[AlbatrossCafe]

Intro Comments: Hello everyone. This is the build thread for my Xterra. This is my first foray into a 4-wheeled off-roading vehicle. Gas sucks on this so I'll primarily be using it for weekend trips & off-road expeditions and do pretty much all other driving/commuting on my bike.

I want to build my X to be a capable off-roader and vacation rig minus the 2000lbs of extra weight I see on some trucks here that has the potential to bog me down on trails, break the drivetrain, and reduce my MPG to even worse than it already is. I do not want a titan swap because I want the ability to do tighter trails. This should make the FleXterra very functional without being too much to handle.

(12/14/2016) EDIT: LOL LOOKS LIKE I'M TITAN SWAPPING - THAT WAS SHORT LIVED. But seriously. Maybe I'll keep 33" tires. No need for 35s... right?

(11/5/2018) EDIT: Yep... 35's. I should have known. What's next, levitation?

Username: AlbatrossCafe
Xterra Name: Yoshi

Make: Nissan
Year: 2011
Model:❌terra
Trim: Pro-4X Titan-swapped
Color: Metallic Green (or 'Diarrhea Green' depending on the dirt level)

Transmission: 5 Speed AT
Mileage: May 2016 (My purchase date) - 54,382 miles
Location: Western Washington

Packages: Rockford Fosgate Audio, Leather PRO-4X Seats, PRO-4X Carpet Mats

Legend:
[+] = Done
[-] = In progress
[ ] = Want
[x] = Removed/destroyed

------ MODS ------

Titan Swap List:
[+] 2012 M205 Nissan Armada Front Differential with 3.36 gears (bought with 57k miles)
[+] Titan-length Radflo 2.5 coilovers powdercoated ORANGE
[+] SPC Titan Forged Upper Control Arms
[+] Moog Titan Lower Control Arms
[+] Moog Titan Inner/Outer Tie Rod Ends
[+] Cardone Titan Half-shaft CV assemblies with Heavy Duty boots
[+] Stainless steel titan-length front brake lines

Suspension/Lift:
Basically I HAD this kit but with an Alcan Custom Leaf Pack.
[x] Front Coilovers/Shocks: PRG Radflo 2.0 Coilovers with 650# Spring Rate (3" lift)
[x] Front Coilovers/Shocks: 14mm NON-STEPPED bolt for lower shock mount so that it doesn't clunk all day
[x] Front UCAs: SPC Upper Control Arms
[x] Front: 1" Nisstec Spacers with extended studs
[x] Rear Shocks: PRG Radflo 2.0 rear shocks 0-3" lift (21.5" eyelet to eyelet)
[x] Rear: Stock Shackles (cut because they fit like garbage with Alcans)
[x] Rear Leaves: Alcan 3" full-leaf pack replacement with 250-350lb extra weight
[+] Rear Leaves: Alcan 4" full-leaf pack replacement with 500lb extra weight
[+] Rear Shocks: Radflo 2.0 rear shocks 3-4" lift
[+] Rear: Nisstec 1" bump stop extensions
[+] Rear: Longer U-bolts & U-bolt flip kit
[+] Rear: 3-degree PRG billet aluminum shims
[+] Rear: PRG Adjustable Shackles set at first hole (1" of lift)
[+] Front: PRG Cam bolts
[+] 1" Nisstec Body Lift
[+] Wheelers Front Superbump Bumpstop mounted on the bash plate
[+]Trimben Active Off-road rear bumpstops

Wheels/Tires:
[x] 285/75/R16 MasterCraft Courser MXT
[x] BORA 1.5" Wheel Spacers
[+] 315/75/R16 Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ P3's
[+] BORA 2" Wheel Spacers in the rear
[x]2011 PRO-4x Custom painted wheels
[+] 2015 "S" custom painted wheels

Engine/Exhaust/Drivetrain:
[+] Intake Manifold Spacer
[+] Airflow Snorkel
[+] Rear differential breather valve relocate
[+] M205 ARB Front Locker
[+] RuggedRocks 4.10 gears

Armor:
[+] Hardcore Offroad Front Bumper with full guard
[x] Shrockworks tire-carrier rear bumper
[+] MaxGear Extended Swingarm rear bumper
[x] BTF Differential Cover
[+] ARB M226 Diff cover
[x] Stock PRO-4x skids
[+] White Knuckle Rock sliders with rear diamond top plate
[+] Rear Shock Skids
[+] Hefty Fabworks Aluminum Skids (full set minus rad skid)

