hawairish

I've spun one of my rivnuts for the latch pieces, but that was before I put the aluminum reinforcement on (and part of the reason for doing it, as the metal around it had bent a little). The rivnut, though, didn't fail until after a few removals. I've used a drill and socket to attach mine without problems. I've used locally-purchased and McMaster ones for several projects already. One thing about the Astro tool is that it doesn't quite have a specific twist-on amount that seems to work for all of the sizes it works with. For sure, if you collapse too much, the thread body shifts off center. When that happens, the bolt gets gouged up by the flange opening, and basically starts the cross threading process. For the M8 and M10 rivnut dies, I've found that twisting the rivnuts on completely and then backing them off a turn or so tends to be ideal. Full twist-on causes over-collapse, insufficient twist-in causes spinning (or over-collapse if you find yourself wanting/needing to collapse it further with another squeeze). Keeping the tool upright and perpendicular to the mounting surface can also be tough, but is important. It works well for what it does, there's a little learning curve. Except in cases where I've over-collapsed a rivnut, I don't think there's a time I haven't been able to finger tighten bolt after installation, seriously. Do you have any hesitation when threading the rivnut on the die? That's never been a problem for me, either. Something I also do is I always thread my rivnuts fully onto the hardware before even installing the rivnuts...just a weird habit of mine so that I know I have all the hardware I need before inserting them (and don't accidentally put an M8 rivnut instead of an M10 one because they use the same size hole). Again, never had a problem. Maybe yours are getting boogered up after the installation? And yes, looks like you've got right idea for the aluminum. That's how I did it because it was applied after-the-fact. Is yours a strap or angle piece?

You do know I have a spare set of disc brakes, right? With the 31-spline shafts you've got, you could use those. Just need the gears (easy!). Now that I'm off my phone and can see the pics better...yeah, the bearing is toast indeed. That is the only thing that keeps the axle shaft attached to the truck, as you've found out. Lock nut appears fine, ABS tone ring missing, just need to see if the axle shaft didn't get warped. I'd think the differential and spline ends to be fine (easy to tell, just put the axle shaft back in). Though...you posted the last pic back in June. Is this carnage from the same event or was it repaired sometime after? Something doesn't look right. Maybe the tone ring busted off from the event (yet I needed a floor press to remove several), not sure if I see the lock nut retainer, and I can't tell if there's a flat washer between it and the inner bearing cone. I would also expect to see something left from at least one of the bearings (the bearing is actually two bearings). It would have definitely needed to be a catastrophic failure of one bearing to completely wipe out the other bearing in that scenario...literal part grenading. The thing is, though, that these things are sandwiched when tons of force, and even with a plastic cage on the rollers, it's got to be sufficient...there's not many places for the rollers to go, even if the plastic cage degrades. Surely this was preceded by noise or grinding? Is there a remotely possibility that this was repaired incorrectly?? Here's the breakdown of parts, not including the drum backing plates: L to R: ABS tone ring, lock nut, lock nut retainer, washer, inner bearing, bearing race race, outer bearing, bearing cup, grease seal.

Yeah, not following. If the bearing is toast, you can either replace it (bearing is $19 from RA but you'll need a floor press), or get a complete RH axle shaft with brakes from any donor 96-00 R50, and then it's just bolt-on and some brake work. If the lock nut on the axle shaft shot off from the pressure, then the axle shaft probably can't be re-used...you'll need to look at the threads on the axle shaft above the bearing to confirm. Then buy a new lock nut and lock nut retainer. I can provide some pics if you want to see the breakdown. If you're desperate, I think I can also build you a full assembly...I think I have everything I need in my garage right now.

