Complete Front & Rear Titan Swap

[JeffPro4x]

Thanks! Took your advice and used 2 short cables,works great and adapting the titan parking brake to the Xterra was easier than I thought it would be.

Oh. Hey Pete

 

[Prime]

Thanks! Took your advice and used 2 short cables,works great and adapting the titan parking brake to the Xterra was easier than I thought it would be.

Does yours actually work? I need to tweak mine. It grabs but just barely.

 

[NotoriousPTG]

I had to trim the truck side cable. I tried crimping an aluminum ferrule with a hydraulic wire crimp press but it still wouldn't hold. I welded a nut to the end of the cable. Brakes hold!

 

[PhullD]

Finally did it....nice.

 

[Prime]

So there's this. Thoughts?

View: https://youtu.be/dsHbOKpgTTY

 

[jsexton]

i guess i'm not sure why you thought you did in the first place.

 

[Prime]

Because I've heard it was a thing with certain configurations.

 

[Prime]

Two things:

1. That adjustable collar is pretty high, how much lift are you running?? You are going to lose a lot of droop, which is maybe why your shock is bottoming out before anything else? I run a 1" spacer and I have about a 1 to 1.5" gap between the adjustment collar and the bottom of the thread.

2. Letting the shock get bottomed out first will significantly reduce its lifespan and could lead to the seals blowing out on you.

I have no clue what these shocks are set for and I won't know until the truck is back on the ground. Once the wheels are on it I will adjust the ride height.

Adjusting that collar won't change the length of the shock tho. In this configuration shock length is the limiting factor.

 

[Prime]

Loosening the adjustment collar will allow the suspension to droop more though when it is hanging as shown in the video.

I'm going to go ahead and hard disagree with that. The shock can't get any longer. As it's hanging is the full extension of the shock. Changing the position of the spring seat will have absolutely no bearing on the length of the shock.

 

[PhullD]

Deleted my posts, been away from this world too long that it seems I can't even make sense of things I found so easy.

 

[TerryD]

I'm going to go ahead and hard disagree with that. The shock can't get any longer. As it's hanging is the full extension of the shock. Changing the position of the spring seat will have absolutely no bearing on the length of the shock.

It won't increase overall droop. But as you change the static ride height with the adjuster, your compression/ extension balance changes.

 

[IM1RU]

Limit Straps are a pretty nice thing. Once you're running them, you'll wonder why you didn't always have them.

 

[TerryD]

@Prime Do you know if the Xterra 3.69s will work in the Titan axle on the Yukon locker?

 

[Prime]

I can't confirm with 100% certainty. However. The pumpkin is identical. The difference is just width, lug pattern, and brakes. The only unknown is if the Titan shafts will interface correctly with the differential.

 

[TerryD]

I can't confirm with 100% certainty. However. The pumpkin is identical. The difference is just width, lug pattern, and brakes. The only unknown is if the Titan shafts will interface correctly with the differential.

I would use the Yukon diff for the Titan. IIRC there is a spline difference in the pinion or shafts, but I can't remember which it is. Gonna have to go digging after work.

 

[Rafael pena]

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).

Greetings I have a similar problem with a frontier front brakes MC frontier to soft and MC Titan locks up I am A/T transmission
Any suggestions on how to fit work the titan MC?
in mi case I replace the entire suspension front and rear for 2007 Nissan Titan
Any advice would be appreciate!!!
Happy holidays

 

[Prime]

Greetings I have a similar problem with a frontier front brakes MC frontier to soft and MC Titan locks up I am A/T transmission
Any suggestions on how to fit work the titan MC?
in mi case I replace the entire suspension front and rear for 2007 Nissan Titan
Any advice would be appreciate!!!
Happy holidays

Did you change the booster too?

 

[NotoriousPTG]

So truth be told I had some issues getting the titan parking brakes to work on the X but think I'm about there. Long story short I advise not cutting the factory stop off of the parking brake handle cable!

I've tried a few different things that failed. It looked like the easiest thing to do was shorten the cable coming from the pull handle so I cut off the stop on the original one and crimped on a new one with a hydraulic press, that didn't hold in 2 tries. Then I welded a nut to the cable and that snapped. Then I tried soldering a stop on and that didn't hold, then I tried welding again! Finally I replaced the handle cable because the factory cable stop was the only thing that could take that much tension.

The spacer plate pictured is the way to go. Going to have to weld it to the body at the edges and where the spring retainer goes through the plate. There is some flex at the factory bolts when brake is engaged eventually they'll snap if the plate isn't welded to the body. I am not looking to revisit the parking brake again anytime soon, aside from the constant brake shoe adjustments of course! I never figured the hardest part of swapping in a Titan axle would be the parking brake.

