2wd steering mod for Terrano

[fullthrottle]

Mine has been perfectly fine after the conversion. I've given it a bit of a hammering with no issues.

I would recommend you don't bother trying to find an 18mm LH tap. They are like hens teeth to find. Use the following combination-

4WD outer Tierods (16mm, left hand threads)
2WD inner Tierods (18mm, right hand threads)

[danielbeek]

Thanks, good to know. Will try standard rods for now. I found the INNER items on the 4WD setup were the LH thread units. The LH and RH tap bits can be bought off ebay or Aliexpress for quite a reasonable price. Don't think the really cheap ones will cut the relatively hard tie rod steel, but I've ordered some (just RH) that look ok.
Bought a spare 2nd hand 4WD steering assembly mainly for the adjuster sleeves (off about a '93) - turned out to be mainly aftermarket parts, but most interesting was the centre-link. VERY heavy, and with a fixed post/bearing only at the pitman arm end. Almost like 1/2 a 'Grassroots' conversion. Thing is, it looks kind of original, so will try and find out more about it, and post some pics.

[kiwipete]

Dragging this thread up to ask if anyone would be willing to drill and tap the 18mm threads on my adjusters please?

[BogBoy]

Dragging this thread up to ask if anyone would be willing to drill and tap the 18mm threads on my adjusters please?

mace engineering did mine for $20

http://www.maceengineering.co.nz/

[gedaci_2005]

Mine has been perfectly fine after the conversion. I've given it a bit of a hammering with no issues.

I would recommend you don't bother trying to find an 18mm LH tap. They are like hens teeth to find. Use the following combination-

4WD outer Tierods (16mm, left hand threads)
2WD inner Tierods (18mm, right hand threads)

Thank you for the topic. It was e real help for me. I had my car converted to 2wd drive sterring and now is ok . Tomorow i'll put some pictures.

[slide]

Hmmm. Not as strong a setup as I'd hoped . I bent the L inner tierod (the 18mm thread one) yesterday. Seems the bend in the tierod is a weak point, and it will easily bend more. No photos as yet, but I'll post one up when I get a chance

[hamboy]

Well done sir, I think you may be first to damage the 2wd system. What were you doing to bend it?

[lax2wlg]

Bummer.
Yeah but check out the Mitsu II/II.5 system - it has bends in the inner TREs too (though maybe a bit shorter)

Its near identical design so with quality components should reliably handle 35s. The R200 running gear certainly will.



Not saying you were abusing your vehicle or are running crappy parts
If there is Mitsu Gen II owner reading this, would you mind measuring one of your inner tierods for us?

[slide]

Well done sir, I think you may be first to damage the 2wd system. What were you doing to bend it?

Not sure if thats a good thing, but thanks I guess

Not saying you were abusing your vehicle or are running crappy parts

Running TRW brand bits- which I'm now doubtful about quality of. I need another centre link, old ones only 5months old and pitmann arm balljoints got play. Previous trw one lasted only about 11 months.
Did get a bit of a hard time during the day, but I didn't notice the exactly bump etc when it bent, so I don't know what caused it (whether a rub on a bank, or bounce and regaining traction)
Heres a pic of the bent rod, and a pic of where it was rubbing on other chassis bits (new tierod in picture- not the bent one)

[lax2wlg]

Good autopsy photo.

I wonder if your front Nissan LSD was munching when it failed. The added traction of a spooled front will definitely demand the most out of any steering system.

I see its the idler arm side that failed. Do you still have the original idler arm or did you do the dual boxes setup? If so, is it possible that excessive play from worn idler bushes could have contributed to the failure or is that just stupid?

[lax2wlg]

Interesting to look at the AM General system, where they put the tierods outboard as far as possible, probably to minimize length.


This system is designed for 37x12.5 tyres, Torsen front diff and big heavy geared reduction hubs. It doesn't break but common wear items are idler & pitman arms and the actual steering box gears themselves.

[lax2wlg]

But Nissan have always been wacky about their steering system designs. Alas they didn't always get it right. This is the MK/MQ Patrol system, more moving parts than the IFS system!



From http://mq-patrol.com/wiki/steering/sing ... conversion:
History: The MQ was released with a complex steering linkage system. The intent of this system was to overcome some of the problems with a conventional linkage system.

The previous patrol (G60), was released with a single drag-link from pitman arm to the wheel. This is a simple and effective solution, however it has 1 main problem. The pitman arm being at chassis level, is higher than the tie-rod, causing the drag-link to be on angle. When the drag-link is not horizontal, it introduces bump-steer (which gets worse the more this angle increases, like when adding suspension lift).

Nissan, in an attempt to overcome this, introduced in the MQ model a series of linkages and relay arms. The idea was that each linkage would be more horizontal, with the verticle requirements taken up by the relay arms. This (in theory) should give a better feeling in the steering and less bump-steer. However, this system introduced new problems. With all the additional ball-joints and linkages, the steering system wore out a lot quicker, negating any benefits.

With the release of the GQ model, Nissan reverted back to the single drag-link system. This system is also used by other manufactures/vehicles, such as the Toyota Landcruiser.

[slide]

I see its the idler arm side that failed. Do you still have the original idler arm or did you do the dual boxes setup? If so, is it possible that excessive play from worn idler bushes could have contributed to the failure or is that just stupid?

Yea, still original idler arm. Hasn't got lots play, but play is starting to develop in bushes. I don't think that would contribute to failure, although the slight increase of angle may have changed the leverage effect.

Haha, I left this post half written, was going to comment on your other post, but you've edited it in the mean time.
I wonder about trw quality also. I think 'OE standards, european quality' or similar is their thing. However that moto has never really filled me with confidence .