I picked up a LSD axle last night (thanks, Fakie) and also purchased another 2001 Maxima VLSD transmission which I will pick up Friday. It's in a small town just south of Wichita KS so it's a couple of hours there and the same back home - so I took Friday off.

I have not yet received a clear answer on the Final Drive questions I emailed them. Because the 2005-2006 2.5L Altima does not come with VLSD, there is no good way to lock the differential. No Quaife, no way. My IPT contact did suggest that putting the Maxima bellhousing on the Altima transmission might work, since the transmissions are of the same model (RE4F04B) but no way to lock that differential.

Other people wanting a much lower Final Drive ratio might consider this if an open differential is acceptable. There is a bunch of these (cheap) in the salvage yards - Nissan must have sold a LOT of 2005-2006 Altimas.


EDIT: Nistune says:

News & Developments

Nistune Type 5 and Type 4 OBD-II boards
23rd of September, 2013

Type 4 OBD-II board field testing has been completed. We will support 1995-1996 A32 Maxima, 1996 KA24DE and 1996 Z32 300ZX ECUs with this board (USDM based models). Pricing $300AUD RRP

 

I put the VLSD diff back together with a few bolts to test my idea of using steel wedges to lock it up. I used Fakie's LSD axle (without spring clip) and tapped that into place - after I had positioned one wedge. This way, both axles are locked together quite nicely.

It looks kinda close in the wedge spot, so I'm thinking that I might use a stick welder to tack in all four wedges, then disassemble the whole thing and MIG-weld everything in place. Since the axle splines are the same for each axle, a welded pinion cross should interchange with the stock one in any VLSD. I'll have a chance to test that when I get the newest transmission back here to tear apart. Wheee !!

Unlocked:



With wedgie:


Closer to wedge:



The whole test setup:

 

Since I need to place one wedge in the pinion cross and weld it into place, I ground down the edges of the wedge so that I might get a welding rod into the housing and at least spot-weld something with my little 80-amp inverter welder. Pix:

But, since I don't have a MIG welder, I went ahead and ordered a new Eastwood 135 amp MIG welder from eBay for cheap, since they are on sale right now. It's possibly a little better welder than the Lincoln 140 (full variable controls) and is selling right now for $279.95 with free shipping. These units come directly from the manufacturer, Eastwood, with warranty and all accessories. It ships Monday so I'll wait until I have the welder before spot-welding the wedge onto the cross. Then I can finish up all the welds at the same time. Heckofadeal.

In the meantime I'll open up the 2001 transmission I brought home to take out that VLSD differential so I can install the welded cross when it's done, so I can send everything to IPT for a race build.

 

I called IPT and talked with the transmission guy that does my Nissan transmission, about the best thing to do regarding the final drive gear changes I want. I mentioned that I'm going after a 2006 Altima 2.5L RE4F04B transmission this week so I can count the teeth of the ring and pinion to verify the 4.4:1 ration that supposed to be inside. If the gears calculate to be 4.4:1 then I can pull just them for shipping to IPT.

He said to be sure and pull the opposite-side cover and count the teeth on the far side of the pinion gear/shaft, as the power train gears might also be different to give such a large change in final drive gears ratios. I know how to get to them, but if they're different, then what?

We decided that I will send him both transmissions - both RE4F04s - and he can dig thru the Altima transmission for whatever is needed for the 4.4:1 final drive I want. I'll do that after my Eastwood welder gets here and I can MIG-weld the pinion cross gears together so I can ship everything at once. Two transmissions, one pallet is the way to do this, he said. So be it...

 

Gear ratios (1st,2nd,3rd and 4th) are the same for all RE4F04's regardless what car they went into. So the back side of the pinion shafts are all the same. Only the number of output gears differs to mate up to the different FD's

 

Yup, I know about the internal gear ratios, but the IPT builder was speculating about the possibility that the pinion drive gears were also a different ratio to affect the Final Drive ratio, mostly because of the drastic difference between 3.8 and 4.4. I looked at the parts at Courtesy Parts but don't see any evidence either way. There is a nice - 89K - 2006 Altima 2.5 L RE4F04B transmission about 20 miles away which will be mine in a couple of days, so I can pull the outer bell housing and count teeth. At least that area is easy to get to. Also compare the Altima and Maxima bell housings... will either one fit on either transmission - or are they the same bolt pattern?

