My quantity of false bravado increased two fold today.
GOT MY LOCKER WORKING!
GOT MY LOCKER WORKING!
CK5
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2007 Xterra:Terry's Bolt On Wheeler
- Thread starter TerryD
- Start date
I don't remember if I've posted anything about this or not but we've had this little trailer for a while.
I finally got around to getting it ready to use off-road and in some of our general travels.
Last weekend I extended the tongue all the way to the back of the frame, added a real rear bumper and moved the taillights to the top of the sides.
This evening I added the cargo basket to the tongue and bolted the spare tire mount back on. I also cut down two cheap straps to tie the cooler down with.
We're supposed to go camping this weekend so it's going to get its first trial run!
I finally got around to getting it ready to use off-road and in some of our general travels.
Last weekend I extended the tongue all the way to the back of the frame, added a real rear bumper and moved the taillights to the top of the sides.
This evening I added the cargo basket to the tongue and bolted the spare tire mount back on. I also cut down two cheap straps to tie the cooler down with.
We're supposed to go camping this weekend so it's going to get its first trial run!
Just about got the drawers done for the X today. I'm pretty happy with them but I have some more trim out to do. I'm thinking about staining them gray to go with the interior.
The back looks nice. But what is the cutout in the front?
There's a storage space under the rear floor. I left out the floor and spanned that space so it would still be usable. I put all my trail spares in there this morning. Everything but my alternator fit with room to spare.
Started the day out about 6am with a phone call from work I didn't answer. At that point I had to pee so might as well get up and save myself the hassle of washing the sheets today.
Started coffee and began musing on what I wanted to get done today. Toss up... Change fluids on my Xterra or dive into the brakes on the K2500. Fluids won, it's hot and they're pretty easy to do.
First was the t-case. It's pretty overdue so I thought I'd start there. Pulled the skid, popped the fill plug out (cause you should always do that first just in case) then pulled the drain. The fluid looked OK but the magnet was COVERED in metal.
Got to looking and my front output seal is leaking. That's not uncommon on these so I didn't thing much of it, then I subconsciously did the math. Yep, front output bearing is shot. Tons of play.
Well it's still drivable, and pulling that case is a chore so we'll save it. Let's do the rear diff and install my ARB cover next. Glance back from where I was laying on the creeper and dangit! The pinion seal is leaking!
Well damn, I've got the parts and there's no good sense putting that Amsoil liquid gold in there, just for it to run out on the ground.
Grabbed the impact and snapped off the flange and began beating the old seal out. That took longer than it should have but went pretty straight forward.
With that done, I set to installing the ARB diff cover. Got it mlunted but the park brake cable bracket was interfering with the locker wiring.
I marked it on a 45 and sliced the corner off with my bandsaw.
Much better!
After that I changed the engine oil and the front diff oil and rotated the tires.. No issues in those locations thankfully!
Now to decide what to do about the t-case....
Started coffee and began musing on what I wanted to get done today. Toss up... Change fluids on my Xterra or dive into the brakes on the K2500. Fluids won, it's hot and they're pretty easy to do.
First was the t-case. It's pretty overdue so I thought I'd start there. Pulled the skid, popped the fill plug out (cause you should always do that first just in case) then pulled the drain. The fluid looked OK but the magnet was COVERED in metal.
Got to looking and my front output seal is leaking. That's not uncommon on these so I didn't thing much of it, then I subconsciously did the math. Yep, front output bearing is shot. Tons of play.
Well it's still drivable, and pulling that case is a chore so we'll save it. Let's do the rear diff and install my ARB cover next. Glance back from where I was laying on the creeper and dangit! The pinion seal is leaking!
Well damn, I've got the parts and there's no good sense putting that Amsoil liquid gold in there, just for it to run out on the ground.
Grabbed the impact and snapped off the flange and began beating the old seal out. That took longer than it should have but went pretty straight forward.
With that done, I set to installing the ARB diff cover. Got it mlunted but the park brake cable bracket was interfering with the locker wiring.
