Guest Anonymous Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Heres my story first in a nutshell.. broke R180, went R200, installed R200... R200 no fit, make R200 fit by installing it incorrectly, works but makes noise.. I know this isnt in the correct forum but I know you guys can help me out.. if anybody can... I have been doing an R200 conversion on my 74 1/2 260Z for over a year now.. LOL and its pretty sad I know.. hehe I have been reading posts in the Drivetrain section about R200 swaps all night long, and I cant find the valid info im looking for so I outcry to the Z community... I got a new-used R200 from a salvage yard (pretty respectable place ALL Z East) and installed it (well.. converted it from an R180) and ran into some nasty problems getting it to line up and fit. And when I did finally find a way to make it fit, it made growling noise at sub-freeway speeds right from the beginning... bummer eh, install new rear end and it makes noise... BUT, only if I let off the pedal... if the pedal is applied, the noise stops completely... When I got the R200 into position while installing, and tried to line it up I discovered that the whole diff was too far forward (towards the engine) by about 3/4 inch (in the stock position) and the rear arms cannot bolt up atleast this is what I am seeing.. From the Rear of the car looking at the mustache bar this is how I believe it should look... with the mustash bar set forward (towards the engine) and the hangers further back? The mustash bar SHOULD NOT touch the rear "traverse link" crossmember hangers at all correct? A. Example A is how I believe it should be (but wont fit) @___| |___| |___/@ ____| |___| |____/ _____| |___| |____ This is how the original placement is correct (fig A) Mustash bar sits IN FRONT of the hangers by a cpl inches, doesnt touch them? B. Well....This is how I ended up putting it in... @__|_|___|_|__/@ _____________/ ____| |____| |_____ Its a crude drawing but you can see the first one is in front and the second one is behind the hangers.. This is how I ended up bolting it up, with the Mustash bar wedged TIGHT Behind the two hangers, I managed this by pulling out the mustash bar and flipping it around completely..... this was the ONLY WAY I could get the diff to sit far enough back to line up (somewhat properly). I mean its wedged pretty darn tight up against those 2 hangers, and the bar doesnt sit flush on the hangers either, its kinda kocked alittle bit and doesnt sit good. With it like this (figure B.) how I installed it... the rear end makes noise when I let off the pedal at sub-freeway speeds, I think the U-Joint or Pinion Flange angles are being thrown off by how I had the mustash bar positioned so tightly against those hangers... I think its out of alignment this way. I guess my questions are (does my illustrations make any damn sense whatsoever?) LOL and if they do make sense what do you think? Is it ok for the mustash bar to sit behind the hangers? wedged up tight like I have it? and if this is not the root of my noise problem, could that problem be just a bad diff? And the placement was ok all along? Thanks alot, any suggestions, ideas, slaps in the face with reality will be greatly appreciated... dannadeau2112@hotmail.com if you would like to email Dan Portland Oregon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Are you using an r180 mustash bar? If so you need to use the r200 mustash bar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Hey Mike, That is a very good question... I went to the boneyard and got another mustash bar the same day I bought the R200, I asked for a R200 bar, they gave me one..., I got home.. and it was the same exact bar I had on with the R180. So there is a noticable difference in the 2 bars? so if the bar I pulled off my bad R180 and the bar I picked up at the junkyard were both exactly the same (and they were) that means my mustash bar is wrong? I bought a R180 bar from the beginning... that is very depressing... LOL do you know anywhere I can see a side-by-side comparison of these 2 bars? DAMN! Thanks Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Yes, the bolt spacing for the studs on the rear of the R180/200 are not the same. Did you have to drill holes for the R200 to fit in the moustache bar? The studs should be closer together on the R180, and if it was exactly the same as on your R180 they gave you the wrong one. R200 bar is also beefier. Comparison on this page: http://www.geocities.com/madmanadam/Z-car/r200swap.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Now im stumped... I think I have the R200 bar... but, I have a question. there were 2 kinds of 260Z which both had R180's, the earlier and the later, the later... 74 1/2 used some different parts which I am assuming were from the 280Z... now, do you know if one of those parts was the beefier R200 mustash bar? and maybe this is why my R180 bar and the R200 bar I got from the junkyard looked the same? Or did all 260's use the R180 bar? And the holes... I never drilled anything, are you certain that the R180 bar wont fit on an R200 diff? if this is the case for sure, then I know I got the right bar, cuz I didnt drill any new holes. This is pretty frustrating, but that website looks like a good reference... I like the crossed out title "my R200 swap that failed" heheh I can feel that. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 The R200 bar will fit behind the 2 plates coming down behind the diff (mounting points for the rear pickups of the rear control arms), the R180 fits forward of those two plates. Also, the R200 bar is thicker than the R180 bar. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Hey Tim, I can see in those pictures on that website that the R200 is sitting IN FRONT of those 2 plates... that was one of my biggest questions. Now that I know, I need to figure out why my diff is making noise while installed that way. The fit up against those bars isnt that great, and thats why I felt that it wasnt quite right... cuz if you look at the mustash bar as it contacts those plates.. it doesnt sit flush. its kinda kocked angular alittle bit and looks kinda funky. And I know the R180 didnt sit like that. as far as the diff making Noise only at 45-mph and ONLY when I let my foot off the gas... do you think its a shot bearing in the diff or more likely a problem with the ujoint angles or pinion flange driveline angle? Thanks for all your help. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 This may be a stupid question, but did the r200 look the same/or different then your r180? If it looked the same, maybe you bought another r180? or maybe another r200 that someone already installed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Nope, the R180 and R200 were notably different, in size and weight... but I SWEAR that the mustash bars were identical!!! weird. how can this be? im going to have to take a few more looks at my mustash bar, is Mudge correct to say the R180 bar wont even adapt to an R200 due to hole differences? im confused, I think I have the R200 bar... I probally have everything right the first time and I bought a shot diff. Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike kZ Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 Yes the two bars are different. I don't know why the two bars you have are fitting http://www.geocities.com/madmanadam/Z-car/r200swap.html Did you scroll down to the second pic on the left, and down one? The two bars are different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudge Posted March 5, 2003 Share Posted March 5, 2003 This says 260 got R180 http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/6212/diffswap/diffswap.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z ya Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 I know why your r200 sits about 3/4" to far foward. Because I did the same thing! Flip you front diff mount the other direction and all will be cured! It will push the diff back the 3/4" and give the the proper clearence to bolt everything back up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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