Hmmm, I know part of the difference is that I am measuring from the tip of stub axle to the bottom of the companion flange as pictured in the 1st pic of the latest post(wish I could just refer to the post #) The stub axles from the R200 diff and the 280zxt are
3/8" taller on the passenger side then the driver side. That's part of it, I just did the same measurements again and got slightly different numbers so perhaps after I do the rebuild on these shafts things will change again. Maybe there is some old grease hanging them up.

There definitely is no difference in height between the the 240z halfshafts but the 280zxt halfshafts have the stub axles built in and that is why I'm using D/S and P/S.

Edited February 10, 20169 yr by grannyknot
more thoughts

You're probably fine, since people have done that swap before and not reported problems.  I was just pointing out things to be aware of.

I've tried measuring half-shaft lengths and it's difficult, compressing them and keeping the flanges parallel and getting the tape on it and getting your eyeball in the right place to see the number.  If I really wanted to be sure I'd build a fixture of wood with a slot in it that could be drawn together with a long bolt or piece of all-thread.   A wood shop vise for gluing boards would probably work great. 

Okay, so I should fess up here, it's official now,  I am a complete f---ing idiot!

I finished the rebuild on on the passenger side shaft and started in on the drivers side,  I rested the stub shaft end on top of the garbage can to let some of the CV grease drain and then .... I forgot about it.

Friday morning I took the garbage down to the curb and now the top half of my CV shaft is in the landfill somewhere.

Moron right? Shouldn't have done all those drugs when I was younger.

So unless someone has a spare  D/S CV shaft for an 83 280zxt they want to sell me, I guess I'll just save my pennies and buy those CV shafts that  Wolfcreek racing sells, http://www.wolfcreekracing.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=72&Itemid=61

I have one from 81 turbo.

Wow. I hate it when I do something like that...

I'm back in business!  Mr. super cool black gold man has come to my resuce.

Thank you Bill

https://youtu.be/kWF-hH1nloo

Edited March 16, 20169 yr by grannyknot
trying to get a loop of black gold mans cool stare

So the new D/S halfshaft arrived, it is slightly different then mine, the ends of the boots are secured farther apart,  but I'm only going to use the stub axle end of it.

The un restored shaft is from a 1981 280zxt, the other two are from a 1983 280zxt.

The boots seem to be the only difference.

Nice.

I'm glad you didn't put them on top of the trash can to take the pictures.  I read somewhere that has caused problems in the past ... 

Glad to see that this had a happy ending, Chris.

For anyone thinking about doing this CV swap I would advise you to think hard about what your time is worth. My free time is cheap and I like doing things the hard way it seems.

Even with my boneheaded move of throwing good parts in the garbage(a $200 mistake) I have saved about half what it would have cost me to buy the Wolfcreek shafts...so far. I'm not foreseeing any further costs but who knows. It has been time consuming hunting down the articles that describe this swap, finding the parts and doing the rebuild. Never seeing the inside of a CV joint didn't help.

Also, there are 3 internal seals that are no longer available, at least I couldn't find them. If any one of those seals are damaged and can't be reused, stop what you are doing, you can't proceed without them if you want to get long life out of the shafts. If you think bearing grease makes a mess then you are in for a real treat when you start handling CV grease, it's a different animal, like black runny snot from hell. It gets on everything, have lots of rags around to grab easily.

I had to build a stand to support the boot shell so it could have the edge hammered tight around the top, without that stand I can't think of how else I could have completed the job.

Some pics,

 

Zed, I tried your trick with the wood clamp to hold the shaft fully compressed, worked great.

D/S 280zxt shaft 22"

P/S 280zxt shaft 22 3/4"

Compared to the 240z shafts with stub axle and adapter flange measured in the same way the P/S 280zxt shaft is 1/2" longer, the D/S 280zxt shaft is 1/8th" longer. I think I can live with that.

But before I put the car up on the rotisserie I'll install the R200 diff and the new shafts, lower it down and pile several hundred pounds in the back of the car to see if the shafts bottom out, if I do it that way I will still have a year or so to fix it if there is a problem.

Nice work, thanks for posting the results and the pictures.  jmortensen has recommended assembling the struts and suspension without the springs and running them through their travel range on projects like this.  If you don't get any binding, you're in good shape.  Of course, there is still the compliance of the rubber bushings to worry about when cornering but you can at least measure how much room there is, with some ingenuity.  Maybe remove the bushing caps and offset the arms while running through the travel range.