Jump to content

A Tail of Two Sisters - Build Photos and Videos


Recommended Posts

So the axles shafts and parts should be here next week. That should give me time to finish cleaning up and painting the used parts. It should also give me time to setup the caster and pinion angle on the front drive shaft. I Need to build an adjustable axle stand that will let me set the pinion angle while sitting under the truck. Anyway that's the goal for the next few days.


Here area a couple pics of some of the blasted parts. The factory fight steer knuckle is on the right. The Reid racing knuckle is on the left. There is some pretty big differences size wise in key areas. Going back and forth about getting the driver side reid knuckle now or not.


FB_IMG_1494591180027.jpg


FB_IMG_1494591184888.jpg


FB_IMG_1494591193872.jpg


FB_IMG_1494591197909.jpg

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Quick update. Yesterday after work i noticed significant surface rust on the factory high steer knuckle I blasted the might before. That was my breaking point. I was already unhappy about using it because of the massive difference between that and the Reid knuckle. So the end result was me ordering a new Reid knuckle to replace it. It puts a dent in the budget but that was the weak link and it's not a quick easy part to replace down the road. So...
Oh and I also tossed the 10 bolt outside and put the Dana 44 on the saw horses and opened her up. Did some measuring for pinion angle, rotating the inner Cs, planning for the truss and seeing how far forward I can move the axle forward over stock. I also installed my Aussie locker in the open carrier that will replace the factory limited slip in that axle.
FB_IMG_1494692486994.jpg
FB_IMG_1494692476379.jpg
FB_IMG_1494692483186.jpg
20170513_043132.jpg
Anyway here is more progress.
FB_IMG_1494721676363.jpg
FB_IMG_1494721680085.jpg
FB_IMG_1494721101309.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't get much done today. However I did get the hubs blasted.

FB_IMG_1494825698503.jpg

 

Lots of mockup, measuring and checking angles. Need to replace that pinion yoke with a flange before I can swap the carrier and gears. I was worried that my diff cover was going to make contact with the tie rod. I think it's just going to clear it. Going to call high angle drive shafts tomorrow and talk to them about getting that flange and my options. Looks like I'm going to be close to 20 degrees of driveshaft angle at right hight. I have some careful planning to do here before any welding can take place. Everything is going to be tight.
FB_IMG_1494907843101.jpg
Got the driver's side Reid Racing knuckle in today. No more factory parts for this dana 44. Ok well there are a few lol. But not much. Going to the store to grab a 5/8" drill bit so I can drill the high steer arms and cut/rotate them. This needs to be done if you want to run a double sheer setup on your tierod like you see in the picture. As for as a know. No one builds a high steer arm for a d44 that lines up properly with the steering arm on the knuckles.
FB_IMG_1494972820824.jpg
Got more parts in today for the Pathfinder. Those are the chromoly dana 44 axle shafts. The stub axles are Yukon axles. The inners are made by a company called Wild Horses Four Wheel Dive. They specialize in Bronco parts. There is a massive difference between the stock axles and these size wise.
I also got the rebuild kit for the stock rear axle and all the bearings/seals and spindle studs for the spindles/hubs on the D44.
FB_IMG_1495165823181.jpg
FB_IMG_1495165827582.jpg
FB_IMG_1495165831870.jpg

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Drilled and cut my high steer arms. Still need to bevel and weld them back together then make a double sheer bracket for the drag link that will mount on the topside of the passenger side arm. Just in case you're wondering why I cut them. The high steer arms do not line up with the factory . Oh and I ordered new fine thread bolts. 50 something dollars later!


FB_IMG_1495731972527.jpg



savephace-1-e1496480331970.jpg


Broke my the cup on my TIG torch so I finished the high steer arms up with my MIG welder. It was much faster that way anyway lol.


savephace-2-e1496480342507.jpg




The "completed" high steer setup. I still have some work to do but you get the point. This gives me 4.5" of clearance over the factory tie rod. And yes I may have to modify my frame to make all this work. We'll find out once I mock everything up under the truck.



FB_IMG_1495960511811.jpg


FB_IMG_1495960488226.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

One of the long time Nissan wheelers decided to try and scare me about the high steer setup. He thought it would hit the wheel or tire. So I ended out slapping the passenger side hub on so I could check. As you can see I have plenty of clearance. Mater of fact I have more clearance than I thought I would have. The GM outers made the axle wider than it was with the ford drum brakes. It's about 60 3/4" hub to hub. That makes it about 7/8th of an inch wider than the factory Nissan rear axle. Once I get the other hub on I'll measure to insure my figures are correct.
18700550_1508441995897975_96345819476720
18738336_1508442079231300_76307122611631
18814653_1509005785841596_13881706522287
18739082_1509005862508255_60720202193754
After that I broke out the plasma cutter and started to prep the frame for the install of all these damn parts. There are a lot of tough to reach brackets on the frame that need to be cut off and ground smooth. Oh and I finally removed the front diff and what was left of the IFS.
Burning Down The House" lmao
18700216_1509417685800406_65349596077250
18813549_1509417402467101_48756522066600
More cutting and grinding to do... This part of the job really sucks.
Oh and my headers have to go. The driver's side is right where the top link needs to be. I tried to order new mid length headers but they are 5 weeks out. I think I have a deal worked out for some used ones that are the same as the ones I tried to buy new.
18738906_1509115975830577_73333678535331
18815150_1511505165591658_48718669652908

