Mini Green

I bought this truck as a commuter since it's got the 4-banger and is 2WD. My modification list is short; I plan on upgrading the interior a little(I sit in traffic for 2 hrs every day) , changing the exterior styling a little, and the only other things I will upgrade will be things that break

This past fall, I threw a set of winterforce tires on, a rear sunshade (helps to keep the rain from coming in the back window) and some rear APC taillights as I didin't like the orange blinkers.


I have had some issues seeing well at night and was considering purchasing some of the clear headlights off of ebay but decided to just polish the stock headlights. I wet sanded with 1000g sand paper and then again with 2000g, finishing it off by polishing it with PLASTIX. Worked like a charm and I can now see where I'm going at night. While I had the grille apart, I sanded it down and hit it with a couple coats of spray-on bedliner. I'm not a huge fan of chrome; especially when it's fake (plastic) and discolored.

I was in dire need of an inspection sticker and my exhaust had about 40 rust holes in it so I decided to get a new one. I ended up going with the Magnaflow stainless steel cat and the Dynomax aluminized cat-back exhaust from summit racing. The truck sounds a lot quieter now and I actually passed emissions

If you're looking for a loud exhaust, this isn't the one, but it definitely is a lot throatier than the stocker was.





UPDATE: 6/14/09
Recent changes:
Added bluetooth and an iPod hook up to current head unit.
New foot pedal pads as the ones on there were worn through. I went with a set of metal ones from Summit.
Found a matching Leer fiberglass cap on Craigslist for $120 so I couldn't resist. It'll allow my dog to ride in the back when it's raining / snowing and keep a fair amount of hair out of the cab.
Tune-Up w/ E3 plugs & Bosch wires
Bosch Icon wipers


UPDATE: 8/6/09:
Recent changes:
I blew a steel front brake line, so I replaced all from the master cylinder to the brake hoses. Doing this I found a few issues with the brakes. I plan on holding on to the truck for a little while, so I will be going through the brake system and replacing some stuff. My rear drum brakes are shot as are the hard lines from the master cylinder to the RABS. Since my brother blew the clutch in my Xterra, I need the Ranger for everyday use, so I had to put it back together. I am in the process of ordering some new parts. So far, I have ordered a pair of new front brake hoses and some new calipers:


I will be replacing the rotors and the front bearings as well as the entire rear brake setup.

I was cruising craigslist and found a nice set of wheels and tires for an unbeatable price. The wheels are 16x8 (MMR wheels, I think) and the tires are 225/50-16 Good Year RS-As with a decent amount of tread. Overall, they're only 1" shorter than my stock size, but the bigger wheels make them look tiny on the truck now... still haven't figured out what I want to do. I thought about lowering it a little to also make loading my bike in the back a bit easier. We'll see. Here's how it sits now:




I still haven't had all that much time to work on it but more to come soon....

Thats a nice looking truck! My opinion may be slightly biased though......

I just blew a brake line (somewhere in the engine bay) on the way to the airport on Friday and I smell gas if I fill the tank all the way so I'm thinking I'll need to fix the filler hose as well.

I'll be tearing into it when I get back sometime in July and probably upgrading a couple other things as well; I just dropped around $400 on some new/used parts

nice truck, i like the rear tails and i bet that exhaust sounds nice, im thinking about a turbo muffler in mine

I have a cherry bomb turbo muffler. Its not like a traditional glasspack, its oval shaped and is chambered, it produces a much throatier sound than stock as well. I love mine.

yeah im planning on one of those, not too noisy, just a throathy rumble, just to pretend i have a v6 or v8....

The filler necks like to split at the very base where they clamp on to the tank.

It looks good with the cap.

Might want to keep an eye on those leaf spring hangers.......

metalmacguyver said:

Might want to keep an eye on those leaf spring hangers.......

Click to expand...

Yeah, I've replaced the rear 2 w/the shackles already. I've got new front ones in my garage. I think I'll end up taking the box off to do the fuel filler hose and do the fronts while I'm at it. It was a PITA to do the rears with the box on.

Finally got my brake lines done and she's back on the road. Updated the first post w/a pic of my new-to-me $150 wheels/tires, too.

I have a front bumper with valence and license plate holder thats in good shape, no dents or holes in it....... You can have it if you want.

metalmacguyver said:

I have a front bumper with valence and license plate holder thats in good shape, no dents or holes in it....... You can have it if you want.

Click to expand...

heck, yeah. Sending you a pm

Well, I was bored today after work, enjoying a couple cold beverages and finally got sick of looking at the rust on my rear bumper. Picked up my Mother's polish (which specifically says not to use on chrome lol) and got to work. Here's the results:
Before:


After:


You can still see some rust spots and I eventually plan to replace the entire bumper, but at least I don't have to look at the rust in the meantime. More to come soon...

Newest progress:

I have been running the rear brakes metal-on metal for a little while so I decided it was time to do some work on the lil' truck again.

Wicked Rusty:


New Rear Drums POR-15'd:


All New Hardware (new adjusters not shown):


New Cylinders:


New Shoes: I had debated going with some better-quality shoes, but for my beater, I decided that the $20 duralast ones would work just fine.

Installed:


I'm pretty happy with how they work and I was even more happy with the price. I spent a total of $150 for new rear brakes which is less than the cost of a rotor for my Xterra

Last Week:
New alternator, belt, and belt tensioner. The old alternator had been making noise for some time so I got a rebuilt one from AutoZone. That one lasted 2 days and blew a bearing. Took it back and when replacing it the 2nd time, I broke the f'n belt tensioner. Alas, 200 dollars later, the truck is up and running.



Latest Progress:
Mounted Snow Tires.
I removed the bed to change out the filler neck which I had been dealing with for a while. While I had the bed off, I decided to do something about all the rust. I sanded the frame, cross-members and leaf springs and treated them to some POR-15. The back half of the frame is done and my plan is to tear into the front end sometime within the next few weeks. My travel schedule for work has been pretty hectic so it's been hard to find time for playing with the truck:



While I had the bed off, I had planned on doing the front spring hangers, but, unfortunately, I left them at my apartment in MA and I was in VT for the week. They're starting to rust through, but I think that they'll hold for a week or two. I noticed that my upper shock mounts need to be replaced so I will be ordering them as well as shocks this week.

I also decided to flip the rear shackles to give the truck a more level look; I got around 1-2" of drop in the rear. Here's where she stands now:

UPDATE 12/22/09

I have been slowly getting sick of the 60/40 bench and was looking to get into something a little more comfortable. After seeing Tim's seats a couple months ago, I bought a pair of power buckets out of a '98 Explorer Sport as well as the complete, full-length center console and overhead console. Unfortunately, I will need to take another trip to the scrapyard because I forgot to get the temperature sensor to get the overhead console to work. I may just try and find another one because I would rather get one with blue lights ('97 and older). I've got my seats out and will be installing the buckets tomorrow





Anyone in the MA area looking for a 60/40 seat? Send me a PM. The center console still works except one of the change slots is broken (has a penny jammed in it)