Topic: Noob From Santa Ana! (Any Xterra friendly Mechanics out there?)

[Myst3ry]

EHy all! I got my first 4x4/SUV/Xterra in early December, and have loved it so far! I've done a few changes, but nothing major yet, because... well i have never done more than change a tire on a car..

SO... other than introducing myself, is there any mechanics on this forum that wouldn't mind helping me out? Im not looking for free help, i will pay, I just don't want to go to any mechanic who doesn't know much about Xterras, and what to expect when you start a mod.

what i want done (can be all at one if need be to save money in the long run)

- PML
- 2" BL (with pucks)
- New Bilstein Shocks
- New Coilovers
- External/offroad Lights
- New tires

Since i have no experience, im learning as i go, and would hate to start a day long project/mod, and then run into an annoyance where i dont have the right tools/part, and can't continue that day. I don't have much time to work on it personally!

[EDIT]
I have a 2004 4x4 Xterra SE/XE

[JFanaselle]

Welcome from Murrieta! I'm certainly not a mechanic, but I can promise you it's not that hard to work on your own vehicle. My suggestion would be to do some research on which parts you'd like (and/or ask any questions you want, we love answering questions!). You can then acquire the parts and ask for a hand installing. We have a few members in OC that love helping out when they're free, and we're always down for a mod-day as a group. Not sure what year your rig is, but there are plenty of 1st gen and 2nd gen owners here.

A basic PML will run you about $250 to $300 with quality components. However, if you're looking at new coilovers, that may change the way you want to lift the truck. It's much better to use longer coils to give you the lift because you'll get more suspension travel instead of just shifting everything down. By the time you purchase new/upgraded factory-length coilovers and the parts for a PML, you'll probably have spent as much or more money than you would have on extended coilovers anyway. The rear end is really easy to lift with an add-a-leaf or an adjustable height shackle (or a combination of both). I highly suggest working with Greg at PRG Products. He's been great to a lot of members in this group, and if you call him on the phone, he'll try to get a feel for your needs and recommend the right products for you. You can also take a look a the Nisstec website, they have a large selection of suspension parts as well.

Tires would be installed/balanced by the tire shop you purchase them from, so there's really nothing to do there except decide which tires you want. You'll get as many opinions as there are people on this forum, but the most common tires seem to be BF Goodrich KO2s and Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs. There are also some less expensive options - take a look at people's build threads and/or search the forum for "tires."

[Myst3ry]

Welcome from Murrieta! I'm certainly........

wow, thanks for the very kind and very helpful welcome!! haha i will be asking around for sure! But thats essentially whaty i meant, just a hand with the install, i've done a lot of research, but i keep needing to do research on every step of the way since i don't know what alot of the terms mean, and do haha.

 and i completely forgot to add the details to my X. I have a 1.5 gen 2004 Xterra se/xe will update the OP with that...

- I'm curious how you got the PML to come out to $250-300? Isn't the only thing needed to buy are the rear shackles? and then adjusting the front torsion bar?

- The reason i was going for different coilovers would be to accomodate a future purchase of a front and rear bumper, skids, sliders, roof basket, and eventually a winch.

With what i plan to do, I would really just want/need a total 2" SL and 2" BL to accomodate 33"s

[Raymond Ballejos]

Welcome from banning i also have a gen 1.5 mine is an 02 . And i am familure with these trucks so far ive done a 3 inch suspension lift , roof rack , rear bumper tire carrier, in the process of body lift and rock sliders. Id be happy to help or answer questions when time permits. Just so you know gen 1.5 does not have coils they have torsion bars and leaf springs and shocks in the rear. Body lift is cheap.and will.allow 33 inch tires without the suspension lift i would tackle that first if you want to upgrade tires soon.

[CAWoody]

Welcome form Orange.  While I am no mechanic, my dad is tv repair man so I have all of the tools.   
J.K.  I have helped many of the OC'ers with their mods and more than happy to lend a helping hand especially to a neighbor.

We could set up another mod day if there are other in need of tools, space and some snappy repartee.

[Toro]

Welcome from Pasadena. There are a lot of people willing to lend a hand around here. Once you have your final list with product in hand, post up and pick a date.
    Your almost guaranteed to have, at least, 2 or 3 wrenches show up......if not 10-15.
    I'd also recommend breaking your mods into manageable groups. A body lift can take several hours and coupling that with other mods makes for a very long day for volunteers.

[EJsarus]

Welcome from Pasadena. There are a lot of people willing to lend a hand around here. Once you have your final list with product in hand, post up and pick a date.
    Your almost guaranteed to have, at least, 2 or 3 wrenches show up......if not 10-15.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

that escalated quickly.
Im down with a helping hand.

[Ghost65]

    Your almost guaranteed to have, at least, 2 or 3 wrenches show up......if not 10-15 spectators who will stand around, eat your food, drink you beer, heckle, point, laugh and urinate in your planter when you're not looking.
   

"Mechanics, April 2016"
 [ You are not allowed to view attachments ]


FIFY.

Welcome from Escondido!!

[xxSVxx]

OMG....what a great picture!!!!

[JFanaselle]

That might be me in the background above Randy's shoulder, urinating in the planter 

Edit: upon closer inspection, I see a necklace. I think it's Celt.

[xxSVxx]

Yeah, that's Celt and his croakies...the sunglasses necklace things

That was the day we discovered my radiator was about to fall off...good times!

[knightrider]

A lot of volunteers to help out when the time comes, and a lot of good info from people.

What is your budget?

PML for a 1st gen is simply reindexing and adjusting the torsion bars up front, and an AAL or shackles in the back.  I would suggest replacing front and rear shocks at the time you do the PML, an AAL is a better option vs shackles but involves more work.  4x4parts.com is a good resource for parts for the 1st gen xterra. 

A body lift is necessary if you want to go with 33" tires so do that before you buy tires, again 4x4parts.com sells a complete body lift kit with bumper relocation brackets. 


Later if you want to add a front bumper and skid plates and such, you may want to upgrade your front torsion bars to the Sway a way bars that are 25% stiffer to help with the added weight.

[Celt]

That might be me in the background above Randy's shoulder, urinating in the planter 

Edit: upon closer inspection, I see a necklace. I think it's Celt.

  No self respecting redneck would pee in the planter, it was the tire....

[RBduffer]

That looks like Joe's hood to the right of Celt's melon.  That would put his stream right in Joe's grill

Welcome, and yes, thread jacking IS a sport here.

Edit: great photo John.  I look like a badass there.  No wonder Steve C is a-scared of me.

[GreenGoon]

If you want to save money and time in the long run, don't do the PML and body lift, then change your suspension. Slow down, do a little more research to figure out what you want your rig to do and do things right the first time.

As was said before, there are plenty of people here to lend a hand with knowledge or wrenches. It's great that you've asked for help and advice.

Welcome to the group and hopefully we see you on the trails.