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How-to: Source a Titan Swap - PBR

84K views 219 replies 64 participants last post by  Old Navy 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
This is NOT a How-to thread for the titan swap itself. I have already made that thread HERE. :drink:

I can't even count the threads asking about TS pricing...or the PM's I've gotten on how much my setup costs....so, without further adieu, this thread is for those souls who don't want to do the research and are disparately trying to piece together a titan swap... ;)




Now. first thing's first....decide how you want to use your TS and your budget. There are almost infinite options for this setup...and equally as many places to get parts from...so I'm not going to sit here in my chair and be able to tell you exactly how much this shizzle is going to cost. I don't effin know. It depends on if you install OEM coils with spacers in your rig vs TOP of the line 2.5 ext rez S.A.W. coilovers....or PRG vs. OEM uppers....ect.

lets roll.

The M205:
First things first. lets start with the core of the swap (if you are 4x4 and would like to keep your rig that way). The glorious M205:



a sexy ass 8" ring gear aluminum carrier that will keep your truck moving on the trail through thick and thin...

This unit can cost you anywhere from 350 bucks used - 1300 or so for a new unit (from Brian-Jerseyparts..and only if he likes you ;) )

www.car-part.com is a great place to look for this diff and units typically range from 500-950 bucks used. I would say look for a 07+ diff with under 50k on it if at all possible. That should prob fetch an average of 700-800 bucks or so...but again...every place and location will sell it for a different price. I would also inspect the gear rotation and the seals if at all possible and you are getting the diff locally.

It gets a little trickier...but not much...
Some time in 07 Nissan, with all their little bags of tricks, decided to have DANA redesign the Diff to be stronger...and to have larger pullout force C-Clips (1000N instead of 600N). You can easily spot a new gen (stronger) M205 but a third rib on the outer structure of the diff. This ribbing runs laterally on the diff casing and can be seen in the following thread which goes overs the differences in depth:
http://www.thenewx.org/forum/showthread.php?t=24697&highlight=M205+differences

Old Style:

Part Number: 38500-8S102

New Version:

Part Number: 38500-8S11B

You SHOULD replace the seals on both sides of this dif if you buy it used. The seals are 20 bucks each from cherry hill and easy to install.

The Spindles:
This part is really easy because...STOCK SPINDLES WORK! :D You can also use titan spindles but you will need to upgrade the brakes and will need new hubs to use them.

The UCA's:

You have two options...plain and simple. PRG and OEM.

PRG Uppers = $600 or so from greg at www.prgproducts.com These will allow more travel and more alignment adjustability and are suited for larger lifts (roughly 3-3.5"+) PRG UCA's will also give you more usable travel (downtravel).

OEM can be had for anywhere from 25-75 dollars at junkyards on car-parts.com. Make sure you know how many miles are on these, as the ball joints can be worn out on higher mileage units. Cherry hill will also stock them however, I do not know the price of a new OEM unit from nissan. My guess is NOT 50 bucks... These UCA's are more suited for more mild and stock height (why would you do that though?) titan swaps and have limited alignment (Camber/castor) adjustability.

The ball joints CAN be replaced with MOOG parts if you get one for a steal with a trashed joint.

The LCA's:

For most, the OEM lower control arms are just fine. You can get them new(ish) for a little over 100 or so on rockauto.com and for about 50-75 bucks each if you search on www.car-part.com.

The Steering System Extensions:

Two options...plain and simple. The titan MOOG inner and outer tie rod replacements (maybe Sleeper00 can get us a part number) or the PRG tie rod extenders from Greg. I am not sure how much the MOOG kit costs, however it would assume it is a bit more expensive than the extenders from PRG which run about 60-70 bucks or so.

