Crazikyle's 1st Gen Build Thread

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
I figure I'll start a build thread here to keep track of my progress over the next few months. This spring I'm building my '04 into a decent little overlanding rig before I head off on an ambitious road trip this summer. I'm starting in Key West Florida, out to Ozette Washington, with a lot of time spent in Colorado/Montana/Wyoming/Idaho camping and just generally getting lost in the mountains. After that leg I'm heading up to Deadhorse Alaska before booking it over to Lubec Maine and finally home to Atlanta. I'm going to be living out of my X for the duration of the trip, but I'm not doing any serious interior mods. I'm just planning on keeping my stuff in plastic bins and sleeping in a bag on a mat in the backseat. Most of the work here is on the exterior.

I'm starting with a stock 2004 with 164k miles on it. I got it back in 2012 as my first car with 115k miles. It's got the VG33E, 5 speed manual, 4x4, and the LSD rear. It's been very capable stock, getting me through some decent fun trails in North GA and getting me around when metro Atlanta gets shut down with snow. I'm the second owner, and despite me buying it on Georgia, it's still a Colorado car. Sometimes I think all Xterras spawn in Colorado, and some manage to make it out of that state lol. It's still got a Colorado parks pass sticker in the windshield from 2009 and that is something that will never come off. It's got good service records from the previous owner, and I've kept up with the maintenance as well. Oil changes every 3.5k, rear main seal replaced to stop an oil leak, timing belt, water pump, and drive belts replaced at 120k miles, and I had the differentials, transfer case, and transmission oils replaced last spring.

Anyway, on to the mods.

Completed
Rear diff breather extension (still want to find some small filter or something to put on the end)
Dome/Map lights replaced with LEDs
Auxiliary input added to factory radio. How to here
Satellite radio added w/ input selector switch for AUX input. Write up here
100% integrated dashcam
Front trim pieces painted matte gray
Coverking front seat covers, received for free from friend who was tossing them
4x Dayligthers mounted on the roof. Rack finished, lights mounted, still need to wire them up
3" Suspension lift from AC. Upper control arms, torsion bars, shackles, and Bilstein 4600s
Shrockworks front winch mount bumper
Shrockworks rear bumper
Shrockworks sliders
Shrockworks engine/trans + front + transfer case skid plates
Set of 5 265/75 R16 BFG KO2s
Rough Country Pro series 9,500s winch
Still to come
Mounting for 20 gallons extra fuel
That's all I can think of right now, probably will end up doing some more. I'm playing with the idea of adding the 125 amp alternator off the quest to replace the factory 90 amp, but I don't think I'll ever put such a high electrical demand that I'll really need it. If the 90 amp serves me well, I'll run it till 200k miles at which point I'll throw the 125 amp on there anyways since that's my next big planned front end service. I don't want to go too crazy with this yet since it's still my daily driver. Probably going to buy myself a beater econobox later this year so I can start tearing into it.

Anyways, on to some pics!

Me and my ugly mug the day I picked it up.
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First time going off road up at Charlie's creek trail in North GA.
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Seat covers
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LED interior
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AUX in + Satellite radio + Junction box
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Custom built light rack inspired by Xoskel's lopro light rack. Powder coated, mounted and installed with lights. Waiting for a warm dry weekend to wire them up.
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How she sits today
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Super excited for everything to come together. Just waiting on Shrockworks to build my armor before I throw everything on there. I opted to pick them up myself so I'm really looking forward to the road trip out to Houston to pick it all up. I ordered in October and will probably get in contact early next month to get an idea when they'll be ready so I can take the time off work to drive out there.
 
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HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Custom built light rack inspired by Xoskel's lopro light rack. Powder coated, mounted and installed with lights. Waiting for a warm dry weekend to wire them up.

That light rack is sweet! do you have any details on the build? What size tubing did you use and how did you bend it?
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
That light rack is sweet! do you have any details on the build? What size tubing did you use and how did you bend it?
Thanks! I don't have too much info on it since I had a local fab shop design and build it for me. I lack the tools and experience to properly bend and weld it here at home so I had to outsource that. I know they used 1" steel tubing and I'd imagine they just used a pipe bender to bend them to shape.
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Thanks! I don't have too much info on it since I had a local fab shop design and build it for me. I lack the tools and experience to properly bend and weld it here at home so I had to outsource that. I know they used 1" steel tubing and I'd imagine they just used a pipe bender to bend them to shape.

