Charlie69 Posted December 31, 2014 Report Share Posted December 31, 2014 Would you please fix the pictures in this thread. 1 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted February 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 i'm back. the wifi on the only computer with a card reader broke. when i finally fixed the wifi... the card reader broke. then life got in the way but still managed to get some work done on the truck. the truck is a 6/81 according to the tag on the driver's side door. and i'm sure the ignition coils' wiring are color coded for '82. the hecho en mexico tail lights arrived and did required some minor drilling/dremeling. they're installed now but are in need of some rtv. managed to upload 2 pics before the card reader froze. will try again to post the after pics tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted February 8, 2015 Report Share Posted February 8, 2015 i'm just wondering why my 81 720 is wired like an 82. i checked the wiring for the ignition coils and it matches up with the 82 wiring colors. really strange.... should i get the 81 or 82 fsm? For the same reason an '81 fender will fit an '82. There's no reason to re-invent the wheel every year. If your build date is 6/'81, get the '81 FSM. also, i'm getting ready to rebuild my steering but i can't find a centerlink/drag link/cross rod for it. rareparts told me they would make me a new one for $300. however, i found some a site that has interchangeable part numbers with raybestos and other rebuilders. but when i called up these companies they pretty said nope, not for the 4x4 and good luck. anyone know the interchangeable part numbers for an 81 4x4? The '80- Oct '82 2wd cross rods are the same. Try a wrecking yard. 2 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted February 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 thanks mike! "The '80- Oct '82 2wd cross rods are the same." you mean same as the 4x4? this is almost too good to be true! pls. confirm. so how do i find out if it really does need a new crossrod? i haven't checked... i was just told by a 4x4 shop. also, i've seen crossrods for $78...raybestos, acdelco? any good or waste of money? managed to upload the rest of the pics... reinforced with fiberglass on both front and back. i'm happy to say it passed the drop test twice. ta-da! Quote Link to comment
petercscherer Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 thanks mike! "The '80- Oct '82 2wd cross rods are the same." you mean same as the 4x4? this is almost too good to be true! pls. confirm. so how do i find out if it really does need a new crossrod? i haven't checked... i was just told by a 4x4 shop. also, i've seen crossrods for $78...raybestos, acdelco? any good or waste of money? If the 2wd center-link will work on your 4wd, I'd offer my opinion for purchasing one. No idea what "brand" it is, but this one bolted right in and has been fine for 400+ miles in the past few weeks since installing. It was one of the cheaper options on eBay and seemed to be of excellent quality. http://www.ebay.com/itm/131087836453?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT P.S. Oh yeah, shipping was super fast too! ~Peter 2 Quote Link to comment
Charlie69 Posted February 9, 2015 Report Share Posted February 9, 2015 If you cannot get it from the Nissan dealer get one from NAPA. 1 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted August 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 ok. so... the truck is finally inside the garage. wife said i could bring it in so i can work on it if i get the garage organized. it only took six months but she's in and i'm ready... sorta. i've been putting off getting new tires because the steering and suspension needed work. i'm just glad i haven't started coz dmv just sent me a note saying i need to get it smogged again. wtf?!?! i've never doneany kind of steering or suspension job before so who knows how long that'll take me. i'm just glad i haven't pulled out the guts and all before i got the letter. anyhow... the tires are all dry rotted but the rear right one got badly chewed up. put the dry rotted spare on (it's smaller than all the other tires) and that too got chewed up. so, aside from the steering and front suspension and the fact that the tires are bad, is there any other reason the right rear tire keeps getting chewed up like that? none of the tires are scalloped but is there anything in the rear axle that could go bad/out of adjustment/alignment that would cause the inside of the rr tires to wear excessively? i'll post a pic tomorrow. 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 7, 2015 Report Share Posted August 7, 2015 anyhow... the tires are all dry rotted but the rear right one got badly chewed up. put the dry rotted spare on (it's smaller than all the other tires) and that too got chewed up. so, aside from the steering and front suspension and the fact that the tires are bad, is there any other reason the right rear tire keeps getting chewed up like that? none of the tires are scalloped but is there anything in the rear axle that could go bad/out of adjustment/alignment that would cause the inside of the rr tires to wear excessively? i'll post a pic tomorrow. Just old and poorly matched tires. 2 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted August 8, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 thanks mike! guess i won't be posting a pic. :) Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 8, 2015 Report Share Posted August 8, 2015 I can't see any reason for one side to wear more than the other unless rubbing something. If you have LSD or welded differential and two different size tires maybe. A bent rim. Two tires the same size but different makes or tire compounds. 1 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted August 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 ok so i'm about to order ball joints from rockauto and i got a little confused. some parts say 4x4 but then underneath that same part number it says except 4x4. TRW 10425 Lower Ball Joint; 4 WHEEL/ALL WHEEL DRIVE, FRONT SUSP LH Lower Ball Joint; Except 4 WHEEL/ALL WHEEL DRIVE, FRONT SUSP LH wtf? also are the uppers interchangeable? i put at least a couple thousand miles on these dry rotted tires so if the shocks are bad then it should show on the tires right? should show some scalloping? i'd rather not replace them if i don't have to. i remember taking it to some off road shop and they pretty much said everything had to be replaced, not worth it yadda yadda yadda. then this guy says... on a good note... the suspension on that truck is way ahead of it's time. Quote Link to comment
