Neveragain55 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Even though driveline work is a bit down the road for me in this project, I’d like to get some advice and tips early on driveshaft fabrication. I’m doing the typical L28ET swap into a 1st generation Z (82 Turbo & 5 speed tranny into a 77 280Z) to be specific. I’ve already read all the write ups describing how this is done and I’m aware of what needs to be cut, shortened, moved, shifted, welded, and all the other happy stuff that goes along with making everything fit. My specific question is: if any of you know of a qualified driveshaft fabrication shop that can shorten the T5 driveshaft to make it fit underneath my 77 280Z, and I'd still have enough money left over to buy a chocolate bar I’m keeping the original rear differential and I’m not making a 500 horsepower monster that would require the driveshaft to hold up to Herculean punishment. I’m in the New England area (CT) and I need to find a good shop (yes I’ve looked) that can perform this fabrication, or if any of you know of someone that already has a shortened T5 driveshaft that would fit, that’s for sale. Thanks Gang……….. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 (edited) I might be wrong but I thought the DSs were the same length from the s30 and s130 modles but the flange that bolts to the diff is different for the different yrs of R200s. Swap flange on the diff to the one that matches the zxt DS and you should be ready to go. Edited February 4, 2012 by EvilC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neveragain55 Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 We gotta stop meeting like this Clive................ This is the shaft you sold to me (Dennis) along with the engine and tranny a while back.... Everything I've read on all the Z forums say the same thing. The drive shaft that comes from the S130 models with the T5 manual tranny have to be shortened 2 inches to fit underneath the 1st generation cars. I'd love to be able to just bolt the driveshaft up and go but apparently you have to do some fabricating to make it fit. Check with your gurus and please let me know if there's a work-a-round to this costly fix. Thanks... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonball89 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 The problem with the Turbo T5 driveshaft is that it necks down at the flange, and the tubing is thicker in the middle. I have no idea why is was made this way, but the driveshaft shop I took it to told me that there was no way to shorten it and keep it balanced because they would have to cut it in the middle rather than right up against the flange. This shop may have been full of B.S. but anyway I decided to have a custom shaft made. This brought up another problem. The Nissan T5 has a very strange slip yoke. It is a 26/24 spline, with a 1.375 seal diameter and 1.115 spline diameter. Some people have said in other threads on here that it is not available and you have to get a yoke with a 1.5 seal and machine it down, but I managed to find one company, Powertrain Industries, that sells it. Powertrain made me an entirely custom driveshaft to mate my Nissan T5 to a stock 240z R180 for a very reasonable price. They also have the flanges that bolt to the differentials for every Nissan differential available too. Here is a link to the slip yoke that goes into the Nissan T5: https://www.powertrainindustries.com/catalogs_type.htm?type=Transmission%20Yokes&filter_string=a%3A1%3A{s%3A11%3A%22part_number%22%3Bs%3A8%3A%221203-26S%22%3B}&filter_key=part_number&filter_val=1203-26S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neveragain55 Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks a million Cannonball89.... I'll definitely give them a shout when I'm ready for that stage of the project. I'm trying to keep my head above water just getting the engine back together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cannonball89 Posted February 5, 2012 Share Posted February 5, 2012 Here is some more T5 info, and also where I learned about Powertrain Industries: http://datsunzgarage.com/borg/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neveragain55 Posted February 5, 2012 Author Share Posted February 5, 2012 Thanks........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 My experience with the stock T5 shaft was same as above. Cannot be shortened because both ends are bottlenecked. I had WENCO http://www.wencodriveshafts.com/ build me a new one and was quite happy with their service. I have since bought another driveshaft from them. I used a new Nissan size slip yoke in the front and had the 1310 U-joint and NEAPCO flange put on the rear. He would have put a MOPAR slip yoke on the front after reducing the OD to fit the seal on the Nissan T5 I think for $100 bucks? Then you could have 1310 joints on both ends. But I'm not making enough power to justify it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 Well my memory fails me on how, but I took my T-5 to a driveshaft shop and had it shortened. I'm running the T-5 in my early Z. It cost me 120$-I do remember that. another thing to consider, if not already mentioned, that the U-joints are not replacable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neveragain55 Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Can you remember if they cut the shaft in the middle or at the end? That seems to be the sticky point converting the T-5 drive shafts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 The Nissan T5 came with a special driveshaft to fit the 280ZX. It is stouter and fatter than other Z driveshafts, has a different spline count on the front end and a square flange on the rear. The front yoke is a special one for the Nissan T5 and has a 1.3" diameter versus the 1.5" used on the Ford and GM T5s. In other words the only driveshaft that will fit the Nissan T5 is the one that came with it. A 240/260/280 driveshaft cannot be modified to fit. LENGTH: The T5 driveshaft is almost the same length as a 1975-1978 Zcar driveshaft, but the T5 transmission is a couple of inches longer. This means if you use a Nissan T5 trans and T5 driveshaft in a first generation Z the driveshaft will be too long by about 2-3 inches. The solution is to have a custom driveshaft made or have the stock one shortened. Most driveshaft shops can fabricate one if you tell them what you want, about $300. A cheaper solution for us budget ZCAR people is to have the stock one shortened and rewelded, about $100. This gets tricky because driveshafts should be shortened only at the ends for balance reasons. And for some reason Nissan T5 driveshafts neck down to smaller diameters right at the flanges. This means that after cutting, the yoke and flange ends are too small to weld up to the center tube. So I went down to the local racing machine shop that did my head work in Richmond, Va (Ballos Machine). The owner used to race and make his own driveshafts and said he would take a stab at it. Somehow he broke the law of physics and cut both ends, shortened it, and magically rewelded a perfect bead. It may not be perfect for a 500hp nitrous Z, but on a 6-cyl 2,200 lb car it works great. Don't believe a shop when they say it can't be done. found it here: http://datsunzgarage.com/borg/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neveragain55 Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 Thanks Trevor................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madkaw Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I will add that I am currently having vibration issues, and not sure if it is the driveshaft. I am going to take it back to have it checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neveragain55 Posted February 15, 2012 Author Share Posted February 15, 2012 Sorry to hear about the vibration issues. I have a 1989 BMW 635CSI that has about 270.000 miles and she's starting to give me vibrating issues as well because BMW's incorporate a guibo coupling between the driveshaft and the transmission mounting flange. Once the guibo's go bad there's a lot of slop and play and the drive shaft vibrates in the lower gears until you get up to cruising speed where she smooths out. I would imagine any driveshaft rebuilding shop that does nothing but fabricate and make custom driveshafts would be able to correctly balance a driveshaft. Good Luck with it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z Fire Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 (edited) A few comments regarding the drive shaft shortening, First of all, shortening by two inches is to much. I decided on 3/4" (19mm) to a length of 556mm and this worked perfect in a 1978 280Z. I tried Standard Parts Corp. in Richmond/VA but was told that this type drive shaft cannot be shortened due to it's geometry. After this and based on information I found in this post above, I, too then went to Ballos Precision Machine in Richmond and they were willing to work with me. The person to talk to is Stewart Heider. His initial quote was $150-180 which included replacement of the barrel. In the end I only paid $95 which included balancing. They managed to shorten the drive shaft by cutting the rear end only and re-weld. Edited April 6, 2012 by Z Fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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