Well they did a great job! I was guessing it was 1". Do you mind sharing what the shop charged for the work?
 

excuses4excursions

Test Drive
Location
Knoxville, TN
When you say "ambitious" you weren't kidding. Thats one helluva trip! Sounds like a lot of fun and a lot of driving

Maybe think of beefing up some of your steering components, from what I heard thats the Achilles heel of these vehicles and will leave you stranded on trails. Also maybe some comms like a HAM radio in case you get way off by yourself and break down?
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
When you say "ambitious" you weren't kidding. Thats one helluva trip! Sounds like a lot of fun and a lot of driving

Maybe think of beefing up some of your steering components, from what I heard thats the Achilles heel of these vehicles and will leave you stranded on trails. Also maybe some comms like a HAM radio in case you get way off by yourself and break down?
Yeah, I got all the time in the world and decided I'd do something I've been daydreaming about since middle school.

I have been toying with the idea of upgrading my steering. Last time I got it aligned the shop had a hard time getting everything in order thanks to all the rust and age. They recommended getting new components next time I had it aligned. I've been looking at the 4x4parts.com heavy duty tie rod adjustors. Do you think that would alleviate any future concerns? Any recommendations? I thought about ball joints as well, but since I'm only lifting it about 2" in the front I think they're unnecessary. If they do wear out I'll replace them with heavy duty ones.

As for radio, I'm probably just going to get a cheap handheld from somewhere. I don't ever plan on going too far away from civilization and paved roads, I'll have paper maps, and plenty of food and water should something happen. The only place I'm going off the beaten track is Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, and I figure I'll always be able to dial 911 in a worst case scenario.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Just got notification from Shrockworks that my order is finishing up at the powder coating. Heading out there next Thursday to pick everything up. Going to be making a gamble and assume I can fit front and rear bumper along with sliders and skids in the back so I don't have to bring a trailer on the 13 hour drive. I've been waiting for this since October! Can't wait to finally piece everything together!
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Yeah, I got all the time in the world and decided I'd do something I've been daydreaming about since middle school.

I have been toying with the idea of upgrading my steering. Last time I got it aligned the shop had a hard time getting everything in order thanks to all the rust and age. They recommended getting new components next time I had it aligned. I've been looking at the 4x4parts.com heavy duty tie rod adjustors. Do you think that would alleviate any future concerns? Any recommendations? I thought about ball joints as well, but since I'm only lifting it about 2" in the front I think they're unnecessary. If they do wear out I'll replace them with heavy duty ones.

As for radio, I'm probably just going to get a cheap handheld from somewhere. I don't ever plan on going too far away from civilization and paved roads, I'll have paper maps, and plenty of food and water should something happen. The only place I'm going off the beaten track is Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, and I figure I'll always be able to dial 911 in a worst case scenario.
When I was in Colorado last year my phone probably worked 60% of the time when we were off-road. And that was right there in the Colorado Springs area, not far from the big city. If you're planning on going places more remote than that I wouldn't depend on just a cell phone or handheld radio. You may want to look into one of the personal locator beacons like the Garmin In-Reach or similar. Especially if you will be solo.
 

excuses4excursions

Test Drive
Location
Knoxville, TN
I agree with what TerryD said, you'll be surprised at how little cell reception you get even on some of the paved roads out west. I remember travelling on highways an hour outside of Las Vegas and spent half a day driving with No Service and I never left the main road. I can only imagine some of the remote back roads along your trip will have pretty same lack of cell reception.

As for the steering components I haven't done any of them myself yet. Only read up on them but upgrading them are high on my list even before armor and lifts (just bought my X a couple months ago). It looks like you're going with a new suspension lift and with the added weight of the armor too you will want to do at least beefier tie rod adjusters and idler arm brace with bronze bushings. Probably a new centerlink as well and if the rest is as rusty as you mentioned it'd be a good idea to replace them with OEM new.

Also maybe tweek that 20 gal of fuel for something like 5 or 10 gal. 20 gal alone adds 100lbs and 20 gal is already more than a full tank of gas. You shouldn't be going anywhere that your 600 miles away from a gas station, especially like you said you weren't leaving pavement that often.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
When I was in Colorado last year my phone probably worked 60% of the time when we were off-road. And that was right there in the Colorado Springs area, not far from the big city. If you're planning on going places more remote than that I wouldn't depend on just a cell phone or handheld radio. You may want to look into one of the personal locator beacons like the Garmin In-Reach or similar. Especially if you will be solo.
I agree with what TerryD said, you'll be surprised at how little cell reception you get even on some of the paved roads out west. I remember travelling on highways an hour outside of Las Vegas and spent half a day driving with No Service and I never left the main road. I can only imagine some of the remote back roads along your trip will have pretty same lack of cell reception
All right, y'all convinced me. I'll start looking into that, looks like it is necessary and could also become a fun hobby. Probably just going to pick up something cheap to get me started.

