My son decided to remove the roof basket and deflector off my 2004 because he wanted to see what it looks like without. After doing so we discovered that the gasket under the deflector has shrunk and there is some scratching of the paint underneath. We cleaned up the roof, used a clay bar and polished the scratched areas then used Black on Black on the deflector and roof basket to restore them to like new. I discovered I can't buy that gasket any more so... I created a replacement gasket using two layers of neoprene (the material used to make scuba diving suits). This material is about 1/8th of an inch thick, water proof, heat and cold resistant, soft and squishy. It's black so it's not immediately noticeable when looking at the vehicle.
My question is, is there something different or better I could have done? Was it a clever hack or a bad idea for some reason? Thanks in advance for your input!
My son decided to remove the roof basket and deflector off my 2004 because he wanted to see what it looks like without. After doing so we discovered that the gasket under the deflector has shrunk and there is some scratching of the paint underneath. We cleaned up the roof, used a clay bar and polished the scratched areas then used Black on Black on the deflector and roof basket to restore them to like new. I discovered I can't buy that gasket any more so... I created a replacement gasket using two layers of neoprene (the material used to make scuba diving suits). This material is about 1/8th of an inch thick, water proof, heat and cold resistant, soft and squishy. It's black so it's not immediately noticeable when looking at the vehicle.
My question is, is there something different or better I could have done? Was it a clever hack or a bad idea for some reason? Thanks in advance for your input!
I permanently removed the basket and deflector on my 2000 Xterra. I think it looks better and cleaner. Also, now I can open the sunroof without that useless basket getting in the way. In addition, I removed the side steps and those big mud flaps. This has improved the overall look of the vehicle considerably.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could
be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Nissan XTerra Forum
A forum community dedicated to Nissan Xterra owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about superchargers, modifications, troubleshooting, maintenance, overlanding, towing capacity, and more!