Their tech is trying to talk me into using the Altima transmission for a build and welding up that differential for a locker, but I dunno - only two pinion gears there. Still, having a 2006 transmission can't be all bad, with production upgrages and all.

My Eastwood welder won't be here until next Monday, so I have some time to look inside of transmissions. See what you started?

 

[QUOTE="grey99max;8858291"]

Yup, I know about the internal gear ratios, but the IPT builder was speculating about the possibility that the pinion drive gears were also a different ratio to affect the Final Drive ratio, mostly because of the drastic difference between 3.8 and 4.4. I looked at the parts at Courtesy Parts but don't see any evidence either way. There is a nice - 89K - 2006 Altima 2.5 L RE4F04B transmission about 20 miles away which will be mine in a couple of days, so I can pull the outer bell housing and count teeth. At least that area is easy to get to. Also compare the Altima and Maxima bell housings... will either one fit on either transmission - or are they the same bolt pattern?

Their tech is trying to talk me into using the Altima transmission for a build and welding up that differential for a locker, but I dunno - only two pinion gears there. Still, having a 2006 transmission can't be all bad, with production upgrages and all.

My Eastwood welder won't be here until next Monday, so I have some time to look inside of transmissions. See what you started? [/QUOTE. ]
All this. In a. Automatic ??

 

[QUOTE=I<3 A32's;8858330]Read the rest of the thread. Jeez....

 

The tooth counts will be different on all of the intended final drives and pinion reduction gear. Being that the gears are not "straight cut" they kinda mesh into one another. Easiest way to think of it is to imagine the Ford 9 inch or Chev. 12 bolt rears. You can have a multiple pinions with the same tooth counts but the teeth are angled and spaced in such a way that they will only match up with the proper ring gear tooth size, count and spacing.

 

Yup - I know all that - I've hacked on differentials since the 50's. My first welded diff was a 57 Chevy diff and rear axle wirh a 4.56 gearset and welded pinions. Needed this for my 63 Econoline van w/302 Boss Ford dual-carbs mounted mid-van in a custom cradle. With the recap slicks you had in those days, It would pick up the nose easily. Good old days...

The IPT guy was doing all the worrying about the gears on the other end of the pinion shaft, so I listened - he's going to do all the work, so I paid attention. This front-wheel drive stuff is - different - than RWD, but interesting. I'm really interested in the bellhousings between the 2001 Maxima and the 2006 Altima (which I'm going to try and pick up today). With any luck, the Altima transmission can be made to bolt onto my 3.5. If so, then maybe the stock differential could be welded up for a spool, then the Altima transmission could be built instead... I dunno yet. I really want the 4.4 final drive gears, though.

 

My guess is that you will need to mount up the maxima bellhousing to the Altima tranny. Being that the tranny your getting was mated up to the 4 banger. I am fairly confident that all RE4F04's are dual bolt patterned to begin with. Do you see bolt holes on the Maxima tranny that the Maxima housing does not use?

Speaking of locked diff's... have a look at the Chevelle's busted up set of "Pro Gears" Discovered this 4 days before leaving for the bracket finals in Pittsburgh.

 

Those gears are in bad shape (OK, total loss) - more horsepower than gear?? At least you have a spool in there. That is not the place for an open differential, right? How about a photo from further back, to show how the rear axle is set up. Always something to learn from a good rear shot, right?

I'm picking up the 2006 Altima transmission later today, so I can peel both bellhousings and compare how they mount up to the main transmission cases - right after I count the teeth on the Altima ring and pinion gears. If the ring and pinion alone have the advertised 4.4 ration, then I don't need the rest of the Alty tranny. Photos, of course.

 

I went to the local IFO even though I couldn't run. Busted tranny. I shot the two faster cars of the event at the start of the 2PM eliminations. Two black Mazdas, one a RX7 (7.8x)and the other a RX3 (7.4x 174MPH), both seriously modded. They're both KC cars and have been around for a few years.








The track has a pet Lamborgina shown with Lambo door open. Hard to remember that this car started that door mod. A piddly 129MPH.



A non-racing Mazda in the car show that caught my eye. That's a LS-7 with a ProCharger under the hood. Hard to see how he closes the hood... The owner said "that's eight years of his life".

 

This is a look at the 2001 VLSD Maxima tranny I just bought for a build with locked spool. Nothing really new here.