I marked it on a 45 and sliced the corner off with my bandsaw.
Much better!
After that I changed the engine oil and the front diff oil and rotated the tires.. No issues in those locations thankfully!
Now to decide what to do about the t-case....
Yeah, I thought about giving them a hard time about having to slice that bracket off but figured it wasn't worth the effort.
Put about 200 miles on it yesterday running around 4 counties and so far so good. No leaks or unusual noises.
I pulled the front drive shaft yesterday morning before I left so it wouldn't be spinning that worn out output constantly. Gotta call and get a case today sometime. $100 for a used one with 116k on it from a yard in Roanoke.
Then I've gotta pull that thing apart and get it swapped in and try to avoid the "while it's apart" BS that always costs me like 3x as much....
It needed to come out anyways, the transmission output seal had started leaking again (at least I think that's what's leaking, not sure now that the case is hashed) and needs replaced. So two birds, one t-case....
Just priced an AtlasII from Rugged Rocks with the Nissan adapter. $3k + a rear driveshaft and possibly building a cross-member..... 
No, just no.... That'll push me over the edge on SAS'ing this thing and then..... no..... bad Terry............
No, just no.... That'll push me over the edge on SAS'ing this thing and then..... no..... bad Terry............
A buddy called Wednesday and told me that him and some of our friends from college were going to run Pott's on Friday. I put my better sense back in it's box on the shelf and decided to go with them. I threw the driveshaft and skid back on the X and figured the t-case will either make it or not. It needs replaced anyways.....
The bulk of the group had to work Friday, so they weren't going to get to the trail till around 6pm. Me and one other guy were off, so we met up around 2 and started into the trail. He and I like to run a little slower than the rest so we figured we'd probably be making camp by the time they made it to the bypass and we'd ride down to watch. We took our time, stopped a few times to pick black berries and take a quick break in the shade. The rear locker really got a work out but I still don't have anything for The Bypass. Wound up balanced on my sliders with 3 of my tires in the air again. The big Warn to the rescue, dragging my foundered X off the rocks and back where it can move itself again. We managed to get Brett over one of the really gnarly lines which really tickled him. His new 37" Patagonia MT's were really digging though.
We got to the field, set up camp, then ate supper and just hung out till about dark. We started trying to send texts to the others then to see what was taking so long because they should have been to camp right as the sun went behind the trees up there.
As it turns out the 2nd part of our group came up on a Jeep stuck on the side of the trail. Owners just found Potts online and decided to try it having apparently never driven off-road before. They got stuck and had called the Sheriffs office to come get them out. My buddies helped winch them free and get them back on the easier section so they could get back to pavement where they belonged. In the process, the guy winching them pulled a tire off the bead and wound up flipping his truck on it's top after they were gone. It blew the windshield out and wrecked the driver's side a-pillar again. This would be the 2nd time that trucks been upsidedown.....
They finally got to camp around 11pm when we were expecting them about 8pm. They were tired and rattled.
Saturday was pretty uneventful. Waiting on some pics and videos some of them shot. My sliders and frame rails took some abuse. I've got a few bolt heads that aren't quite as tall as they were Friday morning. Otherwise, everything seems fine. That bad t-case front output is a little worse now. Gonna have to get on that quick!
The bulk of the group had to work Friday, so they weren't going to get to the trail till around 6pm. Me and one other guy were off, so we met up around 2 and started into the trail. He and I like to run a little slower than the rest so we figured we'd probably be making camp by the time they made it to the bypass and we'd ride down to watch. We took our time, stopped a few times to pick black berries and take a quick break in the shade. The rear locker really got a work out but I still don't have anything for The Bypass. Wound up balanced on my sliders with 3 of my tires in the air again. The big Warn to the rescue, dragging my foundered X off the rocks and back where it can move itself again. We managed to get Brett over one of the really gnarly lines which really tickled him. His new 37" Patagonia MT's were really digging though.
