D21 Build Log

[d214x4Wannabe]

Nice build up mate. How much more power are you hoping for with the the turbo addition? And as for gearbox trouble, mine shat itself about 6 months ago, not sure exactly what it did but it left me with only 4th gear. I stripped the box down and couldn't see anything majorly wrong so sent it off to be rebuilt. All was good for a while but then after about 3 months and 6,000k's it started a horrible whine... i'd say the bearings in these boxes need to be raplaced with heavy duty items or something. Anyway good luck with the build up

 

[Dion]

Nice build up mate. How much more power are you hoping for with the the turbo addition? And as for gearbox trouble, mine shat itself about 6 months ago, not sure exactly what it did but it left me with only 4th gear. I stripped the box down and couldn't see anything majorly wrong so sent it off to be rebuilt. All was good for a while but then after about 3 months and 6,000k's it started a horrible whine... i'd say the bearings in these boxes need to be raplaced with heavy duty items or something. Anyway good luck with the build up

Thanks mate.

I'm going for the 221Nm of torque and 73.5kW of the stock TD27T (up from 66kW), but the intercooler might add a little, I won't quite have the grunt of the stock TD27Ti from the Terrano II because that's direct injection. I could boost it up more but it's got almost 220,000 on the clock and I want reliability.

Did the rebuild come with a warranty? Those bearings are trouble, especially with the arrangement of the overdrive gear.

 

[Dion]

Unanswered questions...

It got too dark to finish my fuel filler relocation so I moved on to researching for the diff ratio swap.

I have two diffs. The internals donor for the 'rear' diff I have is the most interesting of the two. I'm fairly sure it's an R200A front diff from an R50 pathfinder in 4.375 guise. It's even got the right flange pattern for Nav CV shafts. The D22 guys, Kickars2, Joshy, Dave, wanted one of these last year to swap for their R180A front in order to get a locker but could only find it in 4.6 automatic ratio. Now I'm having second thoughts about putting the pinion and crown wheel from it in the C200 on the back... I may just be better off swapping it into the front to fit an air-locker... (much harder than it sounds) And then find a H233B 4.375 axle from a WD21 for the rear and fit an air-locker to that too. The only thing stopping me jumping at this opportunity is the mounts are a little bit different to those in the pictures in Joshy's diff swap thread. Don't have my camera at the moment, so no photos for confirmation.

 

[olgus69]

Love your ride, I have a terrano td27 turbo motor transplanted into my 96 dual cab nav. I noticed your water to air intercooler and got excited. Where did you get this or who made it and how much did it cost as im very interested.

 

[Dion]

Love your ride, I have a terrano td27 turbo motor transplanted into my 96 dual cab nav. I noticed your water to air intercooler and got excited. Where did you get this or who made it and how much did it cost as im very interested.

It's a Calsonic intercooler, it came factory from a Japanese domestic market Nissan van (E24. AKA Caravan/Urvan), TD27Ti engine. Apparently it came over on an import engine, I bought it on eBay from a diesel fitter who had bought the import engine to replace his mate's buggered TD27, and decided not to keep the turbo and intercooler on it, too complex. I picked it up along with a manifold, turbo and dump pipe for a song at $300. Seems my Nav is a pin-up for cheap mods.

It's a tough cookie to fit up because the intercooler is set up to sit behind the engine, in an under-floor van installation, but in the Nav there isn't room, so mine will be sitting in a funny spot in the back passenger corner of the engine bay with all the pipes on funny angles. Then you have to add a secondary cooling loop if you ever want to drive when it's 45 degrees outside, so there's more complexity... But there's nothing like a good challenge.

My recommendation to you, olgus, if you're after a quality water-air IC, is to watch eBay like a hawk for OEM water-air ICs, 2" pipe and bigger, any brand. People remove their factory ICs to fit biiiiig FMICs and put their old "worthless" ones up for ~$30 starting bids. What a deal!

 

[Dion]

My dual cab was delivered on Friday. So the strip-down commences.

Would have been a good car in its day, LPG, aircon, car alarm, driving lights, canopy, nudge bar.

 

[Dion]

Today the towbar, rear bumper and tray came off.

Plus the front end.

There's a stubborn bolt that won't move holding the front bumper on. I found out today it's got monroe gas riser shocks in the back, so I might just pilfer those if they'll work, they have 54mm less extension length but 20mm less compression length too so we'll see.

I've misplaced the key for it, and all the doors are locked, halting progress till I find it.

 

[Dave]

I have two diffs. The internals donor for the 'rear' diff I have is the most interesting of the two. I'm fairly sure it's an R200A front diff from an R50 pathfinder in 4.375 guise. It's even got the right flange pattern for Nav CV shafts. The D22 guys, Kickars2, Joshy, Dave, wanted one of these last year to swap for their R180A front in order to get a locker but could only find it in 4.6 automatic ratio. Now I'm having second thoughts about putting the pinion and crown wheel from it in the C200 on the back... I may just be better off swapping it into the front to fit an air-locker... (much harder than it sounds) And then find a H233B 4.375 axle from a WD21 for the rear and fit an air-locker to that too. The only thing stopping me jumping at this opportunity is the mounts are a little bit different to those in the pictures in Joshy's diff swap thread. Don't have my camera at the moment, so no photos for confirmation.

