PathyDude17

Awesome! It’s always good to get math and crowdsourcing info on this topic, I know it’s been speculated before that different axles have worse tolerances. First Experience: CV Brand/PN: OEM I Assume. See pic Markings: BCM1085 on the shaft/differential side band of the outer boot (as opposed to the hub facing side of the outer boot) T82FA on inner boot. Strut Brand/PN: KYB. Couldn’t find a stamped part number, I assume they’re the facelift part number. Spacers: 2” Spacers Binding: I’d speculate 2-3. Sorry, Never tested by hand at full droop. However, the passenger side shaft would bind at full lock in parking lot scenarios and such. I occasionally could also feel the axles bind when under heavy acceleration and the front end would lift slightly. This, combined with the knowledge that my axles would have beyond-stock downtravel at full droop, made me switch to springs before going off road. 2nd Experience: By then, I had manual hubs, so I had much less time w/ axles engaged, no “by hand” testing: CV Brand/PN: Aforementioned Axles Markings: Aforementioned Axles Strut Brand/PN: Same KYB’s Spacers: None, just 2” AC coils Binding: 0. None observed under legitimate, wheel lifting type off road usage. I tend to be light on the throttle as I lose traction, but still, I never observed binding. 3rd experience: CV Brand/PN: Driver side- Unknown, pulled from JY. Passenger- same as previous 2 axles, assumed OEM. Markings: Driver- 7037 on snap ring of outer boot differential side. BT114 on inner boot. BT110 on outer boot. No distinguishable markings anywhere else. Passenger- GSP on outer boot hub side snap ring. CS-P on inner boot diff side snap ring. No other distinguishable markings, see pics. Strut Brand/PN: Same struts as before, KYB OEM spec Spacers: none, just 2” AC coils up front now Binding: 0. Tested off road, including use of a lokka, and just now in my driveway- No binding, full droop, full lock, both ways, forward and reverse. PICS The first two presumably OEM axles: Current Driver side Axle, Notice the entirely round inner flange: Current Passenger Side axle. The shaft isn’t notched the way the first two axles I had were, so it’s possibly just an OEM look alike or an earlier production model:

I pulled axles from a JY R50- saves me some money, and I like having OEM ones if possible. That’s a personal preference though, there’s little to no evidence of difference in performance. i didn’t pay attention to year when pulling them, and they worked fine. They certainly all bolt up to the same differential regardless of year within the R50 generation, and since all manual hubs work with all model year R50’s (provided you have the right rims), I’d have a tough time imagining any actual difference in the axles from year to year. If you’re unsure, buying new is a perfectly fine option. That’s my $.02

He said it snapped in the same spot too, oddly enough. I think the plan will be to replace it and see if I can’t space the links lower down or get longer links to maybe take some stress off of it. I won’t gain anything useful by taking it off.

This is a new one. I assume that sometime last weekend my rear sway bar snapped. It certainly happened sometime after the 4.6 swap. It doesn’t look visibly scratched or damaged, and all the links are attached and in working shape. The axle and shock mounts have some scratches but that’s it. I never noticed a difference highway driving or anything, so I’m not in a huge hurry to replace unless that changes. I’m pretty surprised that the bar snapped before the links, and I can’t say I’ve seen this anywhere on the forum before. I know for almost certain that the sway bar was my travel limiter with the Bilstein 5125’s (29.7” extended length).

Thanks! I have a Canon T5, a sweet Craigslist find. I have multiple lenses, but shoot almost exclusively on a 50mm lense, these included. I edit almost all my photos with photoshop express on my phone (free) or some free software on my computer.

Oh, quick other little update- I got rid of my 4 front facing lights in the lower bumper. They weren't improving light output, and I wasn't in love with the look. Here's a look at the "updated" front end from a fun little trail run yesterday evening. And a cool picture of the jeep and the terrain for good measure.

