Category: Automotive

  • New Battery for the Truck

    Everybody wants a truck until it’s time to do truck maintenance. Aside from the 3 gallon oil changes, this thing also has not one but two car batteries. Meaning that once every four years you not only have to replace one battery, you get to replace two…

    I used to just go to Autozone but they fell out of favor years ago. Then I was enamored with the Sam’s club but I think that I’ve come around to the Walmart brand 4 year. It was $400 but I’m good for the next 4 years with something like 850 cold cranking amps. Just for giggles, here is the OEM info on the batteries.

    2021 Ram Laramie 6.7l Battery
    OEM Size: 94R/H7
    OEM CCA: 730

    The EverStart Platinum AGM Automotive Battery, Group Size H7 / LN4 / 94R 12 Volt, 850 CCA 140 RC is currently running at $179.84.

  • Truck Battery Replacement

    The truck had died on me a couple of times and it took forever to charge it. It had the original batteries so it was time to get new ones. Yes I had to get two. Walmart had these for $179.84 and they have a 4 year warranty. It was a mostly uneventful process but the passenger side battery was a pain in the ass because you had to remove the air intake hose which means you have to take apart the air filter housing and its 5 or 6 bolts. But I got a chance to check the air filter, just a bunch of flies and bees. Also, the passenger side batter seems to have been leaking acid, I tried to remove the battery holder but no go, had to use paper towels to sop it up. At least it was a visual indication that the battery was bad. The other thing was the bolt that holds the battery down is gone, I unscrewed up but couldn’t get my hand down to get it so I just pulled the battery and I heard it hit something but it didn’t fall through and I wasn’t able to locate it. I drove it after I put it back together and then went back with the bike to see if I couldn’t find it. I’ll need to find another one…

    Other than that it was a cold morning but turned into a nice day. Lots of football on but nothing really worth watching. We had shrimp, zucchini and pasta for dinner. It’s one of those meal kits. This one wasn’t that bad but I’m not happy with them in general. Oh well, I’m thankful I have food and a roof over my head.

  • Front End Alignment Complete

    As the title says, the front end alignment is complete. It wasn’t that far out of whack but it’s good to know that it’s now in spec.

    Pippa has gone home, I’ve never seen an animal so happy to see their human. It’s a good thing that makes me smile. The cats, again, have free reign over the house and are busy investigating the smells left over from the dog. It’s stressful having a dog around, I forget how much work they are.

    The floor is getting closer to getting laid. I did go to LL and got the spacers I needed for half price. They’re going out of business after all. Got the chop saw and stand out and set up and did a test cut on a test piece of flooring. Cut the first row of barrier and we’re ready to roll tomorrow.

  • Xterra Suspension Finished

    After yesterday’s debacle, I took it easy and finally got the bolt out of the passenger side and got it replaced. I was going to hold off on the driver side until I got the new impact gun but they had deep well metric 1/2 inch impact sockets and an adjustable breaker bar both on sale at HF for ITC members. Saved $20 between the two, another savings for the membership. And the breaker bar is really cool because it’s expandable. So while the impact gun is still in transit, we’re good to go with the Xterra. Now I just need to get the front end aligned. $150 for that.

    I cleaned up the garage this afternoon and it looks good if I do say so myself. I’m all out of car work to do for the time so now I don’t have any excuse not to finish the back room.

  • Car Repair & Injuries

    We did our (almost) 10 mile bike ride this morning, I forgot to set my watch for biking but it worked out.

    Got home and I finished cleaning out the garage and moved the Xterra in and got to work getting the front shocks out and ran into an issue. The lower bolt wouldn’t budge. Heat didn’t do anything, so out came the grinding wheel. I removed the head of the bolt and got it about .25 inches though, then I was trying to bang it though, well at that point I started to get mad and hit it hard, it dislodged and then my finger sliced on the brake guard, lots of blood and ended the repairs for the day.

    But it did get me thinking and the impact gun I have delivers 250 ft/lbs of torque, this hasn’t been much of an issue but it was bought probably in early 2001 when I was working on the cutlass and only use it for taking off tires really. I stared looking around and it’s at the low end of power. Now you can get up to 1500 ft/lbs but that’ll set you back $150 at HF. I figured I’d check Vevor just to compare and they have a 1400 ft/lbs for $66. Long story short, I’ve got to wait for the new gun to do the other side.

