Jiro's diesel Xterra
- Thread starter roninjiro
- Start date
roninjiro
Explorer
sry for not updating, i have just finished the rebuild on my subaru and have been trying to sell it to fund the project. I drove 60 miles up to work on the xterra yesterday and got 2 hrs of work done on it. I managed to finish fabricating the driver side motor mount (tacked on the frame), and most of the passenger side mount made. Once I get rid of this subaru i will be fast tracking the xterra to meet my May deadline. When I finish the passenger mount I will need to pull the motor out to do the finishing welds on the new mounts to the frame. I am going to need to have the xterra shipped to my new home as that drive just to work on it is long and costly.
roninjiro
Explorer
bot??
Hey man, I started thinking more and more about your swap and possibly hiring a garage to do it for me. How is the fit, other then the frame mounts does the transmission mate well with the transfer case? Apart from the wiring what else is there to be modified? Cheers and looking forward to it.
roninjiro
Explorer
Fit is that of how the 4 cylinder xterras and the ka24de's. It uses the same transmission and t-case, but a different bell housing. Leftover fuel system needs to be modified for running diesel, modify a/c system, modify p/s system, custom radiator, aftermarket trans cooler, custom radiator fan shroud, custom air filter system, complete custom exhaust, probably more as that is from atop my head.
roninjiro
Explorer
yea.. I cannot stand how the 3.3 v6 is on fuel. It wouldn't be so bad if it had more power than it does for the fuel it uses, but that is not the case. No matter what you choose to do remember that you always have a choice in what you can do. I love the platform so I invest more money into it to make it "me", but I had the options to sell the xterra, suck it up and deal with the fuel usage/cost, or put in different drivetrain. where are you from by the way?
update: just took delivery of the xterra at my new home today!
update: just took delivery of the xterra at my new home today!
I am up in Toronto, ON. With the gas prices being where they are, I am getting close to calling it quits on the X. I love it, but I cannot get over the fact that my 93 Pathfinder had better gas mileage than my X. Just does not make sense.
I bought an Isuzu Trooper the other day, as I found a Diesel engine, transmission, ECU, etc.. for a reasonable price but I am having second thoughts on that, as the body is not as clean as I wanted. I got it at a decent price as it has a seized engine, just wondering if it is worth dropping money on a swap as it has a bit of rust underneath...
Will see.
Tried to look at all the Brazilian and Argentinean craigslist websites as they had the 2.8 TDI on Xterra's, but could not find anything. That could/should be an easier swap as that engine was specced on the Xterra.
Cheers
I bought an Isuzu Trooper the other day, as I found a Diesel engine, transmission, ECU, etc.. for a reasonable price but I am having second thoughts on that, as the body is not as clean as I wanted. I got it at a decent price as it has a seized engine, just wondering if it is worth dropping money on a swap as it has a bit of rust underneath...
Will see.
Tried to look at all the Brazilian and Argentinean craigslist websites as they had the 2.8 TDI on Xterra's, but could not find anything. That could/should be an easier swap as that engine was specced on the Xterra.
Cheers
roninjiro
Explorer
Yea it is really hard to find something that will work for what you want. You want to be able to go anywhere but don't want the high cost of fuel usage, and unfortunately it is very hard to make that happen. You would think that the newer vehicles would get better mileage than older vehicles, but it really has not changed too much. I like you am tired of the poor mileage the xterra has, but I have the capability to counter it. If you do sell your xterra, best of luck to you on finding a vehicle that fits what you need. You are in Canada and you have the ability to get imported diesel vehicles and hope you find one that fits you, as I think older vehicles are better anyhow.
roninjiro
Explorer
sry no up to date pics as i am working on it still but in the garage so lighting isn't great
update:
finished fabricating the pass side mount, just gotta tack it in there after I buy some bolts to bolt the mounts together. I have started taking the engine harness out, but I have to recover the r134a as the system is still intact and the core assembly has to come out. Removed original radiator assembly (summit radiator kit should be here tomorrow). Started cutting the dumb mechanical cooling fan clutch off and ruined 3 sawzaw blades. The kit I have coming is an electric fan setup. In down time I have removed all stickers on the rear of the xterra (no advertising unless its a sponsor)
update:
finished fabricating the pass side mount, just gotta tack it in there after I buy some bolts to bolt the mounts together. I have started taking the engine harness out, but I have to recover the r134a as the system is still intact and the core assembly has to come out. Removed original radiator assembly (summit radiator kit should be here tomorrow). Started cutting the dumb mechanical cooling fan clutch off and ruined 3 sawzaw blades. The kit I have coming is an electric fan setup. In down time I have removed all stickers on the rear of the xterra (no advertising unless its a sponsor)
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