Tungsten Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 you need the inner tierods for the navara as well and swap the pathfinder inner left tierod to the outside as they are the same only left hand thread this allows you to tap out the adjuster halfway thru to 18mm for the navara tierods and you need to get both righthand thread ones unless you can get a lefthand tap easy enough what one guy that did it said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Ok i did some research and what you heard is true. The 2wd d21 steering linkage works great for the 4wd pathfinder and fixes the weak centerlink by placing the inner tre at a better angle and reduces bump steer. Apparently its a very popular swap in Australia i found about 26 threads on 4wd action website. Here is detailed 1 from a site. http://nissan4wheelers.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/777600023/m/29610055441 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) I would rather go that way or get a Calmini than get a Grassroots one anyway and here is why: If you notice, all crucial steering components are always ONE piece and NOT welded. Solid BENDS while welded SNAPS OFF. Now go ahead, -1 this post if you don't agree. I'm sure everyone thinks that they are an engineer now... Edited February 15, 2012 by Tungsten 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) I would rather go that way or get a Calmini than get a Grassroots one anyway and here is why: If you notice, all suspension components are always ONE piece and NOT welded. True but i will never pay the price calmini wants for there system $630 since sas is almost cheaper for me so i might give this a try lol. But believe me i have looked at the calmini steering kit more then once and almost purchased. I've only bent 2 tre's so far and those are free to replace (love autozone) so will see what happens i love being test monkey lol. Also yes a solid one piece system can't be beat. Edited February 15, 2012 by wd21overland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Called a buddy that always has random hardbody and pathy stuff laying around he'll give me the complete hardbody 2wd steering so i'll pick it up tomorrow and install it on my parts pathfinder and give it a hard test before i think about putting it on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Thanks for seeing where I'm coming from with this. I can afford it but I would rather keep things Nissan. A Calmini system is my last resort if I can't get this HB setup done. Please keep me (or us on NPORA) posted on your progress if you start on it before I do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 Thanks for seeing where I'm coming from with this. I can afford it but I would rather keep things Nissan. A Calmini system is my last resort if I can't get this HB setup done. Please keep me (or us on NPORA) posted on your progress if you start on it before I do. Yeah i have a air hammer with pickle fork adapter so i will have it on the parts pathy in no time tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 If the pickle fork is for removing the pitman, you are much better off using a puller so that you don't break the box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) Ok so i picked up the centerlink from him this morning and had a quick look. All thats needed for the swap is the 2wd centerlink and tierods (inner and outer) the pathfinder tierods can't be used since they have a different thread pitch and also seem smaller. The system design is alot better since it place the tre's on the side instead of the bottom reducing upward flex on the centerlink whihc is what kills these so quick. so will see what happens i'll throw it on during lunch. Edited February 15, 2012 by wd21overland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) Ok so i went home during lunch and threw the 2wd hardbody linkage on the parts pathy. I made sure to secure the idler arm so it would not move at all during install so i could do a easy garage alignment. I removed the pathfinder center link and outer tie rods and set it aside as one whole unit to make it easy incase it needed to go back in.. Next i bolted the harbody center link to the idler and pitman arm and secured those first. Now that it was secure i needed to loosen the adjusting sleeve and extend the tierods out about 1/2 inch on both sides. I turned the outer and inner tierod about 1/4 out on both sides and resecured the nuts and i was able to get both outer tre's in and secure. There was still alot of thread left inside the adjuster so no issues there in case more or less needs to be adjusted for proper alignment. With everything secured i bolted the steering stabilzier back up and went for a test drive. I can see what he means by less effort is needed it feels like i have a bigger power steering pump on the truck its very easy to turn the wheels at a stop. It might be because the centerlink can put a better force on the tre and less things are flexing to give a better steering feel. Also this truck has torsion bars cranked and low profile bumpstops and at full droop and steering turned max everything checks good. I decided to take the parts pathy to work to see how it did on the road (The parts pathfinder has no carpet or radio lol so sucked to drive but oh well) I took the back roads to work mainly over rutted and gravel roads and everything felt great and it has no bump steer now. I'll take it out this weekend to see how it does on the hard trails before i put it on mine so will see. Edited February 15, 2012 by wd21overland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 15, 2012 Share Posted February 15, 2012 (edited) Here is a pic from another facebook group user who has done it mines the same minus the calmini uca. Works so much better. Edited February 15, 2012 by wd21overland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 All these can be also had from RockAuto.com if the junkyard isn't a good option for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I might just grab a center link from Pick n Pull this weekend to get some parts stored away. Its 1/3rd off and there is a fresh 97. My Pathy has the original TRE's, ball joints etc so its not like I'd be wasting money. Its needed it for a while. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Keep in mind the sleeves will have to be modified to adapt to this hybrid system. Tap them both out halfway to 18mm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Keep in mind the sleeves will have to be modified to adapt to this hybrid system. Tap them both out halfway to 18mm. Correct if you use the pathfinder Outer tie rods you will need to tap both adjusters halfway to 18mm. For what i have right now i'm using the 2wd hardbody outer tie rods ends and just rotated them right side up. only downside with 2wd hardbody outer's is they are bent to be the other way around but even at full droop there is still movement in the joint so not worried but tapping the adjusting sleeve and using the pathfinder outer tre's will be a quick task if it is needed down the road so no worries. Edited February 16, 2012 by wd21overland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Cool, I'm glad that worked out. Any improvements that you noticed? It should naturally be a better system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Cool, I'm glad that worked out. Any improvements that you noticed? It should naturally be a better system. Main thing i noticed was reduced steering effort while at a stop. I took it down some gravel roads and over some heavily rutted field at decent speed to see if i could get anything to bend or flex but took a look when i got home and everything is tight and still looks the same and nothing is hitting or rubbing. Also the bump steer is gone now i might take the parts pathy to work the rest of the week and see how it feels. Edited February 16, 2012 by wd21overland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Well this is pretty freakin sweet. I must say. I might have to try this hybrid system out... Why didn't Nissan use this system instead of the one natively used? Seems strange to me if it keeps the tie rods at a better angle and is a stronger system than the 4wd version. ... I am running 33s now and am in the process of beefing up my IFS... keep updated with how this thing works and how it handles the abuse on your main rig!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwd5021 Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Yes, please do keep us informed on how this works under abuse. This is a great find.. just makes me mad I no longer have my crashed hardbody, never thought I'd need parts from that to upgrade a 4wd pathy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 (edited) Well this is pretty freakin sweet. I must say. I might have to try this hybrid system out... Why didn't Nissan use this system instead of the one natively used? Seems strange to me if it keeps the tie rods at a better angle and is a stronger system than the 4wd version. ... I am running 33s now and am in the process of beefing up my IFS... keep updated with how this thing works and how it handles the abuse on your main rig!! To be honest i'm not sure why they used the system they did but it has always been a sore spot when offroading. The 2wd hardbody centerlink with the inner tie rods going sideways into the centerlink rather then up and down is common on alot of other 4wd vehicles. Just going through rockauto taking alook at random 4x4 the centerlinks chevy, ford, isuzu, mitsubishi , toyota and landrover to name a few all put there inner tierods in sidways on the center link i can only find 4wd nissan's that use the up and down style since when the torsion bar are cranked the inner tie rod is putting alot of upward force on the center link and idler arm. Also if anything ever goes wrong for some reason putting the stock 4wd centerlink back on will take no time since nothing permanent was every modified. Edited February 16, 2012 by wd21overland Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My theory is they wanted something more compact and stronger but screwed it up completely and refused to admit it. I will be doing this conversion soon as well because it's the one that makes the most sense to me out of all the available design improvements. I will also be using MOOG parts off RockAuto, which are known to be stronger over factory in almost every case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wd21overland Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 My theory is they wanted something more compact and stronger but screwed it up completely and refused to admit it. I will be doing this conversion soon as well because it's the one that makes the most sense to me out of all the available design improvements. I will also be using MOOG parts off RockAuto, which are known to be stronger over factory in almost every case. Yes moog parts are wonderful on quality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Awesome.. This seems like the perfect option to complement my custom double shear idler arm brace. Should handle the abuse of 33x12.5 with ease after this!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesRich Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 I had thought of trying this when I first got my pathy, it is setup just like the old 70s and early 80s Chevrolet trucks. I just went ahead and bought the grassroots link because everyone that had one liked it. Two years latter it's still tight. Heavy wheeling will tell if this will hold up and not bend. James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nefarious Posted February 16, 2012 Share Posted February 16, 2012 Okay im trying to figure out which parts to use so i can install a steering damper with the 2wd steering links. i went to nissan and the frame pin for the 2wd hardbody and 4wd pathfinder have different part numbers but look very similar in picture. can someone with both center links take a measurement of the placement of the steering damper mount on the 2wd hardbody center link?? i want to know which steering damper and which frame pin will need to be used with this setup.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now