wheelman Posted July 22, 2009 Share Posted July 22, 2009 This last weekend I got an up close personal look at one of these. The quality looked pretty good although what can you tell by simply looking at the outside of one. I noticed it's possible to get a look at the direction the helical gears point through the small holes in the side. So it should be possible to determine whether the gears are oriented correctly without disassembling it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_w Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 Mine required an additional 10 mils of shim to fit properly. Nissan wants $20 per shim, which is insanity, so I bought a shim kit for a 12-bolt chevy rear end for $10. The shims are smaller in diameter, but still work fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 This last weekend I got an up close personal look at one of these.The quality looked pretty good although what can you tell by simply looking at the outside of one. I noticed it's possible to get a look at the direction the helical gears point through the small holes in the side. So it should be possible to determine whether the gears are oriented correctly without disassembling it. but the washers still need rearranging. so it's best just to take it apart and set everything for the price they cost. makes more sense that way. pulling the diff on some cars is a chore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerAce Posted July 26, 2009 Share Posted July 26, 2009 So reading this thread it looks like OBX gets a passing grade as long as you pull it apart to check that the gears are in the right way, and redo the washer setup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted July 27, 2009 Share Posted July 27, 2009 I did my first track day with the turbo car (usually run the NA track-only car) in a while yesterday. Pushed the car hard all day. NO issues with the OBX unit in my 3.54:1 R200. The turbo ar makes 300+hp and 320+ft-lbs at the wheels. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Scott Posted August 9, 2009 Share Posted August 9, 2009 This last weekend I got an up close personal look at one of these.The quality looked pretty good although what can you tell by simply looking at the outside of one. I noticed it's possible to get a look at the direction the helical gears point through the small holes in the side. So it should be possible to determine whether the gears are oriented correctly without disassembling it. Pulling apart is a 1 or 2 on a scale of 1-10. Plus it seems the washers are usually just randomly thrown in. A few drag events, a summer's worth of spirited road miles, events, cruises, errands. For the most part, I forgotten its back there and moved down the list of never ending wants and to-dos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DREW RBZ Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Any further reports on the OBX? Still operating well? Thinking I might go this route. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zee77 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 DREW, thanks for the wake up post! I read your post and got to thinking "I should be able to reply to this question" but don't have my diff back from the rebuilder yet. I am installing the OBX in a 3.90 R200 from a ZX with 200K miles so like the 5-speed from the same vehicle, I thought it wise to have it rebuilt before installing it in my 77. When I dropped it off (back in May) I said I was not in a hurry since I planned on driving the Z all summer and will take it off the road now that fall is here for a series of upgrades. Upon checking yesterday, my rebuild guy said he could not find a "rebuild kit" for an R200 so he has not touched the thing; now I am on the search. In searching this site, I found what I believe are the correct part numbers for the bearings & seals I need, though not a "kit" per say. I also see that Black Dragon lists the bearings/seals for the R200. Anyone have feedback on the quality of their R200 parts? TIA, Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted October 10, 2009 Share Posted October 10, 2009 Mine is operating great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DREW RBZ Posted October 12, 2009 Share Posted October 12, 2009 Zee77 - Black Dragon is a great company and I have ordered from them many times and have not been disappointed in quality. cygnusx1 - thanks for the reply.very encouraging...Im going to give the OBX a try. goint with cams/headwork and manifolds for next year...and more boost .. Ill have a review next spring I guess...snow is about to fly......thats it for this year:cry2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosemary 280z Posted October 22, 2009 Share Posted October 22, 2009 thanks everyone for the post, this is very good stuff and decided to go with OBX, the thing now is I only see them on ebay for the 89-90 91-94 240sx, is this the one im looking for? thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eec564 Posted October 23, 2009 Share Posted October 23, 2009 Click Here. The OBX part number for the diff disassembled in this thread is listed (and pictured) in this thread. Look up what diff came in the cars the OBX you are looking at purchasing is meant for and what diff your car has. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 I had noises both before and after the diff install. Turns out the rear diff mount and both subframe bushings were trashed. Fixed those as well as the control arm bushings while I was back there and it's totally silent now. The diff went right in, no issues until I reinspected everything about a month later and found the lh axle seal leaking. Thinking I might have messed it up when I installed it in the case, I cleaned it all off and while turning the axles to further clean, noticed something odd on that side. The axles both sit the same length into the diff and the snap rings feel fully engaged. However, when turning the drive shaft, the left axle pushes out of the diff slightly, which is what I think is causing the leak, the axle moving away from the sealing surface of the seal. I'm going to investigate further, I hope I don't have to pull the OBX back out and fix something in the side gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Let us know what you find. If the grooves for the retaining rings inside the OBX are not milled in the right depth, the axles might be in at the wrong depth and cause a leak, as you state. However, the sealing surface on the stub axles is pretty long, so if they are out that far, you likely have the side gears in the OBX flipped with the grooves towards the outside of the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jared Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Let us know what you find. If the grooves for the retaining rings inside the OBX are not milled in the right depth, the axles might be in at the wrong depth and cause a leak, as you state. However, the sealing surface on the stub axles is pretty long, so if they are out that far, you likely have the side gears in the OBX flipped with the grooves towards the outside of the case. Unfortunately I did not discover this thread until after my installation, so the unit is unopened. If pulling it back out for disassembly is required then so be it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
datsun dave Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 So what sort of HP are we putting through the OBX unit ?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted January 19, 2010 Share Posted January 19, 2010 me? 300-330hp with no clutch slamming. I bet she will take a lot more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrumpetRhapsody Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Alright so I just got my OBX installed this weekend, the first time around without axle circlips installed (I know I know, but I couldn't get them out of the old carrier). Well, on the test drive there was a pretty serious clunk when shifting or on hard accel/decel, so I took the extra effort tonight and got the axle circlips out and started to swap them into the OBX. While I was installing the first side (drivers if it matters), I noticed that I could move the axle gear back and forth quite a bit with my finger... Call me crazy but shouldn't the axle gear have some pressure stopping it from moving... at least not with as little of pressure as my finger can provide? I used rbryant's washer stack configuration (figured since he was selling them that he'd know what's up). From his website: The 240sx R200 differential ... should be stacked ())(() with the two thinner washers in the center. With the side stub in I can rotate about 15* before the gears lock it up, and when I do so I can feel the gear pulling and pushing the stub about a 1/2cm in and out of the diff... maybe less it's hard to tell. Is this normal or do I need to tear my diff back down and change the washer stack orientation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 Did the washers create preload when you bolted the two halves back together? The stack of washers should be about 1/16" (rough guess for illustrative purposes) taller than the space given inside the diff to create some preload when you bolt it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrumpetRhapsody Posted January 26, 2010 Share Posted January 26, 2010 I'm almost positive that when I put it together there was about a 3mm gap in the case (washer preload, I assumed) that closed as I torqued the bolts. Thinking back it does seem like the new washer stack was skinnier than the stock washer stack... but it still had preload... I thought. UPDATE: Took off the passenger axle... both sides have that same amount of play on the axle gear. Not sure whether to bother putting it all back together and trying it with the circlips or... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts