Changing Maxima Diesel from AT to MT

Discuss (and cuss) the Nissan LD-series OHC Six diesel engine, popularly available in the US in 1981-83 Datsun/Nissan Maxima Sedans & Wagons.

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asavage
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Changing Maxima Diesel from AT to MT

#1

Post by asavage »

On 8/28/22 1:01 AM, "Matthew tavarez" wrote:

> Hi I have a 82 maxima diesel ld28. It's an automatic 3 speed with
> overdrive. I want to convert the car to 5 speed, I have a trans from a sd22
> diesel engine. Will it boltup and be strong enough, I'm not going to beat
> it just every day driving. What about the thin mid plate between trans and
> block? And, where could I find a ld28 flywheel? I cannot find those. Any
> leads? Thanks I'm in Valparaiso Indiana thanks matt.
>
> using the Contact form at "NissanDiesel Forums".

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Hello, Matt:

These questions are best asked on the forum, where others can see the question and answer, for future reference. Besides, your email address @ yahoo is not accepting mail today ("mailbox is disabled", whatever that means today).

AFAIK, the FS5W71B from behind an SD-series engine will NOT bolt up to an LD. The "bellhousing" (the front half of the gearcase) is different. When I say "bellhousing", that's misleading, as it's really more than that.

The gears and shafts will probably work, if you can find the LD "bellhousing" and swap it onto the rest of the SD's transmission. However, if you've been reading much at all about the FS5W71B, you know that the front countershaft bearings fail, and often, when used in SD service, and that Nissan enlarged the front CS bearing from 52mm OD to 56mm and finally 62mm in 1986, because of short service life, so I consider the transmission "weak" in that regard, and any used FS5W71B you find in the wild should have at least that bearing replaced, easy to do while you're swapping the "bellhousing". See https://nissandiesel.dyndns.org/viewtopic.php?t=58 for more info.

So, find an LD28 FS5W71B, and replace the bearings. But they're rare, esp. now 30 years later.

Having said that, you don't need a good FS5W71B; one that's noisy or broken is fine, because all you really need is that magic LD28 FS5W71B "bellhousing", which you can then install on ANY 2WD FS5W71B (from, say, a 1986 720 pickup with a gasoline engine). You don't need good diesel gears & shafts, you just need the front case half.

Next, the driveshaft is different between the manual FS5W71B and the 3N71B/L3N71B, and is different again from the later L4N71B. Without looking it up, I assume the trans crossmember is also different, and there's a post somewhere on the site where someone did the conversion and had some troubles with the pedal cluster but I think he got it sorted out; you'll have to find the post.

Last, your current transmission (see viewtopic.php?p=4#transmission) does not have overdrive, not in an '82. The 1982 has a lockup torque converter, which when it locks up feels like a gear shift, but it's not.

1981: 3N71B = conventional 3-spd AT
1982: L3N71B = 3-spd w/lockup converter
1983: L4N71B = 3-spd w/lockup converter + OD

You can't bolt-in an '83 AT to an '82 Sedan/Wagon, because the floor pan is different and larger at the back, because the OD unit is larger. I know, I tried on my own '82. I've still got an '83 transmission in storage, I'll give it to anyone who wants it. I also have access to a complete, well-worn-out 1983 Sedan with AT for parts for anyone who can use it (located in Port Hadlock, Washington).
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.
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