83 280zx turbo half shaft CV's

[grannyknot]

OR, I could just remove the springs and be able to move the strut through the entire arc full droop to full bottom while the car is still on jack stands.

[Zed Head]

That's what I was trying to convey.  Didn't happen?  Sometimes I write too many words.

 

[grannyknot]

That's probably why it popped into my head.

[Zed Head]

I measured to the bearing marks on my 83 CV axles (copied and marked your picture) and the same on a 280Z halfshaft with diff stub axle.  Direct outer flange to bearing race, in essence.

I got 16 7/16" for the u-joint halfshaft, 15 7/16" for one CV, and 16 1/16" for the other.  So my CV axles are both shorter than the u-joint half shaft.  One CV is 3/8" inch shorter than the other.  I didn't distinguish between left and right halfshafts becuase everything I've read says that they're the same length.  Not sure why you got different lengths.   I have a pile of halfshafts but can't tell which side they came from.

Just went out and measured all five of my good halfshafts and one bad one.  They all come out to 15 5/16" from flange to flange (the extra 1 1/8" above is to the stub axle bearing mark).  The bad one, which was probably in a wreck on a parts car I had and didn't extend freely, would only compress to 15 7/16".  But I've had it apart to try to fix it and it was damaged anyway.  Since I only have two on my car, and I got them all as sets from cars, all of my u-joint halfshafts seem to be made to give the same compressed length.  

 

[grannyknot]

Got the hubs put together today and just as a reminder these are 72  240Z hubs that have been bored out to accept the larger 280zx bearings and 280zxt stub ales, the companion flange has been modified combining the zxt companion flange with the 240z C/F dust shield. Since this configuration never came from Nissan you need to modify an R200 pinion flange oil seal to fit the back of the hub and seal the companion flange.  You will need two  Nissan C8189-N3100 seal, they are 75mm in Dia and you will need to remove the outside rubber layer right down to the metal so it ends up with a OD of about 72mm. When the stub axle and bearings are in you MUST sink the oil seal that you modified down until it bottoms on the bearing.  It will look like it is in too far but it isn't, failure to sink it in far enough will result in a crushed seal.

A nice installation tool can be made from one of the old bearings by knocking out the center. The last shot is my 3/4" drive 600 ft lb torque wrench that I never get to use enough but comes in handy when the axle lock nuts needs 210 ft lb

[Zed Head]

I like the installation tool.  "Brinelling" has been brought up as a potential problem when using the nut to pull the bearing races in.  Just doesn't seem like the best way.  Yours is better.  You did use it for the bearing, or just the seal?  How do you knock the center out of a bearing?  Just beat it out?

Didn't realize that you were going to use the ZX axles, and that you bored the hubs.  The boring is interesting because I think that you could go a little deeper if you wanted more clearance for your axles.  Use a shorter "distance piece" although that would probably make it weaker overall, leverage and loads and all that.  Hope it all fits together well.  Don't forget to leave a little note in a bottle for a future owner.

[grannyknot]

 I used a very worn out angle grinder cut off wheel (small dia) and cut half way through the inside race on one of the old bearings then flip it over and do the same then a small cold chisel to knock out the balls.

Axle was put in the freezer, hub was heated with a paint stripper gun and bearing was room temp, just a couple of firm taps with the installation tool and it's in.

Yes, message in a bottle, since both the bearings are sealed there is no need to fill the inside of the hub with grease so I put a card in there with the specs and history  on it.

[grannyknot]

Well I finally got the car into the garage and the whole rear end set up to test the 280zxt halfshafts,  I really didn't think they were going to fit, could not compress them enough to fit into the back of the hubs so had to remove the spindle pins to pull the hubs out. They bolted up just fine, so with the springs removed from the struts I slowly lowered the tires on to the ground fully expecting back of the car to just jam as I lowered it, but all went well, the car sunk right down onto the bump stops.

I put the rear end up on jack stands and with 2 jacks, one on each control arm raised them up to the point were the halfshafts would be at their shortest, both wheels spun easily. Now the real test will be next year under full power but at the moment I can't see how that will change anything, all bolts for the rear suspension were fully torqued. I'll update this thread at that time.

 

[Zed Head]

If I recall correctly, the axle will put a dent in the cap on the hub side and wear on it if it's too long.  Hope it works.  Good luck.

You know the big bolts are missing from your control arms, right?  Next year?  It's only August.

[madkaw]

I went the easy route and just bought WCR axles

[grannyknot]

25 minutes ago, Zed Head said:

If I recall correctly, the axle will put a dent in the cap on the hub side and wear on it if it's too long.  Hope it works.  Good luck.

You know the big bolts are missing from your control arms, right?  Next year?  It's only August.

Just test fitting, it's all got to come off still for the acid bath.

13 minutes ago, madkaw said:

I went the easy route and just bought WCR axles

The easy, expense route.  If I were to do it again I would go with those axles and who knows, I may still have to.

[Patcon]

WCR?