97 XD (PDXDisco) Trip & Build:
Little update on the XD as summer finally arrived I noticed out on I-10 after taking my wife out to dinner it hit 210F to 214F while going 75MPH. I decided to replace the radiator, so I looked into an Allisport unit, but no one in the USA seems to stock them, and when I contacted Allisport I was told 5 to 10 weeks out. I couldn't wait that long so I ordered a Nissens radiator. It arrived un damaged even though the box looked like FedEx tossed it off the plane at 5,000FT. I also slapped in an Edelbrock 180F High Performance thermostat. When I removed the original radiator all I can say is OH BOY.... I'd say at least 45% of the bottom of the radiator was completely blocked by what looked like grass seeds or rice seeds. There was also a little reminder of Stewart the mouse and a few pieces of hood liner sitting between the condenser and radiator. Install was straight forward, and I got the system burped and now on the same stretch of road I'm at 185-190F at 75-80MPH. It will sit at idle much longer before the temps start to rise with the AC on. Highest I've seen sitting was 210F and of coarse once on the move it drops quickly.
I had to redo the thermostat housing gasket as apparently the first time it just didn't want to be a happy camper for some reason and just decided to seep like crazy. Round 2 worked and zero leaks so all good! I tried to clean out the original radiator and while I got some stuff out I'd have to find a radiator shop and have them redo it a lot of fins are bent or crushed in from debris over the years, and honestly at that rate I could just put the $$$ toward an Allisport or another Nissens.
Ordered a few goodies for the XD from Golden Rovers. I ordered the aluminum skateboard, the center dash mount for misc electronics, and the rear upper cargo area rack. Will be nice to stow some stuff out of there which is usually in the way in the cargo area.
They make some great stuff. I just got their plate for holding the window switches to complement the "new" center console I bought.
Yeah I got the skate board installed (my console and plastic panel was still in good shape). The dash plate is very nice and my rear cargo rack should be shipping soon. Really excited about that one as I can store stuff that never leaves the XD up and out of the way!
It can control 6 Aux devices rack lights, rock lights, or whatever to trigger a relay. It also has a PA and 20 something police sounds. Since I'm either a trail leader or tail gunner most of the time the PA could come in handy. The police sounds might come in handy during an event to get someones attention or if a blind person can't see my AA Yellow XD going down the road.
Camel Trophy
Joined: Oct 2016
Posts: 4,867
Likes: 1,410
From: Michigan
Could use the police sounds myself. It would be nice when l hear the, "whooo, wooo, whooo...pull it over buddy"...l could hit my "whooo, wooo, whooo...button and say "no, you pull it over buddy."
Today was an extremely rough day for me at home so I decided to get my mind off of things by wrenching on the XD. I obtained a HD Rear Tire Carrier from a buddy of mine which allows up to a 35inch tire, but it also raises the tire up so if I drop off a ledge I don't have to worry about snagging the tire or having a small car/suv hitting the tire and crushing in the rear cargo door. The Diamond Plate panel I've had in my shop for probably 2 years. The XD came with a thick ABS plastic custom panel, but I wanted to ditch the OEM subwoofer assembly and grab handle for a custom clean look. I'm going to get some better screws for it tomorrow, but I'm pleased with the results of both.
I won't be going to SCARR this year, but I plan on going out to Big Bend State Park with some good buddies of mine!
Last edited by Best4x4; Mar 20, 2025 at 10:06 PM.