Thanks Johann. I'd love to hear more about how he approached the setup. I had a few other ideas in mind, but this is about as OE as one can get for us. Might as well give an update while I'm at it...the truck now has 181K miles, so a little less than 4K since Nov. Truck still brakes well, zero complaints. Only notable is that a few months ago my ABS light came on and I haven't been able to clear it. I don't think it is related to the swap considering that there were a few months gap before it came on, and nothing about the sensing system has changed. When diagnosing, the system indicates it's the ABS module itself. Eventually I'll get a proper scanner that can cycle it, but for now, I haven't even seen an impact. I did redo the 'stairs' on the Broken Arrow trail in Sedona a few weeks ago. I originally reported that the drums setup was a little sloppy. This time around, I could tell it was braking better, but it's clear now that it's time to redo my springs (I've done a few offroad trips in those 4K miles). The cheap pads and rotors were a little squeaky, but it was clamping well. On a notable, I turned around and climbed those stairs faster than I came down. Group of ATVers said "no chance"...suckers. Lockers are worth every single penny.

Glad to have you back, Virgil! I've been watching your progress on FB, and I'm impressed. Looks like you expanded fully into the Overland world; definitely wishing you the best of luck on those endeavors. Don't forget about us little people! Bummer watching the old truck rust away from your driveway, though. Take care!

I think the transmission is the limiting factor for towing. I don't think discs and MC would improve the numbers, unfortunately.

I see. Had us fooled since you didn't mention that.

Looks like the 4-pinion to me. The 2-pinion open and 4-pinion LSD carrier have different cast gussets. From Nissan Nut's site:

That harness you're holding in the 3rd pic...I'm pretty sure that's the harness for the socket that would've been installed there if from the factory. The socket is the same as what's installed in the dash, but no shortage of other options.

No sweat. I ended up mounting mine on the carrier too, up on the upper hinge. I have one of those Firestik mounts but the gap on the lift gate seemed a little too small, so I never used it. I've got mine mounted with a spring and quick disconnect. Comes in handy for clearing garages and car washes (already snapped my antenna once).

If you still suspect any vibration from the driveshaft after changing the u-joints, check for driveshaft run-out. I had this exact symptoms after changing the u-joints on my rear shaft...wasn't pleased with the Naepco ones.

Doubt Virgil will reply (he went to the dark side some time ago, lol)...but it's a Firestik SS-204A mount, about $20 on eBay, Amazon, etc.

Lol, realizing that I've twice been mistaken about your carrier. @RainGoat: Yeah, NPORA is by far one of the best forums I've frequented. Good folk here, and I still keep in touch with a few of them offline. My kids love going camping and offroading, which makes me extremely happy. They also love climbing over and hanging onto the tire carrier...kid approved.

Gotcha, my bad. Yep, I went by the picture and year on the profile. Does the cracked part look like one of these two things? The black part is just a dust cover for the strut rod. These just seem to disintegrate over time. If that's toast on yours, I wouldn't worry about replacing it until the struts and/or springs need changing. The yellow/white part is the actual bumpstop, and it tucks into the dust cover. If that's cracked or split into two, you'll probably be okay under normal driving conditions. I'd be certain that there are several other members who don't even have them installed and it's probably not an issue...though I'd also guess they have lift springs to almost obsolete the bumpstop's purpose. If you're on stock springs and the truck tends to bounce a bit, just keep in mind that the spring effectively becomes the bumpstop, which can be harsh on the spring or strut's spring bucket. If you're in the rust belt, just something to be mindful of. And either way, as noted above, installing these requires full disassembly of the strut. Probably not worth changing unless you're replacing other things.

BTW, that's only true for the early VQ35's that have aluminum valve covers. The passenger valve cover has a boss on cylinder #1 that is different than the others. The plastic valve covers on later models all use the same coil packs on all 6 cylinders. Back to the original issue... Ideally, if budget affords, swapping all 6 wouldn't be a terrible idea considering you'll be in there doing the work on at least one already. It usually sucks doing the same job twice. But, it can also get expensive fast, and could produce little or no gain beyond peace of mind. There are some really cheap fuel injector cleaner kits available on eBay and AliExpress. It's little more than an aerosol solvent, injector adapter, and some wire leads. You provide a 12V source to open the injector and just spray through. Attempting to clean your injector may be a cheaper route, unless you're certain the solenoid is malfunctioning and replacement is the only option.

