[BlueCollarDrummer]

I recently gifted my youngest son with a 2000 Nissan Xterra 4x4 for Christmas 2016 after having owned a 03 Frontier and still own a 95 Pathfinder, 07 Titan 4x4 and 12 Armada. I've always liked WD22 Xterras and thought of them more of updated WD21 Pathfinder than the R50 Pathfinder ever was.

I bought the 00 Xterra for a really good price on Craigslist. I had to haggle with the seller and explain to them why it was not worth what other similar Xterras on CL were going for. It was missing heater core hoses, stereo was bad, disgustingly filthy on the inside, seats needed to be reupholstered or replaced it was obvious it needed a new radiator from the coolant stains on the side, and most of all they hit a pole in the front and never bothered to fix it. Buying used is always a risk and I assumed there would be issues popping up that needed to be factored into the price. Getting it cheap would be able to afford upgrades that one would probably do anyway after a while, only I had to do it all within 2 1/2 weeks.

It only had 180k on the clock, I dont think they ever used the 4 wheel drive and it worked fine, the engine sounded strong (VG33e), no oil leaks, no rust on the frame, and the transmission fluid looked great and no burnt smell, and most importantly-AC for living in Vegas.

I found the most cost efficient and fastest way to upgrade this is thru junkyards. Unfortunately, i wasn't able to find a 1st gen front end at any of the Vegas Valley junkyards. I didn't have time to wait for RockAuto, eBay or Amazon, so I bit the bullet and the Chris at LKQ gave me a killer deal on a new bumper, valance and grill guard, I couldn't beat it. Got it over to my friends house and we pulled the front end off using a come along, recovery strap and an impact gun. We pulled the rest of the dents out as well using recovery equipment. We had the new front end installed in less than 1/2 hour. The best $160 I spent. >

 

[BlueCollarDrummer]

Photos

 

[BlueCollarDrummer]

I knew i wanted to have the Xterra painted. It was It was silver which works great for the southwest but we already had 3 silver vehicles at our house. It was obvious the former owners never waxed the Xterra, it had clear coat missing and I thought - i bet no one is thinking of getting their vehicles painted this time of year, so I made a call to Maaco. I didnt care about door jambs or any of that. I recall my son telling me how much he loves the FJ Cruiser Blue. After getting the color code, they said it would be ready in 4 days, they also threw in getting rid of the dent on the hood, and 2 more I didn't notice. I got a call 3 days later saying it was ready for pick up. They did a fantastic job. I couldn't be happier. I only got single stage, but anything was better than the faded, burnt clear coat and really gave the old girl a modern look.

 

[BlueCollarDrummer]

The interior was a disaster. The carpet looked like it had 16 years of orange soda, McDonalds french fries, vanilla ice cream, corn chips and grease all mixed together and no carpet mats. The seats were even worse, even though it had 180k on the clock, the seats were 300k shiny from oil, sweat, farts, and dirt and who knows what else. I pulled the seats out with a 14mm for the front and a 14mm/10mm for the rear seats. I knew the seats were a lost cause, my upholsterer quoted me $900 for a complete redo, i can't really spend that kind of money on just seats, especially for a kids first truck. I stopped at the wrecking yard on boulder highway on my way back to the shop and there was an 04 that had been t boned with really nice seats and carpet. they quoted me $140 for all the seat and $30 for the carpet. I got the seats out but the carpet was impossible to get out since the passenger door was smashed in about 4" and binded the carpet. i also salvaged 3 OE mats from this Xterra and the remaining from an other Xterra. The seats weren't the same grey but close enough, and much better than the science project they were replacing. They threw in the OE mats for free! Such a deal.
I stopped at the Dollar $tore to get some white towels, brushes and cleaning supplies, when the cashier recommended LA's Awesome cleaner. I got it to the shop and was completely blown away. This cleaner works better than anything I've used (and I was a detailer for years in my youth) I used it on the junkyard seats & floor mats, and was able to make the stock carpet usable. After a bit of elbow grease I think it came out looking great and not bad for $140 used seats and floor mats and $10 worth of cleaning supplies

 

[cbxterra]

You've been busy. Nice job. Have to go over the mechanicals now. May not hurt to change the timing belt, water pump and probably plugs. Have fun with #6

 

[BlueCollarDrummer]

Ha, I should have changed the timing belt, water pump, and thermostat (and a beefed up cam?) when I replaced the radiator.

I have a 95 Pathfinder that I'm always wrenching on so I'm pretty familiar with #6 , it's not so bad, I used the tool that came with the tire changer kit.

 

[clifffalling]

Heck of an intro there bluecollar. You are indeed a fine man to do all that for your son. I am sure he will be eternally grateful, well, he better be. I do like that color, looks really sharp.

 

[RacerXXL]

Welcome to CX looks like you been busy.

 

[BlueCollarDrummer]

Cliff- He's a real good kid, always grateful. I'm blessed to be his dad.

Yeah, I agree, that color does look great on an Xterra. Those new Toyota and Subaru are killing it in the color dept.

 

[BlueCollarDrummer]

Racer XXL- Thank you Sir, there's still a ton to do.

We just replaced the TPS to get rid of 5 codes that just popped up, did a drain and fill on the transmission.

We'll be redoing the valve cover gasket (not looking forward to that) running a backup camera and new head unit.

Should be fun!