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Anyone turn a rear H233B rear axle into a front axle?


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Hey guys, I read an xtreme 4x4 where the host turned a rear axle into a front axle... I have a spare h233b from my axle swap just sitting there and I am sure i would have a hard time selling it being its open diff and drum brakes, but I was thinking....I noticed the nissan axle housing is already welded together, not cast..so it should be easy to weld.

I want to do a solid axle swap....and I have this spare axle sitting around. A front H233B would be absolutely awesome but I do NOT have the funds to drop down for a diamond axle.

 

If I have to I will do a wagoneer d44 like most people but I just want to ask if anyone has converted a rear axle to front before? I would guess if I sourced some Patrol knuckles/brakes/axles then I should be able to cut and paste it all together then just find another H233B LSD and swap it in for the front axle as well.

 

Is this viable at all? I don't have any experience creating axles but I do have a good amount of welding experience and I have this shiny new welder to use for it all.... Would I be able to use other knuckles for it? Or would only the patrol ones work? Would the gears inside work or would I have to source reverse cut gears?

 

Anyways it was just a thought, never enough projects on the go. Any input is welcome, thanks!

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I've wondered this myself... could work if you keep everything straight. Reverse cut gears shouldn't be necessary, you could just flip the diff housing over and drill/tap new drain and fill holes as needed.

 

It would be a hell of a lot of work to get everything lined up... and move the diff out of the middle... and so on.

 

So, doable, yes, but there's probably a reason nobody's attempted it yet.

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Ya I would have to order knuckles and axle shafts from overseas, the patrol axle wouldn't work out of the box anyways since the diff is on the wrong side so I would have to cut and paste anyways... hmm, I thought I remember someone on here cut a diff from one side to the other on a toyota axle... any input from people who have done any hardcore axle modifications like this? I may attempt it anyways since its just sitting there collecting dust but some heads up from people would be nice!

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Awesome!! That's exactly what I was looking for. So I could use d44 outers, knuckles, brakes, only thing I'm still questioning is what axle shafts to use... or would i have to have them custom made? I'm guessing d44 axle shafts wouldn't be compatible with the h233b pumpkin guts

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You only have to flip the diff for a rear engine buggy. The gears are the same front to rear. The problem is normally the axle seals.. on a rear diff the seals are on the outside.. on the front the seals are in the pumpkin. The front axle moves too far back and forth as the knuckle turns for an axle seal to be there. The front seals normally have a machined seat in the tube itself. Spidertrax and assorted other companies make a seal seat with a set screw for the inner diameter of D.O.M. tubing. However it gets to a point where a Dana 44 is twice as cheap and has 500 times the options.

 

Custom tubes, custom seals, custom shafts, custom inner c's, one selectable locker to choose from (arb)... Ya may see me do this down the road.. because I can... however not cost effective at all.

 

Someone will want to post the outer seal kits for a Dana 30... sorry not enough room in a D44 knuckle.

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hmmmm, okay. well ill try and source a d44 axle....would prefer a ford d44 high pinion with chevy or waggy outers /brakes....still going to consider this though, i sure would like a h233b over a d44 even though theres less locker options, i would probably go lsd anyways

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Oh I totally get what you are saying. I have a few ideas how to make it happen. However, I would rather take the risk with my money and not yours on this one. Plus I own an axle alignment jig which takes care of 90% of the battle.

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yeah, i will be keeping the h233b as a side project and slowly working my way through the conversion to front axle, but i will swap in a d44 w/ 3 link to get started. truck will be staying ifs until next summer once my electronics technician school is done and i buy a house on vancouver island. then i have all the room in the world to build and build and build! lol. i can get a 3 link sas done im sure in a month of summer....the h233b will get finished though. to swap in maybe a year later down the road. I so want a driver drop patrol setup in my pathy! any patrols around here (what i really want) go for 10-15k for a early 90s model! so that's just out of the question... my vg33e with headers/intake/exhaust will be enough to get me by i thinks :) turbo is in the plans for the future as well, as soon as im done the turbo setup on my 91 240sx with a ka24de. going for about 350 whp 375 torque with the 240. just need oil lines and a front mount intercooler as well as piping and the 240 is going together. pathy build is happening in the summer when the 240 is done.

