spider gears

chris f said:

I have a 2004 titan and broke 3 teeth off the spider gears. Everybody i have talked to said i have to buy the whole rear end 1600. All i need are the spider gears. All help is appreceated.

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DeadRiver said:

sounds like some one is trying to sell you something you don't need.

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My understanding is that because of the nature of these rearends, and the fact that the dealerships are simply replacing the entire unit 'wholesale' when a failure occurs, that Nissan doesn't sell just piece parts for the rear ends. They carry axle seals and bearings, but not any of the other parts, like the spider gears, ring gear, etc.

DeadRiver said:

oh, i meant what caused the spider gear to break?

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Perhaps something wrong somewhere in the powder metal mfg. process

I took a look at mine since it was just there in the box and just came out, the spiders look fine, and the carrier isn't a bad unit less being limited slip or posi unit, then again it is very clean with less than 16K on it. The true trac is by far a beefier unit in my opinion, I wasn't necessarily afraid of my 06 rear, but I will have around 7K pounds towing back there in the near future and I didn't want a traction issue more than anything in a campground somewhere. That was really a more of a concern for me but I still think the carrier I took out would have done the job. I had a late 06 truck, and I would have felt safe with just a Mag Hytec cover on the old carrier, for additional oil capacity for keeping the heat down. The limited slip was more of a concern than the strength of the old one, I have a 2WD so I don't spend time out in the woods with it and such, but it is nice to know it is there, there is a peace of mind with it now, knowing it will be tough to tear a rear out of it now. Once again, if you insist on saving money, I will sell it with the finned cover for two $100 bills and shipping.

DeadRiver said:

sounds like some one is trying to sell you something you don't need. a qualified shop can determine if the ring and pinion is shot or not, it's most likely fine.

what broke the spider gear?

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Fact of the matter is not selling something you don't need, but rather the supply of only piece parts to a Titan rear end is NON-Existant. IF you got three teeth of spiders broke, there is a high likely hood of ring or pinion damage. Not sure if you have ever seen that kind of damage before but telling him he is being told to buy stuff he doesn't need is not the answer. It is a simple fact, you cannot buy the carrier, nor spider gears, nor ring and pinions from Nissan, that is a plain and simple fact. So you have a few options, pieces from junkyards, not easy either, not many parts there yet, truck is still only approx 5 years old in production. Scenario two is find someone that has replace theirs and knows it is good carrier wise if ring and pinion is good. If ring and pinion are not good, hope you can find a complete rear either junk yard or third party individual that has one, of course only 06 and later till 08 cuz that won't fit due to different axle diameters I believe. And again piece parts for this do not exist. So really, I don't think anybody is trying to sell him something he doesn't need, he is merely stating less the aftermarket, in which there is still only on option, the only way is junkyard or new from factory. That's the deal PERIOD. I'd really like to see him find just three spiders, it's a very unlikely scenario. Since you don't know why the spider broke, it appears you are not very well versed in a Nissan Dana Rear end, or you don't read much here. It is substandard metal used in early rears that is causing issues, most rears if they had a ring and pinion problem it was due to after effect from the spiders. I don't know of any ring and pinion failures, but I have seen first hand from my bro-in-laws 04 his failure of his spiders.