Swapping Armada diffs for better performance?

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Clay350
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Postby Clay350 » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:53 am

Ragpoa:

Sorry for the constant questions. One more thing i need to confirm. After i have botg diffs switched out. Without changing anything on my computer everything will work correct? Its just my speedo will be off by arpund 13% until i get computer reprogrammed. Correct?


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rragpaoa
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Postby rragpaoa » Wed Apr 04, 2012 9:55 pm

Clay350 wrote:Ragpoa:

Sorry for the constant questions. One more thing i need to confirm. After i have botg diffs switched out. Without changing anything on my computer everything will work correct? Its just my speedo will be off by arpund 13% until i get computer reprogrammed. Correct?
No worries. We are all here to help.
Yes, everything works. VDC, ABLS, Cruise. Since I went with bigger tires, I'm off only about 2mph at 60. However, I would reset the ECU for the computer to relearn. Let me see if I can pull up the ECU reset procedures. You can also search the Titan forums for the reset procedures.

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Clay350
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Postby Clay350 » Fri Apr 06, 2012 1:26 pm

Ok guys tomorrow is judgment day. I now have a front and rear 3.36 final drive in my posession. I ended up renting a bay at a do it yourself shop for the day. That way I know I will have all the tools and a car lift to make this job easier. My three concerns are this.

1. For some differential part is different and doesnt fit.

2. The differential is broken or defective in some way.

3. A broken bolt in the wrong place.

I wish it was easier to put pictures on here because I am documenting the whole change.

Wish me luck.

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rragpaoa
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Postby rragpaoa » Fri Apr 06, 2012 2:21 pm

Good luck! Will be waiting for the pics.
Use Google Picasa for uploading pics (has to be linked). Has the least amount of adware and really easy to use and it's free. Also works seamlessly with Android and and Gmail accounts (for you non-iPhone users)

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Clay350
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Postby Clay350 » Sun Apr 08, 2012 5:48 pm

Ok guys its done. I got both diffs switched out in 6 hours. The difference is night and day especially on the highway. I feel like I could tow a house. Im guessing my 0-60 is around 6 seconds if not the high 5's. The thing is that my highway gearing is still good for cruising. 2200 RPM @ 70 mph. Surprisingly my speedo is right on the money. Confirmed with my GPS about 1 MPH off. No ecu changes needed.

I did have a couple problems. My rear from the donor Infinniti QX 56 did not have the wheel speed sensors that my assembbly had. A mechanic at this shop helped me switch my output shafts around with a slide hammer and problem solved.

The next problem really pisses me off. My front diff from the Titan was listed and sold to me as a 3.36 gear ratio. Well I found out the hard way that it it not. It is absolutely a 2.93. The good thing is that when I tested the 4x4 i did it on a dirt road very carefully. after about 5 feet of drving in 4x4 i could feel the tires and driveline building up tension. It was obvious to me the further I drove (10 ft) that the tires were trying to spin at different speeds. I went home and confirmed I had a 2.93 in the front still. This salvage company is going to get a pissed off call from me tomorrow. I did confirm you can drive with two different ratios as long as you obviously stay out of 4x4.

The good thing is that I know I can switch the front out in an hour or two when this company gets me the right ratio. Its just a hassle.

Overall a good experience. My skills definetely took a jump up yesterday at this shop. I learned a lot and it is invaluable to have an expert at arms length if you need a hand or advice. Hopefully I will get pictures of the switch out soon.

This is a great idea if your looking to vastly improve the performance of your V8.

Thanks for all the help guys.

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Clay350
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Postby Clay350 » Fri Apr 13, 2012 6:56 am

Got my front carrier sorted out. Everything works exactly as it should now. Just confirmed my 0-60 is a legit 5.9 seconds. No amount of intake, exhaust, or chip mods could make this much of a difference. And not to mention keeping everything "stock". Again I didnt do this for speed so much as towing performance which is greatly improved.

