Now.........The Rear Hubs

[NZeder]

For the guys in Aussie and NZ. Yesterday I had new tires fitted to my BA Falcon and I was looking at the rear I.R.S setup. Now I don't know what the bearing/size/etc of the BA but I thought one of you guys in Oz might be able to look into it as an option. The falcon use the 5x114.3 PCD so I assume ford use the same setup on the BOSS and Turbo XR's so the hub/shortened halfshaft CV should be more than strong enough for a Zed (given the stock BA inline 6 put out 182kw and the BOSS put down 290kw and 520Nm).

 

Some more research required?

[S15 200sx owner]

Here’s what I did to fit the Z31 stub axle into an S30 strut housing:

 

After a futile search for bearings that would work without machine work' date=' I bored the strut housing where the bearings fit out from 70.0 to 72.0mm. My machinist was able to do this on a lathe to ensure a precise cut. I used a 6306 type bearing (ID = 30mm,OD = 72mm,T = 19mm) for the inner bearing and a type 6207 (ID = 35mm,OD = 72mm,T = 17mm) for the outer bearing. You can also use the stock Z31 outer bearing (same as a 6207) if you want to. Be sure to use sealed bearings especially on the outer one. For the inner bearing oil seal I obtained a CR 15857 seal (40mm x 72mm x7mm) which worked very nicely.

 

I reused the S30 bearing spacer after it was modified by increasing the inside diameter so it could fit on the tapered Z31 stub axle. Another option is to reduce the height of the Z31 bearing spacer to match the S30 one.

 

I used the Z31 non turbo companion flange along with the 280ZX turbo CV axles to complete the swap.

 

 

 

I measured 3.0 mm difference after everything was re-assembled. I just shimmed the Maxima rear caliper bracket (I intended to use) out with washers and everything lined up OK.

 

BTW, Nissan beefed up the rear strut housing on the 260Z and the 280Z. These would be a better choice for modification rather than the 240Z one.[/quote']

 

Thanks for that good write up zcarnut, sounds like a fairly straight forward swap.

[rp975]

Thanks for the write up zcarnut, did you have to remove the strut tube from the hub housing to fit it in the lathe?

 

Rob

[zcarnut]

Thanks for the write up zcarnut, did you have to remove the strut tube from the hub housing to fit it in the lathe? / Rob

 

No. I just removed the spring and damper (and lower control arm, of course). My machinist had a large enough lathe to accommodate rotating the stub axle housing with the strut tube attached.

[tonycharger72]

"I used the Z31 non turbo companion flange along with the 280ZX turbo CV axles to complete the swap. "

 

Zcarnut, do you think this work with Z31 CV axles aswell?

 

"I measured 3.0 mm difference after everything was re-assembled. I just shimmed the Maxima rear caliper bracket (I intended to use) out with washers and everything lined up OK."

 

Was this an increase or decrease in track???

[zcarnut]

Zcarnut, do you think this work with Z31 CV axles as well?

 

Yes. But remember that the Z31 axles are longer than the 280ZX ones. This can result in the CV joints bottoming out during suspension travel.

 

"I measured 3.0 mm difference after everything was re-assembled. I just shimmed the Maxima rear caliper bracket (I intended to use) out with washers and everything lined up OK."

 

Was this an increase or decrease in track???

 

Increase. The Z31 stub axle flange where the wheel mounts is thicker than the S30 one.

[rp975]

zcarnut,

 

thanks your write up was very detailed, and my friend who works at SKF just came in and confirmed exactly what you said.

Now I need to work out how to get the pins out of the bottom of the struts and then to find a machinist that can machine out the axle housing.

 

Rob

[tonycharger72]

Zcarnut,

 

Thanks for the write-up mate and the additional info,

 

Just have another question,

Finding a 280zx turbo might be a tad bit tricky in OZ, im pretty sure it was never actually sold here from the Dealerships, i think we only got the NA version of the 280zx,

So would it be sweet using the NA 280zx CV's & Axles or do they differ from the turbo version???

 

Also, what year 280zx CV's and axles did you use or recommend using, are they all the same or do they differ from 1979-83???

[zcarnut]

....Finding a 280zx turbo might be a tad bit tricky in OZ' date=' im pretty sure it was never actually sold here from the Dealerships, i think we only got the NA version of the 280zx,

 

So would it be sweet using the NA 280zx CV's & Axles or do they differ from the turbo version???

 

Also, what year 280zx CV's and axles did you use or recommend using, are they all the same or do they differ from 1979-83???[/quote']

 

In the USA the 280ZX used three different axles:

 

1. The U-joint axle (like on the S30's)

 

2. The R200 CV axle

 

3. The R180 CV axle

 

The 280ZX turbo (regardless of year) only used the R200 CV axle (because they only had the R200 diff). The 280ZX R180 CV axles were somewhat rare being used on only the later NA 2+2 automatics (they were also used on the 1981-85 Nissan Maxima's).

 

Every other ZX (R180 or R200) got the U-joint axles which were the most common axles, but using the U-joint axles requires using the “U-joint†companion flange which will not fit on the Z31 stub axle (splines are different).

 

The major difference between the CV axles is the length of the center shaft:

 

280ZX Turbo (L side) ________________ 14 3/16 inches

280ZX Turbo (R side) ________________ 14 11/16 inches

Z31 non-turbo (L side) ________________ 15 5/16 inches

280ZX/Maxima R180 (R or L side) _______ 15 7/16 inches

Z31 non-turbo (R side) ________________ 15 11/16 inches

 

All the above center shafts will accept the same tripod bearings and all the CV axles that use the tripod bearings used the same six-bolt end housing piece.

 

BTW, the Z31 turbo CV axle is very different from the NA CV axle.

 

Another difference between a R200 CV axle and a R180 CV axle is the flange piece which fits into the differential. The R180 CV axle has a 26mm OD flange shaft and the R200 CV axle has a larger shaft that is 32mm in diameter.

 

So, if you can not find the 280ZX turbo axles, then an option is to use the R180 CV axles with a R180 differential. Something I’m sure you were not planning to do.

[tonycharger72]

Thanks for that Zcarnut