Well, my 1990, 200,000 mile+ Montero trail rig is finally getting to me, with relentless problems and break downs. So I am about ready to pull the trigger and build the 05 X. It will take about 9,200 just to get it close to where it needs to be for me,(5" lift, 35" tires, rear spare out of the dirt, front bumper, winch, skids..) so big descision.

After about 17K miles I do have concerns, including solving the bottoming out design flaw, total 4x4 failure the first trip out, VDC issues the second trip and concerns over axle durability. Anyone out there that can reaasure me.....Like, " I have been wheeling for a year with 33s and no broken axles", " Just did a hardcore trail with 35s and no gizmo failure".....

My first 4x4 brand switch in 20 years of wheeling, so am nervous!

I would think if you are going to be into hardcore wheeling I would consider a solid axle swap for the front. It will be a little more than the Calmini 5" lift, but well well worth it.

a combination of lift and timbren rear bumpstops will cure that harsh crashing of the rear axle.

I did have to customize the mounting plate to be shorter as the timbren one is a tad too long. they may have changed this since last year though. I think that with one inch of lift (or more) would be perfect.

One other wierd possibility would be to change to titan front and rear drive train with the larger lug pattern. I assume since the frame is shared, that the suspension track is wider, but mounts the same. this would allow the (presumably) larger titan front axle to be used. just thinking out loud.

I have had no issues with VDC since I drive stick and have yet to verify the deep snow complaint, however.

My conclusion is to leave the X alone and maybe throw on a 1.5 inch lift for general clearance and leave the rest as a cushy suv for 95 percent street use. It is a good strategy to let others spend the money to figure out what works and what doesn't.

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.

SAS it. It's probably not too out of your price range if you are planning on spending $9k any way.

This will solve the lift problem, locker problem, tire problem and weak front diff problem all at once.

It will also fix your VDC problem as it won't be there any more.

Or, go the route I just took and find a nice used Rubicon for a bit more than you want to spend modding the X and use it as the trail rig.

yes, indeed on the used jeep. I usually advocate sensible mods because I didn't sell my 99 TJ.

A Rubicon is impractical for week+ trail camping with a family, but the new stretched/ limited 07 is looking awfully nice.......

Then again a Jeep is boring, everybody drives one. Seeing a 100 Rubicons on the Rubicon is the norm, but a Montero? An Xterra? And the Jeep could not deliver the comfort of the X, will still require lift and tires. So build wise you are only saving a couple of things, like skids and spare tire mount. Of course you do get a Solid Axle.....

I have been a ginny pig for years on the Montero, and would prefer to wait on the challenging SAS.(remember rack and pinon also!) True, 5-7K would get me a SAS, of which almost 2K would be saved with a cheaper lift, but that is still alot of dough, and alot of experimenting for a year old rig. And I would still need the other 5K+ in other stuff anyways.(winch, tires, skids, bumpers) I have to be honest, I do like the stock look as well.

I have excluded a front locker for now as well, since the stock traction control works so well.

Have you considered a late model Land Rover... D2? they are solid axles, old enough that there are lockers and mods a plenty, if you are careful you can get one with a locking center diff and 7 person seating. They are EASY to work on. Suspension has a lot of articulation. They come with off road abs, Hill descent, etc.
There is a certain amount of cachet associated with the brand.
I have had a Jeep Rubicon, Toyotas (pickup and a pair of 4runners), Land Rover D2, and Nissans (pathy and X).
The jeep mildly modded was the off-road champ no questions asked. the toyotas were solid, good perfoming, and un-breakable but ultimately moved too much into soccer mom territory. the landy was a hoot but got I tired of chasing down leaks. the second gen pathfinder was just plain silly-really just a glorified station wagon (the dakar version was incredibly modded before you bring it up). The X... you know it well. It's a good beast, a good compromise, but not as capable as the new FJ or the upcoming 07 4 door jeep wrangler. YMMV.

I did consider a Land Rover back in 96 or so, D90. But I was shocked at the poor quality construction, crappy GM engine, lack of off-road capability(other then approach departure), water intake system, ergonomics, water tightness, and even the salesman told me I would hate it after owning Japanese and could not afford the repairs

I have looked at the FJ, but it has a ways to go. The Xterras 4x4 system is WAY ahead and WAY better, the X farther refined, better transmission and engine and more advanced overall. The FJ may have a stronger 4x4 system to be sure and the worlds best oil filter location!

They all give you some compromise. The X gains you a sevier bottoming out problem to repair, and some real unkowns about the new differential strengths. AFter seeing the FJ, I believe the X is better overall. But if it breaks to easy.... I beat the crap out of it already, but only with stock tires.

The new Jeep is a real mystery...Further strengthing...better overall construction....maybe enough expedition room with a hard top. And all the goodies, just needs lift and tires. But will it be the first nice roadable Jeep? And with 35's? I know I can build the X to cruise cross country with 35s with gears.....

I have only ran Monteros though, so I do appreciate comments. It seems the 05X is light years beyond older Nissans. I would have never even considered a Pathfinder.

The Timbren Bumpstops does cure the bottom out, heps is towing/loads and handling when you have the rear sway removed. You can use Timbren in Rear and the $10 (for 2) Autozone Bumpstops in front.

I put Timbren on a X 05 with a Daystar lift, the spacers in rear were right on and front fit perfect as well. MC

I thought I had read where some said those Timbren bumpstops did not fully cure the problem? I had decided against them because of that. SO they work for you?

