richard310's 04 Xterra Build and Adventures

I believe my alternator just went kaput this morning. Started the truck up this morning to diagnose an odd sound coming from the front of the engine bay from two days ago. Checked pulleys and tensioners as it seemed to coincide with engine speed at idle and in motion. After about a minute of warming up, I noticed the alternator pulley begin to wobble like a mother and then as I go to turn off the truck to prevent any more damage, the alternator warning lights popped on. Glad I made it home to diagnose that issue, otherwise I would've had to AAA tow it home from the top of Mt Baldy. I'll be pulling the unit probably middle of this week to see what's wrong with it. I'm thinking maybe the franken-washer combo on the pulley somehow gave out, loosening the pulley itself (which I don't think is the case as I had it impact wrenched pretty good on there). Hopefully it's not an internal issue... I'll be installing a new (NON-reman'd )2002 Quest 125A unit from RockAuto in the mean time. It's an excuse to ride the motorcycle now. :D I may just keep the Mean Green as a backup if I decide to send it back to Mean Green for a rebuild. I'm done with rebuilt stuff... Heck, I'm near done with this Xterra!
 
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GeoYota said:
Much like a boat...the two best days with my Nissan were my "purchase" and "sale" dates.

I share your pain Richard, as once my Xterra clocked 110,xxx miles, I'm afraid it's best days were in the rear view mirror.

Hoping you get things patched up soon. :thumbsup
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Jayrat said:
Sorry to hear that Brother
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Thanks guys for the kind words lol. :wrench Well she's ticking past 190k right now, and ticking quite well, minus some rattling noise in the engine bay under load even with the A/C on. The yearning to jump on a 650cc-ish two wheeler is beckoning me pretty hard right now, especially for commuting. I just snagged some contract work in Fullerton so driving the Xterra from here in Torrance area will start taking its toll on the rig. Luckily I'll be leaving before the sun rises so traffic should be at a minimum. We'll see how much longer the Xterra lasts from here on out.
 
Some photos of my tin can from my last trip this past Thanksgiving, with the fellas here at AAV.

Locations: Trona Pinnacles and vicinity of Dante's View.

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The wind dam held up to the last night's wind mayhem at Dante's View. Not sure how windy it was, but it felt like about 30-40mph gusts. I was worried the winds would pick it right up, but with 5 stakes down, it held up just fine. The only thing that happened was one of the horizontal supports had come undone from the back-and-forth of the wind; so when I went out to take a leak, I reinserted it, rechecked everything and went back to sleep. Totally fine the following morning.

The Xterra made it there and back without too much of a hiccup. Strong head and cross winds just destroyed my MPG. I believe it was about 11.5mpg highway, when I'd typically average about 15mpg on a good day. I guess it's good to say that the tin can is still kicking it. Still patiently waiting on that rare deal of a Maggiolina to pop up...
 
After the wedding was all done and taken care of, and with family health issues taking a toll and on-going, I finally had time to take the limping Xterra in last week.

- Replaced 4 new u-joints in the front and rear drive shafts

- Replaced brake master cylinder

- Flushed rear diff and refilled

- Readjusted and repacked front wheel bearings.

- 4 wheel alignment

$1800 later, truck is up and running. Other issues: Steering balljoints are worn again, rear main seal is still leaking, head gasket is still leaking, but not immediate priority. This will be the last major repair on the Xterra this year. (Famous last words).

But in the modifcations department, I ordered a CVT hardshelled tent a few weeks ago, and they finally got them in stock. Now I'm just awaiting for them to ship out.
 
The CVT hardshelled tent arrived in my shop 3 days after it was in stock from my initial down payment. It was 2day shipped from Bend, Oregon via ground freight. After a few days of sitting in the shop, I finally had time to install it onto the Xterra. I havent had the time to get inside thoroughly and check it out so this will strictly be exterior construction and operation.

It came in a slightly over sized box and was packed pretty decently, but arrived with two holes in the box. Neither of those holes had any damaging effects on the actual product as it was triple layered foam wrapped.

The tent is larger than it looks but is not as heavy as it does. With the help of my coworker, the two of us were able to lift the tent onto my truck and secure it into place, although we were elevated on the shipping dock, but either way, its do-able.

