I just fit 31's on the 2wd!

[BronkStang]

well i was inspired by a pic in the post a pic thread of someone stuffing 235/75-15s in their lowered 2wd, so i had to give it a try on my lil beater

ill post pics tomm. all i had to do was trim the inner fender liner and the bottom front of the fender a bit and i got no rubbing with 31x10.5's on 15 inch 4 runner wheels! well it helps that the body is beaten to death and the drivers side has a pathfinder fender while the other side does not

this lil beater might take the place of the fullsize bronco for a while, as far as trail duties are concerned...or at least till i finish the maf swap and rollbar, im looking forward to testing its prowess next time i get the chance...

so anyway, they fit which is cool, but in order to be functional im changing the reear diff. now i read the sticky on axles, but it doesnt answer this question

can i take an axle out of a 4x4 d21 into my 2wd 94 d21 which has the h190 non removable rear cover and open diff? that would be the easiest solution for myself.

better yet, can i take the 4.623 pathfinder rear diff and (im assuming the 2wd has less axle splines so i couldnt use them) axles to put in my stock housing?

reason im asking is bc theres a ton of pathfinder and 4x4 d21 axles and stuff at my disposal bc my uncle owns a junkyard. the pathfinder rax stuff is very plentiful. (if you fellas locally need anything i can help)

ahh and i should got to sleep yikes its 4 am...

[Desert Rat]

Read up on the "What Axle do I have" Sticky at the top of the forum.

Your axle is an H190 and is dimensionally smaller in every way to the Pathfinder axle - the H233B. The number indicates ring gear size in milimeters.

You can drop a 4x4 axle in the truck, but at the very least you'll have to get the spring perches cut and re-welded. The 4x2 is spring under axle; the 4x4 is spring over axle. If you bolt in a 4x4 axle on your existing leaf packs in a spring over configuration, you'll end up with about 6-7" of rear lift, which would be impossible to match with the front IFS, and you'd likely encounter driveshaft issues.

Also, I'm not dead certain this is applicalbe to hardbodies, but I believe itis - the bolt pattern on the pinion flange on the H190 is smaller than it is on the C200/H233B from a 4x4 truck, so you'll need that piece of the driveshaft from the 4x4 as well that bolts to the pinion flange. The Ujoints are the same so you can simply press the new part on in place of the old one. It's a good time to replace Ujoints anyways.

If you do the swap, pinion angle is critical. Use an angle finder to determine the angle of the transmission output. You'll want to match this almost exactly with the pinion when the perches are reweldec on the bottom of the axle (actually -2 degrees is perfect).

The Ebrake is set up differently for a 4x4 truck, so you'll want to get the cable from the donor truck as well.

Lastly, the 4x4 axle will be a couple inches wider, so the tires will stick out a touch. A possiblity here is to run a rim with more backspacing in back to compensate, or just live with it.

Another easier option is to find a HF37 rear axle from a 98+ 2wd Frontier. It has a slightly better gear ratio, and you can get away with just swapping in the 3rd member, but IMO, to turn the 31s, you want at least 4.375 gears to turn them.

[BronkStang]

so i put the tires on saturday, hung w the family on sunday, and my friends conned me in to testing the tires at 9 pm.

the results from the basic swap to 31's with decent tread was astounding, even with the open rear! the truck went through bogs, a fair amount of mud, and ate up the sandy whoops section like a starving fat boy craving cake. only deep sand reminded us of the fact that theres only 1 drive wheel, as we followed my friends fullsize chevy 4wd.

sorry for the lack of promised pics!

Read up on the "What Axle do I have" Sticky at the top of the forum.

Also, I'm not dead certain this is applicalbe to hardbodies, but I believe itis - the bolt pattern on the pinion flange on the H190 is smaller than it is on the C200/H233B from a 4x4 truck, so you'll need that piece of the driveshaft from the 4x4 as well that bolts to the pinion flange. The Ujoints are the same so you can simply press the new part on in place of the old one. It's a good time to replace Ujoints anyways.

If you do the swap, pinion angle is critical. Use an angle finder to determine the angle of the transmission output. You'll want to match this almost exactly with the pinion when the perches are reweldec on the bottom of the axle (actually -2 degrees is perfect).

The Ebrake is set up differently for a 4x4 truck, so you'll want to get the cable from the donor truck as well.

Lastly, the 4x4 axle will be a couple inches wider, so the tires will stick out a touch. A possiblity here is to run a rim with more backspacing in back to compensate, or just live with it.

Another easier option is to find a HF37 rear axle from a 98+ 2wd Frontier. It has a slightly better gear ratio, and you can get away with just swapping in the 3rd member, but IMO, to turn the 31s, you want at least 4.375 gears to turn them.

awesome bit of infomation thanks desert rat!

with the options you have laid out, im down to two. 4wd axle swap, or chopping all the mounts off a pathfinder axle and welding spring perches, bolting it in, and calling it a day.

im not worried about the pinion flange issue, had to do the same thing on my bronco. just pop a u joint, pop on the other flange, get it balanced, voila!

as for the pinion angle, i just gotta set it to stock, im not lifting this thing but will definitely check it.

now for the 4wd axle swap, i believe it may be possible to use a flip kit with special made blocks that utilize the stock perches on the 4wd axle- i beleive thyre readily availible for jeeps maybe i can use it if the axle tubes are similar diameter to the h233b. im erring towards using the pathy axle cause id have to pay for this 4wd axle

if welding has to be involved id rather use a pathfinder rear axle, because id have like 30 to choose from, and get it basically for FREE. width is not a concern- my bed is shot- but out of curiosity, how much wider is this axle "couple" as in 2 inches total? if my pathfinder wasnt in another county id measure it now, just wondering if you knew that measurement.

besides that youre saying i can take the ebrake cables out of a 4wd from the equalizer back, and im set? hmmm....

[Desert Rat]

Pretty much it. Also, pathfinder and V6 pickup axles will be the same and have interchangeable parts. Another option is the C200 axle out of a 4banger truck.

Pathy's with autos will have the 4.675 ratio; most 5 speed ones will have 4.375. 4x4 v6 pickups should be the same, but the door jamb sticker is the way to tell for sure.

[BronkStang]

heres a pic from last nite! 31s a bit stuffed

[Desert Rat]

Hard to fathom that it doesn't rub in the front with the suspension compressed, but it looks like it's working for ya.

[BronkStang]

ahhh.... one fender is 4wd, the other is pulled out, so the tires cram themselves into the fenders and rub the top of the inner wheelwell but you have to go over some serious whoop sections to get that "rubbage". driving it daily over crappy roads it doesnt rub, and it handles much better compared to 205-75-14's. rides similar to my pathfinder if it had softer suspension crappy steering and 1000 pounds chopped off. this thing is really growing on me

i would suggest the plus sizing (maybe 235-75-15's) max to anyone with a beat up hardbody looking to get through winter. the 31s are a bit rediculous

[AZhitman]

I had 31's on my 2wd Frontier... No issues.

Looks good BronkStang!