Exterior:
[+] DepHep Roof Rack with rear storage extension & expanded metal floor (10% of sale <3)
[+] Raingler cargo net for DepHep rack with orange stitching
[x] Remove OEM "mudflaps"
[x] Remove OEM sidestep rails
[+] OEM Bug Deflector
[+] "Nissan" badge off a 1986 truck
[+] Soft rubber mudflaps on front & rear
[+] ARB 2000 Awning with side wind-break

Interior:
[+] Weathertech rubber mat on front driver area only (lol)
[+] Raingler Hybrid Ceiling Net with orange stitching
[+] Auto-dimming, compass, AND temperature Gentex mirror swap
[ ] Inclinometer
[+] Custom driver's side window no-drill molle panel

Recovery/Comms:
[x] 48" Hi-lift jack (dad bought Circa 2001) & Roof Mount (removed because carrying/using is too cumbersome)
[+] Powerbuilt 3-ton Jack + jackstand combo
[+] 20' Generic ~15,000lb Tow Strap
[+] ARB 30' 24,000lb Snatch Strap
[+] ARB 20,000lb Snatch Block
[+] Smittybilt 40,000lb 8' tree saver
[+] Smittybilt X20 10k Winch with Synthetic Line
[+] 350A continues, 600A intermittent battery cutoff switch with 12" 2 AWG cable to cutoff winch power (to prevent phantom spooling)
[+] QUAD ORANGE SHACKLES
[+] Midland 75-822 CB Radio
[+] Firestik II with HD Spring and universal mount with stainless-steel U-clamp
[+] Bigfoot 38,000lb Soft Shackle

Lighting/Electronics:
[+] HID Homemade Headlight Conversion (Morimoto Kit)
[+]Odyssey Extreme Series 34-PC1500T Battery
[+]Zheking Battery Tie-Down
[+] Diode Dynamics Luxeon LED Fog Lights
[+] Thrunite TC10 V2 RECHARABLE flashlight mounted inside of driver's door with quickfist

Other:
[+] 4-pin trailer wire harness welded to the inside of rear bumper
[+] Trasharoo (Tan)
[x] VIAIR 300p Portable Compressor (this thing is GREAT)
[+] CKMA12 ARB Onboard Air Compressor with tire fill-up kit
[+] Spare key safe
[+]Staun Automatic Tire Deflators 6-30 PSI

------ PHOTOS ------

Most Recent:

After 1" body lift and 35's:

April 2017 TOTM:

After Titan Swap:

Before Titan Swap:

Before Front Bumper:

Before Lift & Tires:

With Trailer:

Sticker Added:

100% stock the day after purchase... (after obligatory off-road trial):

AlbEdit

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

MOD #1: Removed OEM Mudflaps

MOD #2: Removed OEM Nerf Boards

Hi-Lift Mount:

 

[Hamman]

Love that color, may I ask what bike that is in your Pic?

 

[VMBiohazard]

Love the green!

 

[Kamauxx]

That's the color I wanted. I'm color blind so I always ask my wife about colors before buying stuff. She said it's a horrible color.

Later on I showed her Kuma's X and she a admitted she was wrong. That green is awesome!

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

Mod #3: Intake Manifold Spacer

 

[Hamman]

Mod #3: Intake Manifold Spacer

Have you driven it yet with the spacer installed? Any gains noticed?

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

Have you driven it yet with the spacer installed? Any gains noticed?

Only about 6 miles. I don't daily drive it so it could be a while before I get some real time under the wheel. But initially it felt a lot more responsive off the line. Just a small amount of gas pedal gave good acceleration. So an increase in "responsiveness" is a plus for me. Though this is purely going by "butt dyno" which is rarely accurate lol. But it seems good so far!

Edit: Now have about 250 miles with the new Intake Manifold Spacer. I'd like to say it made a difference! Like I said originally, it feels more responsive which is always a plus. Dunno about MPG yet. It was cheap enough and an interesting install that I'd say it was worth it.

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

MOD #4: Rear differential breather extension

 

[Lizardking]

Deleted

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

MOD #5: Shrockworks rear bumper & tire carrier.

