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JOSX2's '05 X-Titan - The VK-swapped Minion

72K views 477 replies 48 participants last post by  mojavedesertman 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
The online diary build of The Minion

X's nickname
: Minion
Minion.the.X on Instagram

Year: 2005
Trim: SE Offroad
Color: EW3 Solar Yellow

Click here for her VK Transformation thread

Drivetrain
Engine/Transmission: 2005 Titan VK56DE
UpRev tuned
Gear Ratio: 3.36 (May 2016)
Rear: m226, e-locker (from 2015 Pro-4X with 22K miles) (May 2016)
Front: m205, ARB locker (May 2019)
Koyo A2807 Radiator (no longer bypassed!), and auxiliary tranny cooler (August 2016)
U-Bolt Flip Kit (May 2016)
Stainless Steel Extended Rear Brake Lines (March 2017)

Exhaust
JBA Long Tube Headers (2.5" collectors)
2.5" Cajun B-Pipes - Heavy Metal Cat'd b-pipes
Borla ProXS 40349 muffer (2-in-1-out)
3" Vibrant UltraQuiet Resonator

Suspension (~3" lift)
Front - TJM HD Coilovers (600lbs) with 0.5" spacer (July 2017), SPC UCAs (June 2016)
Rear - Alcans, 2.5" lift, +1100lbs (June 2018), OME Nitrocharger rear shocks (Feb 2016)
Removed rear sway bar (June 2010)

Armor
Shrockworks Front Bumper (December 2017)
Hefty Aluminum Radiator (November 2016)
Hefty Engine (Feb 2016)
Hefty Transmission (Feb 2016)
Hefty Transfer Case (Feb 2016)
Hefty Sliders (July 2016)
Hefty Rear Bumper with Tire Carrier (June 2016)
Ballistic Fab rear diff cover (m226) (April 2016)

Shoes
285/75-16 Cooper Discover STT Pro on ProComp 7089 rims (September 2018)

Interior
Two Craftsman toolboxes under rear seats for xtra storage
Rex Rug in the rear
MOLLE Bags added to cargo area
Added an inline Aux-In jack to the stack radio (April 2016)

Exterior
Bedlined Front & Rear Bumpers (July 2015)
Bedlined Rims (June 2015)
Bedlined Roof rails & Air dam (April 2016)
ARB CKMA12 Compressor (March 2017)
Rear Axle Breather Extension
My DIY Xoskel-style light cage (April 2016)
DIY Roll-up Awning (June 2016)
Color-match painted rear steps & honeycomb (April 2016)
Cargo Net for wetbox
Viggs Hood Blackout (August 2017)
Madd Maxx Gobi-style Roof Rack (September 2017)
My DIY No-Weld Roof Rack (July 2015) (no longer used, retaining for easy access to it's link ;-))

Communications
CB Radio (Cobra WX 19 ST II)
4' Firestik antenna (August 2016)
Baofeng GT-3TP Mark III Ham handheld (September 2017)

Electrical
BlueSea Fuse block (April 2016)
Otrattw switches (March 2017)

    • Front & rear locker
    • ARB Compressor
    • Front light bar
    • Rear LEDs
    • Radio Aux in
ABS Kill-switch

Lighting
Flush-mount LEDs in rear bumper (April 2016)
7" Round LED lights for front light cage (yellow bezels too!) (April 2016)
22" Lightbar on rear of roof rack (May 2017)

Donor Trucks
I'm too cheap to buy the expensive mods brand new ;) So figured I'd keep a tally list of those that I bought things from used instead!
SPC UCA's - jeffnjm3
TJM Coilovers - Deltaphi216
ProComp 7089's, BFG KO2's 285's - SarDog
PRG Shackles - SycoCell
Hefty Engine/transfer case/transmission skids - KillSwitch
Hefty rear bumper - mtnbiker49
ARB'd r180 - non-TNX member
Hefty Aluminum Rad Skid - XScout87
m226 axle - Car-part.com Junkyard
Mad Maxx Roof rack - non-TNX member
Shrock Front Bumper - skip371

Pics
The first '02 X - 2002 model, and the '05 when stock shortly after purchase

Tire Automotive parking light Wheel Car Vehicle



Her locked rear....
Wheel Tire Vehicle Automotive tire Tread



....AND her little travel companion too! (August 2016)
Wheel Tire Land vehicle Car Vehicle


How she sits as of October 2018...
Tire Wheel Plant Vehicle Car
 
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4
#9 ·
I plan on stealthing the rims Duplicolor Graphite soon (gonna test it out on the spare first just to make sure it looks good) :D

The truck came w/ practically brand new tires, so I'm gonna run them out first before I go about replacing them. But when I do, I"m looking at the BFGood's All Terrain's. These tires def. don't do any justice to the look of the lift!

I went wheeling just after I got the lift on w/ a bunch of other X's last weekend, and my wife saw the bigger tires on them (just after I lifted, & before we left for the trip, she rolled her eyes when I said I wanna get bigger tires for it). She's like "yeeeeaaaah...I definitely like the look of those bigger tires on their X's. They look good!" SOLD!!
 
