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fs5w71 2wd to 4wd conversion

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Haberdasher
Joined
Jun 2, 2020
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1767
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187
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Close but no cigar
Can I swap the rear housing from a 4wd nissan transmission to a 2wd. I searched around but couldn't find a clear answer. I am looking at a truck that is in great shape and low miles but 4th gear is gone. 4wd trannys behind ka24 are kinda rare, not to mention junk yard around here are dying, so I want to see how hard it would be to just swap the rear half of the housing over. Would the output shaft need swapped too?
 
Can I swap the rear housing from a 4wd nissan transmission to a 2wd. I searched around but couldn't find a clear answer. I am looking at a truck that is in great shape and low miles but 4th gear is gone. 4wd trannys behind ka24 are kinda rare, not to mention junk yard around here are dying, so I want to see how hard it would be to just swap the rear half of the housing over. Would the output shaft need swapped too?

On the V6 you can just cut the output shaft down and everything else is the same. I've never had the 4-banger one apart so I can't say for sure. I suspect it's the same or very similar.
 
I have a 4banger 4x4 tranny apart right now. If u want some pics let me know I'll shoot you some
 

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So I pulled the trigger on a different truck that I probably paid too much for. Thought the trans was just stuck in nuetral. After I pulled it I realized the redneck I got it from had ran it dry until the input bearing grenaded. So I'm on the hunt for another unless it can be fixed. After some research I don't think I like the idea of swapping tail housings. The 4wd trans has wider ratios with lower first and reverse and might have bigger bearings.
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I didn't think they were different ratios, but just checked a '94 FSM and sure enough, they are. 3.321vs 3.985 is pretty substantial too. Also surprised that the 4wd holds twice as much fluid.

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Where are you located? You should be able to use any 4cy trans from '86 hardboddies to '04 Frontier/xTerra. Looking at car-part.com, there are several early ones starting in the $300 range.
 
You got me curious and I started checking various years that I could find info on. Apparently the Frontier and X 4cyls got a slightly higher ratio than the earlier D21 models. Kind of in the middle of the 4wd D21 and all other 2wd ones.


So a D21 transmission in a later D22 would be a decent upgrade. You'd just have to swap bellhousings to keep the crank position sensor.

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I got the forward housing off a couple weeks ago and was surprised but the lack of damage. So I decided to try and fix it and got most of the parts I needed of Rockauto. They had the input shaft and gear and even though I don't think I needed it it came with the counter gear also.
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When I started reassembly I found that the synchro was broken also and it I can't find. I keep seeing different part numbers on diagrams. This one from the dealer says its a 32604-M bu he told me the actual part number to order is 32607-01G16. It could be a ZMSRNIS14G from USA Standard Gear from Rockauto but I'm just not sure.
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Looks like you can get a full rebuild kit on ebay for $115-150 depending on brand, how complete the kit is and the year your tranny is actually from. Probably worth it do do that and replace anything that comes with the kit while you have it torn down.
 
That doesn't look right but thanks for looking. There might actually be a dealer in Montana that has the 32607-01G16 but I'll have to wait until Monday to verify.
 
Yeah I should have gotten a complete kit. I did get a bearing kit but I should have gotten one with the synchros in it too.
 
I had a retard moment. I decided to remove the rear housing just to clean things up and couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get it off the shifer input rail. Spent a couple hours trying to find videos and posts trying to figure it out. I started to mess with it again and once I put it in nuetral it slides out of the way piece of cake.:homer:
 
Finally found the right synchro baulk ring, 32604-V5210.
I bought one off Ebay and it shipped from Dubai. Shipping was free and only took 4 days. I was impressed.
 
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