Drive Shafts, Half Shafts, Cv Shafts

[skybt1]

Im sorta pissd off at the moment. Just broke one of my cv shafts for the 3rd time. I did an r200 conversion a while back and have had the worst luck with having, GOOD STRONG, half shafts made up. I never got the original ones with the diff and have had to get them made up every time. Can anyone please point me in the right direction for strength and reliability. I want to make this the last time i do them so i want to do them properly. Im close to just going all out on a 9in conversion. Im only pushing 245rwhp

Cheers.

[Matty T]

Im sorta pissd off at the moment. Just broke one of my cv shafts for the 3rd time.

Where are they breaking? Got any pictures? Why are you having shafts made up? Details, details, details.

[Boof]

As above!! What type of shafts are they being copied from?

I've never broken one, the only person i've ever heard of breaking one was in a dr30 with near on 300rwkw, and he shattered a cv joint due to old age more then anything!!!

If you want a good OE replacement half shaft, get the R31 import half shafts, but you need the stub axle and everything, and they are meant to bolt straight up (both DR30's and import R31's had the long nose R200 LSD)

[skybt1]

ill get some pics up and try to explain everything in detail. The first two broke the shaft on the wheel side and this last one has been snapped on the diff side. Very frustrating. But ill get some pics up to help explain the situation a bit better. Cheers guys.

[skybt1]

ok, so this is where i am at.

I purchased one of these diffs, just not this exact one. Mine looked like this and came with chopped half shafts.

As you can see they are not complete shafts so i went to a cv guy and he said just give him measurements from diff to stub axle and he will make up shafts to suit. So i did this. First two shafts broke after 5 min.

And now the last set look like this after he chopped my output shafts down and welded on honda cv joints which he said will fix the problem.

Now these have lasted for about 9 months or so, but after a night at calder on friday i managed to break this one too.

This is how i mounted the diff with the nismo housing. I used the original moustache bar and welded on a bar vertically to suit the up and down bolt pattern.

Now im pretty sure that all r200 diff housings are going to have the dimensions.

What do i do now?? I just need proper shafts and im sure i shouldnt have this problem anymore, but sourcing them is not gonna be easy im guessin..

[Matty T]

Ah, I see. You are using the longnose R200 with the viscous LSD centre. That would be why you needed to get axles made up. The viscous centre needs that axle with the long output shaft (ie. the one that broke) to work properly. The other one is just a regular old R200 longnose shaft.

Now, if you want "real" halfshafts, I would be speaking to the nice gents at Datsport about them. See if they can get you some, particularly if you want to keep the viscous centre.

If you want to use regular halfshafts (available from a Z31 300ZX at your local wrecker, but getting harder to find), you will need to change the diff centre, either to an open centre, or to a plate LSD item (I went for a KAAZ).

I don't know what/how they made your axles, but that break looks like it is easily replaceable. Did you say it is a Honda item? It is a shame that you didn't get a set of original axles at the beginning. It would have been a straightforward job for a driveshaft shop to have put the viscous output shaft onto the other (say, 300ZX) axle. If I was you (and wanted to keep the viscous), get the driveshaft shop to mate that long output shaft to a 300ZX halfshaft and all will (should?) be sweet. Then use the other 300ZX shaft on the other side too.

My 2.2 cents (GST inc.)

[skybt1]

z31 shafts seem to be the way to go. Ill have to try and hunt some down. I dont mind what type of centre i use. I only got this one coz it was the cheapest r200 lsd diff i could find at $290. Everywhere else was asking upwards of $800.

And it would have been ideal that i got the complete shafs, im guessing i would have never had this problem! oh well, nothing is impossible. Thanks for the coin!

[skybt1]

how much should i be paying for z31 half shafts and also what is a good CLSD worth?

[Matty T]

how much should i be paying for z31 half shafts and also what is a good CLSD worth?

That's a good question. I bought a pair of half shafts for $80 each ($160 for the pair) from a wrecker in south Sydney about 12 months ago. Sorry, I can't remember the name. I thought that was a rip-off at the time, but paid it anyway.

LSDs are a different kettle of fish. As I said before, I put a KAAZ LSD in mine, which I bought from RMS Motor Parts (site sponsor) for just over $1K about 12 months ago. Basically, any plate LSD that will fit into a short-nose R200 (like the Silvias and R32 onwards use) will fit the long nose R200. What you have to watch out for is the size of the bolts that hold the crownwheel onto the centre. The early long nose R200 had 10mm bolt holes, the late ones had 12mm holes. All short nose R200s have 12mm holes. Therefore, if you have an early long nose R200, you need to sleeve the bolt holes to mount the crownwheel.

I am led to believe that the viscous unit that you have uses the 12mm bolt holes, so changing to a new centre is easier.

Another option that may be worth considering is getting some shafts and flanges from a Silvia / Skyline and adapting them? I don't know how keen you are on getting Frankenstein shafts again...

[skybt1]

Im happy to pay up to $100 each MAX but cheaper is always ideal.

Im looking at doing something similar to THIS

From what ive read its the strongest i will ever be able to get the shaft and cv joins without having to use a billet shaft.

So if i can get some z31 turbo shafts im half way there.

I have read somewhere that my crownwheel bolts are 12mm, so thats something positive, and with all r200 housings being pretty much identical that all centres are interchangeable (gotta love the nissans). So im looking at roughly or there abouts $1k for a centre? I hope it outlasts my need for racing!

I have given thought to using silvia or skyline shafts but dont really want to be experimenting again. Im looking to do something that someone has already done sorta thing. If it wasnt my daily driver then i would take more time and look further into it but i need the car back on the road quick smart!!

What centre would i be looking at getting? A 1.0 way 1.5 or 2.0?