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Easy mods thread

321K views 105 replies 50 participants last post by  KirillK 
#1 · (Edited)
Ok guys here is the deal just write ups here, if you have a question please PM the poster. Keep the mods under $100 and under a few hrs.

Pathfinder Window switch cover mod (05+)
Well I went right outside and put them on, took me about 15 minutes since I was being extra EXTRA careful not to scratch anything. I figured I would write up some notes and show some photos for all here who might be planning on doing this at some time.

Tools
* a flat head screw driver
* a philips head screwdriver (this is for the drivers side only as the switches are screwed to the cover plate)
* and a sharp knife (i would suggest this but its not needed)

I used the sharp knife to start popping the parts out. The blade fit perfectly and allowed me to open the gap large enough to get the flat head in there and pop the tabs holding it in.

NOTE: at the back of ever part (towards the backend of the truck) there is a big tab that you will need to push hard to get it to move in far enough to remove and put back in the cover. You will see when you look at the new covers.

The buttons all clip in (except the drivers side ones) to the covers and its was very easy to remove them from the covers. Below are the photos I took of me doing the drivers side. I edited the photos to cut the size down

Throttle Body Bypass Mod (05+)
Ok I saw this back on CT a few months back and there have been some threads here on it. But the trottle body bypass basicly takes out the hot water running though the trottle body. Its a cheep and simple mod with the L fitting and 2 caps it was less then $10.

Parts and tools needed:
Good pair of small pliers
Flat head screwdriver
2x 3/8 in bypass caps (the ones I got came 2 in a box)
3/8 in L or sright fitting
A shop rag.
Optional:
2 small hose clamps.
Gressless lubercant.

Ok make sure the motor is cool (I did it first thing in the morning)

1. put the towel under the trottle body to catch any coolent that might leak out.
2. undo the 2 spring clamps that hold the coolent lines to the trottle body.
3. Pull the coolent lines off the torttle body (I used a flat head screw drive to move them a little and break the seal)
4. Install the L fitting by sliding the hosed over (a ittle bit of gressless lube helped get the hoses to slid on.
5. Move the spring clamps so they are hold the hoses to the L fitting.
6. Slip on the 2 bypass caps.
7. Turn on and check for leaks.

Total install time was about 15 mins because I needed to go back inside a for the screw drive (so should take you about 10mins to do)

Gains:
I know there was some debate on this here about the gains you'll get out of this mod. Yesterday the truck had air intake tempature of about 86-90 degress in 70 degree out side air temp, today the truck was about 71 degress with 66 outside air temp. Both were done at 40 MPH. Also something I was not expecting the water temp dropped form 195 degress to about 188-190. No real butt dyno incresses though.

Note: Intake air temp taking with Scangauge 2 over a 2 mile sreach of road. Truck has Volant CAI and Magnaflow exhaust.

The Pics

You can see the 2 coolent lines in the trottle body


Now with the caps and the L fitting


Air box mods
First Gen
There are two resonators you can remove. The first one and most important one is in the driver side fender. Its a pain to get the two bolts that hold it in out. The first bolt is behind the intake box and the other is under the ABS System. You will have to remove the plastic cover in the the wheel well to get the resonator out. The second resonator is behind the air intake box and is a 2" tube that just goes to a box. It can be removed and you can plug that hole.
Posted by Steve0616

2nd Gen
Here is an almost free way to get better performance from your 05/06
Frontier,Pathfinder,Xterra. While they have a big airbox,the tube to the
airbox from front fender it breathes through is quite small and i am certain
restrict the performance and fuel economy of the truck. i KNOW this is not as effective
as a true CAI but with a better breathing filter(K&N, airhog, aFe etc) it does make a difference

Tools required
10 mm socket,
6 inch extension
Ratchet
10mm combo wrench
Blade screwdriver
Dremel tool with cutting bit
Small file

1) Open hood.

2) Disconnect the negative battery terminal.

3) Use the blade screwdriver to loosen the hose clamp closest
to the airbox.

4) Open airbox, remove filter, and move airbox cover(lid) out of
the work area.

5) Using the 10 mm socket completely remove the bolt at the top back
of the airbox, loosen the one inside the box near the middle only.

6) With the 10mm combo wrench,loosen only the hex bolt at the bottom
front of the airbox.

7) Once the bolt at the back has been removed and the other two
loosened pull the airbox up and out of the vehicle.

8] Clean your airbox if dirty before you begin the modification.