#10 ·
nice truck! That blacktastic turned out great! wish that would have been around before I started painting and herculining parts.....
 
#11 ·
Thx man! You've got a kick*ss lookin' X there too! (and the best color too ;))

I was thinking of painting the rear foot steps as well...but just painting the raised treads only in yellow, but I'm digging what you did! I may have to reconsider now! Do you have any chipping/peeling problems w/ the yellow paint on those at all?

I haven't bothered asking anyone yet since I'm not looking for new tires now, but since you've got 'em, how good are those BFGood's for road driving? I know they rock while offroad, but I do a lot of road driving & offroading every now & then. Do they wear decent? Any loud or noticeable hum going down the road from them?
 
#12 ·
Thx man! You've got a kick*ss lookin' X there too! (and the best color too ;))

I was thinking of painting the rear foot steps as well...but just painting the raised treads only in yellow, but I'm digging what you did! I may have to reconsider now! Do you have any chipping/peeling problems w/ the yellow paint on those at all?

I haven't bothered asking anyone yet since I'm not looking for new tires now, but since you've got 'em, how good are those BFGood's for road driving? I know they rock while offroad, but I do a lot of road driving & offroading every now & then. Do they wear decent? Any loud or noticeable hum going down the road from them?
Thanks for the compliments! I have had NO issues with chipping or peeling of the paint on them. I used white krylon fusion as kind of a primer for the plastic, then i used Solar Yellow (EW3 paint code) from spraycansunlimited on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1999-08-NISSAN-EW3-SOLAR-YELLOW-TOUCH-UP-SPRAY-CAN-/260204657819. I then covered that w/ Krylon clear enamel spray. It gives it a tough outer covering and protects the yellow paint.

as for the bfg's, they are wearing well. I have about 30k miles on them so far. I rotate every other oil change and they are wearing nicely. I should get at least another 20K miles out of them. They are not loud at all. With the windows up and the radio on at a normal level, you won't hear them at all on the highway.
 
#13 · (Edited)
Just added a couple pics of the Hi-Lift I mounted to the roof rails this past weekend & included links to some of the mods as well.




Hopefully in the next couple of weeks, I'll be getting the CB & antenna delivered & installed :)
 
#14 ·
Update on some mods...

A couple weeks ago, finally installed my CB Radio & 3' NGP Firestik :D But not getting below 1.5 on the SWR on Ch. 19, ~2 on 1 & 40. The power output is reading around 2.5 watts on 19, 3.5/7 on 1, & <2 on 40 :( I have the CB spliced into the constant power outlet on the dash, but I may run it directly to the battery via a distribution block. Anywayz, supposedly getting about 1.5-2 miles transmission distance...not the greatest, but good enough for offroading right now.

& the big news for my X is she's gettin' some NXRocks skids! Ordered the engine & T-case skid last week :headbang: Fingers-crossed they'll be delivered in time for a run in Sept!! Remy's awesome! what else can I say?! :eek:ccasion5: Pics will follow once I get them on!

& they're getting painted red too! My wife told me "It's gonna be the Hogan mobile", & I laughed & said "You got that right Brotha'!"
 
#18 ·
how'd you prep those skids for the paint? and what paint did you use? im thinking of doin the same thing but putting some blue on it.. or purple and yellow.. haha
 
#19 ·
Remy sends them as bare metal, no packaging, so the shipping labels & packing tape holding the labels on are stuck to the metal. A royal PITA to get off...but if you get Goo-Gone & a window scraper, it comes off like cake.

After removing the stickers, I grabbed some 100-something grit sandpaper & sanded the skids down to roughen them up for the paint (I wore latex gloves when doing this...my fingers/palms were grey after sanding!)

After sanding, grab some acetone & wipe down all surfaces of the skids to remove any residue from them.

Then, I used some Rustoleum primer - two coats (didn't use the self-etcher, but I"m sure it doesnt matter). Then used 2 coats of Rustoleum Red for the bottom of the skids. I haven't done it yet, but I plan on using Rustoleum bedliner on the top of the skids. Be sure to give the skids about 24 hours to dry after spraying with the final coat! I installed my skids about 2 hrs after I sprayed & it was still slightly tacky. I didn't care cause I was wheeling the next day though & they were gonna get scratched up anywayz.
 
#20 ·
^sweeet thanks for the info.. i'm doin alotta fixing with my X for now, hopefully by december i can wheel with you guys. i gotta replace the tie rod, get some skids, do some DIY rear recovery, and some lights. mod day perhaps somewhere in raleigh? im sure some NC peeps would love to do that.
 
#21 ·
no prob :)

I believe you're on ENCXC, so post up a thread about a mod day somewhere & see who'll bite. I'm game for doing some help as long as I'd be available ;-) Someone may step up to host for ya too. I'd have to run it by my wife to see if she'd be ok w/ me hosting if needed. But I got a gravel driveway w/ a slight slope to it at the bottom...so it's not ideal, but I've been able to do work on my X on it though, so it works.

