KiwiTerrano

Well, finally did myself some proper mischief! Back in at the same spot as last trip. Was bumping up a step, on dry mud/grass, hard lock right, giving it heaps. Left front wheel came off ground and touched down - bang! No more 4wd... Drive home 3 hrs to Christchurch no worries, which was curious. On stripping the diff, turns out I'd snapped the internal shaft to the right side. Haven't heard of that before! Was initially worried I'd blown the spider gears. Luckily I recently regeared my truck to 3.54 using diffs from a diesel R51, so I pulled the shaft out of my original 3.36 r180 diff and swapped it in. Flushed out the case with 3 cans of CRC, was quite a bit of finely ground metal in it... We'll see how the bearings hold up. At least diesel diffs are a dime a dozen here in NZ, the majority of Pathfinder and D40 Navara sold here were auto diesels so 3.54 is by the easiest ratio diff to get. Spider gears ok Broken shaft All back together This leaves me a little uncertain as to what to do if I keep blowing up R180s though. M205 are very hard to come by in NZ, though I could potentially obtain one from a Y62 Patrol... This would also enable me to do an Armada style suspension swap if I got all the necessary parts... My rear diff if already an R230 as Nissan never put the R200 rear in these in NZ as we do too much heavy towing.

Well it was disappointing losing a few posts with the server error. Haven't done any real mods to the truck since I last posted though, have been busy driving the wheels off it though. Here's a few videos from the last trip out (private land) https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOGvMdKEQ22CoD5ksYGn0smkCFEc4GKY80Mxmt6Dp-fX-XKgV3k0pAr6BJASu1Ybw/photo/AF1QipOtUTMWge_vG8Wy8pOB8oGZ3v1iP1SimVh28roi?key=TnlwdVQ2SFM0WGdYYVF6MFBsWHd4aDBkakItX2pB Had to winch it https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOGvMdKEQ22CoD5ksYGn0smkCFEc4GKY80Mxmt6Dp-fX-XKgV3k0pAr6BJASu1Ybw/photo/AF1QipOLp89CL7Q64z78elyyAYVyACq4xVsNjCsnuSY5?key=TnlwdVQ2SFM0WGdYYVF6MFBsWHd4aDBkakItX2pB Dented the front left fender more attempting this knarly climb, again had to winch https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOGvMdKEQ22CoD5ksYGn0smkCFEc4GKY80Mxmt6Dp-fX-XKgV3k0pAr6BJASu1Ybw/photo/AF1QipPM0x95H7IawJN1Pj5_Y2K9pvIHOKSX-ZWxDh22?key=TnlwdVQ2SFM0WGdYYVF6MFBsWHd4aDBkakItX2pB My mate in the Patrol really stuffed this line up (yup it's a NIssan) https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipOGvMdKEQ22CoD5ksYGn0smkCFEc4GKY80Mxmt6Dp-fX-XKgV3k0pAr6BJASu1Ybw/photo/AF1QipOafky1zWP5jDl2uKKGjZq7eNw29iU8crc2jcyj?key=TnlwdVQ2SFM0WGdYYVF6MFBsWHd4aDBkakItX2pB Took 3 of us all hooked up in line as an anchor plus a bit of digging to winch it out, front axle was buried half a metre deep...

Yes, to be honest I think I'll just run an E locker. Ideally I also want to get a set of diffs out of a diesel one to drop the gearing down a bit too before fitting a locker to compensate for the 33s.

Contemplating fitting an auto locker in the rear of my R51. Trundles sells this one, which is listed for an H233b for a GQ/GU Patrol. I presume this is a 33 spline diff. Link below. https://trundlesautomotive.co.nz/products/patrol-gq-gu-4wd-systems-lokka-front-diff-lock I am considering fitting one in the rear of the my R51, which is an AU/NZ spec one with the R230 rear diff (see ARB catalogue). From what I can see this is also a 33 spline diff, with open centre, based off the same internals as the H233? Anyone reckon this would work?

