The Grackle

General_Tarfun

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Location
Atlanta, GA
On the way back down from Ohio with all the camping gear minus the stuff that got destroyed and thrown away I stopped on the scales to get a new weigh in. I put the Duratracs at 50psi prior to this trip and they handled the weight with no problem at all.

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Riley Jones

Test Drive
Location
Utah
I've been reading through your progress and have been extremely impressed with the knowledge you have... I just signed up for this and I cant find or get a response to a problem I have with my 3.3 01 xe. My x makes a ticking noise only while in drive, neutral and park not a sound. I know it's not a lifter from the area of the sound, which is somewhere around the manifold. I think I have an exhaust leak or cracked drivers side manifold, possibly missing an "egr" plug. Is there anyway you could explain what that is and where exactly it would be? I cant seem to get any type of answer on all 3 forums I'm on now. It would be much appreciated cuz I'm at a complete loss when it comes to exhaust problems. Thanks for your time
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
I've been reading through your progress and have been extremely impressed with the knowledge you have... I just signed up for this and I cant find or get a response to a problem I have with my 3.3 01 xe. My x makes a ticking noise only while in drive, neutral and park not a sound. I know it's not a lifter from the area of the sound, which is somewhere around the manifold. I think I have an exhaust leak or cracked drivers side manifold, possibly missing an "egr" plug. Is there anyway you could explain what that is and where exactly it would be? I cant seem to get any type of answer on all 3 forums I'm on now. It would be much appreciated cuz I'm at a complete loss when it comes to exhaust problems. Thanks for your time


I'm not as knowledgeable about the 3.3's, all of my work has been on the 4.0 in my X but I'll try to help as much as I can. If you go here you can find the Factory Service Manual for that year on the Exhaust section which should help a lot with narrowing it down. The EGR valve is an older emissions control part, the 4.0's don't use one and have a valve timing that takes care of that function now but it's definitely a part that will become clogged over time due to the constant exhaust flow through it. If it clogs up entirely you it can damage the engine but you should be noticing a loss of power if it's that clogged.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
So this mod isn't for my own truck since I've already changed all of my interior LED's but a guy out in Texas was having some trouble with his instrument cluster after a previous LED conversion and he sent it out to me to take a look at. His original cluster was shot, somewhere on the board power was flowing to where it shouldn't so I set him up with a replacement and went ahead and swapped out the backlighting to white from the original orange color.

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Riley Jones

Test Drive
Location
Utah
I'm not as knowledgeable about the 3.3's, all of my work has been on the 4.0 in my X but I'll try to help as much as I can. If you go here you can find the Factory Service Manual for that year on the Exhaust section which should help a lot with narrowing it down. The EGR valve is an older emissions control part, the 4.0's don't use one and have a valve timing that takes care of that function now but it's definitely a part that will become clogged over time due to the constant exhaust flow through it. If it clogs up entirely you it can damage the engine but you should be noticing a loss of power if it's that clogged.
 

Riley Jones

Test Drive
Location
Utah
Thanks for taking the time to answer me its definitely appreciated. I'm not experiencing any loss in power that I've noticed. A lot of threads I've been through mention that so that's where I'm confused. I downloaded the exhaust pdf you mentioned and it was extremely helpful, so thank you. I'm going to try using a shop vac to blow air into the exhaust while spraying different areas with soapy water to see if I can find the leak. Hopefully that will give me a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I do have a p0430 code cel. Which is a cat system bank 2 problem. If you happen to have any other advice please let me know. Thanks again for your help
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
Thanks for taking the time to answer me its definitely appreciated. I'm not experiencing any loss in power that I've noticed. A lot of threads I've been through mention that so that's where I'm confused. I downloaded the exhaust pdf you mentioned and it was extremely helpful, so thank you. I'm going to try using a shop vac to blow air into the exhaust while spraying different areas with soapy water to see if I can find the leak. Hopefully that will give me a better idea of what I'm dealing with. I do have a p0430 code cel. Which is a cat system bank 2 problem. If you happen to have any other advice please let me know. Thanks again for your help


That code means the cat isn't cleaning the exhaust as well as it should be, it might be worth pulling off the truck to inspect for internal damage although that code is common with higher mileage.
 

Zack.

Has been dubbed Arnold
Supporting Member
Location
Livermore, CA
Thanks guys, If you want any help with it just let me know, I’ve been taking a bunch of these on lately due to lack of work thanks to COVID.

what are you charging for labor, and also do you have insight into how well different years/part numbers interchange?
 

westslope

Wheeling
White as opposed to yellow light: no concerns that the white light is more stressful on the eyes?

