Nissan Hardbody Overland Build
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wreckdiver1321
Overlander
It kind of depends on where you're located to be honest. But a D21 is a D21 no matter what. A D21 is a Hardbody.
I assume you're in Australia if you're looking at Brown Davis tanks? I've heard nothing but good things, and looked at importing a tank for a D22, but nobody in the states brings them in, or at least they didn't when I was looking.
Actually in Canada haha. I'll look into what it would take to ship something like that up here I guess.
wreckdiver1321
Overlander
Ahhh haha I was looking on my phone when I asked. You don't see people's locations in mobile mode.
I'm sure it wouldn't be cheap. The tank probably isn't either. I got quoted about $1300 for a long range tank for my D22. Same size, 125L.
I have a few suggestions for your build. I've been wheeling a WD21 Pathy seriously for years and the front suspension & steering are exactly the same as yours.
The very first part every (W)D21 needs is a steering idler arm brace. They're available from Cal Mini or AC (Automotive Customizers, 4x4parts.com). The Cal Mini brace is a better part as it doesn't hang down below the idler arm shaft but either will work. I've been running the AC brace for about 5 years. Without a brace the idler arm's shaft is easily bent if the RF wheel smacks something hard. If that shaft bends seriously or breaks you are dead on the trail with no steering! An idler brace eliminates that failure point.
The next most important modification is adding a real steering stabilizer. If your truck has a factory steering stabilizer take it off and throw it away. Installing a Rancho or Bilstein steering stabilizer will at least triple the life of your tie rod ends, ball joints, and most importantly your steering center link. I run a Bilstein stabilizer on Rancho brackets.
The stock steering center link is the biggest problem in this series of trucks. The driver's side pivot is like a TRE in that it can pivot any direction while the passenger's side is a bearing that only lets the tapered stud rotate. This means the passenger's side bearing (and idler arm) takes 100% of the twisting load of the CL. These trucks beat that CL bearing to death in short order off road, even if it's just gravel logging roads. The further the suspension droops and/or the higher your ride height the more the tie rods are angling up hill to the CL and trying to make it rotate rather than move side-to-side. I've been running stock CLs and replacing them every six months or so of hard use. I run them until the play in the steering is too much and then swap them out. I have never seen one fail, they just get loose. A company called Grassroots 4x4 makes a modified CL commonly known as a HooHaa that has stacked bearings in both ends of the CL. To install a HooHaa you have to drill out the tapered holes in your Pitman and idler arms as they through-bolt with large bolts. These last forever, even with giant tires and too much positive offset. A HooHaa or similar is one of the next mods for my truck.
Keep your track width and tire width as narrow as you can! I run 33x10.5 KOs for the street/light trail use and 33x10.5 Swamper radials for serious trail use. Both sets are on the stock "Lego" wheels. 31x10.5 was stock on my Pathy. Even going to 32x11.5s you'll bend and break stuff at twice the rate a truck on 10.5s will. That's assuming you keep the tires fully tucked under the bodywork on Legos. If you run 12.5 width tires or positive offset wheels you'll bend stuff ALL the time. With these trucks it's all about keeping the leverage against the spindles and steering gear to a minimum if you want to go all the places solid axle trucks do.
Take apart and inspect the compression rod pivot points at the back of the LCAs. As the rubber bushings age the rod passing through the chassis bracket is able to move around more. As this happens it wears the hole in that bracket bigger. The hole in the bracket acts like a "stop" only allowing the compression rod to deflect so far before metal hits metal. When the hole is hogged out by the compression rod and/or the rubber bushings are shot the toe change when climbing difficult obstacles is ridiculous. I put a Nismo LSD in my front diff and immediately noticed 3 inches of toe in when climbing steep obstacles. That was caused by worn out compression rod bushings, brackets, and the rods themselves. My passenger's side compression rod was worn more than halfway through by the frame bracket! I now have 1" bore spherical bearings in machined housings welded to my compression rod brackets to completely eliminate this problem. It's a fairly extreme fix but also a step toward the high clearance, super strong LCAs I'm going to build. If your frame brackets aren't already hammered out poly bushings will help a ton on the compression rods.
