Coming Soon: Front Drop Bracket Kit install and Regearing

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Code Pathfinder
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Coming Soon: Front Drop Bracket Kit install and Regearing

Postby Code Pathfinder » Thu May 21, 2020 10:04 pm

Havent posted on this site for almost 5 months now but I thought I should give everyone an update on my R51.

Currently I am planning on installing a 6 inch lift on my Nissan sometime in early to mid June.

I plan on using the Rough Country Nissan Frontier drop bracket kit for the front suspension. They claimed the kit does not work but it will. The frontiers and pathfinders have the same front suspension setup.

To match the rear, im going to fabricate slightly bigger sub frame blocks. I am already running 2 inch sub frame blocks but i will most likely go up to 3 or 4 inch sub frame blocks. I will most likely need longer bolts for the sub frame blocks but we shall see.

ANOTHER PROJECT: Another task im working on is swapping out my front and rear differentials. Currently im at 3.13 but I plan to move to 3.69 gearing.

To do this, I have been doing some research on a post on this forum. It involves swapping an R180 Front differential from a Manual Transmission Pro4x/Nismo Off Road Xterra or Frontier. Those models came with the 3.69 gearing. For the rear, im installing an R200 Carrier from an 08 G35. Im swapping the axle flanges, the pinion flange, and rear cover out so it can be a direct swap into the Pathfinder.

Here is the thread for those who are curious:

viewtopic.php?p=88239&sid=a8a7ebbb9239e ... 240cef5226

My only concern I will look into is the angle of the front and rear driveshafts after the lift is done. Ive heard that vibration is a common issue after a large lift like this on the frontiers and xterras so I will have to monitor that closely.

Otherwise im signing off again until the projects begin

I started a youtube channel last week. It details my Build walkthrough and will feature how to install all of the lift components and differentials.

Channel name: the_mn_path


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Thupertrooper
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Re: Coming Soon: Front Drop Bracket Kit install and Regearing

Postby Thupertrooper » Wed Jun 10, 2020 10:07 pm

keep it up man I havent modded my Pathy in 2 years just been repairs but nice to see others mod theirs.

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palmerwmd
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Re: Coming Soon: Front Drop Bracket Kit install and Regearing

Postby palmerwmd » Thu Jun 11, 2020 8:05 am

Visited your channel looks good

:D

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Code Pathfinder
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Re: Coming Soon: Front Drop Bracket Kit install and Regearing

Postby Code Pathfinder » Tue Jul 14, 2020 5:26 am

I just ordered the 6 inch lift kit from rough country last week I’m hoping they will ship it sometime either today or tomorrow.

Once I get my state tax return to come through I’ll be ordering the rear suspension parts needed to complete the lift in the rear.

I’ve decided I’m gonna run Armada springs with a 2 inch spacer along with the 3 inch sub frame blocks I had mentioned earlier.

The rough country kit comes with frontier shocks which are perfect for this application. I’m currently running Rancho Armada shocks in the rear. the rough country frontier shocks are slightly longer but should not be an issue.

The alignment shouldn’t be an issue at all because my camber and toe are not seized and can be adjusted properly. If there’s an issue that I run into with alignment I may have to get super pro toe bushings that are offset which allows the alignment to be fine-tuned.

I am also working on getting an R180 front differential from eBay as well that has the 3.69 gear ratio that I need to match the rear differential with.

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Code Pathfinder
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Re: Coming Soon: Front Drop Bracket Kit install and Regearing

Postby Code Pathfinder » Tue Jul 14, 2020 7:16 am

It Appears there may be a 3-4 Week delay shipping my lift kit out :(

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Code Pathfinder
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SHIPPING UPDATE AND TITAN SWAP & 6 INCH LIFT KIT COMBINED

Postby Code Pathfinder » Fri Jul 17, 2020 4:34 pm

I spoke with the distributor today about my delayed Lift Kit. He told me that the Rough Country Plant in Tennessee has a delay in making my steering knuckles due to a shortage of steel from China. I would suspect this is due to COVID-19 and the recently imposed tariffs on Chinese goods.

None the less, my distributor told me he thinks they will ship everything to me by next Thursday or Friday.

I've also decided to alter my plan. I am going to install both a 6 inch lift and a TITAN SWAP. I've read online that not many people have done both but I want to stand out as one of the few Pathfinders who will do this upgrade and hopefully lead the way as a pioneer for other potential pathfinder builds :D

I've put together my Master Checklist for everything I need to perform this upgrade.

Master list for 6 inch drop bracket lift & TITAN SWAP:

2) Front wheel hubs - Currently in my possession.

1) Rough Country 6 inch Lift Kit Nissan Frontier - Shipping Delay should ship sometime next week.


1 set) PRG Billet Sway Bar Mounts - Ordered and on the way from Performancelifts.com

2) 6 inch Extended Brake lines - Currently In my possession.

