Shawn's 2016 Pro-4X Build Thread

11052 Views 26 Replies 8 Participants Last post by mo4130, Aug 30, 2017

nfp4x

Discussion Starter · Mar 7, 2017 (Edited)

Username: NFP4X
Year: 2016
Make: Nissan
Model: Frontier
Trim: Pro-4X
Color: White

Current Modifications
Feb 2016 - Roadwire Leather Seats
Mar 2017 - ARB Deluxe Bull Bars
Mar 2017 - Smittybilt X20 10k Winch
Apr 2017 - ARB Fog Lights
May 2017 - IPF 968 CSG Driving Lights
May 2017 - WeatherTech Floormats
Jun 2017 - Old Man Emu Suspension
Jul 2017 - Shrockworks Rear Bumper
Jul 2017 - Shrockworks Sliders

As of August 2017

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1 - 20 of 27 Posts

RobFrisco415

· #2 · Mar 7, 2017

How long would you say that it took you to install from start to finish? Im really looking into getting a front bumper

WreckDiver1321

· #3 · Mar 8, 2017

That looks awesome! Nice truck! Have you used the Smitty winch for anything yet? I've read great reviews.

My ARB is rock solid after two years. It's shrugged off a deer at 45 mph, and held up from a good amount of winching.

teecro

· #4 · Mar 8, 2017

nfp4x where did you source your leather seats?

nfp4x

Discussion Starter · #5 · Mar 8, 2017

teecro said:
nfp4x where did you source your leather seats?

I sort of haggled my way into them at the Nissan dealership where I bought the truck. I feel like they turned out well and after a year of use they still look new. I mainly got them because my dog sheds like crazy and it would be easier to clean than the cloth. I'll get a picture of them and post them on the build thread and see if I can dig up some info for anyone that is interested.

RobFrisco415 said:
How long would you say that it took you to install from start to finish? Im really looking into getting a front bumper

I don't know if I am a good example of how long something should take, but it took me around twelve hours spread across two days. I spent part of the time trying to drill and file the driver side mount "quietly" since it was the middle of the night. I also pulled the winch out and reclocked it, didn't like the position of the handle, and had to reclock it again. I'm sure someone could do it all much faster.

WreckDiver1321 said:
That looks awesome! Nice truck! Have you used the Smitty winch for anything yet? I've read great reviews.

My ARB is rock solid after two years. It's shrugged off a deer at 45 mph, and held up from a good amount of winching.

The only thing I have done with it so far was remove the cable from the spool. LOL. I will use it in the next day or two since I just got my treesaver to pull my truck up an incline at a little park by our house and reinstall it on the spool. Hopefully that is not the only action it ever gets.

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teecro

· #6 · Mar 8, 2017

nfp4x said:
... I sort of haggled my way into them at the Nissan dealership where I bought the truck. I feel like they turned out well and after a year of use they still look new. I mainly got them because my dog sheds like crazy and it would be easier to clean than the cloth. I'll get a picture of them and post them on the build thread and see if I can dig up some info for anyone that is interested...

Was just curious if you went with covers or entire replacement seats etc... I put a set of Precision Fit Leather Seat covers in my SV and so far I'm quite pleased with them...

MNCarl

· #7 · Mar 8, 2017 (Edited)

Wow great job , I really like the way those ARB bumpers look.
I just installed a winch in my Shrockworks bumper this weekend.....the front of my truck dropped 1/4 inch from the weight of the winch.
Are you going to get some coilovers now ? lift?
And excellent use of the cat litter buckets....with some help I built a wood cradle that bolts on to my floor jack and then bolts to my Shrockworks bumper.....thus allowing me to attach and re-attach my bumper solo.

nfp4x

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 8, 2017

MNCarl said:
Wow great job , I really like the way those ARB bumpers look.
I just installed a winch in my Shrockworks bumper this weekend.....the front of my truck dropped 1/4 inch from the weight of the winch.
Are you going to get some coilovers now ? lift?

Thank you for the compliment MNCarl...

I wish I had considered measuring the height before and then after for comparison, unfortunately I did not - so I can't really say how much it dropped in the front. Newbie mistake I suppose.

There are two 4WheelParts stores close to my home and work, along with this forum I have them as a resource for questions as well as installations of things I don't feel comfortable doing myself, but I really like to step back afterwards and say that I changed/installed that myself when I can. Saves some labor cost as well.