Now the same shots of the 2006 Altima. Notice the deeper oil pan below the valve body. Looks like the same bolt pattern as the Maxima. Requires further investigation - may be useful on the Maxima transmissions.











One interesting thing is that the bell housings do interchange, although the design is slightly different between them.

 

Some shots of the VLSD-Maxima and open-diff/Altima diffs. The tooth count on the maxima is 66/17 ring/pinion for a 3.88 ratio and the 2006 Altima has 68/15 ring/pinion for a 4.53 ratio. Since both of these are greater than advertised, the pinion drive gears may not be exactly 1:1.

It gets more complicated, though. My original plan was to swap ring and pinion gears from the Altima into the Maxima, but that is not possible.

Altima ring gear showing attachment bolts.



Maxima ring gear showing more bolts. Bummer... swapping ring gears is not possible - and the two types of differentials are not interchangeable. The driver's-side bearings are mch larger on the VLSD unit.



The final option is to look at the differential of the Altima. A couple of inside shots. Something may be possible here, but I'm going to need to think about it. Lots of practice with a MIG welder???









These gears cannot be interchanged. They use different bolt counts and pattern.

 

On to the next one.

Sorry for the bad news.

 

Well, not so bad - If I can weld up the Altima diff, I can get it built for my car with the really low final drive. The 2001 Maxima can also go back for a build and give me a locked diff. with the original drive ratios, which worked well with my short M&H slicks. The one in the car can also go back for a "freshen up" and maybe a locked diffy as well. One of these can go to the Texas Mile next year.

You always have to have "parts in hand" to do stuff like this. I always have "Plan B", remember?

 

My plan B is AAA.

 

I must say this news is kind of a bummer and a major letdown. Will the Maxi axle's be able to fit the Altima differential?

I am starting to think the only real (and longest lasting) solution is a custom ring and pinion with a spool... and that would be close to 2 grand. I might have to pick up an Alto with the 4.08's and see if it is the same as the 4 banger tranny or more like the VQ30 transmission.

 

What's an Alto? Altima? Going from a 3.8 to 4.08 isn't worth the work and expense. Shorter tires will give the same results with less hassle and expense.

Dunno about the axles - don't have any spare ones around, except the VLSD, and it sure won't fit in the Altima. I still need to check more dimensions of the Altima tranny, like mount bolts and solenoid connections and speedometer gear connector, but it's definitely a RE4F04B tranny. Oh, and how the Maxima torque converter fits - I have another of those from the 2001 AE tranny. The bellhousing boltholes are identical and the oil pump appears identical, so it may be possible to make the built-Altima transmission idea work. If everything else checks out, then I'll buy a new driver's side Maxima axle from NAPA and check how it fits, since I'll need one.

The Eastwood MIG welder should be here Friday, so I can wreck - er, weld - a couple of differentials for fun and testing.

"it's always something"

EDIT: Looks like FedEx shipping schedules make random changes - now delivery may be sometime next week - maybe. Wish these yahoos used UPS.

 

You're gonna have fun with the mig welder! They're really easy to learn!

 

Oh, good... it's too bad you're not around to show me how. It may be here today, and I've already bought a roll of .030 Lincoln flux wire and the tips for that wire. There are plenty of YouTube videos on mig welding so I probably have no excuses, right?

 

I did some homework yesterday and found that Maxima axles and Altima axles are 29 spline. The VLSD driver's axle is 27/29 spline. The wheel end of the VLSD driver's axle is also 29 splines, and fits into both sides of the VLSD diffy perfectly. Hmmmm..

I brought the Altima diffy to the VLSD axle on the bench and both ends of that axle fit perfectly into both sides of the Altima diffy. That answers the Altima/Maxima axle question - yes, Maxima axles will fit into the Altima diffy. You know, I need to re-check the VLSD axle and see if it goes all the way into the Altima diffy. The extended 27 spline end of that axle may hit the Altima diffy pinion shaft that goes across the inside of the diffy. Maybe I can use the existing cryoed axle.....

I didn't have time to test the extra Maxima torque converter with the Altima transmission, but I bet it fits. Once a RE4F04B transmission, always a RE4F04B transmission. I'll check that tonight, plus I didn't have to buy another axle to test fitment.

I think that I can send the Altima transmission, with the Maxima bellhousing, off to IPT for a complete race build. Anyway, that's looking very good now.