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah it happens. That's all part of the process and cost that people don't account for. I don't even want to add up the money spent on this part of the build. I know I'm creeping up on $10,000. It'll be worth it in the end. Everything will be done properly and it should perform great. God knows I'll never get my money back if I choose to sell it down the road lol. "You want how much for a 91 nissan pathfinder?!?!?!?" lmao

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have spent more than I ever thought I would on mine, but I like doing it so I don't care. It's amazing how fast that total creeps up though lol. Nice build btw.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If someone thinks they can do this for less they are fulling themselves or it's going to be one hell of a hack job. A leaf sprung sas is cheaper but once you get everything dialed in spring rate wise (front and back) and get the steering, driveshaft, gears, brakes, lockers, pinion angle, and caster setup properly, exc... you can still expect to be well above $5000. And that's without upgrading factory parts to much stronger after market parts. $200 here, $500 there, that adds up real damn fast.

 

Buying a built rig isn't really as good of a deal as one would expect either. In about 90% of every case I have ever seen, buying a used rig results in thousands of dollars worth of reparing neglected/abused parts and fixing bad work. The really well built rigs tend to get parted out to help recover more of the money spent to build them and or the expensive parts are used on a new project.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have driven a couple of SAS'd pathfinders. One was done "right". The other was done, I wouldn't say wrong, I would just say without experience. Let me tell ya. The difference is staggering. The one done right I was hard pressed to tell the difference from an IFS pathy. Drove great. The other wallowed and wandered everywhere and felt like I was going to die at any speed above 40km/h.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The other wallowed and wandered everywhere and felt like I was going to die at any speed above 40km/h.

This is exactly right. There are SOOOOOO many builds out there that have this problem. They ignore critical issues that need to be addressed that dramatically effect the way the truck handles. They just want it to "FLEX". They have no idea that there is so much more to a properly setup suspension than that. People say, "it's a trail rig so it doesn't matter". It does matter though. They just don't know any better because they've never driven or ridden in something that was build properly.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

More progress pics. And before anyone says something lol. The truss isn't finished. The axle side tie rod mount isn't finished either. Still have a ton of work to do. Hoping to wrap up the front end this week so I can get started on the rear suspension by this weekend.

20157345_1575972719144902_81113866343893

20121227_1576321969109977_33508713453428

 

20116868_1576161382459369_83732169222411

 

20232973_1583444455064395_84976887758417

 

20232232_1583443921731115_61436703786711

 

20245962_1586195348122639_20228833708907

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Other than the shock mounts the rear is all linked up and working great. I still have to finish the axle side track bar mount on the front and the passenger side shock mounts. Once I take care of those few things this will be ready to tear down and start and finish welding everything up. Then address the brakes, ABS wiring to the rear axle, exhaust, and power steering lines for the new gear box. Oh and to paint everything.


Smithy should be here next week to help me setup the gears in both the front and rear axles. At that point I should be ready to start final assembly.


Oh and I got my tires in today too!


pathy-weld-03-e1502341962962.jpg


pathy-weld-04-e1502341950365.jpg


20621282_1603290616413112_78254258754401


20626135_1604057516336422_26570666966925


20638341_1604154509660056_60797849117207


20728992_1607047196037454_81775069009143


20638975_1608138229261684_64873120673893


20748082_1608137759261731_53763104161186


20708421_1608009285941245_59759090870523

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Got my adjustable limit straps in from TMR Customes. Really happy with these and their customer service.

20746061_1610716132337227_56094990064923

And here is a sneak peek of what she will look like. Granted I still have a ton of work to do. Deadline to be finish is the 26th of the month.

20729382_1610862638989243_46226772193977

 

20689869_1610862522322588_54729061179014

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Didn't get nearly as much done this weekend as I had hoped. Either way I'm a little closer. Got the exhaust crossover pipe (Y-pipe) made. It's only tacked up at the moment because I plan on TIG welding this together. The welds will be much smaller and cleaner if I do it that way. One of the issues I have with piecing exhaust together like this is that they usually look rough when mig welded together. There is just far to many joint real close together to have larger welds. It's just personal preference though. Everything beyond this point will be mig welded.

20728264_1612227232186117_13706097968560

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...