Nissan Off Road & 4x4 Forum

We've talked about doing this build for quite some time now and after getting a truck from one of our fellow XN Members, firing up the plasma cutter was next on the list.
Here is a quick outline of whats coming to this X.

- H233B Diamond front axle w/ D60 Kingpin outters
-- Reid Racing Steering Knuckles
-- Chromoly Axle Shafts
-- 5.57 or 5.85 Gears
-- 35-spline Stub Shafts

- Driveshafts by J E Reel
- Spring over conversion in the rear.
- 3-Link front suspension.
- 14" Travel 2.5" Remote Res. Coilovers
- ARB Air Locker
- 37" Tires

Check out these pics:

Hell yeah! Cant wait for this. Me next!

Nice!

Great! Glad to see it getting chopped up!

Right on!! I'm excited to see this going on! I'll be tuned in

Alright!

Frame Side Link Brackets!

Very cool!!!! It's a WD22. D22 is a frontier.

Yeah I know.. ha tomato tomaaato

Sent while mobile, typos likely.

Picked up the new coilover brackets from laser today. before driving through cow country (check out that sweet tractor!) to pick up the coilover springs to install on the actual sway a way coilover shocks themselves.

Then Kenny busted out the welder and started laying beads attaching the brackets to the housing.

Looking good!  :thumbup:

Getting closer eh?

Yup one step at a time.

Sent while mobile, typos likely.

This is great! Would you say that after this build you would put the kit into official production?

Yes

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All Axle brackets are on and ready. Time to make some links and get this thing under the truck!

Yes! Kenny has some pretty welds  :thumbup:

No Kidding! I agree!

Guess that's why he's called THE KING! Looking great, glad to see this going under another rig to get the ball rolling. Making me rethink my plans for my truck.  ::)

Headers are on as well.. clearances were checked to make sure headers will NOT be Required for this SAS setup but are still an option  :thumbup:

Sweet! What are the spring rates on those?did the DTs have the egr issue? I'll snap s ome pics tomorrow to show you my problem

Springs are 200/250

This one doesn't have an EGR.
But please e-mail my any issues that you have with these headers and I'll forward that info to DT.

We've got links!

Fabricated double sheer pitman arm.

Available Here:
https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/nissan-xterra-heim-pitman-arm-by-rugged-rocks-2000-2004-p-58741.html

New TX-10 Front output yoke.
Fits 1310 & 1350 CV Driveshafts


Available Here: https://ruggedrocksoffroad.com/nissan-xterra-tx10-front-cv-flange-yoke-by-rugged-rocks-2000-2004-p-58745.html

We've got Tires!
 37's for this soon to be crawln X

Front End Goodies

I am so happy you are doing this.  I want to do it with the minimum amount of altitude.  What is the minimum lift that this SAS will generate on a 2002 se?

So I take it the tires balanced out well then? Did they do clamp on weights or beads? How long are you figuring until its a roller?

Yup, each took less than 6 oz. so it was good!
weights on the inside. it should be rolling on Wednesday just needing gears and driveshafts.

(knock on wood)

You have convinced me Steven  ;D Just need the money now! :hit:
Build is looking amazing.

so thats 200 upper and 250 lower?and yea got those pics sent. itd be nice to get rid of the CEL. looking awesome. what size are those joints and where can  i get a set? and is that 1.75 DOM tubing you're using for the links?

yes 200 upper and 250 lower. the rates you want to run will change depending on how much uptravel you want and the ride height.. as well as the length of shocks.

forwarded your stuff to DT we were talking about that with them today when I went in there.
We'll catch up on that later.

Let me know when you're ready!

fish plates, Shock hoops and track bar bracket ... in!

Test fitting the new crossmember!

Wow this is coming togethor so nice. Thanks for all the updates!

That's an interesting take on the crossmember; I was curious how it was going to turn out. Did you hack off the old crossmember mounting points on the frame or does this one mount in the same spots? I can't really tell because of the light from the other side of the pic. I see what you mean now when you said the exhaust was going to have to be re-routed a bit.

Yeah we had another one out of square tube but there was a small interference issue with the stock tcase linkage. so we decided to do it this way. It's easier to reproduce this way anyways.

Starting to look pretty high.  Will the kit allow me to decide how low or high I want to go?  I don't want to go with 37 inch tires, rather 31 or 32 inch.  Don't want the rig to be in the clouds and have dinky little tires hanging there.

This is the exact same setup as my pathfinder and it willl sit about the same. We can lower it some by using shorter shocks and different springs. However this setup is way overkill for the type of wheeling one would do on 31" tires

Sent while mobile, typos likely.

I wonder if I could order your current kit and cut it down some in order to stay lower?  If cutting down is doable, it might increase the market for the kit for those who don't wish to install oxygen tanks for breathing while driving.  I want the kit because it lets me get the 5.8 ring and pinions front and back, not bigger tires.

 running 5.8's with 31" tires doesn't sounds like a good idea

also the kit wont be sky high like your thinking on 31's yes it will make it look tall but the majority of people that want to do the solid axle swap want to run 35's or larger

Haha! I agree though. That would be cool if there was a different variant of the kit. But you are right also Steven, the kit is pretty much for the hardcore crowd and this kit is definitely overkill for 31s. Maybe a 33 would work?
I know right now i'm planning on on 35s, which I know you were previously running on your old d44.