I bought this bumper off a guy who rolled his X down a cliff. I wanted to get new, but the ~8 month lead time was VERY unappealing, and I desperately needed a trailer hitch & recovery points on the rear of my truck. I figured I could polish this one up and make it look new. I think the seller posted a [FS] thread on this forum at the time but everyone laughed him out of the building because of the price, so he removed it and went to Ebay, lol. I ended up buying the bumper which also included a PRO-4X wheel, a brand new Mastercraft 285/75/R16 tire, hi-lift & mount, shackles, and Weathertech rubber floor mats.

In the description of the bumper he said that the only damage was a few normal wear-and-tear scratches and bending of the 2 smaller pieces that the tire mounts on (it was rotated clockwise like 3 degrees). I sanded out some rust spots and painted several coats in black rustoleum. THEN, I went to mount the bumper and found that the tire carrier had also been bent inwards, which was ****ty news. Bumper was fine, but that entire tire carrier part was rotated in. This meant that I couldn't latch it without hitting the rear windshield wiper.

I was mad, but I think our solution here worked pretty well. I stacked 3 or 4 plastic shims together, wrapped them in duck tape, and put them between the bumper and where the tire carrier latch closes on it. I then added a piece of metal that essentially extended the bracket that the tire carrier arm latched into. This gave me about 1/2" clearance from the rear wiper while still allowing it to latch without falling open.

It is still a little lopsided which is kind of annoying at first:

But after a while I got used to it. Spent all day yesterday on bumpy roads and it looks/works great:

 

[jsexton]

Man, I hope you didn't pay much. I would fix that right if it were mine.

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

Man, I hope you didn't pay much. I would fix that right if it were mine.

But how? Order a new tire carrier arm? Have someone bend it back out? I don't know how it can be fixed with out spending several hundred more $$, which doesn't seem worth it. With the extras I got (matching PRO-4X wheel, 285/75/R16 tire, hi-lift, shackles, weathertech rubber mats) the price wasn't bad. I didn't mind overpaying a little bit if it meant I didn't have to wait a year for Shrock to build it.

At first I was pretty upset but it works 100% after this fix so far. I would be more concerned if the actual bumper part was bent, but since it is just the tire carrier it is OK for me. If you don't mind how it looks (tire very slightly angled in) I don't think it will ever be a problem.

Good enough for me!

 

[Surf and Snow]

X2 on fixing it right. I've personally adjusted that on 2 Rear Xterra bumpers now. I just cut the bars 1/2 way through. Bend to the angle I want. Then weld it back up. Better fixed proper than Jerry rigged to work imho. But to each their own I suppose.

 

[mtnbound]

I kinda like it like that.. are we sure it wasnt designed to hug the rear end that way? unless you wanted to store something between the hatch and the ire mount.. idk.. just doesnt seem like a problem to me as long it is solid and not swaying back and forth..

 

[Surf and Snow]

I kinda like it like that.. are we sure it wasnt designed to hug the rear end that way? unless you wanted to store something between the hatch and the ire mount.. idk.. just doesnt seem like a problem to me as long it is solid and not swaying back and forth..

To clarify, I'm not referring to the angle when I say fix it right. I'm referring to bending it enough to get rid of this:

The bumpers that I bent, I bent towards the hatch so as to have the tire line follow the hatch angle. I did that just for the look because I think they look crappy straight up or even worse hanging backwards. The ops situation is different, but the method is the same.

This is the angle I welded mine when I built my rear bumper:

 

[FisherNick]

Is your suspension and tires in these photos stock still? Idk if its the angle of the truck or what but it looks higher. Nice!

 

[Surf and Snow]

Is your suspension and tires in these photos stock still? Idk if its the angle of the truck or what but it looks higher. Nice!

No. Not stock. But I don't want to keep hi-jacking his buildthread. If you want details, see my build thread.

 

[AlbatrossCafe]

Is your suspension and tires in these photos stock still? Idk if its the angle of the truck or what but it looks higher. Nice!

No. Not stock. But I don't want to keep hi-jacking his buildthread. If you want details, see my build thread.

I think he was talking to me... lol. I could be wrong.

Yeah, stock PRO-4x 265/75/R16 wheels and suspension. I've noticed for some reason the bumper makes it look higher. Not sure why. But it's also probably the angle since the back is a bit taller than the front. :rockin:

 

[FisherNick]

Surf, I was talking about Albatross actually hahaha, but thank you! And Albatross, I just got a 2013 P4X, I wonder if its just the angle of the photo because I feel like mine doesnt look to be sitting as high even though I have no sag in the suspension yet.