My plan is to basically drive it for the next week or so and see how the ride is impacted. My current thoughts are leaning towards some type of coilover setup that I have noticed many people on this forum using and recommending. I'd like to make an informed purchase so I plan to do lots of reading and question asking before I order something.

I am new to vehicle modifications, I've only ever driven stock vehicles. I am digging around trying to find a nice flow chart of recommended order of upgrade operations in regards to what impacts what. For example - adding a bumper and winch could impact _____ so make sure you consider replacing _____ as your next step or your _____ will have issues when _____.

I'm just handy enough to get myself into trouble since I haven't really wrapped my mind around how to see the downstream impact for lots of the modifications just yet.

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GMK14

· #9 · Mar 8, 2017

That looks great! Did you have any issues fitting that winch in the bumper? I have my arb bumper coming in April and have been looking at that smittybilt as well.

wgeitgey

· #10 · Mar 8, 2017

Looks great! I'm doing mine this Friday. Did you run into any problems cutting the front stock bumper? Any pictures of that other than the one you posted. Greatly appreciated! Thanks!

MNCarl

· #11 · Mar 8, 2017 (Edited)

Front of truck stock height on a PRO-4X is 20" from the center of the rim (where the little nissan logo is) to the top of the fender arch.
I was like you a while back only drove stock vehicles , never really messed around with vehicles.
Then after reading on this forum "build threads" , I starting getting the itch to mod my truck. As I dont have the money to pay a mechanic $100.00 dollars an hour , I just went to sears and purchased a 200.00 craftsman tool kit and a 100.00 craftsman floor jack , creeper , jack stand combo kit.
It was quite daunting at first but with you tube videos, and this forum it was not bad.
I drove around with my truck (with heavy after market bumper) for quite some time with just a 2" coilover spacer lift for the front and a "add a leaf" and lift shackle for the rear.

As far as the 4wheelparts stores, I am guessing they dont do much with nissan frontiers as we are kinda of the rare bird of the trucks. If you have questions I would call Nisstec they always answer there phone and are quite helpful or try calling PRG products but Greg is hard to get a hold of most times but if he does answer the phone he will talk your ear off with information. Or just keep reading this forum build treads ect...

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nfp4x

Discussion Starter · #12 · Mar 9, 2017 (Edited)

GMK14 said:
That looks great! Did you have any issues fitting that winch in the bumper? I have my arb bumper coming in April and have been looking at that smittybilt as well.

I didn't have any real issues, just one or two minor annoyances.

The first was getting the winch's top two bolts in place was hard to do with the bumper flat when trying to reach your hand under it to start and turn the bolts - not a big deal. Since I seem to do everything twice I actually ended up needing to take it back off after it the bumper was already mounted on the truck - I actually found it easier to reinstall with it on the truck. I basically bench pressed it into place while my wife started the bolts to hold it there (there is a little ledge there you can take advantage of by resting it on it while your wife asks ten questions about if you're sure it isn't going to fall on your face followed by how much she doesn't like this idea).

I found it easier to have her start the two bottom ones which would hold the fairlead on (without it in place) because she can easily access those. once done, then I sat up and put the top two bolts in and got it positioned the way I wanted it letting them hold it in final position while I pulled her two bolts back out and then put the fairlead on.

The second annoyance I had was after getting the fairlead on you don't much have much room to really back out the pins holding the vertical rollers in place if they are in from the top - just enough to slip them over and get a socket in there to tighten the winch down. Afterwards getting the wavy washer the bolt through the vertical fairlead roller compressed enough to get the snap ring back in its groove proved difficult because I couldn't push hard enough with just my finger power. I ended up slipping the head of my craftsman socket wrench in there and it was the perfect size to compress it down when wedged between it and the bumper housing - then you can get the snap ring in there without an issue.

Honestly, I found it easier to mount it while the bumper was already in place, there was loads of room under there with the stone guard taken off.

wgeitgey said:
Looks great! I'm doing mine this Friday. Did you run into any problems cutting the front stock bumper? Any pictures of that other than the one you posted. Greatly appreciated! Thanks!

I didn't have any problems, just hesitation since I had never done anything like that before and knew if I messed up I'd be upset about it. The measurements in the instructions are pretty accurate but I had to come back and take a bit more off the sides so it all fit without touching or rubbing. I cut right across the little groove in the bumper to start then used the ARB measurements to angle the sides. I probably could have done another 1/4 inch across the front to get a little more room for the clutch handle, but it's still just fine as it is. Here is a pic of the front end taken off.