Here was the cost that it took and that I think could be repeated by someone else. Assuming you do it yourself.

front carrier- 750
rear carrier - 750

Selling my used for prob around $800 for both. That gives a total out of pocket $700. I prob had 200 in misc expenses. It was a big job but well worth it. If I did it again I could do it in 1/3 the time.

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rragpaoa
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Postby rragpaoa » Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:25 pm

Man, that's the cleanest garage I've seen yet! Where you at, Beverly Hills?

Congrats on the new gears! I knew you would love the extra power. Even with 33.5" tires, I'm only off by 2mph. I wonder if the ECU knows that the new gears are present, and adjusts accordingly. I'm around 2100 RPM @ 70. I love the extra power, and I agree, at around $700 net cost, this is the best overall performance upgrade we can do with the V8. For me, I went with completely new gears since I did mine fairly early (really wanted the ARB locker), so I wanted new stuff.

However, I don't want to be a kill joy, and I appreciate posting your experiences, but I only spent around $950 total on new gears and some parts, plus around $500 for install. I recommend that may be a better way to go for others thinking of the upgrade. For the time and heartache of looking for the parts the the junkyard and you get fresh new gears, this may be a better approach?

Anyway, enjoy the new-found Pathy.

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rragpaoa
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Postby rragpaoa » Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:28 pm

Clay,

Did you end up getting a 2007+ front diff, the one with 3 ribs instead of 2?

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Clay350
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Postby Clay350 » Fri Apr 13, 2012 4:02 pm

Hey,

For me it was a no brainer i needed to switch the whole carrier. I could not find any used gears anywhere. The gears and parts to rebuild it was almost as much as a good used assembly. The other big thing was that no shop would quote me anything less than 650 to rebuild the diffs in labor. I just wasnt comfortable trying to rebuild them myself. I do agree your scenario would be better if u can get a good prie on everything.

The ecu was not affected because all of the speed sensors are after the differentials. I was surprised how well everything fit together. Everything functioned perfect as well. At 70 i am turning 2200 rpm confirmed on my gps.

The shop was dam clean!! It was a do it yourself place here in the city. Notice the rust on my old rear diff compared to the same year diff that came from the south!.

Thanks for all the help rapogga. This vehicle is now what it should be.

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doctahjones
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Postby doctahjones » Tue Apr 24, 2012 9:14 pm

cooooooooooooooooooooooollllllllllllllllllll 8)

thanks for the pics and write up of your experience

diavol
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Postby diavol » Thu May 31, 2012 5:38 pm

Hey Clay, glad you got it worked out. Did you notice a significant drop in you mpg after the upgrade?

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nutbar78
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Postby nutbar78 » Thu May 31, 2012 7:14 pm

So does the PF look different now?

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Clay350
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Postby Clay350 » Thu Jun 14, 2012 9:31 am

Hey guys,

-No the pathfinder looks identical to before the swap.
- I have not noticed a difference in mileage. If there is it is 1mpg or less hwy.

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doctahjones
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Postby doctahjones » Thu Jun 14, 2012 3:46 pm

Clay350 wrote:
For me it was a no brainer i needed to switch the whole carrier. I could not find any used gears anywhere.

so does that mean you swapped the whole front end with one that had the correct gears? what vehicle/year did you pull it from?

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Clay350
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Postby Clay350 » Fri Jun 15, 2012 1:30 pm

Thats Correct. I swapped the entire front carrier and the entire rear carrier.

Front carrier can be from any 2008 or newer Titan, Armada, or infiniti QX 56.

Rear carrier can be from any Armada or QX56.

MAKE SURE you verify the correct ratio before installing. Two salvages yards I dealt with had there rations marked wrong.

The way Rapogga described this switch is probably a better route if you can have the work done at a good price. The benefit of how I did it was that I performed all of the work. This can be done without a lift if you have good jack stands.


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