What is amazing I plowed through some nasty whoop-T-Doos at 55mph in my Titan the other day and didnt know they were there

Good input guys, keep it coming. I really only have two options here, pull the trigger in the next year or look at the Rubicon 4dr when it comes out. But I am really not into Jeep. And if I do pull the trigger, it means being ready for my annual Sierra Carnage trip in 07, including trails like the RUbicon and FOrdyce.

the timbren spring stops will work, but they are kind of long and need the lift to maintain some semblence of spring travel before getting into the rubber part.

I shortened my mount a bit, and have two sets... one which is short and fits well at stock height, but a very hard hit still slams some.....

and the full short spring, which will not slam ever, but engages kind of early on during suspension movement without the lift. Have plans to try out some kind of modest lift soon, I just would rather avoid any VDC side effects...we'll see.

I have a few new photos of the bumpstop combinations I made up..let me know and i'll put them together in one post.

I will be doing a 5" suspension lift, so sounds like the kit would need to go on, then figure out the proper mounting.

with that much lift, the longer mounting plate as is from timbren might be prefered.

Mike,

I think Timbren has changed the kit a bit since you bought it. You installed yours before I did mine, and you got busy modifying the mounting plate to suit your needs right away, which was cool. I went the other direction. I called Timbren tech support, explained the problem, and they shipped me shorter springs for free. The shorter springs were still a bit hard, however, so I let them know... and they sent me ANOTHER set of the shorter springs, this time softer. So, end result is, I have a stock suspension with a very conservative Timbren SES and it rides like a dream. The shorter springs ride just like Timbren says they should: 1-2" above the rear axle. With me as a guinea pig I believe they have modified their 05+ Xterra kit as well.

I called and got the shorter ones too. the early kit (or mis kit) was so long that it basically rode on the springs at rest.

I wanted to match the free travel that the original bumpstop has so i shotened about 3/4's of an inch out of it by taking the spacer part off.

photos in no particular order:
------------------------------
shortest spring (long spring cut in half) WITHOUT modified mount:
clicky

short timbrem replacement comparison: clicky

long spring: clicky
ok..I have new modified plate photos at home, but you'll have to wait a couple of hours before I can get to my comp and upload them to photobucket, but it is interesting to see...

OK ON EDIT (more pics)..
hole cut into bumpstop frame pad

shortened mount with full ses short spring: clicky

cut bumper spring on shortened mount: here

I rode around with the short mount with the full rubber spring (the updated shorter one and it was ok, but it got into the stiff rubber spring feel too often. That will be perfect with a 1.5 to two inch lift, so for now I'm running it with the 1/2 length timbren I cut in half. It doesn't offer 100 percent bottom out slam insurance like the other ones do, but I compromised for now until it gets more lift. I think articulation on the rear might be more like this since it rides a bit higher than the original stop.

one last pic: here

Looks good Mike;

It appears that you have modified the Timbren solution to be approximately the same distance from the axle as the stock bumpstop. Since the Timbrens allow for some compression, have you noticed any ill-effects from the shocks? Like, any leakage from the shock cylinder (since the shock is now subjected to a bit more compression than stock)?

actually, the cut and shortened setup I run now is about 3/8's of an inch shorter than stock and, as you mentioned, probably compresses more. I haven't checked the shocks, but after posting this I did beat the snot out of my X on a dirt field near here.

I also ran it across a couple of spots on the street which are known to get the rear to bottom badly. results: totally better- that shorter mount made it not slam anymore. previously the single cushion was only a little better, but could still be too harsh. I almost wonder it it has altered the timing of when the slapper pad on the front of the leaf reacts in time with the main bumpstop. I was saving the full uncut timbrens for after the lift, but unlifted, it seems quite fine short of jumping the truck. I know i got the ass end airborn with a full tank and a 150 lns in the back on my dirt field run. It's fine compared to stock- i was surprised it didn't slam given that the half stop solution before the mount shortening wasn't quite good enough.

NOTE: notice my very first photo link that that is the half pad WITH the full mount before shortening...this only works a little better. once that cylinder was cut out, it seemed to make the leafs move more properly somehow. I think it has something to do with the front mid-spring bumpstops

The position at picture time.


Allows free travel


The squish


The right spring installed on a Shackle lift.


I have 1" clearance when all four paws are on the ground on level. It's a Mod I can;t do without for towing, and the way I drive around curves with sway bar removed. MC

that definitely works for a lift and no sway bar .

how much free travel do you get at level rest with the long ses timbren spring and unmodified mount?

ON EDIT: I read that you said 1 inch. I concur that the Timbrens are the "cat's ass" for towing and heavy loads, but back seat passengers do tend to get an industrial suspension feel bouncing off those rubber-baby-buggy-bumpers when you got the X riding low with a full tank of gas and four passengers.

Everybody's solution is going to vary. That's why I have the alternate set of rubbers for when/if I lift it 2 inches.

The stock bumpstop and limited suspension travel is an embarrassment. Performance mods are one thing, but I can't recall where I ever had to modify a stock vehicle just to work.

I agree on the embarrassment of the bottom out blunder from Nissan. I was totally pissed about it. I told Nissan, they don't care.

With the Pro Comp adjustable shocks, the passengers don't get the bank on the bumpstops, The shock can be adjusted to work with it no matter what the weight. Once you get the numbers for what you do, it's a 3 second adjustment.

Whatever they were going for, it did not work.

MC