9) Using the Dremel tool, cut the bottom front of the box out as
pictured. It is easy to do, use the "ribs" inside the
box to help guide the tool as it cuts. Remember to not remove
the larger "ribs" as they support the integrity of the airbox.



10) Different areas may be cut, I feel however the best place to
remove the plastic is at the front behind the headlight.
More cool air will be available for the engine to breathe in front
than at the back or side of the box.

11) Once the holes are cut as desired, clean up the edges of the areas
where the plastic was removed with the file. Make sure you get all
the plastic bits and filings out of the airbox before you reassemble it.

12) Reassemble the airbox in reverse order. Install your air filter
(or drop in that K & N you wanted).Put the airbox cover back on.
Retighten the hoseclamp on the intake tube hook up the battery
and the project is complete.

The entire job took about 1/2 hour, provides a small power
boost at low RPMs and a throaty sound at W.O.T. I have performed
this modification to my last 4 vehilces with success each time.This
mod can be done on almost any vehicle easily and inexpensively.
Psted by RDNF




Fog lights 2nd gen
Great quality. I am going to do a step by step install write up. Hopefully 2nite will have phase one complete. I will also post day and night pics of the two different setups

Step 1: Take OEM covers for fog light holes, rotate left clockwise and right counterclockwise.
Step 2: Remove foglights from mounting brackets
Step 3: Install mounting brackets to hanger on bumper located on the top of the hole.
Step 4: Put Bumper trims ( I bought mine from Courtesy Parts $14 with S/H)). This step is a bit tricky the right install is completeley different from the left. I was able to rotate the right one into place. The left one I had to get two of the small tabs in place and click the big tab (has a push tab on it) after struggling for a bit.
Step 5: Put fog lights back together tighten as much as possible
Wire placement:
- The installation I wanted was so that the fog lights/driving lights came on with the parking lights... NO SWITCH
- for those of you wondering they stay ON even with the high beams

Step 1: Place wires so that the fuse and relay provided will be in the same side as the battery
Step 2: feed wires for left fog light inside the chanel built behind the bumber
Step 3: Connect lamps to wiring harness
Step 4: Pull white wire from connector by pushing it with a small screw driver or pocket knife
Step 5: put switch provided, extra wires and connector (red and black back in the box)
Wiring:
Step 1: Unhook Battery terminals
Step 2: Remove battery
Step 3: Remove cover from positive terminal by sliding it up and pulling on the sides a bit
Step 4: Remove nut on left side of positive terminal at the top of it
Step 5: Install positive lead of fog light wiring harness ( Thicker white wire) **Hint** make sure you install the wire coming in front of the existing lead. The pictures show it on the back, we had to go back and change it because we could not get the cover back on properly
Step 6: Replace nut removed and thighten at the top of the positive lead
Step 7: Feed wire into wire wrap from OEM lead
Step 8: Drill a guide hole for the supplied screws between both of the ground wires on the front fender guard
Step 9:Install the relay from the wiring harness with the supplied screw into the previously tapped hole
Step 10: Get both of the ground wires from the wiring harness together and place under the front ground.
Step 11: Use a piece from the double sided adhesive provided to attach fuse holder to the fender guard
Step 12: Remove right parking light
Step 13: Remove electrical tape that holds both parking and signal lights
Step 14: Feed small white wire that was removed from connector through the top of wire cover for parking light
Step 15: Use electrical tap provided to tap into white wire of the parking light at the base of the wire protector with small white wire previously fed ** You will have to cut a lot of the small white wire **
Step 16: Replace and reconnect parking light after replacing electrical tape that holds the wires separated before
Step 17: Replace battery and reconnect terminals
Step 18: Test
Step 19: Adjust lights
Posted by Crcampos
 
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3
#2 ·
1st Gen Fog Light Mod. (How to wire factory fogs seperate of low beams)
From AgBullets thread on the TUNFS board.

First remove the cover from your steering column. On my truck there were 5 screws on the bottom. The trim around the ignition switch will also twist off. Next remove the stalk for the headlights. The harnesses refered to in the following should be pretty obvious...

There is a 2-pin connector, unplug it and use the Black/Red wire from the 2 pin connector. Cut it off and tape the end that goes back into the truck. Splice the harness end of the wire into:

1. For those that want the abilty to turn the fog lights on anytime, connect the 6" jumper wire to the purple wire in the 8-pin conenctor harness using the tap connector. Note that the headlight warning system will not remind you to turn the fogs off if you choose this option.