Well, truck is ticking along nicely. Have fitted a set of rock sliders and extended upper ball joints. Front flex is better and no more bangs from the upper arm hitting the tower. Have left out he rear sway bar, honestly can't tell the difference onroad but it's much better off. Have done a few more trips with the club, she's pretty good. Next mods will be PSR rear subframe spacer kit and a rear locker.

https://izh-techno.ru/series/blokka-nissan-patrol-33-shlitsa/ Here's the link for the Russian one

Well, vehicle has been performing well. Went into the St James conservation area with the club to marshal the multisport event held there annually. Developed a bit of a clunk halfway through the weekend that then went away again. Didn't think much of it at the time. Went to install my new sliders today and my mate mentioned that the rear sway bar looked a bit off. Turned out that I had completely destroyed the right rear endlink and snapped one of the bolts holding the right swaybar bracket on, allowing the bracket to bend and the bar to move about. Thankfully no collateral damage. The right swaybar endlink had completely lost the middle section leaving me with just two ball headed bolts sticking out of the mounts! Was a right PITA to get the swaybar out though. I needed every Nm of my impact wrench to get the endlinks off on both sides. Not to mention getting an open ended wrench in behind the mounts is bloody tight. 13 years of coastal Otago salt (when it lived in Dunedin with my old man) were not kind to the endlinks. I have real sympathy for those who live in the US with road salt as mine wasn't bad by comparison. Needless to say, it's not going back on unless the WOF guy pulls me up on it (and even then, I'll be throwing the swaybar and some new endlinks at him and telling him to fit it himself). Took it for a spin and can't notice the difference to be honest. My old terrano with 11" shocks, now that was quite different with no RSB... Sometimes I feel that the r51 just wasn't as well engineered as the earlier Nissans.

Thanks, there's some unique vehicles in the land rover club that's for sure! One day hopefully I'll have enough cash for one. They're not cheap to buy (or run lol). I've got a 6 mm steel treadplate skidplate under the sump. Have also got a fair bit more lying around to make a trans/transfer skid with. I just needed a better front plate to protect the radiator and trans cooler as the factory one is crap.

New 4 mm steel front skidplate, Kings awning and a trip into the Clarence Valley (Muzzle Station) with the club

I wonder if a 255/85r16 would fit

But you don't really need a 4" lift. With a 2" spring lift in the front and 33" tyres, I have 350 mm clearance under both diffs, which is really plenty. I've not needed any more than that.

It should fit the front but the problem will be lifting the rear - maximum spring lift is 2", then you need to drop the subframe as well. You'll also need longer brake lines to match in the rear. PSR in Aussie do a rear subframe drop kit and so do Calmini.

Agreed. If it blew a head gasket, it must have gotten hot? Therefore I would focus on cooling system maintenance. Depending on mileage, you could also replace the water pump whilst you have the timing gear off as that requires removal of timing chain to do. Definitely completely replace all the timing gear. I would also check or replace the thermostat, and remove the radiator and wash it out from the back side to remove debris from the fins, and give it a good internal flushing too. While you're there, replace the entire belt drive system - all pulleys, belt and tensioner. Ensure the belt is the correct length as these vehicles are quite sensitive to the wrong length belt and/or a bad tensioner. Could also replace the viscous fan hub too while you're there. Definitely bypass the in-radiator trans lines and fit an external cooler. Will help your vehicle run cooler on a hot day. Could replace the cam sensors too if you're really keen as they're another failure point. Ensure you have bled the system properly - surprisingly difficult due to the rear heater setup. In terms of performance mods, I find the VQ40 to have quite acceptable performance in standard trim. You could replace the spark plugs too, as they require removing the intake manifold to do so may as well kill that bird since you've got it apart.

Don't change the radiator. Just bypass the trans cooler pipe in it and fit a proper external cooler.