Always happy to help! Top-out is a funny one. Personally, I think I have a high tolerance for noisy clunks, and have just gotten used to some of the "off road noises" that happene when I leave the pavement. I'm sure in off road situations, I do experience top-out. At least on pavement, I can't think of a single time where I was certain the struts had topped out, or where a noticeably loud "clunk" was heard up front. For that reason, I've always assumed that "top-out" was a litle over-reported. I also beleive that my coils dropped a solid .75-1" of height in the first few weeks, eventually settling to ~2". If your top-out keeps happening alot after that initial settling, then that would definitley be different than the experience that I've had with the AC coils.

More talk on the 4.6's... I now have over 400 miles on them, including one full fill up of mixed driving (without going off road). That tank yeilded 14.8 MPG with a mostly moderate or mildly lead-footed driving style. Keep in mind I also have 32x11.5 R15 tires that come in at 56 lbs a piece. 14.8 was a very typical mileage for mixed driving on the 4.3's as well. So, how do the 4.6's drive? Honestly, I thought daily driving would be the noticeable downside of this setup, but in most aspects I prefer DD'ing on the 4.6's. It feel's like there's more power behnind the pedal. The vehicle is more responsive to small adjustments in the gas pedal and just seems more eager and willing to pull. On hills or during highway passing manuevers, the vehicle holds top gear/OD much better and doesn't search for gears- Previously, highway passing manuevers would also initiate a downshift, and then the vehicle would only upshift after letting all the way off the throttle. This doesn't happen anymore. That being said, rev's are definitely up over what they previously were on the 4.3's. 3k RPM will currently get me to about 78-80 MPH, which is up a good 200-300 RPM over what the 4.3's would do @ 80MPH (not accounting for tire size on the 4.3's). A 4.6 gear swap and a 29" to 32" tire swap is almost a perfect match of factory ratio's, so all the rotation based measurements of the vehicle are quite accurate compared to an R50 that hasn't been regeared. Offroad: I now have two tests under my belt (The lokka is still doing great! Makes quick work on alot of terrain that used to require intentional line picking). The 4.6's...... pull the vehicle forward? I don't know what to say, the vehicle handle's good, and "crawls" about as well as I could expect it too. A few times I found myself hung up and in need of some extra throttle to get over rocks - at least with the 4.6's while in 4LO, I could pretty smoothly push the rev's past 2k and start to inch over the obstacle. The throttle wasn't jerky or anything funny.... seems like everything performs like it should. This is also helped by the presence of the lokka, since I'm not worried about wheel slippage as I apply throttle. Makes for an acceptably smooth approach onto and over obstacles.

The two most recent KYB failures ( @zakzackzachary and @onespiritbrain ) have both been due to mis-installation. I used to to be of this opinion, but after re-reaserching I found little to no proof that the KYB mounting system (though slightly different than OEM) actually had a pattern of failing. I still have my OEM mounts fwiw, but I couldn’t find much more than hearsay about the actual failures

With shocks, I just price shop. On my 5125’s it was between 4wheelparts and amazon. As long as it’s the right part number you’re good to go. I just search the specific part number and compare prices from there. Summit Racing is a good distributor though. Almost everyone runs OEM spec struts. Old Man Emu does make an “aftermarket” strut that supposedly rides amazing. All in all, KYB seems to be the most popular option, and that’s what I have. They got replaced when I first did my spacer lift. Hubs: you only want two, just for the front pair of wheels (perhaps asking about 4 was a typo?). Usually the mile markers run ~$100/pair, and and sold in pairs. Mounting hardware included. The part number is 435. I got mine off of advance auto w/ a 25% off code, pretty good deal. Amazon and your typical 4x4 distributors are all good places to buy. Haha, the EMT..... it came on the missing link first, and then saw some roof rack ideas and went for it. There are plenty of stouter options to be had, but I’ve enjoyed the EMT rack. Not an electrician, actually studying to be a Civil Engineer. You bet man! Just spend a little time comparing prices, and I’m sure you’ll sort it out. Googling the part numbers has always served me well. Best of luck!