1) R180 Differential with 3.69 Gearing (I am running a 08 G35 R200 Differential in the rear with 3.69 gearing. I would normally go with the titan differential but because the titan differential does not have a 3.69 gear ratio already in the housing, I am choosing the R180 instead) - Need to Order

2) OEM Titan Lower Control Arms - Need to Order

2) Titan Tubular Upper Control Arms from Freedom Offroad or Rough Country - Need to Order

2) 2012-2014 Infiniti QX56 CV Axles - Need to Order

2) CJD Racing Steering Knuckles (These allow me to run my 16 inch wheels. The Rough Country Steering Knuckles require a 18 inch wheel) - Need to Order

2) CJD Racing Full Heim Inner and Outer Tie Rods - Need to Order

2) Radflo TITAN SWAP Coilovers 2.5 inch body 5-6 inch drop bracket length (These will replace the 6 inch strut spacers that comes with the Rough Country lift kit) - Need to Order

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Code Pathfinder
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Regearing the Pathy

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:53 pm

I decided to take a peek inside the R200 G35 I purchased back in march to inspect the integrity of the Ring and Pinion gears.

I also verified that the gearing was as advertised on Ebay. It has a 48:13 ratio which equals to a 3.69 Gear Ratio.

The guts are gorgeous :lol:

No signs of harsh wear or driving that I could find.

Pics:

Image

Image

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Code Pathfinder
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Regearing the Pathy Pt 2

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sun Jul 19, 2020 11:55 pm

I was also able to pickup a lightly used R200 rear pathfinder Differential from a auto salvage yard on Ebay from missouri. It should arrive at my place in MN on Thursday.

I need to swap the Pinion Flange, the Axle Flanges, and the rear cover off the pathfinder diff and onto my new G35 Diff.

silverarrow27
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Re: Coming Soon: Front Drop Bracket Kit install and Regearing

Postby silverarrow27 » Tue Jul 21, 2020 1:46 am

Just curious, why aren't you just re-gearing your stock diffs instead of going with the R180 and R200 diffs? RockAuto and various sites sells a ring & pinion set for our diffs all the way up to 4.56. I'm an amature when it comes to this stuff so take it easy on me with your response. Does re-gearing diffs require more changes than the ring & pinion? :mrgreen:

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Code Pathfinder
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Question about regearing response

Postby Code Pathfinder » Tue Jul 21, 2020 9:36 am

Hey man no problem answering your question. I get asked a lot on my Instagram page in regards to this exact question.

The simple answer for me is: Its easier to swap out the carriers with the tools I have than to mess with the pinion and gear ratios on the carriers already installed on my Pathfinder.

In the case of the G35 R200, it would be easier for me to just swap the essential parts from the Pathfinder R200 into the G35 R200 than to re-gear the Pathfinder R200. The cover, axle flanges, and pinion yoke are easy enough to swap over without much difficulty. At the end of the day, after swapping those parts over, you now have a fully functional R200 rear differential with 3.69 gearing ready to get put into the Pathfinder.

The situation with the R180 front differential is a direct swap since the 3.69 gearing is preinstalled on some of the R180 diffs (albeit you can find the 3.69 differential carrier on Ebay for a decent price. Most go for $400 and up) and I don't even have to replace any internals. I should also note that the R180 3.69 gear ratio differential only came on manual frontiers or xterras with the Off-Road Package or PRO-4X/NISMO OFF ROAD Package. The diff works on both manual and automatic so no issues there.

When you re-gear any vehicle, especially a 4x4, you must ask yourself why you are doing it in the first place. In my scenario, I plan on running 35s in the future and I can't run 35s on 3.13 gearing. its too harsh on both differentials and increases my chances of something breaking in the driveline or CV Axle. Having a re-gearing plan towards your needs and desires will better help you decide what works best for your situation.

Another key factor is making sure both differentials are the same Gear Ratio. if one differential is geared higher or lower than the other, it can destroy your drive-line. Especially when you put it in 4WD.

So to answer your second question, it depends on the vehicle your working on. In my case, swapping the ring and pinion would be the only thing you need to do if you decided to keep your front and rear differentials. The other option is what I am doing. Swap out the factory carriers and install new carriers with higher gear ratios.

silverarrow27
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Re: Coming Soon: Front Drop Bracket Kit install and Regearing

Postby silverarrow27 » Wed Jul 22, 2020 12:02 pm

Makes sense, I was thinking about swapping out my diffs for Armada diffs with the 3.36. But I may opt for just replacing the ring and pinion in my current diffs because I plan to install an ARB locker in rear and Lokka up front and will just do both at the same time. I've actually thought about going with 4.11 as I plan to eventually go 35" tires as well, but I'm not sure what's involved in trying to get a locker to work with that gear ratio. I'm new to 4x4s so I'm learning as I go.

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Code Pathfinder
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Diff Rebuild and 6 inch lift kit UPDATE Part 1

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sun Jul 26, 2020 10:53 pm

Alright a lot has happened since the last post so i figured I should Update y'all on whats going on.