P0430: Could be the cats; could be a disconnected ground strap. If combined with another code, then it is likely it is something else other than the cats.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
White as opposed to yellow light: no concerns that the white light is more stressful on the eyes?

P0430: Could be the cats; could be a disconnected ground strap. If combined with another code, then it is likely it is something else other than the cats.
Dash dimmer always at lowest setting
 

Riley Jones

Test Drive
Location
Utah
So I did a sea foam cleaning, the 1/3 method. Crankcase, evap hose and in gas. While it was smoking the only part i could see smoke was from the gasket between the exhaust manifold and the cat. So my question is could that be what's causing the ticking sound while I'm in drive?
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
White as opposed to yellow light: no concerns that the white light is more stressful on the eyes?

P0430: Could be the cats; could be a disconnected ground strap. If combined with another code, then it is likely it is something else other than the cats.


It's all customer preference, when I did my truck I used a grey color to take some of the brightness out of it on everything except for the MPH/RPM numbers. That said, the dimmer will drop it down quite a bit regardless of color since I use the same LED size that Nissan went with and they aren't blinding even on the highest setting.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
So I did a sea foam cleaning, the 1/3 method. Crankcase, evap hose and in gas. While it was smoking the only part i could see smoke was from the gasket between the exhaust manifold and the cat. So my question is could that be what's causing the ticking sound while I'm in drive?

Could be, I suppose it's possible if the gap were large enough you could be hearing the exhaust valves maybe? That gap is a problem regardless, if it were my truck I'd pull the cat off and install new gaskets as a first step, exhaust leaks sometimes lead to that code you're getting.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
what are you charging for labor, and also do you have insight into how well different years/part numbers interchange?

I'll shoot you a PM with more details on everything, I also recently bought a loaner cluster for people to use while I work on theirs in case they don't have another car to use so there isn't any downtime.

With the model years I've done everything from an 05 X to that last one above in my build thread which was from a 2019 Frontier. On the 05-08 the HVAC panel is a complete custom job since Nissan used an old PCB type with 3 incandescent bulbs + the orange is baked into the control icons. I've done a few of those and improved the design each time, I'm actually finishing one up today for a customer and I'll take some pics when I'm testing the unit out.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
Well we went hiking up in the Blue Ridge Wilderness area and once we got up into the higher elevations hit an area covered in snow. Shortly after I buried the X to the frame in this mud hole which was half ice half water haha. Thankfully a guy came along in an old 4Runner and snatched me out.

On the way down the mountain later that night the road was frozen solid with ice and we came across a lady and her six year old in a minivan, apparently their gps had routed them through the forest service roads on their way back to their rental cabin and they were sliding a lot and pretty terrified. I ended up driving her and her daughter in their van back to their address with my girlfriend driving the X behind us, her and her family were extremely grateful, the last text she had sent before losing signal and getting lost was to call the police to find her so they must have been freaking out.











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Also think I need a new jack haha
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General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
Ever since getting stuck I've been having an intermittent issue of the X not wanting to start. It seems like a bad battery but that's tested out fine. What it's doing is I turn the key, I hear a click and the gauges go through the reset mode (fluttering along their zero marks). Last time it did it I held down the ignition for 5 seconds and it started right up.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA

It kind of seems like it? I pressure washed it today just in case it got jammed with mud last weekend and it’s been fine the last few starts. The first thing I checked was the battery and the connections were all fine so I ruled that out. It’s a weird one, when it starts up none of dash or radio settings have been erased so it seems like the starter is probably the issue. Just don’t know what yet.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
I finally decided to tear the interior apart and wash it at a pressure washer so I did that today. I’m waiting on it all to dry but so much dirt washed out I’m expecting it to be much cleaner.

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TheCrabby1

I Smell Fishy
Supporting Member
Location
Burtonsville, Md
It kind of seems like it? I pressure washed it today just in case it got jammed with mud last weekend and it’s been fine the last few starts. The first thing I checked was the battery and the connections were all fine so I ruled that out. It’s a weird one, when it starts up none of dash or radio settings have been erased so it seems like the starter is probably the issue. Just don’t know what yet.
I had some corrosion between the terminal clamp and the wire itself that did the same thing to me . It didn't look bad on top.......go figure:confused:
 

IM1RU

Skid Plates
Supporting Member
Location
SLC, UT
I had some corrosion between the terminal clamp and the wire itself that did the same thing to me

^This 100%... If you have the OEM positive terminal clamp on the battery, you have a bunch of corrosion in all the little crevasses. You have to completely disassemble the terminal, use the acid cleaner spray and a tooth brush over and over again until it's clean enough to lick. Douche it in the protectant spray and reassemble. I have had this exact thing happen on mine, and just a month ago it happened to my daughters car.... It always seems to happen right after the terminals have been moved a little. FWIW I use the CRC brand cleaner and protectant.