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nfp4x

Discussion Starter · #13 · Mar 9, 2017

MNCarl said:
Front of truck stock height on a PRO-4X is 20" from the center rim (where the little nissan logo is) to the top of the fender arch...

Thanks for this - I'll see how mine compares with the extra weight.

MNCarl said:
As far as the 4wheelparts stores, I am guessing they dont do much with nissan frontiers as we are kinda of the rare bird of the trucks. If you have questions I would call Nisstec they always answer there phone and are quite helpful or try calling PRG products but Greg is hard to get a hold of most times but if he does answer the phone he will talk your ear off with information. Or just keep reading this forum build treads ect...

Around here 4wheelparts stores are heavily Jeep oriented with a splash of Toyota and Ford Super Duty thrown in. My little Nissan looks out of place in the parking lot there. I also live in what must be the Jeep capital of Texas, there is a local shop here (Collins Bros) and they must have churned out a Jeep for 25% of the residents in town. It's rare to see a stock Jeep anywhere around here. Makes me appreciate my truck that much more since it's different.

wgeitgey

· #14 · Mar 9, 2017

Me too!

nfp4x said:
Thanks for this - I'll see how mine compares with the extra weight.

Around here 4wheelparts stores are heavily Jeep oriented with a splash of Toyota and Ford Super Duty thrown in. My little Nissan looks out of place in the parking lot there. I also live in what must be the Jeep capital of Texas, there is a local shop here (Collins Bros) and they must have churned out a Jeep for 25% of the residents in town. It's rare to see a stock Jeep anywhere around here. Makes me appreciate my truck that much more since it's different.

It's the same here in Georgia. I don't see anyone with what I'll have this Friday. We do see a lot of Jeeps and full size Fords, Chevy's and Dodges with large and heavy projective front bumpers and other gear. Being different is nice. I love my Frontier and the ARB bumper will protect it on the highways around here and across the country for many years. Someone hit a large deer just a 1/4 mile from where I work (AT&T) and it is in a heavy traffic area on a 4 lane road.

GMK14

· #15 · Mar 9, 2017

nfp4x said:
I didn't have any real issues, just one or two minor annoyances.

The first was getting the winch's top two bolts in place was hard to do with the bumper flat when trying to reach your hand under it to start and turn the bolts - not a big deal. Since I seem to do everything twice I actually ended up needing to take it back off after it the bumper was already mounted on the truck - I actually found it easier to reinstall with it on the truck. I basically bench pressed it into place while my wife started the bolts to hold it there (there is a little ledge there you can take advantage of by resting it on it while your wife asks ten questions about if you're sure it isn't going to fall on your face followed by how much she doesn't like this idea).

I found it easier to have her start the two bottom ones which would hold the fairlead on (without it in place) because she can easily access those. once done, then I sat up and put the top two bolts in and got it positioned the way I wanted it letting them hold it in final position while I pulled her two bolts back out and then put the fairlead on.

The second annoyance I had was after getting the fairlead on you don't much have much room to really back out the pins holding the vertical rollers in place if they are in from the top - just enough to slip them over and get a socket in there to tighten the winch down. Afterwards getting the wavy washer the bolt through the vertical fairlead roller compressed enough to get the snap ring back in its groove proved difficult because I couldn't push hard enough with just my finger power. I ended up slipping the head of my craftsman socket wrench in there and it was the perfect size to compress it down when wedged between it and the bumper housing - then you can get the snap ring in there without an issue.

Honestly, I found it easier to mount it while the bumper was already in place, there was loads of room under there with the stone guard taken off.

Thanks for letting me know, I think you just helped me decide on my winch.

nfp4x

Discussion Starter · #16 · Mar 10, 2017 (Edited)

4

teecro said:
Was just curious if you went with covers or entire replacement seats etc... I put a set of Precision Fit Leather Seat covers in my SV and so far I'm quite pleased with them...

I had to look and see what I had in there - I have the Roadwire leather kit in mine. They are cut and sewn to fit as opposed to a slip on cover if that helps (here is a link to them online). It was all managed by the dealership, so I really just rolled the dice on them without any research since I worked them into my deal when I bought the truck.

So far they have been in there a year and seem to be holding up very well. The seat heaters seem to work perfectly with them and they are airbag approved as well. I find them to be comfortable - not overly stiff and not so soft that you leave a butt print when you get out. I also have a 75 pound Catahoula / Pointer mix who rides in the backseats regularly and it is not obvious that she has ever been there aside from the insane amount of hair and the occasional dirty paw prints that she leaves behind. They clean easily which is the main reason I got them.

