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JettyLife

44K views 114 replies 25 participants last post by  JettyLife 
#1 · (Edited)
Username: JettyLife

New Truck purchased 11/2015
Year: 2012
Make: Nissan
Model: Frontier
Trim: SV
Color: Silver

Here's my first Nissan... Which I later sold to get my first Frontier.

Those KC floods were the best thing I did to that truck. They're such a great output light for a 100 watt halogen.

Once I got a real job I sold the X to my father who bought it for my sister, and I got the Frontier. Best purchase ever.


Sold the truck in November of 2014. The guy lives in town and I see it all the time. I bought a car, 2013 Subaru WRX. It's a blast to drive, but it doesn't have the reliability I needed for my own piece of mind. So I bought another Frontier and still have it today.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Some cool pictures I like
Avatar.

Train.

Hurricane Sandy washed up the foundation of an old Coast Guard station.

Mods
My version of custom tie downs and surfboard/snowboard rack.




I want to eventually get this to the point where people (beginners mostly) can use my page as a reference. Most of the write ups for beginning, cheap, useful, mods are full of pages and pages of arguments, and user experiences, which is great! But it can be a lot of nonsense to read if you just want the How To. So hear it is. Straight to the point, helpful, and clean.

Bakflip G2:



Rally Armour Mud Flaps



Painted Skid


 
#6 · (Edited)
Axle Vent Mod
What do I need??
Nissan Part #:38323-C601A, Hose (I used 1/4"), and a filter (I used a cheapo chain saw filter) and hose clamps. Got my Nissan part here: http://www.courtesyparts.com/breathr-co-p-587494.html




You can't see it because there's a hose in the way... but this is where it goes.

Where this OEM breather was.

The stock breather gets clogged with gunk and causes the axle to build pressure, either positive or negative. Both are bad... It will cause premature axle seal failure, and can cause your axle to become contaminated with whatever water you're fording... Change it out and move it up.
I put mine behind the tail light. Took 7' of hose.


Don't forget to leave a bit of slack for axle movement. Just go by what the brake hose has, if Nissan says it has enough movement, so will your new vent hose.

Done!

Radiator Bypass
What do I need??
Cold engine.
10mm socket with short extension.
Pliers for use on the hose OEM clamps.
Something to catch half a mouthful of Automatic Transmission Fluid.

Ok, pull down the skid and lay under the truck. This is what you'll see.

It looks like a lot I know. It's simple however and even someone with little to no mechanical skill can do this.
Picture below: These are the 2 hoses you're going to switch. The hose encircled in blue is 1 of 2 hoses as you can see. When you get under the truck you'll see that it's the top hose. It'll make more sense when you get under there I promise.

This is all you need to do! This will bypass the radiator portion of the transmission fluid route. The blue hose will make a complete circuit which will keep everything closed and protected from the outside elements.
I used all the factory hoses and clamps. No reason for cutting, splicing, nothing. It you choose to add another trans cooler, that's all good, but I'm not so I can't help you there. Not yet at least. I think come summer time I'll add a fan to the stock cooler. Some others in the club have done temperature experiments regarding before and after trans temps and everything looks good so far.
Go drive it!
 
#72 · (Edited)
Radiator Bypass
What do I need??
Cold engine.
10mm socket with short extension.
Pliers for use on the hose OEM clamps.
Something to catch half a mouthful of Automatic Transmission Fluid.

Ok, pull down the skid and lay under the truck. This is what you'll see.

It looks like a lot I know. It's simple however and even someone with little to no mechanical skill can do this.
Picture below: These are the 2 hoses you're going to switch. The hose encircled in blue is 1 of 2 hoses as you can see. When you get under the truck you'll see that it's the top hose. It'll make more sense when you get under there I promise.

This is all you need to do! This will bypass the radiator portion of the transmission fluid route. The blue hose will make a complete circuit which will keep everything closed and protected from the outside elements.
I used all the factory hoses and clamps. No reason for cutting, splicing, nothing. It you choose to add another trans cooler, that's all good, but I'm not so I can't help you there. Not yet at least. I think come summer time I'll add a fan to the stock cooler. Some others in the club have done temperature experiments regarding before and after trans temps and everything looks good so far.
Go drive it!
So I just got my 2010 Auto Crew Cab SE (39k miles) last Monday night and have been reading up on this thread. I am going in Tuesday morning for them to look at the "Idle Relearn" procedure, since I do notice the vibration when in gear at stop signs/stop lights. Should I ask them about this bypass issue as well when I'm there on Tuesday morning? Also, if I do perform this on my own, do I take the yellow circle hose and plug it into the blue circle, and plug the blue circled one into the yellow circle?
 
