Just dropped off the car this morning for Opti-Coat Pro+. Will circle back in a few days and show you guys how it looks after (i'd bet not appreciably much from a photo).

 

Over the weekend I finally tried Dr Colorchip on some scratches on the hood. "Impressed" is definitely not a word I would use. Granted, the big chip is pretty big but, the color didn't match GS at all. I thought it might look different after few days but, no.
The same day I used dealer touch up paint on the wife's sienna. Ya know because it was only $10 vs the $50 I ended up paying for Dr colorchip. The touch up paint blends far better imo. Thinking about cleaning off the colorchip and buying from the dealer.

 

My father literally slammed into the back of my car parking in my driveway about a month ago while coming to visit for dinner. He came in and told me and when I went outside to look he didn't even bother reversing the car he kept it pushed into my bumper!

You know what I did!....











Reversed his car got out looked at the damage (which was enough for me to have to rewrap the entire bumper) smiled and laughed while telling him I loved him and continued back inside for a family dinner. (Given it killed me on the inside I didn't show it bc it was a mistake and he's let me slide on worse throughout my childhood).

Moral of my short story... its only a car and without your father you wouldn't be here to even own a car for him to mess up lol. I know you're not complaining or angry with your dad but mistakes happen and that's why we call them an "accident" And besides nothing a $75 refinish can't fix!

 

Kenny 2016!!

 

Had to take some pics because of the lighting

 

I finally got around to change the fluids in both diffs and transfer case (last night)... drove the car this morning and checked for any leaks....all good! I ended up using the following:
Mobil 1 75w/90 Full synth (differentials) - big thanks to Black Betty's DYI post!!!
Matic S (transfer case)

The fluid in the transfer case was pretty dark so I'm glad I got that changed out. I'm at 55K and not sure if the prior owner had ever changed it, so moving forward I'll be able to change at the normal intervals. The drive feel is much better now, especially from stop and go. So calling all X owners, have your transfer case fluid changed (and both diffs)

I'll be doing the coolant flush this weekend.

 

Option 1!! Looks more stock-like. When I modify my car I like to make it look like it came like that.

 

Improved stop and go in the X? I'll be getting on this one ASAP!

 

Nice tip.
What kind of improvement did you notice?
I didn't realize mine may be lacking.

 

Yes, much smoother transition from low gear shifts. I went to my nearby Nissan dealer and picked up 2 bottles of Matic S. The transfer case only calls for 1.1 quart, but just to be safe I picked up 2. I'll store the left over for next interval change. I picked up a fluid pump from Autozone - worked really good, but couldn't suck out the remaining few ounces at the bottom so I opened up the second bottle and poured the remaining from bottle #1 to #2.

 

Last week, prior to changing the transfer case fluid, I was starting to feel a 'pause' or hard shift coming from high to low gear. Then in stop and go traffic it was more pronounced. I'm not 100% sure how our AWD system works (I mean the percentage from RWD biased to sending power to the front wheels at various driving stages) but I figured there was an issue with the transition and thought it could be the fluid and it could be heat related.

I'll be driving the car again this afternoon since it'll be hot today, so this will be my true test.

**checking your transfer case fluid before drain/refill: I removed the transfer case fill plug and used a white zip tie to insert as a 'dipstick'. This will show you how dark/light the color of the fluid**

 

Great tips, thanks!

 

I bought Dr. Colorchip for my old Bimmer and was also disappointed. Not to mention half of the clear liquid stuff evaporated during the year and a half it was sitting in my basement. I recommend getting touch up paint and the Langka blob eliminator.

Agreed, I like option 1.

 

Finally had some free time today.

I've been wanting to black out the inside of the front grill and paint the engine cover for a while now.





I will also be doing my calipers in this burnt copper color sometime this summer. Looks real good with the red.


I am also going to tie that color into the headlights at somepoint.


Slowly but surely she is getting closer to my vision but we all know they are never "done".

 

That looks amazing Demb! Great job man.