"Lola" - WreckDiver1321's 2005 Frontier CC/SB Nismo Build and Adventure Thread

[E.J.]

Break it then build it better lol. Looking forward to seeing how this works out, I've been thinking about a lockka for the front after my rear gear drama.

 

[Blackdawg]

Nice. Like me I blew my front diff too! Way to join the club!

Sadly, tundras use the same diff, so. Can't upgrade mine. Ha going for a locked front too so gonna be a bit more pricey then yours as I have to regear it too.

So glad yours worked out better then mine!

 

[jhberria]

Gahhhhh I'm constantly worrying about my front diff, especially in the snow. I've strongly been considering the Lokka, but I had no idea you could find the V8 Pathy CVs for the M205 that cheap. Decisions, decisions.....

Also, please post pictures when you get the M205 installed

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Break it then build it better lol. Looking forward to seeing how this works out, I've been thinking about a lockka for the front after my rear gear drama.

Haha yep, I've done that a lot throughout my offroading career.

There are several people who swear by the Lokka. It surely is stronger than the stock R180. There's a guy on CF who broke a few before installing the Lokka, and then it was CVs that he was snapping. My big worry was the handling while using 4hi on the pavement when it's icy. Especially on the highway, as I do a lot of highway miles over ice covered roads in 4hi. I just sort of figured having an open diff would be easier and a bit more stable. Luckily enough for us, with the right parts, it's not that hard to switch to the M205.

If I lived somewhere where I didn't have to worry about snow, then I probably would have done the Lokka.

Nice. Like me I blew my front diff too! Way to join the club!

Sadly, tundras use the same diff, so. Can't upgrade mine. Ha going for a locked front too so gonna be a bit more pricey then yours as I have to regear it too.

So glad yours worked out better then mine!

Ouch!

Haha yeah I just got very lucky I was able to limp it home, and by some miracle the guy in town had the right Titan diff. We're pretty lucky the M205 just pops right in. Makes things a bit easier if we want to upgrade.

Matter of fact, if you want to do long travel in one of these trucks, first thing to do is go to a complete Titan front end. Control arms, tie rods, CVs, the works. Makes the truck six inches wider and gives you a lot more travel. The cool part is it all just bolts in. If you get aftermarket UCAs and extended coilovers for a Titan, then you have a lot more travel. I thought about it for a while, but opted not to do it. It'd be overkill for what I do, plus I don't want my tires 3" farther out on each side.

Yeah, Nissans are weird.

Gahhhhh I'm constantly worrying about my front diff, especially in the snow. I've strongly been considering the Lokka, but I had no idea you could find the V8 Pathy CVs for the M205 that cheap. Decisions, decisions.....

Also, please post pictures when you get the M205 installed

I worried about it too, right up to the moment I broke it. :sombrero:

The R180 actually proved to be tougher than I thought it would be. It handled a good amount of wheeling on 33s and snapped exactly the way people said it would. I had my tires spinning and I hit the brakes pretty hard to stop them. That sudden change is what made it pop. Trouble is, to make them last you really do have to be pretty easy on them.

Yeah I lucked out with the Pathy CVs. Apparently a lot of people have had trouble with getting them from RockAuto or any other 3rd party place. I know a bunch of people bought them used, but I wanted to not worry about them. Hopefully they keep them as a common part. I let the cat out of the bag on ClubFrontier, so I'm sure there's a few people trying to get a hold of them now.

Snow driving is the exact reason I went the route of the M205 vs the Lokka. But I was also lucky to source an M205 and CVs for a great price. If I couldn't get them for a decent amount, I probably would have just done the Lokka.

And of course I'll post pics! Who do you think you're talking to?

 

[jhberria]

And of course I'll post pics! Who do you think you're talking to?

You're absolutely right, I should have known better:ylsmoke:

4 HI driving is the only reason I haven't installed a Lokka yet. Too many variables. Although, I few long term reviews over on theNewX lead me to believe that it's not as bad some people make it out to be. The consensus is that under 40MPH it's perfectly manageable, over that and things can get a little squirrel. You, however, do a lot more driving on snow covered hard top than I do being in Montana.

 

[Blackdawg]

Only 3" wider. Worth it. Do it. Haha mine is 3.5" wider so fun.