#11 ·
Been running them for about 3-4 months now. They're pretty durable. I had to trim the fronts a lot more than I wanted to though and they still rub with 265/75/16 Rugged Trails. The backs went on without any trimming and they look great. I made sure the flaps hung over the edges of the fenders by almost 2" and it definitely helped with the rocks getting kicked up. I rarely hear the familiar "ping" of stones on the rocker panels.

When I switch to 285's I might try to modify the stock flaps with some trimming, not really sure. I'm just worried about how the fronts will rub.
 
#12 ·
Ok, I think I may give the basic plus's a try. My rear bumper is so torn up after just 10 months and just noticed 2 nice sized chips on my driver rear fender. So some touch up paint and flaps are in my near future. Your pics are the first rally's I have seen so far and looks good! Could you maybe grab side pics so I can see clearance?
 
#14 ·
I forgot to tell you, I have the basic ones, like $25.
Some more pics for ya. I'll grab the clearance tomorrow if the weather clears up.



Man, I never saw this till now!

Looks great! :fantastic:
Thanks! After I get the basics out of the way I can start to get creative!
 
#15 · (Edited)
LED Conversion

Decided to convert to LEDs. Not all at once but most of them for now.
It took me a lot of searching and ordering wrong parts before I figured out what the heck I needed, so hopefully this will save someone some time, effort, and money.

First off, our stock bulb types.
High & low beam headlamp: 9007
Fog/Driving light: H11

Parking light / Front Turn Signal: 7444NA
Rear turn signal: 3156A
Tail light / Brake light: 3157
High mount stop light: 912
License plate: 168
Back up / reverse light: 921
Front sidemarker: 194
Map light: DE3175
Dome light: DE3175
Bed/Cargo Lamp: 912

Important!!!
This part will save you a TON of searching.
There are 2 types of bulbs. Regular and "CK" style sometimes seen "SACK" style. You can tell the difference by the number of wires going to the socket. Regular has two (2) and CK has three (3).
The following bulbs are CK style on our trucks:
Rear turn signal, Tail/rear brake light.
If you insert a regular style bulb into the CK style socket you'll blow fuses. Don't do it. It won't work.

Now, make sure you order 7443 style bulbs for the front, don't make the same mistake I did and order 3157. Here's why.
\/This is 7443\/ Notice the base is smooth down the sides.

\/This is 3157\/ Notice the small tabs on the side of the base. This will NOT fit in a 7443 Socket.


So, what do you need?
Front Turn signals / Parking lights: 7443 (non-CK)(dual brightness, make sure its for a parking/turn signal)
Rear Turn signals: 3157CK
Tail / Brake lights: 3157CK
High mount stop light: 912
License plate: 168
Back up / Reverse: 921
Front side marker: 194
Interior lights (map & dome): 3175 (31mm festoon)
Cargo lamp: 912

Good luck! I'm working on my return shipment to vLED as I type this, I hope everyone else can do this in one shot and not have to go back and forth like me. I did all this research after I ordered willy nilly lol.
Left is stock halogen, right is 5000k High Power LED
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Update! Installed the rear flashers, reverse LEDs, and load resistors. Night shots to come! Here's a before and after video, no more hyperflash.
Before

After
 
#18 ·
Plans for 49 degree weather tomorrow! Custom DIY oil catch can and write up for this thread. Hopefully one of these From Home Depot:


Or this from Sears

and some vacuum hose will do the trick. I've seen it done on some subaru sites and other car forums. We'll see how it goes I guess... I think the stock hose is 3/8 so the craftsman one might do the trick since its ports are 3/8. I think I can mount it right in line with the existing hose using a small straight piece of new hose and I won't have to cut the OEM hose. We'll see!
 
#19 · (Edited)
Lifted!