Also maybe tweek that 20 gal of fuel for something like 5 or 10 gal. 20 gal alone adds 100lbs and 20 gal is already more than a full tank of gas. You shouldn't be going anywhere that your 600 miles away from a gas station, especially like you said you weren't leaving pavement that often.
My motto is better safe than sorry. We already get horrible gas mileage as it is, and I'm afraid that adding a bunch of weight in gear and armor will tank my MPG. I get about 250 miles on a full tank right now, and I have no idea how that number will drop when I get all my mods done. I'll admit 20 is a lot for normal stuff, and I will probably never run with 20 after my trip, but I'm absolutely not going to tackle Dalton Highway in Alaska without it.
 

Jwelch

Bought an X
Location
Michigan
Ham is really easy to get a technician class license for, I put about 4 hours into studying and passed my first try. It was $15 to take the test, and then I bought a baofeng uv-5r radio for $22 as this is what my local club runs for the most part. So for sub $40 you can have another form of emergency communication as well as a better way to communicate than CB's on the trail if people you run with have them. You can find a test near you at http://www.arrl.org/find-an-amateur-radio-license-exam-session.
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Not at all, it was $395 before tax. That included materials, construction, and about a days worth of design work.

I think that is good for custom work. I haven't done that long of trip in my X but I did go from Colorado to Anchorage and back with it. Farthest north the X has been is Fairbanks past that is just a dirt road and "towns" native villages are a experience...

When you make the drive make sure you stop at laird river hot springs in British Columbia best hot springs I have ever been to and you can camp for cheap there. If you are going to push all the way to Deadhorse I would bring 20 gallons of gas minimum and two spare tires if possible. There is no help on that road but Alaska is an experience worth making the effort for.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
I think that is good for custom work. I haven't done that long of trip in my X but I did go from Colorado to Anchorage and back with it. Farthest north the X has been is Fairbanks past that is just a dirt road and "towns" native villages are a experience...

When you make the drive make sure you stop at laird river hot springs in British Columbia best hot springs I have ever been to and you can camp for cheap there. If you are going to push all the way to Deadhorse I would bring 20 gallons of gas minimum and two spare tires if possible. There is no help on that road but Alaska is an experience worth making the effort for.
Yeah, Dalton highway looks rough. I'm absolutely bringing 20 extra gallons with me, even though the longest stretch between gas stations is only 240 miles. Better safe than sorry. I'd love to take two tires, but I just don't think that's feasible. I'd need another rim and tire which would run me almost $500 and I'd have no where to mount it. I'm just going to play it safe, go slow where I need to and take my time. I saw a story where some people made the drive in a stock VW golf, and I figure if they can make it without blowing a tire I should be fine with just the one spare.

I will absolutely check out Laird river on the way back, that looks pretty cool. Thanks for the recommendation.
 

BEEFY

I Smile when Gasoline Can Freeze
Nice looking build and sounds like you have a great trip planned. I'm in Prince George BC. So if you need a place to stop while heading up or back, feel free to get a hold of me. I have a shop and a you can have access to if you need to do any maintenance, and I can help you track down any parts you might need. I will be taking my X up to Tuktoyaktuk this summer.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Nice looking build and sounds like you have a great trip planned. I'm in Prince George BC. So if you need a place to stop while heading up or back, feel free to get a hold of me. I have a shop and a you can have access to if you need to do any maintenance, and I can help you track down any parts you might need. I will be taking my X up to Tuktoyaktuk this summer.
Thanks for the offer, I'll see what happens.


Made the drive out to Houston this week and picked up my bumpers and sliders from Shrockworks. Skids were still at powder coat and I did not want to wait around for them so going to have them shipped when they finish up. I was glad to make the drive out there, I wanted to see how the X would handle long road trips in preparation for this summer and get an idea of what my fuel economy would look like. Things went OK, fuel economy was great. If I watched my speed I got 17mpg even with all the gear in the back, but the transmission is making a noise now. 1st, 2nd and 3rd gear will sometimes make an unnerving grinding/whirring sound when I select them. Noise goes away when I engage the clutch and I don't feel anything in the stick. It still shifts fine and I'm hoping it was just some quirk after the long trip. I'll give it 24 hours to rest before I drive it again and I'll keep my fingers crossed it goes away. If not, off to the transmission shop. At least this happened before I left.
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crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Sadly my transmission noise did not go away so I took it to a local trans shop to have it looked at. They say it's a bad bearing in the transmission so now I get to have my transmission rebuilt. Yay. Kind of good news I guess, I get it rebuilt just before I take a 10k+ mile cross country road trip so I got plenty of peace of mind, plus it comes with an unlimited mile nation wide warranty so that's pretty nice. I'll probably have them replace the clutch while it's all out so I can get that out of the way for another decade or so.
 

