after searching for a while i haven't come up with much.i seems that they never came with the DE motor correct?what size v6 did they come with? i imagine they also had a manual option with the v6?what are the towing capacities for each motor?one day i will probably be cheauffering my 240 to the track and i don't think the kae will be able to handle it.did the 2wd ever come with an lsd? is it the same vlsd nissan uses in their cars? i won't need 4x4 for anything, but i will be driving it in the snow so i would like to have an lsd to hook up. what is the rear end ratio? if i could just swap the whole diff from a 300zx without changing the ratio that would be great, or i may just look into an HLSD (once i get one for my 240 and decide if i like it), i know i will have to swap the guts and not the whole pumpkin and the shafts i'm sure too.i would just be using the truck for towing stuff, not for speed.thanks all!edit: what year did they go to EFI?
Modified by mmm240 at 9:06 PM 9/17/2006

i know i left it quite general and asked a lot of questions, and there aren't too many people that come to this forum, but can anyone atleast lead me in the right direction?

The D21 Hardbody started production in Late 1986 and was introduced as an 87Model. There were only 2 engine options for the Hardbody platform.

The 2.4L-4Cyl and the 3.0 V6.

I think the 2.4L was rated somewhere around 120 HP Stock (don't quote me on that though)

The early 3.0L was rated for around 150 HP and about 170 ft/pds of torque.When the 90's came the engine got Fuel Injection and got upgraded to about 160 HP and 180 ft/pds.The last year of the Hardbody was in 1999 (EDIT: My bad I meant to type 1997...not sure where my head was late last night) when the Frontier made it's debut with the newer engines. A more powerful 2.4 and a bigger V6, the 3.3liter which was already being used in the Pathfinders of the late 90's. The Pathy was of course bumped into the 3.5L range with wellover 220HP and torque to match.

The Hardbody is a good work truck. But it is not the ideal platform for pulling a car over long distances. They simply don't have the towing power needed to climb hills, even gradual ones on the highway. Short jaunts would probably be ok though.

The hardbody used one maybe two different model rear diffs. The most common is called the 233B and it had a few different gear ratios. These vary depending on the engine size, year of manufacture, 2WD, or 4WD, automatic or standard transmission. The serial number can be decoded and it should tell you what it has. At least that's what my local Nissan Parts guru tells me.

There are a few people here talking about dropping a 240 engine into a Hardbody because it has superior power and can be beefed up quite abit. Check out some of the more recent strings on this Trucks Forum and perhaps you can gleen something more from their info.

Big-Bird wrote:The D21 Hardbody started production in Late 1986 and was introduced as an 87Model. There were only 2 engine options for the Hardbody platform.

The 2.4L-4Cyl and the 3.0 V6.

I think the 2.4L was rated somewhere around 120 HP Stock (don't quote me on that though)

The early 3.0L was rated for around 150 HP and about 170 ft/pds of torque.When the 90's came the engine got Fuel Injection and got upgraded to about 160 HP and 180 ft/pds.The last year of the Hardbody was in 1999 (EDIT: My bad I meant to type 1997...not sure where my head was last night) when the Frontier made it's debut with the newer engines. A more powerful 2.4 and a bigger V6, the 3.3liter which was already being used in the Pathfinders of the late 90's. The Pathy was of course bumped into the 3.5L range with wellover 220HP and torque to match.

The Hardbody is a good work truck. But it is not the ideal platform for pulling a car over long distances. They simply don't have the towing power needed to climb hills, even gradual ones on the highway. Short jaunts would probably be ok though.

The hardbody used one maybe two different model rear diffs. The most common is called the 233B and it had a few different gear ratios. These vary depending on the engine size, year of manufacture, 2WD, or 4WD, automatic or standard transmission. The serial number can be decoded and it should tell you what it has. At least that's what my local Nissan Parts guru tells me.

There are a few people here talking about dropping a 240 engine into a Hardbody because it has superior power and can be beefed up quite abit. Check out some of the more recent strings on this Trucks Forum and perhaps you can gleen something more from their info.

He pretty much said the same thing I would have. The only thing I saw was that the hb's ended in '97. Fronteirs debuted in '98. The new four cylinder was a ka24de. Just dohc instead of single. But it did make a difference. The ka24de was in the later 240's and the early fronteirs. They will bolt right up in a hb. You just need the harness and comp. All in all, he just about nailed it.

thanks to you both!the power of the 6cyl should be all i need, i will have to look for one of those for a test drive

one more question. what was the engine code for the v6? was it VG30? i would like to know so that i can search about maintenence.

yeah, it's the vg30. The vg33 came in the fronteirs