Here are a few pics (not particularly clean but its a daily driver / dog hauler).

Front Seats

Back Seats

Seat Pocket

Underside of backseat

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WreckDiver1321

· #17 · Mar 11, 2017

Gotta say, those seats look absolutely gorgeous. Normally I'm not a fan of leather seats in a car, but they do look great.

nfp4x

Discussion Starter · #18 · Apr 17, 2017 (Edited)

Ordered OME suspension and Shrockworks rear bumper

Had a big spending day today - now I have to sit and wait for the stuff to arrive.

I put the ARB Deluxe Bull Bars and a winch on around a month ago and decided to drive it as is with the factory Pro-4X suspension setup to get an idea of what I wanted to do. Here is what I observed...

Like almost everyone else that has added 200ish pounds to the front - mine sagged a bit and seemed to dive some during braking. I expected this and I addressed it today with my wallet by ordering the Old Man Emu suspension kit from Nisstec. I called a few times over the last few weeks and sort of asked the same questions in different ways to be sure about my purchase.

We talked a bit about the current setup with the bumper and winch, the amount of drop I experienced on my factory setup from that weight, what I plan to do with the truck moving forward, how much lift I would like to achieve, etc. I went with the heavy load coils and the OME 90003 Shocks in the front, I grabbed the cam bolts as well since the first place I'll be heading is the alignment shop once I get it all put on, and I paid to have them go ahead and assemble the coilovers for me so I don't have to deal with the hassle of compressing a spring and potentially killing myself. The rear ended up looking like the standard AAL would work fine since my truck is at 19k miles and has what seems like plenty of life left in the original rear setup. Also, I have no plans to haul anything more than a bit of camping gear every now and then. I made sure to add in that I was planning to replace my rear bumper with one of the Shrockworks setups and he was still confident that I should stick with the AAL.

That brings me to purchase number two. I had been going back and forth about knowing I wanted the Shrockworks rear bumper, but not wanting to wait for it. The other (seemingly few) options didn't quite look like what I wanted so I decided I'd just order it and be done with it and try to forget about it while the months pass by for it to get built. It just so happened that today was also the last day of the group buy (thanks so much to forum member Jeeptodd for getting that going in this thread). Using the group buy discount code I saved $133.20 on the bumper and was very happy to do so after purchasing the OME kit just a few minutes earlier.

Overall my wallet hurts quite a bit more than when I woke up this morning, but it should be worth it once I get it all put on the truck.

I will make sure to update this once I get the suspension in (should be around a two week back order is what I was told by Nisstec) and get it installed. I will do the same with the bumper sometime this summer I assume whenever it shows up.

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nfp4x

Discussion Starter · #19 · May 4, 2017 (Edited)

6

ARB Fog Lights Installed

I added my ARB fog lights over the weekend. It was very easy and I think they look pretty nice. I don't see that they are any upgrade at all over factory, but I didn't want to mess with hacking the factory lights to fit the bumper. I sold them on ebay and used that to pay for part of the ARB's. Wiring was simple and I went the extra step to solder and heat shrink them before taping them up instead of just twisting and taping.

I didn't have any issues, but I did have one minor gripe...the positioning screw could have at least come with a washer. The screw head was barely larger than the hole, I though it would be best to toss a washer in there as well.

I hope they end up being durable, I've read about one or two people that had cracked theirs - but I guess that can happen to any of them. There is a lot of plastic in the setup including the light housing and the mounting pins of the lights themselves. It is what it is, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Original ARB fog light insert

The lights

Insert cut out

Mounted and ready for positioning screw

Positioning screw

View from behind

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nfp4x

Discussion Starter · #20 · Jun 19, 2017

3

WeatherTech Floormats

I am a little late on a few posts, this one really happened in May.

After going to the dump recently to get rid of some old cabinets I got to thinking about what I was stepping in while I was there and then what I potentially had transferred back to my floor mats. I didn't care for the mental image. I bought myself some WeatherTech's for the front in black (the pics don't quite show the color correctly but they are plain black) and put them in and am pretty pleased with the look and the fit. I didn't bother with the rear since nobody rides back there and I am eventually going to build out a platform for my dog to replace the seats.

I ordered them from a local camper top company around 400pm (while getting some information on a few topper options) and they were ready for pick up the next morning (proximity of the warehouse was close to them or something like that). I ended up paying a bit less than I would've if I had ordered through WeatherTech directly and got them much faster.

They sort of show footprints as you can see in the pics below, but I can deal with that.

Driver side

Passenger side

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