We wouldn't have to cut anything from the kit. Just use shorter shocks and different springs.

I recommend atleast 35s using 33s could probably work without extensive changes. But that's not something that im working towards.
If you're looking at doing this soon please pm me. Ill help you out a little but I wont be doing a prototype build like you're describing.

Sent while mobile, typos likely.

Steering Knuckles are on, and the hubs 'n spindles are together for the time being. they'll come apart again when the 3rd members go together and axle shafts are installed. 
It's carrying it's own weight sitt'n on those sway a way coilovers!

Although we still have a number of things to do, It doesn't need jackstands!
After some minor preliminary fender trimming, we threw the wheels n tires on, and stood back to take a look at it's current stance, which came out really nice.  :cheers:
It's slightly taller due to a minor design change in the shock hoops over the design that we used on the pathfinder. but the height definitely isn't way out of the park and lines up perfectly with the simple spring over conversion out back.
The spring over conversion on the rear was done with just a pair of leaf spring perches and relocating the shock mounts. Nothing super special is happening for the rear suspension for now but there are some plans for the future.

Is that sitting on 37's?  I think you are right.  I might be able to put 33's on that.  Thanks.

That looks great! So how much more trimming are you thinking on the fenders? It looks like the front side of the front wheel well is going to require quite a bit. Does it look like there is going to be any issues with the rear around the door area?

lookin better everyday

We'll need to open up the front fenders as wide as possible and only make it about 1" taller.

The rera we'll just need to take about 1" out all the way around.

Obviously, I am new to this.  I was just thinking that the usual location for rubbing on tires is the door-end of the front wheel well.  With this RuggedRocks rig, is it possible to slide the solid front axle forward, ever so slightly, to eliminate part of this rub issue?  Or, would the forward drive shaft length be a limitation?  If it was possible to include a longer forward shaft, tires would be more forward and offer a better "angle of attack" on steep obstacles.  jb

The front axle is pushed forward a bit. That's why the front end of that fender has to be trimmed up more than the rest.

Exactly,  its pushed forward as much as possible.

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Is this X going to be driving this week!? :)?

Yup that's the plan!

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Any more updates and/or pics?

Waiting on 3rd members and driveshafts.

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(http://www.reactiongifs.us/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/cookie_monster_waiting.gif)




Haha, just kidding... One more day and I'll be back in CA! I can't wait to see this thing!

captain i sent you a message

Steering arms are on and the steering system going together.

Rear H233B 3rd member with ARB and 5.57 Gears installed in the rear axle.

Front 3rd member going in!
Loaded with 5.57 gears and limited slip differential.



(The non-ABS yoke hadn't come in by the time the 3rd members were built, but can pretty easily be swapped out. this one works just fine, it's just about 1/2" longer and the other is just aesthetically more pleasing.)

Retubed rear driveshaft  :thumbup:

Exhaust going in!

side by side comparison to the pathfinder

once the front driveshaft was installed and a few last things were done like install brake lines and bleed them. as well as nistall the yukon manual locking hubs, and trim the fenders. we were ready for a little local test run.


Dave has more pictures as well.

This truck came out AWESOME.  :cheers:

Wow turned out really nice! Great job.

Things that make me wish I wasn't so poor.

I feel the same right now hah!  :hit:

Here's just a few more to show off Steeevo and Kenny's work I posted up in another forum:

(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3810/13116095775_f491fdf9d2_c.jpg)

(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7295/13115934205_4259eee063_c.jpg)

(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2390/13116035353_3169287a2c_c.jpg)

(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3802/13116231774_07c4c20cd3_c.jpg)

(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3797/13116084965_d8b92d3f01_c.jpg)

(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3699/13116070315_11cf47b1e5_c.jpg)

(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2082/13116145973_fed8947015_c.jpg)

(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7406/13115950895_1930922153_c.jpg)

(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3764/13116208164_9a1d533dbf_c.jpg)

(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2847/13115923865_cfc8047172_c.jpg)

i didn't even think about it till now but i can bring the ram and steering box with me to GONE if your still interested
Xterra came out great  :cheers:

Ok.  Awesome job!  Now some questions:
How much lift did the SAS generate, and could this amount be reduced?  How much?
When is the complete kit going to come up for sale on the RuggedRocks site?
Any projected cost?

We didn't measure the amount of lift gained with this setup. With a slightly softer spring, you can get it to ride a little lower but this setup is really intended for use with a 35" or 37" tire. Why do you want it to be shorter?

I don't have final costs but I can email you a spreadsheet with estimates.

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STEVE i also would like the cost est. per parts for the same kind of set up for the hardbody. thanks! im still looking into getting this done.

Absolutely please send me your email address

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I looks like 6in or so lift. What is the measurement from the head light to ground?

we don't normally think of it in terms amount of lift over stock when we do SAS's.
the bottom of the frame sits at about 23" +/- off of the ground and has 6" of uptravel.