The very first part every (W)D21 needs is a steering idler arm brace. They're available from Cal Mini or AC (Automotive Customizers, 4x4parts.com). The Cal Mini brace is a better part as it doesn't hang down below the idler arm shaft but either will work. I've been running the AC brace for about 5 years. Without a brace the idler arm's shaft is easily bent if the RF wheel smacks something hard. If that shaft bends seriously or breaks you are dead on the trail with no steering! An idler brace eliminates that failure point.
The next most important modification is adding a real steering stabilizer. If your truck has a factory steering stabilizer take it off and throw it away. Installing a Rancho or Bilstein steering stabilizer will at least triple the life of your tie rod ends, ball joints, and most importantly your steering center link. I run a Bilstein stabilizer on Rancho brackets.
The stock steering center link is the biggest problem in this series of trucks. The driver's side pivot is like a TRE in that it can pivot any direction while the passenger's side is a bearing that only lets the tapered stud rotate. This means the passenger's side bearing (and idler arm) takes 100% of the twisting load of the CL. These trucks beat that CL bearing to death in short order off road, even if it's just gravel logging roads. The further the suspension droops and/or the higher your ride height the more the tie rods are angling up hill to the CL and trying to make it rotate rather than move side-to-side. I've been running stock CLs and replacing them every six months or so of hard use. I run them until the play in the steering is too much and then swap them out. I have never seen one fail, they just get loose. A company called Grassroots 4x4 makes a modified CL commonly known as a HooHaa that has stacked bearings in both ends of the CL. To install a HooHaa you have to drill out the tapered holes in your Pitman and idler arms as they through-bolt with large bolts. These last forever, even with giant tires and too much positive offset. A HooHaa or similar is one of the next mods for my truck.
Keep your track width and tire width as narrow as you can! I run 33x10.5 KOs for the street/light trail use and 33x10.5 Swamper radials for serious trail use. Both sets are on the stock "Lego" wheels. 31x10.5 was stock on my Pathy. Even going to 32x11.5s you'll bend and break stuff at twice the rate a truck on 10.5s will. That's assuming you keep the tires fully tucked under the bodywork on Legos. If you run 12.5 width tires or positive offset wheels you'll bend stuff ALL the time. With these trucks it's all about keeping the leverage against the spindles and steering gear to a minimum if you want to go all the places solid axle trucks do.
Take apart and inspect the compression rod pivot points at the back of the LCAs. As the rubber bushings age the rod passing through the chassis bracket is able to move around more. As this happens it wears the hole in that bracket bigger. The hole in the bracket acts like a "stop" only allowing the compression rod to deflect so far before metal hits metal. When the hole is hogged out by the compression rod and/or the rubber bushings are shot the toe change when climbing difficult obstacles is ridiculous. I put a Nismo LSD in my front diff and immediately noticed 3 inches of toe in when climbing steep obstacles. That was caused by worn out compression rod bushings, brackets, and the rods themselves. My passenger's side compression rod was worn more than halfway through by the frame bracket! I now have 1" bore spherical bearings in machined housings welded to my compression rod brackets to completely eliminate this problem. It's a fairly extreme fix but also a step toward the high clearance, super strong LCAs I'm going to build. If your frame brackets aren't already hammered out poly bushings will help a ton on the compression rods.
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codesertrat
Geoff
Well said, Mr. 510!
I ran an '87 WD21 Pathy for a while that I four-wheeled fairly hard in the southwestern states. It was a GREAT truck, and your advice regarding skinny tires and wheel offset is spot-on. I've got an '01 WD22 Xterra now, which has the same steering system, but revised LCA's (no more compression rod).
On the Pathy, I used a slightly different approach on the worn out compression rods. I welded washers to the brackets to return the center hole to the original size and location, then welded some wheel bearing cups that I had lying around which did a much better job at keeping the bushings in place while still allowing flex to take place. I also switched to poly bushings. Note that a Moog replacement idler arm is a totally different design than the original (its more of a HD ball joint design instead of a pin and bushings), and does not seem to need a steering brace to hold up fine (actually impossible to mount one onto it). My Pathy had a 2" body lift, Rough Country UCA, Trailmaster shocks, junkyard rear coils (that I spent a lot of time measuring and calculating for spring rate and ride height), 31x10.5 tires on stock 15x6 wheels, and a Lock-Right in the rear axle. It was a wonderful backcountry 4x4 vehicle that was a comfortable highway ride, still capable for the difficult Moab trails, and reliable as gravity.
