Total Car Newbie - Looking for Friends and Advice

J

JerBear

Test Drive
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
Hi everyone!
I stumbled across this message board through a YouTube video I saw. I just bought my first project car, 2003 Xterra SE Supercharged. I’ve never worked on a car past changing my oil once or twice and have always wanted to learn so I finally pulled the trigger and bought my xterra. I’ve only owned wimpy 4-cyl sedans up until now so having this is pretty awesome. I’m looking at doing some modifications and figured this would be a great place to look for help. It’s super nice meeting all of you and I’m looking forward to chatting more!
 

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J

JerBear

Test Drive
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
Prime said:
Welcome from Denver! Nice to see that the YouTube video is still bringing people.

What are you looking to do with the truck?
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I think I want to start with a modest lift (2-3 inches?). I was thinking new shocks, torsion bars, shackles, tires, etc.. Like I said, I’m totally new to working with cars so I’m not sure what I’m going to need. Hopefully when I get a bit more mechanically savvy, I know that there’s a small oil leak from the main seal that the previous owner told me about that I’d like to fix. From what I understand though that involves pretty much pulling out the entire transmission and I’m kinda scared to do that haha
 
Prime

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
JerBear said:
I think I want to start with a modest lift (2-3 inches?). I was thinking new shocks, torsion bars, shackles, tires, etc.. Like I said, I’m totally new to working with cars so I’m not sure what I’m going to need. Hopefully when I get a bit more mechanically savvy, I know that there’s a small oil leak from the main seal that the previous owner told me about that I’d like to fix. From what I understand though that involves pretty much pulling out the entire transmission and I’m kinda scared to do that haha
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A rear main seal does require pulling the transmission / transfer case.

3" is the standard suspension lift for the 1st Gen. It requires new shocks in the rear (front is optional but recommended), upper control arms in the front, shackles / leaves in the rear, and ideally new torsion bars. I'm a firm believer in the Sway Away torsion bars. I ran them on my 1st Gen and they were amazing. I can tell you that the 3" suspension lift with a 2" body lift fits 33s perfectly.
 
J

JerBear

Test Drive
Location
Salt Lake City, Utah
Prime said:
A rear main seal does require pulling the transmission / transfer case.

3" is the standard suspension lift for the 1st Gen. It requires new shocks in the rear (front is optional but recommended), upper control arms in the front, shackles / leaves in the rear, and ideally new torsion bars. I'm a firm believer in the Sway Away torsion bars. I ran them on my 1st Gen and they were amazing. I can tell you that the 3" suspension lift with a 2" body lift fits 33s perfectly.
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That’s great to know. Are there any other aftermarket brands I should be looking out for (or staying away from)?
 
Prime

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Zack. said:
Welcome! Reviews say to stay away from Calmini if you like receiving items you pay for.
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It's a damn shame too. Because I happen to think that their 1st Gen UCAs are over engineered works of art. Design wise I'd take those over the AC ones any day. IF you can get them.
 
kirk

kirk

Butterfly King
Moderator
Supporting Member
Location
Allen, Texas
Prime said:
It's a damn shame too. Because I happen to think that their 1st Gen UCAs are over engineered works of art. Design wise I'd take those over the AC ones any day. IF you can get them.
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Agreed. I have a set on my shelf that I have never installed, but I LOVE the way they are built.


Welcome to the forum! Plenty of first gen knowledge here, we are super glad to help!
 
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