Thanks for the input. It would have been a little more civilized to do that from the start.

FWIW, I am mechanically inclined, have a degree in engineering, and have experience working for fabrication shops doing custom automotive work. I've also spent the better part of 5 years with my own fabrication projects, engine swaps, custom aluminum manifolds, automotive crash repairs, and many other related subjects.

Your points:

The slight cutting down of the center portion isnt a problem. Keep in mind that we are dealing with 1-3/4" diameter 3/8"-wall tubing. This stuff is big and very very stout to start with. Think "earthmoving equipment". This stuff would honestly almost be overkill for suspension components. You can take a good portion of it out and it'll still be 10x stronger than needed for this application. The stock centerlink was a spindly peice of cast iron...

Collection of debris inside could be an issue, but it's not going to rust away anytime soon, unless you want to wait around a hundred years or so. Plates could be easily welded in to cover the holes if needed, or the interior could be coated? One advantage to the cutaway design though is that it is welded on the outside AND inside of the tube, allowing much more weld strength than a sold tube would ever allow.

Heat treating: The parts were heat treated after construction and before the machining was done. I will be adding a small tab to mount the steering stabilizer, which will require a couple of small welds. This will work fine. The only reason one isnt on there already is because I needed to measure it out on the truck and modify existing mounts as needed.

I dont see the pitman arm gusseting being a real problem, but it could be improved. With the fully boxed gusseting, It is very strong. The idler arm would be at greater risk, IMO. Even then, IF it bends (there is always a chance, no matter HOW nice your setup is), then it'll be rebuilt even better. Thats the nature of fabrication..

Contrary to what you think about the welds, they are actually decent. They were done by a certified welder using the right welder and appropriate methods. What you are probably seeing is due to the gusseting having to be redone. This was due to a miscommunication and I couldnt afford to trash the new idler and pitman arms (another $300).. Thats why they may look a little funny. They work fine though, which is what is important.

The development cost included new idler and pitman arms from Nissan, grade 8 tapered washer sets, and the spherical bearings. The idler and pitman were nearly $300 by themselves. Several alterations were made to improve the setup. We actually had two variations of this centerlink made before we decided on this one. The fab shop was nice enough not to charge for the second one. Contrary to what some people may think, development is NOT cheap. If I wanted an off-the-shelf bolt-on system it would be a LONG wait, or likely never for an older truck like mine..

The $900 is what it costs to make, no more. I'm not getting into the steering business by any means, but felt that it would be nice for the setup to be there if anyone needed it... Unlike the Xterra, there ISN'T anything else available for us with older trucks, unless you build it yourself.

As far as the color: I really like the gray for mine. Its functional and no nonsense. I was actually going to paint it black before I found the gray paint in the garage.. Bright colors really aren't my thing.

Again, thanks for the input.. I'll keep it in mind.

See you on the trail..