Nissan Xterra

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looking into a fun little SUV with real off road capability...and the subject vehicle has really grabbed my interest. Any experience? Reliable? Gen II certainly has much more power and a timing chain instead of a belt. Thoughts?
 
A buddy of mine had a 2014-15? for a few years. He liked it and had zero issues aside from the full sized truck-like fuel economy. Best I can tell, the 4L and 5spd AT is reliable drivetrain that's been around for a long time.
 
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I was looking into those, they seem pretty solid. The early gen 2s have timing chain issues and you need to mod the transmission cooling system to prevent getting coolant in your transmission fluid , but other than that people seem to like them.
 
2010 and up is a safe bet. They fixed the timing chain and radiator cross contamination issues by then. Prepare for less than stellar fuel economy, but it's an on frame 4wd SUV.
 
Well a 2010 or newer is out of budget. Was hoping to find one for less than $5000. The radiator problem doesn't scare me as long as it has not already damaged the trans, as I was planning on adding an external trans cooler anyways. The timing chain issue does have me a little concerned...does it effect ALL engines, or is it hit and miss depending on service history and maintenance? Does anybody know the root cause of the timing chain issue? Is it as simple as pro-actively replacing guides and tensioners?
 
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Originally Posted By: DriveHard
Well a 2010 or newer is out of budget. Was hoping to find one for less than $5000. The radiator problem doesn't scare me as long as it has not already damaged the trans, as I was planning on adding an external trans cooler anyways. The timing chain issue does have me a little concerned...does it effect ALL engines, or is it hit and miss depending on service history and maintenance? Does anybody know the root cause of the timing chain issue? Is it as simple as pro-actively replacing guides and tensioners?


Defect from Borg Warner on the guides themselves. No amount of preventive maintenance will prevent it. I think after 2008 they were solved. I traded off my 07 Frontier with the same engine because of the issue. Wasn't going to be a cheap repair. It seems to be a hit or miss, but more hit on earlier 2nd gen models.
 
Originally Posted By: Delta
Originally Posted By: DriveHard
Well a 2010 or newer is out of budget. Was hoping to find one for less than $5000. The radiator problem doesn't scare me as long as it has not already damaged the trans, as I was planning on adding an external trans cooler anyways. The timing chain issue does have me a little concerned...does it effect ALL engines, or is it hit and miss depending on service history and maintenance? Does anybody know the root cause of the timing chain issue? Is it as simple as pro-actively replacing guides and tensioners?


Defect from Borg Warner on the guides themselves. No amount of preventive maintenance will prevent it. I think after 2008 they were solved. I traded off my 07 Frontier with the same engine because of the issue. Wasn't going to be a cheap repair. It seems to be a hit or miss, but more hit on earlier 2nd gen models.


Been doing some reading on this...and your observation seems to be spot on. Timing chain kits are in the $300 range, and it doesn't seem much harder than a timing belt, which the Gen 1's would have anyways. I've done a hand full of timing belts in my day...so just something new to learn about.
 
If this was not necessarily going to be your daily driver, I wouldn't be afraid to get a "problem" one and work on it as you can.
 
Another fun and cheap option is a 90s or early 2000s Jeep. I think the last year of the Jeep 4.0 was 2004. The great thing about them is solid reliability and cheap parts.

Like others have mentioned, the biggest issue with the early 4.0s in the Nissans was the chain guides. No idea what it takes to fix that at home. But if you could, there are some great deals on Xterra's.
 
Originally Posted By: HemiHawk
Another fun and cheap option is a 90s or early 2000s Jeep. I think the last year of the Jeep 4.0 was 2004. The great thing about them is solid reliability and cheap parts.

Like others have mentioned, the biggest issue with the early 4.0s in the Nissans was the chain guides. No idea what it takes to fix that at home. But if you could, there are some great deals on Xterra's.


x2. The Jeep is the better option. I've worked on a few Xterras and they never impressed me.
 
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TJs had the 4.0 through 06.

No real Xterra experience, but I'm not a big fan of the suspension set up. Torsion bars up front, leaf springs in the back. Good setup for a 3/4 ton truck, but for a small SUV for off roading it's not optimal. Not much flex. My Liberty has more flex and a better ride on/offroad.

I'd get a Liberty or Grand Cherokee. Even a 4runner would be better.
 
Originally Posted By: HoosierJeeper
TJs had the 4.0 through 06.

No real Xterra experience, but I'm not a big fan of the suspension set up. Torsion bars up front, leaf springs in the back. Good setup for a 3/4 ton truck, but for a small SUV for off roading it's not optimal. Not much flex. My Liberty has more flex and a better ride on/offroad.

I'd get a Liberty or Grand Cherokee. Even a 4runner would be better.


Torsion bars was on the fist gen, not the second if I recall my Frontiers set-up (basically the same underneath).
 
Look for a 1999-2004 Xterra 4WD with the 3.3L non-supercharged V/6 engine. The engine does have a timing belt that needs to be replaced every 60k miles, but it is a non-interference iron block engine and is very reliable/durable. One thing to watch-out for is broken exhaust manifold bolts. If it doesn't have an exhaust manifold leak when the engine is started cold, they have likely been replaced already. The rest of the vehicle is pretty tough and has very good off-road capabilities.
 
I have a 2015 xterra. No problems. 33,000 miles. plan on keeping it for a long time. Had a 2011 Jeep JK before the xterra. I like the xterra much better.
 
ok, picked up a 2007 OFF ROAD edition with a few issues for $3k.

body is in excellent shape, and interior is good as well. The rad has not mixed coolant with tranny fluid yet, and there was no whine indicating cam chain tensioners were already done, or not an issue. 150k miles. Runs good, drives straight, shocks still stiff, and no rattles anywhere (huge surprise!)

Problems:
needs new front right wheel bearing (whoomp whoomp whoomp that gets worse when turning left)
needs fuel gauge sending unit (gauge is wonky - common problem)
needs right bank upstream O2 sensor
cruise doesn't work
needs a good solid cleaning

this is a back up car, which was previously done with a Honda CRV that I gave to my daughter when her Ford zx2 took a pooop and I gave up on it. I can drive my Silverado until I get the Xterra sorted out...then looking forward to a slight lift, and having some fun on the trails.

Front suspension is coil over struts. Rear is leaf springs. Real 4wd with 4low and locking rear diff.
 
^ Nice find!

I'm not sure the engine is related, but we had a 2000 Pathfinder 4.0L, 5spd in the family that made it to just under 250K miles before the engine started suffering from what appeared to be valvetrain issues. I didn't get a look at it before my nephew sold it off as-is.
 
Originally Posted By: JTK
^ Nice find!

I'm not sure the engine is related, but we had a 2000 Pathfinder 4.0L, 5spd in the family that made it to just under 250K miles before the engine started suffering from what appeared to be valvetrain issues. I didn't get a look at it before my nephew sold it off as-is.


2000 model year Pathfinder is a 3.3 L VG33E. 2001 is a 3.5 VQ35DE. The Pathfinder didn't get the 4.0 VQ40DE until 2005.
 
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