Finally own a lifted truck. There's 2 things I always wanted, tail light guards, and a lifted truck lol. Now I have both.
Details:
2.5" All Day Fab spacer up front
2" PRG block in the rear
PRG Camber bolts
Work done by, "Merkord's Garage" Egg Harbor City NJ. Install+Alignment cost $248.24.
4 hours of labor @ $59/hr + tax.
Photos (all I have for now:)
Before

After



All-in-all I'm happy with it. It rides a tad rough in the rear, the stock bilstiens are maxing out at 2" of lift probably. So far no Coil Bucket contact (I tried pretty hard today off road) I don't do much hardcore offroading so I'm good. Mostly dirt roads and the beach. I'll replace the rear shocks when the stock ones are shot.
The shop could not get perfect alignment on the front driver's side even with the cams. There's a slight positive camber. I'll take some shots tomorrow but I think it'll be ok. I'll go for some SPC (nisstec) UCA's when they produce a smaller joint boot that will not need grinding of the coil bucket.
The Good:
truck looks awesome, nearly level, aggressive stance, no CB contact, handles like stock
The Bad:
rough riding rear, improper alignment on driver's side
 
#21 ·
looks great... im hoping to throw my lift on tomorrow before we get some real snow in nj instead of these dustings every day.. so cold to be wrenching. Are you leaving stock rims/tires?
 
#24 ·
Thanks! Yeah I can deal with the dusting for now. I still have the stock rugged fails and I have little to no hope for them in the snow. I'm keeping the stock wheels as I really like the P4X wheels. Going to plastidip them in the spring. Along with some red caliper paint on the calipers. I'm waiting for a good deal on some 285's to come around.




Looks great! Much improved :)
Thanks man!





Looks like a truck should from factory! Longer shocks in the rear will make a huge difference when you get them.


Sent from AutoGuide.com App
Yeah I don't doubt it, I'll be going with some Bils, 5125's once the money is there, or if I can get a used pair with low milage. Always rather help out another member.
 
#25 ·
Did you use any rtv or silicone to seal off the tube at the axle?
 
#27 ·
I hear ya. I need to have this done by the run this weekend. And just so you know Jerseyparts has the nipples and pretty much anything else oem youd need. And he works at Cherry Hill Nissan, so he isnt that far either.
 
#29 ·
im sure if you zip tied it to the brake line it'll be fine..... mine was, just threw on 5100 front max setting and 5125 rear w prg 1.5 blocks no problems... Now where are those nj snowstorms???

Scott
 
#30 ·
I did, thanks good point. How do you like those 5125's? They ride pretty nice? My rear is stiff right now with the 2" blocks.
Yeah I'm kind of hoping for no snow... I'm running rugged fails to and they're terrible at 22k miles. My parents have a "police academy fund" for me since I was a kid in case I had to pay my way through and I'm looking at getting hired somewhere hopefully in the next couple week. Long story short, a portion of the funds may go to tires since I will not be paying for the academy. ;)
 
#31 ·
Jettylife this is a great build/DIY thread... Its been giving me more ideas thanks! Definitely like your axle breather mod, with as much mud as I drive in at work I really like your placement of the filter compared to others I have seen.

Those rugged Fails are terrible in the snow, I had mine for a week before I got rid of em. I blew a tire at the mine within the first 1000 miles. I got stuck in a snow drift with em the fourth day.
 
#32 ·
Thanks man! That filter stays super clean up there too. I popped the hose off the breather before winter to check for any pressure build up (indicating a clog or poor air flow) and it was all good. I'll check again in spring. I don't expect any issues. Hopefully I can avoid or prolong the axle seal issues some members experience.
Yeah I can't wait for tires (285's for sure)
 
#33 ·
My next set is gonna be 285's too!! cooper discover ST MAXX's, I have had great luck with them for the last 52,000, lots of tread left even driving on the mine. Very few chips out of them. I got some flaps from rally armor too, that was a great idea, I'll let ya know how the urethane ones stand up. Thought I'd give em a try cause of all the rocks at work..
 
#38 ·
Probably going to be away for a while.
Just got hired for Atlantic City Police Department as a class 2 officer. I swear in Monday and start the academy Tuesday. I'll be tied up completely for the next 16 weeks.
It's my dream, so it'll be way worth it. Hopefully the new gig will allow for even more mods to the Fronty.
I may stop in from time to time but I'll be focused hard.
See you on the other side!
Congrats! And good luck!
 
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