  • Rear Shocks Replaced

    I realized the other weekend when we went biking and drove through an unpaved parking lot that the Xterra was riding like a brick. I tried to order springs but that didn’t work out because you can’t find them for a RWD only 4WD. So I still have to send those back but I did get shocks. Considering that they are the original shocks and 16 years old, it was time to replace them. While the shocks are held on by one nut and one bolt, it was a day long event. Jacked it up, put it on stands, removed the tires, dropped the spare, and pulled everything apart, there was (of course) one bold on the lower passenger side that wouldn’t come loose with the Ryobi impact, so I pulled out the air impact and it still wouldn’t move. Had ordered a nut splitter but after the sun moved out of the way, I pulled out the propane torch and heated the nut and that did the trick. Got it all put back together and it raised the back at least two inches and it rides much better. Still need to do the front strut and shock but I’ll have to get a front end alignment so I’ll figure out where that’s getting done before I do it.

  • 150k Xterra Service Items

    Found on Reddit, should be a good starting point.

    First and foremost: Radiator replacement and trans/coolant flush to prevent smod. I’m sure we all know what SMOD is but in case you don’t, 05-10 X’s have Calsonic radiators with a chance of having faulty trans-coolers. When the trans cooler leaks coolant gets into the trans fluid and eats away at the friction material in the clutches, eventually shorting your TCM and ruining the transmission.

    second: Timing chain guides (also do tensioners and chain, water pump while in there) 2nd gen X’s start to get a whine because the timing chain guides are made of plastic and wear out, then your chain starts riding on metal. If its starting to sound like you have a supercharger under the hood you’re definitely at the point of changing.

    Other:

    Change all fluids. By 150k you should have changed the transmission fluid, coolant, power steering, gear oil in the diffs and trans fluid in xfer case, brake fluid, etc. From my experience the only trans fluid I could find that wasn’t Nissan brand that met the requirements was Valvoline Maxlife ATF. I’m sure there are others but I couldn’t find anything else that met nissan matic spec besides the actual Nissan fluid and the valvoline Maxlife ATF. Obviously it goes without saying you need to change your oil every 3k miles (5k if using high quality full synthetic).

    by 150k you should have done a basic tune-up (spark plugs, coils, and wires). I’d also recommend a fuel system service at this time, A fuel system service is where you add a can of seafoam (or equivalent like gumout etc) to the tank, and run another through your brake booster vacuum line ( or can spray in the intake tube, either works but brake booster hits the injectors more directly) while idling at 1500-2k rpms. Drip the can in slowly with an IV drip and watch the idle. After the can is gone, let the engine hot soak and then crank it and give it a few good revs. this helps blow all the carbon out of your fuel system, and clean your injectors to get them spraying nice an evenly. It’s recommended to take the vehicle on the highway for 10-15 minutes after this to help clean even more after the service. Doing this can really rejuvenate your MPG and get it back a lot closer to where it was when the vehicle was new.

    Cam/crank sensors tend to go out in Xs and can leave you stranded. It would be wise to replace them if you haven’t done so.

    Rear diff breather reroute (if you offroad, or drive in water) Reroutes the diff breather to a higher spot and puts a small filter on it so you wont suck in water to your diff if you do a river crossing or go through some deep puddles.

    Evap cannister clean/replace/reroute. the Evap cannisters are known to clog and cause an emissions code (I think p0443?) and can also make it hard to pump gas, your pump will click even though your tank isn’t full. It can be good to replace the cannister, or remove and backflush with air. Where they are located they vent to the frame and lots of dirt/debris/water can get in there. A lot of people reroute the vent behind their tail lights

    U-joints. By 170k my U joints were toast, I mean completely disintegrated. If you hear a click when you put it in to reverse, or a wobble when accelerating around 40-60 mph (keep in mind you can also get a wobble from other things like unbalanced tires, etc) your U-joints on the driveshaft could be going bad. Get the ones with grease fittings so you can service them and they’ll last the rest of the life of your vehicle.

    Brakes: we all know about brakes.

    Ball joints: this one is a bit more work, but if your ball joints are all dried and cracked you can get some new ones with Zerc fittings so you can actually grease them and they’ll last a lot longer.

    Gaskets/Seals: there are a ton you could replace but from my experience the valve cover gaskets like to leak, so do the rear main seals and the seal on the oil filter housing (or is it the oil cooler? I can’t remember, either way its the spot behind your oil filter).

