Guest Anonymous Posted December 7, 2000 Share Posted December 7, 2000 I recently bought a V8Z from a guy because a friend told me how good they are. Well the day after, I found out it needs a lot of work. Namely mounts, tranny, driveshaft, radiator, and differential. Well I ordered the radiator and figured I could run around a while on the drivetrain stuff until today. I took a turn (normal driving) and as I eased into the gas, I heard a pop. I didn't think too much of it, it's a '74 car... anyway, as I let off the gas, I heard grinding... I leaned in the back of the car and that's where it was coming from. The car is parked in the driveway with a likely blown differential. I need to know how to replace the r180 with an r200 in hopes of an easy quick swap into the 260Z. If anyone out there has a diff or advice, I'd sure appreciate it. thanks a lot. ------------------ pics of my babies at www.rotarypowered.com/cym and at www.dodgeviper.net/260z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 7, 2000 Share Posted December 7, 2000 V8 VPR, R200s are ALL over the place in salvage yards and available pretty cheap. If you have trouble locating one let me know as there are a couple of salvage yards about a hour or so away that sells stuff really cheap, for example, complete small block Chevys for ~$80.00. I know there are at least a couple of 280s in there and we are not that far from one another. If you can't find one in South Carolina for a decent price let me know and I will call the yards down in Richmond to get the price and make sure they have one. If you need to come up and get it I can meet you there and give you a hand taking it out. If you wait until spring you're on your own, I am not about to crawl under a car in a salvage yard and have Mr No Shoulders slither over me like what happened to Mike Kelly ... I am not real sure about all of the parts you will need to do the swap, check the archives, as there should be all of the info available. Chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted December 7, 2000 Share Posted December 7, 2000 Its really a simple swap. I believe all you need is the R200 pumpkin, and the moustache bar. Do yourself a favor and get urethane moustache bar bushings and a new diff mount. There are a few sites out there that have instructions how to do the swap. Try zhome.com, or bryan little's garage page. ------------------ "Gimme Fuel, Gimme Fire, Gimme that which I desire" -Metallica Drax240z 1972 240z - L28TURBO transplant on the way! http://members.xoom.com/r_lewis/datsun.html http://members.home.net/drax77/newpage.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted December 7, 2000 Share Posted December 7, 2000 http://www.zcar.com/forums/read.php?f=1&i=92129&t=92052 ZBarn sells an R180 to R200 "kit" -> http://www.zbarn.com/70to78/used_steering.htm I had some other links too but can't find them I've got to do this swap "soon" too. Have Mustache bar, R200LSD, and the pinion flange to convert my LSD to a 240style - you won't need the pinion unless you switch to an LSD. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 8, 2000 Share Posted December 8, 2000 Well, I went to the junk yard and found one R200 in my area... I got it out of a 280ZX. I took out everything from the rear end of the car, the mounting brackets, diff, axels, etc... all for $150. There is no mustache bar in the ZX. I don't know how I'm going to be able to do the swap. Let me know what is the best way to go about this swap from a 260Z to the 280ZX diff. ------------------ pics of my babies at www.rotarypowered.com/cym and at www.dodgeviper.net/260z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted December 8, 2000 Share Posted December 8, 2000 The only parts you need now are a new R200 mount and the R200 mustache bar. The 280ZX u-joint half shafts are the same as the 240-280 half shafts. And since you don't have a 70-71 240Z, you have the correct "rear crossmember link mount" that goes behind the diff. BTW, here's a good (but not totally correct) page on the swap: http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/R200.htm The thing I don't agree with is that you don't always need the R200 "rear crossmember link mount", if your car is post-71, and there was other small issue that is not real important. I've emailed Carl Beck about these issues. BTW, Clark Arizona Z Cars can get that part if you can't find it. Reasonable a great to deal with. I can't find contact info now, but if you have a Z car magazine, he's in there. ------------------ Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project pparaska@home.com Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages [This message has been edited by pparaska (edited December 08, 2000).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 8, 2000 Share Posted December 8, 2000 I went to that site, and it says mustache bar. There isn't one on the 280ZX. I called Motorsport and they said that I can use the R180 mustache bar and it bolts on to the main diff housing. So you really don't need any brackets, just the bigger diff... hopefully, we'll see how well this theory works. Wish me luck. ------------------ pics of my babies at www.rotarypowered.com/cym and at www.dodgeviper.net/260z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MYRON Posted December 8, 2000 Share Posted December 8, 2000 What diff. is used in the NEW model 240's? My dad bought one for my sister the other day that needed a little work. We had it on the lift and noticed that it had a pretty healthy looking pumpkin with c/v joints... I think it is around a 92 model.... Myron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 Well, before reading that I MUST have an R200 mustache bar, I went for it though and have the differential hanging by the half shafts now out the back of the car. Well, now I'm going to get the R200 mustache bar tomorrow, but my question now pertains to the half shafts. I have removed all 5 bolts out of the R180 from the half shafts. However, the half shafts will not come apart from the differentail. Any ideas on what I might have to do? I've tried the prybar method, tried the pull the hell out