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SAS and engine swap WD21


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Daver123, thanks for the reply. Sorry I'm only getting back to this thread now, been offline for a while with work and technical problems.

 

Yip, I'm running a leaf sprung SAS at the moment. I would really like to try my luck with a three link and Panhard. I thought of Radius arms, but I see some guys are saying they get binding.

 

Basically what I think I need is measurements from someone who has managed to get a stable rig at higher highway type speeds, but have been able to achieve some good flex, I mean, that is what the SAS was for in the first place.

 

I have ended up with around a 6-7" lift, so I am hoping that just to copy the length of your arms and hieght of the mounts off the floor on the diff and the chassis ends should give me a good place to start. I can compare angles of the upper and lower arms and see how this fits into my plans.

 

I supppose technically, I should rather be looking at the distance from the centre of the diff tube to the chassis mounting point.

 

I know you can't really have a good handling road rig, and good offroad flex in a single package, but yours seems to be close, and mine is my daily drive that needs to be fairly manageable for my wife to drive as well.

 

Of you think I am hoping for too much, please tell me.

 

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  • 1 month later...

Mine can run up to about 120 km/h (top speed due to gearing) without too much drama. I really need to rebuild the sway bars a little heavier and that should calm things down even further. It's not impossible to have reasonable road manners but you're right it will be a give and take for on road vs off-road performance. This is why all the sickest 4x4s are trailer rigs.

 

I will try to gather some data this weekend on the setup. I have and try to translate it into something everyone will be able to decipher, as I'm sure others may want this info in the future as well. I had to revise the geometry a few times to get all the steering and clearances right. I need to get some new pics up, as I noticed that photobucket decided to be aggressively profitable and are now charging $400 per year for 3rd party image hosting. I think not.

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Dimensions front 3 link with PH setup on my rig, measurements are on center from mounting bolts.

 

Panhard length - 27.5"

Upper link length - 37"

Lower links length - 35.5"

Lower links distance apart on axle - 38"

Lower links distance apart on frame - 26.5"

Upper link distance from Passenger side lower link on axle - 11"

Upper link distance from Passenger side lower link on frame - 3"

Upper link height from Passenger side lower link on axle - 7.5"

Upper link height from Passenger side lower link on frame - 5"

Drag link length - 40.5"

Top of axle to bottom of frame directly above axle at rest - 14"

 

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Disclaimer here, this is not a perfected engineered setup so use these numbers at your own risk.

Edited by daver123
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Power steering issues... So a GM Saginaw p-series pump is not happy about pushing 35s on a D44 via stock pathy PS box.The box seem solid and isn't complaining, but the pump has issues. Very hot and fluid shot out of the system somewhere haven't solved that one yet but after topping up the system no leak, but pump seems weak. I am digging like crazy trying to find specs on both the PS box and pump to figure out what my compatibility issue is. Far as I can tell its mixed reviews. Some Toyota guys say their steering works with a GM pump. Others say the GM has too much flow and heating issues. I could go remote reservoir and cooler on another new GM pump, but I never had issues with the pump on the vg30e.

 

I'm leaning towards the latter. I'm now considering frankenstiening a nissan pump to a gm engine, MUAAHHAHA... Anyhow any ideas on which of our lovely jap built pumps are the most robust?

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Fair enough. I'm looking at newer pumps than the stock 95 Pathfinder unit. I think the 2004 and older XTerras have a possible donor. They still use a similar PS box to the original Pathfinder ones and their PS pumps might be a good match, possibly new and improved too.

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What fluid are you running? I know Honda pumps don't work right without their own eleven-herbs-and-spices PSF, maybe GM's the same way. I know both of my friend's 4.3-powered rigs leak take PSF rather than the ATF the WD21 specs. Or, like you said, could just be a flow thing; maybe the Saginaw box that pump was built for has bigger guts and requires greater volume but lower pressure than the Nissan box.

 

I read on here that 94+ OE pumps were better, looks like you found that thread too. I got curious and had a look at some FSMs to see what the power steering pressure is supposed to be. Full lock, engine idling:

 

'89 Pathy: 1,109-1,194 PSI

'95 Pathy: 1,109-1,194 PSI

'97 Pathy: 1,251-1,337 PSI

'01 Xterra: 1,095-1,209 PSI

'03 Pathy: 1,251-1,337 PSI

 

Interesting that '89 and '95 are the same, given the other thread. Maybe they differ in flow, which I see no mention of in the manual. Either way, looks like an R50 pump should be an upgrade. Might even come with a ribbed pulley to match the serp I assume your 4.3l is running.

 

Looking at this thread on Pirate, I'm also seeing some Saginaw P-boxes with higher numbers.

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Funny, I converted to an xterra pump based on what Nissan nut's experience. Hoped it was worth it. I did take pictures of the internals between the two for comparison which can be found on photobucket

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

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What fluid are you running? I know Honda pumps don't work right without their own eleven-herbs-and-spices PSF, maybe GM's the same way. I know both of my friend's 4.3-powered rigs leak take PSF rather than the ATF the WD21 specs. Or, like you said, could just be a flow thing; maybe the Saginaw box that pump was built for has bigger guts and requires greater volume but lower pressure than the Nissan box.

 

I read on here that 94+ OE pumps were better, looks like you found that thread too. I got curious and had a look at some FSMs to see what the power steering pressure is supposed to be. Full lock, engine idling:

 

'89 Pathy: 1,109-1,194 PSI

'95 Pathy: 1,109-1,194 PSI

'97 Pathy: 1,251-1,337 PSI

'01 Xterra: 1,095-1,209 PSI

'03 Pathy: 1,251-1,337 PSI

 

Interesting that '89 and '95 are the same, given the other thread. Maybe they differ in flow, which I see no mention of in the manual. Either way, looks like an R50 pump should be an upgrade. Might even come with a ribbed pulley to match the serp I assume your 4.3l is running.

 

Looking at this thread on Pirate, I'm also seeing some Saginaw P-boxes with higher numbers.

 

I was doing some parts research on rock auto and it would seem that the 04 and earlier Xterras use a very similar steering box to the first gen pathy's. The r50 uses rack and pinion, not sure how different the flow and pressure requirements are.

 

That or just dig up a 95 pathy ps pump. just thought it would be better to try and rob a newer pump from a 04 xterra.

 

Good thread on pirate4x4 though, I just think I trust the nissan pump more than trying to make a gm pump play nice with the stock steering box.

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Funny, I converted to an xterra pump based on what Nissan nut's experience. Hoped it was worth it. I did take pictures of the internals between the two for comparison which can be found on photobucket

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

I would like to see those pics but photobucket is dead to me.

 

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I would like to see those pics but photobucket is dead to me.

 

Here is the link: http://s2.photobucket.com/user/cuongnutz/library/SAC/Nissanpowersteeringpump

 

The truck could really benefit from power steering cooler. The reservoir gets really hot that I can't even touch.

 

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Here is the link: http://s2.photobucket.com/user/cuongnutz/library/SAC/Nissanpowersteeringpump

 

The truck could really benefit from power steering cooler. The reservoir gets really hot that I can't even touch.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-N920A using Tapatalk

 

Good reference material. I think I am definitely going to track down an Xterra pump, and get a cooler. Just need some money and time. Maybe next month...

Do you know which year you got yours from and how many grooves on that serp pulley? The 4.3L is 6 groove.

.

Edited by daver123
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  • 1 year later...

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