TerryD

Total Tease
Supporting Member
Location
Covington, Va
Sadly my transmission noise did not go away so I took it to a local trans shop to have it looked at. They say it's a bad bearing in the transmission so now I get to have my transmission rebuilt. Yay. Kind of good news I guess, I get it rebuilt just before I take a 10k+ mile cross country road trip so I got plenty of peace of mind, plus it comes with an unlimited mile nation wide warranty so that's pretty nice. I'll probably have them replace the clutch while it's all out so I can get that out of the way for another decade or so.
Sounds like a good plan!
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Tires came today, the parts pile continues to grow. The last of my suspension bits come in Monday and then I'll be good to start putting everything on. Still waiting on my skids from Shrockworks, but those can just be bolted on at any time. Kind of annoyed with those, was told they went to powder coating on Feb 19th and they're still not shipped yet. But I've waited since October for all this, so whats a few more weeks?
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Trans shop says my truck should be done by Wednesday. Decided against doing the clutch. They say there's still 50% material left, which surprised me considering I pretty much learned to drive stick on my truck. Also they wanted $500 to do it, and for that price I'll do it myself when the time comes. I figure I'll have another car and my own place to work at at that point in my life. I saw an early 80s convertible Prelude a few month ago with a 5 speed for $4k, looking back now I'm really regretting not buying it. That car would have been so much fun to have.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Started wiring up my daylighters the other day and had to stop 90% of the way there because the wires aren't long enough. Ordered some extensions from KC and hopefully corona doesn't delay their arrival. Getting them set up was a pain, mostly because I'm incompetent and spent 60% of the time standing around thinking what to do. In the end it was a success, and all my lights worked, so as soon as I get the extensions should only be about an hour or so to finish up. One thing I don't like about the daylighters is the thick sheath around the wires. I'm going to have to cut it off so I can fit them all up the outside of my A pillar.

I started by punching a hole through some seal on the right side of the engine bay. It was nice and thin and I was able to get through it with a small screwdriver and work it so it was big enough to fit the wires through.
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Fishing them through the other side was an absolute pain, they never wanted to go the right way and when I finally got them all through they of course were tangled around something else, so I had to pull it out and start again. Everything worked out in the end and I had them through in a good position.
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Next I tried running them up on the outside of the A pillar, but there wasn't enough room to fit both sheaths and my dashcam power cable. Finally bit the bullet and pulled the A pillar trim off which I should have done from the beginning. Two screws and just a bunch of pulling and it pops right out to reveal plenty of spare room on the inside of the trim. Also ran my dashcam wire up with them and cleaned that up a little bit.
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Next ran them across the headliner and pulled them through the map light thing. Getting them through there wasn't much fun either, so I ended up using a twist tie, fishing it down though, and grabbing and pulling the wires through one at a time. The harness for my mirror prevented me from pulling more through, it loved to grab and hold onto the wires.
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Finally for the fun part, drilling into my map lights. I used a 3/4" drill bit and a file to get them to fit. I pretty much eyeballed the drill points, and I'm very happy with how they turned out
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The switches were at an angle and were hitting some of the plastic bits on the light assembly, so time to file that down. It's ugly, but it works and is out of sight so I don't care.
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Buttoned everything up and did a test fire of the lights and everything worked. Extremely happy so far, and I can't wait to get my extensions and finish everything up and finally see them in the dark of night.
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And of course, during all this my CD player decided to break again, thanks Nissan for making something so crappy, so I had to take the whole thing out and rebuild it. The spring in the lower right vanished somehow and prevented the CD from ejecting (and whenever you disconnect the battery the radio insists on spitting out the CD, so it threw an error. I had to endure a drive to work with FM radio, ew.) so I borrowed the spring from my parts CD player and it's all working now. Never disconnecting the battery again if I can avoid it; I'm sick of taking my radio out just because the crappy CD player breaks.
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Tomorrow I begin throwing on everything I got, lift, bumpers, winch, skids and sliders. Forecast says rain on Sunday, so I'm hoping me and my dad can knock everything out tomorrow. I'm telling myself we can, everything is pretty much bolt on, my torsion bars were removed and greased last week when my trans came out so they should just slide out, cam bolts are covered in oil and grease and were aligned last spring, so hopefully they slide right out as well. Also hoping that I can find a tire shop to mount, balance, and align my tires that isn't closed because of this corona going around.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Well day 1 was a moderate success. Got the passenger side suspension completed and it took nearly all day, but was stopped on the driver side by seized cam bolts and bushings. Going to have to go to the store tomorrow and get something to cur through the bolts. I was expecting this though, and have new cam bolts so it's not too big a deal. Front end is also disassembled and waiting for the new bumper tomorrow. Hopefully we have better luck tomorrow.
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
Well day 1 was a moderate success. Got the passenger side suspension completed and it took nearly all day, but was stopped on the driver side by seized cam bolts and bushings. Going to have to go to the store tomorrow and get something to cur through the bolts. I was expecting this though, and have new cam bolts so it's not too big a deal. Front end is also disassembled and waiting for the new bumper tomorrow. Hopefully we have better luck tomorrow.

