I once had a nice write-up for the Quaife Transmission install...not Motorvate.com's (although that's a nice one also) but another maxima.org one...can anyone provide the link?

 

Let's see...SR20DEN put an HLSD in a 6MT a long time ago, but the pics are broken - http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....quaife+install

Still trying to find anything else that would qualify as a write up, though.

EDIT: I know you said no motorvate, but there's a nice one on VQPower - http://www.vqpower.com/v2/readarticle.php?article_id=52

 

It was on nissanmag's site iirc. According to it you can remove the dif without removing any of the shift control components, basically once the case is off it will clear the countershaft, I am pretty sure this is the case but I am not positive.

 

You can pull the diff out like that, but you have to lift the mainshaft and input shaft up as far as they'll go out of the case to find the clearance. 3/8" or so.

Also, the vqpower write-up reused the diff bearings. Unless the quaife comes with new bearings you should replace them.

Dave

 

Thanks to all, pmohr the vqpower write-up was it! Still a bit confused to what he is saying though, like the yellow lever...but thanks a ton!

 

what he means when he refers to the yellow tranny lever is the brass colored shift lever that your shifter rod bolts to. the thing that moves when you are changing gears.


funny thing i just realized, that actual quaife you see in that writeup, I helped install that quaife in briguymax's transmission back like 6 years ago. then when brian sold his max he sold that quaife to jay25 who did the writeup.

 

OK thanks! But another question I have is when he talks about "Shifting the gears between 1st and 2nd...if not you'll drop the transmision.."
just how can you do that, I mean leave the gears between 1st and 2nd?

 

What you should try to do when putting the case back together is leave the shift selector in that part of neutral between 1,2,3,and 4. It's really hard to do exactly like that, but in any case the important thing is to ensure you can shift into all gears as soon as you bolt the housing in. You don't want to find this out after the tranny is back in the car, really, you don't.

Dave

 

if it does happen to get stuck in a gear without the selector in place you can easily fix that with a flat blade screwdriver by just pulling out the reverse light sensor plug. I've done it before.

 

so when I put the case back together, I just need to make sure that the transmission is in neutral? That's all?

 

Actually, it's to make sure all the sliders are in neutral. The problem is if one of the shifters goes in gear but the selector stays in neutral.

Dave

 

Thanks Dave...well I just ordered a Nissan Repair Manual on ebay. It's a cd, hopefully that can shed some light into what all the parts look like! Also, Im about to part the transmision with the engine tomorrow...any advice/good ways to support the engine without a jack? will a 2x4 work or what? I dont want to get crushed or damage my **** lol...

 

lol i dont wanna give you an idea and then the engine falls, when i took mine out, i use a 2x4 block and i jack stand to hold it in place, it did wonders

just my 2 cents

 

You know all of the FSMs are free available online, right? That's likely all that CD is.

Also, you don't need anything to support the engine, the one mount you'll lose by dropping the trans won't hurt anything.

 

That's only if you can reach all of the bolts you need with the crossmember in place. I've done it both ways and it can be quite challenging. Helps to have an offset box wrench if you want to do it that way.

Dave

 

only thing in my way now is that *POS* passenger side axle carrier bearing; it wont come apart because they fused together! lol but anyway my biggest concern now is re-assembling the 'tranaxle' (Haynes Manual description lol) correctly and hoping all the gears shift...I will hopefully drop it out tomorrow. BTW, is asbestos a big concern while cleaning out the bell housing/clutch?

 

As long as you have the FSM handy the tranny reassembly shouldn't be too bad.

 

Hahaha, that Quaife is a *****, its in my trans now.


For passenger side axle carrier bearing, it might be easier to remove that axle with the bracket so you have room it give it a nice hit and break it loose. After that put a bit of anti-seize in there and it will slide right out next time.

 

Do you mean you don't like the quaife, or that it's just a PIA to get installed?
and you mean remove the axle bracket from the car and then break it apart and then apply antiseize? ha, I already have the bracket off the engine, just can't get it through the fender because the a arm is blockin it.

 

Na, didnt mean it like that, I was saying that the Quaife Neal was talking about has been around and now its in my car. I'm very happy with the Quaife and its not really a PIA to intall, just replacing the bearings and shimming it correctly.

You should be able to get the axle with the bracket out by wiggling it around, it took a bit of time but should definitely come out.

