2000 Frontier (Supercharged) Build and Adventures - Babe the Blue Ox

[paulforeman]

PSR Coilover Conversion

Well boys, it's done. I ordered a D22 Coilover Conversion from Australia. I ordered from DrivenOffroad and the parts showed up in like 6 days. Pretty good service from Aiden at DrivenOffroad.

The kit was great. Came with like 15 pages of instructions and every little thing that was required for install.

It was a bit of slog, but the most difficult part was probably the dreaded lower control arm rear bushing (yes, mine was as bad as everyone else's).

Total parts list:

• OEM 54419-VK80A - Rear Lower Control Arm Bolts - Z1 Offroad
• OEM 54560-8B400 - Rear Lower Control Arm Bushings - Z1 Offroad
• MOOG RK620556/RK620556 - Lower Control Arms - RockAuto
• PSR Coil Conversion kit - DrivenOffroad
• PSR Upper Control Arms - DrivenOffroad
• SPC 87515 - Upper Control Arm Cam Bolts (rebranded/sold by Mevotech) - RockAuto.
• FEBEST 54050-50W0A - Lower Control Arm Bump Stops - Amazon
• MEVOTECH DX330 & DX331 - CV Axle Reboot Kit - RockAuto

Total Price....................................................................... (who cares)


I'll just dump some photos of the process.
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A beautiful sight ^^ after the classic lower control arm fire fight. My bolts were seized, etc.
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Cut off the factory shock tabs and welded in these reinforcements.
Old bump stops were toast, so I ordered new ones.
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New bucket fully welded in. Used paint stripper and wire wheel to get the paint off before welding.

REBOOT on the CV axle - The old boots were the original boots from 24 years ago. 1 was ripped so I did them all.

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Took it out for a spin and after a few miles of basic maneuvers, I got enough confidence to jump some curbs and hit some washboard roads. It didn't completely fold up yet... so I guess it's on.

Cheers.

 

[paulforeman]

FULL SKIDS (SKID ROW)

I got my used Skid Row skid plates installed this week. They came off of "The Grey Truck" (another 1st Gen Frontier) that I bought in the Fall.

*I should have washed all the dirt and gravel off before starting... a lesson I seem to never learn.

This front engine plate uses U-bolts around the differential cross member.

The rest of the plates bolt through pinch welds on the frame in other places, requiring me to drill thru-holes for bolts to go through. That was really annoying to lay on the ground and get hot metal shavings falling all over me. So, I tried something else....

It's only dumb if it doesn't work, right? And this worked really well. I could reach over and pull the trigger while SLOWLY lifting the jack using my foot. Did all the holes this way and it worked out great.

I guess I'm done being careful while driving through rocks now.
Nah, I'll still be as careful as I need to be. It'll just be less.

Cheers, and Merry Christmas!

 

[paulforeman]

Moab Trip, 2025

Moab Trip 2024, Moab Trip 2022, Moab Trip 2021, "Moab" Trip 2020
^ Previous trip links.

Each year, we try to do about 50% new activities/routes & 50% repeat stuff we know we like.
If you look back at the other trips we've done, you'd see a lot of familiar places.

I'm going to primarily just photo-dump so you can be inspired to get outside.

Trip Highlights

• Perfect weathers (highs in the 80's) and had almost no wind.
• Isolated and quiet campsites
• Drove over a bunch of dirt and rocks
• My brother wrecked his GX470 rear differential and we had a fun time finding one and replacing it. More below.
• The Frontier did great, including the new Timbren Bump Stops (rear) and PSR Coil Conversion Kit (Front).
• Other rigs:
  
  • 2003 V8 Lexus GX470
  • 2004 V8 Toyota 4Runner
  • 2006 V6 Toyota 4Runner
  • 2023 Toyota Tacoma (bone stock, other than bashed in skid plates from last year)
• Trails we Ran:
  
  • Dome Plateau (New)
  • Owl Draw (New)
  • Onion Creek to Hideout Canyon to La Sal Mountain Loop (our regular exit route).

Photo dump, loosely in order.

^^THIS IS WHERE THING GOT INTERESTING^^

My brother in his Lexus hit the choppy part at the top of this sand hill in 4LO, 2nd gear, full throttle (V8 Power, something the Frontier will never know). HIt vehicle bounced, came down, and sheared a hand-full of teeth off of his rear differential. We limped it all the way off of Owl Draw, pulled the rear driveshaft, locked the center diff, then limped it into town the next day (50 miles total).

We eventually found a full 4Runner axle for sale in Payson, basically all the way to Salt Lake.

• Jumped in the Frontier and left Moab (6:00pm)
• Arrived in Payson and got the axle (9:30pm)
• Stopped for In-n-Out, then hit the road (9:45pm)
• Arrived back at Hotel in Moab (1:00am)

Next morning...

• Gutted the axle in the hotel parking Lot (6:30am)
• Ate breakfast, already sweaty and greasy (7:30am)
• Limped the Lexus over to O'Reilly parking lot (8:30am)
• Got diff swapped and car buttoned up (10:00am)
• Cleaned up the parking lot and trash away (10:30am)

Cleaned up and met the girls at the coffee shop (11:00am)
(We're still patting ourselves on the back for fixing our own problems like big boys).

After lunch, we went back out on the trail. We ran Onion Creek, Hideout Canyon, Polar Mesa, to Gateway-Castleton Route. Camped near CO/UT boarder.

My wife didn't grow up around guns, but I'm trying to get her more comfortable around them. Brought a metal gong target and sighted in this little .22 caliber pellet gun. She enjoyed it. We'll have to move up to real .22 caliber next and see how she likes it.

Overall a very memorable trip.

Cheers.

 

[paulforeman]

TRE Rear Locker (Harrop Knockoff)

PREFACE #1 - I should have done a locker a while ago, but I'm still learning and maturing in choosing my modifications.

PREFACE #2 - I feel kinda bad about using a ripped-off design Chinese locker, but Harrops and TJMs are hard to get in the US and I didn't want to use an ARB air-locker since they seem to be unreliable (air hoses, o-ring failure, etc. I hear about people having to redo them a lot).

NOTE - The TRE instructions are in broken English and are not really sufficient alone. I used a combination of the TRE instructions, plus the FSM and Hawairish's TRE install writeup for my install. All 3 were helpful.

OEM H233B differential gasket part number: 38320-T3322 = $4 at dealer. If you are getting into your differential, just get one and replace it! It's way cleaner and easier than using RTV.

I originally planned to super-pack my LSD like Hawairish did; H233B LSD Repack How-To Guide, but even with a doner LSD, I was not going to have enough good parts to repack it really tight, so I decided to go with a locker instead. (See LSD damage here: Babe's blown factory LSD)

I found an H233B with the right gear ratio (4.636) from a 2004 Xterra on my local Craigslist. It came with leaf springs, and front cross member & torsions bars too. Since I've been working on The Grey Truck and the "$1000 Xterra" my stash of aftermarket parts is getting depleted; I wanted the torsion bars, axle shafts, and leaf springs too, so it worked out. I went and picked it up with The Grey Truck (man, I'm going to miss this truck when it's gone).

I pulled rear differential to build it first, ensure locker works, etc., then swap the whole unit so that I had less down-time on the Babe

I got a TRE TE135 locker. It's very similar to the Harrop e-locker for the H233B, but the US Harrop dealers told me they didn't sell the D22 H233B e-locker in the US. I could have ordered from AUS, but that was going to run into some money, so decided to go with TRE.

The price was $690, delivered, and they included a free soft shackle. Packaging was good and literally everything was included.

I didn't trust the carrier bearings being no-name... I mean, if I'm going to care about quality, carrier bearings is the right place to do it. I ordered Schaeffler 32010 Bearings from AutoHousAZ. They are heavier, felt smoother, and even sounded different when spinning them by hand than the ones included with the TRE locker. They were only $60/pair, delivered, so I'd say it's worth it.

I used my kitchen oven and heated the bearings at 300F for 30 minutes. They dropped right onto the carrier. I tapped the housing for the bulkhead fitting (had to order an M12x1.5 tap - weird size, but that's fine).

I put the carrier in the differential housing and set the backlash at 0.005" (FSM says 0.005"-0.007" is the right range).

I've had an empty slot in my switch panel for years anticipating a locker... It's finally filled.