I can not stress this enough if you are going to use a sawzall do not buy bi-metal blades they are useless on the cam bolts... carbide tooth only! I speak directly for experience. Hate filled experience haha.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Day 2 was a huge success. Got rained out towards the end of the day but still happy with the progress made today. Got the old control arm cut out and the new components in pretty quick. Spent more time than I'd like adjusting the torsion bars, and I'd still like to re-index the passenger side later. Got the shrock bumper on with the winch, though I need to get longer bolts for the winch mount, since the ones that came with the kit are not long enough to go through the fairlead, bumper, and winch housing to the bolt. Quick trip to the hardware store should solve that. Also need to cut out some holes in my license plate bracket to make room for the upper winch bolts. Still need to wire up the winch too. Finished the day up with putting the sliders on. Took it out for the first test drive and was very happy with everything. Front end was noticeably stiffer, but nothing worth complaining about. No noises, vibrations, or anything to worry about. Going to a tire shop tomorrow or Tuesday to get my new tires mounted, have an alignment preformed, and have my new tie rod ends installed. Next weekend I'll lift the rear end with the add a leaf, throw on the new rear bumper, and put the last of the skid plates on and call it complete for the time being. Hopefully I'll be able to hit some trails next Tuesday.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Got my tires mounted today, tie rod ends installed, and suspension aligned. It's looking great! No pics yet, I'm saving the big reveal for when it's all done. Also got my wiring extensions from KC today and got my lights up and running. I got to say I wasn't expecting them to be quite so bright. I still need to aim them, and I'll wait until I get the rear lifted before doing that, but after a test drive tonight I need to start thinking about a shroud. The glare is a little overwhelming as it sits right now. Anyone know of any good shrouds for 6" daylighters? A quick google didn't turn up any good results. If worst comes to worst, I'll probably 3d print something for them.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Well she's 99% done now. Got it back from the shop today with the rear lifted and bottom skids mounted, and fixed my winch and aimed my lights tonight. All that's left is to drill the final holes in the frame for the shrock bumper, bolt up my front license plate, and tape down the last wire for my lights. Need to update my signature since I'm no longer stock at all. It's been a fun adventure, and a huge money pit, but I've loved every second of it. I'll do a more detailed write up this weekend, along with some pics after I get her muddy.
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crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
It's finally done now. After some fun time wheeling, it's time for my thoughts on the whole process.
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Overall, I'm 100% happy with how everything turned out. I had no experience working on cars going into this, but despite that, it all came out just fine. As long as you're careful, know your limits, and take proper precautions, everything should turn out just fine. There are no new rattles, squeaks, or creaks (that can't be fixed with zip ties) during normal driving. Alignment is spot on, and wheels and tires are perfectly balanced. It drives exactly the same, if not better, than it did before I started everything. A lot of that can be attributed to the new shocks that just eat bumps in the road, but I also think the new torsion bars helped a lot with that. Heavy duty torsion bars are a must, especially with all the extra weight I added in the front. Between winch, bumper, skids, and lights, I've got probably close to 250 extra pounds in the front.