Links for Options:
*MOOG steering stuff (you will need inner and outers for BOTH sides) - http://www.partsgeek.com/mmparts/tie_rod/nissan/titan.html
-MOOG Part # EV800216 (Inner)
-MOOG Part # ES800032 (Outer)
This setup will run ~ $75 - $80

*PRG Tie Rod Extenders - www.prgproducts.com (ask greg for them...it's a special part)

The Brake Lines:



You have two options:

*OEM Titan Brake Lines - they are only good to about 8" of wheel travel or so, however, for milder titan swaps they will work and are cheap. I recommend just upgrading to the stainless though.

*PRG Stainless Steel Brake Lines. The Xterra ones work just fine for the titan swap.

You can get a set right here:
http://www.prgproducts.com/shop/product/braided_stainless_front_brake_lines_-_xterra/
or just give Greg a call and order them.



The Coilovers:

This one is neverending...with MANY different options and many different price points. There rule of thumb here is....if it fits in an Xterra...it will work with the titan swap. Titan's have different coilbuckets that we do...so we still need to use a coilover with the correct bolt pattern for our coil bucket...regardless of what suspension we are running. plain and simple.

"Can I use a titan coilover with the titan swap?" NO! :cheers: (The bolt pattern in the titan coil bucket is different that what the X uses...and even though the suspension fits, a titan coilover mounting plate would not)

this can range anwhere from 60-70 bucks (alldayfab spacer) to $1400+ (ext rez 2.5 S.A.W. Racerunner coilover with baddassery written all over it!)

The Halfaxles:

Couple options here...but all the same part more or less. You can buy them New...and sell your house and children to do so (man they are $$$$$$$$!!!)

buy them from Rockauto.com remanned for 50-60 bucks each (what I recommend and what I actually do)

Or get them from a Junkyard (car-part.com) for 50-100 bucks used.

Sample Material List From the First Iteration of my Swap:

1.) Titan M205 (if you are doing the drivetrain swap)
2.) Titan CV Halfshafts x2 (if you are doing the suspension AND drivetrain swap) OR Pathfinder V8 halfshafts x2 (if you are retaining the stock track width)
3.) Titan Upper control arms x2 - right and left (either PRG or Stock)
4.) Titan Lower Control Arms x2 - right and left (stock)
5.) (12) M205 Halfshaft Flange bolts (call brian at Cherry hill Part# 39606-17V0A)
6.) (3) 19mm Diff/Frame Bolts (Part #: 54726-7S000) (to replace the old ones...do not reuse the old ones.) You will need nuts for two of these. (Part #: 08918-3442A) the third one uses a nut that is welded into the frame itself....(you can get all this from Brian at cherry hill)
7.) (8) 14mm new front DS bolts (Part #: 37120-4P00A) /nuts (Part #: 37171-7S00A) (call brian)
8.) (2) new 32mm halfaxle/hub nuts (brian at cherry hill) (Part #: 40262-A60001)
9.) optional - M205 flange seals (Part#: 38542N)
10.) 2.0 Radflo Coilovers ($800 shipped roughly...from PRG)
11.) 3 quarts of 75W-90 Synthetic Gear Oil (if you are swapping in an M205)
12.) 3 quarts of 75W-140 Synthetic Gear Oil (if you are swapping in an M226)13.) PRG tie rod extensions (call Greg and ask for them)
13.) E-locker Wiring Harness (if you opted to swap in an M226 w/ E-locker) (Part#:24168-EA800)


so as you can see....the options are limitless. it is up to you to determine what kind of coin you have...and what you need your TS to do for you! Good luck and happy modding!! :cheers:

Please feel free to add anything you feel I may have missed!! :)

-Rook
 
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#66 ·
Oh! Fair enough.

My motivation for the TS is driven more by the increased travel from the control arms than upgrading the diff so I still consider it a "Titan Swap" if you swap the suspension but not the diff.

Speaking of which...
How much do you gain from the PRG UCAs vs. stock Titan UCAs?
Do the Radflo 2.0 extended travel shocks (that you'd normally get with a PRG 4WD Advanced Coilover kit) have enough travel to take full advantage of a Titan Swap?
 
