QWKDTSN Posted April 15, 2001 Share Posted April 15, 2001 Hey all.. I've just swapped my old R180 for an in-great-shape 3.90 R200. After several hours of cussing, jacking heavy things up and down, yanking on other heavy things, and searching frantically for my JTR book, I got it all sort of in place. It took me a while to figure out which way to put the mustache bar, in what order to put the parts in, and which way to put the front crossmember. Of course, this required doing the jacking heavy things up and down part over and over. So now I've got it all spaced correctly, but it's just as Brian Little says in his Z Garage page (which is very good, but hosted on a crappy server which only allows a certain amount of hits a month: http://www.mindspring.com/~blittl/ZGarage.html): The hardware which holds the nose of the diff to the rubber isolater is hitting my torque-arrester strap. He says to turn the bolts over and cut off the threads, but in my case, it honestly won't help. What do you guys think - jack it up as it is and stress the strap (pretty much the only option?) Should I add on the wire as shown in the JTR book, just for good measure? Tomorrow I'll take a pic to show you what I mean, if you haven't experienced it already. I refuse to take out the strap because Datsun put it there for a reason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted April 15, 2001 Share Posted April 15, 2001 Heh, don't suppose a solid mount is an option? That's what I did in hopes of getting aorund all the tearing bushing clunking probs. I'm sure it'll be noisier but I'm willing to deal with it for something that's NOT a daily driver... FWIW - I too went through the same gyrations you did. It had been so long since I'd pulled it apart I had a heck of a time recalling how it all went back together. Had to shove the moustache bar back 1/4 inch too - what a PITA! Scared the heck out of me when the front stud dropped in - I was UNDER the diff when it popped - yikes! But it's done at last... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QWKDTSN Posted April 15, 2001 Author Share Posted April 15, 2001 Yeah.. well, mine's still a daily driver (well, not daily, but it's got to be live-able) and still has the original L24 (which is partially why I'm not swapping to a V8.. yet..) I'm putting in urethane bushings so it should be pretty tight.. I guess I just don't want to break my torque strap while jacking up the front of the diff, because it looks like it might break (tough as it is). You think it'd be possible to put in the solid mount with a thin lining of rubber on the top and bottom (1/8" thick or so) to stop some noise/vibration? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 Nion, I know that Nissan put that strap there for a reason, but going to a solid mount or the cheap JTR Cable method will work well. I am cheap and the cable suits me fine. Is it the strength of the cable that concerns you? Or the Mickey Mouse look of it all? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QWKDTSN Posted April 16, 2001 Author Share Posted April 16, 2001 I guess it's the Mickey-mouse look I don't know. I haven't actually tried to jack the front of the diff all the way up yet to see what'll happen. I guess I'll go the cable route and see what happens in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 Me too, I'm cheap. When I convert mine I'll cable it. If anyone wants to stick they're head underneath, I'll mumble something about the previous owner rigging it.. Unashamely cheap, Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 The plastic wrapped steel cable is VERY strong and should be about perfect in the way it has just enough give, unlike a solid mount, and is MUCH stronger then the stock joke. I will proudly use cable and if anyone asks, I will pose the question: "Do you of something better?" David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottie-GNZ Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 I am sure I have mentioned my homebrew diff strap in the past, but in case anyone missed it, here is a pic. It is simply a length of 1/8 steel strap hammered to shape over the top of the diff and holes drilled to match the big bolts. My diff x-member already had 2 threaded holes but they were not aligned with the holes on top of the diff, so where the strap meets the x-member, I cut and welded the strap appropriately. The strap was $3 and the welder felt guilty charging me so I bought him a 12-pack, after he was done . The original rubber mount is still in place so any harshness is absorbed and if I have not broken it yet..... ------------------ Scottie 71 240GN-Z Scottie's GNZ [This message has been edited by Scottie-GNZ (edited April 16, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 Scottie, that is a very sano install. I'll take that into consideration too! I'm assuming you used some mild steel; do you remember what guage you used? David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 Davy, its 1/8" thick. (look back at his post again) Looks like its 3/4" or 1" wide. ------------------ "Nothing is fool proof to a sufficiently talented fool." Richard Lewis - 1972 240z, Powered by a Nissan 2.8L Turbo Inline 6. Drax240's Turbo Site Beginners Turbo FAQ & Answers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 Elegant solution as always Scottie, I like it. Lone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueovalz Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 Excellent idea. This way some serious metal would have to fail before the front of the diff got loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavyZ Posted April 16, 2001 Share Posted April 16, 2001 DUH! Well didn't I just read right past the specs on Scotties post! That'll teach me... Jeromio, that mount is really well thought out and looks like it was quite a bit of work, with welding no less! That's much too much work for me...too technical too! The pic comes up pretty good on my monitor though, so don't sweat it. I'll go the Scottie route... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted April 17, 2001 Share Posted April 17, 2001 My solution, borrowed from Simon DeGroot, is fairly time consuming, but very effective: http://240z.jeromio.com/diffmount.html Terrible picture, but basically the original member was bored out, "sleaves" welded in (small diameter exhaust tubing) and then polyurathane transmission crossmember bushings inserted. The diffmount then got sectioneand drilled and I welded the nuts to it just to make it slightly easier to install. So, all the advantages of a solid mount without the harshness - and no strap.(there's another really terrible pic of the complete installation here, http://240z.jeromio.com/images/DiffInstalled.JPG) ------------------ 240Z.jeromio.com [This message has been edited by jeromio (edited April 16, 2001).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeromio Posted April 17, 2001 Share Posted April 17, 2001 It actually wasn't all that bad, but yes, more work than Scottie's solution. Would've been much easier if I had a slower turning drill press (mine's meant for wood, chewed up my hole saw). In my case, the stock mount was toast and there was no way I was going to drop $50-60 on a new one. Apart from my labor, this mount system cost me about $12. Simon's looks way better ( http://www.usq.edu.au/users/degroot/240z/pages/diffmount.htm ). ------------------ 240Z.jeromio.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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