Hey Carson ( @R50_QX4 )! Great Questions. As a general rule of thumb, I buy as little as is possible from 4x4parts.com . Shipping is a fiasco ($70 to ship two springs to Idaho). So even though 4x4parts.com has most of what you want with struts and springs and shocks, I’d at least shop around before pulling the trigger. You’ll still end up buying the front 2” lift coils from them, but you might be able to save a buck elsewhere. Be careful installing the front coils. They’re stiff. It’s pretty common to at least take them to a shop to get the strut assembled, though some members such as @RainGoat have had stellar success compressing their OME HD coils with a stoutly designed coil compressor. They may be able to handle the AC’s as well. So, the “obvious” difference between the common 5100 (33-185552) and the increasingly popular 5125 (33-185569) is collapsed length and extended length. I do happen to have a long-winded Youtube Video (Yup, those are my videos) on the topic, but that’s more info than is necessary. The 5125 is 29.7” extended and about 18 collapsed. The 5100 is about 26/16. 4WP and summit racing supply shock specs if you ever want to compare other models. I actually just happened to get some verification on how that shock affects my articulation. My NRC9449’s (Same height as the 9447) just barely unseat at full flex. You can wiggle the spring by hand but you certainly couldn’t pop it out. The sway bar link looks maxed, and I’m suspecting that the sway bar limits my flex, not the shock. If I removed it (but I’m not going to) I might find myself wishing for slightly shorter shock. But, since the 5125 is a good deal away from the factory spec of 24/14, you’ll want to extend that center (2 lines if you have VDC) brake line- it will likely be taught at full flex, which isn’t acceptable in my opinion. You’ll want to either test or guess as to how much to extend the bumpstop. Mine are extended ~2.5”. My diff breather sometimes pops off and should get extended as well, but I haven’t done it yet. If you do the math, I haven’t gained much by running the 5125 and it’s not a do or die on running that shock. I think it’s a good choice for LR springs, but 5100’s are a great shock too, and the 5100’s won’t require any of those brake line or bumpstop or breather modifications. LR vs AC. Not sure how they’d stack up. Price aside, I don’t know heights or spring rates of the AC coils so that’s difficult to compare. LR springs lift pretty similar heights, but they’re less than 50% of the price and seem the superior option based on that. Should be $80-90 from lrdirect.com after shipping. Although, I know Canadian shipping can be complicated..... I believe they’ve been having stocking issues recently, I’m sure the R50 community is to blame for that lol. Locking hubs. Great mod in my opinion, and a near no brainer if you have the floor shift, manual transfer case. Seems that Warn, Rugged Ridge, and Mile Marker’s are the most popular, and few complaints across the brands. I have the mile markers, they were the cheapest and they’ve performed just fine for the last year. There are mostly just 2 things that stress the CV axles- when the joints are forced to operate at sharp angles (suspension droops or wheels are turned), and sudden changes in the torque supplied to them (free spinning tire suddenly lands on dirt and stops spinning). These are true for anytime the axle is forced to spin, but those conditions generally become an even bigger issue when 4WD is engaged and the CV axles are being supplied with torque that they’re transferring to the tires, as opposed to being passively spun in 2WD. Manual hubs will increase the longevity of the boots if not the joints as well. Lemme know if I missed anything -Tyler

Good video, they look like nice tires. I’m sure this video will help inform people who find themselves in similar situations- It’s a common and popular question. I have 32x11.5 LT’s and they’re pretty darn aggressive. I’ll also echo some of the comments above. I think there’s conflicting information for a lot of reasons. Not everyone owns identical R50’s per se.... There’s at least two different steering racks available to R50’s. Different rim options have different backspacing. Different vehicles have different levels wear on their stock suspension. There are different strut part numbers for each generation, different mudflap setups, and different front end weights when the engines changed. Also, some people would consider it rubbing if you can’t cycle the suspension and steering in all directions.....all that to say there’s plenty of room for discrepancies. Keep sharing!