84720FourWheel Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 I think they still use something very similar on xterras, wd21s are nearly identical. Or he was noting that the only 4x4s with IFS were the 720 and the Chevy luv/ Isuzu pup until 85. Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 23, 2015 Report Share Posted August 23, 2015 I don't know your year but if, for example, yours was made June '81 then a June '81 two and four wd are the same upper or lowers. Upper ball joints 40110-01G25 same for 2wd and 4wd and fit left and right side. Also used on D21 and Pathfinder. Lower ball joints there are left and right but 2wd and 4wd are the same by year. 1 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted August 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 any thoughts on the shocks? i'd rather not... you know if it ain't broke... Thanks! Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 24, 2015 Report Share Posted August 24, 2015 Well there are shocks.... and then there are shocks. Trouble with shock absorbers is they wear out so slowly you get used to driving on them. If any doubt just replace them. Compare a new to a used and a new requires a lot of effort to compress or expand. Used, will be much easier to compress and some have 'dead spots' where there is no absorbing action at all. One of the best improvements in ride quality and handling can be from simply replacing worn out shock absorbers. Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted August 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 well, i've got ball joints and tie rods on the way. ordered a pitman arm but was told by rockauto that they didn't actually have it so... are pitman arms the same for 4wd and rwd? how do i check if it really needs replacing? seems like the symptoms are the same for ball joints, tie rods, pitman & idler arms and crossords. the ball joints i can tell are really bad just by looking at the the rubber boots. the rest... i'm only replacing them coz the shop i brought it to said i had to. what would you guys do? 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 26, 2015 Report Share Posted August 26, 2015 The pitman arm is just a solid hunk of metal connecting the steering box to the steering linkage and nothing to wear out really. There is a linkage ball joint that fits to the end of it, but that is the part that wears out and it's replaceable. 2 Quote Link to comment
84720FourWheel Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 You can check em pretty easily. Have someone wiggle the steering wheel, watch the joints for slop. Everything should be nice and tight and move all at once. If one part moves before the part is attached to does, you want ideally no play/slop, but a small amount, maybe 1/16 inch is acceptable. A good shop would've taken you back and showed you, IMO. 2 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted August 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 thanks guys. the upper ball joints arrive today. the lower ball joints and the idler arm will be here friday. won't have time to work on it till sunday though. mike - what is the part number of this linkage ball joint? or is this one of the ball joints i ordered? 84720fw - thanks. they did show me awhile back. tried to convince me to just send it to datsun heaven. just waiting for the centrelink to pop up on ebay or amazon again. i just thought they were always going to be there when i was ready. oh well... 1 Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 27, 2015 Report Share Posted August 27, 2015 I'll try to remember to look this up but it will be part of the cross rod I think, or on the cross rod end. You probably have it already. 1 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted August 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 hmm... thought i posted something. here it is again. lower ball joints and idler arm coming on tues. can only work on upper ball joints on sunday. lithium grease ok? am reading conflicting things about it. some say it's too think others say it's fine. any thoughts? Quote Link to comment
datzenmike Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 The cross rod has a ball joint on each end. One for the pitman and the other for the idler arm. Some ball joints are sealed and you can't grease them. Quote Link to comment
84720FourWheel Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Use chassis and wheel bearing grease. Most places use the red stuff. Quote Link to comment
Gradyfest Posted August 29, 2015 Report Share Posted August 29, 2015 Keep it on the road, f$&k yeah. I love the 4x4 decals! 1 Quote Link to comment
that-son Posted August 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted August 30, 2015 guess i'm returning the lithium. i was told i could use it but i guess there's just too many nays. i thought i ordered an idler arm but apparently i did not. do i need an idler arm or is that like the pitman arm - solid with replaceable ball joints? i notice that rock auto sells bushings for the idler arm. do you know if these will fit the pitman arm? and if so, can i get away with just replacing the bushings on the pitman and idler arms so i don't have to get a new crossrod? unfortunately for the decals,i think they're coming off when i paint the truck flat sand. but... not yet set in stone! btw... the ball joints all came with zerk fittings. do i take them off and plug with the supplied screws? Quote Link to comment
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