D21 Build Log

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Looks good Dion well done, glad the motor went to a good home.

Next project after the gearbox is in place right is to bolt that turbo on.

Yeah Dave already started collecting fiddly parts for the turbo.

Nuts, studs, hoses and ducting.
 
Crossmember modded for the longer transmission:

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I've been a bit quiet for the last little while despite working on the Navara way more than I want to. It's all thanks to this joyous mess:
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That's the wiring harnesses of three different Navaras, and there's more of it out of shot. Of course, any major wiring work on these vehicles involves the fantastic 'removing the dash' sequence:

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I'm forever amazed how much space is consumed in ducting air to the door windows, especially since demist works like crap anyway. I'd love to delete those ducts one day.

So right now the big dilemma is how to adapt the modular and efficient D22 wiring to work with the old school D21 wiring. The QD32 wiring requires a Super Multiple Junction behind the fusebox to connect all motor signals and runs down the drivers side guard only to the engine room, whilst the D21 wiring wraps all the way around the dash and some wires run down the drivers side guard (gearbox, starter, glow, fuel cut solenoid, etc), whilst some (alternator, temp sensor etc) run down the passenger side guard.

The options are:

- Cut and shut the QD32 wiring onto the TD27 harness in the engine bay. I don't like this idea as it seems like a hack job, and the engine room wiring then isn't modular (modular = unplug the SMJ and then the engine is independent of the car).

- Cut and shut all the D21 plugs onto the D22 main body harness. I get the modularity but there are lots of modern elements in the D22 harness that would require a great deal of work to adapt, such as the computerised HUD.

- Rebuild the D21 main harness to route all engine functions through an SMJ on the driver's side. I like this idea as it requires probably less work than option two, and gives me the modularity. The only thing I don't like about this idea is cutting just the SMJ off the main harness I paid $180 for and leaving the rest of it sitting in the shed doing nothing.

I bought the harness from Southern 4x4 Dismantlers in Campbellfield. So far I have found them friendly to deal with, reliable and organised, but very expensive. They have an epic indoor gantry crane out the back.

Right now I'm pursuing option three.
 
Hey Dion, have you even got a rough estimate for completion of this thing? The effort you're putting in is fairly intensive I was just wondering if you will have it finished before there is a world ban on petrol and diesel power vehicles and we've moved onto hover cars.
 
Hey Krafty.

There's a whole stack of mods I've got planned out that will probably take right up until I finish my course, which is the end of 2012. That's sort of fitting as then it will be time to think about buying a first house.
 
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Update time.

It took me forever but the Nav is back on the road. I went with the option of retrofitting the SMJ connector onto the D21 main harness.

I've attached a PDF which is the result of stacks of research and trial and error, which sort of maps out what wires to connect where and what to terminate.

It's largely useless though as my resolved advice to anyone fitting a QD32 into a TD27 D21 is this: cut and shut the D22 connectors onto the D21 harness.

It's faster, easier and simpler. I like being able to split the harness into sections but it's really not necessary.
 

Attachments

  • TD27 Harness QD32 SMJ Retrofit Pinout WEB.pdf
    119.1 KB
Good work, I hope someone wants to get rid a D22 interior cheap one day.

A 22 interior in this would make it the perfect 21.

Dave.
 
This is a really interesting build up.
A quick question about the QD32 wiring issues. Would it have been possible to swap the sensors etc from the TD27 to run an unmodified TD27 harness?

Also, is there an easy way to visually tell the difference between an R180a and an R200a front diff. Or is it just a case of if it came out of a V6 D21 then it's a R200a?

Tony
 
This is a really interesting build up.

Welcome on board Tony. Thank-you.

A quick question about the QD32 wiring issues. Would it have been possible to swap the sensors etc from the TD27 to run an unmodified TD27 harness?

Whilst most connectors will swap over (coolant sensor, oil pressure sensor, etc), there are a number of places where that would not be possible, ie. fuel cut solenoid, alternator, that's all that comes to mind right now.

I reckon the best way to do it would be to just cut and splice the QD32 connectors onto a TD27 main harness but I had a number of constraints that meant I both couldn't and didn't want to do that.

Also, is there an easy way to visually tell the difference between an R180a and an R200a front diff. Or is it just a case of if it came out of a V6 D21 then it's a R200a?

Size and origin. Become familiar with the weenie little R180A in a Navara or diesel Terrano and you'll be able to spot an R200A a mile off.

Yes, that's correct, anything with a V6 is supposed to have an R200A.
 
A couple of minor changes.

Sports bar, had it lying around so I figured why not?:

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The noise from the pod filter was giving me the ***** so the HJ75 airbox is in a temporary install before I mount it properly:

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Ran the wiper motor wiring down the LH wheel arch, filling these big gaping holes:

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And now I'm down to only four different colours, maroon, silver, white and blue so it looks like I welded two utes together in the middle:

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I'm a bit disappointed I thought you were going for a different colour on each panel but it appears you're just not putting in the effort.
 
I'm a bit disappointed I thought you were going for a different colour on each panel but it appears you're just not putting in the effort.

Admittedly that would be really funny, but I do have to park it in the carpark at work :sarcastic:
 
Get a job in Moe or Sale and multi-coloured panels would fit in with the rest of the cars. It would be a long commute to work but I'd recommend the long commute over living in either town.
 

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