Mortonm's 2001 Xterra Build
- Thread starter mortonm
- Start date
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
As happy as I am to be driving my Frontier, I still :drool: over Landys like that. I love the RRC. That particular model was back before the Range Rover was luxurious at all. It had removable floor matting so you could wash it out with a hose. Those two door versions are super rare over here.
One day I'm going to buy another Land Rover as a project vehicle. I'm thinking '65-'70 Series IIA. It will have pizza cutters.
One day I'm going to buy another Land Rover as a project vehicle. I'm thinking '65-'70 Series IIA. It will have pizza cutters.
mortonm
Expedition Leader
Agreed, as much as I would likely never own a Land Rover doesn't mean I can't look :sombrero:
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Owning them is as much of a joy as it can be a pain. I'll definitely get another as a fun vehicle. But no way in hell will it be my daily driver.
mortonm
Expedition Leader
Nothing wrong with that
Allof75
Pathfinder
That and their observations were surprising, never thought of an XJ as a handling champ.
mortonm
Expedition Leader
Also just the one grainy picture of the XJ, but they seemed to like the Xterra in most situations more, but maybe that was because it was new
Allof75
Pathfinder
mortonm
Expedition Leader
I think we all know why it was preferred
And nice pic, any trouble starting up?
No issues, haven't made it to the in laws for the new battery yet. But it also hasn't been nearly so cold. I wouldn't hesitate to run that battery for awhile longer in town, but would make me nervous elsewhere.
Things on my list this weekend.
1. New battery
2. All new deive belts (AC, alternator, power steerring etc)
3. Fab up new brackets for my lights
4. Take another closer look at installing the skids
5. Try and diagnose the the clunk in my rear end. I am thinking shock or bushing issue, although everything is 14 months old or newer.
mortonm
Expedition Leader
Ok so a successful weekend of work on the truck, nothing sexy or exotic but some stuff that needed to be done.
New battery, Interstate Mega-Tron Plus.
1000 cranking amps, 800 CCA, 125 reserve capacity
I also cleaned up the wiring for the rigid lights and ran some plastic loom to protect from the elements and any rubbing
Next up was the belts, one of theme was squealing pretty good so I decided to replace them all, they were last dined two years ago. I have never done belts before, and although not complicated I was a little wary because it's a tight space. So of course the first adjuster bolt I try to loosen the head snaps off, but it was an easy fix, just remove and replace with a new bolt we had laying around that happened to be the same size
After that everything went pretty smooth, albeit slowly. I got that done and no more cats stuck under my hood! The belts I pulled out didn't look bad at all but goes to show appearance isn't everything. I maybe could have gotten away with just tightening one of the belts but it's done
After that u wanted to change up the mounts for the lights, the metal that I had soured was too thick, and really touch got work with. Luckily in the shop there was some bar stock that was just about perfect.
Comparison shot of the three different iterations of the mounts
No one will ever accuse me of being a metal fabricator but they came out good enough, took a little fine tuning to get them in the properly, but you can't see them anyways so I am happy.
Bar stock vs completed mount
Also had a heat shield rattle that had develops in the last few days, so I took a large screwdriver and pried back some of them and whatever I did worked
Couple shots from around the garage, truck on the lift
One of my brother in laws race bikes (flat track). This is a custom 450 Honda, the other is a custom 750 Kawasaki
All in all a pretty successful weekend, got most of what I needed done. I still haven't found that the source of the clunk yet, but everything in the rear end looks okay, so I will address it another time.
I didn't get around to the skid plates, I figure I might as well wait until the snow is done, it would be a great place to capture snow and salt rit up against the frame.
New battery, Interstate Mega-Tron Plus.
1000 cranking amps, 800 CCA, 125 reserve capacity
I also cleaned up the wiring for the rigid lights and ran some plastic loom to protect from the elements and any rubbing
Next up was the belts, one of theme was squealing pretty good so I decided to replace them all, they were last dined two years ago. I have never done belts before, and although not complicated I was a little wary because it's a tight space. So of course the first adjuster bolt I try to loosen the head snaps off, but it was an easy fix, just remove and replace with a new bolt we had laying around that happened to be the same size
After that everything went pretty smooth, albeit slowly. I got that done and no more cats stuck under my hood! The belts I pulled out didn't look bad at all but goes to show appearance isn't everything. I maybe could have gotten away with just tightening one of the belts but it's done
After that u wanted to change up the mounts for the lights, the metal that I had soured was too thick, and really touch got work with. Luckily in the shop there was some bar stock that was just about perfect.
Comparison shot of the three different iterations of the mounts
No one will ever accuse me of being a metal fabricator but they came out good enough, took a little fine tuning to get them in the properly, but you can't see them anyways so I am happy.
Bar stock vs completed mount
Also had a heat shield rattle that had develops in the last few days, so I took a large screwdriver and pried back some of them and whatever I did worked
Couple shots from around the garage, truck on the lift
One of my brother in laws race bikes (flat track). This is a custom 450 Honda, the other is a custom 750 Kawasaki
All in all a pretty successful weekend, got most of what I needed done. I still haven't found that the source of the clunk yet, but everything in the rear end looks okay, so I will address it another time.
I didn't get around to the skid plates, I figure I might as well wait until the snow is done, it would be a great place to capture snow and salt rit up against the frame.
Last edited:
mortonm
Expedition Leader
Stupid question? You tell me
If you have warn manual hubs, unlocked, and shift into "4LO" does this in fact give you 2LO? Makes sense to me but I just wanted to be sure.
A lot of the roads/trails I drive in don't usually require all four wheels spinning, but it's awfully nice to have to lower ratio for constantly rocky and up/downhill sections. Cruising along in 2LO would be easier on the truck and environment, without stressing the front drive components unless I really needed them
If you have warn manual hubs, unlocked, and shift into "4LO" does this in fact give you 2LO? Makes sense to me but I just wanted to be sure.
A lot of the roads/trails I drive in don't usually require all four wheels spinning, but it's awfully nice to have to lower ratio for constantly rocky and up/downhill sections. Cruising along in 2LO would be easier on the truck and environment, without stressing the front drive components unless I really needed them
Allof75
Pathfinder
Theoretically, though those with Xterras will have to chime in, as I believe your system may have different requirements than pathys. On the r50s this can be done.
mortonm
Expedition Leader
Have you ever used it in this configuration?
