Zeppelin408 Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 R/S stub axel popping off R200 Differential , on 76 Datsun 280z , thinking it's the circlip inside the diff not sure though. Any help would be much appreciated ! Tried searching through forums can't find anything on circlip replacement . Just trying to get my Z back on the road ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Might just look in there and see if it's still there. There was a post on circlip replacement. You can get them and the trick is to push them in with a socket that fits snug so that the clip doesn't twist around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Could also be a binding half-shaft. Since it's not on the road, the shaft is probably popping out when you put the car on the ground? Best guess based on limited info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ritrebor Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Just making sure you have the shafts in the correct side. I had mine reversed and they popped out when I test drove it. They are different lengths on the driver and passenger side. ritrebor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeppelin408 Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Only have this issue on the passenger side axel . I slide the axel stub in and it seems to lock In place ( I even place a 2x4 in the center of the stub and strike it with a hammer ) axel stub dose not slide out after that , then bolt up the half shaft and lower the car , test drove it twice around the block before it popped out again . Managed to somewhat slide it Back in to make it home . Cars rearends now in the air trying to figure out why this happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RebekahsZ Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 (edited) What kind of half shaft do you have? It may be that your total axle length is too short (I had this problem recently and had to be trailered home). Put it up on jackstands and put a jack under the offending control arm to simulate ride height. Unbolt the wheel end of the axle and pull the assembly down. Get your head up in there with a flashlight and check to ensure the c-clip is up inside where it belongs. If it is, push the stub into the diff and feel the c-clip do its job. Then examine the outboard end of the axle. You only want about 1/4-1/2" of wiggle room at that end of the axle. If you have more, that's probably your problem (axle too short). Now bolt it up on the outboard end. If you have Z31 CV axles pull the outboard boot back a couple inches so you can look into the CV. Wipe off some of the grease and see where the internal balls and cage are riding. If they are dangerously close to the inside lip of the CV cup, the axle is too short and will either pull out of the diff or worse yet, come apart at the outer CV. The clip in the diff isnt strong enough to retain the axle against tension. Its just there to hold it in against vibration. If its too short, you need a different combination of axle components. With Z31 axles, I'm currenltly running the longer M2 custom shaft on the driver side and the shorter stock shaft on the driver side. Edited November 5, 2014 by RebekahsZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 The OP's not giving much information. It could be stock, it could be a race car with adjustable control arms. To the OP - describe what you;re working with. "1976 280Z passenger side axle pops out of diff when car is driven" is pretty sparse. You can tell if the axle is seated by sight, just look at the dust shield area and see if anything is exposed. The Betamotorsports site had a good description of how the u-joint half-shafts are not of different length side-to-side, they're the same. But Nissan did remove an internal part for the late 70's Z's and ZX's to allow them to extend further, making them effectively longer. But a stock 1976 car wouldn't need that extra length. Take both half-shafts out and see if they both extend easily to the same length. I had one that either dried up and screwed up the bearing races or had been in an accident. The bearings wouldn't roll freely in their channels anymore. It didn't pull the stub out but it might have got there eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeppelin408 Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 My Z has stock half shafts , last month my differential took a dump luckily sourced a used one online nearby (both being R200 ). Swapped them out . As I had the stock halfshafts out , took them to get new u-joints by a shop and then reassembled everything. Driver side axel gives me no problems , passenger side is installed the same way as drivers side and appears it won't give me any problems , but after a test drive around the block it pops out again . I'll take both of them off and inspect them . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Could be you swapped sides on the stubs and put the long one in on the short side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeppelin408 Posted November 6, 2014 Author Share Posted November 6, 2014 Sure enough I had the longer Axel stub on the driver side and the shorter one on the passenger side hope this sloves my issue ! Thanks everyone ! All the advice was much appreciated !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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