shift kit ?

[kully 560]

I was just thinking of installing a shift kit in my 280zx automatic tranny and see that a person in Australia has them for sale. has anybody installed a shift kit and how do you like it. I can't find any reviews online. thanks

[EuroDat]

5 hours ago, kully 560 said:

I was just thinking of installing a shift kit in my 280zx automatic tranny and see that a person in Australia has them for sale. has anybody installed a shift kit and how do you like it. I can't find any reviews online. thanks

I think the shifter kit was originally design for the holden commodore VL with the 3.0litre inline six. Well the Holden guys were the ones that started playing with them, more than the Skyline guys. The 280ZX has the Jatco 3N71B and the VL commodoe had the RB30 and RB30ET with the 4N71B.

The kit is basically a spring kit to replace the pressure modulator spring in valve body and therefore incease fluid pressure. You will also ned to drill some ports to accomidate the extra flow to aid the faster change over. Repco use to sell the springs back in the day and I can still remember a detailed write up in a magazine called "Street Machine Magazine" based in Sydney.

The couple people I helped do back in the nineties were definitely happy with the "sporty" improvement. The transmission changes quicker with little slip in the change over phase. It can feel harsh if you are use to the original style it changed gear. The bands and clutches tend to wear less after the change. This is most probably due to the limited slip time in gear change. Less slip, less wear.

There is a guy on youtube "VLTim" that made these kits. Not sure if he still does. He does not show drilling out the port in the video, but I'm sure there is a video somewhere on youtube. I might have some old photos somewhere. The kits made a noticable difference in the commodores. A lot of aftermarket companies use to make them in the nineties.

 

[EuroDat]

A little searching and I found Tim on Gumtree. Still selling these kits.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/gladstone/engine-engine-parts-transmission/vl-turbo-commodore-nissan-datsun-jatco-automatic-shift-kit-servic/1021151782

You are probably looking for datsun or nissan, but you might find more by looking for the VL commodore. If you want to know a little more about these transmissions, you could ask the guys on the justcommodores.com.au forum or seach their forum for more info.

Edited September 20, 2022 by EuroDat

[kully 560]

  thank you for the info, I will check on that site 

[kully 560]

2 minutes ago, kully 560 said:

  thank you for the info, I will check on that site 

I did see the utube video, but it was only pictures. I did read some were that the holes in the valve body had to be installed or made bigger, but I did not see that in the utube pictures. I will have to do more looking on that forum for some more info. I am a little nervous about the holes because once that is done, I can't go back. tim did say that the kit is now for the 3 speeds jatco trannys. he does offer a little softer spring like I guess a stage 2 vs a stage 3 spring. now the reason I am looking for more info is because I really do not want real hard shifting. he did suggest the stage 3 for a street car but would like to here from other folks that did the install . thanks for the info . kully

[EuroDat]

In his video and ad you can see the red spring. It is what they call the stage three. What does stage I, II, and III mean? Basically it mean a lightish, medium and heavier spring which means more pressure and faster reaction time. There was quiet a discussion on the stages back in the nineties. Many manufactures with varying spring rates. 

If you don't drill out the ports, you will not achieve full "stage III" benefits because the porting will restrict flow. It will probably limit the benefits of the stage II spring.

You could just fit the spring and not drill the ports. It will work, but to maximum effect.

By the way. If you drive it normally, light throttled, you won't notice much difference if any. Full throttle gear changes is where it becomes very noticable. Remember, you are only doing the modulator spring. The torque convertor is still standard, so it won't be big changes. It will stillbe very drivable, just sportier.

[kully 560]

with my auto tranny in drive it does shift quick from 1st -2nd gear, it is when going from 2nd -3rd gear with light throttle its lazy. now with more throttle the lazy shift is gone. these trannys also shift from 1st -2nd gear quite fast like about 7-9 mph into 2nd gear. I would like it to stretch out a little further if this shift kit would do that. but now if I whale the car and want the rpms to reach 5500 I would need to shift manually.  I have been having a problem with this tranny in the last 2 months that the rear tail shaft seal is leaking tranny oil. I did change the seal twice and resealed the drive shaft yoke which helped. but it still drips several drops of oil when I park the car in the garage overnight. the transmission store it my town thinks it could be the inner tail shaft seal or possible a clog vent. but if it is the inner seal the tranny will have to come out to remove the tail shaft and change the inner seal. that is why if the tranny has to be taken out, I might as well install the kit. but I also don't want to build too much pressure and have another leak also. I can't find out how much more pressure we are talking about. I would ask the shop owner, but they closed this week for a vacation.