The front diff looks very different to anything Ive seen, is it salisbury?
No, "Sailsbury" is the generic name for UK made Dana 60 sized axle assemblies used in some Ford Transit vans, Sherpa vans, I think small bedfords, and land rovers.
It's a C200 series diff from memory. It's the same diff used in the rear of Navaras and actually the rear of G60 patrols. I think the deepest common gearing is 4.6:1
What drive shafts? All the MQ with adaptors gear?
Custom. The MQ diff flange is much larger than sierra.
What steering box has been used, sierra/jimny/vit/60?
The cars I've had experience with were vitara boxed. Not ideal as they don't quite get full lock. The pitman arm kinda runs the wrong way to use a 60 series box. It's been done, but unless the axle is a long way forward, the steering box needs to be pretty close to the engine mount/shock mounts. LHD IFS hilux would be "dream" sierra box.
Did they run Sierra springs? and Or RUF?
I don't recall sierrajim's setup, but Mock's was MK patrol front all round.
Did the extra weight of the diffs Kill bushes all the time?
Yes, but that's not the weight of the diffs really, it's the leverage of the track width and rubber bushes. Rubber bushes never last long.
So the MQ booster bolts to a Vitara Not a Sierra?
Correct.
The Front spring spacing is the same as a WT sierra.
It's so close it doesn't matter.
Any buildup threads?
Not AFAIK
Bear in mind, you'll need a custom drag link that requires X-ray etc to be legal and many engineers won't want to touch.
MQ's are a terrible idea if you want SPOA or coils. (front really) The DS spring pad is cast into the diff (like a Dana diff) so that's a big PITA to work around.
MQ's are a cool, strong, very cheap option if you are happy with SPUA though.
HOWEVER - here's the catch. If you're not planning very, very large tyres, the weight and size of these diffs is a bit self defeating. We shaved the rear of Mock's diff, and he ran 36's. I drove it once on 39" michelins, but the front stub axles we're up to them)
We have had, and continue to have, good results with 34"+ tyres on sierra diffs suitably built, and I'd rather drive a 34" tyre and a sierra diff (with a 5.12 ratio) than an MQ diff with a 37" tyre and a 4.6 diff gear to get the same clearance.
The unsprung weight of the nissan diffs is cool for crawling, but less cool once you are on a slippery hill and need to push that weight up the hill.
I'm not knocking MQ's per say, I think they are a better option than hilux, but might not be better than sierra diffs with double tough axles unless you are a really abusive driver and play on rock a lot, where diff clearance is less of an issue but weight and added strength is an advantage.
Steve.