But I also don't see the need really. Not in your case anyways, not like you need the travel. I'll let you drive Frankenstien next time though and then maybe you'll change your mind haha

Yea lucky you can limp home. I couldn't. Sorta. I had to drop the front diff in the middle of the BC backcountry and gut it. My cv axles hold the wheel bearing in so need to leave them installed and I expolded the diff so hard it wouldn't move at all. The housing cracked and the carrier was even totally destroyed. Was quite the explosion. Ha ha

3 hours of wrenching and I was able to limp home. Was a pita though.

 

[kootenay]

Haha yep, I've done that a lot throughout my offroading career.

There are several people who swear by the Lokka. It surely is stronger than the stock R180. There's a guy on CF who broke a few before installing the Lokka, and then it was CVs that he was snapping. My big worry was the handling while using 4hi on the pavement when it's icy. Especially on the highway, as I do a lot of highway miles over ice covered roads in 4hi. I just sort of figured having an open diff would be easier and a bit more stable. Luckily enough for us, with the right parts, it's not that hard to switch to the M205.

If I lived somewhere where I didn't have to worry about snow, then I probably would have done the Lokka.



The R180 actually proved to be tougher than I thought it would be. It handled a good amount of wheeling on 33s and snapped exactly the way people said it would. I had my tires spinning and I hit the brakes pretty hard to stop them. That sudden change is what made it pop. Trouble is, to make them last you really do have to be pretty easy on them.

Yeah I lucked out with the Pathy CVs. Apparently a lot of people have had trouble with getting them from RockAuto or any other 3rd party place. I know a bunch of people bought them used, but I wanted to not worry about them. Hopefully they keep them as a common part. I let the cat out of the bag on ClubFrontier, so I'm sure there's a few people trying to get a hold of them now.

Snow driving is the exact reason I went the route of the M205 vs the Lokka. But I was also lucky to source an M205 and CVs for a great price. If I couldn't get them for a decent amount, I probably would have just done the Lokka.

And of course I'll post pics! Who do you think you're talking to?

I love my Lokka in winter, when traction is needed. The handling is great when passing on the highway, give it gas and it straightens out. Low speed tight corners on ice and it is a bit of a problem, but I do not tend to spend time in 4wd unless traction is necessary, I find the traction control on my 2015 is awesome in 2wd. I am a believer in driving to the conditions and 2wd lets me know how much stopping and turning traction I should have, 4wd often hides that.

 

[bijanjames]

So, I've had a fun week...

New Year's Eve I went out to play in the snow a little bit south of the town of Red Lodge. I made my way into the mountains and got myself bogged down in deep, dense, hardpacked snow. I tried rocking back and forth to no avail. I dropped the pressure in my tires further to 12 PSI and dug myself out. I got back into the truck and backed up a bit, I got bogged down again and rocked forward and then back. During this time I heard a few sharp "pop" sounds come from under the truck. Sure, I was a bit worried, but my truck always makes a lot of funky noises in cold weather and when off roading. So I didn't think much of it until I heard it again on my way back to solid ground to air the tires up.

I aired up, put the truck in 4hi for the icy highway drive home, and a mile or so in I heard a loud clunk and the struck was jolted, like I had driven over a huge expansion joint or a small pothole. I was hoping it was just something in the road, until after a few minutes it happened again, and then once more a few minutes later. Really worried now, I popped the truck in 2hi. It came out of 4x4 with a clunk and I drove home without incident, but I knew something was broken.

I borrowed a friend's car for the next couple of days, and on Tuesday I had the truck towed to a shop where I could inspect it. I dropped the fluid in the front diff, and sure enough, lots of metal shavings and what looks like a spider gear tooth. So I finally killed my R180 after offroading for too long with 33s. Fancy that. So, I contacted the local Nissan performance center to see if he had what I needed in his personal junkyard of Nissans. It took some inspecting, calling a dealer, and looking over the whole truck for other verifying markers, but I had more or less verified that he had a Titan M205 with 3.36 gears.

I decided I didn't want to widen the front end six inches with a full Titan swap, so next thing to do was order CV shafts. However, to maintain the M205 and stock Frontier width, I needed V8 Pathfinder CVs, which are Frontier width but use the M205. Most people, actually everybody, on ClubFrontier and TheNewX will tell you, and rightly so, that V8 Pathy CV shafts are really expensive. Like, over $400 a side expensive. Why? Well, the V8 Pathfinder is a very rare beast indeed. So much so that almost no third party manufacturers make CVs for them. So you have to go to Nissan direct, which is ridiculously expensive because they don't sell a lot of them and they're a bit scarce. To add to this problem, a lot of auto parts suppliers claim they sell V8 Pathy CVs, like NAPA, O'Reilly, and AutoZone, but they all list the same part that the V6 Pathfinders, Frontiers, and Xterras use. They don't actually have a separate part number for it, and so if you ordered them, you'd end up with CVs for a V6 truck.