 

ya, it's out of the transmission now, but it's still resting on the a-arm...I have a dial-gauge for the shimming, you think I should just re-use the original shims? na probably not.
and...the Quaife story haha I get it now
I noticed that the passenger side axle seal is different than the driver side seal...did you replace all seals when you did yours?

 

You should definitely replace both axle seals while it's out, and check the diff shims.

I prefer depth mics but dial indicator is also effective.

 

Right on Dave I'll replace them

 

one more thing:
When I take off the mounting bolts that connect the engine/transmission, and also the transmission mount by the fender, the only thing holding it on the engine is the drive axle right? then it suppose to just slide off? Is it alright to just leave the transmission supported by just that axle like that, it shouldnt damage engine internals right?

 

No, it has no way to damage 'engine internals'.

At that point it's held on by the input shaft splined into the clutch disk, and the dowels between the block and the bellhousing. It would probably destroy the axle if it weren't for those two.

 

Okay! got inside of the transmission tonight...it's pretty dirty, going to clean it out tomorrow.
I hope that darn FSM comes soon...

 

Okay, just got the stock diff out...there were no shims on it though, and there was quite a bit of spalling on the carrier bearings...There couldn't have been excessive preload because when I pushed on the diff when it was encased in the tranny, it moved about 2-3 mm...weird.
Question I have is since the stock diff wasn't shimmed and there was still spalling present, should I bother shimming the quaife? And if I need to shim it, do I shim both sides or just the easier side?

 

Read the fsm, except use the solder crush method as opposed to dial-indicator, I've done both with dif's and it's pointless, solder crush is far superior. Ummm, dude, yes, you need to shim that dif for several reasons. Are you SURE there aren't any shims stuck to the outer race.

 

The outer race is still in the housing you took off. Tap the diff bearing race out of it and the two shims should fall out.

The reason you have no preload is because your diff bearings are in such bad shape. When you replace the bearings and install the quaife you will need to check endplay and shim it accordingly.

 

mmmmkay...whats the solder crush method? I read a little about it just now, do you put solder and crush it with the diff, and the imprint is the size shim you want, or do you just leave the solder to act as the shim?

 

You assemble without shims but instead leave solder where the shims go. I usually cut two pieces to fit crosswise (like an X) in each bore. Now put the bearing cup back on but not deep enough to crush the solder. Reassemble, spin the input shaft a few times, and disassemble. Now mic the solder where the shims would go and you have your endplay measurement. Pitch the solder and install the correct shims.

Dave

 

I ran into a situation with the reverse lever asembly...It has a checkball. And two holes where the checkball goes I guess? Or does the checkball only use one hole, while the reverse arm shaft goes into the other hole? I have a picture from the FSM but cant load it for reference sorry..
DAVE...what does mic the solder and pitch the solder mean lol..

 

The check ball goes in one hole and the reverse arm shaft goes in the other. You shouldn't need to take that out to install a quaife unless you can't lift the main/input shafts enough to get the diff out.

Mic = measure with micrometer or precision dial calipers. pitch = throw away.

 

Got it! Thanks!

 

i still dont understand the solder thing. maximeltman can you take pictures of when you do this or somethin ? Im rebuilding my transmission this month after i buy the kit and I know it will probably be clearer when i am in the process of doing it, but im just paranoid.

 

Solder is a little thicker than the shims and it squeezes easily. So you can put small pieces of it where the shims would go, put the housing on and tighten a few bolts, then take it apart and measure the solder thickness where it was squeezed. You need to pay attention to what part of the squished solder to measure. Also note that the lettering of a bearing cup will create an imprint so don't measure on those spots.

 

we are talking about a little string of solder here right? i have different thicknesses of solder... what if there is more gap than the thickness of the solder and it does not get squished at all? or is that not possible?
is everyone using the kit from drivetrain.com? im guessing that includes the proper shims?

 

The solder has to be thicker. Look at the FSM to see the endplay ranges that can be expected and use solder that is at least 30% thicker.

I've never used drivetrain.com. I've never seen a rebuild kit that includes shims. Shims come from Nissan.

 

I've used the drivetrain kit a few times, comes with good jap & german bearings & seals.

As for shims, they are near impossible to get from nissan, always back-ordered. Last time I went to a local tranny shop and the owner let me dig through a 5-gallon bucket of shims. It took me less than 5-minutes to find ones of the exact thickness that I needed that just needed a little custom modification to fit perfect. However next time I will pm the man above me first.

 

alright thanks guys. i'll post more specific questions when I actually get around to doing my rebuild.