Another Nissan turbo project.

[GlenM]

This is the deflector on the front of the propshaft.

[Carledo]

This is the deflector on the front of the propshaft.

Yep, that's pretty much what I thought!

I reckon you can safely lose that, I can't imagine anything come up and FORWARD to damage the output shaft seal, the vast majority of RWD vehicles have nothing at all there! And if the seal fails for any reason, you'll be rustproofing the whole underbody instead of just the front bit!

Steve

PS, don't forget when shortening the prop, to leave a bit of the splined stub sticking out of the 'box to account for suspension plunge.

[GlenM]

Steve,

Ok. That's useful then, it will make all the difference clearing the tunnel reinforcer and it is a bit bent anyway, so it removes the issue of having to straighten it too.

To work out the prop-shaft length I was going to take the rear springs and shocks off, then move the axle up as far as it will go. That will give me it's shortest possible length, then I was going to knock 5-6mm off of that, to give a clearance. What do you think?

[new to this]

Why dont you ask Richard Hyde hes made his propshaft already,he sent me pictures but cant find them now

[SprintV8]

Steve,

Ok. That's useful then, it will make all the difference clearing the tunnel reinforcer and it is a bit bent anyway, so it removes the issue of having to straighten it too.

To work out the prop-shaft length I was going to take the rear springs and shocks off, then move the axle up as far as it will go. That will give me it's shortest possible length, then I was going to knock 5-6mm off of that, to give a clearance. What do you think?

Dave Mac Propshafts done mine.
All they needed was the pinion size there’s two different sizes fitted to Dolomites so the pinion PCD is best.
Then the distance from the diff nose to gearbox seal.
They then work out all the sizes from that.

Personally I wouldn’t bother removing the shocks and springs just need the distance at going road height

[GlenM]

Why dont you ask Richard Hyde hes made his propshaft already,he sent me pictures but cant find them now

I am constantly in touch with Richard. He has a modified Dolomite one, I am going for a one piece one.

[Carledo]

Why dont you ask Richard Hyde hes made his propshaft already,he sent me pictures but cant find them now

I am constantly in touch with Richard. He has a modified Dolomite one.

Yes he has, it's an old Sprint auto one he got from me!

My guy at Proptech did his too.

There's a bit of controversy over whether a one piece or a split is best, the guy at Proptech is firmly on the side of the 2 piece, he reckons that that a one piece needs to be so big and heavy that any weight you save not having the middle joint is lost in beefing up the one piece to take the load. With an added risk of harmonic upsets. Admittedly, both my cars are under 150bhp (just), but both are running happily on what were originally OHV Dolomite propshafts, a Toledo original on the Carledo and a 1500 auto one on the Dolomega. I chose these props for their ease of maintenance with 3 UJs and a rear fitted sliding joint. Too early to tell on the Dolomega but the Carledo's has been perfect for 10 hard years.

Steve

[GlenM]

[/quote]

Yes he has, it's an old Sprint auto one he got from me!

My guy at Proptech did his too.

There's a bit of controversy over whether a one piece or a split is best, the guy at Proptech is firmly on the side of the 2 piece, he reckons that that a one piece needs to be so big and heavy that any weight you save not having the middle joint is lost in beefing up the one piece to take the load. With an added risk of harmonic upsets. Admittedly, both my cars are under 150bhp (just), but both are running happily on what were originally OHV Dolomite propshafts, a Toledo original on the Carledo and a 1500 auto one on the Dolomega. I chose these props for their ease of maintenance with 3 UJs and a rear fitted sliding joint. Too early to tell on the Dolomega but the Carledo's has been perfect for 10 hard years.

Steve
[/quote]

Dan Brown suggested the one piece TX1 propshaft. I think he had a one piece in his car and at least one of the other conversions he did certainly had. Hopefully I won't get any harmonic problems.

[GlenM]

Steve,

Ok. That's useful then, it will make all the difference clearing the tunnel reinforcer and it is a bit bent anyway, so it removes the issue of having to straighten it too.

