Let's talk front axle.
I have a brand new Titan M205 3-Rib. It has been geared to 4.56.
View attachment 18472
But there's a lot more going on here than just a diff swap. Since I'm going full Titan, we need knuckles, hubs, brakes, brake booster, & master cylinder. The ABS pump is actually the exact same P/N between the two trucks. So no need to change anything there.
Last thing before we get started. I am building this around 2004-2006 Titan brakes. The reason being is wheel size. In 2007+ Titans they went to EVEN BIGGER brakes. BUT. That would require a minimum 18" wheel. If there was an 18" wheel I liked as much as the 17" ones I have now, I'd probably go that route. But we all know, more wheel == less sidewall. So I'm keeping this to 2006 parts so that I can keep my 17" wheels.
That said, the same exercise could be done to go to the 2007+ brakes if you wanted to run 18" wheels.
I digress.
Front Knuckles: This is an interesting one. Because my knuckles came from eBay...out of a junk yard...
They came off of a 2012 Infinity QX56. This is the ACTUAL P/N:
- Infiniti
40015-1LA0A - Spindle - KNUCKLE, LH
- Infiniti
40014-1LA0A - Spindle - KNUCKLE, RH
One knuckle cleaned up and painted:
View attachment 18475
I had originally planned to use them hubs and all. This was back when I assumed all thing were equal. shiat was I wrong.
I found out that they changed the lug size in 2010 to a larger one and the hubs that were attached to the knuckle would not fit into the 2006 Titan rotor. Now, these had a bracket on them that separated the brake lines into two pieces. There was a soft line from the caliper to the top of this bracket, then it had a metal U in it and then a separate soft line that ran to the frame. I kept the bracket just because it also holds the ABS sensor wire, but I will not be recreating that brake line setup.
Here is a shot of the bracket in question and how it holds the abs line:
View attachment 18481
I can confirm that the hub bore and bolt size/pattern is identical to the 2006 Titan hubs. Three bolts in a triangular pattern. I used the same stock bolts that came out of the Infinity hubs to bolt the Titan hubs on. That at least is the same.
Speaking of...
Front Hubs:
-
40202-7S100 - Hub Assy-Road Wheel, Front RH
-
TIMKEN SP500701 - Hub Assembly Includes Sensor
Don't make the same mistake I did. Remember when I said that I wanted to use as many OE parts as I could. So I ordered that OE hub from Nissan. What showed up was that exact Timken hub in a nissan box. Cost difference of about $70. So Nissan got me on that one. I don't tend to make the same mistakes twice. So I just ordered the Timken hub from RA for the other side. The Infinity hubs that I removed also say Timken on them under the dirt.
06 Titan hub bolted to 12 QX56 knuckle:
View attachment 18482
Brakes are interesting. The stock Xterra M/C doesn't have enough piston diameter to push enough fluid to the larger front calipers. So you have to change it. That also means you have to change the brake booster so that it works correctly with the M/C. Normally I'd just buy any old Titan M/C and go to town. But. Since I have a manual, and the clutch reservoir is also the M/C reservoir and there was never a manual transmission Titan, I needed to get a little creative. I found that a 2006 Titan M/C that has VDC has the exact same setup between the cylinder and the reservoir as my stock setup. So. I need another reservoir from an X. The M/C from this Titan, and then put them together. The other caveat is that the TItan M/C has two pressure sensors in it. The X only has one. So a junk yard pressure sensor to fill the other hole. Here we go:
Under Hood Brakes:
-
47210-ZC02A - Power Brake Booster
-
2 x 47212-7S000 - Power Brake Booster Gasket (using the same spacer that is currently on the truck)
-
47478-AX600 - Power Brake Booster Check Valve
-
RAYBESTOS MC391072 - Brake Master Cylinder
-
46090-EB302 - Brake Master Cylinder Reservoir
-
47240-7S000 - Sensor Assy-Hydraulic, Pressure
That makes a Titan setup w/ a reservoir for a manual. And will look completely stock.
07.13.2021 Update:
I scratched the booster gasket and check valve parts. When the brake booster showed up it came with both gaskets, the spacer, and the check valve. So that's annoying.
From there it's all 06 Titan
Front Brakes:
- 2 x
POWER STOP JBR1161EVC - Front Rotors
-
POWER STOP Z361183 Z36 - Front Pads (includes new pin boots)
- 2 x
CARLSON 14177 - Front caliper Pins and bolts
-
41001-7S010 - Caliper Assy-Front RH, W/O Pad & Shim
-
41011-7S010 - Caliper Assy-Front LH, W/O Pad & Shim
- 2 x
41014-7S010 - Member-Torque, Front - Caliper Bracket Discontinued.
- 2 x
41150-7S000 - Baffle Plate - Disc Shield
When I got the calipers and brackets out of the junk yard I pulled the caliper bracket bolts. Since the bolts just go through the knuckle and into the bracket, they're guaranteed to work. Nice thing is that the ears on the knuckle are in the perfect position. Everything bolts together beautifully.
One caliper cleaned, painted, ready to be bolted on:
View attachment 18476
One knuckle with new hub. Just sans caliper:
View attachment 18477
One corner completely built and ready for install:
View attachment 18478
Both front knuckles ready to go:
View attachment 18483
Let's talk steering.
I bought the Titan Hitachi tie rods from RockAuto.
HITACHI TRE0003 - Left Outer
HITACHI TRE0004 - Right Outer
HITACHI TRI0003 - Inner x 2
As a note, the tie rods did NOT come with the adjustment lock nut. So rather than attempt to get the ones off the old tie rods, I went to a local hardware store (Murdoch's specifically because no one else had it) and bought:
2 x M16 Grade 8 nuts
I am unsure of the thread pitch. My gut says that they were 1.0. But I just took the inner tie rod to the store to verify fitment.
For the bellows, I made a mistake. I ordered the Titan ones not realizing that the Titan has a SLIGHTLY LARGER steering rack. So the inner clamps didn't fit the Xterra steering rack. The inner rings that come with the Titan bellows are 64mm, the Xterra needs 61mm.
So
48203-EA025 - 2 x Boot Kit-Power Steering Gear
View attachment 19089
Quick note on fasteners.
I want to use all new fasteners on everything. This truck is 14 years old. And I'm convinced that at some point the drivers side of this truck has been in the Atlantic Ocean. Over the years, the drivers side of the truck has had more rust, corrosion, and failures than the passenger side. Further evidenced by some of the bolts that I removed from the drivers side So a quick list of nuts and bolts for the front end.
Upper control arm bolts: 40178-7S010 x 4
Upper control arm nuts: 08918-6441A x 4
Front diff bolts: 54726-7S000 x 3
Font diff nuts: 08918-6441A x 2
Lower shock bolts: 01125-0047U x 2
Lower shock nuts: 08918-3441A x 2
Lower control arm bolts: 54580-7S000 x 4
Lower control arm washers: 54559-1Z600 x 4
Lower control arm nuts: 08918-6441A x 4
Lower ball joint bolt: 40178-7S01A x 2
Lower ball joint nut: 40262-7S100 x 2
Front CV shaft bolts: 39606-17V00 x 12
Front CV shaft outer nut: 40262-2Y000 x 2
The rest either came with the part (upper uni-ball bolts, etc).