We got to the field, set up camp, then ate supper and just hung out till about dark. We started trying to send texts to the others then to see what was taking so long because they should have been to camp right as the sun went behind the trees up there.
As it turns out the 2nd part of our group came up on a Jeep stuck on the side of the trail. Owners just found Potts online and decided to try it having apparently never driven off-road before. They got stuck and had called the Sheriffs office to come get them out. My buddies helped winch them free and get them back on the easier section so they could get back to pavement where they belonged. In the process, the guy winching them pulled a tire off the bead and wound up flipping his truck on it's top after they were gone. It blew the windshield out and wrecked the driver's side a-pillar again. This would be the 2nd time that trucks been upsidedown.....
They finally got to camp around 11pm when we were expecting them about 8pm. They were tired and rattled.
Saturday was pretty uneventful. Waiting on some pics and videos some of them shot. My sliders and frame rails took some abuse. I've got a few bolt heads that aren't quite as tall as they were Friday morning. Otherwise, everything seems fine. That bad t-case front output is a little worse now. Gonna have to get on that quick!
Well crap...
A guy just priced my the Titan Swap parts for the X for a silly low number. I'm honestly having trouble convincing myself not to!
But then I have to run rear wheel spacers and trim, even on my 285s.
I'll still need to find some adjustable shackles to bump up the rear and eventually get some better UCAs than the OE Titan stuff....
Ugh...
A guy just priced my the Titan Swap parts for the X for a silly low number. I'm honestly having trouble convincing myself not to!
But then I have to run rear wheel spacers and trim, even on my 285s.
I'll still need to find some adjustable shackles to bump up the rear and eventually get some better UCAs than the OE Titan stuff....
Ugh...
Well, a while back you had everyone convinced that the Titan swap was a bad idea. And now, because it's mysteriously cheap, it suddenly becomes a good idea?
It's still not a great idea...Well, a while back you had everyone convinced that the Titan swap was a bad idea. And now, because it's mysteriously cheap, it suddenly becomes a good idea?
But I'm wanting to wheel a little harder and I'm not quite in a place to dump the X wholesale and move on to a different platform.
The $1k+ for the swap it usually costs has been significantly cut with this deal and I'm wondering if I keep it low and on 33s if it'll be easier on my steering rack and hopefully not start punishing my front diff.
I've also passed up a couple 4.10 Super Duty axle sets for under $1k, which now that there's a SAS kit FOR SD axles, I'm wondering about going "all in".
If the prices are similar, why would you choose a half ton rear instead of a super duty set?
Is the titan swap easier? I thought you'd be reworking the suspension either way...
The Titan swap is only the front control arms and half shafts. You gain some front suspension travel and the ability to run more lift, not ride like total crap, and keep your ground clearance vs a drop bracket setup. Some folks swap in the Titan M205 front diff which is a decent upgrade but I'd have to find one and regear it to my match my 3.69 rear diff and I think ARB are the only folks who make a locker for it.
My rear is the same as a Titan, just narrower and smaller brakes. Still the Dana Super 44 M226. I'd have to run 2" wheel spacers on the rear to make up the difference with the swap.
Pros:
More travel
Still good IFS handling
Can go up in lift a little
Easy modification that can happen in a weekend.
Cons:
Only like 4 more inches of travel (probably less with my coilover setup)
Have to trim fenders to clear even my 285s.
Wheel spacers in the rear
Gonna make me want to cut it to run 35s and start breaking stuff.
That doesn't really bother me. If I sold it "as is" I'd be lucky to get $4k. If I stripped it and parted it out and sold it as a stock X, I could probably get $2500 + a couple grand for the parts.
I'm just not quite ready for that level of project. I really enjoy being able to just hop in and go camping or riding or even a family trip. And the further I push it offroad, the less able to do that it'll be.
I did find a couple early second gens under $3k in running condition locally. The thought has occurred to me to grab one of those to SAS and go nuts with.
So you want a new disposable wheeler to keep you from ruining your current disposable wheeler?
This sounds like the next step in an eternal cycle...