The diff is back in the truck. I tested it in the neighborhood and it works instantaneously. I need to go run some trails now!

Cheers.

 

[Datsun Man]

An interesting journey to say the least. I will state that even though it is a knockoff, that locker will come in handy in many places. I have been to a fair amount of places without a locker, but a locker would have made it much easier.

 

[Nd4SpSe]

My old gen1 Xterra has open diffs and while a locker was on the list, it was never a priority as my suspension setup did a great job keeping the wheels on the ground and she was insanely capable. I would of changed from 4.6 to 4.9 gears at the same time.

My R51 was another story. Being IRS I figured lockers were essential to make it the capable rig I wanted. I wanted ARB, but the big issue was the R230 and they didn't make it for the North American diffs. I did inquire with a few local ARB-recommended shops about the purchase and install them but one gave me an attitude where it sounded like he was sick of doing them. The other one gave me attitude, what I interpret as a F-You price, kept telling me it was an expensive job and then followed to try to convince me to do a double SAS with Toyota axles. As for the locker install, only one person had done it in a North American R230 hand he mentioned some machining for some pinion clearance but no one has been able to get more info. He's been MIA for many years. I have an online friend who was one of the first to do a TRE in an M205 and had convinced me to do the same, especially to go electric to have something more reliable in the winter and not have to worry about air lines and water in said lines and locker freezing them up. TRE came out with a R230 locker done and I ordered both. I didn't do the install as I didn't feel comfortable with learning on that and paid a shop to do it. They've been in for over a year now and have been great. I haven't used them to their full potential yet but it`s crazy the difference they make. I did end up twisting my driveshaft last year, sent it too much while being double-locked, my trailer attached and caught on a rock while being given bad advice. Lesson learned. I'm waiting to have skids and sliders before I go out adventuring that aggressively again.

 

[paulforeman]

My old gen1 Xterra has open diffs and while a locker was on the list, it was never a priority as my suspension setup did a great job keeping the wheels on the ground and she was insanely capable. I would of changed from 4.6 to 4.9 gears at the same time.

My R51 was another story. Being IRS I figured lockers were essential to make it the capable rig I wanted. I wanted ARB, but the big issue was the R230 and they didn't make it for the North American diffs. I did inquire with a few local ARB-recommended shops about the purchase and install them but one gave me an attitude where it sounded like he was sick of doing them. The other one gave me attitude, what I interpret as a F-You price, kept telling me it was an expensive job and then followed to try to convince me to do a double SAS with Toyota axles. As for the locker install, only one person had done it in a North American R230 hand he mentioned some machining for some pinion clearance but no one has been able to get more info. He's been MIA for many years. I have an online friend who was one of the first to do a TRE in an M205 and had convinced me to do the same, especially to go electric to have something more reliable in the winter and not have to worry about air lines and water in said lines and locker freezing them up. TRE came out with a R230 locker done and I ordered both. I didn't do the install as I didn't feel comfortable with learning on that and paid a shop to do it. They've been in for over a year now and have been great. I haven't used them to their full potential yet but it`s crazy the difference they make. I did end up twisting my driveshaft last year, sent it too much while being double-locked, my trailer attached and caught on a rock while being given bad advice. Lesson learned. I'm waiting to have skids and sliders before I go out adventuring that aggressively again.

I remember your 1st gen! My rationale for putting off a locker for so long was similar to yours (basically , didn't "need it" - but as I've gotten comfortable wheeling harder trails, traction has become a limiting factor on some of the rocky trails in Colorado. Plus, with a kid on the way, we'll be switching to 4Runner for camping trips (better back seat for car seats!) and the Frontier will become nearly a dedicated wheeling toy, so I'm ok opening up diffs, etc, and accepting that the truck may have downtime with broken parts, locker repairs, etc.

 

[paulforeman]

Day Trip - with an actual Nissan Friend! (sorry Toyota people, I'm sick of you).

Took a day trip out wheeling with a young guy I've known for quite a while.