1st test, Lokka Talk: Here's an obstacle that has stumped me twice before by either getting hung up on my sliders or rocker panels. You pick either the rock on the left side or the right side to pivot/bottom out on, and proceed from there. I have a sneaking suspicsion that the obstacle has been rearranged since last summer, but I also got stuck on it in March, and its less likely the rocks have been changed since then. The first time I got hung up in June 2019- I'm a tire rotation away from obliterating my driver rocker panel: The vehicle ends up coming up and over the rocks with the front tires lifting and dropping at seperate times. On open diffs, this obstacle generally wasn't possible for me. We managed to get @micahfelker through without damage, but I couldn't replicate the feat. Adding sliders just meant I got stuck sooner w/o any risk for body damage. With the lokka however, it's a different obstacle. I crawled over this (unspotted) in one slow but succinct motion, pivoting on the passenger slider throughout most of the motion. Sure, if I had the stones I could probably throttle and bump my way up it, but I'd take the lokka over that any day. My sliders are more useful now too-they don't just protect, but they actually now can slide over rocks in certain situations. There are still plenty of ways to get this thing stuck, bottomed out, and immobilized, but I think the lokka will prove to be a worthy upgrade. Steering: It's affected by adding a lokka, don't get me wrong on that. I found that it depended pretty predictably on the terrain and to what extent you had the drivetrain engaged. Obvioulsy, with hubs unlocked you can't feel it. 2WD w/ hubs locked has practically zero change in steering on most surfaces, including pavement and hard packed dirt. Little to no self centering. 4WD High/Lo: Noticeable self centering/resistance in steering. In a ~2hr test run with it, the self centering didn't really let up or lighten much while in 4WD. It's 100% driveable, but its also 100% different than an open diff. The more torque you supply the lokka with (and the less traction/grip a certain surface has), the stronger the steering will get. So, in between obstacles I coasted through turns and supplied throttle on straightaways, and that made it totally driveable. Or if you're in 4HI, popping it in to 2HI works as well. I also wouldn't try to drive super fast in 4WD. The steering got the worst when I decided to try a U-turn on a trail only slightly wider than my vehicle while still in 4LO. It was fairly sandy, and I could immediately tell that my turning radius was diminished under those circumstances. The steering wheel was pretty heavy at full lock, and in the sand (with all the torque available in that gear), the vehicle plows forward through sand as it turns. It turned a ~2.5 point turn into a solid 3-4 point turn. So, if you were in a dire situation I could see how the lokka might put someone at a disadvantage. I was just goofing off and could've put it in 2HI if I was trying to turn as quickly as possible. A little long-winded, but I wanted to give a thorough idea of how it's gone so far and what changes I've noticed. I'll revise any of the above statements as I get used to the lokka, these are just my first impressions. For me personally, I'd call the first test a success. I couldn't necessarily "feel" the LSD, maybe I'll have to test it out in 2WD. 4.6's are good, and the low end torque is nice for all things dirt and rock.

Glad that it’ll be of use to you! I think it’s great for seeing the process and how all the parts line up. I can’t overemphasize the need for the proper tools and an FSM as well. About a year and a half ago, I had never so much as opened a tool set or done any kind of car maintenance. The lokka is surprisingly easy to setup for DIY mechanics (assuming your diff already has acceptable shims). @Radwaste has a worthy install thread on this forum as well. Thorough reading of that document, as well as watching a Pajero/Shogun install on youtube was great preparation. I did enough research that by the time I was tearing stuff apart, I had to force myself to read all the instructions thoroughly and double check my work. I had to consult some gurus on some/a lot of the technical details, but I hope this video now covers some of the holes that were in my original research. the key part of the install is that inter cam clearance of .145”-.165”. If yours doesn’t line up to that, you need new shims for the axle gears. Nissan doesn’t sell them anymore, and they’re a pain to even find from no-name parts suppliers. I have some on order from March that haven’t shown up, they’ll be available if they ever show up as I’ll have no use for them. Most people don’t need them, but a minority of people do. Other options would be trying to use other R200a shims from other nissans with hopes that they’re the same size. Custom machine shop work would also be an option. Lokka explains pretty well how to use the shims to get proper adjustment, and which measurements should be prioritized. The big deal is just sourcing those shims should you need them. The uncertainty of the shim situation is what made me opt for a spare diff which eventually led to 4.6 swapping.

