18x1.5 Left Thread Tap = HD Nissan IFS Steering Links $95

[Crash bandicoot]

nah she's is definitley a solid sway bar put the vineers on it and yep 32 mm.

I'm still keen for the rod's but they will have to be shorter. How much i don't know as of yet.

[lax2wlg]

Crash can you put up a photo of your steering/swaybar setup

[Crash bandicoot]

Crash can you put up a photo of your steering/swaybar setup

will do tomorrow arvo, it's at parked in the workshop where i work for the night.

[danielbeek]

Here's some of the 95 widebody Terrano swaybar setup.
Not great photos, actual measurements a bit more accurate (give or take a mm) than the photos may indicate!

[Crash bandicoot]

this is 98 nissan mistral with 2 inch lift.


I kid you not that sway bar is as thick as the front axles.
And even after the lift the distance between the sway bar and the tie rod is just over 100 mm



The picture below shows how low the sway bar is mounted compared to the chassi rail



please ignore the mud still packed in the diff mount from last years desert defenders trip

[Crash bandicoot]

Also to note is after looking at the pictures of the WD21 above i suspect my front diff sits lower under the engine too.

[lax2wlg]

Yep thats the standard 4wd steering setup. Do yourself a favour - remove it and throw it in the bin.

Looks like being a '98 you have the later model steering box which puts you in kiwipetes boat.

In order to fit the 2wd draglink you need a 91-92 pitman arm (larger spline, smaller taper). Ton of info on NPORA about pitman/idler compatibility.

[Trench_rat]

do we have an eta on the adjusters mate? im keen to get into it asap as my tie rods are wobblier than me after a bottle of top shelf

[lax2wlg]

Hi TR, they were couriered from Auckland today (Fri 7th) so will be here lickety-split. Will get them out to you asap.

[hamboy]

Hey josh I'll be in welly next week, will grab mine then and save on freight

[Trench_rat]

sweet josh top man! any chance you are coming up this way in the near future? i need a perky done on my rear diff , i have no experience with salisbury diffs and lack the pre load gauges to set it up correctly

[lax2wlg]

Hey guys
The adjusters have arrived, please PM me with postal address etc so we can square away the supplier who was good enough to do a small production run of these.

Re powdercoating, I've talked to a place in Miramar who can powdercoat with a textured black finished for $30. CRC Zinc might be good too. In any event they will need some sort of finish.

Hamboy txt me, you should still have my number (sounds weird)

[lax2wlg]

Churchurdan, kiwipete, trench_rat, yours have been sent out and I have PM'd you with tracking numbers

Hamboy yours is set aside

Here is the TRW part number for the 2wd Navara outer tie rod (used as inner here). I think I am going to add a grease zerk to the cover plate on my ones.

[kiwipete]

Churchurdan, kiwipete, trench_rat, yours have been sent out and I have PM'd you with tracking numbers

Hamboy yours is set aside

Here is the TRW part number for the 2wd Navara outer tie rod (used as inner here). I think I am going to add a grease zerk to the cover plate on my ones.

Is it a simple case of drilling and tapping a thread for the grease nipple?

[lax2wlg]

I'm thinking a 90 degree self tapping zerk from Supercheap with the correct size drill bit.

[moo]

think i may have missed the boat on these links just wondering if any more are going to get made as im about to do 2wd steering mod no point me having to get my existing adjusters tapped out when these can be used. also will it clear my 91 terrano sway bar?-- and would i be correct in saying one would need a cert with these installed? Seems that one can sneak tapped out ones past friendly wof man
cheers

[lax2wlg]

think i may have missed the boat on these links just wondering if any more are going to get made as im about to do 2wd steering mod no point me having to get my existing adjusters tapped out when these can be used.

Should be able to help you out, PM me

also will it clear my 91 terrano sway bar?

I dont see why not... this picture is the standard 2wd steering setup with sway bar on DEATH_INCs truck

The only potential contact point is the outer tie rod and the dimensions of that are not changed. This mod deletes the curved inner joint.

and would i be correct in saying one would need a cert with these installed?

Probably. I mean something, something, pterodactyl.

Theres some other thread floating around here about the 2wd steering mod and whether it is technically certable because it uses off the shelf parts etc. Completely unrelated but I roughened mine up and painted them with CRC Black Zinc.

[danielbeek]

lax2wig, has anyone installed the new adjusters yet? Think I got it wrong about the swaybar being a problem - On the 2WD setup, that curve is there to clear the bj ends of the centrelink isn't it? OK when the suspension arms are hanging down, but they must get real close when the suspension travels up and the tierods are parallel with the centrelink?

[Crash bandicoot]

lax2wig, has anyone installed the new adjusters yet? Think I got it wrong about the swaybar being a problem - On the 2WD setup, that curve is there to clear the bj ends of the centrelink isn't it? OK when the suspension arms are hanging down, but they must get real close when the suspension travels up and the tierods are parallel with the centrelink?

as previously mentioned it may pay to look at the sway bar from a mistral as it is a different shapes but same lower arms etc.

[lax2wlg]

lax2wig, has anyone installed the new adjusters yet? Think I got it wrong about the swaybar being a problem - On the 2WD setup, that curve is there to clear the bj ends of the centrelink isn't it? OK when the suspension arms are hanging down, but they must get real close when the suspension travels up and the tierods are parallel with the centrelink?

Churchurdans still running front swaybar, maybe he can 100% confirm. As mentioned the only contact point was the adjuster closest to the outer tie rod at max droop, which isn't going to happen on-road anyway.

I'm also going to pickapart to try score a swaybar, I have a quick disconnect idea.