2. For those that want the ability to use the fogs whenever parking lights are on, connect the 6" jumper wire to the blue/red wire in the 8-pin connector harness using the tap conenctor. In this case the headlight warning system will chime to let you know if you leave the fogs on.

Special Notes:
02-04: In the steering column there is a 2-pin connector, a 4-pin connector, and an 8-pin connector. The fogs are on the 2-pin, same as the 2001. However, the purple and blue/red wires run to the 4-pin connector and not the 8-pin.
03-04: The fog light wire is red/black (not black/red).

Test the lights and then put everything back together.

Total time 15-30 minutes.
 
#3 ·
Nice write up, tried giving you some rep points, but ti won't let me, go figure.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Headlight mod (05+)
This is also an adjustment I made to help improve visibility. There's an aluminum wheel behind each headlight assembly that can be rotated with a socket or wrench (I believe it was 8mm). It has teeth around the outer edge if you look at it from the top or side, and a bolt head along the face of it that you use to do the turning. I turned it clockwise to raise the aim of the headlights a little bit. I did this at night with the lights aimed at a wall, and used some tape to mark where the lights hit the wall so I could adjust them the same amount.

1 1/2 to 2 turns seems to be just right to get better visiblity with the stock head lights (also good for after markert lights)

Fog Light bypass 05+
i saw this over on the titan forum but the guy was way overthinking this. so here is a little write up on how to bypass your fog lights so they come on with your parking lights using the factory switch.
first go to auto zone, advanced auto, pep boys, what ever you have localy and find an add-a-circuit(also called a fuse tap. looks like this http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=071-580 but you need one for the MINI fuses)
now that you have one remove your under hood fuse panel lid and locate the tail light fuse. this is the fuse you will tap into. also if you want the lights to be able to come on without any other lights you will need to find a different fuse to replace. remove the fuse and put aside.
now cut the connector off the end of the fuse tap as close to the connector as you can. you will need a blade connector and strip a small ammount of wire to hook the blade connector up. you will probably need to grind down the connector some unless you have some very small blade connectors. this can be done with a bench grinder and a pair of needle nose plyers. use a fuse for a guide.
now crimp the connector on the fuse tap and install the tail light fuse in the tap(follow the instructions that came with it). also at this time locate the fog light fuse and remove. install that fuse in the empty slot on the fuse tap.
now onstall the tap in the tail light fuses spot and connect the blade connector in the "cold" side of the fog light fuse slot. it was the lower of the two.
your fog lights will now come on with the parking lights as well as with the head lights. one note on this, the fogs will stay on EVEN WHEN THE HIGH BEAMS ARE ON. check local laws reguarding this.
here are some pics of the final setup.

the whole setup.


where the fog light fuses was


where the tail light fuse was. now where both fuses are.


i have been running this set up since 4 days after buying the frontier. this was the second thing i did. the first was replacing the head lights with sylvania silverstars. i have had 0 problems. if you have any questions please fell free to ask. Mylt1
 
#6 · (Edited)
First gen cheep lift
This is good for models up to model year 04!!!

I have a 2001 S/C Crew Cab 4x4, and was looking to put some new tires on it, but wanted to go bigger... The P255/70R17 fits great... No lift needed, and it gets up above the 31" mark you are probably looking for... The P265/70R17 will fit, but if no lift, you need to remove, or cut front mud flaps... minor rubbing can happen...

Here is what I did...

On your frontier, you can adjust the torsion bars to gain lift on the front end... There is actually over 3" of available lift there, however you don't want to go all the way... cranking the torsion bars all the way can put to much pressure on them, and cause them to snap later on... Go 1.5 to 2.5 with them... Unless your a serious off road driver, this is fine... There are plenty of "how to's" on that toppic, just search torsion bar lift... This job take litteraly 20 min to complete... you need some WD-40 of sorts, and a 19mm or 3/4 wrench, and a jack... have at it.

Second, you can buy ladder bars, aka lift shackles at AutoZone for 13.99,and other places... If not, 2" lift blocks are only 24.99, but shackles are sooooo much easier... They are basically just steel plate with holes, and you pick the size... At the very rear of your truck, at the back of the leaf springs, there is a shackle that connects the leaf springs with two bolts... spray these bolts, and break them loose... Have your jack in place, with a little presure on the body of the truck, but not enough to lift the tires up.. You will have to pry the shackles off, and the bolts are welded to the inner side, so its one piece, but easy to get off... Once off, jack the truck up, and replace shackles with the ladder bars and pick your height... I chose the middle, but probably going to the last hole once shocks are replaced to level it out at aprox 3" total lift. Bolt in place, and let it down... Your done, and lifted... This process takes about 45 min or so... You need a jack, 11/16 wrench or socket, and your off...