 

[Slvrbak]

Getting ready to do a similar set up upfront with a full Titan swap for better brakes and lug patten for rim options. But ill keep the xterra rear and just use wheel adapter to change the lugs over When you swapped for the spindle and Titan hub, are you able to use the abs sensor that came with the titan hub or dit you use use the Xterra not sure if the Titan plug is the same as the Xterra.

 

[Prime]

Getting ready to do a similar set up upfront with a full Titan swap for better brakes and lug patten for rim options. But ill keep the xterra rear and just use wheel adapter to change the lugs over When you swapped for the spindle and Titan hub, are you able to use the abs sensor that came with the titan hub or dit you use use the Xterra not sure if the Titan plug is the same as the Xterra.

Timken Titan part. Direct plug and play.

 

[Prime]

Also, still have my lug adapters in the garage if you're interested.

 

[Slvrbak]

Also, still have my lug adapters in the garage if you're interested.

Sweet thanks for the reply. Well since its plug n play then, I think its a go on ordering the titan hubs and spindles. Appreciate the offer but I already have a set

 

[TerryD]

The entire bellows has a different inner diameter. They just won't get tight on the Xterra steering rack. Thankfully the length is about the same so using the Titan tie rods with the Xterra bellows on them isn't an issue.

Also, mental note...... If I ever blow this steering rack out, the Titan one is bigger.

What year Titan rack did you order the bellows for? I'm considering swapping my rack out during this next round of changes for the Titan one since it will all be apart and easy to get at.

Looks like I can get a used one for $65, hopefully with all the TREs in usable shape.

 

[Prime]

What year Titan rack did you order the bellows for? I'm considering swapping my rack out during this next round of changes for the Titan one since it will all be apart and easy to get at.

Looks like I can get a used one for $65, hopefully with all the TREs in usable shape.

2012.

 

[umight]

Thanks for this awesome write-up. How come you never mention a drop bracket?

To use Titan spindles, I thought that a drop bracket was needed to lower the mounting points of the LCA's.

 

[Prime]

Thanks for this awesome write-up. How come you never mention a drop bracket?

To use Titan spindles, I thought that a drop bracket was needed to lower the mounting points of the LCA's.

Nope. No drop bracket needed. Titan knuckles bolt up exactly to Titan geometry control arms.

 

[TerryD]

What's the difference between the early and 08+ M226 that the tone rings and bearings are different?

 

[Prime]

The early axles were 2-pin lockers. In 08+ they changed the connector for the abs sensors. Otherwise they're the same. All of my brakes and shiat came off of a 2012.

 

[TerryD]

The early axles were 2-pin lockers. In 08+ they changed the connector for the abs sensors. Otherwise they're the same. All of my brakes and shiat came off of a 2012.

The ABS tone rings have different part numbers and I'm still looking into the other parts.

 

[xover_land]

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).

Thank you for this knowledge. Came here for the full titan swap brake concern. I hope Asian vehicles are easier to swap the brake booster vs others I’ve done ‍.

 

[Prime]

The booster was a 20 minute job.

 

[xover_land]

Awesome. Thanks Prime.

 

[xover_land]

Also is it possible to run stock Xterra brake booster and m/c? Or is it a must to swap to the titans? My x is an auto trans with vdc. I know brake control module has a lot to do with pressure. Sorry in advance if this has been covered already.

 

[Prime]

The bore on the Xterra M/C isn't big enough for the larger front calipers. Need the Titan one. Unsure if the stock booster will work. Never tried. Wanted everything Titan so I knew it would all work.

 

[Beard]

Thanks! Took your advice and used 2 short cables,works great and adapting the titan parking brake to the Xterra was easier than I thought it would be.

Good evening, not sure if youll see this because idk how active you are on forums, but i think i found your YT, but thats a different side, anyways, im looking to do the M226 from a titan in the nearish future, any input? im full front titan swap with fat bobs brake booster. so doing research for the m226 rear swap.

 

[Beard]

The bore on the Xterra M/C isn't big enough for the larger front calipers. Need the Titan one. Unsure if the stock booster will work. Never tried. Wanted everything Titan so I knew it would all work.

did you finish the rear swap? read about the issue with the long cable for the driver, didnt know if i missed you fixing that issue?

 

[Prime]

did you finish the rear swap? read about the issue with the long cable for the driver, didnt know if i missed you fixing that issue?

I never fixed the issue. But the answer is to get two of the shorter cables.

 

[Beard]

I never fixed the issue. But the answer is to get two of the shorter cables.

i gotcha, im planning to m226 titan axle swap soon, already have the front done, need the rear to match lol

 

[Prime]

i gotcha, im planning to m226 titan axle swap soon, already have the front done, need the rear to match lol

It's so worth it.

 

[Beard]

It's so worth it.

I’m hoping I can find one from a pull a part, not sure how much it would cost to get it done, but hoping to keep it under 500$ for welding new mounts and that on