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As far as d44s go the best is 77 and earlier f-150 axle with 3 inches shaved off the long side it works killer!!! I cant seem to load pics from my photobucket tonight but if you go to facebook.com/bonneymotorsports you can see pics of two nissans running custom hp 44s

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As far as d44s go the best is 77 and earlier f-150 axle with 3 inches shaved off the long side it works killer!!! I cant seem to load pics from my photobucket tonight but if you go to facebook.com/bonneymotorsports you can see pics of two nissans running custom hp 44s

 

(For reference the axle width on the old Pathfinders (WD21) is right at 59 wide and the first gen Xterra (WD22) comes in at around 63 wide)

 

Ford-3 is a custom axle shaft axle. It would end up being a little over 62 wide. Most folks cut off 2 inches making it a little over 63 wide. This makes the long side the same as a Wagoneer axle shaft. A person can then order shaft, or find them in the junkyard, at a lessor price. (It also fits the Xterra width)

 

My pathy has Ford-4 making the axle a little over 61 wide (custom shaft size). The rear axle is from a 96 Isuzu Rodeo at 60.5 wide. Having the front axle a hair wider than the rear makes the rig track better. This rig is being made for more of a daily driver, tire tucked in wheel well, type rig.

 

To confuse someone ever more.. :laugh: The last axle someone wanted had the long side cut off four inches and the short side extended two inches. This made a 63 wide axle with the pinion centered to the output on the TX10 transfercase. This axle is currently being put under a 2 door Pathy with a rear body cut job. Pics when he is done...

Edited by GrandpaX
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Here are some pics of that last axle.. It got the name Haxle.

 

100_1983800x600.jpg

 

On the lower pic... the track bar mount is lined up perfectly with where the drag link mounts up.

 

100_1996800x600.jpg

 

Here is the pile is started out as... the 3 inch tube center section from a 78 Bronco and the outers from a couple Jeeps.

 

100_1982800x600.jpg

Edited by GrandpaX
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Wow that is quite the 'hax' job lol. Love it though! So why would he want a steerable center mounted diff? Is it going to be a 4 wheel steer rig?? I want to use an early Ford high pinion but cut the long side down to be a 60" axle. I'm using a h233b out back so I want it to match as closely as possible to the rear, a little wider is okay but my wheels already stick out past the fender flares about 3-4 inches with my rim and tire setup. Is there a factory axle that would fit for the long side of a high pinion Ford cut down to 59 or 60"?? Or would I need a custom made axle shaft on that side?

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Wow that is quite the 'hax' job lol. Love it though! So why would he want a steerable center mounted diff? Is it going to be a 4 wheel steer rig?? I want to use an early Ford high pinion but cut the long side down to be a 60" axle. I'm using a h233b out back so I want it to match as closely as possible to the rear, a little wider is okay but my wheels already stick out past the fender flares about 3-4 inches with my rim and tire setup. Is there a factory axle that would fit for the long side of a high pinion Ford cut down to 59 or 60"?? Or would I need a custom made axle shaft on that side?

 

It is centered on the (Front) output. He plans of running slugs, not manual hubs. Centered up will run better at speed on the highway.

 

The early Bronco axle was a little over 59 with Chevy outers. The short side on the HP is the same.. just need to cut down the long side to EB.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 month later...
It's been done. The axle was flipped and had D44 inners welded on. It was on a buggy so the pumpkin was left in the center.

 

axle001.jpg?t=1316973996

Hey guys.. the picture above was for a rear engine buggy where both axles needed to be flipped so it would run backwards.

If you're turning a rear axle into front for your truck, DO NOT FLIP IT. you will end up with the axles fighting each other. the rear axle pushing you r forward and the front one going in reverse.

 

That being said, you can do it, you just need to leave it in a low pinion configuration.

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You would need custom inner shafts. This axle was built by "The King" for his Nissan powered rock buggy. Here is the build thread over on Rugged Rocks. http://forum.ruggedrocksoffroad.com/index.php/topic,1640.0.html

 

If anyone here needs custom inner axle shafts for an H233B, please let me know.

We've had a few sets made now and the first set that was made didn't come out right and I would really like to refer you to the right people to get these done correctly.

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  • 1 year later...

Good right up guys. Dose not matter what you do in the front you will be paying for it out the rear end lol. I know a lot of people do not get the d44 up front because they brake a lot that's y steveo made the diamond axle front the front end of the pathys. I would have got an axle from him but I can find d60 for the fronts all day long so that's what I'm going to run in my buggy with a 10.5 in the rear. I will not cut the axle so i can get that buggy look. I would stay away from the d44 and get a good axle from steveo that wont leave you on the trail. Good luck on what you do for the front end and hope you like it

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