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Differential Differences? Halp


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Hey guys, I read some threads about swapping differentials from other Nissans and it looks pretty easy so I thought I'd give it a go.
I currently have 4.3 and open diffs on my truck (2001) and thought it would be real fun to swap in 4.6 gears and an LSD.
I got a LSD from a late 2000 Frontier V6 with 4.6 and an LSD and I laid it under my truck to visually compare them and I noticed the frontier diff has a sensor right where the driveshaft connects to on the diff. And my differential doesnt have that, and I tried to measure the best I can and it seems like that puts the frontier's mounting surface farther out than my current diff.
Would I be able to use this diff? I was just thinking I can swap all the innards to my current 3rd member but now I wonder if the frontier's pinion would be longer to account for the sensor..
And I DID make sure it is 33 spline, I counted the splines on both axles a couple times to be extra sure.
Idk, I'm pure noob to Nissan drivetrain, what do the almighty pathy wizards think of this.

 

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i can take better pictures if needed, but theres that sensor, not really sure what its for

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Measure the distance from the end of the pinion flange to the mounting surface of the third member on each. I don’t know what the sensor is for, but if the third member dimensions match, I think you should be ok. 

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Aftermarket gears are listed as fitting both the R50 and the D22, suggesting that the pinion length should be the same. The pictures look like the ABS sensor on the D22 3rd is occupying what's wasted space on the R50 3rd, but, yeah, measure if you're not sure. If it's the same length, and the same bolt pattern on the flange, you should be able to just chuck the whole 3rd in there, though I would be tempted to make some kind of blockoff plate to cover the broken-off sensor.

 

The front diff will need to be from an R50, though, the R50 front end was unique unfortunately.

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They’re the same length. The sensor on the snout is the ABS sensor.  You can swap the entire 3rd member into your truck as-is. The sensor remains unplugged, of course. 

Edited by hawairish
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Thanks guys! I went ahead and got my 3rd member off, rusty studs holding it nice and tight. But I got it off without marking up the housing bad and yeah the new 3rd member fits right in and the driveshaft bolts up. Should be wrapping this up with a test drive in an hour or so. 

 

Oh yeah that's right, the fancy R200 pathy stuff, they don't seem tooooo bad to take out, I did find a couple pre-facelift pathys with the 4.6 gears so that will be the next mission. And also while my truck is tucked in the backyard I'm gonna be doing more rust repair, fun stuff, I'll have to update my build thread soon.

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