nissan, yes nissan, rear axle swap questions

First off, has anyone done it?..i'm in the process of swapping out my rear axle..i really don't want to put money in my chrysler 8 1/4 cause of its limitations..4.56 gears and even alloy 29-spline shafts ain't gonna cut it in the long run..i want to go with a rear thats geared to 4.56 or 4.88 already to save some precious green..im in college but working my arse off so i wont have to worry about busting up my DD when im wheeling..i thought about all the normal ones that are out there..xj dana 44, 8.8, and even the isuzu axles-12-bolt and theyre version of the 44..disc brakes are nice but not essential for the 33s im gonna be runnin', and bolt pattern can be changed with spacers or some drilling..so after a good bit of searching i like the toyota options so far..i just like yota stuff..dad's had some good luck with his..i came across some nissan info though that kind of made me think- supposedly an xterra rear from a nonsupercharged rig has 31 splines, 4.90 gears, and the optional lsd..or locker?..there are even some stock nissan rears out there with 33 splines and lower gearing that would be pretty sweet for an xj etc...so anyone else have any insight on this stuff?..id take a swap recommendation too if ya want haha..thanks folks

According to petersons offraod xtera during there test it only had 3.73 and an electronic locker. Thats much easier to believe than 31 splines and 4.90 axle gearing. I did a quick search and only came up with that info. I dont htink the exteras came with 31 spline units and a ratio 4.90. I could be wrong and im willing to eat my words...

I know for sure that the 99 and 00 Frontiers (non crew cab) came with 31 spline and 4.90 gears so I bet the Xterra did also.

2004
Rear Axle
Nissan Xterra 4:90 Non-locking 19,289 FA416 $900 Weber Bros Auto USA-PA(Lebanon) E-mail 1-800-222-2528 68

yeah i never saw it on here for all of the searching i've done..the 4.6* geared ones arent necessarily a convenient swap but the 4.90s are definitely within 2% to match with the 4.88s in a dana 30..anyone else interested should look into pathfinder axles too..theyre supposed to be beefy and geared low-some came factory with 31s..pretty cool IMO

dirtdogger17 said:

i really don't want to put money in my chrysler 8 1/4 cause of its limitations..4.56 gears and even alloy 29-spline shafts ain't gonna cut it in the long run..

i want to go with a rear thats geared to 4.56 or 4.88 already to save some precious green..

disc brakes are nice but not essential for the 33s im gonna be runnin'

id take a swap recommendation too if ya want haha..thanks folks

Click to expand...

Ok, so 4.56 gearing limits won't 'cut it', but you'll settle for an axle that already has 4.56s'?
If 33's are all you're planning on - regear the 8.25, throw on ZJ disks and save your cash. It'll be fine with 33's.
.02

im goin to 35s within the next couple of years..its inevitable haha

how wide is the nissan?

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=263398


there's some good info on this thread as far as widths of various nissan axles..some early high-end pathfinders had rear axles with discs and can be found with 4.63 gear ratio

http://xjnation.homestead.com/newtrailrig.html

this guy actually did it..only reason he ditched it was the cost of gears in the 5.** range...gotta go through NISMO for them..id be just fine with 4.90s (as well alot of us)...decent aftermarket too-i know arb makes an air locker

if/when i do this ill take a bunch of pics..it may be a perfect swap for wheelers on a budget like me

When we're talking about Nissan axles I've always wanted to stick a Nissan H260-rearend in something - only problem is, I haven't found one... yet.

But listen to this, 11" R&P, 37-spliners, 4.11/4.88:1, (ARB!), swap-out third, 63" WMS, flat-bottom, and it doesn't look like a rock anchor.

Not to be a hater, but good luck getting parts for some wierdo axle in BFE.

It may be strong, but when it needs love... it would suck to be "that guy"

So about those xterra thingies, anyone look into the factory locker?

most are limited slip i think but you can find them with an e-locker..i don't know if you'd find one with an e-locker on a non-supercharged xterra (the ones with 4.90 stock gears)...seems like its a bit like toyota axles as far as lockers go..TRD trucks have the e-lockers, so the high end xterras and frontiers would too..im gonna get a list going and ill post it for everybody


...as far as not finding parts- yeah it crossed my mind, but there are thousands upon thousands of pathfinder and nissan pickup axles..and there will be many xterra and frontier ones..so it may be worthwhile...aftermarket seemed decent, but since these rears arent dana 44s and 60s, the aftermarket guys dont have a zillion different options for them..arb does because these swaps are popular for aussie jeepers and other solid axle nissan pickups...im learnin' slowly haha..

Yah Ive been researching for the past few days and its all a bit foggy but from what I understand so far is I can get a 2003 Xterra rear with 4.90s and a locker (elocker?) running 62.5-63" wide.

But Im not positive on that, I hope im right.

I see that some Xterras have a locker, And I heard its an Eaton Elocker? Maybe?
If anyone has more info Id appreciate it