Determined to find a way around this problem, I spent a while scouring the interwebs looking for the right parts. Not thinking it would be that easy, I took my sweet time before actually checking on RockAuto. A quick search revealed they had V8 Pathy CV shafts, or at least claimed to. The pictures seemed to back this up, showing bolt on flanges on the diff side, unlike R180 CVs, and the correct length for a Pathfinder. Then I cross-checked the part numbers, and found that these CV shafts have a different part number than both the Titan and Frontier CVs. Looking good so far. The best part? About $65 a side. Winner! I ordered them. A few people on ClubFrontier had said they heard of people ordering these shafts and having RockAuto cancel the order because they didn't have them and couldn't get them. I worried about this for a whole four hours that day, when RockAuto sent me a shipping confirmation.

I picked up the M205 yesterday and the CV shafts arrived this morning. Sure enough, they're the right CVs. So now I have the parts for the swap in my garage, waiting for Tuesday when I can wrangle up the help, get the truck to my brother-in-law's heated shop with a lift, and get the work done. I can't wait to have the much tougher front diff with easier to swap CV shafts.

TOTAL COST
M205 front diff (3.36 gears) - $550
V8 Pathfinder CV shafts w/express shipping - $163
Royal Purple 75W-90 (2 qts) - $34
Total = $747

Nice work! Might as well throw a ARB locker in that 205 while your at it.

 

[Trikebubble]

Maybe you could confirm the V8 Pathy axles part numbers on RockAuto when you have a minute? I would like to see if the ones you ordered are the same as the ones I'm looking at pucking up. The part number I'm looking at is definitely different than the V6 Pathfinder axles they sell.

Sent from the Mountains

 

[MNCarl]

I am just patiently waiting and singing the song "Lola" by the band "The Kinks".
LooooLa LO LO LO LA Loooola

 

[wreckdiver1321]

You're absolutely right, I should have known better:ylsmoke:

4 HI driving is the only reason I haven't installed a Lokka yet. Too many variables. Although, I few long term reviews over on theNewX lead me to believe that it's not as bad some people make it out to be. The consensus is that under 40MPH it's perfectly manageable, over that and things can get a little squirrel. You, however, do a lot more driving on snow covered hard top than I do being in Montana.

Yeah, like I said, that's why I opted for the M205. That being said, there's a lot of love in the Nissan 4x4 community for the Lokka. Might be worth a try.

Yep, the 4Hi highway time is the reason I opted out, at least for now. This time of year, I spend most of my highway time in 4Hi and I'm often exceeding 60, depending on conditions. I recently did a 600-mile round trip, in 4Hi the entire way. That's just kind of how it goes here sometimes. If I ever get a chance to drive one for myself, I might change my mind. For now though, I like what I've got.

Only 3" wider. Worth it. Do it. Haha mine is 3.5" wider so fun.

But I also don't see the need really. Not in your case anyways, not like you need the travel. I'll let you drive Frankenstien next time though and then maybe you'll change your mind haha

Yea lucky you can limp home. I couldn't. Sorta. I had to drop the front diff in the middle of the BC backcountry and gut it. My cv axles hold the wheel bearing in so need to leave them installed and I expolded the diff so hard it wouldn't move at all. The housing cracked and the carrier was even totally destroyed. Was quite the explosion. Ha ha

3 hours of wrenching and I was able to limp home. Was a pita though.

Haha yeah for what I do, I've got enough. I can see the appeal, but for me the added cost and having my tires stick out like that isn't worth it. Haha yeah when we finally get back out together and do a rig swap, I might be screaming for a full Titan swap. Can't wait to drive Frank, and I'd be interested what you think of Lola, other than being a lowrider

Jesus man. When stuff fails on you, it fails CATASTROPHICALLY! You never "kinda" break something, do ya?

Sounds like all kinds of fun.

I love my Lokka in winter, when traction is needed. The handling is great when passing on the highway, give it gas and it straightens out. Low speed tight corners on ice and it is a bit of a problem, but I do not tend to spend time in 4wd unless traction is necessary, I find the traction control on my 2015 is awesome in 2wd. I am a believer in driving to the conditions and 2wd lets me know how much stopping and turning traction I should have, 4wd often hides that.

