5-speed swap

General information about the first-generation Nissan Maxima in the US. What was the Datsun 810 became the luxury leader Maxima in the US in 1981.

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bcdivad
Posts: 36
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Western NY

5-speed swap

#1

Post by bcdivad »

I've decided to do it..
82 Maxima sedan w/3speed auto.
I'm going to do a 5-Speed conversion. Need to get the parts..
Anybody able to help?
Need flywheel, pedal assembly,slave cylinder,shifter,driveshaft
and maybe speed-o cable.
I do a considerable amount of interstate driving and think it'll be
worth the trouble in the long run.
Transmission also.....
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asavage
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Re: 5-speed swap

#2

Post by asavage »

bcdivad wrote:82 Maxima sedan w/3speed auto.
I'm going to do a 5-Speed conversion. Need to get the parts..

Need flywheel, pedal assembly,slave cylinder,shifter,driveshaft
and maybe speed-o cable. Transmission also.
Trans is easy: I think most any Maxima (and probably any 280Z) FS5W71b will fit.

Pedal cluster, master, slave, speedo cable, shifter can all come from a gasser. The flywheel and spacer plate are going to be tricky though, as they have to come from a diesel Sedan (no Wagons with M/T).

Did you try car-part.com to see if there are any in JYs in your area? I never see M/T Maximas around here, gas or diesel, in JYs.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
TheDieseliminator
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Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Florence, AZ

#3

Post by TheDieseliminator »

bcdivad, let me know if you'd want to sell the 3 speed automatic after you've done the whole changeover. I'm not in need of a trans for my car, but if I happen to have a problem a back up would be a good idea. Plus I'm not too far away from you given I'm in PA and you're in NY. How many miles will the auto have on it? If you'd be willing to sell I may be interested in buying a month or two from now. Thanks for your reply.

Salvy
1982 Datsun Maxima diesel wagon w/ 228k miles
*occasional daily driver*

1982 Datsun Maxima diesel sedan w/ 252k miles
*now off the road as a parts car and sent to the yard :( *
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kassim503
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Location: Stony Brook, NY

#4

Post by kassim503 »

If im correct, the speedo cable dosent have to be changed out, because I think all the old datsuns use the same setup

A few ratios listed in zhome.com for a little help figuring stuff out in case your speedo reads high or low.

Speedo Gears:
3.3?? : Yellow
3.545 : Black
3.7 : Blue
3.9 : White
The following rear gear ratios were only available from Nissan Competition Dept. - not OE in any models sold in the US
4.11 : Red
4.375 : Purple?

Also the datsun speedos use 1024 rotations per mile, I know that off the top of my head. (in case you are a mathematician)


If you swap to the 5-spd there shouldnt be a difference in speedo gear ratios, because the final drive isnt touched in the swap.
'83 maxima sedan, l24e, a/t, black

227K SOLD 6/7/2012
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asavage
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#5

Post by asavage »

I forgot: you'll need the driveshaft too.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
bcdivad
Posts: 36
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Western NY

#6

Post by bcdivad »

The tranny has 106,000 on it right now.
don't know what it will be by the time I get it changed.
Works good and shifts fine with no problems.
I want an overdrive for interstate driving and lower revs.
AND I actually prefer a manual tranny. My truck is a 5-speed.
2001 Dodge Ram 2500- gas. Really wish I'd gotten a diesel when I bought it.
Too late now...
I thought for sure there would be someone on this site that would have parts laying around for this conversion. Makes me wish I picked up the car from Ebay awhile back now. It was about an 8 hr drive from here and I wasn't up to another 20 hr day.
Parts cars around here are like non-existant for this year. If anything is setting in a JY they rust to nothing and they get scrapped.
glenlloyd
Posts: 640
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Des Moines, Iowa

#7

Post by glenlloyd »

A year ago at this time I knew of a Maxi gasser 5 speed that was still complete but it was crushed back in May unfortunately. Since then I haven't seen any Mk1 Maxis anywhere. If I do I'll let you know since you're looking for conversion parts. I'll be making a trip to an import yard this week sometime and maybe they'll have something.

steve a
97 Jetta TDI, 86 VW Golf D
89 VW Fox diesel, 92 MB 300SD W140

gir - won't the sploding hurt?
zim - silence!
diesel-man
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Location: Elkton, MD

#8

Post by diesel-man »