I've now given it a good test (on an airfield), no bumpsteer or driveability problems and everything feels good. If you notice the 2wd joint is slightly offset, it actually follows the same plane of the old setup.

RE; the clearance. Yes its close but, At the closest point there is still 5-8mm clearance.

[ChurchurDan]

I wont be putting mine in for a little while so cant confirm anything sorry.
But on a positive my adjusters turned up today, they look great. Now I just need the rest of the bits to do the conversion, I will also be putting in the spare steering box I have as an idler.

[lax2wlg]

Well I scored a $13 sway bar. Christ I forgot how nice it is for on-road stuff.





Not even close to touching, and this setup has more droop travel than a standard one.

I still need to trim my lower bumpstops Lets it stuff the tyre more easily on full compression.

That sway bar was from a 1989 V6 Terrano.

[kiwipete]

Yep thats the standard 4wd steering setup. Do yourself a favour - remove it and throw it in the bin.

Looks like being a '98 you have the later model steering box which puts you in kiwipetes boat.

In order to fit the 2wd draglink you need a 91-92 pitman arm (larger spline, smaller taper). Ton of info on NPORA about pitman/idler compatibility.

Please note, not all '92 models have the large spline with the small taper. I took delivery of a pitman that I was assured was the correct one, has 92 stamped on it too, ,but it has the small taper. Back to square one, humph!

[moo]

put my adjusters in a few weeks ago cant see me braking anything anytime soon thats for sure think theyr great! Got a wheel alignment on it and drives ok on smooth roads but driving on bumpy country roads at 100k.... well you cant!! I really didnt feel safe going over 80 and thing pulls all over the place under medium braking. I am wondering if anyone else has had these sort of issues...

I am wondering if my wheel alignment guy has given it enough toe to be honest as he just went factory specs. I also suspect the factory bushes in the front end 270000ish kms have seen better days. So I am just wondering since it was driving sweet with factory crappy steering setup what I should start replacing first. Being the tight bastard that I am i dont really want to replace every single bush in the front end however I am wondering if tension rod bushes wouldnt be a bad place to start and would appreciate any advice thanks

[lax2wlg]

Sounds like you are experiencing bump steer, ie toe change when hitting bumps. Yes the tension rod bushing will be the best place to start, since it acts as the pivot for the lower control arm. It wont look bad but inside it will be shot and causing disgusting amounts of toe change.

Also the upper control arm bushings will be worn out, constantly changing the camber as the vehicle corners/hits bumps.

So to conclude, two most important bushings: Upper control arm, tension rod

[lax2wlg]

Couple of things to consider regarding the '2wd steering mod' that applies which ever type of tierod adjuster you use.

You need to consider that the factory 4x4 system probably provides the best steering characteristics/handling on-road. There must have been a reason they went with the dog-bone draglink design. A stock standard V6 5-speed Pathfinder with sway bars, factory ride height, 4.6 gears and LSD actually offers quite a sporty on-road driving experience.

You also need to consider the 2wd steering setup in the Navara places the centerlink under the pitman/idler, and the outer tie rods under the knuckle (like on Suzuki and Mitsu), whereas we put them on top when we do this mod. They must have done that for a reason too.



Some people have reported increased bumpsteer/handling problems with the 2wd mod, some haven't. I believe the reason for this is that the 2wd steering setup will expose other worn out parts in the front end.

Here are several threads on the conversion with discussions about effects on handling and also an interesting argument about whether a steering damper is a good idea

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/ ... ng-damper/

http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/ ... onversion/

http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/Forums/ ... 25&t=31703

[lax2wlg]

Heres another thing to consider:

By their very nature, independent suspensions are inherently high-maintenance, and there is no way of getting around this. That doesn't necessarily have anything to do strength or reliability.

They contain many serviceable moving parts, all of which effect handling/steering characteristics. If something moves, it can wear. The more moving parts, the more maintenance. But its designed to wear, not break.

Any vehicle used properly offroad is high maintenance, and the front end is arguably the most maintenance-intensive part of any 4x4, purely because it contains the most moving parts.

[hamboy]

Mine pitches around a bit more since the 2wd mod but it doesn't worry me to much now . I think its to do with the tierod being further inboard than the factory 4wd setup.

[moo]

thanks a lot lax2wlg for your input. Yeah definately bump steer my sasd bighorn with 200mm lift had less haha. Good to know what bushings to start with can see tons of movement in tension ones watching mrs hit brakes driving into garage so that would probably explain why im noticing worse handling than most. I dont expect it to handle brilliantly just felt it could be improved on. I guess the factory setup hides a lot of these worn out components. Might start with tension ones build up enthusiasm to do upper control arm ones.....

[lax2wlg]

Solid axles don't suffer from bump-steer 'per say'

The IFS has a lot of pivot points & bumpsteer is caused by poor suspension geometry. Poor suspension geometry is often caused by worn out parts, ie balljoints and bushes. Notice how on those NPORA threads there are people crapping on about horrendous bumpsteer, and then others saying they get zero bumpsteer, but the setup they are all using is identical.

I'm getting zero bumpsteer and it drives really nice and predictably, and I've never had it aligned at a shop. Just a piece of string. And I have no swaybar and soft 2-door torsion springs, not exactly a road friendly setup. But as hamboy says the 2wd draglink setup 'feels' different. Like every off-road mod its a compromise. Not worse just different. I imagine a steering stabiliser would help a lot with that feeling of overall creaminess.

I just don't like that a steering damper hides issues. You could be running with a f**d draglink but wouldn't notice it. Thats dangerous. But so long as you keep-up on the up-keep it wouldn't be an issue.