Last month our Project Xterra was fit with the requisite lift and tires to make it a vehicle worthy of the Four Wheeler name. All told, we added new Rancho RS 9000 shocks, JKS sway-bar disconnects, Rancho's 21/2-inch lift and new tires and wheels in our first installment. In addition, we pruned off those lame running boards.
This month, the next step of our Xterra upgrade sees us adding a mean-looking ARB bumper, Warn XD9000 winch, Rancho steering stabilizer, an idler arm brace, IPF Rally lights and covers and a TJM snorkel. As expected, the bumper and winch, along with the lights, idler arm brace and steering stabilizer were all fairly rudimentary bolt-on installs. Generally speaking, it's stuff you can do at home on any given Saturday.
The snorkel install, however, was a different beast altogether. Since the snorkel kit was developed for the Nissan Navara, a version of the Nissan Frontier, its installation on our X required some extra cutting and modifying. The vehicle's precleaner adapter tube, for instance, was too large to properly fit into our snorkel's intermediate tube. Also, we needed to bend part of the quarter-panel to fit the snorkel's intermediate tube into the wheel arch properly.
Despite the mild hassles, the snorkel, and by extension our '01 Xterra, looks great. Besides its quite intimidating profile, the X now possesses plenty of four-wheeling heart, highlighted by a super stout bumper, top-flight illumination and a Warn winch.
 Bumper and Winch Begin by...  Bumper and Winch
Begin by removing the Xterra's lower steel and plastic bumper and disconnecting the running lights. Bolt the new bumper to the rig's chassis, first at the rear-most point, seen here as the thick silver-colored bolt. The ARB bumper then bolts to the frame at two additional points per side. |  Use a Hi-Lift to hold the...  Use a Hi-Lift to hold the ARB bumper up to the Xterra's upper plastic bumper. Mark the points where the factory bumper touches the bully bar. Remove both the ARB bumper and the upper factory bumper and cut two vertical rectangular slots into the plastic where the ARB needs to fit. |  Time to install the winch....  Time to install the winch. Warn's XD9000 fits snugly into the body of the ARB bumper. Bolt the winch to the bumper using the provided bolts, and then attach the solenoid to the top of the bumper. Although ARB's bumper comes with two mounting brackets for the solenoid, we turned the solenoid sideways and mounted it straight to the bumper itself. Finally, connect the color-coded solenoid terminals to the winch. |
 With the help of a friend...  With the help of a friend (or your Hi-Lift), bolt the ARB bumper back onto the chassis. Place the Xterra's plastic bumper behind the ARB and mark the points on the grille where the solenoid makes contact. |  Cut into the grille to make...  Cut into the grille to make room for the solenoid. The middle of the backside of the grille has a thick plastic fastener. Take extra care to cut this part with patience. |  The winch fairlead didn't...  The winch fairlead didn't exactly line up to the bumper's fairlead mouth. As a result, after holding the fairlead up to the bumper and marking our connecting points, we drilled 7/16-inch holes into each side of the fairlead. Then we bolted the fairlead to the bumper through the top using the provided ARB fairlead bolts, and through the enlarged holes. To complete the winch install, connect the solenoid to the car battery and the winch hook to the cable. |
 Steering Stabilizer Begin...  Steering Stabilizer
Begin by removing the front skidplate. Apply Loctite to the bolts and install the bracket to the steering's centerlink using the two provided U-bolts. |  Turn the wheels to the right...  Turn the wheels to the right and bolt on the frame-mount bracket. |  Install the steering stabilizer...  Install the steering stabilizer to the bracket and extend it all the way, and then push it back in about 3/4-inch and set up the bushings. Finish by bolting the stabilizer to the frame mount. |
 Installing the idler arm brace...  Installing the idler arm brace is very simple. Remove the bolts that hold the idler arm and centerlink. Replace them with the brace's longer bolts and tighten the three bolts that hold the idler arm brace in place. | | |