DMSKI's 2000 Xterra slow build

[Dmski]

I'm a huge fan of Expedition Portal and hope I can start documenting my travels and build here. Since I frequent this site the most, I figure I should probably start putting a build thread together on here so I can keep track of the progress (and troubles) of my xterra and so that others can hopefully learn from my mistakes. I've been primarily a member on clubxterra, but enjoy what ExPo has to offer so here goes the process of transferring some info over to here. I'll show what has been done so far since my purchase nearly a year ago.

Before:




As it stands now:




Stock Specs:
Model: Xterra XE
VG33-V6 3.3L
4x4 w/ hi/lo transfer case
5spd transmission
Black Exterior, Gray/black interior



Exterior:
Toyo A/T 265/75R15
Magnet Uniden CB antenna
Sticker'd
4 Hella 500 Driving Lights
2 Rear Tractor Flood Lights
Waxed/Washed
Trailer Hitch Installed
Front Tow hook
Shrockworks bumper!!!

Interior:
Floor Mats
Lev O Guage
Uniden 510xl CB
Fire Extinguisher
Light Switches
Kenwood Stereo Deck
UV5R HAM Radio
LED Dome Lights

Performance:
Haha funny joke...
Maintenance work. 120xxx fluid change.
NGK Iridium Spark Plugs
NGK Wires
Bosch Starter
New Valve cover gaskets
New Exhaust Manifolds

Recovery:
Shovel
Gloves
Chains
30000lb Recovery Strap
Two 5 ton Shackles
Oil
Tool kit
Wiper Fluid
Tarp
First Aid Kit
Fuses
Lights
Rear Hitch Recovery
Hi Lift Jack
MV-50 Air compressor
5 gallon Water/Fuel jugs


The Backstory:
As an avid skier, MTB nut and general outdoor guy, I had to find something that was 4x4, 4 door, manual and at least had room to build off of as well as something that could be lived out of for camping/weekend trips. Xterra's were at the top of my list, as well as Pathfinders, Troopers, Rodeos, Wranglers, XJ's, Tacoma's, 4-Runners, etc. but they were either too highly priced or beat to hell.

Enter "X" (needs a more interesting name). It is a 2000 XE 5spd manual 4x4 xterra with 114xxx miles and a 1 owner car. It had a few cosmetic issues but had otherwise been well taken care of. I had been looking at Xterra's for quite some time and happened to find one the day I was supposed to go back to school after this last Christmas (usually how it goes).

Drove down to Vancouver and picked er up! Nails were in the tires (no joke like 3 of them!) so the first thing to go on were some new shoes, Toyo A/T and as big as I could stuff under without rubbing! After that, I drove it home and did a full detail job inside and out. We had an extra rocket box so I threw that up there to haul skis and gear. Added some brighter upgrade bulbs which helped a lot from stock and some floor mats ans pretty much went from there.












Other goodies I installed at the time:

Upgraded lights


Wipers


Floor mats


New rubber!


After that I used it every weekend to go skiing over in Spokane/Coeur D'alene and didn't do too much to it except continue adding to the safety equipment. I ran across a great deal on 4 Hella 500 driving lights on a closeout sale and had to grab them. At the same time I was able to pick up 2 rear flood lights for 10 bucks total off amazon and bought an extra relay (they accidentally sent me 5) and went about wiring up the lights.

4 500's


Rear



Finally found a trailer hitch with frame rail stiffeners and what a pain in the a** that was to find. But a great deal came along with it so for 20 bucks I was able to get all the hardware, wiring, frame stiffeners and hitch installed. For those looking to do this, be sure to get the frame stiffeners if you plan on towing anything, otherwise you are risking bending your open end frame rails (applies to 1st gen Xterras).



As it stands


I was able to offroad with it at least once a month and was beyond impressed at what a stock Xterra could do. I'm happy to say its still above my skill level so before I continue moding, I really just need to be a better driver!




The Goal

I have a vision of what I want this truck to become, and it will be a slow process getting there, but that's part of the fun! I will split up the end goal into smaller goals and go about it that way, working a little at a time.

Goal 1: Baseline that Puppy! - Fluids, and all around mechanical soundness - done!

Goal 2: Simple beginning mods - Lights, roof rack, CB, trailer hitch install, recovery gear and basic offroad equipment - Nearly Done!

Goal 3: Armor, lots of armor - Rock Sliders, Front Winch bumper, Rear bumper, underbody protection -

Goal 4: Lift, New suspension components, snorkel? -

Enough for now but stay tuned for updates

 

[Dmski]

I'll post the second round of photo's to get everyone caught up to where I'm at today.

A few more winter photo's:






And next up was of course to get rid of the stock steps and add stickers. These rails are for sale still if anyone wants them.

Deleted!


Found a vinyle company that makes stuff for cheap, so I had to give it a go... not sure what to think but its on there now.




And the rear


In the PNW rain


More updates to come!

 

[Dmski]

And to get all caught up!

The most recent addition was at the end of this summer. What a find! Weirdest craigslist encounter of my life. A guy was selling his xterra and it happened to have a shrockworks bumper on it. Called him up and asked if he would trade for my stock bumper plus some cash on top. Ended up spending an hour or so swapping bumpers. Shrock is easy to get on and takes like 5 minutes. I'm impressed by the build quality. The stock bumper on the other hand.... there must have been at least 15 bolts for the plastic. Ridiculous.

