Come to my home in San Jose at 10:00am on Saturday 1/21 to help with or be a spectator of the following mind-blowing ultra-spectacular events:

•4xNewb wants to install a 2" lift on his X

•XSAL wants to perform a brake system flush on his wife's Accord

Bring any tools and parts you need to perform the work.

Garage is equipped with a 4-foot hydraulic scissors-lift. I also have a floor jack and air tools and many other assorted tools.

Oh, and to change a fuel filter.

Dean,

Any chance we could fit a Wheel Bearing pack job in?

Thx

Probably, though it really depends on how much progress we make on the lift install.

4xNewb- besides your Calmini shackles, what else are you installing? Add-a-leafs? Shocks? Torsion bars? Upper A-arms? We want to get an idea of how much time things will take.

And oh yeah- one more thing- has your X ever spent time in the snow-belt? (ie. how much rust/corrosion does the undercarriage have?)

ok so I have shackles in my possession and a 2" Bl from AC already ordered and paid for just waiting for shipping. Hopefully they are in stock and only taking time to arrive. I emailed AC and am awaiting a response on status.

about tools, I have located this link, http://web.archive.org/web/20040609051604/www.4x4lo.com/mods/body_lift/body_lift.htm
and plan to buy the parts listed on this page. Is there anything else not listed that I should have?
"Tools needed:
Time (and lots of it)
Sockets, ratchet & breaker bar (have 12mm, 14mm, 17mm, 18mm, 5/8" shallow and deep sockets available)
A really good friend with a garage you can leave your truck in
Bottle jacks, scissor jacks, and/or floor jacks
4x4's and 2x4's (and other things to stack the jacks on.)
Directions"

Would a 3 ton floor jack be good enough in combination with what you have?

Ive also located these 2 links for the shackles and tbar cranking respectively..
http://midwestxterraowners.com/nuke/forums/index.php?showtopic=559
http://midwestxterraowners.com/nuke/forums/index.php?showtopic=399

and havent located any tools list aside from jacks. Any added tools that can be recommended?

also, my X has only lived in the bay area, with a few trips to the snow. I havent crawled under the truck to inspect for rust, but I didnt see it glaring out at me when i did a front brake job a few weeks back.

Ill make an effort to slide under and check it out in the next day or so weather depending.

OK, whoa. 2 comments.

1) no worries re: rust if your truck has only lived in CA. The last X we put a lift on had spent some time in Chicago, and required busting out the sawzall and grinder.
2) I don't know if there's enough time to perform a body lift as well as t-bar crank + shackles in just one day. Nobody I know locally has done a body lift on an X before, and by the sound of it, it doesn't seem like a one-day project. A body lift requires lifting the body off of the frame with several hand-operated jacks. I have a hydraulic lift that lifts the entire truck off the ground, which may actually get in the way for attempting a body lift.

Does anyone have knowledge about what's involved in a body lift on the X? (Are there any how-to threads here on XOC?)

The 2'' BL is not a super hard install, but it is time consuming. My 3'' BL took an entire weekend. However the 2'' is much less involved. Would probably take a couple people the entire day to do it. Main thing is you need a couple good floor jacks, and a whole bunch of 4x4s to put under the body.

I am also willing to give a hand with any work that needs to be done that day.

well, getting that information, and since the bl isnt here yet, Ill commit to doing the shackles and tbar adjustment only for this get together, and plan on getting the alignment done the following monday.

Then at some point before 4crawler is done with my sliders Ill get the bl done and install sliders.

Thanks again for the offer of your place.

Think its a good idea to just get a 1/2" normal and deep socket set with wrench. Thinking of going to sears for craftsman, unless there are other deals I can be enlightened on..

Well when you decide to do the BL let me know and I will give you a hand with the install. just remember that the 2'' kit doesn't come with bumper relocation brackets.

4xNewb, here's a thread with some interesting reading.

http://www.xterraownersclub.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=73;t=000783#000004

My question is why you want to do the 2" body lift? Are you tring to fit 33s or 35s under there? Or are you looking for a cheaper alternative to a full 3" suspension lift? Also what do you plan to do with your Xterra, dunes, rock crawl, show truck, mud?

Not knocking your mod, just hoping to get more info so that we can better help you.

NorthBayRP: thanks for the offer and Ill take you up on it when its time. Im aware the bumpers will be gapped like a red headed stepchilds teeth, and have lomg term ideas of replacing the bumpers so Im pretty sure I can live with it for awhile.

Huey: My ultimate goal is to do some rock crawling trails. Really Id like to be better capable to do runs like that wheelchair run we went on awhile back. (taking hte kids out) I didnt like being the reason we all had to turn back at the root steps, on the way to that lake, after Dean popped the beads on his tires. Thinking in the long term with the $$ i had available, I chose this route:

done:
tires (bfg at kos 165/75/16)
pml(paid for just not installed)
2" bl(paid for just not installed)
sliders(paid for just not installed)

plan in order:
hi lift jack
under armor by shrock
front bumper or rear bumper w/ spare carrier
and heres as far as I got..

not sure what the best next step is or if this is even the best way to go. I just knew I didnt want to deal with re-adjusting my sliders at a later date when I knew in the future i was going to want 33s or bigger.

any thoughts? seriously if my head is up my ass, tell me.