    Suspension: if you’re at 150k you might be starting to get a little sag from your leaf springs stretching and possibly your shocks starting to wear. You can do an add a leaf (I got the all dogs offroad kit) or a full leaf spring pack. Lots of people put bilsteins on as a fairly affordable/reliable suspension. Nisstec has great suspension parts for Xs also.

    Bushings: around this age a lot of the bushings start to go bad. You can look at your sqay bar bushings to get a good indication. If they look extremely dried and cracked then your others may too. There are tons of bushings and rubber parts you can replace but a few i can list are: sway bars, trans/diff bushings, bump stops (can also opt for different size bump stops). I would also recommend replacing the two rubber stops under the hood. If your hood rattles when driving down the highway it’s because those stops have worn down. It’s super annoying but new ones are cheap and easy to put on.

    Air filters: your car has an engine and also a cabin air filter located on the passenger side beneath the glove box. 9/10 they never get changed and look disgusting. That’s what you’re breathing when you turn on your air or heat so I highly recommend changing that.

    Cup holders: this is an offbeat one but If you have the GIANT cup holders and wonder why nothing fits it’s because X’s have inserts that I guess most people lost. you can get them on amazon for a few bucks and are a huge quality of life improvement.

    Air struts for the hatch: I bet by 150k your hatch doesnt just pop open anymore. Replace your air struts on the hatch for a huge quality of life improvement, bonus points if you put struts on the hood so you don’t need the hood prop anymore.

    I’m SURE I missed a ton, but I think this should give you a pretty good starting point. Let me know if you have any questions or need any recommendations, It was a lot to type so I didn’t want to get into a ton of specific parts and brands.

    EDIT: You didn’t specify which gen you had but all of this info is for 2nd Gen X’s.

  • Xterra Inspected

    The lesson learned today is that the TPMS needs to be replaced after 16 years and it costs about $260 to do so. I also learned that they aren’t needed for inspection so I’ll circle back around to that when I have a job. I did get the Xterra inspected at Jiffy Lube, it was expensive as opposed to my usual sticker place $25 vs $9 but the sticker place was so packed there wasn’t even a place to park. Oh well, it’s done. Ordered online anyway, still need to get the sticker in the mail so while I’m legal all day long, the vehicle is still hot and can easily be pulled over so caution needs to be exercised.

    Slight progress made on yard work.

    And it was cute, I went riding around, and as I was heading back home, here comes Sandy. She found me and we went biking around and had dinner at Olivos Cafe. Then we biked another 3 miles on the way home. It was nice and you couldn’t ask for better weather.

  • Xterra Issues

    For the first time in recent memory, I have a vehicle that’s out of inspection. This doesn’t make me happy. It started out with the horn not working. Now honestly, I don’t really need a horn because I only use it out of anger but it appears that it’s required to pass inspection. Grrr, ok, I checked the fuses and everything is in order. A troubleshooting article said to turn the steering wheel and hold the horn and if at some point it honks, it’s the clockspring.

    Long story short, replaced the clockspring and still had the airbag light along with the SLIP & VDC Off light. Really? I figured the latter was because the battery was unhooked but I drove it 70 miles and it didn’t reset. So it turns out both issues are related to replacing the clockspring.

    The airbag light has to be reset which is done by this video.

    The other lights are done by one of these, I had success with the last one:

    • You can also find straight road and, while moving, throw it neutral, turn the key off, wait a few seconds, start the truck back up, and put in gear. Lights should then be off. I believe you’re resetting the steering angle sensor by doing this.
    • That’s in the “Starting and Driving” section of your owner manual. Page 5-32 in mine.
      Drive above 10 mph for at least 10 minutes.
      If it doesn’t help, you can do double figure eights. 2 turns at full steering lock, on each side. That one according to the dealer.
    • Take Xterra to a semi straight road. Straighten steering wheel and turn off the car. Start the car back up go straight. Should take about 10 feet and lights will turn off and vdc is reset.
    • find an empty lot. Turn the truck off. Restart and drive in reverse in a straight line for 50 feet or so.

    So tomorrow I’ll go to Discount Tire to have them fix the TPMS and then over to get inspected and we’re good to go for another year!!!

  • Horn Working Again

    The issue reported yesterday with the clockspring replacement has made some progress, it was the connection that I thought so I pulled it apart and made sure that those connectors were properly seated. So the horn is now working but the airbag light is blinking and the VDC/Slip lights are on. I think the latter is due to unplugging the steering wheel. But no idea about the airbag. I’ll research that and finish addressing it tomorrow.