proxlamus© Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Well.. after months of saving and tons of research.. I went ahead and did the Z32 300zx transmission swap. Thanks to A. Hoke performance I had an adapter machined which was absolutely stunning and the necessary instructions, fasteners and even loc-tite was provided!! (PM 240hoke he has more for sale now!! (9/24/08)) Parts list included: Z32 transmission (1990-1996) (A. hoke happen to find a gold mine) Fidanza short throw shifter (ebay) New drive shaft from The Driveshaft Shop Now the Z32 transmission will need to have the bell housing machined which A. Hoke was able to also provide me =) The install was in a 1978 280z.. which has a wider transmission tunnel then the early 240z's so I had some room to play with. As for the mounting ears/tabs on the transmission tunnel they had to be trimmed off to fit the transmission. I really trimmed quite a bit off.. prob 1/2" or more in some areas. It was a very very very tight fit. If you think i'm exaggerating.. have fun Installing the adapter was super super easy.. just aligned it with the existing dowels.. put some loc-tite on the bolts and zipped them in and torqued em to to spec. boom. I installed a new Fidanza aluminum flywheel and new ACT clutch at the same time too.. I would definitely recommend a transmission jack.. it's amazing I probably spent 5 hours trying to get the damn input shaft aligned with the damn engine.. even with the jack.. I couldn't imagine bench pressing it for hours. Not with how tight the transmission is into the tunnel. I used the Z32 fork, L28 throwout collar, L28 throwout bearing, L28 flywheel, L28 clutch and pressure plate. You can use the factory slave cylinder.. however I am using my 11/16" slave cylinder from a Nissan Pathfinder. Bolted right up. These are the drive shaft specs Driveshaft specs: Length I gave them was 29 1/16" from flange to output shaft Flange yoke I used (same as zx turbo i believe) Powertrain Industries(spicer) part #3102-20 Slip yoke I used (30 spline z32) Powertrain Industries (spicer) part #3103-30 Spicer U-joints 1310 series #5-785X Spicer Tube Yokes #2-28-437 Keep in mind if you have a R200 LSD you will need a different differential flange. As for the shifter it was a royal pain building my own shifter mount and getting it aligned just perfectly. The Z32 transmission has a drive shaft type shifter linkage that is a few inches long. A. Hoke cut off the drive shaft and just welded the yokes together to make for a perfect fit! I built the shifter mount out of 3/4" steel tubing. Now for the cross member I used some 1" square tubing and also some 3/4" tubing and tucked it inside of the 1" tubing and welded it up for some increased strength. This allowed me to use the factory 280z transmission ears/tabs... and use this new crossmember. I did not like Garrett's approach to mounting the transmission and I did not want to weld in reinforcement plates and new mounting tabs. Due to the new crossmember I had to redesign my exhaust a little bit.. the factory Holset turbocharger downpipe has some parts that needed to be ground down but it worked out nicely.. I wanted to re-route my exhaust anyway. I would say the hardest parts of the swap were getting the damn input shaft aligned due to the massive size of the transmission and the little room I had. Also getting the shifter just right was kind of annoying. Overall the transmission is very firm, shifts great and is a lot of fun to drive. It takes a while to get used to the shifter though.. its crazy weird feeling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wigenOut-S30 Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Wow Ryan!! that is a great job and a great write up!.. You have come a long long way my friend!! Now lets get some vids of ya ripping through the gears!!! heh.. Looks great man! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktm Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Ryan, use long studs to align to bell housing and the block. When trying to mate the bell housing, simply slide the housing over the studs. You are then garuanteed that the shaft is 95% aligned. You may need to angle the transmission up or down to get the shaft into the pilot bearing, but that is it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240hoke Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Nice writeup Ryan, Great to see another Z32 transmission installed and working well!!! I havent had any issue lining up the transmission with the two I have installed. In fact both times they slide right on, to my surprize. Im assuming it mostly had to do with the use of the tranny jack and the tight fit with the stock mounting ears left in place. I wrestled both into place with help so I could wiggle and angle it easily. The shifter does feel kinda funky at first due to the shackle position and the super quick throws, but I got used to it quick. Keep us updated as to how you like it as you get some miles on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slownrusty Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Ryan - Great work and great write-up. I would *really* like to drive your to see how that Z32 tranny feels. If my Borg Warner ever pukes, this is the direction I am going to head. What about the reverse lights and speedometer? That AHoke...always pushing the cutting edge! Love it Yasin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woldson Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 Outstanding work!! Mind if you give us a breakdown on cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 fast z Posted September 25, 2008 Share Posted September 25, 2008 When I did my swap about 8 months ago, I