Similar subject, but different truck, different placement on truck, and different bumpstop style altogether. For R50's, the front bumpstop installs on the strut inside the coil spring and requires complete disassembly of the strut to replace. For the WD21 (if it's anything like my Frontier) it's a button-style bumpstop (a rubber pad with a threaded stud sticking out of it) that bolts to the frame. There's usually a larger lower bumpstop, and a smaller upper one. I don't think it'd take much more than a socket and ratchet to replace them (that's all it takes on the Frontier, which has a very similar frame), but you may want to confirm that with the WD21 guys. Generally speaking, they should be replaced when worn. If your suspension needs to cycle through a bump, they protect against metal-on-metal contact, which can cause damage.

No problem. I need to move a project forward, so I'll see how soon I can get to the JY. IIRC, Kyle's carrier came stock on his truck, but he wasn't a fan of it and removed it. However, of those who have done it so far, there's me, duke90 (I installed his), CDN_S4, TowndawgR50, and BlackPathy_CDN. TowndawgR50 has the rivet tool, and some good installation tips as well, so he might be your go-to. You can also ask him why he's not installed the Spartan locker yet .

Probably worth double-checking the lower mount of course, but I went by what Monroe and KYB said the size was and it sounded right (not home to confirm on my truck, though). They also list both bushing lengths as 42mm (1-11/16"). I was hoping to find the Rancho p/n I used, but no luck. I remember having difficulty finding specs on them, too, but whichever set I got, they fit the lower mount just fine (with a really thick washer).

Does it look like the upper sleeve on the shock would fit the lower stud on the truck? And lower sleeve fit the upper bolt? On the shocks I've got for an F-250, the upper and lower bushings just needed to be swapped to make it work, but the lower bushings didn't survive the press-out. However, Rancho (and probably also Prothane and Energy Suspension) has an assortment of poly shock bushings, so that's what I went with for my lower bushings. The shock bolts are 12mm upper and 16mm lower...but, you can use 1/2" and 5/8" ID sleeves with little to no modification, though the bushings I've seen (and what I used) are a bit narrower than our mounts so you might need some washers to sandwich the bushings.

@jjonez: No, that crease is from something else. If I had to guess, I'd say the carrier was bumped into the chassis on that one. But on that truck the area is already reinforced. But for trucks without the carrier, the area where the holes are is thinner and it flexes inward a little there. That's where I have to aluminum to thicken it up a little. @RainGoat: I've been meaning to hit up the JY near me...last time I was there, they had 2 or 3 R50s with some degree of carrier pieces. Not sure when I'll get there, but I can keep an eye out for them.

Mine's held up well, no complaints. But yes, the lower metal strip behind the bumper where all the latch hardware goes started to bend inward a little after repeated use. Still latched fine, but over time it would probably wear out the metal holes where the rivet nuts are seated. I put a strip of angle aluminum in the area to thicken up the steel. I had to overlap the rivnuts on mine because it was put on after the fact, but I'd recommend factoring that in from the beginning. I had my bumper off a few months ago to fix the plastic and should have gotten some pics. I may take the bumper off soon for an upcoming trip and get some pics then. Eventually, if I ever fab up a bumper, I'll incorporate the latch mounts onto it.

And Kyle, glad to hear from you! Hopefully you've been able to also put some time towards the Z. Keep us posted on both builds!

A clock. I wish it was just another vent.

I've been running the Pep Boys equivalent of the A/T3 for 2 years come Sept, 18K on them rotated among 5 tires. I've been very pleased. They've seen just about everything except heavy/deep snow (have seen some nasty slush conditions while towing a trailer, though). Excellent on and off road manners. Haven't measured remaining tread, but I can hardly tell there's any wear just by looking at them.

I think I paid under $20 for one that looks a lot better than the actual pics shown.