Hueydude's 2008 CC Build

I believe getting my windows tinted would be considered to be my first mod. I had my windows tinted to 32% all the way around at a reputable tint shop.

For Christmas last year I got a bull bar, Nerf bars, and a new stereo! My wife asked me what color I wanted for the bars; she thought I wanted to black everything out, but I didn't think it would look good against the gray. I told her chrome or polished steel. Lo and behold, the next week I had some big boxes to open! The bull bar installation was easy enough. My frontier was equipped with only one tow hook, so I removed it along with one of the pieces of plastic air dam. The brackets attached to the tow hook mount points, and the bar bolted directly onto the brackets. The only downside is that it covers up most of my Bonny Blue Flag.

The nerf bars were easy to mount too. Each one bolted to the frame utilizing the points used for factory bars if purchased.

There was also a smaller one consisting of my new stereo. When I went to install it, I had to purchase a new wiring harness and locate a diagram online to make sure I got it hooked up right. The biggest problem I had was trimming the plastic around the opening in the dash to make sure it fit right.


There was also a smaller one consisting of my new stereo. When I went to install it, I had to purchase a new wiring harness and locate a diagram online to make sure I got it hooked up right. The biggest problem I had was trimming the plastic around the opening in the dash to make sure it fit right.
[URL=http://s1260.photobucket.com/user/robert_sieg1/media/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20150406_002_zpsziepxghl.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1260.photobucket.com/albums/ii562/robert_sieg1/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20150406_002_zpsziepxghl.jpg

In February, I started my lift. I ordered the eBay 3" spacers, cloned Total Chaos UCAs, and cam bolts for the front and 2" blocks for the back. I ordered Bilstein 5100s from Amazon, and ProComp ES 9000s, extended front brake lines, and Fabtech single AALs from Performance Lifts.
After receiving everything, that was when the fun began. I figured it would take a full day to do everything, so I gave myself two and a half, starting on a Friday afternoon since I was inexperienced with this type of job. It took me four with all the problems I had. My wife was pretty aggravated with my driving her Durango to work with my frontier partially on jackstands in the driveway. So, I took the front end apart, and installed the Bilsteins set at 1" for a total of four inches of lift. I originally set the Bilsteins for 2", but there seemed to be too much coil bucket contact, even with the aftermarket UCAs.
Bilsteins installed:

3" Spacers:

On the fourth day was when I finally got to lifting the rear; I ended up staying home from work to do it, and it only took a few hours. So, I added the 1.5" AAL, and 2" lift blocks to the rear, and installed the ES9000s, got everything tightened down, and took it to have the front end aligned. I then proceeded to check the difference in rake between the front and rear. Before I started, there was a 1.5" difference between the front and back. After driving around and giving everything a chance to settle, I measured again. I estimated that the 1.5" would be lessened to 1"... Wrong! The rake actually increased to about 2.5".
ES9000s Installed:

Lift Block and AAL Installed:


Before Lift:

After Lift:

At some point I believe I am going to have to do a T Swap in order to adjust the Bilsteins up another inch, or, replace the crappy bearings in the UCAs and grind down the coil bucket to increase droop. I do not want to bring the back down in order to do this. @glamisdude suggested the T Swap, and I believe I agree... Just takes time to gather up the stuff. Hopefully the bearings will hold out.
PFTE extruding from UCA spherical bearings:

Next, I removed the silencer tube from the airbox. I haven't noticed much difference, but oh well.
Next thing, and the most recent mod I've done is the vent mod to my rear differential. I had to get the barb from the local Toyota dealership for about $6.
Rear Axle Vent Hose:

I finally got my LED light bar mounted yesterday, although it isn't aired up yet. I started to mount it to my bull bar, but the mounting holes were about an inch or so too far apart. So, I remembered another member's post about them mounting their light bar to the bumper and was able to do that with no problem.
I started out removing the two center-most clips holding the lower plastic cowl to the bumper. I then attached the brackets upside down through the holes to the bumper. I then centered the light mounts to the brackets and installed the light. I should get it wired within the next day or two, depending on getting an answer to a wiring harness question.
T-Swap coming soon!

I finally got my LED light bar properly wired in this weekend. I ran the wires from the switch through the firewall at the grommet where the primary wiring harness runs through it. I zip-tied it to the cover that runs along the wall around to the relay box and fuse box. From there, I attached the relay to the outside of the fuse box cover by drilling a hole through the cover and attaching the relay with a nut and bolt. I located a couple of grounding points along the way, and attached the grounding wires as needed. I ran the wires around the front of the battery and snaked them through the radiator shroud to go through the lower intake to minimize the amount of wiring showing on the outside. I then coiled up any excess wiring and zip-tied them to keep them from getting into any moving parts. From there, I disconnected the battery, and hooked up the two positive wires to one of the fuses attached to the battery cable. I hooked up the battery, and tried out the light, and presto! This time it worked flawlessly.

I finally got my T-Swap done this weekend. The first thing I did was add the 2" wheel spacers to my rear wheels. I ordered them from an eBay source and they went on without too much trouble. The size was actually laser etched into them. The pics are the spacer install, before, and after.

I then tackled the front end after getting the easy part done. I didn't take any install photos, and if didn't go as easy as I thought it would. It did go much quicker than my original lift. The following is pretty much what I did on each side.
After removing the wheel, I went ahead and replaced the brake line with an extended line I had gotten from Performance Lifts. I didn't have to remove the sway bar due to it not being there since I did the original lift.
I then proceeded to remove the UCA. I lifted up on the spindle with a jack to relieve the pressure from the UCA, while strapping up the spindle with a bungee cord. Before installing the Tuff Country UCAs, I went ahead and packed them with grease while assembling them. So, I removed the UCA and went ahead an bolted on the new one, and went ahead and attached the spindle to it temporarily.
Next, I removed the shock. Easy cheesy.
I then removed the tie rod end from the spindle. The left one gave me a little bit of trouble when the whole ball joint wanted to spin when there was enough pressure taken off of it. No big deal, I just had to find a way to hold it tight while I finished removing the but. After getting it disconnected, I went ahead and added the PRG tie rod extenders.
I next replaced the LCA. Removing the old one was simple, Installing the new one was a pain.
First, I removed the bolt holding the LCA to the spindle. To get the LCA separated from the spindle, I jacked up on the LCA while tapping down on the spindle with a rubber mallet. Afterward, I removed the cam bolts attaching the LCA to the frame. Again, I tapped on it to get it to fall away from the frame.
This was where the fun started. I temporarily attached the LCA to the frame with the cam bolts and attempted to connect the ball joint to the spindle... Wrong. No matter what I did, I could not get the pin to align with the slot in the spindle. So, I removed the cam bolts, and tried to connect the ball joint first. If I had paid more attention to the T-Swap video, I would have known this. I added some grease to help persuade the pin to go in, and while doing so, i found out it is possible to drive the pin in too far for the attachment bolt to fit through the notch in the pin. So, I worked on having to disconnect one and align it again before finally getting it right. After a lot of banging, prying, and twisting, I finally got the UCAs installed. I then temporarily attached the tie rod ends.
Next, I installed the shocks, and tightened the ball joint connecting the UCA to the spindle. I did a rudimentary alignment, and bled the brakes, and tightened up the tie rod ball joints to the LCAs.
The whole process took all day Saturday and a big hunk of Sunday, better than the four days it took to do my original lift. Now, I just need to take it to get an alignment. I can already tell a big difference in the ride. There is so much more room for the UCAs to articulate, and the clunking noises are gone.