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Rb26 Gearbox & Drive Shaft

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js-33 Explorer

js-33

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Hi

I'm wanting to know how much power you can put through a stock R33 RB26 gearbox and drive shafts before they finally break?

I've heard from some 500hp, others 600hp.

Would anyone be able to shed some light on this or tell us from personal experience?

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js-33 Explorer

js-33

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I've got a RB26/30 and got around 540hp AWD.

Last night as I was changing my gears and went from first to second, it didn't let it into second gear very well and then I tried again and as I did this it went in but I just hear the worse noises possible. I came to a stop around 200m's later (I had to find a safe place to pull over) and turned the car off, let it sit there for a few minutes. I proceeded to start the car and same noises happened.

Called RACQ and while I waited for the tow truck (this would be 30 minutes after making the call) I started it again and the noise wasn't there, put it into first gear and drove probably less then 2m and the noises started again.

Got the car towed home and tried to roll it into the shed, start turning the wheel to turn into the car port and couldn't push any further, was pretty heavy.

Started the car, no noises and quickly placed it into first and drove it into the car port and just as I came to a stop, the noises started again but I quickly turned off the engine.

So I'm wondering what this could possibly be.

I had feared it might of been bottom end however, starting the engine twice and not hearing the noise until I placed it into first gear and moving the car forward, I got my doubts it could be this.

Edited by js-33
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MrStabby Grand Master

MrStabby

Posted
Posted

I'm wanting to know how much power you can put through a stock R33 RB26 gearbox and drive shafts before they finally break?

I've heard from some 500hp, others 600hp.

Anecdotally both are correct. 500hp ATW seems to be about the level at which people strip 3rd gear. So generally, if you keep it under 500hp it should be fairly reliable, if you're going for much more than that budget in a gearset to keep it reliable.

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MrStabby Grand Master

MrStabby

Posted
Posted

I've got a RB26/30 and got around 540hp AWD.

Last night as I was changing my gears and went from first to second, it didn't let it into second gear very well and then I tried again and as I did this it went in but I just hear the worse noises possible. I came to a stop around 200m's later (I had to find a safe place to pull over) and turned the car off, let it sit there for a few minutes. I proceeded to start the car and same noises happened.

Called RACQ and while I waited for the tow truck (this would be 30 minutes after making the call) I started it again and the noise wasn't there, put it into first gear and drove probably less then 2m and the noises started again.

Got the car towed home and tried to roll it into the shed, start turning the wheel to turn into the car port and couldn't push any further, was pretty heavy.

Started the car, no noises and quickly placed it into first and drove it into the car port and just as I came to a stop, the noises started again but I quickly turned off the engine.

So I'm wondering what this could possibly be.

I had feared it might of been bottom end however, starting the engine twice and not hearing the noise until I placed it into first gear and moving the car forward, I got my doubts it could be this.

Check engine and gearbox oil levels before staring it again, then post recording of noise. Try running the engine for while, say 5 mins, without putting it in gear to see if you can get the noise to come in neutral. If there's no noise in that time, its probably not engine.

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Moodles2 Grand Master

Moodles2

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Nissan 5 speeds seem to take power fairly well assuming good fluid has been put in (redline, motul etc) and has been treated with respect. Quick shifts that put lots of shock on the box tend to destroy synchros and short shifters don't help either. I've read big "singles" (JB full monty etc) with lots of clamping force tend to put alot of shock on the gearbox where a twin or triple plate would be more progressive.

I've never heard of a broken drive shaft, I have heard front diffs exploding at the track with lots of power though (possibly via 4WD controllers putting more power to the front than it would normally or excessive 50/50 splits).

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  • 9 months later...
CruisingFast Collaborator

CruisingFast

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hi Guys,

An old subject I know but I've just lost 3rd gear and it was only making 340kw atw.

It's in a Stagea 260RS which is made from R33 GTR Series 3 parts.

My question to anyone out there is will any R33 gtr gearbox be a direct swap or did things change between each model.

I've also had everything installed for flex fuel and on a built motor, the figures above was only a safe tune on 18 pound. Where expecting around 400kw atw on pulp and 450kw atw on E85.

My second question here is can you do anything when rebuilding a box to make it stronger without going to full PPG/ Aftermarket gear options. I'd prefer to keep the weak link in the gearbox considering how cheap they are to replace as opposed to damaging the motor or driveshaft.

