Gentlemen,

I've been in contact with Tony Woodward over at http://www.woodwardsteering.com/. He is open to the idea of producing his steering u-joint spined for the Z's rack, which has 28 splines at about .560" diameter. At present, factory replacements are NLA, and there aren't any other sources that I know of. This would be a great resource.

He would like multimple samples, I'm looking for anyone willing to cut off the splined portion from a scrap rack. I'm acting as the liason, and would like to accumulate as many as possible before shipping them to him, don't worry, I won't flake out on this...PM me for my address.

Does anybody know what other Datsun/Nissan models share the same spline count and diameter? I'm assuming pretty much all of them, but would like to verify. This would be something I could run to the 510 guys with as well.

He's also inquiring about how we would like to mate the steering shaft to the joint. He suggested welding an adapter, as shown in the link, page 100:

http://www.woodwardsteering.com/Cat0...%20100-105.pdf

Personally I'd feel much more comfortable with this method rather than welding the shaft directly to the joint, which is always a bit risky, but wanted to get some feedback. The adapter could be butt welded and then a sleeve also welded over it.

Phil

The link you posted appears to be broken..

Hmm, not sure why and it appears the edit function has been disabled, but here it is again...

http://www.woodwardsteering.com/Cat05/Cat05%20PDF%20100-105.pdf

Bad news..it looks like we may have hit a roadblock. I think Mr. Woodward got a little intimidated once I told him the Z only has a .560" solid steering shaft from the column. He has liability concerns and is opposed to any type of welding a joint with that diameter. He suggested going with something larger also replaceing the upper joint, but I told him the column shaft is also at the same diameter and at some point welding would be necessary. He went on to suggest retrofitting the steering column with a larger diameter shaft as well, but I told him that would be out of the question. I'm hoping he'll produce the joint along with a disclaimer, but don't hold your breath. l'll keep you posted otherwise.

Phil

Good news, the u-joints are finally available! These aren't technically a "plug and play" replacement but can be made to fit the Z with minor welding/fabrication. I'm trying to establish a group buy on HybridZ. I've tried to answer all of the installation questions there as well:

http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?p=827486#post827486

Maybe a little better news about the steering u-joints. The 1971 240 Z has had its share of wear and tear, including steering u-joints that are scary bad. After hearing about the other attempts to get parts or fixes, I tried other ways to get the u-joints replaced. Finally hit on trying a driveshaft fixing shop. Turns out the young fellow, who does this for anything from ATV's to Class A Fuelers, took some measurements and searched around. Success! He found u-joint crosses that fit the 240Z steering rods! He installed them for me and they are perfect. I asked if I could recommend him to the other Z car folks, and he said yes. The cost was less than $50 each.

I don't know if this info belongs in another area or not. But here is the info on this source:

Simmons 4X4 Automotive

3743 S. Country Club Road

Tucson AZ 85713

Phone: 520-884-0217 Fax: 520-792-2997

SIMMONSAUTOREPAIR.COM

Maybe a little better news about the steering u-joints. The 1971 240 Z has had its share of wear and tear, including steering u-joints that are scary bad. After hearing about the other attempts to get parts or fixes, I tried other ways to get the u-joints replaced. Finally hit on trying a driveshaft fixing shop. Turns out the young fellow, who does this for anything from ATV's to Class A Fuelers, took some measurements and searched around. Success! He found u-joint crosses that fit the 240Z steering rods! He installed them for me and they are perfect. I asked if I could recommend him to the other Z car folks, and he said yes. The cost was less than $50 each.

I don't know if this info belongs in another area or not. But here is the info on this source:

Simmons 4X4 Automotive

3743 S. Country Club Road

Tucson AZ 85713

Phone: 520-884-0217 Fax: 520-792-2997

SIMMONSAUTOREPAIR.COM

Took my Z u-joint there a few years ago and found the same "get it done"

attitude. Must be something about Tucson.

Hi,

Just received my u-joint from 'Joe' at Simmons...great service BUT a killer delivery charge. The little joint cost $ 48.44 with tax and ground shipping

A little online looking around and I found the exact same joint for $22 (ALL IN)!!.

For those in need the joint is made by Motor Master and the specific unit is: Kawasaki ATV700

Cheers,

George

George, is the ujoint you bought for the steering shaft or drive shaft? Did you find it up here or in the states?

Thanks,

Chris

Hi Chris,

The u-joints are for the steering shaft and sourced in the States.

Cheers,

George