In the rear I was conflicted about which way I should go. I was torn between add-a-leaf, or shackles. I ended up buying both when I saw a good deal on an add-a-leaf just to be safe, but in the end I went with just the shackles and shocks. I was very happy with the ride in the rear, and didn't think I needed extra springs in the rear. The stock ones aren't sagging yet, and they took all the extra weight just fine. I'm also really happy with the lift in the rear, it now has the rake back that it originally had from the factory, and I love that look. I did have to have an offroad shop install the rear lift and skid plates. I really wanted to do it myself, but lack the tools and experience. The jack I used couldn't even lift the rear axle off the ground, and the jack stands I was using had no hope of reaching that high. I was able to tackle the front end with that just by taking small bites, and the fact that the front isn't as high as the back, but the back was just too big a job. I also had no idea how to drop the springs safely or put them back. I would also somehow have to shimmy under my car and drill 6 holes in the frame for the skids and then lift them into place. That was also a little too much for me, so I just threw money at it and the problem solved itself. I'm happy with the work the shop did, and don't regret not doing it myself now.

Aside from the skids, I was able to get all the armor on by myself. It was a real struggle on both bumpers, thanks in part to poor fitment. The main bumper went on just fine in the front, but I had to really struggle to get the front skid on that came with the bumper. The thing didn't line up with the holes on the bumper very well, and it took a lot of man handling to get it into place. I blame shrockworks for that poor fitment, but it wasn't too big an issue and I'll still buy from them in the future. The rear bumper was another nightmare. The tow hitch and stock bumper had like 8 seized bolts out of a total of 12. Getting all them off was a pain and took most of the afternoon. When it came time to put the new bumper on, I could not get the frame stiffeners in all the way. Each was held in by two bolts, and I could only get one in on each side. The other one was hopelessly far off. The bumper went on fine after that though. That may not have been a shrockworks issue though. I was rear ended a few years ago, and that may have thrown the alignment out on the frame. That does not excuse the poor fitment on the swing arm. The lock would not go into the notch on the bumper, so the notch had to be widened in order to get it to fit. Again, not that big a deal but still, I expect better from a nearly $1k bumper. Sliders went on just fine though.

The roof lights are probably the last big piece worth talking about. I had been wanting to mounts some extra lights on my roof for a while, and fell in love with the Xoskel lo pro light rack. Sadly, they were not made any more, and they very rarely popped up for sale. It looked like a rare piece that I wanted, so I decided to go custom with it. First place I went was an offroad shop. They said that was something they could do. I took it up there, they took some measurements, and then I never heard from them again. Later I went to a reputable metal fabrication shop that had been in business for 25+ years. They were much better, and had something designed and built in just about a week. Their work was decent, I got what I asked for, but there were some moderate fitment issues. I had to put some spacers below the bottom feet, and widen the bolt holes on the top. The lights also had some clearance issues. The middle two hit the top of the air dam, so I had to cut out some material on the mounting tabs so I could move the lights up about 1/4". Wiring them was a pain, but worth it in the end. I love how they look and how bright they are. They make the stock high beams look like candles.
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So looking back, what would I have done differently? Probably would have had a better jack and jack stands, as well as a proper impact wrench. I did the entire job with just a single ratchet socket and that made it a lot harder than it had to be. I also should have found a better workspace. I was just working in my driveway and was blocking family members from coming and going, as well as blocking the path out for my backup car if things didn't go well on the X. It put an uncomfortable time crunch on everything, and made it difficult to go out and get supplies when I needed them. I did come a little prepared and bought a grease gun, grease, loctite, tie rod ends, and new cam bolts, all of which were extremely helpful during the install. I also should have been more aggressive with my purchasing. I bought the bumpers back in October, lift in January, and tires and winch in March. That left me waiting for stuff, and I was unable to check fitment on some things. I should have bought everything at once. That's about it, I can't think of anything I would have done differently, especially considering how happy I am with the end product. I do miss the original look, I miss my fog lights and marker lights, but I guess I just have to get used to the new look. I do wish the shrock bumper came with mounting points for the fog lights and side marker lights like ARB bumpers do, that's my one major complaint with them. One big upside to all this work is that I'll probably start doing my own oil changes. I no longer trust shops to deal with my X and take off the skid plate to change the oil. I'll just do them myself now since you can only trust yourself. My factory skid plate was held on by two bolts and a bunch of zip ties after years of letting quick lube places do my oil changes.

That's it for now. Next step is to get camping supplies and head out west, which was the whole point behind all this work. I can't wait to have some future adventures in this thing.
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reaver

Lockers Installed
Supporting Member
Location
Caldwell, ID
Love the end result man. The X turned out awesome. I'm sitting on adjustable shackles right now, trying to find time to put them in and do the PML. Out of curiosity, how much did that cost you to have done? If it's relatively inexpensive, I may just pay somebody to do that for me.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Love the end result man. The X turned out awesome. I'm sitting on adjustable shackles right now, trying to find time to put them in and do the PML. Out of curiosity, how much did that cost you to have done? If it's relatively inexpensive, I may just pay somebody to do that for me.
Thanks a lot. I paid about $175 for the rear end work and it took them about an hour and a half. That included shackles and shocks. Shop I went to charged $115/hr for labor though, which I think is a little expensive. Shop around, especially now when shops are probably getting desperate for work and you might find a good deal.

