Mid-way through my kitchen remodel. I see why people hire others for this type of work….
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Mid-way through my kitchen remodel. I see why people hire others for this type of work….
I'm doing a laundry room remodel right now. I know what you mean, but your kitchen will turn out so much better since you are doing it and you actually care. I can never get contract work done right. Seems they area always cutting freaking corners and doing crappy job and then it's a ton of money and I regret it, so I quit paying people to do it.
I do get that. My brother is a contractor/finish carpenter and said he’d do it for a very very reasonable price…. Why I didn’t, not sure.
Now you're talking! Yeah, I'd probably have given that project to him! Maybe he'll finish it.
p.s. it looks good, way better, looks like good work from far away! I hope mine is as good from far.
Every time Mrs.Cheesy brings up a kitchen remodel, I open and close a cabinet door, then tell her there's nothing wrong with it so why spend the money. Hasn't worked yet. When she said that it's dated and needs to be replaced. I replied by saying she was dated, too. Using her logic, I should be able to replace her with a newer, younger one. That didn't work, either.
That said, I made chips today.
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The tool was worn and the speed was too slow, so the finish isn't great. I eyeballed the steps. We'll get there.
My sister is having a 3rd baby and decided that means she needed to upgrade her 2002 Nissan Xterra. She's the original owner of all 168k miles, the vehicle has never left Colorado, and she has always done a pretty decent job keeping up with the service items.
For $500 I couldn't not buy it.
Overall the body is in good shape beyond the normal things for this age (warn clear bra, faded plastics, etc) and the frame is clean.
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One neglected item is the ignition system. It runs rough and feels like it stumbles a bit. Looking at these spark plugs and the rotor, no wonder!
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Swapping those alone wasn't a magic pill, though it was improved. I popped the hood with it running and noticed at least one cylinder was arcing. New wires and it's running like a top, graduating this to my daily driver.
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I think that blue adds 20hp.
With those issues solved there's one more CEL to deal with, the torque converter lockup solenoid. It's not really that important, so other things can happen now.
First, it was dangerous at night with lights even worse than the TJs. LED upgrade time.
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The shocks were totally shot, so those needed a change. For this application I just went with some bilsteins.
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While underneath I noticed the sway links were gapped, and they're were no more available threads to fix that. So, new links and bushings were necessary.
View attachment 508743
I'm 99% sure this suspension was nearly all stock (sans the KYBs I removed). The back looked low and under any amount of acceleration the rear end just dropped. This is on leafs for the rear, and while these are 180 of each other I'm sure you can spot the issue of most a missing leaf.
View attachment 508744
This solved a weird wobble issue over bumps some guys just told me were due to leaf springs I'm not used to ... No - one side had way more movement than the other!
Just before this I leveled the front tortion bars before I noticed this issue to compensate. This is now a bit Jack rabbited and needs the front end to have the same love applied (new tortion bars are in the garage).
When the suspension is riding correctly and shocks can do their job, things are so much better. If I didn't know better I'd say springs really improve the quality. But this just lets the shock do its job. These working together are great
That's a catch up of the last month, from here there's a few things to do: figure out a power steering leak, install the 1.5" shackles in the rear, new front tortion bars, and getting into the trans TCC solenoid. After that, it'll be pretty capable for a cheap family friendly vehicle.
I’m liking my earlier 2000’s Japanese SUV for a cheap capable driver too.
My sister is having a 3rd baby and decided that means she needed to upgrade her 2002 Nissan Xterra. She's the original owner of all 168k miles, the vehicle has never left Colorado, and she has always done a pretty decent job keeping up with the service items.
For $500 I couldn't not buy it.
Overall the body is in good shape beyond the normal things for this age (warn clear bra, faded plastics, etc) and the frame is clean.
View attachment 508734
One neglected item is the ignition system. It runs rough and feels like it stumbles a bit. Looking at these spark plugs and the rotor, no wonder!
View attachment 508735
Swapping those alone wasn't a magic pill, though it was improved. I popped the hood with it running and noticed at least one cylinder was arcing. New wires and it's running like a top, graduating this to my daily driver.
View attachment 508737
I think that blue adds 20hp.
With those issues solved there's one more CEL to deal with, the torque converter lockup solenoid. It's not really that important, so other things can happen now.
First, it was dangerous at night with lights even worse than the TJs. LED upgrade time.
View attachment 508740
The shocks were totally shot, so those needed a change. For this application I just went with some bilsteins.
View attachment 508741
View attachment 508742
While underneath I noticed the sway links were gapped, and they're were no more available threads to fix that. So, new links and bushings were necessary.
View attachment 508743
I'm 99% sure this suspension was nearly all stock (sans the KYBs I removed). The back looked low and under any amount of acceleration the rear end just dropped. This is on leafs for the rear, and while these are 180 of each other I'm sure you can spot the issue of most a missing leaf.
View attachment 508744
This solved a weird wobble issue over bumps some guys just told me were due to leaf springs I'm not used to ... No - one side had way more movement than the other!
Just before this I leveled the front tortion bars before I noticed this issue to compensate. This is now a bit Jack rabbited and needs the front end to have the same love applied (new tortion bars are in the garage).
When the suspension is riding correctly and shocks can do their job, things are so much better. If I didn't know better I'd say springs really improve the quality. But this just lets the shock do its job. These working together are great
That's a catch up of the last month, from here there's a few things to do: figure out a power steering leak, install the 1.5" shackles in the rear, new front tortion bars, and getting into the trans TCC solenoid. After that, it'll be pretty capable for a cheap family friendly vehicle.
I always liked these is it a 3.5?
Aw dang that stinks
It's a bit sad how my 06 LJ with 80k on it has had far more issues than this thing ever has with double the miles.
I'm not sure they're worth 2.3x the vehicle for my impatience but they are out there .
https://www.turbochargerpros.com/buynow/2002/nissan/Xterra/Supercharger/40-10013_R?crid=21495
I'm not sure they're worth 2.3x the vehicle for my impatience but they are out there .
https://www.turbochargerpros.com/buynow/2002/nissan/Xterra/Supercharger/40-10013_R?crid=21495