If you have a R200 4.375 diff, hold onto it.

Dave.

 

[Dion]

If you have a R200 4.375 diff, hold onto it.

Dave.

When I have the cab off I'll sit the R200 next to the present R180 in situ and work out what adaptor plates I'd need for the mounts.

 

[Dion]

I've misplaced the key for it, and all the doors are locked, halting progress till I find it.

Waddya know, coathangers DO work...

 

[Dion]

Big day on the Navara today.

One of the bolts that holds the bumper on was seized and I'd tried a few things already, so it was pretty rounded off. Solution: Drill into the head with a drill bit that is about 3/4 of the diameter of the bolt. Drill far enough in to just reach the weldnut. Get into it with a set of stilsons on mega hard. Worked for me.

Also today, removed LPG tank and lines (they were in the way), rear shock absorbers (I want them for my nav), air conditioning ducting, brake booster, clutch master cylinder, and the wiring harness.

Giggity. I highly recommend a glove if you're pulling jammed plugs and cable ties in cold weather for six hours. It's just better.

On the harness, here is the best way to remove it and I wish I'd known this:
The segment which is routed along the driver's side quarter panel CAN completely unplug from the engine bay harnesses. Unplug it, and pull it back through the hole in the driver's footwell, into the cab. This saves you a lot of time dismantling the fuse panels, etc to fit through the hole. Ditto on the passenger's side. I highly recommend removing the air con ducts, it makes life considerably easier. Pull the harness through and it should all collect in the driver's footwell. LABEL LABEL LABEL EVERYTHING.

Everything but the fuse panel fits through that hole.

All that remains to complete is to pull the hoses off the heat exchanger for the air con, they're jammed up like a boss, and disconnect the steering shaft. Once my other Navara is finished getting its fifth gear jumping problems looked at I'll have a chain block, chains, ropes and a pair of trestle stands and a large plank, ready to do the lift. Once it's all rigged up, I'll pull the U-bolts on the rear axle, drop the torsions, and let the tyres down, to make the required lift that bit lower.

 

[Dion]

Got my POS back from the trans shop today, it was a gearbox rebuild warranty issue where it jumped out of fifth on over-run. They said they sleeved something, that's about all I got from them, but the feel is amazing. I don't think it will jump out for a while, I have to make an effort to get it out myself. And getting into reverse is bloody hard too, but that suits me just fine. I brought a 1t chain block down from the roundabout state, so it's cab liftin' time...

 

[Dion]

How to get stuck rubber hoses off the climate control heat exchanger:

It's copper pipe, so get the right sized pliers and give the hose a twist. I wasn't going to do this till I realised it was copper. On old alloy radiators etc, this method will do you no favours.

 

[Jason]

There is something about wiring harnesses that give me nightmares.

 

[Dion]

Haha, yeah Jason I'm glad I'm doing an 80s Jap commerical and not a modern Euro car, this harness is pretty simple...

Had a big weekend and week so far.

Used a pair of axle stands, a pair of ladders, a trestle plank and a 1 ton chain block to sort out my dual cab...

Process:
Get your axle stands under your cab.
Get that rear axle out!

Now take the weight of the front on your hoist.

Drop the rear of the chassis.

Then drop the front and let the tyres down and get hoisting.

 

[Dion]

Pull the chassis out.

A winch helps.

Job done.

So then we cut/lifted the tray off mine. I want the steel for a work bench amongst other things, otherwise I'd just get it taken away for scrap.

 

[Dion]

D21s are under-represented in flex pics, so I couldn't resist. Need a higher ramp, these are car ones.

I love having nothing on the back, I did a ripper of a fishtail in the street (gravel) which the wheezy old diesel wouldn't normally do.

I haven't taken many photos since Saturday night, been too busy removing the body mounts to get them welded onto my chassis. Getting a bit sick of the angle grinder.

 

[d21demon]

Hey Pro-Nav, are you gunna put some 50mm lift blocks on while you have got the body off? Kill two birds with one stone.

 

[Dion]

Hey Pro-Nav, are you gunna put some 50mm lift blocks on while you have got the body off? Kill two birds with one stone.

I had considered it, but I'm not a big fan of body lifts. If I perceive a need down the track, it's not hard to do one, especially considering how hard the cab swap is in comparison.

Besides, there is a 50mm difference between the 2wd cab mounts and 4wd cab mounts so I'm saving myself a bit of effort and already using 50mm lift blocks on the rear cab mounts and front tray mounts, which prevents me from doing a cab lift straight off the bat.

 

[Dion]

I have the left hand side of the chassis done.

And the new mounts tacked into place with my ****** SIP MIG ready for the pro welder.

I'm knackered...