I ran an '87 WD21 Pathy for a while that I four-wheeled fairly hard in the southwestern states. It was a GREAT truck, and your advice regarding skinny tires and wheel offset is spot-on. I've got an '01 WD22 Xterra now, which has the same steering system, but revised LCA's (no more compression rod).
On the Pathy, I used a slightly different approach on the worn out compression rods. I welded washers to the brackets to return the center hole to the original size and location, then welded some wheel bearing cups that I had lying around which did a much better job at keeping the bushings in place while still allowing flex to take place. I also switched to poly bushings. Note that a Moog replacement idler arm is a totally different design than the original (its more of a HD ball joint design instead of a pin and bushings), and does not seem to need a steering brace to hold up fine (actually impossible to mount one onto it). My Pathy had a 2" body lift, Rough Country UCA, Trailmaster shocks, junkyard rear coils (that I spent a lot of time measuring and calculating for spring rate and ride height), 31x10.5 tires on stock 15x6 wheels, and a Lock-Right in the rear axle. It was a wonderful backcountry 4x4 vehicle that was a comfortable highway ride, still capable for the difficult Moab trails, and reliable as gravity.
Great advice. Thank you for taking the time to point out the need to upgrade my steering components, definitely not something I would have thought of. Now that the engine is off being rebuilt I have room to concentrate on the front suspension and steering. I'll be ordering new shocks all around and will absolutely pick up a steering stabilizer.
On a slightly related note, currently the truck does not appear to be sitting level (front to back). Do the front coil springs have a tendency to sag? Should I replace them when I do the shocks?
Considering this package from 4x4 parts:
http://www.4x4parts.com/i-18916688-hardbody-deluxe-suspension-package-with-bilstein-shocks.html
On a slightly related note, currently the truck does not appear to be sitting level (front to back). Do the front coil springs have a tendency to sag? Should I replace them when I do the shocks?
Considering this package from 4x4 parts:
http://www.4x4parts.com/i-18916688-hardbody-deluxe-suspension-package-with-bilstein-shocks.html
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codesertrat
Geoff
You don't have coil springs in front, but you do have torsion bars. They can sag a bit over time, but the front ride height is easy to adjust with the adjustment bolts at the rear of the torsion bars. I have found the torsion bar spring rate to be fine from the factory, and some of the aftermarket bars can ride a little stiff. So I have always stuck with the original ones.
In the service manual, the ride height is defined as the difference in height between the the center of the lower control arm pivot bolt and the bottom of the steering stop bracket (IIRC around 1.5" or so is the spec) . Adjusting to this dimension will roughly center the front suspension with equal upward and downward travel, and the truck will normally sit a bit nose-heavy.
Most of us simply adjust the torsions bars for a small amount of lift in the front (1.5 - 2"), which moves the suspension arms where there is more upward travel and less downward travel. No new parts are required. Keep it no less than about 1/2 inch of bump stop clearance, and you will still have a couple inches of so of wheel down travel. I have found that each turn of the adjustment bolt is approximately 1/8" difference in ride height. This can be done to level the truck only, or combining this with a set of shackles or add-a-leafs in the rear is called a "poor mans lift" or "PML" in the Nissan world. A front end alignment will need to be performed if the torsion bars are adjusted since the geometry movement changes things a bit.
Adding aftermarket upper control arms (UCA's) like the one's from 4x4parts.com, Calmini, Rancho, or Rough Country allows a touch more lift (up to 3") because the UCA's are made a little longer, ball joint angles are changed, and the bump stop location is moved, so the torsion bar can then be cranked a bit higher but keep alignment possible. The more height you crank into the torsion bars, the more lateral load is placed on the steering centerlink by the tie rods, and the faster it will wear out. Also the more height, the faster the front axle CV's and boots will wear. I got pretty good at yanking the front axles and installing new CV boots on my '87, the last time I did one side in less than an hour. I've only had to do the boots on my Xterra once, but it has less height cranked into the suspension than the Pathfinder did.