found that the main problem is that you cant angle down the motor enough with the big trans case to get it aligned easy. I built new crossmember mounts, as I did not feel comfortable with a long remote trans mount. I actually did build one, and strengthend it and beefed it up, but it put so much moment arm force on the mount and twised it down in the rubber mounts. Yea getting used to that shifter TWIST when you are in the neutral gate takes some getting used to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowlerMonkey Posted September 29, 2008 Share Posted September 29, 2008 It might go in easier if you tilt back of the engine down. Pull or push, it's not too hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted September 30, 2008 Author Share Posted September 30, 2008 I also wanted to add this into my post... but I can't edit my post!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Ohh more info!! I have been having issues with the Z32 shifter with it flopping around! Basically the Shifter has 2 bushings and a bolt slides right through them. Well the bushings are larger then the diameter of the bolt so its kinda floppy, unless you tighten it down. The problem is during hard shifts the shifter moves around on the bushing and does not allow the car to shift into certain gears depending on where it moved off to. When I bought the transmission it was a naked transmission, so I built a shifter mount and new shifter. I was missing the "tube-control rod support bushing". Part number 34556. This tube goes inbetween the two bushings!! NO WONDER why my shifter is goofy!! http://www.courtesyparts.com/300zx-z32-1990-1996/genuine-nissan-parts/power-train/341-transmission-control-linkage/-c-882_883_953_971.html http://www.courtesyparts.com/kb_search_result.php?keywords=[34556]+(z32&cPath=882_883_953_971 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 fast z Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 The ones that came with my aftermarket shifter were WRONG, and WAY sloppy, so I made my own bushings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 really? maybe thats what I need to do! make me a pair! lol. what did you make them out of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCchris Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I have been having issues with the Z32 shifter with it flopping around! I was missing the "tube-control rod support bushing". Part number 34556. This tube goes inbetween the two bushings!! NO WONDER why my shifter is goofy!! Replacing these bushings was the first thing I had to do when I bought my Z32 back in June. It's shifter was goofy too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 Well I bought a BRAND new Fidanza short throw shifter.. with the new bushings... but if Brian is correct.. then Ill need to make new ones or order them. I just called nissan.. I am ordering new bushings anyway.. its $8. I will let ya guys know when the parts arrive on monday if it fixed anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 fast z Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 I found that the OD of the bushings for the original shifter is not the same od needed for the fidanza shifter. You might get lucky though. I belive I made them out of colpalmer accetal (sp?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted October 2, 2008 Author Share Posted October 2, 2008 hook a brother up!! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 Problem solved!! I ordered 2 new NISSAN bushings.. and a Shifter collar/support rod !! Now the shifter doesn't have any play at all!! The support rod is the same diameter as the bolt now so voila!! The 2nd pic shows the bushings and rod installed!! Notice the white bushing above the shifter? The white one is the Fidanza unit... notice how large the hole is?!? no wonder the bolt was moving around!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony D Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 If anybody wants Hard PTFE bushing stock, I literally have BOXES of PTFE Extruded rod in 1" diameter (maybe slightly larger...) laying beside my storage sheds. I have been cutting off 6 to 8" sections for use as Split-Bearing and Seal drivers on Centrifugal compressors. I leave them with the customer or with the distributor. For small bushings it's great stuff. And seems to hold up well under impact from mallets driving aluminum and steel bearings/seals out of turbine casings. Bryan, if you want some, stop by on your next trip out. You can have a rod or two. I think they are 10 feet long, and something like 24 to a box. I have several boxes. I'm sure my wife would be happy to see some leave the yard. Stuff turns well in a little 6" Atlas Lathe. Handy crap to have laying around. I'll trade anybody with Oilite Bronze stock in similar dimension laying around. 2, 3:1 trade...anybody? Bueller? "Copolymer Acetal" BTW... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proxlamus© Posted October 15, 2008 Author Share Posted October 15, 2008 I'm posting this in ALL 3 threads regarding the Z32 transmission swap We can still use the FACTORY speedometer with the Z32/RB25 5-speed transmission swap!! Mike Rowe was able to find a mechanical speedometer pinion assembly (Nissan part number 32702-02G17) that came from a Nissan Hardbody (D21) truck... with the manufacture years (1986.5-1994) This replaces the electric speedometer output.. and converts it to a mechanical speedometer output!! Incredibly.. the speedometer cable bolts right up to the new pinion assembly and it works!! I think it cost me around $46 from Nissan =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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