With this job, i got a actual lift of 2.25 to 2.5 inches... It looks great even with stock tires... I then went to the tire store to purchase the 255/70/17's, and have them mounted.. you will need an alignment after all this... I kinda thought about going to the 265/70r17 which was 32" instead of the 31''s but stuck with 31's..

In all with tire on, i have just over a 3.5" lift from original height... And it looks killer... There are 4 pictures of the truck after tires and all in my profile.. Just click on my avitar, and it will take you there...

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me...JoshuaTest

Front Plate Mod:
NY requires a front plate and the nissan bracket sucks for showing off a bumper grill. It has annoyed me from day one and last weekend I got another front plate holder from another member. Today I finally got around to modding it.

Tools
Flat and phillips head screwdrivers
Cordless drill, and a small drill bit
Sawzall or hacksaw

1. you can see the plate and how the bracket hold it above the lower bumper and in view of the grill

2. (if not using a new one) remove the plate and the bracket from the truck. I had flat head screws holding the plate and phillips heads holding the bracket.'

3. I used the plate to mark where I wanted to cut. There is a flat piece in the middle of the bracket that used.
4. Cut along the line, Sawzall when though it like butter. Though it left some slage that I need to clean up at a later time

5. Attach the plate to the truck and mark where you need to drill holes to hold the plate in. you'll need new screws for this. (i used the set from the new plate)
6. Install new plate and step back and enjoy, took me less then 5 mins start to finish


 
#7 ·
Materials needed: VHT Nite Shades, Automotive clear coat (should be sandable), 200 Grit Sandpaper, 800 Grit Sandpaper, 1000 Grit Sandpaper, and I recommend a 12-pack. Materials should run you roughly $30 plus beer. The VHT Nite Shades is to hard to come by so its easier to order it online.
  1. Open beer.
  2. Remove taillights (Open tailgate and each light has two screws)
  3. Completely take off any shine on taillight using 200 grit paper.
  4. Use 800 grit paper to smooth out roughness caused by 200 grit.
  5. Your now ready for the VHT. (This is a key step as you need to do light coats so you can decide how dark you want to go. Its simple more paint=darker light. Allow about 10 mins. between coats for drying.)
  6. Once you have the light to your desired darkness, sand down lightly with 1000 grit to give clear coat something to stick to.
  7. Now your ready for the clear coat. This can be applied thicker but be careful not to let it run.
  8. Your almost done.
  9. After the clear dries I put the lights back on the truck and use either some sort of polish or wax and buff them to a shine.
  10. Stand back and enjoy!
 
#8 ·
the TB bypass for the coolant bypass is kinda useless. the system actually has a cutoff valve so when the truck is at opp temp it shuts itself off and stops the flow of coolant. drag racing would be the only place that mid may help. other than that its just gonna cost you more in gas because its taking longer to heat up the truck so your computer keeps you in warm up mode longer so it needs more fuel.
 
#76 ·
Its not so the Enging warms up any quicker..... its because theres such a low pressure when the air is moving so fast through the butterfly at idle that it can form small amounts of ice (from condensation) and cause the engine to run badly....like when an arisol can gets freezing cold when you spray for long periods. (same sort of principle) Small engine piston aircraft have "Carb Heat" to act against this.....Nissan just ran the warm Coolant through the Throttle Body to make sure no ice would form
IMHO I see no reason in the world why it would be a bad reason to byapss it....but im just curious if theres really that much to gain from it
 
#10 ·
Not sure where this fits but its yet another test procedure and it is a quicky

Auto Active Test EKS00PAC
DESCRIPTION
l In auto active test mode, operation inspection can be performed when IPDM E/R sends a drive signal to
the following systems:
– Rear window defogger
– Front wiper
– Tail lamps, front fog lamps, parking lamps and license plate lamps
– Headlamps (HI, LO)
– A/C compressor (magnetic clutch)
– Cooling fan
– Oil pressure warning lamp
OPERATION PROCEDURE
1. Close hood and front door passenger side, and then lift wiper arms away from windshield (to prevent
glass damage by wiper operation).
NOTE:
When auto active test is performed with hood opened, sprinkle water on windshield beforehand.
2. Turn ignition switch OFF.
3. Turn ignition switch ON and, within 20 seconds, press driver's door switch 10 times (close other doors).
Then turn ignition switch OFF.
4. Turn ignition switch ON within 10 seconds after ignition switch OFF.
5. When auto active test mode is actuated, oil pressure warning lamp starts blinking.
6. After a series of operations is repeated three times, auto active test is completed.
NOTE:
When auto active test mode has to be cancelled halfway, turn ignition switch OFF.
 
