. I bought a 10 pack of T5 blue LEDs from ebay. I used 5 and have 5 spares. Three pop into little holders behind the cluster and I swapped the R and L blinker bulbs too. The light is totally uniform across the cluster and looks OEM.
 
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J

Jason Paul

Test Drive
Location
Webster, NY
I finally mounted up some 265/75r16 Toyo Open Country AT tires on a set of Black Rock 997 steelies (5" BS) today.

Really pleased with how everything fits, especially for being stock height at the moment.

The fronts only rub ever so slightly on full lock and I think the PML I plan on doing soon will alleviate that.

IMG_6087_zpsb6003612.jpg
 
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D

drbandkgb

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
I doubt ther PML will fix the rub. The back spacing of the rim is the main issue. Trim the plastic lip on the front tires..

Looks great man
 
J

Jason Paul

Test Drive
Location
Webster, NY
You were right @drbandjgb... I did the PML this morning and they still rubbed a bit.

I sectioned back the plastics (conservatively) with a dremel and voila! No rubbing at all!

I also took the DSLR out for some proper pics of the new wheels, tires and height:

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NismoFire

NismoFire

Titan Swapped / SAS'd
Founding Member
Location
Smyrna, TN
I can usually tell the difference between Nikkor lenses and the Canon crap. Had a d90 and a d7000 at one point. Don't have either anymore, needed the cash more than the cameras. Hate it when that happens.
 
yellowx16

yellowx16

Need Bigger Tires
Founding Member
Location
Rochester, NY
Looks great, i live out in Hilton, got an XJ back in march and sold the xterra. Check out upstate4x4.com if you're interested in wheeling that xterra, excited to see what else you do to it!
 
J

Jason Paul

Test Drive
Location
Webster, NY
yellowx16 said:
Looks great, i live out in Hilton, got an XJ back in march and sold the xterra. Check out upstate4x4.com if you're interested in wheeling that xterra, excited to see what else you do to it!
Click to expand...

haha and I came from the XJ world...

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Thanks for the link, I'll definitely check it out. I used to get out to whispering pines a bit, so I'm looking forward to taking the Xterra out soon.
 
yellowx16

yellowx16

Need Bigger Tires
Founding Member
Location
Rochester, NY
Nice xj! last trip we had with upstate4x4 we had 3 xterra's with us, it'd be nice to have another along too! Next event we have is feb. 1st
 
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