Ill split this post up to keep them short.

Lets start with the Diff Rebuild:

All of the parts came in for the DIff Rebuild except for the gasket and a preload measuring tool.

Here are some pics to compare the G35 parts and the Pathfinder Parts

Image

Image

Image


As you can see, the pathfinder differential parts are much bigger in size and the pinion flange is a different shape than the G35 pinion flange.


I swapped all of the parts over and here is the final product:

Image


I also installed White-line Polyurethane Diff bushings those have the black poly bushings and silver bolt sleeve. It should keep vibrations down in the rear and help stabilize the diff a lot better.

Image

I painted the pathfinder rear cover with high heat black paint and primer.

Image

I must say, this rebuild turned out really nice!

One note however: I may need to rebuild the differential :(

When I installed the Pinion flange, I used an impact wrench. BIG NO NO. The pinion flange is used to set preload on the side bearings and pinion bearings by tightening the nut on the pinion. On the pinion there is a crush sleeve that gets crushed when you tighten the pinion nut. Too much crush then there's too much preload on the bearings which can cause them to fail and break. Too little preload and the bearings wont engage at all. You also cant back off the pinion nut to lessen the preload because the crush sleeve stays in place once you've crushed it.


Besides that concern, the diff will be ready pending a inspection by either me or a differential shop.

On to Part 2: the lift kit

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Code Pathfinder
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Diff Rebuild and 6 inch lift kit UPDATE Part 2

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sun Jul 26, 2020 11:04 pm

Part 2 will focus on the lift kit:

I got the lift kit last Thursday.

Here is the pic of it sitting in my garage after I went through and reorganized each box.

Image

There shouldve been 3 boxes that came but only 2 showed up. The knuckles didn't show up due to the steel shortage and back order on parts.

Like I had mentioned however, I wont be using those knuckles because they require a 18 inch wheel. I have 16 inch wheels.

On Friday, i did some searching on rough country's website and saw these:

Image

Rough Country Now offers preloaded struts for the nissan frontier that are for the 6 inch bracket lift. This saves you a lot of headache when trying to preload the struts yourself. They did cost about $350 after tax and shipping but they should definitely be worth it in the end.

My only concern is if they will be long enough to support both a bracket lift and titan swap. I've talked to a couple of people online who say if your running a DB and Titan swap, you'll want to have 23 inch long struts from the bottom eyelet to the top of the perch.

Other than those, I ordered the titan lower control arms.

This will conclude the suspension lift kit update section.

Part 3 is the updated list of things I need to order.

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Code Pathfinder
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Diff Rebuild and 6 inch lift kit UPDATE Part 3

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sun Jul 26, 2020 11:09 pm

Part 3 will include the updated master parts list I made earlier in the thread.

Master list for 6 inch drop bracket lift & TITAN SWAP:

2) Front wheel hubs - in my possession.

1) Rough Country 6 inch Lift Kit Nissan Frontier - In my Possession Steering Knuckles back-ordered and delayed.

1 set) PRG Billet Sway Bar Mounts - Delayed due to a shortage of polyurethane sway bar bushings.

2) 6 inch Extended Brake lines - In my possession.

1) R180 Differential with 3.69 Gearing (I am running a 08 G35 R200 Differential in the rear with 3.69 gearing. I would normally go with the titan differential but because the titan differential does not have a 3.69 gear ratio already in the housing, I am choosing the R180 instead) - Need to Order

2) OEM Titan Lower Control Arms - On the way

2) Titan Tubular Upper Control Arms from Freedom Offroad or Rough Country - Need to Order

2) 2012-2014 Infiniti QX56 CV Axles - Need to Order

2) CJD Racing Steering Knuckles (These allow me to run my 16 inch wheels. The Rough Country Steering Knuckles require a 18 inch wheel) - Need to Order

2) CJD Racing Full Heim Inner and Outer Tie Rods - Need to Order

2) Rough Country Nissan Frontier bracket lift preloaded coil overs - On the way

This concludes Part 3. Part 4 will be about partnering with Z1 Off road to bring more gearing options to the table for the pathfinder community.

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Code Pathfinder
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Diff Rebuild and 6 inch lift kit UPDATE Part 4

Postby Code Pathfinder » Sun Jul 26, 2020 11:18 pm

Here is part 4:

Today with Z1 Off-road on getting some parts in stock for our R200 and R180 Differentials. They are also known as Z1motorsports.

website links:

https://www.z1motorsports.com/

https://www.z1offroad.com/

Here is a 17 page PDF document I wrote up and sent to the owner of Z1 Off Road showing the similarities between our rear differentials and the rear differentials found in the G35, G37, 350Z and 370Z. It is quite the interesting read and I highly recommend you guys read up on it. It covers part numbers, gear ratios, and much much more.

Z1 off road thanked me for this information and will be updating their website this week with the information I have provided them with.
Z1Performance Report.zip
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