Thomas Varghese

What is wrong with the F-150? Can't you source the parts from Sajaa'?

@syed salman raza you should send a get well soon card with some flowers for your F-150 and he will come out.

If you wish to join I can abdicate the drive for you. Only You.

@Lakshmi Narasimhan this means you are hopelessly hooked. @Frederic is a good instructor. He was my instructor for AN. Don't forget what all he briefed you. Stick to his whole instructions even when you advance through the ranks of @Carnity and you will be well off. See you in the sands soon.

I really appreciate @Shamil's advice on the check engine light. He correctly said the problem is the throttle control body and I should get it checked immediately. Experience counts of course.

Never except on the iftar bowl climb. The same drive had made some refusals which lead to stucks and I believe the inlet manifold hose was cracked prior to this which made a difference to the momentum. I had felt the power was giving up at the crucial time when its needed. @Junaid120120 even commented what happened to me with 3 refusals as before this drive I rarely get them. I couldn't get my promotion to intermediate because of this power lag @Gaurav citing I still haven't learned the throttle control and momentum required. Anyways what else to say if your machine has a problem. The mechanic told me its a common problem for XTERRA's when the inlet manifold hose gets hard. Surprisingly Nissan doesn't have the spare due to shipment restrictions. The last resort is Sajaa' and I got it pried from another XTERRA for 100 AED. All the inlet manifold holes have been thoroughly cleaned under my eyes and yes there was sand bud not to the extent I found in another XTERRA which had the whole hose cracked. That car had the hose completely cracked whereas mine was only a hairline crack.

Thanks for the good advice @Frederic. I checked with the mechanic and he said this sand intake is not a major problem as very little sand entered the inlet manifold. However he agreed to flush the oil and do an oil change as I'm in doubt. Anyways the oil change was due in another week as only 2000 kms were left for the oil to be changed.

it was not too much. All cleaned thoroughly and set to climb another dune.

unfortunately I had to miss the fun as my car air intake connection to the throttle body got broken and had to be in the garage.

@Sajit Modiyil Altima used to run 400 to 500 km everyday and sometimes even 900km pre covid times. I run an interior decoration company and have to visit my running sites. By the way all the odo readings of 720000 km in Altima is driven by me only. Now business is down and we don't have sites in Abu Dhabi. The Xterra was already 500000 km when I bought it and reached 6005000 km as of now. Altima's engine got replaced at 600000 km when it got destroyed near Hatta Dam when a radiator hose broke and I didn't notice in time. Sorry I forgot to mention something - I love to drive since I'm small. I believe I am born to drive but forced to work. I can keep driving for almost 24 hours without stepping out once from the driving seat. Had my fair share of accidents as you tend to make mistakes sometimes when you drive so many kilometers but have never caused any serious injuries to me or my passengers. Have a serious advice to all fellow drivers. Never take your eyes off the road ahead even for a second when you are driving. I have paid the price for this lapse and have learned my lesson in a hard way.

Congrats @Hisham Masaad.

My 1st love. Still in prime condition as she came out 1st time from the showroom.

My altima would have been 850000 kms by now if I didn't switch the ride to Xterra since Feb 2020. By the way my XTERRA has crossed the 600000 km mark

shall i post the odometer picture?

My 2010 Altima's CVT transmission lasted 400000 kms. I agree they are very sensitive but they fail because someone fiddled with it in the garage. The transmission failed in 3 days after I agreed to change the transmission oil instead of only topping it up in a local garage. The service manual of Nissan doesn't mention to change the oil but only top it. The ride comfort of CVT no other transmission can provide. After that due to other mechanics who had no idea about CVT I had to change them twice upto 550000kms and then bought a second hand myself and fixed the gear box without changing the oil. Its functioning beautifully for the last 200000 kms and the car has reached almost 750000 kms now.

Thanks @Mohamed Seidam. The rubber boot connecting the air filter box to the throttle body is broken and seems to have inducted sand inside the intake manifold. Trying to source the rubber boot but sadly it looks like I got to hunt for it in spare parts shops Wise but very sad decision. I was looking forward to the drive. Always enjoyed driving under your lead @Foxtrot Oscar

@Foxtrot Oscar I have to drop out as check engine light has come on again and I have to take it to the garage now.

@Foxtrot Oscar any clue about the convoy positioning and radio frequency?

Hi all I checked with the garage the problem with check engine light. It was so simple. No problems with ignition or fuel flow or anything. The air bag light was also on when the check engine light came on. The poor car was too confused what her owner is doing as the car had some nasty nose hits and was perched atop a dune in an awkward angle. She must have thought her owner is on a suicide mission and should protect me from potential harm by cutting the engine power as it seems he will fly off into destruction if she didn't restrain me. As soon as the car was tugged back to flat land she understood the owner's suicidal tendency has subsided and is now regretting his actions and only wants to go home peacefully and rest. Thanks @Lorenzo Candelpergher & @Shamil for putting my car on flat ground. Thanks to all others who waited patiently without a grumble till I could join back the convoy.

Welcome to the Carnity family @Lakshmi Narasimhan. You are in the right place to learn offroading. I joined in Nov 27 2020 and had my absolute newbie drive on Jan 11 2021. Right now promoted to fewbie and soon to Intermediate ( probably in a couple of days ). Let me give you the good news 1st - You will meet so many good friends who are like minded and you will be thrilled by the adventure and enthusiasm of all. The bad news is - You can't have rest on Fridays and your family will look upon you like a mad man and wonder what happened to you. The most important time of the week is Sunday 7.10pm when the RSVP's to the drives open and you can join a drive. Be trigger happy with your fingers on your phone or laptop precisely from 7.00 pm onwards as RSVP's close in the blink of an eye as there are so many who want to join the drives. Driving up the dunes is relatively easy compared to RSVPing for a drive. If you used to be impatient in traffic snarls here you will learn to be patient as at any point of time you cannot overtake or bypass the car in front of you when you are in the convoy. You have to patiently wait until the cars in front of you clear the path and the obstacle. In due course of time it will come to you naturally when you do some drives with Carnity. WELCOME TO THE SANDS & IMMENSE ADVENTURE in the most safest possible way.

Wherever I tell her to go she goes with grace.