I was thinking...(which is dangerous)

If you were to SAS an X what would be the easiest axle...

I thought that a Toyota 8" SFA would fit well, and with six-lug would allow usage of current wheels.

I know Ian used to have such a beast (SFA 4-Runner), so if he or anyone can help shed some light on the subject, let me know. Here's my questions:

How similar is the track width?
Is the diff on the correct side (I think it is?)
Are the steering knuckles set up to take current Xterra steering geometry?
Stock toy suspension height-vs-Xterra, would stock springs be about the same as stock X?

The Toyota diff is on the wrong side, and you can't get gears to match the Nissan rear. If you do it, it will require two axles and a lot of custom work. Toyota axles use a fore/aft steering knuckle, so you would have quite a bit of work there too.

BTW, my 88 4Runner was IFS. No one was swapping them back then.

A Jeep XJ/ZJ D30 is the right width, and the diff is on the correct side. They are loads of em out there and you can build em fairly stout. A lot of us run 33" tires on our XJ's with the D30 with no problems. I often find myself dreaming of putting the XJ coil SAS on the Xterra, articulation galore!

The one that comes up the most is the old Grand Wagoneer axle. Right width, diff on the proper side, etc.

Personally, I'd love to have a Patrol H223B front axle under my X, but the diff is on the wrong side. A guy in KY swapped a Toyota axle under his Hardbody, and even managed to re-configure it to have the diff moved to the driver's side in the process. The Toyota axle is a one-piece housing like the H233B, no pulling/swapping axle tubes to make it an easy job, but he found a way. Would be nice to do the same to the H223B.

Brent

I believe that a high pinion D44 out of a Ford would be your best bet. Throw some Chevy disc brake outers on it, and you are pretty much set. You can use a Toyota axle, contrary to what someone said. However, you can't go above 4.88 gears. They do have 4.56's (which will match 4.62's) and 4.37's (which will match 4.3x's) and 4.10's for Toyota axles. I'm not sure what was meant by fore and aft steering, but Toyotas use a Kingpin bearing much like a Dana 60 Kingpin. It's VERY strong, and is usually the last thing that would break.

I went Toyota because of the engine swap. I just mated a TH350 to the 4.3 (same bolt pattern as a 700r4) and a NP203/205 doubler to the TH350. I'm running 5.29's in the diffs, but I'm thinking about going to 4.88's or 4.56's.

Gearing needs to be matched exactly for a vehicle that will be driven on the street in 4WD (snow and whatnot). Remember these are daily drivers, not trailer queens.

The fore/aft thing is the kingpin design. The pitman arm moves the steering link forward and backward, unlike the Xterra which moves the relay rod side to side.

I've never EVER heard of a problem with a small difference, even up to 5.29's with 5.38's on snow or any halfway slick surface. I suppose if you need 4wd on pavement, maybe you should consider a Subaru? Seriously though, the small difference in 4.37 to 4.36 (or whatever Nissan has there) and 4.56 to 4.62 are not a big enough differences even on wet pavement. The difference is less noticable than worn tires on the front, and 80% tread tires on the rear.

I'm not sure why you'd engage 4wd on dry pavement anyway... Unless you are climbing the yellow curbs outside of Burger King...

Thanks for the replies...I guess I am back to looking for a front Dana axle (along with everyone else and their brother)

In light of my ignorance, do the Chevrolet 10 bolt front axles have the drop on the correct side/correct width. I can shorten the housing, but it would be a easier proposition if I didn't have to.

And for the record, when this is done, the 4WD will not be used on the street. There's never snow or enough inclement weather in Los Angeles to need 4WD on the street (and I don't snow ski.)

I have one thank you...

Maybe you should consider going back to Pirate4x4 ?

A Chevy has a passenger side drop. Wrong side for a "normal" Nissan. Check out 80 and newer Grand Wagoneers and Fords. The pickups have a high pinion housing. Good for the fronts since they use the gears on the drive side.

Yeah, my MOM has a Subaru as well. If you've got one, then why are you using 4wd on dry pavement.
Oh, and I'm sorry, but I haven't come over here from Pirate4x4.

I'm not using 4WD on dry pavement, then again I am when I'm in Moab. The point is simple, don't mix gears on axles, do it correctly.

I just assumed you were from Pirate since you have an email address there and somehow think you can do a solid axle swap in less than a week.

Do you honestly think you can get all the geometry correct, redesign the steering, figure out the ABS hassles and have a safe, drivable vehicle in that short of time ?

Here's a section of a very good article from a person that does R&P's for a living.....

"OThe gear ratio in the front of a four wheel drive has to be different from the front so the front wheels will pull more? There have been many different ratio combinations used in four wheel drive vehicles, but not so that the front will pull more. Gear manufactures use different ratios for many different reasons. Some of those reasons are; strength, gear life, noise (or lack of it), geometric constraints, or simply because of the tooling they have available. I have seen Ford use a 3.50 ratio in the rear with a 3.54 in the front, or a 4.11 in the rear with a 4.09 in the front. As long as the front and rear ratios are within 1%, the vehicle works just fine on the road, and can even be as different as 2% for off-road use with no side effects."

SOURCE: http://www.ring-pinion.com/gear/g0398.shtml

'Nuff said about that one.

Cheers,
JD

You do realize that page is about myths right ?

Randy says it's ok, but I doubt he would recommend it to anyone.

You missed this part too...

A difference in the ratio will damage the transfer case. Any extreme difference in front and rear ratios or front and rear tire height will put undue force on the drive train. However, any difference will put strain on all parts of the drivetrain. The forces generated from the difference have to travel through the axle assemblies and the driveshafts to get to the transfer case. These excessive forces can just as easily break a front u-joint or rear spider gear as well as parts in the transfer case.

Nope, didn't miss it. I've read that whole article several times as well as every other article on his tech section.

Here's how the article was originally supposed to read: http://www.4x4now.com/gt0100.htm originally published in 4WD & Sport Utility Magazine.

The statement "A difference in the ratio will damage the transfer case." is one of the MYTH'S .

Look, regardless, it's perfectly acceptable to run gears like 5.29's with 5.38's. Look at all of the Toyota owners with a D44 front and a Toyota rear.

You have to wonder why Nissan just doesn't mix up the gears then huh ?

Perfectly acceptable to those making a trail rig out of a $1000 15 year old Toyota, not so much for those of us with a new Xterra who drive it on a daily basis.

I was speaking of Tacomas. Generally they use a D44 front and Toy rear.

There are a few folks on nissanoffroad.net doing SAS on Frontiers which are very similar to Xterra's. I believe each are taking different approaches to the swaps. It looks as though the early Bronco D44 and the wagoneer D44's are the top choice for the swap. The Wrangler/XJ D30 would probably work well too. All of these axles could be geared to within 1/100th of an available ratio for the rear H233B I.E. 4.88 and 4.89.