09' Xterra with no name ( subject to change )

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LoneWolf

LoneWolf

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Hi guys,
Caleb here I am new to over landing but not new to the outdoors or wheels with motors strapped to them. Thanks for joining me here in this awesome community. Anyways here is the beginning of my overland journey. I still have to come up with a name for my rig so bear with me till then. Haha

She is an 09 Xterra off-road which is new to me coming in with 100k miles. Best of all she is MANUAL. Ordered from Alabama and shipped to Ca.



Right now my objective for the rig is to outfit her with the NEEDED gear for a solid and fun adventure i.e. (Jerry cans, hi lift jack, ect)
 
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LoneWolf

LoneWolf

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So because this is my first 4x4 and I don't really have experience beyond rc crawling. I decided to make a last minute treck to Hollister orv park. Tested the limits of the rig a little and the thing is so dang capable it amazes me...

Anyways on to some photos of me playing in the bunny slopes no photos of the more difficult stuff.


Now I'm itching for more!
 
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maktruk

maktruk

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I do Hollister a lot, and I run in a Frontier. Wife took the X, lol.

They are extremely capable, straight stock. You have a bit of an enigma, a 6 speed Pro-4X (Off-road in '09) is in high demand on TheNewX, Xterra Nation and ClubFrontier, etc. (Members from all intermingle across sites, there's a lot of them here too)

Best thing to do for your rig if you're going to be crawling the rocky CA terrain are skids. Engine, gas tank, transfer case. the stock skids are crappy sheet metal and I wish they were my first mod. Hefty Fab and Shrockworks are the go-to's for this. Same for front and rear bumpers and sliders. Again, if you plan on doing real ridgerunning, you *need* these. White Knuckle makes a fabulous set of sliders too, that's what I have.

In the meantime, I'm glad to see you have no stock running boards or mud flaps. Either that or Hollister ate them (happens to all of them eventually!)

Look into the rear differential breather mod. The stock breather is a little inch tall one-way valve that sticks horribly and when your diff heats up and creates pressure, it releases it through your axle seals. You find a barbed fitting (search aforementioned sites for this. Make a username, you're gonna be there a lot) and run tubing from that fitting up into your taillight, to keep water out and allow diff pressure to remain normal.

Last, but most certainly not least, look for signs of SMOD (strawberry milkshake of death)

SMOD occurred in Xterra and Frontiers from 05-10. Basically, there is a small box in the radiator which transmission fluid passes through. This acts as a prewarmer for transmission fluid (opinions vary wildly, some think it cools the trans fluid. I don't know about all that. OEM trans at 150°, engine coolant at 180° who's cooling who?)

Anyway, the seals in this box fail. Badly. Allows trans fluid and engine coolant to mix. Strawberry milkshake in your radiator and horrible transmission failures. Usually results in full replacement of both.

Do your research. SMOD is a truck killer. The prewarmer can be bypassed, so it may have already been done, or you are lucky enough it hasn't failed yet.

Sorry for the novel. I know these trucks fairly well :-) TNX/ClubFrontier has a crew of NorCal/Nevada rock crawlers and ridge runners that do 5-6 outings a year. We are going to Hungry Valley in 2 weeks. You're welcome to join us!!!

http://www.clubfrontier.org/forums/showthread.php?t=253266

I'm known as R00 across those forums :-)
 
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Wawa Skittletits

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Good luck with the X @LoneWolf. I've always loved them and my brother has a 6MT that I run the trails with.

maktruk said:
AAA and I'm an idiot you have no fear of SMOD it's a manual trans hah!
Click to expand...
I was reading your post and wondering how I was going to break the news to you haha.
 
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Leftyx

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I have an '05 Xterra, Offroad edition with 6spd manual. I bought it with 15k miles and I am up to 195K in 10 years. The rig is amazing, I have never been stranded and it have pulled many rigs (3/4 ton trucks, jeeps, 1/2 ton trucks) out of sticky places. The E-locker is the best for that.

As far as my experience goes, tires and mild lift will help you tremendously. I have 285's BFG KO2's, Old Man Emu HD leaf springs and a spacer up front. I am in the process of upgrading my front end to some new coilovers (unsure what brand OME, Nisstech Package or ICON) and new rear shocks. The shocks front and rear are original Bil's. I have replaced the clutch once with a Jim Wolf Technology clutch at 89k. Definetly do the rear diff breather extender. I actually did it tonight, 30 min and $15 for parts. I already spent $350 replacing axle seals and I think I am going to have to do it again because the parking brake keeps slipping (tell tale sign the diff fluid has leaked into the e-brake drums). I should have done the extension a long time ago! Here's the thread: http://www.thenewx.org/forum/15-how-tos/54-how-install-rear-diff-breather-extension-69.html

Also subscribe to the above thread, there is a lot of great info there and great community members. I have been a member since '08 and I have saved $1000's of dollars taking info from there and relaying it to my mechanic or doing the work myself.

I hope this helps. Contact me if you need anymore info.
 
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LoneWolf

LoneWolf

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Hey guys thanks so much and I have to agree with you guys 1)adjusted my e-brake on the trail already 2) pushed in my rad skid plate 3) need to upgrade the tires 4) already on Thenewx 5) I will be upgrading that breather! And subbing to those threads.

These trucks are super capable this photo is from just below the snow line of mount good after 2 hours of fire roads.


Just got back from a huge maiden voyage from the Bay Area to Mt. Saint Hellen's then down the coast... which I will upload shortly!
 
maktruk

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However, Hollister is 30-45 minutes east of me. If you hit me on the right day with a few hours notice and I feel saucy I'll drop everything and roll there
 
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