richard310's 04 Xterra Build and Adventures

Some SoCal Desert Recon this past weekend with some AAV folks! :)

I have to go through the rest of the pictures and do some editing later tonight.

 
I'll let the images speak for themselves :)


Site recon for DRV:






























Fish Creek and Sheep's Canyon




















A nice 3'-4' rattler


























- - - Updated - - -

I took the Xterra in for an alignment this morning hoping it'd be an easy wam-bam-done job. Well it looks like my steering and LCA balljoints are toast and so is one of the recently installed Calmini UCA balljoint. It hasn't even been a year yet since installed the UCAs and balljoints, although I have taken this rig to quite a few trails and events since then. New set of UCA balljoints ordered (one for a spare and hopefully it doesn't take a week to get to my house from Bakersfield!) and I'll be sending the rig into the mech to get the LCA and steering joints replaced. Hopefully they can diagnose what the SES light is as well and get everything squared away before this weekend... another last minute repair job. This rig is definitely showing it's age and wear-n-tear, but so far it's still pulling through and showing me a great time.

I'm hoping the sliders arrive sometime this week, if not, then the next. MOLLE rear window panels on order as well, for more organized storage. I'm currently thinking about a 32" LED light bar to replace the 4 roof lights... that should bump my MPG back up a few.
 
Great shots, Richard!

Bummer about the front end. I just replaced my Steering rack, upper control arm bushings and uniballs, lower ball joints, lower control arm bushings, and rebuilt the kings... none of it was cheap.
 
Thanks Mitch. At least your front end is nice and solid now and should extend of the life of the 4RunAmok, especially on-trail. I'm hoping to do the same with the Xterra. I've been putting aside money just for maintenance problems and since it's my only form of transportation at the moment and it's racking up the miles, I'll do whatever it takes to keep it road worthy.
 
Mitch said:
still squeaks like a mofo, and it's driving me nuts!
Click to expand...

I know what you mean with the squeaking! Spray some white lithium grease or just dab some bearing grease in there. There's always a spraycan of the lithium grease in the truck just for that problem.
 
The word from the mechanic:


LCA Balljoint and Steering balljoints replacement and labor: $1400 a stab through the heart.
The joints are incoming tomorrow so I'll be getting those replaced before the trip. I also ordered replacement Calmini upper joints, no ETA on that.


SES code: Catalytic converter went kaput. $1000, and rip my heart out while you're at it, but do it later since you're not priority.
It's only obtainable at the dealer for an awesome $500+ labor, which is another $500. F* you EPA and CARB; you should be paying for that. I won't be touching it until Smog is necessary, although I hate driving with the SES light on...


So it looks like this rig will be a keeper and I'll be driving it to the ground (depending on future maintenance). I believe I've now spent just as much in repairs than what I paid for the truck (it's been a bit over a year so far). It's getting more and more depressing, but expected since we actually use our rigs. This is really pushing me to get a beater/daily, or just plain reduce trail runs and camping trips.... and get these parts laying around the garage sold off to lessen the pain.
 
ALL of those prices seem VERY high compared with what I just went through for the same things.

My truck has two cats, and I spent less than $800 for two new ones and a new muffler.
 
Did you go with OEM parts? I had asked the guys to get me OEM joints or better which is partially the reason for the high prices. That's even with a discount :( I know my mechanic charges a bit more than other places but my family and I still trust their work for over 20 years and counting. If you don't mind me asking, what was the damage for your front end rebuild?

The catalytic converter I looked up from Courtesy Nissan stated over $500 for the part alone. This is for one of the two 3-way converters right out of the block on bank 2. If it were the main cat, I'm sure it would've been a heck of a lot cheaper. More BS cali emissions extortion, as usual, if you ask me.
 
I don't have many OEM parts left up front, but the steering rack I obtained on a swap, and had it rebuilt.

The cats are just platinum in a case. You need not worry if they are from a dealer or not.

I'd have to find the many receipts to add up the total from the front end, it was done across two shops, multiple dates, as I was able to do things step by step.
 
Mitch said:
I don't have many OEM parts left up front, but the steering rack I obtained on a swap, and had it rebuilt.

The cats are just platinum in a case. You need not worry if they are from a dealer or not.

I'd have to find the many receipts to add up the total from the front end, it was done across two shops, multiple dates, as I was able to do things step by step.
Click to expand...

No problem Mitch, just thought I'd ask. I was looking up the Cats on RockAuto and a lot of them are not legal for sale here in CA or NY. The cheapest I found to be legal in CA was about $200. Not too bad, but better than $500.
 
I went to a place here in San Diego called Ed Hanson's. An older guy, knows his stuff about exhaust systems, for sure!

Probably worth the drive.
 
Mitch said:
I went to a place here in San Diego called Ed Hanson's. An older guy, knows his stuff about exhaust systems, for sure!

Probably worth the drive.
Click to expand...

I'll probably just erase the code before Smog...

I'll be getting the truck back tomorrow after 2 days of suspension updates. The sliders and replacement balljoints are coming in tomorrow as well!
 
Some codes, after a reset, remain in memory, and the smog machine can pick up on them. I've even heard that a reset will raise a red flag! :(

Also if the situation is bad enough, the code could come back right after you reset it, that's how bad my situation got before fixing it.
 
If there is no data (recent reset) it is a red flag for sure.
 
After clearing a CkEng light, you usually have to drive a hundred miles or so to get the monitors to reset.
 
That's unfortunate to hear... Looks like I'll be getting replacement cats sometime before my smog date. Thanks for the tips
 
So I'm currently testing out Mitch's old RTT to see if I want to snag it up. It's the Trekking Oasis II. I took it out to join Goose Gear for a quick trip up to Thomas Mountain in San Jacinto Mountains. The weather was great, although a bit chilly. My friend/coworker also joined us in his Isuzu Vehicross.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.






































 
I replaced my four roof lights with a single, double row no-name branded 32" LED Light Bar I picked up through a friend's hook-up. It supposedly outputs 18,800 lumens using a hybrid beam pattern. Overall construction is pretty typical with its aluminum housing, heatsink fins on the rear, poly-carbonate lens, etc. Light output and overall build is decent for an inexpensive light bar. Light is focused almost like a spot with little bleed/glare off to the sides. It does need to be aimed a tad higher right above the headlight cutoff to garner some distance, but we'll see how long this unit lasts.

Lights off:







Headlights 9007 Nokya Arctic Yellow + 6" Rugged Ridge/ DDM 3000K HIDs







Roof Mounted 30" LED Light Bar Hybrid Pattern







All Front Lights On:


 
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