How To: Remove Steering System on First Gen Nissan Xterra (Replacing Oil Pan Step 1)
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- Опубліковано 26 чер 2021
- Many Nissan Xterras have that nagging oil leak between the back of the engine block and the transmission bell housing. The common cause is the rear of the oil pan where it has a rubber seal that gets dry rotted and brittle.
To replace the oil pan and gaskets, the first step is to remove the center link, which gives you room to lower the oil pan straight down.
Or your ball joints may be ripped and loose. Or you may need to reinforce your steering system for offroading. Or you may need to repair your Xterra because it has a broken tie rod while going offroading.
Moral of the story: there are many reasons you may need to remove and replace steering system components.
Awesome video. Can't wait to see the rest on how you removed your oil pan. Mine is leaking a ton and the detail you provide in your video(s) is helpful beyond belief. Thanks so much for taking the time to make the videos to help people like me who do not have all that much experience working on vehicles...yet. 👍
Happy to help my dude. We all started somewhere and have to learn. Best thing to do is have confidence and allow yourself plenty of time so you aren't under all the pressure of being up against a deadline of not getting to work the next day if something goes wrong!
Great breakdown. I learned a lot.
Thanks for watching dude. Happy to help.
Another great video, thanks again!!
Happy to help!
hell ye, new vids. thanks rob
Thanks for watching my dude. Got a few more in the pipe line!
Thanks for making great videos and sharing it. I’m hoping you can tell me where I can find a set of metal idler arm bushing?
Bandit4x4 sells bronze bushings that take a lot of slop out of the steering system.
you can also count the turns when removing the tie rod ends , measuring your tie rod ends first ensures you wont have to get an alignment afterwards . also using a pickle fork is a bad idea, swift knock to side with a hammer works well .
Another good trick. Yep...as long as the ball joint to ball joint length is the same, no need for an alignment. The toe in alignment is quite sensitive though, talking fractions of an inch. Depends on how expensive your tires were if you go with the hand alignment. I have the life time alignment deal at firestone so I just drop it off anytime I change the steering system.
@@XterraRob Yea thats what have , is your pan leaking or is it the rear main ? Mine has been leaking since i got her .
Pretty sure it was the oil pan. Video coming soonish when I quit being too lazy to edit hours of footage :) the rear has a semi circle cut out with a rubber seal that rots and cracks. Spills oil right under the rear main seal.
Hey Rob, great videos - I have a 2WD version, do I still need to remove the support arms to remove the oil pan? About to do this job and all of the videos that I have seen are for the 4WD -- since I don't have a front diff, I was hoping mine will come out without easier?
Honestly not sure....but it will definitely be easier!
Hey rob! Had a question, on your past video I took your advice on upgrading the steering on my 01 Xterra 4x4 because mine was stock and sloppy. I got the 4x4parts idler brace, HD tie rod adjusters, ac delco inner/outer TRE’s, grassroots 4x4 drag link and bandit 4x4 idler bushings installed. The steering feels tighter but still has an inch of slop and when I make turns it feels very stiff to the point where I have to move the wheel back to center with some effort. Just wanted to know if this is a normal feeling for these upgrades or could be something wrong with the install? It didn’t do that before and I had it aligned after the upgrade and was good.
Also waiting on some rear adjustable shackles to raise the rear 2 inches… Will I need another alignment when I install them shackles and raise the back?
Thanks!
Inch of slop I am not sure on that...grassroots centerlink and bandit4x4 idler arm bushings eliminated a lot for me. The tight feeling with slow to return to center is due to the grassroots centerlink having a very tight bolted joint. On my truck, I backed the castle nut off one window on the grade 8 bolts so it didnt have so much resistamce when rotating. It was much smoother after. As with any modification, test your setup and inspect after to gain your own confidence in your setup.
Alignment: in a pure theoretical world...sure. Lifting the rear can cause your weight distribution to lean forward, which can cause the front to sit a bit lower, changing the alignment. In a practical world...not really. It would be very minor. My general recommendation is to decide based on how expensive your tires are and how old they are. Brand new tires worth 1200 for the set? Get an alignment for peace of mind. Cheap tires with 45k miles on them already? Let it ride, watch for uneven tire wear, and get a fresh alignment when you are due for new tires.
Have you tried adjusting the steering box?
Great suggeation! The slop could be from the gear box itself
would it be the same steps for a non 4x4? have a 2002 xterra and I need to replace the oil pan gasket.
Steering system should be the same to remove but it would be much easier since you don't have axles or a front differential in the way. You have the VG33e 6 cylinder?
@@XterraRob Yes I do.
I searched thru your videos and I didn't see one for the Tubes for the heater core, I have one that broke today. Do I have to remove my entire dash board to just replace the tubes? If not, how do I get the Big grey/black box out? lol
You have to remove your dash to get it out. Otherwise, I have heard people have success with patching it by taking a short piece of copper tube that just barely slides inside the broken flange/fitting...and slathering it with some water proof epoxy to kind of seal and recreate the pipe that the rubber hose attaches to.
hi Rob. this is Oliver (water pump timing belt). you cheered me thru: )
i'm trying to take pittman arm nut off steering box to change outer seal. the inch and 5/8th nut wont budge and i'm using a breaker bar. are the threads backwards by chance, would a impact gun be more effective? thank you for any and all advice
I am pretty certain they are regular threads...so lefty loosey if you are laying on the ground looking up at it. It just comes down to torque. I didn't have much trouble with the big ass wrench that I had. I would expect a long and strong breaker bar would work. If it is one of those flex bars that flex too much, it may be difficult. You need something strong like an iron pipe. And spray liquid wrench All over it.
Rob, interesting point, my breaker bar is flexing ! i'll keep at. i may cave and pu impact gun. thank you
@@midnightraiin4035 I bought a 3 foot long iron pipe from home depot. About 3/4 of an inch or so in the plumbing section. Just big enough to slip over my flex bars and ratchet wrenches. Best 7 bucks for tight hardware. That should work.
@@XterraRob home depot here I come ,! i'll let you know outcome. thank you again
@@midnightraiin4035 happy to help
What are your tie rod lengths from center of joint to center of joint with a good alignment? Long story short I destroyed my steering in Moab and am completely redoing it with 1/4" wall DOM and heims. I already did the centerlink since that is a fixed length. I have the same UCAs as you and just need a good starting length on the tie rods to get within adjustment tolerances of the heims. Thanks.
Great question, I will measure them tomorrow for you.
@@XterraRob thanks, this was the second set of 4x4 parts HD adjusters I've broken, hence the upgrade to the DOM and heims. Btw, I also gusseted my idler arm previously in addition to the Calmini brace and actually just had some custom Delrin replacement bushings made for it since I also destroyed the stock bushings. It's only a matter of time till I SAS this, lol
Ive trashed one set of the HD TRAs. Definitely not bomb proof. I try not to push it too hard on the trails anymore just because I got tired of spending so much time fixing stuff or doing sketchy trail repairs. SAS is always the dream :)
@@XterraRob any luck on those measurements?
Well...after test driving my truck the alignment is way off so not sure measurements will work yet. I'm getting alignment tomorrow and can measure after so its a good measurement.