#12 ·
its one of those inbuilt tests like the one to make all the lights on your dash light up. This one is to check all your exxternal lights n stuff .
 
#14 ·
bump, Irongrave add your front plate mod
 
#16 ·
Extend the range of your KeyFob.

In order to do this you will need:
-Soldering Iron
-Solder
-Flux (optional, but I needed it in order to get the solder to stick to the circuit board)
-Extra-fine sandpaper
-Razorblade
-Drill
-Very small drillbit
-Short piece of wire
-Electrical tape (optional)

Here's how to do it:
Take the keyfob apart, Remove the circuit board and scuff the antenna (the small rectangular box). Strip 1 end of the piece of wire you cut and solder it to the antenna, use flux if necessary. (Try not to get a huge blob of solder on there like I did, the solder I used was much too large in diameter).


Take a small drill bit (same size as wire diameter) and drill a hole through the circuit board in the spot that I show. BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL HERE!! CIRCUIT BOARDS ARE FRAGILE AND CAN CRACK!! ALSO, DO NOT HIT ANY TRACKS OR TRACES (hold the circuit board up a light, the green is where you can drill, where you can see copper or white paths you must not touch them!)


Insert wire through hole and wire down flat against the circuit board.


Flip it over and zig-zag the wire back and forth (you can do it a little nicer than I did, lol).


If you are using very soft wire you can probably skip this step, but my wire did not want to stay folded up, so I warped a piece of electrical tape around it.


Using the razorblade, cut the 2 top nubs off of the back 1/2 of the keyfob.
(they are still here in this pic)


Snap the keyfob back together and test it out!
I used to have to walk almost to the top of my driveway before the keyfob would work, now I can use the keyfob in the middle of my driveway (about 30feet further).
 
#21 ·
westexasrepublic said:
You can add my ram air mod.
You are welcome to add them as long as it is easy and less than 100 bucks
 
#22 · (Edited)
Clutch bypass or Brake bypass

Clutch bypass
Well i was just messing around and put a switch in, that bypasses the clutch start. This just makes it so i can start the truck without pushing in the clutch.


All i did was by a cheap switch from auto zone and put it in a blank switch spot next to my steering wheel



looked behind the clutch and u can see the clutch switch with 2 wires coming out( there wrapped with tape). take the wires from your switch and use those blue clips to crimp the wire from the clutch switch with your switch wires



the wire colors are black/white and orange/yellow i think, I just used this picture to help u visualize.
Well thats it folks, when the switch it on it tells the comp that your pressing the clutch switch
The wires may look different on new models



sorry for lack of pics got lazy and not much to it




Brake light bypass

For the brake light bypass, any time you don't want those bright brake lights turning on when you press the brakes, Just take a switch and attach both of the switch wires to one wire on the brakes. When you flip the switch and then hit the brakes the signal will never reach the brakes since the switch holds the circuit open.

This may be more difficult with the automatics and trucks with cruise since they may have 3 wires.
 
#24 · (Edited)
#26 · (Edited)
CoryRBM said:
Could you do a write up on it please? thanks.
I did this ram air mod just a little different and It does work. I saw a huge difference when passing cars on the highway this weekend. Though I allready had an Airraid Cold Air and Throtle body spacer, they help. Ill get pics of how I moded mine when I find my camera.

1st go to Oriely (AutoZone is a bit more expensive) buy the Spectre tubing and chrome air intake thing because they are sold sepperatly.
2nd youll need duct tape zip ties and I used marine goop brand adhesive to seal up any holes, and a 90 degree elbow peice I got at Lowes for a few bucks.
3rd cut out a hole using a sharp filet knife in the side of the plastic tire well leading into the engine bay, ran the tubing up, hooked up my 90 deg elbow taped and cinched down with zip ties and done.

the entire project was about 30$ all together. Though I do think if I get bigger tires I will have to run the tubing up the wheel weel like he did, but for now Itll work if you run 265's.
This is before. You can see the holes where the fog lights should go. One thing about those filler caps is they pop out completly. I cut the centers of mine out like he was talking about then I went mudding one night and they where gone completly so i left it...
 
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