Just got a new Nissan Xterra SE 4X2 about a month and a half ago. I was going to get a 4X4 but the dealer gave me such a good price I coulden't say no. I was just wondering how difficult it would be to convert this to a 4X4, and what it would do to the cars durabiliy/performance. I went on a website and looked at the parts associated with 4X4 version of my car and found that many were the same, including the structure of the car, which made me think it might not be as challenging as it would be with other cars.

Take the 2x2 back. 3 days or 150 miles. Or are you past that now? What you'll put into the conversion, you could of just bought the 4x4.

Yea i'm past that. The thing is, I don't really need it, but it is something I would like to have. But I got such a good price (14,250 for NEW SE 4X2 with many options), I just coulden't get the 4X4 version of the exact same car from the other dealer (28,000), and the dealer that I got the 4X2 from said that they would only give me the car at this price if I came down and bought it within a few hours (and bought only that car). I felt like if I really want 4wd, that it would not cost me $14,000 to install it, (if it did I could sell this car for much more then I bought it for and buy a new 4X4). Well, I don't think I will be selling this car, so I was hoping to know, how hard it would be to do it, would it effect the driveabliliy or handeling of the car, and would it hurt the cars longevity or durablility/reliability? I would use the standard part-time 4wd system that nissan sells the car with (unless you guys reccomend something else in which case I would go with that but I do, strangely enough, want part-time).

Thanks,
Ryan

Well, if you like not having a large portion of your warranty coverage, and difficulty selling it, and being without the vehicle for a while, and spending way too much money, by all means, go for it. On the newer models there's a lot more to it than just the mechanicals, there are electronic issues that will have to be dealt with too.

Sell it, buy a 4x4. Anything else is foolish.

what would I have to change/swap out?

Transmission (+ transfer case), driveshaft, front diff, CV shafts, wheel hubs, most likely a crossmember or two, and who knows what electronically. Probably more.