240Z Replacement Transmission expertise wanted

[degofedal]

Hi

 

I want to replace the original 5-speed transmission on my stock L24 1973 240Z. I have noticed that a lot of HybridZ members are running 280ZX transmission on their 240Z. My question is then.

 

Will a 280ZX transmission bolt straight on to the stock L24 without any modification at all?

 

I have been doing a bit of research and from the pictures i found it looks like the 280ZX transmission is just a little shorter than the 240Z transmission. I'm trying to find a "bolt on" solution so that i can keep the engine and drive shaft stock. Not to mention cheap.

 

Any help from anyone with 280ZX -> 240Z transmission transplant experience will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks so much in advance. Have a great weekend.

 

Best regards

Jeppe

[sorealsosurreal]

As far as the transmission bolting to the block you should have no problem what so ever. I am not sure but you may need a new drive shaft.

 

On a side not, the 240Z's came with a 4-speed so you may already have a swapped trans.

[Cutlass372]

You won't have any problems swapping a 280zx 5 speed into your 240z. Driveshaft is the same, but it is going to throw off your speedometer unless you replace the differential to an R200 (speedo gear didn't fit from my 240z 4 speed, maybe you can get it to work? ). The best year cars to get it from are 81-83 N/A 280zx from what I have heard and they match well the R200 3.90 from the same car. Make sure that you reuse or replace the throw-out bearing, clutch fork, slave cylinder and shifter from the 240z. They need to stay the same even though the tranny is changing (or all from the same setup, depending on your clutch). The swap is pretty straight forward and isn't very hard. To answer your question. Yes it is a straight bolt in swap and you can keep your driveshaft stock. If you have anymore questions feel free to ask.

 

Elliot

 

Edit: I just read something that said early z cars have the differential mounted a little too far forward. "There is an issue with the angularity of the driveshaft as the later 240's were moved back to reduce the strain on the U-joints". Since you have a 73 this should not be an issue. I just wanted to clear things up because my knowledge is based on a 72.

Edited April 12, 2010 by Cutlass372

[Pharaohabq]

yeah the 79-83 5 speed 280ZX trannies will bolt right up, Though 240's never came with a 5 speed, so someone may have swapped your tranny (and perhaps engine) already. The Drive shaft difference is not enough to wory about, The difference is in the slip joint, and shouldn't be any trouble since it's only about 1/2 an inch. Tho a good driveshaft shop should be able to fix it up for you cheap if you want to change it. The Speedo-gear, I think there's someone on here who knows what to change it with, but realy it shouldn't be off by that much. if any. Not to mention if you have a 5 speed already, you could likely take the gear from that.

 

What's wrong w/ your old 5 speed?

 

Phar

[degofedal]

Hi Guys

 

Thanks so much for the replies - i really appreciate it. Sounds like it should be a straight forward transplant. I'm going to see if i can find a 81-83 280ZX transmission somewhere.

 

What's wrong w/ your old 5 speed?

 

I've been having trouble with 1st and 3rd gear crunching - especially when shifting fast during acceleration etc. I'm pretty shure it's caused by it going in to both gears at the same time. So instead of getting someone to redo my old transmission, i would go for a more modern one if i can find it.

 

Thanks again