Teaser




Mounted! Reasoning behind the bumper is deer tend to be a big issue here all year round. I am also looking for a way to mount a winch, and the last outing I happened to plow the plastic bumper into the dirt and it didn't like that very much. Plus, I have a place to mount a future Hi-lift if I wanted, and have solid recovery points over the stock spot (which was sub par). I'll also plan to move the headlights down to the bumper as hood glare is intense withe the 4 up top. Any suggestions?

 

[mortonm]

looks awesome, I actually think I like the look of the shrockworks bumpers the best on the first gens.

That really faded grille section is very common, it pulls right out (6 or so clips) and you can paint it. I just cleaned mine up a little and sanded a little and found a grey that closely matched the rest of the plastic. It looked much better after it was done and it was only an hour or so of work.

Looking forward to future updates!

 

[Dmski]

Hey mortonm thanks for the post! Good idea on the grill guard. Its really faded and could certainly use a coat of paint. May just have to do that.

Nice X by the way. Its guys like you on the forums that have gotten me excited about what my Xterra can do (and how much money you can spend...) How do you like the PML? It would be a good way to refresh some components as many of my bushings are slowly going out, plus the added clearance would be awesome for offroading.

 

[mortonm]

Hey mortonm thanks for the post! Good idea on the grill guard. Its really faded and could certainly use a coat of paint. May just have to do that.

Nice X by the way. Its guys like you on the forums that have gotten me excited about what my Xterra can do (and how much money you can spend...) How do you like the PML? It would be a good way to refresh some components as many of my bushings are slowly going out, plus the added clearance would be awesome for offroading.

I didn't end up doing the PML. My torsion bars were shot and same with the leaves. Your truck is just as old as mine so you may have the same issues. I didn't think it was worth putting extra stress on the old components. I ended up with new torsion bars (from sway away) and a leaf pack made by a local spring shop. If I was in the US I would have gotten an alcan or deaver custon made pack, shipping was killer to Canada. They can custom make one with any height and load requirements you have.

Thse Xterras are extremely capable stock, you can fit a 32" tire stock with only very minor trimming (235 85R16 or 265 75R16). You have a brand new set of tires only an inch smaller so I wouldn't even worry about that for awhile. I am pretty new to offroading so it is more capable than I, but if you are interested in exploring more than rock crawling then its way more than ill ever need. I couldn't be happier with mine.

Check out my trip report to pennsylvania from earlier in the month, we went over some pretty rough terrain with nothing more than 32" AT tires.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Nice looking X there. They are very capable and really tough. I'd be interested to see what you do with it.

PML is super easy and a pretty effective way of achieving a not insignificant amount of lift. I recently did it on my Frontier. Just make sure to leave some extra room for adjustment. After reindexing the torsion bars like to settle and sag. So they need to be adjusted up.

 

[Dmski]

I'll definitely look into it. Nice Frontier and Disco II wreckdiver. I love the Discovery's but they are too much maintenance for me. My dad owned a 2001 and loved it. Never had a problem and sold it when it hit 100k or so. Sad to see it go. Wish I had bought it from him actually...

 

[andrewh]

Always liked how the shrock looks. Nice X. Looking forward to seeing its progress.

 

[Jack Stilts]

Nice X! I can't believe you picked up a Shrock off CL! You definitely beat the 2-month wait time for a new one

 

[Dmski]

Thanks guys. Slow process to get it to where you all are, but that's part of the fun! I got real lucky with the shrock bumper on CL. I've heard wait times are horrible through them. Jack, your rig is looking awesome! I'm looking into a winch as the next upgrade (more for peace of mind and self recovery), and then either rock sliders or skids or suspension. With that much weight off the front, I'll likely be looking at new torsion bars and suspension.

Would you guys opt for the suspension or a little more protection if you were to do it again?

 

[mortonm]

Im happy with my choice as I don't see many (hardly any) tough trails where a lot of rock protection would have helped me. All that metal up front and underneath is heavy, and makes bad gas mileage worse. Some folks do a lot tougher driving with theirs, and would see the opposite point to mine. Just depends on what you want to do with it.

 

[Jack Stilts]

Just depends on what you want to do with it.

Can't stress this enough.

My goal for the Xterra was to be an expedition rig to get me anywhere. In Michigan, most of the off-roading is dirt, mud, and sand hills. Not a lot of rock. That being said, armor was the last thing on my list (underbody skids are still a future mod). I haven't done any more than a 2" lift because I'm not a rock crawler and it's still my daily driver.

Now with that being said...I do have plans for the full 3" suspension lift and underbody skids because some of the events I attend throughout the year (National Xterra Meet, etc.) have trails that are 90% rock gardens, and I like flexing that suspension out But note - the suspension lift is the last thing on my list. I've gotten all the other "expedition" mods done already.

It all depends on your vision, and where you see yourself headed. That should help you prioritize

mortonm is right, though. All that added weight just kills your MPG (not that it was anything to brag about to begin with). I think with all my armor I average 15 on the highway. If you're rolling with that much weight, I'd go for the HD torsions and the suspension upgrades (UCAs, AAL). There are a couple really good companies / people to work with to get this stuff

 

[Allof75]

Nice X! I have the Toyo AT-IIs as well, what do you think of them? How are they in the snow?

 

[Dmski]

Thanks for the comments guys! Did some more projects today which I'll update in a bit. The Toyo's are awesome! Can't say enough good things about them. I have yet to try them in really deep mud, but haven't had a problem. Tried them aired down to 18-19psi or so and they did brilliantly in the rocks too.