That cluster needle flutter is a dead give away.

And good job helping the lady and her daughter get home safely!
 

jsexton

Need Bigger Tires
Location
Lewis Center, OH
^This 100%... If you have the OEM positive terminal clamp on the battery, you have a bunch of corrosion in all the little crevasses. You have to completely disassemble the terminal, use the acid cleaner spray and a tooth brush over and over again until it's clean enough to lick. Douche it in the protectant spray and reassemble. I have had this exact thing happen on mine, and just a month ago it happened to my daughters car.... It always seems to happen right after the terminals have been moved a little. FWIW I use the CRC brand cleaner and protectant.

That cluster needle flutter is a dead give away.

And good job helping the lady and her daughter get home safely!


you lick lead huh? guess that explains a few things o_Oo_O hahaha
 

Newb

Bought an X
Well we went hiking up in the Blue Ridge Wilderness area and once we got up into the higher elevations hit an area covered in snow. Shortly after I buried the X to the frame in this mud hole which was half ice half water haha. Thankfully a guy came along in an old 4Runner and snatched me out.

On the way down the mountain later that night the road was frozen solid with ice and we came across a lady and her six year old in a minivan, apparently their gps had routed them through the forest service roads on their way back to their rental cabin and they were sliding a lot and pretty terrified. I ended up driving her and her daughter in their van back to their address with my girlfriend driving the X behind us, her and her family were extremely grateful, the last text she had sent before losing signal and getting lost was to call the police to find her so they must have been freaking out.











M5iMfxy.jpg

6B8M2ii.jpg



Also think I need a new jack haha
DaFi1WO.jpg


frnTD4Q
That was an adventure. Good on you for helping the lady out!
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
That was an adventure. Good on you for helping the lady out!

It was a wild day for sure. We got home around 1 or 2 am, sat on the couch and were like what in the world happened to use today haha. We didn't even get to the woods until around 2pm so it was a lot in a short time period.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
I think you guys called it on the positive terminal. I thought it was fine but looking closer there's definitely very small bits of corrosion peaking out around the internals of it. I guess it's a good time to finally replace that OE terminal.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
While I still have all of the carpet out I'm going to go ahead and lay down so more sound deadening mat since that's the only place I haven't done yet and also improve the floor lighting I put in a few years ago. Should be pretty easy since the wiring is all there from my last install but I've always wished it were a bit brighter.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
While I still have all of the carpet out I'm going to go ahead and lay down so more sound deadening mat since that's the only place I haven't done yet and also improve the floor lighting I put in a few years ago. Should be pretty easy since the wiring is all there from my last install but I've always wished it were a bit brighter.
Dynamat all the things. Every time I remove an interior panel, I Dynamat the metal.
 

General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
Had a day off of work today so I went ahead and installed all of the Noico mat along with some foam in various areas and finally replaced the battery terminal while I was at it. As one of those while I'm in there things I added a Blue Sea fuse block to the battery terminal to organize my wiring a little better and get the fuses all in one place. Lastly I replaced the Mevotech sway bar end links with some from Nissan and that got rid of a clunking sound I've been hearing for a while.

Update:

The Noico mat under the floor carpeting made a huge difference in road noise, the engine, tires, etc. are all quieter now and the only thing really left is wind noise from the roof rack and windshield which I can live with.
 
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General_Tarfun

Sliders
Location
Atlanta, GA
Not my typical mod project but I've been rebuilding a 4x4 RC car I got as a kid maybe 17 years ago over the past few months. So far I've replaced all the electronics, steering motor, wheels/tires, swapped in much larger motors, replaced the entire suspension and swapped out the plastic bearings for real ones, added front/rear LED lights and brought it up to the mountains to play around with over the weekend.

After accidentally flipping it about 5 times end over end down a hill I managed to crack the front diff wide open, break off the coilover mounts, control arm links, and who knows what else haha. These things are a lot of fun though and so much easier to work on vs the X.

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