 

4th gen autos are 3.619 geared so a 4.08 and short (23") tires would be better. Personally, being that my I30 is NA the 4.42's would have been perfect for drag racing as that ratio would have allowed me to put a taller tire and still have the added pull off the line. One of the golden rules of drag racing is to put the tallest and fattest tires that will fit onto the car... more rollout (quicker e.t.'s when shallow staging), bigger footprint on the track for more consistent launches and traction.
My opinion is:
4.42's best for NA
4.08's best for power adders
3.62-3.80's for top speed distance events.

Yes, Alto was a typo for Altima. Lol I had been up for over 40 hours and was babysitting my newborn grandson at the time.

 

Excellent news on the axle's!! I wonder if there is a way to fill the Altima FD bolt holes and re-drill all or some of them to mount to the LSD and tranny?

 

Personally, I prefer the best of both worlds - a low low first gear and huge tires for a quick launch and full-power shifts thru the gears. This makes up for the stupid-wide gear ratios in the 4AT automatic somewhat. I gotta get up on the cams to make HP happen. Nitrous makes that more exciting, but with a progressive controller the power/RPM is easier to manage. IMHO....

No joy on the Altima ring gear holes -the gear is not made the same as the VLSD ring gear, with different "backspacing" so alignment would be bad. I actually looked at that idea when doing the photos, but the two types of gears are different.

I'll just weld up the Altima differential - that way I can get a solid burnout and not move around the track or frog-hop and look stupid. Plus, those hidden bald spots further down the track won't surprise me.

At least that's the plan right now...

 

I assembled the Eastwood 135 Friday night, then today I went to Lowes and got a cheap cart to mount it on - after I welded with it for a while and decided to keep it! No gas bottle yet, although the cart has a mount and chain for one. Maybe later when I start on my roll cage...





I started with buying a roll of .030 flux wire, some .030 nozzles, and a pair of real welding gloves. Also picked up a roll of .035 flux wire and still looking for nozzles. Maybe HF ? Learned how to feed the wire through the cable and nozzle and generally followed instructions. This morning I powered it up through a monster extension cord and was able to immediately weld on a 1/8" steel plate. Penetration is great. This is really a lot easier than stick welding, isn't it? I assembled the cheapo cart and set the welder and parts on it, and it looks good.

I do wonder why the case is not blue like in all the videos, but maybe this is the stealth model or a cheapo knockoff of something else, or an export model. For the price, it can be any color they want. Me and this welder are gonna be real good friends.

 

Playing with the welder earlier - man that's a lot easier to use compared to a stick welder. I went to Lowes for a 5/8" steel rod and found .035 " wire nozzles back in stock , so grabbed a package along with one gas hood for the tip, and picked up the 5/8" steel rod.


I was checking over the two diffy for how to weld them up solid, and I find that the 1999 VLSD axle goes into the 2006 Altima open diffy in both ends - all the way. This makes me wonder if I even to buy a new non-LSD driver's axle for putting the Altima tranny in my car. I'll probably buy a new one from Napa for a just-in-case backup.

I found that when you push the LSD axle in the 2001 VLSD diffy all the way, the pinion gears are moved to a different alignment than earlier photos. ??? I'll need a different steel wedge, so I got some 5/8" steel rod and ground one to fit and cut it off the rod. Dunno know why that happened - guess I didn't shove it in the hole all the way. I'll switch over to the .035" flux wire and get some practice, then make the other three steel wedges for the 2001 diffy and start welding on that pinion cross. I have an extra one of those so I can afford to experiment with this one. On the 2006 Altima, I only have once chance to get it right.

 

This morning I went to a shop and got the Altima differential welded up solid, by a guy that does this a lot for dirt track racers. Big 'ol Miller MIG welder. I had taken it out of the transmission last night, removed the ring gear, and washed out the oil with a can of O'Reillys spray cleaner. That stuff is vicious - I'm pretty sure it cleaned off my fingerprints along with the oil.

I will post pictures tonight. I'll finish cleaning out all the splatter then put it back into the transmission. I'll also check the axle fit, just to be sure, then it will be time to ship it off to IPT in New Jersey for a Maximum build !! This is getting exciting. A fully-built 4AT with 4.4 final drive and locked diffy - makes me shiver. Looking forward to those launches now, and going thru the traps well into 4th gear while shifting under full power. I think I'll stick with the 75-shot in first gear and go on to 225-shot from second gear and up. That will make around 500WHP which should be exciting. Then I can figure out how to raise it up from there. The direct-port is capable of adding a total of at least 500 WHP with existing solenoids and plumbing.