@mjotrainbrain ‘s QX4

Install video. Not perfect, but hopefully it gives good insight into the process. Its ultimately only a guide, but I followed Lokka + FSM instructions pretty tightly.

All 03 and 04 R50’s are HG43. 96-02 are unpredictably HG46 and HG43, including QX4’s. Previous setup was Open/Open HG43, and it was preferable to bench install the lokka in case anything went sideways. The core price on the units were $86/diff, so it was difficult for me to pass up on a 4.6 swap.

I would agree. Hubs locked = factory drive flanges = auto mode is usable

as far as I know and can tell, the auto mode t-case is oiled by the rear drive shaft. Here’s the info I’m working off of: Fleury’s gives context to this discovery in this thread: The actual origin of the info is provided by Morpheus in this thread (the pic has become broken in the last year or so, it used to show a parts diagram):

Some updates on a project that’s been a while in the undertaking. First, big thanks to the behind-the-scenes guys who had done this before and could point me in the right direction. Donors: Front: 96 R50 HG46 Front diff. All R50 diffs will work, nothing else will fit. Rear: 00-Xterra HG46 LSD- all 00-02’s have factory break way torque of 140-180 ft lbs if equipped with LSD. This is the highest breakaway direct swap OEM LSD setup available to us. I’ve yet to see an HG43 LSD and cannot confirm or deny their existence. Lokka: it set up just about perfectly on the first try. Symmetrical around the cross shaft, and acceptable inter cam clearance. Upon jack stand test and test drive, everything seems to lock/unlock fine. I have loads of footage to sort through in what I hope will be a thorough and well done install guide. I ordered diff adjusting shims from China, they’ve yet to show and will be available for cheap if they ever show up. They are NLA from Nissan. Hoisting the respective diffs: it can be done solo, but bring lots of jacks and patience. Everything you see is direct bolt-on swap. If both diffs are in good working condition, they’ll work just as good in your vehicle as they did in the vehicle they were pulled from. The lokka is designed specifically to be set up by DIY mechanics not unlike myself. An in spec diff will still be in spec after installing the lokka, as long as you put back everything the way you found it. lots of punch marks, labeled bags, etc required. Special tools will be required such as roll pin punches and feeler gauges as well as an angle-torque gauge (please please please use an FSM while doing this stuff. Find them by googling them and clicking on the nicoclub link) The 4.6’s seem to pull good, I’ve only logged a short 4 mile jaunt on them so far. Better gas pedal response as you start from a stop and continue to accelerate. It seems like the engine isn’t screaming for power at 3k quite the way it used to. No Offroad testing yet.

??? Look at the links below: Light duty front coils: https://www.4x4parts.com/i-18981450-pathfinder-light-duty-front-coils.html Heavy duty front coils: https://www.4x4parts.com/i-18981313-pathfinder-heavy-duty-front-coils.html If you look at the SPU's you can infer they're OME coils. If you look at the weight ratings and lift specs in the description, that also matches with OME coils. There's nothing wrong with reselling OME's products. You can buy OME coils on amazon, carid, and on and on and on. Taking a profit off their products? Thats exactly what keeps companies like amazon, carid, and 4x4parts in business..... 4x4parts buying and reselling OME coils is supporting OME...... I don't think ARB/OME is somehow unaware of what 4x4parts is "up to". 4x4parts certainly isn't gaining anything by failing to mention OME directly.... 4x4parts is selling a genuine performance part. Now, those shipping charges, those are something else.

AC has an in house brand, and then also sells OME springs, but they don’t call them OME springs- they mask the brand. But the coils referred to as AC coils are different than OME and will lift a bit higher.

you can use any OEM equivalent strut up front. That thread takes careful reading in order to get the point. If you scan this link for the for different part numbers - 9446, 9447, 9449, and 9448, you can see the math for yourself. Each of those springs fit, but have different combinations of free standing height and spring rate. 9448’s lift the most out of those part numbers (~4”), and are usually paired with an SFD up front. 9446, 9447, and 9449 (~2-3”) are usually paired with 2” lifts up front. Link: http://www.red90.ca/rovers/springinfo.html