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HI all FYI Parts fiche T5 in Turbo from 01/82 and R200 3.545 from 12/80 and revised 08/82 but still 10mm ring bolts . info from carfiche.com Neil

To Ezzie Change the thread URL ending to t=94342 for shaft disassembly details Ive written before. Neil

Hi Mike If you want to view original parts fiche go to http://www.carfiche.com/s130/index.pl pages 3m8-9-10etc to check for part No variation. Neil

Hi Mike, From my experience with Z31 longnose and 240SX shortnose R200s the bearings and seals were identical so I would think the same would apply for 280ZX. Neil

Oh well what the hell! Firstly you say that all the rear covers are interchangeable, if that is true then all the diffs you have must be R200 as R230s use a 10 bolt rear cover as previously discussed in this thread. Fitting a shortnose diff is the same for R200 or R230 and all the info you want including pictures can be found amongst the R230-Drivetrain Threads in the search function. Neil.

Hi Kelsey, If you are asking about late model skyline with shortnose R200, this is not a simple swap, as you need to make a custom support cradle for the diff to maintain correct suspension geometry. The existing longnose housing supports the centre of the main trailing arm support. You also need to make custom driveshafts. You can use the differential gearcase from 4.083 or 4.363 ratio shortnose in a Z31 12mm ringear housing but you still need to make custom driveshafts. You might consider fitting complete multilink rear. Neil

Hi guys, As some of you will recall this is a bit of a pet subject because I see it as entirely feasable. I have pics of an S13 200SX rear subframe under my spare 280ZX, the rear subframe mounts can be bolted into the existing crossmember that supports the existing diff mount. The front mounts need to be extended but can be acomplished by by cutting and joining up sections from the existing front trailing arm support. You need to bash the floor ( not severely) where the upper front trailing arm is. With 40mm offset wheels you will have a rear track of 1460mm. You could narrow the multilink subframe 40mm on the right hand side and use 2 left driveshafts, this would offset the front diff flange the same as original ( multi-link has the diff flange central to the car)which should fit within the existing guards. The only other problem to check is the angle of the rear struts and the angle of the bottom strut mount on the on the hub support. To improve the front you could use Z31 front hubs modified to accept 54mm deep skyline rotors as a slip on thus allowing 40mm offset wheels on the front as well. Neil Further info. (S14-15 supposed to be the same as Skyline) Rear mount width S14 616mm Rear mount CL to axle CL S14 165mm S130 R180-139mm R200-181mm Front mount width S14 1080mm S130 1020mm Front mount CL to Axle CL S14 425mm S130 500mm F to R Mounting height difference S14 147.6mm S130 120mm? Upper strut centres S14 960mm S130 974.6mm Upper Strut centres behind axle CL S14 83mm S130 114mm Upper strut height from rear mount S14 455mm S130 588.7mm

I'm with Douglas, Aus6K buys alot of other options probably with change left over. RB30 turbo is the obvious, rebuilt & bored 3.1lt as opposed S/h RB25. Even a GM 3.8lt V6 with 5 speed would come in around that sort of money and that would kick arse. You could even do Lexus 4lt V8 with 5sp Supra box in that price range. RB30 has definately been underated, given its cheap availability in Aus. Good luck with your project no matter what you choose. Neil

Hi Joe, All birfield joints are basically the same, the sliding joint, you pull back the boot to reveal the inside of the joint you then remove the snap ring and pull the shaft out of the joint with the spider and cage attached. The balls all fall out, you then remove the circlip from the end of the shaft to remove the spider, noting which side of the spider faced the end. The fixed joint you pull back the boot, mount the shaft in a vice and tap the rim of the joint with a soft faced mallet to knock the joint off the shaft ( thats what it says in the book but the ones I've done have taken a good hard whack to dislodge the joint off the internal snap ring). Now the book says that the joint cant be dismantled, but it can, you rotate the cage till it is nearly vertical to the joint and procede to remove all the balls in turn by prying out with a small screwdriver. the cage has 2 larger holes opposite each other, with the cage vertical and the large holes horizontally opposed, remove the cage with spider, then rotate leg of spider into one of the large holes and remove. Note when reassembling a shaft always make sure that the spiders are aligned exactly with each other ie leg for leg or ball for ball otherwise the joints will fail in use. All the best, Neil

Hey Joe, ( sounds like Hendrix ) Firstly longnose is 3.545 or 39/11 and the Q45 is 3.538 or 46/13 so the ringear isn't interchangeable. The gearcase in R200s with 13 or 14 tooth pinion I dont believe can be used in the longnose housings with the early gearsets of 10 or 11 tooth pinions because the ringear mounting is set too far from the pinion centreline. Since in another thread you said that you have both diffs and were removing the rear covers, measure from a fixed point on the housing to the ringear mounting face on both and let us know what the difference is between them. Neil

Oh dear not again, Gotta say thats a beautiful piece of machining, but the diff from all my research is R200 the only internals it might share witth R230 are the side gears which take the R230 axle stubs. A Z32TT R230 with 3.692 ratio isn't that much different to the Q45 R200 3.538 ratio but is big difference from Z32NA R200 of 4.083 ratio. Unless your running a big torque motor, carry on with what you've got its still VLSD and will have the heavy 6 bolt axles. The quality of the workmanship is first class!!!!!!!!!!!! Neil

