dr. buddha

ok look i was told about a z31 t5 trany mounting to a 280 block.
now i hard this on hear say. not form some one how did this.so is it posibal? is there a adapter? any one know?

Bleach

Since the 280zx turbo uses a T5, maybe they mean you can use the 280ZX bellhousing (unbolted) and bolt it onto a T5 from a 300ZX turbo and use it that way. In that case, maybe even a Mustang T5 will work because they all have a bolt-on bellhousing.

The bolt pattern on the back of the L28 and VG30 is not the same.

lww

Unfortunately, the Mustang T5 won't work. It has a different spline length and tooth count than the Nissan/Datsun T5's.

Check out hybridz.org or zcar.com. This is a well documented issue with many EXPENSIVE solutions that require fabrication of adapter plates and drive shafts to do properly.

EZDUZIT

Sorry Buddha the input shafts are differn't. I tried this with my 84ZX Turbo, the 280 shaft is smaller.

lifegrddude

Here's an article to adapt a 240SX tranny to a Z.

http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techti...all/index.html

John 82ZXT

Dorifto

Now, if I heard and understood correctly, the '81 2+2 (or all '79-'81s for that matter) had a different, weaker manual trans, and the T5 was offered in the '82-'83, turbo included. My question is, how hard would it be to retrofit a Datsun / Nissan T5 into my '81? I assume it is a bolt-on affair, but I've been proven wrong on these situations before. The aftermarket support and parts cost are great for T5s, not to mention they hold more power. I've also heard they shift much better than its weaker Nissan brother.

However, should I even bother with the T5 if I'm only planning NA mods / tuning to around 220 hp? I know that's a little steep for NA, but I don't want massive power ... just enough for a "motivated" cruiser, also to showcase what I can do with a car (shop advertisement).

The help / info is appreciated in advance.
-Dave

lww

The T5 was only offered in the Turbo 280ZX in '82 & '83. The NA ZX's had the standard Nissan/Datsun 5-Speed.

The T5 from the turbo 280ZX's and even the Z31 is pretty weak compared to the 'World Class' T5's used in Mustangs and Camaro's.

Your stock ZX 5 speed is as strong in my opinion. I've smoked both trannies and the T5 is no stronger and is notchier. The only advantage might be the T5's 1st gear which is 3.5:1 vs the Nissan unit that is 3.36:1. After that, there's not a lot of difference except the T5's 5th gear is taller so you should get better highway gas mileage than the stock Nissan tranny.

I would stick with your stock 5 speed and if you frag it, do a 240SX tranny swap before I would do a T5. 240SX tranny is from a truck motor and was used in the 4wd's as well and rumored to be good for 400 ft/lbs on the 240SX forums and is geared similarly to the stock ZX NA 5-speed.

Bleach

The T5 5th gear is tall. It is much taller than the 77-79 5-speeds.
The 81-83 non-turbo has a different transmission and has a very tall 5th gear that is close to the T5's 5th, but actually a taller gear than the T5. 81-83 is the one with the 3.0 1st gear ratio.

You need the driveshaft. For a 280ZX all you need is the appropriate length driveshaft (coupe or 2+2 turbo) and the differential front flange that the driveshaft bolts to. You can remove the flange and put it on your diff.... or, if you've already got an R200 3.54 you could just swap the diff complete.

I did this swap recently on my 280ZX. It wasn't too hard. The rear transmission mount and crossmember is the same in the turbo and non-turbo. Howerver, you take your NA mount and turn the crossmember around 180 deg and bolt it back in. It has a slight curve to it so you change the curve from angling frontward to angling back. Funny how it works out so perfectly.

lww

Bleach is right, I was thinking differential ratios. Here's the tranny breakdown from the zhome.com website with the gear ratios from the 240SX forums:

77-79 1980 81-83 Borg Warner T-5 240SX 5-speed

1 3.321 3.062 3.062 3.500 3.321

2 2.077 1.858 1.858 2.144 1.902

3 1.308 1.308 1.308 1.375 1.308

4 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000 1.000

5 0.864 0.773 0.745 0.780 .838

lww

Bleach, any particular reason you went with the T5 over the Nissan 5 speed?

I really don't like the shift feel of the T5 and was curious about your experience.

I'll be doing the 240SX swap later this summer. I'll definitely loose some on the mileage as the 5th gear in the SX is a .838:1 OD but I'll feel more comfortable with it's ability to withstand the torque from my ZXT.

I may put the 3.545 R200 back in to make up some of the difference. It'll be interesting to see what happens to my ET's whith a 3.36 1st gear and 3.545 diff. gears. Should give my turbo a lot of spool time!

Bleach

Notice that 1980 is the same as 81-83 except for 5th gear is not qutie as tall. Lower number is a taller gear (farther away from 1.0 is a taller gear for fewer rpms at highway speeds)

I went with the T5 because I heard they were a good shifting feel! ...and I was thinking of going with a turbo engine next. Also, I found a really nice low milage T5.
The transmission was put in a couple weeks ago and I haven't driven the car yet. I'm doing brake work and an oil change soon before I get the Z back on the road.
Also, I got the Mustang shifter for it if that makes a difference. I plan to shorten the Mustang shifter I got and buy a purple neon shifter handle! :woohoo:

lww

The good part about the Nissan T5 is that the T5 shifter mods work including the Mustang short shifters.

I put a Pro5.0 shifter on mine and it made a pretty nice difference. Unfortunately, it won't remove any of the notchiness... ;(

Bleach

Oh ya, those Pro 5.0 shifters are fairly expensive. Maybe some day later I'll look into buying one.