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Got myself a mystery gearbox


Villeman

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Hello,

 

 

i recently scored a  1992 200sx 5 speed (there was no 240 in Germany iirc, was still named 200sx) for my 280z 5 speed conversion [ 70.000 miles, 110$, all gears shifting].

 

So, the gearbox seems to be a 71C from the looks of it, but it has a "CA71B #2 Kangoroo" stamp on the bellhousing (no joke)  .... isn´t this a 280z/zx bellhousing????

 

I hope i bought the correct one for the conversion....

 

20160221 182900

20160221 182841

20160221 182835

20160221 182827

 

Edited by Villeman
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Not clear if you're hoping this is the front case/bell housing or the gear set. Looks like you got a 71C gear set, that will need a 71B bell housing to work on an L6.  The shifter is an easy clue, and the cross hatched bell.  You can check the angle of the mounting holes also.

post-8864-0-22804200-1456160264_thumb.png

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okay, thats what i wanted to hear :) i wanted to get a 71C 5 speed (late model) since it has more synchros etc.

 

I was just wondering why there is a 71B bellhousing already attatched, and if I could use that one (instead of a donor one from a 4 speed)

(and why they casted a cangoroo picture on there ...)

 

Edit : looks like it´s a CA18DET gearbox which wasn´t sold to the US in this combination in a 200sx. So, is this a "good" 200sx box or some lesser suited box?

Edited by Villeman
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I've never seen a good explanation of what the B or C means.  Most call the later transmission the 71C because that's what Nissan calls it in the 300ZX Service Manual, when the VG30 was introduced.  But there are many other letters used.  Even the early 71C's had the same synchros and gear widths as the 71B's, so once you swapped bells you had essentially a 71B with a different shifter and set of gear ratios..  But, the countershaft bearing size was larger fro the 300ZX 71C, so that's one definite difference.  The later US market 240Sx 5 speeds with the extra synchros and wider gears were actually either a 71H or 71J (can't remember which), not 71C..

 

So, in your case, you might still have a smaller countershaft bearing, and an unususal set of gear ratios, and either the same number of synchros or more.  I would find a Service Manual for 1992 European 200SX and see what it shows.  Nissan's casting marks and numbers haven't been very useful, at least on the early Z's.

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There are lots of variations out there.  Length of the tail shaft case, for instance.  Yours doesn't look like either of the two 240SX units shown in the popular writeups (Nigel/Motortopia and Steve/zhome), which also don't look like each other.  Better triple check.

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I would measure length first.  Overall, and each case, front and back.  The smaller cars and trucks seem to come with shorter tail shaft housings.

 

And you can see the countershaft bearing by popping off the front cover, no need to split the cases.

 

Here's another example of ID code.  "E" and "C".  http://www.midwesttrans.com/webapp/catalog.jsp

 

Good luck, have fun.

post-8864-0-31555500-1456164704_thumb.png

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That bellhousing will not fit an L series. It's made to match up to a CA. As NewZed said it's all the same tranny, KA/SR/CA all had the same 71c gearset (with some minor changed as pointed out). So if you wanted a 5 speed to do the swap, you just need to machine the L series bellhousing to make it work. 

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One thing about Nissan is that they don't change bits from model to model unless there is a good reason for it, unlike those Germans who seem to change things just to make life more complicated ;)  The kangaroo could mean that the casings were cast in Australia.

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  • 4 weeks later...

That transmission will work fine-just needs the bellhousing swapped over. The gear ratios are OK too. You'll need to drill the bellhousing for the 16mm shift rod, and cut it for the 62mm countershaft bearing, and clearance the boss on the back of the countershaft hole for the countershaft gear.

 

It is *very* likely you will not need to modify your driveshaft either, when I've used a 200SX transmission from behind a CA20E or CA18DET engine it's always been the correct length to drop right in place. Same with early RB20E/ET transmissions.

 

The shifter is NOT THE SAME as a later 240SX shifter, one bolt is in a different spot and one bolt is 17mm instead of 10mm. If you choose to go looking for an aftermarket shifter, keep that in mind!

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  • 5 months later...

sorry to bring this back up. Bellhousing from a 4 speed is machined and ready to go. Anyhow, the gears from the CA18DET seem to be bad. Is there any comprehensive guide to spot dealbreaker flaws? Don´t want to put millions of pictures up.

 

thanks in advance!

 

btw: no need to shorten the driveshaft????Really? Would be too good to be true

Edited by Villeman
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