Cheap Nissan Cabstar Transfer Box

The Nissan Cabstar is a light commercial truck sold in the UK primarily as a two-wheel-drive vehicle, and the vast majority of UK-market Cabstars do not have a transfer box at all. A transfer box is only present on four-wheel-drive variants, and true 4WD versions of the Cabstar were rare in the UK market and not standard across the range. If your Cabstar is a standard rear-wheel-drive model, the part you may actually be looking for could be the gearbox, propshaft, or differential rather than a transfer box.

It is quite possible there has been a mix-up in terminology, as the Cabstar in standard RWD configuration has no transfer box, so this part simply does not exist on those vehicles. A mechanic may sometimes loosely use the term to refer to the gearbox extension housing, the rear differential, or in some cases the PTO (power take-off) unit fitted to certain Cabstar variants for auxiliary equipment. It is worth going back to whoever diagnosed the fault and confirming exactly which component they are referring to, as the correct part description will be essential when approaching a breaker.

A small number of 4WD Cabstar variants were produced, and those vehicles would indeed have a transfer box as part of the drivetrain to distribute power between the front and rear axles. However, these are uncommon in the UK and you should confirm your vehicle's drivetrain layout by checking your V5 registration document or running a VIN check before searching for this part. If you do have a genuine 4WD Cabstar, supply the engine code and exact year to the breaker, as these details will be critical for matching the correct transfer box.

Because genuine 4WD Cabstars with transfer boxes are rare in the UK and span a fairly narrow set of variants, cross-year compatibility is not something that can be stated with confidence here. The engine code is the most reliable guide to whether one unit will interchange with another, so always provide your engine code (found on the V5 or via a VIN check) to the breaker rather than relying on year alone. The breaker will need to compare the donor vehicle's spec against yours before confirming fitment.

Trim level does not affect transfer box fitment – what matters is whether the donor vehicle shares the same drivetrain layout (4WD), the same engine code, and the same gearbox type as your vehicle. Differences in trim between Cabstar variants typically relate to cab specification, load body, and minor equipment levels rather than the mechanical drivetrain. Focus on matching engine code and drivetrain type when speaking to a breaker, and ignore trim designations entirely for this part.