At 185k it's worth looking into potential clogs in the egr system- not just the valve, but the entire ports depending on the design. They may need to be manually cleaned, not just chemically. Good luck with the restoration, the Xterra has always been an interesting vehicle
for your VIAS issues: https://www.thenewx.org/forum/11-powertrain-driveline/113250-p1800-dtc.html this might help, though i'm not sure.
also, the part is cheap if you need one https://www.amazon.com/GooDeal-Solenoid-K5T46673-149558J10A-Frontier/dp/B01HRO9412
the cats probably are not bad. though they could be. usually it's the downstream o2 sensors. you can sometimes get away with spacing them out away from the exhaust stream with o2 non-foulers https://www.google.com/search?sclient=psy&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US%3Aofficial&tbm=shop&source=hp&q=18mm+spark+plug+non+fouler&aq=f&aqi=&aql=&oq=&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&biw=1280&bih=616&cad=h you just need to be careful that your inspector doesn't see them (maybe paint them black?)
as seth said, the exhaust bolts and fasteners, even in texas, will be quite corroded, so douse them with Kroil for a few days beforehand.
i would never spend $1200 on cats on a sub $5k car, ever. throwing good money after bad, IMO. you want to get the car in tip top shape, and I applaud that. rear o2s don't do anything besides tell the check engine light (and the mechanic) that your cats or rear o2s aren't working right. brakes, leaks, a/c, those are important things to focus on.
My mom said she'd go halvsies with me on the cats, so there's that. Also, damnedest thing-I did regular maintenance this weekend (oil change, air filter, in-cabin air filter, wipers) and I re-ran the code tester. The P1800 code I got for the VIAS control solenoid valve is no longer showing up.
Between paychecks, I'm working on the rust spots. Pro tip: I am NOT impressed with Dupli-Color.
Waiting on the cats for now; I need new tires to pass inspection (I can always erase my codes before going in for inspection and try to fake my way through it). Also, the brakes are squeaky when I back up, so I think it's time to replace the brake pads. In the process, I'll be teaching one of my coworkers how to change her brake pads on her Jeep Cherokee (YouTube for the win!). Also making plans to paint the calipers red, but that's prolly gonna have to wait.
Also, the teenager has decided that the Xterra needs red & black accents. As I work on the rust spots and touch-up paint job, I'll be re-doing the pinstripes red & black, replacing the hub caps with some snazzy black ones, and I found some nice black & red seat covers with matching floor mats.
Squeaky brakes in reverse does not necessarily mean they're bad. The ceramic pads on my Lexus do that and they have roughly 1/2 pad life left on them.
Pro tip: I am NOT impressed with Dupli-Color.
Better off: getting a Preval sprayer bottle at some place like Home depot then getting your local auto paint store to mix up some PPG, just for touch ups a pint will do. Ask them if they have the color either in acrylic enamel or single stage PU. Need some reducer/thinner for that paint too.
deannathegeek said:
(Just realized cuss words are edited. Sorry, I swear like a sailor on leave, I'll try to curb it here.)
Don't worry about the cuss words. The auto censoring E36 M3 will weed those berkeleyers right out.
I took another stab at the rear brakes and finally beat them! Got the rear pads changed and painted the calipers. Awfully proud of myself, and pleased with how it came out. Unless something disastrous happens, I'm gonna finish up the bare & rust spots and the rest of the body work before moving on to the front brake pads & A/C. I also need new tires and need to get the cats replaced. After that, who the hell knows.
Is that the new pad vs the old pad in the first pic?
lnlogauge said:Is that the new pad vs the old pad in the first pic?
Yup, old pad is the one on the bottom. A friend of mine poked at me that I hadn't gotten metal-to-metal and could have waited longer, but they were squeaky and wanted them done before my road trip to Corpus this week.
Also, I went from metal to ceramic break pads, just to see what the difference would be like.
The old pads were practically new.... Sometimes brakes just squeak a little.
Nice job painting the caliper!
In reply to TED_fiestaHP :
The groove in the new pad was much deeper, although I hadn't seen what the old ones looked like prior to the shop installing them. Still, makes me feel good that I can check something else off of my "Look what I can do!" list 
When that groove is completely gone, then the pad is almost fully worn out. You don't want to try stopping with just the metal backing plate, that doesn't work very well.
Sometimes it is fun to learn how to do stuff that someone would want to charge a bunch of money for. Sometimes you wonder why would it cost so much, it's not that hard to do....
Brakes tend ot last so long now, this is one part you might not ever have to replace again, at least not on this car.
Did the pads from each side of the rotor look evenly worn?
In reply to akamcfly :
For the most part, about a hair's difference. Will also need to see the front brakes when I do those next month. Planning on getting an alignment when I get my new tires.
deannathegeek said:In reply to akamcfly :
For the most part, about a hair's difference. Will also need to see the front brakes when I do those next month. Planning on getting an alignment when I get my new tires.
Ok good. If there's a significant difference, that means the sliders are seized. I had that on my 2005 Nissan X-Trail (never sold in USA) which caused noise and very uneven wear. Not a difficult fix, but I thought I'd ask given your comments about the brake noise. Your pic reminded me of the X-Trail brakes - same configuration.
You could baggy those old brake pads and keep them for the next change and nobody would call you a cheapskate. They're in great condition.
deannathegeek said:...painted the calipers. Awfully proud of myself, and pleased with how it came out.
Can you share your method for painting, please? Looks great!
In reply to FIYAPOWA :
Once again, my lack of upper body strength got the better of me & I couldn't budge the bolts on the calipers-after taking off the top & taking out the brake pads, the main part stayed on and I just used trash bags and masking tape to cover the surrounding area. I did 2 coats of high-heat primer, 2 coats of high heat caliper paint, and 2 coats of high heat clear coat. I used the VHT brand, available at AutoZone, and let them sit one episode of Blue Bloods between coats (my mom insisted I watch it; it's actually pretty good). It's definitely a time-consuming project, because if one coat isn't dry and you move on anyway, the whole thing get sticky and can peel away (ran into that one on accident). I found it's best to spray from about a foot back in short, sweeping passes to get just a light amount out at a time so it doesn't get drippy or dense in some areas. Be careful peeling the tape & bags away after, as the paint may stick to it and peel from the caliper when you pull them away.
I'll be doing the front brake pads & calipers this weekend, I'll post pics when I'm done with those, too. After I get new tires, I'm gonna plasti-dip the rims black so I get a red-flashing-behind-black effect. I think it'll look cool.
Hope there's shade at Moms ..stay kool
In reply to 759NRNG :
Lots of shade at Mom's but working at home this weekend. Shade is hit or miss, depending on parking, but I plan to start at the butt-crack of dawn.
i must say 'buttcrack o dawn' has a way better twang to it than 'earlythirty' Yeah, even though the grosh has room for a vehicle.... I tend to chase the sun..er shade out in the drive way...with the help of the big oak right nearby.....oh and what little breeze blows past....
Yeah, my usual term is "@$$ o'clock", but "butt-crack o' dawn" is pretty good too. One of the reasons I miss having a garage is being able to work when it's darl outside and having overhead lights. I mean, I rarely sleep anyway, so I might as well use those extra hours doing sumoething productive.
Well happy new year....belated merry Christmas......happy thanksgiving.....WAT UP?!?!?!!!!
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