U-joints, CV's and 240Z/280Z bits

[khughes]

Hi Guys,

has anyone looked into upgrading their rear Uni joints to CV joints? i got a quote of almost $2000 to get this done by a workshop, and seeing as there are some american 240Z/280Z quick and easy solutions to this issue, i was wondering if any of these would work for the 240K??

280Z stub axles into 240Z : http://www.magshooterz.com/280z_stub_axle_swap.htm

Z31 CV joint upgrade to match 280Z Stub's:

http://www.magshooterz.com/z31_cv_conversion.htm

my question is (of course), would the 280Z stubs fit in the 240K arms? and then would the Z31 conversion work for us??

Just wondering if anyone here has some 240K/240Z/280Z parts handy they can measure and compare, or otherwise i will need to pull my arms out and see (add that to the list of 1 million things i have to measure out ) for myself.

comments? magic bullet solutions? anyone?

[khughes]

oh, and for those Z guys who will see this, please note the K in 240K

[khughes]

found this on the net, it is for the Datsun 1600, but it is promising:

Datsun 1600 Rear End - My Completed Project

gday,

just thought i would add some info on how i went about completeing my r200 LSD conversion and rear disk brake setup

i used standard 1600 swing arms and rear crossmember. the exhaust hole on the crossmember was enlarged to 4" to suit a 3" pipe. all bushes were fitted with new nolathane items

the stock 1600 drum brakes were removed and the stub axles and flanges removed. This require alot of bashing and swearing.

rear brakes from a R31 skyline were used, modified mounts, a standard calipers and some DBA gold rotors.

for the handbrake cable we used 2 r31 skyline right hand cables and made a custom centre cable using 2 standard 1600 adjusters.

for brake lines we found that VT comodore front brake lines would be perfect with 1 male-male connector for the left hand side hose, where the hose meets the distribution block. i chose to order a braided brake line kit from datsport.com

for the fit ment of the R200 i made a custom moustache bar using 2 standard 1600 bars, redrilled and welded it together.

the housing where the nose of the diff is bolted to the crossmember needed to be 'massaged' with a large hammer in order for the diff to fit completely inside the crossmember.

in order to connect the diff to the wheels, we investigated a number of methods, but found that 280zx rear CV/shafts would be perfect for the application. these would bolt up without any modification or stuffing around. these are not the same length and suit off centred diffs.

the r200 used was a off centre type from a Z31 300zx. the 280zx CV's fit into this centre without need to be modified or machined. the CV's have a spline on one end and a 6 bolt flange on the other. to get the CV's bolted to the a-arm, 280zx 6 bolt flanges slid straight onto the 1600 stub axle spline. i also used the 280zx stub axle nuts.

this whole conversion was done basically with no custom parts needed to be made (except the moustache bar, and r31 caliper mounts)

Total cost?

crossmember

- paint $30

- bushes $120

- 4" hole for exhaust $100

Swing arms

- bushes $80

- r31 rear calipers $60 pair

- new DBA gold rotors $250 pair

- r31 handbrake cables and caliper brackets $40

- 280zx 6 bolt flanges $40 pair

- Datsport Braided Brake Lines $225

Diff

- R200 Long Nose 3.9 LSD Clutch $1200 Rebuilt

- 280zx CV Joints $90 pair

Total = $2155....ouch

update time :

we got the car on the ground and rolled it backwards and forwards to check for clearance...

one side (the short side) was binding up and caused to car to hop up and down on each rotation..

so....

i sourced another 280zx short halfshaft/CV from the Z-car shop, and tried that, still a bee's **** too long.

so...

i asked around, the cheapest 'custom' axles i can have made are around $250 ea...

so...

i decided to be a tight arse prick and have the shafts shortened on each end by cutting the splines further down the shaft...this should give be a combined gain of around 16mm per shaft...this should be enough to give me full clearance...

the only dis-advantage of this is that i will loose around 7mm of spline on each centre bearing.... the axles guru ron@Petron Automotive assured me that it should not compromise strength 'much'

if they break then i have to get custom ones made, so i will try the cheap was first...bloody jew i am

photos to follow.....

-------------------------------------------------------

Other option is to get the axles shortened in the middle and scotch keyed together. Datsqik has done this and run an 11.0 @130 so they're plenty strong.

Regards,

Dave

[khughes]

i think i am going to go down the path of a 280Z hub with 280ZXT half shafts or the Z31 Half shafts with the cheaper mods from modernmotorsports:

http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=32&products_id=56&PHPSESSID=895e58aaa08fdb10eb5ace0c94e6f32e

or

http://www.modern-motorsports.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=25_45&products_id=5&PHPSESSID=895e58aaa08fdb10eb5ace0c94e6f32e

i can't afford the billet ones, and worse case if it doesn't fit, i am sure i can sell them to some AUS Z guy

Is the track width of a Z and a K different? i am sure they probably are

[zed240au]

have you been able to source some 280zxt shafts was worried where i would find any in australia

I have a dr 30 skyline r200 im fitting to my zed came with the inner shafts still in the diff and the axles gas axed off been talk with local cv shop and they seem fairly happy that we can use the inner cv and shafts just make get new shaft and find an end off something that fits and will bolt to the stub axles

at the moment ive pushed that aside so i can concentrate on fitting my new engine but as soon as i have that running ill be working on the cv shafts for the time being i just put std set of axle ends int he diff luv to see some pics of how yours work out

Mick

[khughes]

nope, not yet, i don't think the 280ZXT was brought to Australia, so i may need to get them from the US

[zed240au]

yeah thats what i thought will try other approach first

but i read right you have fitted 280zx shafts at the moment just a bees too long

not that its a big problem getting stuff from usa or canada have had some parts from the lately

even bought bilstein struts half the aussie price delivered in 4 days brand new

but also had some stuff take 8 weeks depends

Mick

[khughes]

nope i havn't fitted anything yet, the post that i posted, was some guys using the bits in their dasun 1600's..

it looks like you Zed guys have it easy! i don't even know if the geometry is similar in the 240K

you got to love the benefits of competition, a mass market and consumerism in the US don't you!!

[zed240au]

well must admit it is way easier now with the internet and some of these specialist z shops especially in the states got some nice gear from arizona z car and some coming from modern motorsports

but still think its fun finding stuff that fits and making it work bit like my nissan V8 install nobody had done that 17 years ago when i started lots of trial and error in that one

Bloke used to race a pretty sweet 240k down here had triples then went to turbo l28 last time i saw it he was running rb20 turbo with 300hp heard now hes playing with a gtr reckon he still has his 240k was real neat had lots of fun racing him at symons plains when he had the triples

I rember him getting excited about cv shafts but dont think he ended up fitting them

[khughes]

Okay...

progress so far!!!

I managed to pick up a set of Aussie Z31 half shafts (4 bolt flanges) and late 260Z stub axles (around AU$400 delivered). They should be delivered some time next week i hope. I will need to recondition the halfshafts, i have the Nissan part numbers for replacement boots, but can't find the part number for the bearing/cage).

The plan is now to get the Modern motorsports adaptors (or a locally produced set), and shorten the shafts by reversing the bearing cage in the shafts. The 240K and 240Z/260Z track is close enough that it should all fit in (assuming that the stub axles fit, which i think will)

finally i feel like i am getting somewhere!

[zed240au]

ok heres a pic i found on hybridz explaining how to reduce length of 300zx shafts will be trying it my self tonight see if it changes anything

[zed240au]

that was the before shot heres the after had to look a bit at first myself but pretty sure i got it worked out now