Hi Mike, My old magazine quote,''It is to nitpick to suggest that the Zcars designer, Albrecht Goertz,had earlier worked on a Datsun project (rejected) that was built by Yamaha,and that Yamaha was well prepared when Toyota presented its brief for a 2 seater coupe. It may be that the 2000GT and the 240Z are cousins but that hardly matters." After its debut at the 1965 Tokyo motor show only 337 cars were built out of a projected 1000 with 54 cars sent to the USA and one gorgeous factory convertible, which I haven't found in my old mags yet, makes it what Toyota wanted in the long run, a rare and expensive classic GT. Now what about all those old Ferraris. Neil For more explaination of Goertz - http://www.autoswalk.com/datsun240z.html

RCNSC You like this car comparison thing I can see, at least you pick interesting cars. Lets face it the 2000GT was Japan's first serious attempt at taking on, Ferrari in particular, at producing high speed supercars. As your pictures show it came with the wood grain dash, full instrumentation large three spoke steering wheel. But when you start commissioning limited production Yamaha twin cam head for what was to become their staple 6cyl sedan motor and alloy wheels that weren't common in those days made it an expensive exotic in its day. If you compare the stats for 60s Ferraris and a 240Z, I would be inclined to say that it too leaned heavily on PininFarina style which is why when you look back now they are seen as having a classic lasting style. The side profile of a 2000GT is very swelte but the large driving lights definitely spoilt the front, the twin central exhaust exit was very E Type Jaguar. Maybe that should be your next comparison Z vs E Type it was the one most used when the Z was released. Neil

Hi scumdog, Obvious thing to do is contact MSA and ask them. They are probably listed that way 1. because of the ring gear bolt size and 2. because of the different types of halfshaft. If you remove the rear cover 10mm ringear bolts are 14mm socket size and 12mm bolts are 17 mm socket size. Neil.

Hi SSK Go for the simple things first. Previous owner said car suddenly lost power, check that something hasn't been sucked into air intake or that a baffle has let go in a muffler. If you have spark at the plug, check fuel filter and that you can hear the fuel pump running and fuel in tank. Check that the flap in the air flow meter moves freely. Check all vacuum connections, PCV circuit and EGR valve. Check all electrical connections. Check that the advance systems in the distributer are both working. If all else fails try the mechanic. Good luck! Neil.

Hi Joe, They are different shaft size with the Q45 having a higher spline count. Neil

Well scumdog, The number n3100 would be indicative of early 10mm type. The letters A & B have adjacent numbers stamped into the casing which are used in calculating side bearing preload washer thickness. You didn't say which model of car it is in that would also help in ID. If my memory serves me well 12mm 4 pinion were used in Z31 Turbo that is not LSD. Neil

The Double edged sword. Is it a car, just an object with no value in the true cycle of life? Is it your status symbol with a greater percieved value than its true worth? Normally you sell it and never see it again, unfortunately its the young guys, like some of us once were, that have the money and ultimately you need to move on to whats next. If your conscence bothers you, then you are the seller and you can sell or do whatever you chose, but what the buyer does with it after they pay the money is totally outside your control. Worry about the things over which you can control the oucome and not those which are beyond your control. Neil

Ka24 Your 240sx would make a better race car than Z31 IMO , better suspension particularly in the rear and greater aftermarket availability of suspension tuning products. Just slip a VG30E in the engine bay or find an SE with it already fitted. Neil

Hey Tim are you my US twin. I never use my horn, just accept the roads a full of people with all the foibles that humans have, if you didn,t hit them and they didn't hit you who cares. If you have time to use the horn then it cant be that big a problem. Just had a weekend away Tim, cosy cottage, Pink Foyd on surround sound, Spa and a glass of Port to finish off. Life's tough. Neil

Oh dear what can the matter be, three old ladies locked in the lavatory. Theyve been there from Sunday till Saturday, Nobody knew they were there! Well dont some people get carried away, you modify things to improve their faults. All the initial critisism relates to the factory spec car and those that drove S30s new will attest to their abismal brakes and floating at high speed. With no intention to offend if the S130 hadn't been designed for the US market it could have been an entirely different car. I have a copy of a development book for the 280ZX and some less knowledgable people have absolutely no idea what went into the design of the car both styling wise and mechanically. I would have to say in many respects it is superior to the cars that preceded it despite US emissions. Beauty will always fall to the eye of the beholder. Neil

Lazd Taking out the initial cost of the diff about $700-800 as I understand it. R200 is a range of diffs with the same size ringear but different housings and mounting. What you are asking about is what is refered to as a shortnose because it is shorter with a bushed 2 bolt front mount as opposed to the longnose fitted to Z31 and earlier Zs which has a longer 4 bolt front mount. Spend the time researching in the sites search function to broaden your knowledge on these issues, it is stacked full of info on anything to do with modifying Zs. Neil

The only real issues with 280ZX was the luxury fat, stifling emmissions,safety bumpers, brake fade and handling problems caused by the trailing arm rear. Nothing really to do with the style at all. Like any car the last of a model is usually the best, the last turbo had hard suspension and would outrun an equivelant era Porche. So modified with these issues addressed and nice body kit you cant go wrong, isn't that right fellow 280ZXs? Neil 8)

Yes Wayne thats the reason, when I first started researching this issue, like others I thought 6 bolt flanges was indicative of R230. Until I came across a discussion in the NICO forum on the 90-96 models 3.538 R200v and the non interchangeability of the Z32NA 4.08 R200v because of the bigger diff stubs. Further research confirmed this as true. Neil

Hi Wayne In addition to the above post, the diff stubs in the 90-96 Q45 R200 are the same as R230 ie 30-31? spline and are not interchangeable with other R200s. Neil