First, I am beyond the solid axle swap idea. It would be difficult, expensive and problematic. While a solid axle is best for crawling, my 20 years of wheeling has been with IFS, and it gets me where I want to go. Maybe not as stylishly as a solid axle, but more comfortably. Trails like the Rubicon, Dusy, Fordyce, Pritchetts, Blanca are plenty hard for me. Bashing my way up an ugly, dry arroyo in Cruces or Johnson Valley with no scenery, history, ect, does not interest me. ANd with a well built IFS rig you can still tag along.

Mike has hit the head right on. EVerything on my 90 Montero was an experiment. While the Xterra does have great aftermarket support, few have modified a 05+ 100% yet, and wheeled the heck out of it afterwards. SO there are surely lots of pitfalls and things to learn.