Good luck!
 

HolyGhost

First Fill-Up (of many)
I did the entire job with just a single ratchet socket and that made it a lot harder than it had to be

Damn that's an insane amount of work for so little tools. I have an arsenal and I still find myself needing different tools I don't have. Awesome build glad you got it all worked out.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Finally got around to getting something to hide/hold the one exposed wire going up to my light rack. I though I could just tuck it under the window molding, but it kept coming out. I didn't really want to tape or epoxy it in place since tape wouldn't last and epoxy would be too permanent. I ended up getting the universal wire hider from KC to hold it in place. It's a great piece that nicely hides the wire and looks pretty factory from a distance. It's held on well since I installed it and I haven't had any wire issues since it went on.

I also got a winch extension so I can connect my controller on the bumper instead of reaching up under it to the connection point on the winch. The rough country winch extension doesn't fit perfectly in the shrockworks hole though. The main conection will go through, but the screw holes don't line up perfectly. I just need to widen the holes so I can bolt it up.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Oh my, I figure it's about time to bump this thread with some updates. It's been an interesting 2 years with the X. She's still chugging along, although it hasn't been all fine and dandy.

I didn't do much to her between last post and this summer. I did remove the rear sway bar, and added some auxillary backup lights. But this summer, after covid had changed my life plans, I finally got an opportunity to take it out West. My brother was moving to Boulder, and he offered to pay for all my expenses driving out there if I towed a Uhaul with his stuff to Colorado. So I took two weeks off work and made the trip out there. Let me just say, first gens suck at towing. I don't know how much the Uhaul weighed, but the X was at it's limits. I could not maintain highway speeds going uphill, and during the day, I had to get the heat running full blast to stop from cooking the motor. It got a little better during the night, but still not fun. I enjoyed the drive though, it was long and I was stupid and did the whole thing in one haul. 24 hours no sleep, driving cross country. I finally made it to Boulder, parked and promptly fell asleep on the floor while my family (who flew out) unloaded and returned the trailer.
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A few hours of sleep later, and I was ready to hit the Rocky Mountains. I high tailed it out of Boulder and started a week long camping trip in the Colorado Rockies.
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I was planning on spending the first night atop Chihuahua Gulch trail, but just as I was making it to the top disaster struck. My Xterra, which had been 100% reliable for a decade, and had just made a 1500 mile cross country trip, sputtered and died on me. Full tank of gas, recently replaced timing belt, spark plugs, distributor and coil, and it just randomly dies. No cell service and no way down the mountain. At least I was planning on camping in it for a week, so I had plenty of food, water, and warm gear. I figured it was being moody and it would start in the morning. Morning rolls around, and no luck. I was lucky, and someone else was camping in the area, so I was able to hitch a ride down with them. I decided to throw the parts cannon at it, and figured the only thing that could have failed was the fuel pump, so I bought one. I called my family and they came out and took me back up the mountain, where I found out some assholes had smashed out some windows. Things were just getting worse and worse. And of course, the fuel pump was not the problem. At this point, after having spent almost a day dealing with this, I was at my wits end. I sealed up the windows with some garbage bags and went back to my brother's place to figure out what to do.
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I had to get it down the mountain, and thank gobble for Colorado 4x4 rescue and recovery. They are a volunteer organization who help recover and rescue struck cars and lost people. They were able to get to me and get me down the mountain, where a tow truck could pick me up and take me back to civilization. It had been a few days, and at this point the trip was ruined. My Xterra still didn't run, and I just wanted to be home and done with the whole ordeal. Besides, I had to be back at work in a few days anyways. I was able to get it shipped home and catch a flight back. The whole ordeal left a very sour taste in my mouth. The trip of a lifetime, ruined.
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I finally get it home and to a shop, and it turns out the coil had failed. If I had bothered to do any real troubleshooting, I could have easily figured this out and maybe even gotten a trail fix (some part had melted, and the coil was shorting to ground). Oh well, I was frustrated and you live and learn I guess. Got that fixed, and some new windows put in, and she was back on the road. Total cost of the ordeal was about $4k between all the tow bills, repair bills, and flight home. Oh well, at least things couldn't get worse, right?
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After getting her back on the road, I decided to take a small trip to Florida, enjoy the beach for a day, and get over the disaster that was Colorado. I pack her up for a day trip and head out. Well, not 20 miles into it, I smell coolant and notice the temperature gauge is dangerously high. Pull over, pop the hood, and the radiator is blown. Lovely. Another tow.
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However, I decided to tackle this job myself. Being the genius I am, I also figured I'd replace the knock sensor while she was in for surgery. I know it can be safely ignored, or even bypassed, but I wanted a challenge, and I figured the Xterra was about to become a permanent project car, so I thought to hell with it, I'll learn something. One radiator, one knock sensor, some jugs of coolant, and 13 hours later, I had successfully replaced the knock sensor and radiator. I was feeling pretty good.
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That was back in August, and she's been decent since. I'm still anxious about taking her anywhere, and it's pretty much my gym car right now. The CEL has come on twice, but first time I think it was some bad gas, and the second time I don't think I selaed my gas cap properly. I cleared it each time and it's stayed off since.

