z31 tranny on a l28

[240devilz]

I every one, first sorry for my english. I have a 82' 280zx and have problems with my tranny. the body of my z is a turbo one but have no longer a l28et and was change for a l28 and i dont think that i have a t5 from the turbo version.I was thinking it was a earlier 280z tranny and part for datsun around here are pretty inexisting so i found on the net a rebuilt z31 tranny, it was on a 86 vg30et. Here is couple of pic of my 280zx tranny. do somebody here know if i can pick the bellhousing of my 280 tranny and bolt it on the z31 turbo tranny? and if is possible, do i need a custom driveshaft? thanks

 

 

manello

 

82' 280zx

87' 300zx turbo

71' 240z 350ci/t5

[kaito]

You have an early gen 5 speed from the 280z. You cannot use the nissan n/a 5 speed bellhousing for the nissan t-5 from a vg30et.

[rejracer]

First off the transmission in the pics is an 81 to 83 NA zx. You can swap the z31 transmission by changing out the front case/bell housing. You will need to do some machine work on the bell housing to get it to fit together.

1. Enlarge lower bearing hole to fit a 62mm bearing.

2. Face cut bell housing to clear thicker counter shaft gear

3. drill the 1-2 shift rod hole to 16mm.

4. Machine 280zx front cover to accept larger bearing or source one from a KA trans. VG wont work as clutch pivot is in the wrong position.

5. Fabricate rear mount (you are in uncharted territory here as far as I know).

6. Source a shortened driveshaft. Since the 280zx shaft is not rebuildable, I would have a custom shaft made.

7. figure out how to seal up the shifter

 

do a search on FS5w71C swap, KA swap and RB20 trans swap. Most are relating to an S30, so your on your own for shift boot, trans mount and driveshaft.

 

happy engineering!

[NewZed]

I think that what kaito was saying is that the VG30ET (turbo) came with the FS5R90A (BW T-5) transmission. It won't swap (at least not easily like the FS5W71C).

 

The VG30E NA 5 speed, FS5W71C, will swap, per your instructions.

[HowlerMonkey]

Nice Rejracer

 

Your quick and clear response will be added to the collective making future searches easier.

Edited July 28, 2012 by HowlerMonkey

[kaito]

Yes I was saying the turbo version came with the t-5, thanks newzed for noticing, and also to rejracer the pic he has is indeed an earlier tranny and not the 81-83 as you said. Notice how there is only one rabbit ear on the rear by the shifter? It doesnt matter what year it is unless you care about ratios.

[NewZed]

No problem, just adding some clarity. But.... - the late model ZX style "close ratio" transmissions have the single exhaust mounting ear, and the speedo gear hold-down screw on the bottom, as in Post #1's picture. So rejracer got that part. The early ones have the double mounts and the screw on the top.

 

I have both styles sitting in my garage and just went out to look and be be clear - crystal.

 

For 240devilz any transmission from late 1971 to 1983, 4 or 5 speed should swap in directly, or with the bellhousing swap a 5 speed from an NA 300ZX, or 240SX (not sure on years, the info is out there). Where are you located that you can't find one?

 

It's all good. Can't have too much information. It should all be verified though.

Edited July 28, 2012 by NewZed

[rejracer]

Kaito/Newzed, thanks for keeping this on the straight and narrow. I totally missed that the rebuilt trans was a T5. My list is for swapping the N/A 300zx box. The above does not apply in this situation.

 

And yes, one tab on the trans means 81-83. Check here for a visual.. I agree it does not matter aside from ratio's.

 

With that said, I think this is just a bell housing and driveline swap! Actually there is a bit more.... The bell housing on the 300zxt t5 is removable and there is no modifications that needs to be done to the internals. Since the 280zx chassis originally came with a T5, it's just a matter of getting the right bits that go in between the trans and car. I come up with bell housing, trans mount, driveline, pinion flange and shift boot.

 

Based on what I now understand the new list should be as follows:'

1. Swap 280zx T5 bell housing (must be off a 280zx T5 turbo trans, the one you currently have will not work)

2. Source 280zxt trans mount (if different than N/A) I honestly don't know if it is.

3. Source Turbo driveline (output splines are different so can't use N/A) I don't know if the 280zxt and 300zxt drivelines are different length or not.

4. Source 280zx Turbo or 300zx Pinion flange. (280zxt diff flange is different than 280zx N/A and 300zx.) Just match the pinion flange to the Driveline.

5. You will need the T5 shifter.

6. Might need a different lower shift boot, might not though. I don't recall if they are different between the 280zxt and NA cars or not.

 

If you get the above parts I think this is a bolt in affair. I am assuming your 280zx has an R200 in it, I believe the pinion flange splines are a different count between R180 and R200. Just beware and find out in advance if the measurements of the two transmissions are the same. If the transmission itself is physically the same it's bolt in.

 

That's all I can think of. Hope it helps.

Edited July 28, 2012 by rejracer

[kaito]

My bad rej