280zx cv axle length in 240

[patty]

OK. Yes, I have spent - oh, maybe 15 hours searching for this info. The results I found did not match up with what happened in the shop tonight - so here I am.

 

I decided to install my r200 into my 71 240 along with 280zx cv axles - the ones with 6 bolts at the companion flange end. I also read ( and saw the photos) that another person used the 280zx companion flanges, which splines match the 240z, and of course already match the 280zx cv axle.

 

http://alteredz.com/240ZCVHalfshaftConversion.htm

 

SO, after rebuilding the axles i bought ( one is shorter than the other) I attempted installation and -

no way-. Driver axle ( the short one) is too long. The passenger would be even more "too long".

 

So - WTF? Are there more than one axle out there that looks just like a 280 zx axle - but it's longer?

 

I could understand if I got the wrong axles - but I dont find anything out there to support this.

 

Anyone have a set of 280zx axles they can measure ( yes I searched for that too). Compressed length would be great.

 

Thanks for any enlightenment!

[NewZed]

Somewhere in one of jmortensen's threads I think that there's a comment about "watch out for the 6 bolt NA 300ZX CV axles" they're extra long.  Maybe you got 300ZX axles.  Might be in this htread but I'm not sure - - http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/49194-differential-cv-lsd-hp-torque-r160-r180-r200-r230-diff-mount/

Also out there in the internet world is information on the general fact (inferred) that the 240Z's don't seem to have as much space between the flanges as the 280Z's.  U-joint half-shafts bottom out when used with the R200 differential in the 240Z, but they're fine inthe 280Z's.

BUT, on the other hand, for the 280Z's there seems to be at least an extra inch of space with the 6 bolt 280ZX CV axle.  People make adapters, about an inch thick, to go from 6 bolt to 4 bolt, to allow using the axles with the stock 280Z companion flanges.  Seems like you might have NA 300ZX axles.

 

[patty]

ok I went to the local pick a part and found a 300 zx (z 31 ?)  there were my axles - unfortunately. SO yes, the 280zx T and the 300ZX (Z31) axles look the same - except the 280zxT axles are about 1 inch sorter. 

[patty]

a little more confirmation...

 

*There are some important differences in the CV jointed half shafts for the 280ZX and the 300ZX. I will briefly list them so that replacement parts or salvaged parts might be found easier. From the data found in a CV joint rebuild guide that I was able to look through, I found that all the '82-'83 280ZX Turbo's and some of the 2+2's use the same exact half shaft. These half shafts use a "tripode" design in the CV joints, meaning they have a 3 pronged (120 degree), needle bearing equipped joint. The axles themselves are 14-11/16" long, both left and right sides, and have 27 tooth splines at both ends. All other 280ZX's use the U-joint type of half shafts. The differential axle stub assembled as part of the shaft has 25 teeth in the splines that will fit into the R200 "Z" differential.

The '84-'89 non-turbo 300ZX half shafts are almost the same as the 280ZX shafts, except that the axle lengths are 15-3/4" long for the right side, and 15-3/8" long for the left side, but the ends of the axles themselves have the same 27 tooth splines. If worst came to worst, I would check your specific car's dimension to see if there is enough lateral movement in the CV joints to be able to use these longer axles, without any binding, provided you changed the inboard differential axle stub part. The differential axle stub is assembled as part of the inner joint, and has a different set of splines than the 280ZX, so this end won't interchange either. But, the good news is that the tripod assembly itself, that fits on the ends of the axle splines, are the same between the 280ZX and the 300ZX shafts. On the turbo versions of the 300ZX, Nissan went to a more traditional ball-and-cage version of the CV joints used on these half shafts, with no interchangability of their parts.