During installation, unfortunately, the aluminum channel inserts that were supplied in a nicely packaged soft organized folder, weren't spaced properly with the supplied bolt. The head of the steel hex bolts were able to spin almost 20deg in the aluminum channel. With that much play and that much torque, the soft aluminum isn't going to hold up to a steel bolt head. Out of the 8 bolts, luckily only one stripped the aluminum. Better yet, the nylock nut which was spun on by hand, cross threaded somewhere up the threads. Getting it off, we ended up bending and shearing the bolt. We upsized the hardware to a 5/16 bolt and shaved the hex head to fit perfectly. Drilled out the aluminum channel and the steel receiving plate, and made it work.

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Operating the tent is slightly harder than it looks but is definitely a lot less jungle gym/monkeying around the truck. Opening it is a breeze as undoing the four straps and latches, push it up and you're done.
On the other hand, pulling the tent down can be a bit more wrangling. The two large pull handle straps are very convenient for closing it up, but it starts to shift from the corners so you have to guide it back down to close, beginning from front to rear. The entirety of the fabric doesn't want fold into the tent, so in some spots, you have to tuck it in which isn't an issue as it's minimal.

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The ladder is very nice and stable. It comes in a nice bag so when you store it back inside, you're not bringing in the outside dirt. The way it collapses is convenient and a lot quieter than your other typical ladders. Very happy about the ladder.

The tent itself sticks out past the roof line about 7 inches. It sits on a Thule 50" cross bar system that I attached to the OEM roof rack. Visually it looks a bit odd as it's got a T-shape profile but I'm very happy with the unit.

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Cons:
- the hardware needs some shoring up with better fitment on the aluminum channels to the bolt heads to eliminate spinning/stripping.
- the latches seem small and cheap. They work but I wish they were wider and larger.

I'll get to the interior once I have the chance to go over it.

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That is a beautiful RTT Richard! :wow

Clearly, you must be doing something right at home as this bodes well for future trips!

;)
 
Dave said:
That is a beautiful RTT Richard! :wow

Clearly, you must be doing something right at home as this bodes well for future trips!

;)
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It took a little convincing but I do have to say, a little "better to ask for forgiveness than permission" was used. The post-marriage timing helped too... :D

I'm extremely happy with this move, although we have yet to use it. Soon, though. Soon.
 
Just stumbled upon this build thread. I would of wished all of the photobucket pics were still up. build sounds freaking amazing.
 
Ejsarus said:
Just stumbled upon this build thread. I would of wished all of the photobucket pics were still up. build sounds freaking amazing.
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Thanks!
...yeah ive got to go back to relink and re-update all the early pics. Lousy photobucket. Sigh. It'll be an entire day to do, but ill get to it one day lol.
 
Nothing really to report on any adventures as of recent. Haven't been on dirt in awhile with life taking a hold of the reigns for the time being. Maintenance and daily driver duties have taken over now.

Even had the Xterra loaded up with almost 900lbs of wall and floor tile... Good thing it was a short drive. The weight brought the height to near-stock levels in the rear. Definitely felt very odd to drive around with.

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On the maintenance side of things:
I replaced the passenger side rear shackle bushings as one of the rubber flanges decided to degrade and tear off, leaving the shackle to move from side to side with every little turn and bump in the road. Life is nice and less creaky-clunky... It took me long enough to figure out where it was coming from, and even longer to find the part and replace it. Such an easy replacement. I guess I could've gotten longer shackles too since I was under there, but mod time for Xterra-specific parts are long over.

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Cleaned out the drum brakes as well since I had the rear end up. Quite a bit of brake dust accumulated over the years so it's good to get that out of there. The drums are going to need a good resurface along with new shoes on the next maintenance schedule if necessary, and if she sticks around longer that planned. And btw, drums are the worst.

Well, until my next trip... Deanna and I are itching for those short weekenders again. We'll see what life has in store for us before the end of the year, and the end of the Xterra.
 
Another boring, non-pic maintenance report getting ready for next week's annual trip.
I went in for fluids and brake change... came out with this:

- Drained, flushed and filled the front, rear and transfer case fluids
- Oil Change
- Replaced all tie rods, again
- Replaced both valve cover gaskets (bad leak!)
- Replaced rear brake drums and shoes
- Replaced misc rubber hoses down under

Merry Christmas... it was another arm and leg. I'm out of limbs to give out, so I guess organs are next.

Timing belt schedule's coming up sometime this coming year, and I'm hoping to have something new by then.
 
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