Wheeling in Dec. may be tough though. URE closes for the season Dec. 15. & I dunno of any other legal areas in the area worth while. You could post that up in ENCXC too to see if anyone's got any suggestions ;)
 
#23 · (Edited)
well, been quite a while since I've updated my build thread....haven't really done any mods to her over the years other than selling off my skid plates :(

but....happy to report...I finally got new shoes for her the other week :) & just stealthed the rims as icing on that cake too :headbang:

Picked up 5 General Grabber AT2's for $900 at discount tire...including their lifetime tire replacement plan on all 5. Got them to shave off about $100 by matching another tire place that had a cheaper installation fee (brought it down to ), and he hooked me up w/ their replacement plan for all 5, but at the cost for 3 tires. AND, by putting it on their discount tire card, I got a $30 VISA card too.

& stealthed the rims too....been wanting to do this for a long time, but was waiting for the new tires first.

Loving how she looks now!


 
#24 ·
well, ordered a new leafpack/rear shock for her tonight. Rear end has been sagging like crazy when my 5x8 enclosed trailer is connected, or if my hitch rack gets loaded up. Ran measurements, and turns out that stock leaves & AAL are shot even when under no load....i'm now at about 1/2" lift on Driver Rear & 3/4" lift on Pass. Rear :( So much for that 2" lift via the 2-leaf AAL...at least it had a good run of about 5 years & 50K miles.

Getting an OME Dakar leaf pack (Not HD pack) and OME rear shocks to match (along w/ new Ubolts & shims). It'll give me a 1.5" lift at least.

Front is still lifted courtesy the 2" spacer....have about a 1.75" lift in the front. So with the OME leafpack, I should get about a 1" rake going at least.

I plan on replacing the front suspension with OME several months from now when I can save up the $$ for it so that I can run a full OME suspension. When I do that, I'm probably gonna run a PRG 0.5" spacer in front & an adjustable shackle in the rear to get a 2" lift across-the-board.

Time to start PB Blasting the rear & hope for a warm-ish weekend in the next month or so!
 
#26 · (Edited)
I decided a couple month ago that I had enough of my rear suspension (stock + dual-AAL) sagging about 1-1.5" under load (empty 5x8 enclosed trailer, loaded-up hitch rack, etc...), so last month I pulled the plug & ordered an entire OME setup for the rear (Dakar LT/MD springs & their Nitrocharger rear shocks).



Overall, I retained the same amount of lift I had in the rear with the worn OME suspension/AAL, but it only sags 1/4" with my trailer at least! Rake is still even from Front-to-back, so at some point I'll be getting some shackles in the rear to give it another 1" or so lift back there.

Ride-wise...it seems pretty smooth. Never really had any jarring issues with the stock/AAL setup, but I do know that it's definitely not any stiffer at least.

At some point, I'd like to match the front suspension with OME too, but that'll be a while off.

& today....thanks to @Killswitch....I've got skids back under her belly once again! Hefty skids too! Feels good to have protection under her again.....NOW I'm ready to go wheeling once again :) (I had given up wheeling when I sold my first set of skids as I want protection to my drivetrain when hitting the trails).

Driving them home...


Installed :)
 
#433 ·
Back on March 6, 2016....
I decided a couple month ago that I had enough of my rear suspension (stock + dual-AAL) sagging about 1-1.5" under load (empty 5x8 enclosed trailer, loaded-up hitch rack, etc...), so last month I pulled the plug & ordered an entire OME setup for the rear (Dakar LT/MD springs & their Nitrocharger rear shocks).
well the OMEs lasted just 2 years 3 months...almost to the day too LOL they worked well, but I severely overloaded them as time went by, and eventually flattened out and provided about only 0.5" of lift. Been running my PRG shackles at 2" to maintain 2.5" lift.

So, pulled them and installed the Alcans the other night :rockin: These were pec'd to 3" lift (with hopes it'll settle to 2.5") and +1100 lbs over stock. BEEFY!


OME's laying on top of the Alcans....I'd say they lost a little of their 2" lift LOL



Check out that arch!! Back to stock shackles now too. I'm wanting to Titan Swap next year, so I'll put the PRG's back on at that point to gain another 1.5-2" lift to match the lift that the front'll end up getting.


So far, they ride VERY well! Not stiff at all....and most importantly not sagging! I got them loaded up with weight from my Gobi-style roof rack, skids, sliders, rear bumper/Tire carrier, and my heavy-as-lead cargo drawers (loaded up with tools and some spare parts, which'll be in there all the time), along with all my photo gear for this weekend. Took it all on a 4-hour drive to the session location too.
 
#251 · (Edited)
FINALLY!!! The day I've been waiting for....got notice that my sliders have finally shipped!!! WOOO-HOOOOO!!!!

March 28 -> July 7......just a little longer than 6-8 weeks, ya think?! :-\

if only the d*mn powdercoaters didn't get backed up, I'm certain I would've had them at least two weeks ago & could've avoided this:

oh well....battle scars!


very nice! that time will go quickly! hopefully...
you jinxed the turnaround time Zack!!
 
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