#69 ·
Oh! Fair enough.
How much do you gain from the PRG UCAs vs. stock Titan UCAs?
Alot, I'm not sure exactly what the gain is but I can tell you that the PRG arms will droop much further without contact than the stock arms will.

Do the Radflo 2.0 extended travel shocks (that you'd normally get with a PRG 4WD Advanced Coilover kit) have enough travel to take full advantage of a Titan Swap
PM Rook about this one, he ran 2.0s with his titan swap for quite a while. You will get more travel out of the 2.5s I believe. I know you definitely will out of the S.A.W. 2.5s and you should also get more travel out of the Radflo extended lenth 2.5s but that is the part I'm not sure about.
 
#68 ·
Alright, let's clear up what I was getting at. I was under the impression that Santims was asking about doing the titan supension swap but wanting to keep the R180. This can be done and the only axles that I know of are the PRG/SAW axles, those are the titan length axles that will fit an R180.

Now, the other side of that, if Santims was asking about keeping his Xterra suspension but just wanted the M205 diff, then he may use the Pathy axles. Those axles will fit an M205 but keep the Xterra track width.

As far as keeping the Xterra suspension and just swapping in the M205, that is a great option. For some people they dont need or cannot afford the suspension at that time so they just go for the beefed up M205 over the R180. The big drawback to this is the price of the pathy axles. Then again, the price of the PRG/SAW axles is not cheap either.

In my opinion, swapping in a titan front suspension can still be called a titan swap, it is just a suspension swap and not the driveline swap. Who really cares what it's called?

So, back to the original stuff though, the Pathy axles will only work if you are JUST putting the M205 in and keeping the stock Xterra track width. Also, make sure you get the axles from the pathy that has the M205, not all pathys have the M205 in them.
 
#75 ·
swapping just the M205 isnt exactly pointless. i cant have my tires sticking out of the fenders and pass inspection. i want to do a full TS but i cant.

and the pathy axles are from the V8 pathfinder. they are expensive. i was able to get one used tho. $180 shipped, used. they are $420 new from courtesyparts.com
 
#77 ·
I dont think the year matters that much...within reason obviously, I wouldnt go to far back. In my mind it made sense to just the the same year as my truck was, I have an 07 so I got 07 titan arms and had no issues.

One thing though, you can get those same arms from www.rockauto.com for the same price I believe. Rock Auto ships them super fast as well which is kind of nice.
 
#92 ·
Can someone expound on this for me? I just dont understand exactly what Im looking to replace here. Im looking to do this as cheap as possible since Im kinda forced into it by a blown diff and had no plans for this yet whatsoever. Im looking at the spacer from all day fab but I dont really know what Im looking for.

The Coilovers:

This one is neverending...with MANY different options and many different price points. There rule of thumb here is....if it fits in an Xterra...it will work with the titan swap. Titan's have different coilbuckets that we do...so we still need to use a coilover with the correct bolt pattern for our coil bucket...regardless of what suspension we are running. plain and simple.

"Can I use a titan coilover with the titan swap?" NO!

this can range anwhere from 60-70 bucks (alldayfab spacer) to $1400+ (ext rez 2.5 S.A.W. Racerunner coilover with baddassery written all over it!)
 
#95 ·
You can have a spacer on top of the stock off road bilstein to get the proper lift you need to run the suspension. Then all you'd need after the spacer is an M205, half shafts, and stock titan upper and lower arms.

why not reuse existing (aftermarket) suspension,
R180, Titan axles, titan UCAs and LCAs?

Would not this be cheaper than buying a M205?
You don't have a m205.
 
#96 ·
I currently have a 2 in revtek lift with a coil spacer lift. It required me to cut the center out of the stock coil bushing or whatever its called.

Any idea what I need to replace or change or fix?

Also, Anyone know what matching the lift in the rear entails. My current lift is an AAL with a 4 degree shim.

Im really confused since I seem to have to piece all of this info together from various threads.
 
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