 

? eye candy ? The last photo is after the welding slag was cleaned out - chipped, then washed out. Any remaining beads are fused to metal. Later I'll re-lube the bearings and put the ring gear back on.

 

Sweet! Yeah, mig welders are great for getting things done quick and easy. I love mine!

 

Yup - I'm pretty sure that the Altima diffy won't be spinning just one tire...

I think I'm going to wire-brush the welds, just to remove any junk that might flake off later.

 

U should have welded the diff years ago

 

Harold, I have a question for you. Is the solenoid pack connector on your Altima tranny the longer 18" 7 pin flat and brown type or the shorter 7 pin round and black one?

BTW, the carrier looks to be welded nicely but I'm surprised your guy didn't also weld the spider gears to the case as well.
It would be my suggestion that once you get everything bolted up and running that you don't hit it with the 75 shot right off the bat. You might be pleasantly surprised by how well this gearing will get the car off the line. The 4.42's in the auto will give you gear multiplication numbers very, very close to what the 5 speed guys have in gears 1-3.

5 speeds: Alti-Auto:

1st. 12.56. 12.32
2nd. 7.07. 6.84
3rd. 4.61. 4.42

 

Did I ever mention that I hate it when you're right? And that's been, oh, how many times over the years? Yeah, way too many......

Trying to "follow the rules" and "do the right thing" are two bad habits I have - but I'm getting over them. "Thinking out of the box" makes up some for those habits....

You know, all I gotta do now is re-mount the ring gear, put the diffy back in the case, bolt the Maxima bellhousing onto the transmission, take off the dipstick tube, plug all the holes, strap it down with a bunch of straps on my pallet, and call IPT for pickup. Then it's Xmas time under my Maxima tree.

 

The solenoid connector is identical to the 2000-2001 connector (round connector with clip on topside of valve body) - (only other ones I'm familiar with) but definitely not the same as the 95-99 connector. I have a custom extension on my 99 harness to match the 2001 VLSD that's in there now, so I'm sure of this much.

Meh- that's enough welding - the case is too small to weld the spiders to the case without making a mess of the case. The gears are big, and the case is kinda small. Nothing like a 9" Ford...

Launching w/75-shot? Darn right I will - those 10" M/T DRs are super-sticky and need a real workout. The engine needs to get to 4500 to come up on the cams, so the sooner the better. The 1-2 shift at 6500 still dropped to 3900-4000 and dropped out the programmed 4000-6500 nitrous on the direct-port stage, so lower final drive should help with that.

Besides, after all this fun, you know I'll smoke em up. The learning comes later. Having this much fun will be your fault, you know.

 

Request thread title change to: "Something I'm always doing"



Next year I hope to line up next to you at the track for a good YouTube video.

If I'm going to lose, I'm glad it would be to your Maxima.

 

Better title ?? "if you ain't breakin' sumthin, you ain't racin' "

Never plan on losing.... but I'll do what I can to beat you.

 

I'm glad I can help. Save me a spot in the passenger seat for a ride until I get my race motor completed. :-)

 

Race motor ?? What are YOU up to now? Probably something with "V8" and "LS-7" in the title... I still want a World III 632 cu in complete built engine with a guaranteed 800 crank HP, and a 30-month 50,000 mile warranty. $13K but it's ready to go... in a 69 Nova with Glide and Strange rear axle. None of this namby-pamby front-wheel-drive import stuff, no sir.

Something else about this transmission fiddling - O'Reillys has axles, of course, but they have the spline counts and axle lengths for all their new axles. There are some surprises in there, like the 99 5spd VLSD driver's axle has a different length from all other driver's axles. The 2006 Altima axles show with the same "inboard" splines as my 1999 Max, but "outboard" splines are smaller. Stuff like that... This is a good place to look to answer those axle questions that are always popping up.

I'm still a little concerned about the 2+ inch difference in the bearing-to-bearing width of the two diffys I've been wrecking. The splines are both 29 and the Maxima fits into the Alty, but the VLSD axle isn't going to work with the Alty - gotta order in a NAPA 99 non-VLSD driver's axle for sure. The VLSD 99 is a bunch wider than the Alty. Further investigation required....