Xterra question

[rusty_tlc]

My wife saw an Xterra the other day and thought she might want one.
I'm a Land Cruiser guy so I know nothing about them, no particular bias against them, just been driving Cruisers since HS and never looked much further at import 4WD trucks.

What I do know is every model of every brand has it's own warts, my UZJ100 Land Cruiser has a well know weak front differential. It was corrected in later models.

So what are the warts of the Xterra?

Any particular year to look for? Avoid?

Sought after factory options or sub models?

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
Thanks,
Dan

[fishy_frontier]

05+ will have relatively weak front diffs but nothing to worry about if your wife is driving it. The off-road model is well worth the extra price to have the rear locker.

[rusty_tlc]

You've never ridden with my wife.
Actually this would be her DD and our vacation car. We have a history of getting someplace then deciding to explore, I've taken her Mercury places it probably shouldn't have been.

The weak front diff on my 98 LC can be corrected with the installation of an ARB locker. Is there a similar fix for the 05? Does that affect other years?

We would definitely want at a minimum a rear locker.

[JIMBO]

'05/'06/'07 are considered 2nd gen Xterras, I don't know after that, my Xterra was an '06 Off-road

It came with a rear locker and it was super great hiwy cruising at 70 mph at 19 mpg and did great towing my trailer--had 265 hp and was very nimble off-road, but

The alternator is right at the engine BOTTOM (Terrible spot) and the front diff is aluminum case (terrible)--warranties are very difficult to act on, I don't know what the changes have been !!

I never had any trouble with mine, but after three years and near the end of the warranty period--I traded it in

It was better than my Jeep JK, on the hiwy-but thats all and the aftermarket options are NOTHING like the jeep !!

Ya lays yer money and ya takes yer chances !!

Good luck

JIMBO

[RonapRhys]

My wife saw an Xterra the other day and thought she might want one.
I'm a Land Cruiser guy so I know nothing about them, no particular bias against them, just been driving Cruisers since HS and never looked much further at import 4WD trucks.

What I do know is every model of every brand has it's own warts, my UZJ100 Land Cruiser has a well know weak front differential. It was corrected in later models.

So what are the warts of the Xterra?

Any particular year to look for? Avoid?

Sought after factory options or sub models?

I appreciate you sharing your knowledge.
Thanks,
Dan

So what are the warts of the Xterra:

• Front diff - can be problematic if you beat on it. From what I've seen this tends to be with folks who do lots of rock-crawling or other things where you get a lot of wheelspin and then suddenly get traction. It puts too much stress on the diff and it blows.
• Aftermarket is still very new - there are lift kits out there, armor for the front and rear, sliders, skids, etc., but compared to the Jeep and Toyota market, it's lacking in terms of number of vendors. This can impact lead times as well. The vendors that do support the market, however, tend to be very good guys to work with.
• Alternator - as mentioned, it's down low and hitting it with mud-slurry combos can blow it up.
• Factory skid plates are better than nothing - but not by much. If you're going to do heavy rock-crawling upgrade them.
• The factory step rails, brush guards, etc., are all damage multipliers. Save your money and get real armor.
• Some of the years have had issues with the FSU - there's a recall out there to replace it, so ask the dealer specific information on your model to make sure that if the year you want is affected that yours has been taken care of.

In terms of years to get - 05-07 tend to be the best of the Gen2 versions. I'd lean towards a Gen2 if I were you - 6 cyl engine, so you get plenty of power for what it is. Either the 08 or 09 started to add some more stuff you don't need, but honestly any of the Gen2 versions should do. If you get a Gen1 check the mileage as they've got a timing belt that can go (and promptly does around 100K miles). Since it's an interference engine that spells major dollars to repair.

If you're going to mod the hell out of it, just get the base model and save yourself the dough. The OR versions have rear locker, better suspension, and a few other doodads that make them desirable - so if you're planning on a DD and just want to have a pretty capable from stock vehicle, I'd recommend that.

One thing to get is either an aftermarket bumper or a hitch on the rear. You've got a stock front recovery point, but nothing on the back without that hitch and a receiver/clevis set up.

The last thing to be very careful about is the OR badging. If it doesn't have Bilstein shocks and a rear locker, it's not an OR. Period. Doesn't matter what anyone says, what the badges on the side say, etc. No rear locker = no OR version.

That's the basics of it. I picked up an 07 OR new and absolutely love it. I'm not blind to the warts, but I wouldn't get anything else. I use mine as a DD and try to get on the trails at least once a quarter and this thing continues to amaze me. I did upgrade the stock tires to some BFG AT KO 285/75-16s as well as added sliders. Those two things have allowed me to do what I, as a novice, consider to be absolutely amazing things. When I'm out and run across Jeeps and other vehicles they're consistently surprised by just how capable the Xterra's are. Plenty of room to lug stuff, big enough to sleep in, and very capable.

[Strizzo]

some of the 05-06 off road models were sold as 2wd with just the offroad suspension and badging, so be careful when looking. like was said, the front diffs can be problematic, but you can swap the diff in from a v8 titan and use v8 pathfinder CVs to keep the same stance with a bit sturdier diff. there is also rumored to be an ARB in development for the titan diff, with none planned or expected for the stock xterra one.

non-offroad models with the automatic trans don't have a selectable locker available because they all come with the C200k rear axle. all off-road and manual transmission models have the M226, which is a dana 44 variant. if you buy a 6-speed non-offroad, there is an ARB locker for it if you want to install a locker later on. early (05, 06, 07?) off road models with the electric locker had only two spider gears and are more prone to breaking than the later 4-spider models.

suspension lifts are out there, from simple shackle/spacer lifts up to full on drop bracket/coilovers/extended control arms/leaf pack replacements, and everything in between.

that said, the offroad model is very capable in stock form. aside from departure angle issues, its about as good as you could expect in stock form.

[bigdog]

The weak front diff on my 98 LC can be corrected with the installation of an ARB locker. Is there a similar fix for the 05? Does that affect other years?

We would definitely want at a minimum a rear locker.

On the frontiers some folks have swapped the front diff with the titan diff, not sure this can be done with the x.

Get the offroad package for the locker otherwise you'll be swapping the rear diff too.

[RonapRhys]

Yes - you can do a titan swap. It's almost a bolt in deal, too.

[bigdog]

Yes - you can do a titan swap. It's almost a bolt in deal, too.

yea, I assumed so since it is same platform as fronty. Also new gears avail for M205 so you could do the swap and upgrade to a 4.10 ratio

[Strizzo]

are there 4.10 gears out for the c200k or M226? if so, that would make things easier when swapping the titan front diff in, otherwise you have to find a titan with the big tow or off road package, and it only matches up with the automatic equipped off road models.