2000 Nissan Xterra

I'd forgotten about that! I'll check it out, thanks.

Alright. Trying to get the engine onto the mounts with the exhaust still in place is going to be very difficult and aggravating to do by myself. So, I started working on getting it out of the way.

I used multiple tools, heat, penetrating oil, more heat, different tools and finally had to use my nut breaker on two of the nuts. Of course, one of the nuts didn't shear properly and now getting the breaker back on and not having it slip into the groove it already cut is impossible.

Tomorrow will see me break out the hacksaw. That, or I might just go get a cheap cutoff tool from Harbor Freight.

Removing the exhaust helped quite a bit. The engine is on the mounts and I started to put the transmission and engine together again just before the huge thunderstorm hit. It can wait until another day.

It started! It threw a bevy of codes since the rear cats/02 sensors were off, though. I still have to get the exhaust put back together and the front differential installed.

I also found out that there are two plugs on the 2004 engine that are NOT present on the 2000 engine. They are located right above where the AC compressor is, and I have no idea what they are for. I've covered them with electrical tape for the moment, and it is my worry that there is a large enough difference in the engines to make passing emissions a bit difficult. I won't know for sure until I get everything together, clear the codes and see what happens once it is in actual running condition.

I also have to put in 4 more engine mount bolts and absolutely remember to track down any vac lines that are not connected, especially the one on the front differential.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CB5VQgcYvY&feature=share

The project is getting close.

I can't find my OBDII reader to find out what the codes are. Also, the exhaust between a 2004 2wd and a 2000 4wd is a bit different beyond the rear cats. Or, it was different enough up front to get it out of alignment in the back. I think there might be a spot of MIG welding involved in this.

So, the emissions on a 2004 are different from a 2000, even though all of the plugs from the 2000 wiring harness go onto the 2004 engine without any fuss. I started swapping the intake (upper and lower) from the 2000 engine onto the 2004 and ran into some problems.

The power company is coming in the next week or so to replace the pole and lines that feed a few houses, and they need to get their equipment down my driveway, so I put everything back together so that the Xterra is mobile and then tried to put the battery charger on it to move it and the minute it got up to 5% charged, the alarm started to go off. It took a while to get that sorted out. During that escapade, I found that there is something drawing current off of the battery. There are no lights or accessories on, just the little red security light, so I'll have to track that down.

This just popped up on Craigslist, too. It's one of the colors I wanted in the first place, but the price is waaaay too high.

However, given the dollars I have into the vehicle at the moment, how many more dollars and hours it is going to take to get this thing reliable and the fact it was in New England for a while, I'm starting to think that I might just ditch it before I hit a point of no return and wind up with something I'm not satisfied with.

I just traded my bike for an 01 xterra and if you were closer to indiana i would probably sell it to you. has 260k miles but literally everything still works like it should! drives like it has 100k on it.

So... this thing has a plate and is road legal now. Talk about a slow moving project, eh?

In any case, the suspension is showing its age. That's next on the agenda.

I am getting a rubbing/scraping noise when the wheel is turned hard and I am backing up, but only when I am backing up. I've looked and can't see where it is rubbing, and I don't think it is the front hubs. The plan is to coat the tires in sidewalk chalk and see what happens.

None of this matters any longer, I sold this car, and made a solemn promise to myself not to buy another basket case for quite some time.