Topic: My first offroad truck

[woodchuck]

This is my first off-road truck, and right now it can only be operated off road for safety.  It was rolled bythe previous owner, then he gave it to me for free.  So now I have a new hobby, 1986-1/2 Nissan D-21, 4x4, 3.0V-6, 33"tires, 26mpg if gentle on the pedal, and a 6'x7' flat bed.  Does this truck have potential?  I have a complete cab from a 1992 that will replace the original, so any help that you guys can offer would really help.  I'm a newbie in almost all aspects of this.

[Rocksurfer]

Just about any true 4x4 has potential, it's the popularity or lack of that may limit how far you can take it without getting parts from other sources. A good example of this would be FFC's Isuzu, great little vehicle but not much in the way of aftermarket parts for them. Sure there is some but if you want to wheel it hard you run out of things to do to it through the aftermarket arena. So now you end up getting parts from lets say Toyota since the build up is almost limitless.

[79coyotefrg]

to Marlin


a nissan


ok  where is Mark??

[Lady Di]

   Nissan, that is the market Willy Mammoth (Mark, my hubby ) is wanting to open up 
We'll have to give him a heads up to this thread.

[woodchuck [OP]]

Thanks for the welcome, despite the fact that it's a Nissan, this seems to be a lively forum with 'get your hands dirty' and ' I'd rather do it myself', members, but if you guys think I'd be better off somewhere else, then suggestions are welcome.
I posted some pics of the current truck and of the 'new' cab in the projects area, any help, or 'watch out for's ' would be appreciated.  This will most likely be a solo project, so it will probably move slowly.

[Willy Mammoth]

 


 


OK, all that aside, this is a great little truck, BUT there is not much you can do with it unless you have lots of talent with fitting a mishmash of parts to it.

First off if you want to make a capable rig out of it you will first need to swap in a straight axle. Now you don't have much of a choice here because of the driver side output of the transfer case. You will most likely have to go with some form of a Dana 44 or 60, but also could cut up and remake a Toyota axle with a driver side drop. I have done this and it is a lot of work.

The other problem is the low range is only 2:1 and you will need more than that for anything other than mudding. Now unless you want to buy gears for the rear from Nissan motor sports for the tune of a grand you are going to want to change the rear axle too.

Stock gears should be 4.37:1 so you could put a 4.38:1 Toyota axle in the front and call it good, but you most likely will want to go 5.29:1 so you can put bigger tires on.

See the pattern here yet? Before long it will be made by everybody but Nissan.

If you must be differant be ready to spend more money, time and learn how to be creative.

I am in no way saying it is not worth it to build, but think about it before you start.

 

[Duffil]

Welcome to the board.  If you're not ready to start cutting away, but you want a little more capability, look into Calmini.
http://calmini.com/

[79coyotefrg]

First off if you want to make a capable rig out of it you will first need to swap in a straight axle. Now you don't have much of a choice here because of the driver side output of the transfer case. You will most likely have to go with some form of a Dana 44 or 60, but also could cut up and remake a Toyota axle with a driver side drop. I have done this and it is a lot of work.

Stock gears should be 4.37:1 so you could put a 4.38:1 Toyota axle in the front and call it good, but you most likely will want to go 5.29:1 so you can put bigger tires on.

See the pattern here yet? Before long it will be made by everybody but Nissan.

If you must be differant be ready to spend more money, time and learn how to be creative.

I am in no way saying it is not worth it to build, but think about it before you start.

 

toy  = 4.375

[79coyotefrg]

hey what about a cherokee jeep,  dana 35 front

hi pinion  and driverside drop

[lilbuddy]

hey what about a cherokee jeep,  dana 35 front

hi pinion  and driverside drop

I think glen means a Dana 30 driver side drop hi pinion...

[79coyotefrg]

I think glen means a Dana 30 driver side drop hi pinion...

   i thought it was a 35 in my sisters jeep,  but  if you say 30 okey dokey

[woodchuck [OP]]

Whoa pardner, first step is  to make it safe, that's why I want to exchange the cabs, ( see exhange cabs in projects). 

Funding for this right now is limited to the requirements of the initial project.  The rest of what you guys are saying is greek to me. 

My apologies for not being more specific.

[BLACKDOG]

since this is your first 4x4, here's what I'd do

1. swap cab

2. go wheel!!

3. wheel until you break something, then fix it

4. wheel it again

5. once you find yourself wanting to go bigger and the truck just can't do it, lock the diffs

6. once you find you can't even do the stuff you want this way, get bigger tires, and gear it

7. continue this process.  It could take days, weeks, months, years until you need to do something major to keep wheelin, it all depends on your style.  Its is better to learn to wheel a near stock rig well, then slowly build, because once you have a built rig, you'll know the techniques of wheelin, and won't break near as much as someone who just relies on the skinnny pedal.  (talk to rocksurfer, he's taken a rig fairly close to stock almost everywhere, because he knows how to drive (or pretends to ))

and last of all, enjoy, have fun, and

[red]

to Marlin


a nissan


ok  where is Mark??

hey i used to wheel my nissan and ask swampy it did great. same setup that u have except for mine was an extended cab with the stock bed.

1st thing after the cab swap, contact calmini or www.4x4parts.com they will have alot of things you can put on your truck, that are built for it, for pretty good prices. also remove your overload leafs from your rear axle, will increase your articulation in the rear and smooth out your ride.

2. gears. heres where you have a choice. you can buy new axle gears for your truck. your rear axle should be an h233b and will easily survive your v6 and power plant v8's with 38" tires, check out www.nissan4wheelers.com as well.

3. you could regear your transfercase, or replace it with a different model. if you want to stay with a drivers side drop your t-case choices are:
     1. nissan tx10 (what you have)
     2. np241, t-case is fullsize chevy pickups from 1988+, suv's from 93+
     3. ford np205 or current t-case, could also use the front axle for your sas, its a dana 44
     4. dana 300, offered from 80-86 in jeeps, gear ratio option of up to 4.1 that i'm aware of.

4. sas (solid axle swap) up front. your stock ifs is not strong by any means, it will survive for a while, but if you go above 33" tires your asking to kill it. if you stay with a drivers side drop on your t-case then go with either a fullsize f250/f350 front axle or go with the slightly skinnier (but the right size for your truck) jeep wagoneer axle. its a dana 44 as well. if you have anymore nissan specific questions feel free to ask either me or willy mamoth.