The Adventure Begins . . . Hetzer's '01 Xterra "Greenie"

So, a couple weeks ago I purchased this green 2001 Xterra SE 5-speed 4x4 as a project. I've been wanting an Xterra with a stick for a long time, but I had to wait until I could find one that was cheap enough that I could rationalize buying a vehicle I definitely didn't need. So here it is, in all it's glory.

It DOES start and run, but supposedly has a head-gasket issue. Considering I only paid $700 for it, I don't think I'll get hurt too much. The front bumper has been pushed in on the passenger side, and the rear bumper has been banged up and will need to be replaced. There is one small rust bubble on the front passenger door, and that's all. The interior is not too bad for a 18-year old truck with 191k on it. Carpet will need replaced. I envision this truck as a "restore" more than a "build". Mods will probably be kept to a minimum. Nevertheless, I foresee needing a lot of guidance from the old-timers on this site. There will be lots of questions. Please be patient with me - my wife has driven an Xterra since 2004, but I really haven't tried to learn much about them until lately. Thanks, in advance.

So, here's the first question! I did not notice this until I got the beast home, but something weird is going on with the air deflector (is that the correct term?) above the front window. This truck has the sunroof, and for some reason, a previous owner felt the need to trim out space for the sunroof hinges at the bottom edge (and not with much skill, at that!). I can see WHY it was done, but what I don't understand is why it NEEDED to be done. Would I be going out on a limb to assume that this is not the original piece that came on the truck? I've googled a lot of images, and the deflector on the early Xterras looks the same, as far as I can tell, but obviously it isn't. Anybody got any ideas about what is going on here?

Welcome in. I see you got the better light style of the first gens 191 is a great number for a vehicle of that age; I think mine was north of 230 when I sold it a couple years ago

The air dam should be straight across on the bottom, with a rubber piece to "seal" the bottom. It doesn't work well and is known to whistle. I never had a sunroof in mine, so no idea what the potential issues might be that lead to this modification.

There were two styles of air dam on the 1st gen. The one you have and a larger one that wrapped all the way around the front of the roof rack bars. If I had to guess, somewhere in 19 years the one that came on this truck was broken or lost. And it was probably the larger one which I think was a requirement for the sunroof. Somebody got that one and had to notch it.

Or..

The sunroof is aftermarket and the guy who put it in was an idiot.

That second possibility your mentioned . . . . . please, gobble, . . . . NOOooooooo!

Anybody have an early X with a known FACTORY sunroof that I can compare measurements with???

I have one. Its pretty small and only pops up in the back. There is a cover that hooks towards the back portion of the glass and has quarter turn screws to hold it on in the front. Mine didnt come with an air dam but i got one from a junk yard that doesnt have those notches or a gasket but fits fine.

Tay-Lo, would you mind taking some measurements off your truck for me? Perhaps from the window moulding back to the sunroof? I'm pretty well convinced my sunroof was factory-installed, but some measurements would hopefully reinforce my conviction.

Hetzer said:

So, here's the first question! I did not notice this until I got the beast home, but something weird is going on with the air deflector (is that the correct term?) above the front window. This truck has the sunroof, and for some reason, a previous owner felt the need to trim out space for the sunroof hinges at the bottom edge (and not with much skill, at that!). I can see WHY it was done, but what I don't understand is why it NEEDED to be done. Would I be going out on a limb to assume that this is not the original piece that came on the truck? I've googled a lot of images, and the deflector on the early Xterras looks the same, as far as I can tell, but obviously it isn't. Anybody got any ideas about what is going on here?

Click to expand...

OK, I think I might have it figured out. There is a strip of clear tape that runs across the front of the cab just below the lower edge of the air dam. My wife's 2002 has similar, but hers is the other style air dam that totally covers the front pillars On hers, the rubber seal at the bottom of the air dam sets on top of the clear tape. As we can see in the pic, the tape strip is about an inch lower than the air dam on my 2001. We also notice that the rubber seal at the bottom of the dam is missing. I theorize that the rubber seal, if it was present, would hold the lower edge of the air dam up off of the sunroof hinges. Sound logical?