So my first post was going to be asking some advice on repairs as I'd thought I'd blown a head gasket. I have a friend whose done this repair before on his Xterra and he'd said that he would help me on mine. So, I went out and bought the full gasket set as well as the head bolts. Long story short, when he finally was able to come over with a compression test kit and we took a thorough look over it, he determined that he didn't think it was necessarily the problem and recommended I take it to an actual mechanic I really trusted for a diagnosis before we tore into a job that didn't really need to be done. As it turned out he was right. My mechanic determined that the problem came from the thermostat and water pump and not the heads. :fingerscrossed: I will be getting my girl back today. While he had it broke down I also had him change out all the belts, hoses, plugs and wires. So my girl should be running like a top again when I get her back.
Now that the major stuff is behind me, I need some tips/advice on giving her a little bit of a face lift. First off, my front bumper is sagging and I'd like to straighten it out. I've gone under it a few times trying to locate where it attaches, but can't see it readily. I could start pulling stuff off of it, but I'd rather not end up damaging other parts trying to fix another. Can anybody tell me where I need to go to fix this? Next up is the fender flair trim. This stuff just doesn't last at all. I had some minor body work done a few years back after a kid pulled out in front of me and the trim on the front was replaced, but it's already worn and coming out. Does anybody have a good source for replacement material and a good method for keeping it in place or do most owners recommend replacing it flares altogether with an aftermarket product? I'm open to both depending on the look. Lastly is the paint. Of course it's all original paint and it likely will need a new job done on it sometime in the near future, however, I don't really have the funds to pay for it right now and would like to try to dress it up/protect it in the meantime. The paint looks OK for the most part (White), but a lot of it is quite oxidized and having to park it under oak trees it gets a mildewed look if I don't wash it every week.
It's pretty vanilla, but when I do get it back I'll add some pics of it. I am a big fan of the Nissan trucks though. My first was my dad's hand-me-down Datsun MVP King Cab. After a T-bird T-boned me I went out and bought a Nissan Hardbody and put 240,000 miles on it before I needed a more family-friendly vehicle and sold it to the friend I referred to above. He drove it another 2 years before a certain hurricane dropped a house on top of it.
My next choice, of course, was the Frontier which I bought used from a co-worker. I now have about 175,000 miles on it and it's getting to that point where I really need to start taking some measures to keep it looking good and hopefully keep up the tradition by passing it down to my kid.
Thanks all...
Linear Mode