I'd recommend the Bilstein shocks (I've got them on my Xterra), and the 4x4parts.com kit you provided the link to is well known to be good quality parts. My opinion is to stay with a 31x10.5 tire even with a 3" suspension lift to ensure no rubbing the back edge of the fenders, but go to a 33x10.5 tire if this is combined with a 2" body lift.
Did you get that engine in yet? Its great to see some of these older Nissans being kept on the trail!
In the service manual, the ride height is defined as the difference in height between the the center of the lower control arm pivot bolt and the bottom of the steering stop bracket (IIRC around 1.5" or so is the spec) . Adjusting to this dimension will roughly center the front suspension with equal upward and downward travel, and the truck will normally sit a bit nose-heavy.
Most of us simply adjust the torsions bars for a small amount of lift in the front (1.5 - 2"), which moves the suspension arms where there is more upward travel and less downward travel. No new parts are required. Keep it no less than about 1/2 inch of bump stop clearance, and you will still have a couple inches of so of wheel down travel. I have found that each turn of the adjustment bolt is approximately 1/8" difference in ride height. This can be done to level the truck only, or combining this with a set of shackles or add-a-leafs in the rear is called a "poor mans lift" or "PML" in the Nissan world. A front end alignment will need to be performed if the torsion bars are adjusted since the geometry movement changes things a bit.
Adding aftermarket upper control arms (UCA's) like the one's from 4x4parts.com, Calmini, Rancho, or Rough Country allows a touch more lift (up to 3") because the UCA's are made a little longer, ball joint angles are changed, and the bump stop location is moved, so the torsion bar can then be cranked a bit higher but keep alignment possible. The more height you crank into the torsion bars, the more lateral load is placed on the steering centerlink by the tie rods, and the faster it will wear out. Also the more height, the faster the front axle CV's and boots will wear. I got pretty good at yanking the front axles and installing new CV boots on my '87, the last time I did one side in less than an hour. I've only had to do the boots on my Xterra once, but it has less height cranked into the suspension than the Pathfinder did.
I'd recommend the Bilstein shocks (I've got them on my Xterra), and the 4x4parts.com kit you provided the link to is well known to be good quality parts. My opinion is to stay with a 31x10.5 tire even with a 3" suspension lift to ensure no rubbing the back edge of the fenders, but go to a 33x10.5 tire if this is combined with a 2" body lift.
Did you get that engine in yet? Its great to see some of these older Nissans being kept on the trail!
That 4x4 Parts kit is all good quality stuff. I agree with codesertrat that you probably don't want the increased spring rate of aftermarket torsion bars. My RacePathy is knocking on 5k pounds fully loaded for a week in the woods. I'm running stock torsion bars cranked until there's 1/2" between the droop stops and stock UCAs. I have air assisted rear suspension so I level the rear to match the front. With add-a-leafs in the back you'll likely crank the front to match, just be sure you've got at least 1/2" clearance at the droop snubbers! I'm also running no sway bars front or rear for maximum flex. I suggest front sway bar quick disconnects to maintain street manners! The aftermarket UCAs allow more droop travel so you can run more ride height without topping out the suspension. This is really hard on CVs and why I've stuck with stock UCAs on my truck. I've never broken a CV joint in my truck and I go all the places solid axles on 35s do with 33" Swampers and IFS. 
Considering that I am not looking to increase my tire size and desire a strong, reliable front suspension, should I just crank up the torsion bars to level the front end and replace the shocks or replace the UCA and possibly the torsion bars as well?
For my current purposes the stock ride height should be fine, I'm just concerned about the strength of the IFS being that it is 25 years old. Looking to make sure it will hold up on washboarded logging roads and intermediate trails.
For my current purposes the stock ride height should be fine, I'm just concerned about the strength of the IFS being that it is 25 years old. Looking to make sure it will hold up on washboarded logging roads and intermediate trails.
codesertrat
Geoff
If you are adding a heavy front bumper / winch, then consider the higher rate aftermarket torsion bars. If not, then the stock ones are fine.
If you are wanting to lift a full 3", then get the UCA's. If not, then the stock UCA is fine for up to around 1.5 - 2" lift.
As far as the 'reliability' due to age, that is simply a matter of inspecting and addressing the known trouble areas previously mentioned. For you intended use, I'd say adjust the stock front torsion bars, put on some good quality shocks, and address normal maintenance items. Go forth, have fun!