AlbatrossCafe's FleXterra ~ T-Swap, 35s, 4.10s, Fully Locked

Also cleaned this up and replaced the O-ring seal behind it. It's been a mess here so hopefully this cleans up AND reveals to be the reason behind what I thought was a leaky diff flange...

 

Swapped out my lower shock bolts in the front with some new ones and got new bushing sleeves on both sides. Also put my truck back together - no longer 2wd!

 

Info on that hardware pleeeze.

 

2x these (1 for each side): https://www.radflo.com/i-462-2-0-2-...er-xterra-titan-lower-coil-over-m14x42mm.html

I replaced them because I took out the lower shock bolt a few weeks ago without properly unloading the coilover... and it ruined the threads of my bolt as well as gouging the bearing spacer pretty badly.

For the bolts/washers/nuts, I got them from BoltDepot. I meant to get 80mm but ended up with 75mm. They are just barely long enough but I think 80mm is a better fit. You will need something like this if you have Radflos and aren't yet familiar with "Radflo clunk". Here is parts list:

 

Yeah. Got used 2.0’s for the 2010. Want new hardware. You saved a TON of research. Gawd love ya!

 

Had the first sign of some serious snow in the mountains last night, so I headed to our family cabin. Looking forward to testing the X and these new tires in some snow!


Very cool distinct snow line on the approach:



Local roads:



Oh yeah, and I was towing a snowmobile. For some reason I thought it was a good idea to try to climb up our 15 degree + long driveway without checking it first... failure! I had to unload the snowmobile and try to back up - but every 10 feet or so I had to get out and pull the trailer left or right to straighten it out.



Ditched the trailer, aired down to 12 PSI, and clawed my way to the top:



Playing with RC Scout... probably foreshadowing my future:

 

I hit a BIG branch going about 15mph. It went right into my snorkel. Needless to say I'm impressed. I'll take this as the only damage that comes out of it. I bet the plastic pieces are in my airbox somewhere lol

 

I'm jealous of that snow.

 

Swapped my winter tires to my last set of OEM wheels after giving them a paint-refresh to help cover up the marring from offroad. Then I officially retired the all-terrains for 2020. It looks so weenie without them lol

 

Got a new key-safe and threw it in the wetbox. I like this much better than under the back of the X. No more crawling in the mud.

 

LOL, I was just talking about this happening the other day when someone asked if it gets hit a lot offroad. I said meh, still sitting perfectly straight after all these years. Good to know it can take more punishment!

 

haha for real. I'm surprised my fender isn't all torn up, especially after I trimmed it and it lost a lot of its structural integrity.

 

New Firestik attachment:





New front shackles (one was lost):







New LED side marker lights:

 

Added some really simple lights to the rear! Was going to trial it and see if I liked it. I have to say, for such a low effort, zero-wiring-required install (maybe 30 min) it looks like the lights are gonna be FANTASTIC for what I need. The LED strip didn't have backing adhesive (DOH! should have read description) but some double sided tape cut and placed in few places did the trick. For the ceiling, tape didn't work and I didn't want to super glue and destroy my headliner. I just used a staple gun with some big staples and pushed em in a bit. Seems to work and doesn't really leave much of a visible scar for something that may or may not be successful.

Initial test is very positive. Lots of light in the hatch, enough light out of the hatch. The 12v plug switch is very convenient. Setup was nothing. Cost was cheap. And I think it actually looks cleaner than I was expecting. No wires really hanging around. I am a bit nervous that loading gear might knock it off, but otherwise it should be perfect for night skiing and grabbing things out of the trunk in the dark while camping.

Only downside is that I cut the LED and some of the remainder of strip doesn't light up. They want me to return this to get a replacement which is annoying because I know they are just gonna throw away the return. So I'll prob just keep it.

 

FYI actually got to use this a bit more tonight. Very useful light output - I just wanted to comment that it actually spills over to the center of the truck very nicely as well. WAY overpowers the stock light in the headliner above the passenger seats, especially if the seats are down

 

That's pretty neat man! Do they run on 12V or is there a converter in the plug? Some of these hard wired would be nice. My rear 12V outlet is covered by one of the wings on my drawer set.

 

There were a couple options (like this one) that were all 12v, so you could hardware into the rear light or whatever as needed

 

Saw this $6 storage solution for under the rear floor area: https://www.harborfreight.com/abs-storage-organizer-95807.html

It fits great. You could fit 2 for sure - not sure if 3 would work if you rotated the 3rd 90 degrees or something. I put my spare sensors, some spare nuts/washers & plastic push-rivets in there for now. There is still a ton of space. Great for sorting little parts like that. I'm sure I have more scattered around my X somewhere that I could put in here instead. And only $6?? No brainer!