Guest Anonymous Posted May 15, 2002 Share Posted May 15, 2002 Hey folks, well I just crawled under the "land missle" (as my friends call it) and the rear spiders are the reason for the horendous clunk shifting from Park to Drive and Drive to Reverse etc. I can see the half shafts move and rear end kinda wobble, its toast. I figure I have a few options. 1. Another junk yard R-200 (just got back from Reno and I don't think my luck is that good) $150 2. Rebuild current unit, but how long will this last??? $500 3. LSD from 87-89 300zx, HOW MUCH STRONGER ARE THE SPIDER GEARS IN HERE????? ~$300 4. Gear LSD from Quaffee, enuf said, if I blow this up, I'll put a 9" in. $1500 5. R230 swap, cheaper than Quaffee but I don't have the time to fab up the kit or parts, but if someone out there wants to sell the parts for a kit let me know ??? So if anyone has any input on what I should do please help, I really don't want to be changing out rear ends every 4 months or so. Going zero-60 in under 5 seconds and blowing past a Viper in a DATSUN! -- Priceless Thanks guys! Andrew 73 240z LT-1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 Usually overall strength of the spiders isn't the problem, it is the exteme speeds that they go through on single track burnouts or behind a car with lots of power and the ol' uni-track. By locking them together with the LSD, both tires spin and the spiders do not. Regardless, if you stick with a single track whether it is the r200 or a Dana 60, you're going to tear up the cross shaft and spiders unless you have some sort of locking/limited slip diff. If diff was the weak link, either case, ring and pinion, or half shafts would be exploding/imploding. FWIW, I'd score an LSD from the 87-89 turbo car or just suck it up and get an aftermarket unit setup for your car. Reider Racing says they should have them by the end of the month... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted May 16, 2002 Share Posted May 16, 2002 Driving home I thought that would be the case because of how the shafts wobbled as I watched it from under the car. Being a mech engineer by education Is there anyway to "Beef up" the shafts (i.e. machine new ones out of 4340) or bolt on bushing plates etc.?? The 87-89 Turbo Diff's I can find BUT they have 3.70's and I'd rather not go that way. I'll see how this phantom thing works out for some folks. But how much is reider racing going to be asking for their posi's? Thanks for the help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted May 17, 2002 Share Posted May 17, 2002 $550 tentatively. Why not get the 300 LSD if you can find one and put it with the gears you want or have? The hard part is setting pinion depth, but if you use the housing with gears you already have, just swap ring gears on to the LSD and set backlash by buying a universal shim set. Just check it before disassembling your diff and make it the same after installing the LSD unit. Assuming you were setting up a new gear set, if you can get the #'s for pinion depth, Proform has a universal depth checker available from Jegs for $99. Aftermarket gear sets have the # inscribed on the pinion head usually, I don't know about Nissan gear sets. I have the T&D machine tool, but it indexes differently and only works for diffs that it has aluminum locators for. Get a set of the weld on adapters from Ross C (http://www.modernmotorsports.com) and some used 280ZXT CV joint half shafts and upgrade to the 280 flanges and stub axles. Tested in the 10's on Scottie GNZ's car before the Corvette IRS swap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted May 22, 2002 Share Posted May 22, 2002 Can anyone post a link describing the proper steps/tutorial to set up a rear end? Just how hard is this to do? Most of the books/car mags make is sound like something a DIY would not want to attempt. Does it require special tools or is this just something that is better learned from someone with experience? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted May 22, 2002 Share Posted May 22, 2002 It requires a few special tools and is easier with more special tools. If you are rebuilding a diff with new bearings, just disassemble and put back the same. If you are replacing just the case (ie a peg leg for a limited slip) check the backlash with a dial indicator before disassembling, then install ring gear on new case, reinstall and use shims to set the backlash the same as originally. What gets hard is putting a new gear set in your housing. You need a special tool to measure the depth of the pinion from the axle centerline. Then backlash is set to spec. This job is also easier with a hydraulic press, impact hammer, bearing separator, and some miscellaneous pullers. Also access to a freezer and an oven. You can cool the case and heat the gear so they drop together. Otherwise, is a press fit and may damage by trying to use the bolts to snug it up. A 72 GM Overhaul manual (not a regular manual, but one that covers repair of subassemblies such as diffs, ac compressors, trans, etc.) is my source for GM diff setup #'s. Some can be translated based on diff design and size of fasteners. Rear axles are not impossible, but it helps to have done a few... It is possible to do it by trial and error and change shims until the wear pattern is right, but it's best to have the pinion depth exact. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fl327 Posted May 23, 2002 Share Posted May 23, 2002 hey maybe you could be the first one to cryogenically harden the innards of an r200, im curious to how much stronger that would make it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted May 24, 2002 Share Posted May 24, 2002 The guts or the R200 don't seem to be the problem. Look at 1fastz car, which runs 9's. He was destroying half-shafts on every pass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.