Here it goes...I got so tired of looking and searching I decided to just jump into it headfirst...and I'm extremely excited at the outcome so far. This thread will show HOW TO SWAP an old Pathfinder (code hg46/43? - maybe the same steps) 4.6 ring and pinion into an R200 rwd case...in this case a q45 housing. I chose to do this because I use the car mostly for grassroots drift/autox/gymkhana events, as the q45 has the beefer spline count and axle thickness, along with the 6x1 halfshafts, but I wanted a snappy final drive. As stated, I had searched and still hadn't found a definite answer to the pathy front diff r&p question, so thanks to pullapart (where these things are bountiful and much cheaper than the xterra r&p swap) I managed to snag one for $30. Here is the first step in my writeup journey with more to come as I will be doing a step by step minus the steps of actually removing the diffs from the vehicle/s.

HERE IS THE Q45 VLSD



...sorry don't have a pic of the pathfinder one but the tag usually in the passenger apron near the firewall shows the code HG46 or HG43.
There are things to be noted in the differences and similarities between the pathfinder(left) and q45 r&p (right) as you can see below. Be sure to keep all shims and spacers side specific in the beginning as this may come into play.



Here's a closer look at the pinion gears



Notice the collars are different, as well as the pinion bearings that seat against diff housing inside (pic below) (these will most likely have to be switched out- pics and info to come)..but overall the pinions are identical in length and shank diameter.



The ring gears are exactly the same in that they are both 200mm ...again heighth of the actual gear when it's seated on the viscous diff may differ as I'll be showing in pics later the pathy diff where the ring seats is a thinner thickness...so spacers may have to be machined to compensate (pics will come). Also I have noticed the q45 ring gear bolts (the heads to be exact) are a little taller...also the bolts may be different as I have to pull the ones out of the pathy.

Anyway I'm extremely optimistic this will be a rather straightforward swap...with minimal machining. I am predicting though I will have to swap bearings between the two pinions as well as collars to mount the pinion at the correct depth.

I am very happy to have this chance to give a little back to the NICO community as their writeups/DIY have helped me so much throughout my s chassis addiction..and hope this may save people some money so we can enjoy our hobby even as the economy dwindles.

UPDATE So I went to the shop today and took both pinions to swap out the pinion bearings and races, it was a relatively easy press off procedure. Here are some pics.

Q45 on the left ...pathy on the right...setup



Bearing being pressed off..make sure you are under the race fully btw as you will damage the bearing if not.



Presto...bearing off...note the washer that was underneath..this was the same thickness on both..make sure when swapping the bearing over to the pathy pinion gear you leave the washer on.



DONE! 4.6 modded pathfinder pinion gear...w q45 bearing, preload spacer, and washer (bottom). All the left over stuff is the Q pinion and pathfinder bearing and preload spacer.



I will be working on the ring gear tomorrow and the shimming and checking backlash with pics as well

infiniti_lineup wrote:So, we're interested in turning this into an article, but I'm a little stumped at what vehicle this actually applies to. Why did you have a Pathfinder ring/pinion on your S14? And you switched it with a Q45 ring/pinion? And that's all on your S14?

Thanks

sorry for takin some time to reply ...been busy with transfer paperwork and ridiculous engineering classes...but I have a q45 diff in my s14 and I was switchin out the 3.54 r&p for a pathfinder 4.6...I will be posting the rest of the writeup soon ...I've got alot of projects going right now, including a 6 piston r&D, a hatch build, building my s14 kouki even more, and this...plus the hectic daily schedule with work and school. But thanks for the interest and I'll be sure to pm you when I get the spacer issue worked out and put the r&p back in the pumpkin...it's sitting in my room right on the desk just staring at me lol

Little bit of an update on this. I picked up some .5mm thick sleeves (starter bushings - as per another thread I read on people who were installing a s15 helical diff into their vlsd/opens cases) from an alternator and starter shop here local to me. Cost me a little over $5 for 10 sleeves, that allowed me to do 2 diffs, which can be cut in half using a pipe cutter. This should be done carefully as they are a little brittle and you want to keep them in shape and intact.

here is the receipt and I have the distributor and company's name and part number?: Cincinnati 13314012 and the comany that actually makes them is J&N and their part number is 4468? Oh and disregard the misspelling of Cincinnati on the paper, I was a little drunk that day and am actually having a good laugh at it now.


notice the sleeves (cut in half) on the 12mm ring bolts to take the shoulders to 13mm


Oh and I managed to snag a 4.9 front end out of a 2001 xterra...for $100 for the whole assembly (I plan on selling the leftovers and open chunk to an xterra owner maybe...dunno not much use other than scrap)


The 4.9 ring out of the xterra on the q45 vlsd chunk (going to pickup gtr clsd/s maybe and see if I can fit that into these setups soon...but too many projects too little time)


I'm going to snap some shots at the side of the chunks with the ring gear assemblies (4.6 and 4.9) too when I get the other q45 pinion out of the other housing and swap the conical bearings, preload spacer, sleeves, but I've got to go to the shop and get those pressed off and onto the xterra
pinion. I'll also be taking pics of the actual pinions side by side too so you can see the difference, but my guess is it'll be much of the same as the original post's pics.

Anyway more to come...soon

Hey man I've got a question, if you get time could you tell me if there are any dimensional differences between the r200a diff and the r200 carrier, I am looking into an air locker from an exterra front diff to swap into my vh powered s14 with a 300zx vlsd. So just wanting to know if the front diff locker would fit in the rear wheel drive housing, it would be nice to run open diff for daily driving and then having the ability to switch to locked for track, drag or drift applications, thanks and keep up the good work! Like what you're doing

I know this is an old post but i feel that its a valid correction for future reference.
This write up has a huge error in it that could cause confusion. The photos in here are not showing the correct items needed to preform the R/P swap. They are showing the REAR pinion from the pathfinder and not the front as listed to be used.
DO NOT USE THE FRONT RING & PINION, AS THEY ARE REVERSE CUT!! everything else was good info...