More questions on CV axle conversion

[ezzzzzzz]

Ah Ha!

[cygnusx1]

Yes the "cone" snaps off the outboard end to reveal a spring. I just took my first "REAL" drive in the Z with the new brakes, CV conversion, and differential replacement all done. I drove it pretty hard and it rewarded me with SMOOTH power to the rear wheels. No more faint rumble in the chassis as the power band passed by. I drove it for about 45 minutes on windy, hilly roads with the air temp around 45 degrees. When I came back to the garage I reached under to feel the tulips just checking to see if they were getting hot; a sign of stress. The inner drivers side tulip was as warm as the differential, about 100deg.F or so. The remaining three tulips were cold. I remember that side was squeeking a bit when I turned the drivetrain by hand after I assembled it all. I know I forgot to grease the outer dust lip of the new oil seal on that side of the diff. That friction could be causing the tulip on that side to heat up. I will try to grease it up this weekend and see if the temp comes down. Any other thoughts on this?

[cygnusx1]

Just a long term update. I probably have about 4000+ miles and one track day on this conversion now and it is holding up great. I had some of the bolts loosen up on me but I didn't lock-tite them in the frst place--shame, shame, shame on me. With the lock-tite in place, I have had zero issues.

[blueovalz]

This was my experience as well. I lost several U-jointed shafts the first season, but I still have (until this month) the single, original set of ZXT shafts I put under the car over 15 years ago. Yes, I've got a little slack in them now, but the unusual situation with these ZXT shafts (for my backward gear carrier) caused me to want to try something new (930 joints).

[Mikelly]

I missed this thread... Here are a few things we learned when we installed the CV Axle/ R200 Quaif we got from Ross and put in Jim's car...

 

These CV axle refurbishing shops make mistakes and sometimes use the wrong axles for the center sections. We ordered FOUR passenger side axles and all of them were the wrong size and all came with the correct part number. This cause us to not be able to get the axles in place even with the retainer flipped. We'd gotten on the phone with Ross and talked about possibilities with the first one, and ended up having to go to a shop that does axles and confirm that indeed the wrong length center was used on that run of passenger side axles. Here's the rub... Ross' axle came from somewhere in the northwestern part of the country near Canada. I'm in Virginia... YOu guys following me here? If he got a mis-labled axle, and I got FOUR MORE incorrectly assembled units, what's the likelyhood that you will?

 

Pretty good in my estimate! Make sure you know the exact measurements of your compressed distances to insure you're getting the correct part. This was our problem and it was very frustrating for me, Ross, the techs at the shop we used, and Jim.

 

Also, I believe someone earlier may have stated I do custom CV alxes. I do not. However, Tim Hepburn put togethe a quality set for me and you may want to contact him!

 

Mike

[blueovalz]

Mike,

 

This problem is really the main reason I started my latest project (930 cvs). I knew that sooner or later (and it's been a lot later than I ever expected) I'd need to rebuild my zxt shafts, BUT, I found no one that had two part numbers for left and right sides in their catalogs or inventory. On top of that, I couldn't find a source that would take my axles, and rebuild them exactly the as they sit now (left inner is swapped with the right inner joint to fit my carrier). I figured if I take the issue out of having to rely on someone else to do the work, it would get done correctly.

[cygnusx1]

I wonder why my 280ZXT shafts fit onto a stock 280Z. They are almost compressed to max but they fit. My axles look original 280ZXT and as far as I can tell have not been rebuilt or modified.

[pparaska]

I guess this is one good reason to stock up on used, from the junkyard 280ZX CV shafts. I have a few extra sets I'll hold onto. When you get them out of a 280ZX, they have usually never been touched since the car was built. That way you have the correct length parts.

 

Then again, I'll probably move to something different in the future (R230, or R200 with custom shafts like Terry is doing).

[HICKL]

I've posted this in the downloads section but wanted to add it here also. I am setting up to make some CV adapters and had an idea. Look at this sketch and tell me what you guys think.

 

http://album.hybridz.org/showphoto.php?photo=11892&cat=704

[pparaska]

Interesting idea! I like the out of the box thinking!

 

So you'd not use the end sheetmetal plate on the CV, and use a longer spring? Or just use the stock one and stretch it?

[HICKL]

I would build the "box" to mimic the internal dimensions of the sheetmetal plate. As far as the spring knows, nothing has changed. I measured the inside depth of the little cap and it actually has a little cup in it that the spring sits in. I will transfer that cup to the pocket in the adapter. I will make the prototype on a manual machine but it it works like I think, and there is demand, I could set up a CNC machine and make a run of them.

 

Jeff