I was browsing Youtube back in December, and saw someone doing something I had always thought was extremely cool. I had driven a Rolls-Royce with a starlight headliner a few years ago, and had been thinking about it ever since. I found a video where someone was rebuilding a wrecked truck, and they put a starlight headliner in their truck. I didn't think that was something you could do yourself, but they had a whole tutorial and parts list. Apparently, you can just buy one kit off amazon to accomplish this, and put in some elbow grease to make it happen. I got two of these off amazon. I got two so I could have two colors displayed at once, and 450 strands did not sound like enough for a SUV roof. I also went to a junkyard and pulled a used headliner. I had to get it reupholstered of course, it is a first gen headliner after all. I wanted a new one so if the project failed horribly, I could revert back to a factory headliner and not have one with hundreds of holes in it. After getting the headliner reupholstered, I got to work. The job was grueling, and took probably 35 ~ish hours to complete. I had to map out and drill 900 holes, before feeding 900 fiber optic strands through then gluing them in place and trimming them down to size. It was very painful.

Just getting started at this point, holes have been drilled and the strands have been grouped together. This took about 8-9 hours.
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Took a whole 10 hours, but I was halfway done.
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10 more hours, and everything was through the headliner.
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And a relatively short, 6 hour day to glue everything in place and start trimming.
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It was looking really promising.
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I finally got it installed in the X. There is enough room above the headliner to run all the fiber optics without any further modifications. I spliced into the front 12v, ran a wire to the back, and bought two female 12v outlets and connected them up, as the kit I bought had a 12v plug. I wired it into the front because that outlet comes on in acc mode, so the starlight headliner has hands free operation. Goes on and off with the car. I love the end result, and all the hours were very well worth it.
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They cycle through 7 color rgb and twinkle as well. Each unit can be controlled by a remote or bluetooth, and I have them set to cycle at different speeds, so the color pattern is always changing.

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I was able to hide the units up behind the wheel wells, they are in this general area:
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The fiber optics run up the D pillar.
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The system is completely hidden when off.




And that's pretty much where she stands today. At some point I'm going to have to change the front half shafts, as they are currently both leaking grease. That will probably be sometime next year, after I can buy a house with proper garage space to work. AC condenser needs to be replaced. I put a hole in that while replacing the radiator and knock sensor. I never use AC, even during the summer, so it's not a priority. It's nice to have when the windows fog up, but the heater can handle that well enough. Again, that will be put off until next year. I've got no other plans or maintenance items to do. Thanks for reading this novel of an update post.
 

Prime

Shut up Baby, I know it!
Admin
Location
Denver Adjacent
Dude. I'm sorry your Colorado experience was so bad. Broken shiat happens but people smashing out your windows makes me embarrassed to be a Coloradan.
 

crazikyle

Bought an X
Location
Roswell
Hmm, figured I may as well update y'all here.
Drove to Maine back in May and my fan clutch seized up. It's amazing how loud those can be. I replaced that, and then when I was cleaning it noticed I was somehow missing two lug nut on my front right wheel. Scary stuff. Took it to a shop to do that and new brakes and they somehow talekd me into like $3k of work. All new steering linkages, front wheel bearings, brake master cylinder and sway bar end links. Drives like a dream now though, steering is actually tight again and I can finally get ABS to kick in for emergency braking. (ABS worked fine, the rest was so worn out the pedal would go to the floor and the wheels wouldn't even lock up).

Now there's still a front pulley with a bad bearing making an unpleasant sound. Thankfully its one for the A/C compressor, and seeing as the A/C doesn't work and I don't want to fix it, I just need to delete that belt altogether. Maybe I'll do that next week.
 
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