Jersey Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 I was wondering how i could tell the difference between the 2, or 3, different nissan FS5W71B 5 speeds? I thought there where only 2 - the '77-'79 and the '80-'83 but then i was told today the '82-'83zx was different also? So i'm a little confused there but, i have 2 nissan units sitting side-by-side in my garage and i'm just trying to figure out what year they're from. One has the cover plate on the tailhousing and the other doesn't (reference here - CLICKY) but again, i was told this may not matter. The ears that the shifter pivot on are the same length if that helps any. I think i've made a choice to try a FS5W71B, the later one with the better gear spread, to see how it holds up. All this talk about how bad the T5 is and the increasing talk of 3rd gear blowups, i might as well put it to the test. I think Joe and Ken planted the seed on this one Anytime you guys want to come to the garage for the swap, you're more than welcome I'll even buy the beer. ha. Thanks in advance to any info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COZY Z COLE Posted March 31, 2005 Share Posted March 31, 2005 If that was new info to you check this link..... http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/GearRatios.html LARRY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted March 31, 2005 Author Share Posted March 31, 2005 Thanks for the link Larry. So there are 3 different FS5W71B's: '77-79, '80 and '81-'83. Do you know of a way to tell the difference between them by eye, or any other way for that matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug71zt Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 The small cover on the side of the tailhousing has a reverse lockout dealy in it. I suspect to prevent catching a piece of reverse on a 5-4 downshift. It is the later tranny if it has that. Not sure of the differences between the 80-83 units. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 Thanks Doug. I found an 82-83 tranny, to be picked up soon. Since one of the trannys i have has no cover plate, but has the short shifter "ears", i'm going to assume it's the '80 model. I don't know either if there's any difference between the internals of the '80 and the '81-'83 except the 5th gear ratio (.745 vs .780) but at least i'll know that i will have the latest nissan tranny going in to start with. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug71zt Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 Speaking of the shifter ears, between the early and late 5 spds, there is a change-up in the shifter. The spacing between the pivot and the striking lever changed, so if you have the wrong shifter for the tranny, you're going to have shifter problems. Doug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted April 4, 2005 Author Share Posted April 4, 2005 Yes. There's a write-up HERE about the shifter and a few pics of the longer eared late 5 speeds. Thanks Doug. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted April 4, 2005 Share Posted April 4, 2005 This site is always timely. I was thinking of getting a short shift kit but I just noticed that my trans has the long eared shifter socket. The trans is a five speed out of a 200SX with my 280Z bell housing on it. I don't think that the Z short shift kit "pivot extenders" fit on the long-eared shifter socket...unless I can drill out the ears and move the pivot up without the extenders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 I believe you're right cygn, the short shift kit that MSA sells is only for the short "eared" nissan 5speed. I did read somewhere that it's easy to make a homemade short shift kit with the long eared tranny by doing just what you mentioned - drilling new holes above the stock pivot, but for the life of me, i can't find the post or the site i read about it. Forgive me if i missed it but, is the 200sx 5speed suppose to be stronger, or have better ratios, then the 81-83ZX tranny? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 It's was free and I made it work. Read more: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=95106&highlight=ratios Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 Got it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 I believe you're right cygn, the short shift kit that MSA sells is only for the short "eared" nissan 5speed. I did read somewhere that it's easy to make a homemade short shift kit with the long eared tranny by doing just what you mentioned - drilling new holes above the stock pivot, but for the life of me, i can't find the post or the site i read about it. Forgive me if i missed it but, is the 200sx 5speed suppose to be stronger, or have better ratios, then the 81-83ZX tranny? Drilling the holes higher isn't the way to make a short shifter IMO. All you need is a longer section between the pivot and the ball on the bottom. I suppose if the bushing at the bottom was really deep into the transmission you could redrill the pivot 1/4" higher and it wouldn't fall out when you shifted, but I'd feel better with a more solid engagement on the bottom bushing and a longer section between pivot and ball. Truck shifters have a much longer shaft there, and fit right into both the early 5 speeds and the later ones. No drilling the transmission ears required. You do have to bend the stick and cut it down, but that's pretty easy to do. Any L series truck has the shifter needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Drilling holes higher in the long-ears would require a stick with it's "pin hole" raised by the same amount. Alternatively, you would use the stick the comes with the short shift kits. I am not sure if that stick puts the pin hole too high for the long-ears though. I think I will leave mine stock. It's really not too bad at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 That's what I've heard before online, but I have never used the MSA short shifter personally. I was told about the truck shifter by a Nissan tech, and all my friends use it on late 4 speeds, early 5 speeds and late 5 speeds. None has ever redrilled the hole, the pivot to ball length is a lot longer, and the shift throw is REALLY short. Like you wouldn't want it any shorter short. I think you're right though when you say that redrilling the hole with a longer shifter doesn't hurt anything. Just redrilling the hole without changing the shifter was what I was taking issue with. And bottom line for me is that IME redrilling the hole isn't necessary with the shifters I've used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 I didn't think you could push the ball down any further then stock and knew to make a true short shifter, you need to increase the length between the pivot and ball, which is why i mentioned re-drilling the pivot higher. What i forgot to mention is using a different stick like the truck unit, with a longer pivot to ball length, when doing this. But from what your saying Jon is that the ball will go further down into the tranny then the stock shifter ball does? I guess i'll find this all out when i get the ZX unit soon. Thanks for the info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted April 5, 2005 Share Posted April 5, 2005 Yeah basically the truck shifter is longer and the hole doesn't need to be redrilled is what I'm saying. I think the piece it attaches to in the transmission moves up and down a bit, which allows it to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jersey Posted April 5, 2005 Author Share Posted April 5, 2005 Even easier Thanks for the added info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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