of the half shaft method. Even gone on the inside of the diff (which is pretty chewed up) and tried knocking them out from the inside, no luck, is there something I'm missing? Thanks a lot. PS, I have a friend who might have a spare mustache so hopefully I can get one tomorrow. Thanks for the replies and help. Can't wait till I won't have to worry about my diff again! ------------------ pics of my babies at www.rotarypowered.com/cym and at www.dodgeviper.net/260z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 I've screwed up here. I apologize. Some of the R180's (looks like the ones out of the 260Z) have a center bolt that holds the halfshaft into the diff, and the other R180's (240Z) have side axles that protrude from the diff about an inch, and these side axles have 4 studs. The 240Z R180 with the 4 studs bolt to halfshafts that have a u-joint flange that bolt to the side axles, like the R200 ones do. Those halfshafts are the same, but different from the 260Z! The upshot is you will need the halfshafts from a 280Z. A set of 240Z halfshafts will also work, I'm fairly sure. Sorry for the confusion. The Halfshafts start at the inboard end at a 4 holed u-joint flange that bolts to studs that protrude from the side axles of the diff. It sounds like you have ------------------ Pete Paraska - 73 540Z - Marathon Z Project pparaska@home.com Pete's V8 Datsun 240Z Pages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 Here is where I stand. I managed to pull out the entire differential with the half shafts in tact. It was a very tedious job, but it's out now. The R180 mustache bar does not fit as you indicated. I will be on the lookout in the next few days for a 280Z and then will get the mustache bar and front mount out of it. Is there any way possible to take the 260 front mount and the mustache bar and somehow redrill the holes in the mustache bar so that it holds the diff and then bend the mustache bar to where it will line up with the two studs on the frame? I am in trouble until I can find a suitable substitute for a mustache bar so if anyone is out there reading this and has all the 280Z parts, let me know!!!! Thanks a lot for the replies. ------------------ pics of my babies at www.rotarypowered.com/cym and at www.dodgeviper.net/260z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted December 9, 2000 Share Posted December 9, 2000 You need a 280Z R200 mustache bar. The R180 one WON'T work. They are mis-informed. There are differences in th front mounts also, and it's always a good idea to replace that or put a solid one in (beware of the noise issue though). [This message has been edited by pparaska (edited December 08, 2000).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
v8zed Posted December 10, 2000 Share Posted December 10, 2000 quote: Originally posted by V8 VPR: I went to that site, and it says mustache bar. There isn't one on the 280ZX. I called Motorsport and they said that I can use the R180 mustache bar and it bolts on to the main diff housing. So you really don't need any brackets, just the bigger diff... hopefully, we'll see how well this theory works. Wish me luck. The R200 diff has larger mounting studs than the R180 . The mustache bar is spring steel and very hard to drill and if memory serves the mounting holes are slightly raised in the 200 bar. Best to get the correct bar . Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arif Posted December 10, 2000 Share Posted December 10, 2000 I have an extra R200 moustache bar. However from the looks of the bushings they will need to be replaced. Email me if you're interested. [This message has been edited by Arif (edited December 10, 2000).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 11, 2000 Share Posted December 11, 2000 So I read all this, and all the info I could find useing the search option. I am still confused on what is needed for a 260Z! What mustache bar, what half shafts and what mount is needed? From what I get the 240 had differant outputs for the half shafts? So what half shaft is strongest/easiest to use? Oh also my car has a rear swaybar did 260Z's come with rear swaybars? Or is it aftermarket? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 11, 2000 Share Posted December 11, 2000 Here is what you need for the swap. If only I had known before I started it. You need an R200 first of all. Depending on which one you get, you may or may not need the accompanying half shafts. I got the R200 off of a 280ZX and got the whole rear end out of it just because the guy gave it to me. Anyway, it just so happens that you need the half shafts for the 280ZX diff, but I'm okay because I got the half shafts with the diff. Anyway, you also need a mustache bar to mount the R200 to your frame. The mustache bar HAS to come out of a 280Z, not ZX. The ZX diff is mounted by a single "bushing" on the back that mounts to one center pin from the frame, instead of the 2 (needing the mustache bar) in the regular Z cars. You also need the front diff mount off the 280Z for the conversion. So I'm looking for the 280Z front mount and mustache bar if you find one! ------------------ pics of my babies at www.rotarypowered.com/cym and at www.dodgeviper.net/260z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted December 14, 2000 Share Posted December 14, 2000 Well, I got the R200 mustache bar from Zbarn with the urethane bushings. I mounted the diff up there, and tomorrow I am going to add gear oil and finish with the half shafts and driveshaft. This has been a time consuming job and I hope an R180 doesn't blow on you when you're not prepared! Thanks to everyone for your advice and help! I really appreciate it. see you L8R ------------------ pics of my babies at www.rotarypowered.com/cym and at www.dodgeviper.net/260z Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted December 14, 2000 Share Posted December 14, 2000 SuperDan, pat yourself on the back again. Even though I screwed up the details of the conversion ate first fo V8 VPR, he's on the right path now. HybridZ to the rescue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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