If you are not in a hurry, I have two maxi diesel 5spd cars that I would be willing to sell.
One is a 82 and the other is a 83. The 83 has I think about 68K on it, but it needs a drivers door & fender, windshield, LH strut and the doorpost pulled out. (It was hit right at the hinge). I have my building fairly full, so I would not be able to get to them untill Spring when the boats I store, go out.
I forget what the 82 is for mileage. Both cars have been stored inside for 15yrs.
I'm halfway between Baltimore & Phili.
bcdivad
Posts: 36
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Western NY

#9

Post by bcdivad »

Thanks a Lot... I'll keep you in mind if it doesn't get done till then.
From all the responces I've gotten it just might be this spring that it
gets done. I thought there would have been parts aplenty laying
around that someone wanted to get rid of..
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asavage
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#10

Post by asavage »

See this post in the Peddle forum. Parts from a diesel M/T sedan may be available soon.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
83_maxima
Posts: 423
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: Denver

#11

Post by 83_maxima »

I've done the 5-speed swap in my '83. I did it in 2 days taking my time. I also found a donor 5-speed ('84) which I took everything off of.

You will need:

Trans
Trans-end of driveshaft
Slave cylinder
Clutch slave lines, damper and related brackets
Clutch master
Brake and clutch pedal cluster (there may be a switch around this which is different as well)
Wiring harness (small one in engine bay on pass side of engine)
Shifter
Console pieces for the M/T
Plate with boot that attaches to the floorpan and surrounds the shifter

>>>You must also devise a way to mount the back of the trans to the car. The mount points are different from the auto. I had to fab a new bracket to retain the original mounting locations.

>>>You must also change the radiator to one w/o a trans oil cooler, or simply plug the lines which is what I chose to do.

Sorry if you already knew this stuff. Just a little info from experience.

You would benefit greatly from a J/Y parts car, but the man trans models are hard to come by around here. I would think they might be just as hard to find where you are, which is why I did the swap when I found the car. I knew I couldn't pass it up. It only had 84,000 mi, 4 years ago too.

The conversion is the best thing I have ever done to my car. It is so much more fun to drive since I did the swap - but it is also a gasser, so I can rev the piss out of it!
pezfallout
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Joined: 17 years ago
Location: Tampa, FL
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#12

Post by pezfallout »

I know this one hasn't been posted in for a bit, but I was curious.

From what I gather, if I purchased a M/T 280Z and an LD28 the only things I would need to mount the diesel to the gas transmission is the flywheel and pressure plate off of a diesel sedan?

I thought I read somewhere about the longevity of the gas transmission attached the the low torque LD. Did I misread?
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asavage
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#13

Post by asavage »

pezfallout wrote:From what I gather, if I purchased a M/T 280Z and an LD28 the only things I would need to mount the diesel to the gas transmission is the flywheel and pressure plate off of a diesel sedan?
And fabricate an oil pan and oil pump pickup tube, according to member 240ZD who recently did the LD28-into-240Z conversion. He also found a wierdness with the clutch; I recommend reading the entire thread, which you can do in about 15 minutes.
I thought I read somewhere about the longevity of the gas transmission attached the the low torque LD. Did I misread?
The gasser and diesel FS5W71 transmissions are the same inside, with minor gear ratio differences, so that isn't a concern. What is a concern is the increased torque of the LD28 (or the SD for that matter) which seems to eat the front countershaft brg, and to a lesser extent the input shaft brg, both of which are strong candidates for replacement anytime you have the trans out -- and change the gear oil frequently. There is more specific info in several threads on this topic -- use Search. The brgs are the same in both gasser and diesel versions of the trans, and share the same weakness; the LD just brings it out faster.
Regards,
Al S.

1982 Maxima diesel wagon, 2nd & 4th owner, 165k miles, rusty & burgundy/grey. Purchased 1996, SOLD 16Feb10
1983 Maxima diesel wagon, 199k miles, rusty, light yellow/light brown. SOLD 14Jul07
1981 720 SD22 (scrapped 04Sep07)
1983 Sentra CD17, 255k, bought 06Jul08, gave it away 22Jun10.
jp litch
Posts: 2
Joined: 15 years ago
Location: Everywhere

#14

Post by jp litch »

anyone got this completed? Can any Z car flywheels be used? I know people are using the diesel crank, so what flywheel are they usine?
HowlerMonkey
Posts: 130
Joined: 18 years ago
Location: West Palm Beach Florida

#15

Post by HowlerMonkey »

One thing to ponder is the tranny crossmember.

I took a 5 speed out of a maxima gasser and, in order to place the manual in my 4n71b auto gasser, I had to make adapters for the tranny crossmember.

So I'll guess there are floor pan differences on the 4n71b equipped cars vs 5 speed.
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