Overdue Updates

I probably should inform that I am still very much alive. What ended up happening is a week after my last post is that I actually got a call and got sworn in for the Canadian Forces than only had 3 weeks to get ready to go, which included totally cleaning up my grandmothers garage like I was never in there (with a small section of parts that I'm keeping, including some Xterra parts) and prep the Mx-3 to go to the wreckers. She's still in there sitting on jack stands, but I told my parents that if my grandmother really wanted it gone, that it's ready to go and they can call it in to get flatbeded away, but she's good with it and said we can deal with it until I get back since she only uses her car and a half garage for her lawnmower anyway.

Also in the rush of getting things gone before I left was to fabricate and mount the winch in my truck. The one thing about working with my dad that it's hard to get your own idea across when he had one in his head too, but it came out quite well. He also made some front shackle mounts on it. Those will affect my approach angle just a tad, but once I eventually put on a (modified) brush guard, it'll sit about that distance anyway, so I don't see any problems there, especially since it's about 1/2" off of how an actual winch bumper would sit anyway. It's made with a 1/2" steel for the base plate and 3/8" sides for mounting, so it's strong as hell; the frame with break before this mount does.

I also installed the heated seat pads in the rear seats and wired all that up. I had gotten my second set of Pathfinder switches in from eBay so I figured might as well. They were in great condition and not only were the light bulbs still intact and working, but they worked exactly how they are suppose to with the way I have them wired up to work with aftermarket pads. I put those switches up front of course, and moved my other set to the rear. The only thing is that my rear passenger side pads don't heat up, but I think that just a connector issue; the pins don't like to line up in the connector 100% sometimes, If not it's a dead controller. I just need some time o sort that out

Also before I left, I got some LONG overdue maintenance done on the truck; timing belt, power steering belts, new steering rack (leaking), water pump, tensioner, A/C sealing & recharge, installed my Grassroots4x4 upgraded idler arm, serviced the clutch/brake system and the parking brake was sticking. Also did an oil change and an alignment. We also put on the sending unit for the oil pressure gauge with the adapters I got but I never got around to actually running the wires to the gauge itself yet. Ironically after doing all that, my alternator decided to fail so we ended up putting in a 165amp marine alternator and replaced my trucks original battery with a dual post D35 Optima Yellow Top. She should be good to go for a while now. I'm just happy that it's all done, despite the money spent, some was service that was way overdue that I just couldn't afford to. I was highly recommended by a friend to bring my truck with me (and I'm so glad I did) to BMQ so I wanted my truck to be reliable for the long drive up, but also since I'll be mechanic-less for 3 months.

Anyway, Basic Training (ie: Boot Camp) had been interesting, good but tough, but sets better as time goes on. Currently starting week 9 of 13. The problem is that we only get our electronics on the weekend, and there's no internet access. We're stuck in an indoctrination period for the first 5 weeks, so we weren't even allowed outside the base for that time. On week 5, I went out and picked up a Rogers Rocket Stick, however after a week of work, come the weekends, you just want to GTFO, so it easilly get distracted and just go out and enjoy my freedom as best as I can for 72 hours, especially they will only allow weekend leave if we've performed/behaved well that week. Last week we we're the duty platoon, which means we had extra responsibilities around the base, mostly cleaning, and that week, we weren't allowed out when we're assigned as the duty platoon, so this week, time to enjoy ourselves!

Winch, Heated Seats & Breaking Stuff

Hmm, I'm actually surprised that the last update was done before Christmas. Weeks fly by seamlessly. Since, I've actually unemployed, again, for the last few weeks. Still waiting word on the army, they seem to be taking their time, but it seems at least they are doing stuff. A few people got e-mails this week to fill out an online form for being my references. Heading to a job fair this weekend anyway for other options, but I'm actually leaning considerably towards the forces. I was told that there's a hiring freeze until April by a friend so I decided to give them a call just to make sure and that is indeed true.

Considering that I haven't done an update after Christmas, one thing that I haven't mentioned is that my parents surprised me and got me a winch as a gift. Ideally I wanted a Titan Winch, but this will definitely do. Well, if you've noticed on the Xterra, I don't have a winch bumper, and I don't plan on getting on either. With the body lift, there's plenty of room for a custom winch mount. Mind you, even without the body lift, it actually could fit, probably with some trimming of the bumper in that case. Regardless, my dad just needs to make a mount for the winch, which we've been working on this week. Did some test-fitting and some tweaking and the mount should be close to being bolted in. Next step is to remove the bumper and drill the holes in the frame. Last step is to modify the front crossbar to put the fairlead on it and weld that to the mount. Than to finish it off, to paint it using my process. My yellow top ended up going into my aunts van temporarily. Once I get that back, I'll be put into the Xterra, and hopefully coincide with wiring up the winch.

I also foolishly decided to tackle the sending unit for the oil pressure gauge. I knew it was going to happen and it did; I snapped the OEM sensor trying to take off the connector. I called Nissan and they wanted $130 for a new one. It's cheaper that I thought but it would still hurt right now, so I called my mechanic and he got me a price on a new aftermarket sensor; less than $20, so I was happy. As you can see, we actually didn't use the last NPT-BSPT fitting. We did it for a few reasons; 1) leass leverage/stress on the OEM mounting point, especially if mud gets pushed up in there and 2) there's a piece off the motor what would of been in the way of the aftermarket sending unit. The thing with MPT and BPST is that the difference is only 1-thread-per-inch, so you can make them fit if you want. The adapter is ideal to not ruin the OEM threads, but with the new aftermarket OEM sensor and the fitting costing $25, it really not an issue if they need to be replaced in the future. We also used a liquid sealant rather than the Teflon tape because the OEM sensor is a 1-wire and grounds through the chassis. The Teflon tape could actually insulate the sensor, causing it to not work. I still need to run wires from the sending unit to the gauge, but that's all that's left.

The heated seats have been working great. On my last week of work, the rep came in and I picked up a few sets of pads from him. One pair was suppose to be for a fellow CNTC member, but he hasn't set a date for the installation yet. It's about 3-5 hours worth of work. The other set I got was for anyone potentially for anyone else, but no one seems interested, but also the rep said that there's a possibility that he won't be carrying them anymore, so I decided to do what I also wanted to do and put heated seats in the rear. To say the least, putting them in the rear is actually ALOT harder than the fronts. I plan on getting another set of Pathfinder switches and they'll be mounted on each side of the 12 volt outlet behind the center console. Well see how soon I can get some Pathfinder switches, but I think the round switches that come with the pads are narrower, so I can use those in the meantime until I get the switches I want, but we'll see.