Dma251

I've been thinking about it all week, and I think I'm going to go SUA something like this : Calmini front hanger and bell shackle kit Ruggedrocks crossmember and pitman arm Wagoneer leaf springs (I already have) I read through Nissannuts SUA wd21, and it is exactly as what I have planned. Even the color of the rig is the same! First I'll narrow down the D44 to waggy width and put some money into chrome axles and a selectable locker with 4.88 gears. Gonna be a fun project in itself. My only wish is that if I known I would be narrowing a D44, I would have started with a high pinion.

They're all pretty good, but I would get the WeatherTech since they are a USA designed and made product. I guess it depends on whats important to ya. I have both, and the weathertech mats fit REALLY nice.

The Jeep guys have lots of cool options for heavy plate-metal armored rear-quarter panel overlays, and I've heard of others made from HDPE plastic like the cutting-board material. I went wheeling today and wrinkled mine a little so now I think I may try building something and fasten it onto the body with stainless fasteners. Even the cutting board stuff would spread the load nicely over the body preventing more dents. Just brainstorming....

Pirate and Expedition Portal are my two favorites.

Thanks man! I'd really like to see some more pics of how you did yours. Do you have a build thread? I don't think I will go front shackles. 20 years ago I had an FJ40 landcruiser with front shackles, and I attribute that to some of the bad hwy manners it had. I may be wrong, but there were a lot shackle-correction kits to move them to the rear for the old cruisers. I also really prefer to stay body-lift free. I used to do a lot of those as a younger wheeler, but I really don't like the concept. I know most Nissan guys do it, and I have before too, but I'd rather put this together the way the factory might have if it made a WD21 ruggedized version for serious expeditionary use. I want as low as I can go with 33" skinny tires. Lots of downtravel and locked axles. That combination has worked really well for me in the past. Not too many lovers of the old NWd21's anymore, but I'm stockpiling them as I find them. I think during the late 80's - early 90's the Japanese were really at the top of their game. I'm staying true to them!

I don't have a problem buying chromo waggy shafts at all. I may go even a little shorter than waggy to properly match the 59" wide rear axle and have a custom shaft splined. I definitely don't want to keep it wide, though. For me wide is more of a problem than a benefit. One of the things I like about the wd21 pathfinder is it is narrow enough to squeeze between obstacles. I also want to run stock Legos. I'm not rock crawling or extreme wheeling. I'm putting lots of miles on forest roads and narrow trails, and I want to keep the CoG as low as I can and the tires under the fender flares. Thinking I will go SUA. I have a full set of Cherokee chief leaf springs that are 44" long fronts and 54" rears. Lots of thin leaves on them so they can be tuned with addition and subtraction. It would be nice to use the stock left side spring perch that is cast into the d44 center, so that may necessitate cutting down the r side of the axle too. I wonder if I could get away with a left waggy inner shaft and a cut and splined right shaft.... Either way, it can't be 66" wide. Too much sticking out. As always, I really appreciate the advice and input.

I've been gathering parts and getting ready for my 91 WD21 SAS project, and have been pricing out my options to build a nice clean, road and trail pathfinder. I'm invisioning the Japanese version of a landcruiser or land rover. Sturdy expedition vehicle, like you'd see in Australia or South America. I want to use 33x10.5 mt tires and keep it low and flexible on stockish track width and stock lego wheels. Hwy ride quality isn't really that important to me, because it's pretty primitive by today's standards of comfort anyway. Just be capable of 70 mph safely. I like to drive down the fire roads nearby and it's a varied terrain. Where I live in the PNW leaf sprung vehicles seem to do really well offroad in mud and root conditions. Thy seem to ramp up over obstacles. I've owned both, and the coil spring vehicles have been smoother on the road, and seem to flex a little more, but I bet if I carefully chose which leafsprings to buy I could make it plenty flexy. I used the TG weld-on creeper shackle mount once on a 4runner and it flexed nicely. Does anyone have a suggestion what springs and shocks would be a good fit for the wd21? Seems like there are some 52" chev springs that might work well in the rear. I'm using a wide-track dana 44 that I'm cutting down to waggy-width, with 4.88/4.9 gears and an OX in front and ARB rear I also think leaf springs might be a LOT cheaper than going the link/coilover/trackbar route... Don't get me wrong - a pathfinder like Steevo's is the ideal, but I have to consider the fact that I am essentially throwing money away, because the vehicle has so little value anymore. Its all sentimental now. I think $4-5K is reasonable for an SAS WD21, but thats still a load of a money to put into a vehicle that commonly sells of CL for $1000 I'd love to hear my fellow wd21-fan's thoughts on this.

I like it! Keep posting.

I like it! Keep posting.

After some surfing last night, I am now feeling better. It looks like I can cut it down, but if I knew I would be doing surgery on an axle, I wish I had gotten a high pinion... Should I buy a waggy right-axleshaft or have the wide-track axle cut and splined? I'm only putting 33x10.50 tires on it, so it might not need anything stronger than stock.

I just picked up a CL jeep diff that was supposed to be a "narrow-track" 1980 Cherokee Chief axle. It still had wheels and leaf springs attached to it, so I didn't measure the WMS-WMS before I paid for it. Now I strip the swag off it and I find it is about 64 1/2" wide.... Bummer for me. Is the entire axle useless to me or can I shorten it and buy a waggy axle shaft for one side? (I know, my own fault)

My son is getting ready to swap a 01 xterra auto into his 93 wd21, and I am planning on bypassing the radiator and using a Hayden stacked-plate style aux cooler. Any suggestions what size I should be looking for? Thoughts?

I have an xterra I bought a while ago for the engine and trans. I'm getting ready to scrap it and am not sure if I want to keep the whole rear axle or just the 3rd member and axles. It's drum brake, so I see little future in it for my WD21. Is it worth the hassle to pull out the whole rear axle? What would you guys keep from it?

After I tack-welded the rails into place, I cut the welds holding the mounts to the frame and finished the welding on a bench. After that I wiped them all down with paint thinner to remove the mill-oil followed by rubbing alcohol, and put two coats of POR15 on them. I will do another coat tomorrow morning, and then let them cure for a few days. Then weld them onto the frame and POR over the welds. Probably top-coat on the truck with semi-gloss black. The POR15 is SHINY but not UV stable. Will post a final pic when they're done!

I am welding on a set of TG rock sliders on my WD21, and had to grind the factory paint off the weld areas and will need to paint those areas as well as the rails. In the past I have used POR15, ospho and redox bases, and just plain satin black spraypaint, with varying degrees of success. My frame is rust free, and I'd like to keep it that way, so what do you all use?