I'm considering sending my old box to Competition Gearboxes but I wanted to explore all available options whilst I wait for the funds to clear in the new year.

Edited by CruisingFast
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KiwiRS4T Grand Master

KiwiRS4T

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Two or three guys round here have just blown third gear (2 GTRs and one 2wd) with not much more than stock power but all hammered on the track. In every case they have looked at the cost of repair and gone for a second hand box which i would guess is not a permanent fix. I would say at the power levels you are looking at you need to start saving for a stronger gear set.

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Piggaz Grand Master

Piggaz

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Posted

My second question here is can you do anything when rebuilding a box to make it stronger without going to full PPG/ Aftermarket gear options. I'd prefer to keep the weak link in the gearbox considering how cheap they are to replace as opposed to damaging the motor or driveshaft.

osgikencentreplate-BIG.jpg

Put one of these in. Roughly $1,000.

The standard one is about as strong as a dinner plate.

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tricstar Mentor

tricstar

Posted
Posted

Hi Guys,

An old subject I know but I've just lost 3rd gear and it was only making 340kw atw.

It's in a Stagea 260RS which is made from R33 GTR Series 3 parts.

My question to anyone out there is will any R33 gtr gearbox be a direct swap or did things change between each model.

I've also had everything installed for flex fuel and on a built motor, the figures above was only a safe tune on 18 pound. Where expecting around 400kw atw on pulp and 450kw atw on E85.

My second question here is can you do anything when rebuilding a box to make it stronger without going to full PPG/ Aftermarket gear options. I'd prefer to keep the weak link in the gearbox considering how cheap they are to replace as opposed to damaging the motor or driveshaft.

I'm considering sending my old box to Competition Gearboxes but I wanted to explore all available options whilst I wait for the funds to clear in the new year.

any 32/33 box will do the job, series 3, 33 have better syncros, thats about it..

Simon at Competition Gearboxes is a top guy and will look after you,, he's fix half a dozen for me.

the OS Billet centre plate does seem to be a good investment also, will be putting one in my OS box which I just smashed second in :unsure:

I have a question also : I'm getting a standard box that I've broken, rebuilt, and I've talking to a gearbox guy who is having good results with 4WD (Landcruisers or something) gearboxes, getting the crucial bits cryogenically frozen to harden the metals... has anyone tried? got any opinions on?

its not expensive so I'm prepared to give it a go..

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GTSBoy Grand Master

GTSBoy

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Posted

As an engineer who studied metallurgy and heat treatment and all that other materials jazz, I have a very hard time believing that you can make useful changes to the microstructure, grain size/shape or the actual distribution of alloying elements between grains in a steel by exposing it to really low temperatures. The whole point of heat treating is that when you heat the material up it makes all the chemical species more mobile in the crystal matrix, allowing them to effect the changes between crystal structures that you want. You can quench something that is at high temperature so that the structure will freeze in the state that it is hot rather than allowing it to change back as it cools down gradually. This, to me, has always been the proof that reducing temperature is a tool for making chemical species less mobile in the matrix.

So, having said that, we come now to the evidence at hand. Cryo-treatement actually seems to work. There are many many people out there who have done enough of it to prove to their own satisfaction that it does. I know one bloke here in Adelaide who runs an auto-transmission workshop. They build drag racing trannies and they run their own drag cars too. They have had a number of cars that have regularly smashed input shafts or other parts of their transmissions. They would even smash custom made stuff turned out of really expensive material and heat treated as carefully as you could want. After starting to use cryo on these, they maintain that some of these cars have never smashed the same part again and others have reduced the failure rate down by a big margin.

It really seems to work. I understand the technical talk that practitioners use to describe what is happening to the Martensite and so on in the steels, but I still have trouble believing it. Apart from the results that is.

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  • 4 weeks later...
tricstar Mentor

tricstar

Posted
Posted

still happening now, gears, shafts etc in cryo atm, should be ready to pick up friday.. cost of cryo was just under $300.

we've also got a guy with a CNC machine etc making some billet centre plates, which could be of interest to others on here.. once I get one fitted and we're happy with it, I'll post up details of that too..

It's going to be hard to know if its worked ( the cryo ) only time will tell..

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