PS Thanks for the linky, IM reading it now...

4xNewb: With the shackles and 2'' BL you should be able to fit upto 33's with some generous trimming. You can take a look at what I had to cut to fit 35's on the 21st.

Also I will try and see if I can find the bumper relocation brackets for the front that came with my BL. Maybe you could redrill them to work with your 2'' BL?

So here is my opinion from experience...

- 165/75/16 Tires? Kinda on the small size (I think that would measure out to be 25" tall) do you mean 265/75/16 (which would be about a 32" tire)? If so, you obviously can see that you don't need a body lift to clear them. A 32" tire is a good size for what we do up in the Sierras (trust me I've run hard trails with that size). Also remember you only gain 1/2" with a 33, so honestly it isn't worth the pain of insatalling a body lift.

- As you know a 2" body lift will require fabrication to align bumpers and your new sliders (unless you don't mind the 2" gap). This fabrication will become harder if you upgrade to aftermarket bumpers as you will want those to be able to withstand higher forces, hold up to recovery situations, brace the X if you get a winch, and hold the extra weight of accessories mounted to them.

- I would say the only reason to install a body lift would be if you needed to fit a set of 35s. Again a 33 only gains you 1/2" of height/clearance so a 32 is a perfectly good size to start wheeling with. If you need a larger tire you can do the body lift later.

- A full 3" suspension lift will net you more. The aftermarket upper a-arms will allow for more front end travel and the shackles will do the same for the rear. Also just about any aftermarket shock availible will be better then stock.

- Sliders and underbelly armor are key for what we do in this area. I would put them ahaead of the 3" suspension lift. We have real rocks here and you don't want them to cause damage when wheeling esp. to anything under your X.

After you have gotten that far with the mods everything else just helps to make wheeling easier. Don't over build while you are learning though, do your mods slowly and get used to them before moving onto the next mod.

**Never forget recover gear! You should always have one recovery strap (NOT a tow strap with hooks), d-rings, and be sure you have a recovery points front AND rear. The Xterra comes stock with a front hook, if you have a tow package then you have a recovery point for the rear (just be sure you have a hitch mountable block and d-ring).

If you have questions let me know and I can further explain any of the above. Again this is meant only as suggestion from my years of wheeling an X in our Sierras.

Oh and wheeling should never be about *bling*, build it strong and capable and get out there and wheel...who cares who has a taller truck or bigger tires. Instead learn how to use your equipment and use it well. But that's just me.

I totally agree with Huey, you should do your mods as you get comfortable with what you have.

Maybe do the shackle lift, and then go for a set of skids? I just installed my Shrock fuel tank skid tonight, and the quality is superior to the skid row in my opinion.

I started with just the PML, then upgraded to the full 3" lift. I came from a TJ with 37's so I opted for the 3"BL and 35's.

Last fall I bit the bullet and went for the SAS, so yes my truck is bigger than most of the other X's, but I wasn't trying to build a monster truck.

I thought you were trying to sell your X. Did your circumstances change to allow you to keep it?

Circumstances definatly changed for the better, and I was able to keep the X.

Dude, that's great! I'm glad you'll actually be able to use your truck the way you want now!

I will be arriving in San Fran on tuesday to live and would be more than willing to help on any installs. I have done a few lifts, arb's winches etc. etc. I have most of my tools in my truck since they live in there and figure getting dirty and greasy is a great way to meet you bunch of weasels.

2 SAS trucks.... Sweet! Only other one I have seen in person is Calmini's

Seriously. I am looking forward to some dry weather, so I can do some runs with you guys this year. Now that I actually have weekends off that is.

Still havn't had more than a three day weekend in over 3 years.....

If anyone needs iron fabrication stuff, I have that day available and the basic tools.

I am looking to fab up some mounts for a steering stabilizer... Just a couple simple tabs to mount the stabilizer between the axle and centerlink.

**Thanks for the info on tire size. With the new info I actually took the hit and cancelled my body lift order. I wasnt really going for the $BLING$ effect as much as I assumed bigger tires meant more clearance in the long run that I may end up needing.

Since I have already paid for my sliders, Im just waiting for 4crawler to get to them.
Ive got to tell him no body lift now.

so, with the savings of 200 dollars on the body lift and the combination of a $500 bonus I just got, Im curious what would make as a better order of mod additions.

Im thinking the best option is to take advantage of the discount on a full skid set from shrockworks rather than trying to piece meal it later on.

But Im not sure with the shackles and tbar cranking, if I should solidify the front area more, or get better shocks. I just hit 36k over the weekend if that helps.

Any thoughts?

If you have the money go for the full set of skids. That will be the most beneficial to you.

I will look for my stock shocks before this weekend. They have like 10k miles on them. If I can find them you can have them, might be better condition. Or replacments?

Yup, underbelly skids are a good option at this point. Cover as much as you can. Oh and a cheap mod you can get would be a idler-arm brace.



Next up would be better shocks. I really like my Rancho 9000x (kinda pricy, but the adjustment make them worth it). You can go for longer rears since you are installing the shackles. Remove your rear sway bar and you can make use of all the extra flex you have free-ed up.

Then I would say build the rest of your lift. You would only need a-arms, add-a-leafs, and t-bars. Don't forget a new steering system at the same time (your centerlink just won't last).