I know you're a big lover of your Lokka. Some of the conversations I've had with you about it almost made me buy one, but I was so easily able to track down the M205 and Pathfinder CVs, it seemed like destiny. And I agree, the traction control in these trucks is freakin' fantastic.

I'm in 4Hi whenever I think there is potential for loss of control. On snow covered highways, on longer smoothish backroads, on loose gravel. My 4x4 philosophy is based on the need to make an emergency maneuver or if there was a sudden shift in conditions. For example, let's say I'm on a relatively smooth but loose gravel road. If somebody from oncoming traffic ends up too far over on my side and I have to make an emergency turn, then having traction front and rear makes all the difference. My Land Rover Disco II taught me how nice it was to have 4x4 when you have to make maneuvers like that. The vehicle just seems to handle better and be a bit more forgiving. Another scenario is when there are "unstable" conditions where things are changing from minute to minute. If I drive into a snowstorm and suddenly the highway is drifted over, being in 4Hi makes the truck want to track straight instead of being pulled into the snow. If there's a sudden dip in a gravel road hiding a large puddle of water, being in 4Hi allows me to maintain better directional control and have traction on demand. At least in my experience with the way I drive. Some people do it differently, and whatever works for you is what you should do. That's just the way I approach it.

Hopefully one day I'll get to try your truck out. I'll holler at you next time the wife and I decide to go to BC. We need to spend more time on that side of the Rockies.

Nice work! Might as well throw a ARB locker in that 205 while your at it.

Haha if you want to foot the bill, I'd love to!

I honestly think a front locker would just be overkill for me. This truck goes everywhere I need it to and many more places I wouldn't attempt in 4Lo. I'll take the stronger diff though!

Maybe you could confirm the V8 Pathy axles part numbers on RockAuto when you have a minute? I would like to see if the ones you ordered are the same as the ones I'm looking at pucking up. The part number I'm looking at is definitely different than the V6 Pathfinder axles they sell.

Sent from the Mountains

Yessir, the Pathy CVs I bought are part number NI-8354 at $64.79 USD per side. The quality is great, the price is right, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend them.

I am just patiently waiting and singing the song "Lola" by the band "The Kinks".
LooooLa LO LO LO LA Loooola

Haha I had to look that up. Awesome!

 

[wreckdiver1321]

Alright guys, the news you've all been waiting for...

My M205 is installed and functioning perfectly. The RockAuto CVs were exactly correct and went in without a hitch, and look nice and beefy to boot. I have no doubt they'll last a long time, as they are seriously well built. Didn't really run into any major issues, everything was smooth and simple. I'm still over the moon at how easy the diff itself was to install, and how easy it was to upgrade from the fragile R180.

Tested it on the way home from the shop, and everything is back to normal. 4hi is smooth and works perfectly. Might be just me, but I think it even feels a bit better, a bit smoother. When we dropped the oil from the new diff, it came out really clean, so I was pretty pleased. I think the Titan it came out of had under 100k on the clock, so I know this one is good for a long time.

So happy I have my truck back, with an even stronger front end to boot!

 

[bijanjames]

Alright guys, the news you've all been waiting for...

My M205 is installed and functioning perfectly. The RockAuto CVs were exactly correct and went in without a hitch, and look nice and beefy to boot. I have no doubt they'll last a long time, as they are seriously well built. Didn't really run into any major issues, everything was smooth and simple. I'm still over the moon at how easy the diff itself was to install, and how easy it was to upgrade from the fragile R180.

Tested it on the way home from the shop, and everything is back to normal. 4hi is smooth and works perfectly. Might be just me, but I think it even feels a bit better, a bit smoother. When we dropped the oil from the new diff, it came out really clean, so I was pretty pleased. I think the Titan it came out of had under 100k on the clock, so I know this one is good for a long time.

So happy I have my truck back, with an even stronger front end to boot!

That is so awesome! Its good to know that this is a viable option.

 

[wreckdiver1321]

That is so awesome! Its good to know that this is a viable option.

Yep, went together like butter. If you can track down an M205 and the CVs from RockAuto, then it's a great and not overly expensive way to go.

Just another way that I make you spend your money I guess hahaha

 

[JakeH]

How many years/miles of 4hi did you put on it before it finally gave out? I only spend about 20% of my time in snow country & about half of that in 4hi. Never 4lo. Just curious how long I should keep that stock front diff before worrying about it