Partsflyin's Mild 03 Frontier Build

[partsflyin]

Crunch time is fully upon me.....

Diffs are out and at a friend's who is rebuilding them and installing the ARB's.

Loaded up housing and misc. goodies to take to another friends place who will be helping me install.

Xterra H233B is sprung under so I will have to cut/remount perches on top of the axle. Will cut and remove the sway bar mounts at the same time.

Plan is also to "flip" leaf spring plates to top side (factory positions them underneath the axle) also will weld new shock mounts on the axle housing itself.

Will gain some clearance with this set up.

Leaving for Moab, Zion and the Grand canyon on the 26th....... gotta alot of work to do.... Nothing like pressure...

 

[partsflyin]

Rear diff is built and ready for install.....

Decided I would feel better if I went ahead and sprung for a new battery before the trip. A good friend has been trying to talk me into trying a Duralast Platinum. It appears these are a rebadged Odyssey battery. I have never owned an Odyssey but have heard very good things about them. Autozone sells these for a signifigant savings over the Odyssey. Figured I'd give i a try.

 

[MTWheeler]

Looks great on those swappers! Looking for to pictures on your Moab trip!

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Pretty jazzed to see how it all comes out!

 

[partsflyin]

It was a busy and succesful week.

Differentials are built and installed . I did install at friends house and was not able to get many pictures.

Under the knife...

Space is a bit limited behind the back seat where the compressor is mounted, most of them time the ARB solenoids are mounted directly to the compressor.
I didn't like the idea of mounting mine this way due to the close proximity to the rear seat seat.
I decided to make a mounting bracket with a bulkhead fitting. I made a parflex line at work to run from the compressor to the bulkhead . Mounted the bracket under the seat belt bracket.
I "t"ed the line out of the bulkhead to put both solenoids on one airline, added another bulkhead to the bracket in case I found a reason to need another place to pick up air.

Friday night was a really long night and I had gotten super tired , last thing on the agenda was hooking up the plumbing. I was tired enough that i jacked it up . I will have to go back and rearrange things, I hooked up the supply and exit lines backwards on the solenoids.

I put some miles on it this weekend and am super pleased with everything so far. Lower ratio is fantastic.

Will get detail pictures soon. i am super pleased with extra clearance gained by the u-bolt "flip" on the rear axle.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Liking the progress, can't wait to see it all done up. Nice work!

 

[partsflyin]

Trying to maintain sanity as the deadline draws near. Never lived out of a truck this long.... Planning.... Packing.. unpacking ... replanning....

Settled on a configuration for air plumbing (until or if I add a tank)

Mounted the quick coupler for the air hose on the bulkhead with the locker solenoids. Used short rubber hoses from manifold to bulkhead with the pressure switch "T'ed" in at the manifold.

 

[partsflyin]

Quick comparison before/after axle swap to show gain in clearance from the u-bolt flip.

Before

After

 

[partsflyin]

Mounted the switches for lockers in the dash.

 

[partsflyin]

Build a super crude box to hold some totes in place. Crappy picture doesn't show totes , but you get the idea.

Put a few ports in line with the vent on the fridge to make sure it still breathes well.

Mounted a 12v spot sprayer to the top of the box for a water supply.

 

[partsflyin]

2000 plus miles into my roadtrip. Will be back soon with detail.
This country is beautiful beyond words!!

Spent Tuesday and Wednesday in Moab, will make Zion tomorrow.

 

[Buddha.]

How is your set up working so far?

 

[partsflyin]

How is your set up working so far?

Can't begin to say how happy I am with things.
Truck kicked a $$ at Moab!!
Props to this sight for all the organizational ideas ! Been a great trip so far!

 

[stioc]

Nice! I took pics at those same exact spots on our trip from SoCal to Moab, can't wait to see more.

I'm curious what your truck weighs fully-loaded, you're on 33s with the stock gears?

 

[partsflyin]

Nice! I took pics at those same exact spots on our trip from SoCal to Moab, can't wait to see more.

I'm curious what your truck weighs fully-loaded, you're on 33s with the stock gears?

Thanks! Unbelievably beautiful, the entire area!
I'm not sure what the set up weighs...
Tires are 265/75/16's. Actual height is right at 32".
As for gearing , the truck was originally geared 4:63 with a C200 rear axle. I recently swapped in a set of axles I rebuilt with ARB's.
New set up is geared 4:90. Stock for the Xterra I pulled them from.