(BACKSTORY on the Xterra) - When this young guy was looking to buy his own car, he wanted a classic pickup (think Chevy Squarebody, Ford F100, etc.) but I told him that if he bought a Nissan, I would actually be able to help him with it. Plus he had a tight budget and good Squarebodies are not cheap. We found this Xterra and I talked him into going for it... It was $1000 and didn't run, but was rust free, 1 family, and only 140k miles (didn't run because broken timing belt). We flat-towed it 25 miles to my house, threw a timing belt kit on it, and it fired right up (smoothly too - it sounds super healthy!) We have since been affectionately calling it "The 1000-dollar Xterra."

It's come a long way already. I had a lot of spare parts sitting around. We did a diff. drop, HD tierod adjusters, 3-leaf add-a-leaf, front upper control arms, Bilstein 4600s in front, generic Monroe shocks in the back (although, they ride amazing!), 16" Tacoma wheels, and some all-terrain 32s. We swapped rigs today and I drove the Xterra for a bit and it's a fun trail rig; way lighter and more nimble than Babe... Too bad I ruined since a nice truck

We ran a few trails near Mount Evans to get the Xterra some trail time and enjoy the day. I'll just throw some photos here.

Babe did great, except that I forgot to adjust the shock damping until the last like 3 miles of the day... 🤦 Can't blame the truck for that!

Cheers.

 

[Jupiter58]

Great story and some challenging sections on those trails!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[paulforeman]

Wheeler Lake

Depending on where you look, this trail is rated a minimum 5 or 6 out of 10. Didn't get many pictures unfortunately... My co-pilot was in the middle of an ACL surgery recovery, so he couldn't jump around on wet rocks to get photos.

This is a difficult trail with 3-4 main large obstacles. The rest of the trail is strewn with boulders and rocks. It's a rough one, but the skids, sliders, 4:1 low range, and the new locker made it doable in a smaller rig like mine. The XJ I was wheeling with has 38s, Front/Rear lockers, ultra low gears. I did make it up all the obstacles without assistance or winching. I did not expect that much out of the truck, but the locker did wonders.

I have a few shots, some of which are screen-grabs from cell-phone video, so the quality isn't great. The obstacles are bigger in real life...

Iconic Magnolia Mill.

The truck is in a good place for being able to run technical trails, but still highway-worthy. It has some clunks/knocks I need to figure out. Could just be loose shock bolts or skid plates rattling against the frame. Overall, a good day on the trail.

 

[paulforeman]

Supercharger Plenum Spacer, Porting, Red Elephant Hill

I installed a CM-Perfomance VG33ER plenum spacer. The guy has dyno sheets to say it adds power. I guess it probably did a little bit, but it's still not a race truck.

I had the intake off, so I decided to port the plenum too. I had noticed the plenum holes are smaller than the lower intake runners, so might as well! Same gasket pictured on the upper plenum and lower runners. You can see, there is more metal on the top. I used the gasket as a template and ground the metal out using a carbide bur bit. Finished it off with some sandpaper flap wheels.

I also stripped one of the threaded holes in the plenum a couple years ago when I reinstalled the Jon Bond rebuilt supercharger. I added a threaded insert for that too.

All done, installed below; you can see, there isn't much lip between the plenum, intake spacer, and intake runners. Some, but not much. It does seem to pull a little bit harder at the lower RPMs, but nothing drastic. It's still a heavy pig.

Red Elephant Hill - Rated a 6/10.

Went and ran Red Elephant Hill with Eric in his Wrangler (Front and rear lockers, 37s, much flex). He had an easier time than me, but we both had fun. This trail was a bit wet and I had to winch a few obstacles that I couldn't get enough traction and/or clearance to get over.

The rear locker, skids, and 4:1 Low Range gears are putting in some work!

^^Eric doing some spotting and rock stacking for me.

^^Did not make this spot. Hard to tell how steep and off-camber this spot it, but I slid off the line and couldn't back up (right rear tire was basically at the edge of the trail). My Warn winch free-spools SO nicely compared to my old Smittybilt.

^^Headed down Bill Moore Lake trail. There are lots of mining ruins in this area.

^^The truck isn't winning any flex competitions, but it does alright!

^^Most of the leaves were already fallen, but we found a few Aspens left! The colors would have been amazing 2 weeks ago. I'll have to try to hit it a peak season next year!

Overall, the truck is running well and I'm still enjoying wheeling it.

Cheers.