To work out the prop-shaft length I was going to take the rear springs and shocks off, then move the axle up as far as it will go. That will give me it's shortest possible length, then I was going to knock 5-6mm off of that, to give a clearance. What do you think?

Dave Mac Propshafts done mine.
All they needed was the pinion size there’s two different sizes fitted to Dolomites so the pinion PCD is best.
Then the distance from the diff nose to gearbox seal.
They then work out all the sizes from that.

Personally I wouldn’t bother removing the shocks and springs just need the distance at going road height

Thanks Phil, that's useful to know.

[GlenM]

The gearbox is now as high as I can get it and have clearance for the prop-shaft but the engine is still at an angle. I have plenty of clearance on the steering rack, so I am going to try changing the 38mm thick Rover V8 engine mounts for some 34mm ones. This should drop the engine by about 6mm. It still won't be completely level but it will be a step in the right direction.





I did have to cut the flange off but have left the tunnel reinforcing section intact.



The propshaft fits quite well with the deflector removed.

[Carledo]

The gearbox is now as high as I can get it and have clearance for the prop-shaft but the engine is still at an angle. I have plenty of clearance on the steering rack, so I am going to try changing the 38mm thick Rover V8 engine mounts for some 34mm ones. This should drop the engine by about 6mm. It still won't be completely level but it will be a step in the right direction.

That output shaft is as high as it will ever need to be!

On my Vauxhall convos, the sump to rack clearance is best measured with feeler guages and the oil pan is ever so slightly lower than the crossmember, something that bothers me when faced with speed bumps around here!

I reckon you could drop the engine a good inch if needed to get it level. Of course, that's more engineering, but might be the best way.

Steve

[GlenM]

The gearbox is now as high as I can get it and have clearance for the prop-shaft but the engine is still at an angle. I have plenty of clearance on the steering rack, so I am going to try changing the 38mm thick Rover V8 engine mounts for some 34mm ones. This should drop the engine by about 6mm. It still won't be completely level but it will be a step in the right direction.

That output shaft is as high as it will ever need to be!

On my Vauxhall convos, the sump to rack clearance is best measured with feeler guages and the oil pan is ever so slightly lower than the crossmember, something that bothers me when faced with speed bumps around here!

I reckon you could drop the engine a good inch if needed to get it level. Of course, that's more engineering, but might be the best way.

Steve

Yes, it can't go much higher.

I have been looking at engine mounts again this evening and I have found some 25mm thick 75mm diameter ones. I am going to try these with some 3" diameter washers, which I can add, or subtract to get the engine nearer to level. I want it as level as possible but I don't want to get to the stage of using feeler gauges for sump to rack clearance though!!

Glen.

[SprintV8]

Yes he has, it's an old Sprint auto one he got from me!

My guy at Proptech did his too.

There's a bit of controversy over whether a one piece or a split is best, the guy at Proptech is firmly on the side of the 2 piece, he reckons that that a one piece needs to be so big and heavy that any weight you save not having the middle joint is lost in beefing up the one piece to take the load. With an added risk of harmonic upsets. Admittedly, both my cars are under 150bhp (just), but both are running happily on what were originally OHV Dolomite propshafts, a Toledo original on the Carledo and a 1500 auto one on the Dolomega. I chose these props for their ease of maintenance with 3 UJs and a rear fitted sliding joint. Too early to tell on the Dolomega but the Carledo's has been perfect for 10 hard years.

Steve
[/quote]

Dan Brown suggested the one piece TX1 propshaft. I think he had a one piece in his car and at least one of the other conversions he did certainly had. Hopefully I won't get any harmonic problems.
[/quote]


I could of use the Carbon Fibre RX8 with a adapter to Mount to the diff.
But would of needed to move the engine and gearbox forwards about 50mm.
And the UJs are seized common problem on the RX props.
On the plus side
I’m not going to break the new prop.

What angle is the engine at.

[Carledo]

The gearbox is now as high as I can get it and have clearance for the prop-shaft but the engine is still at an angle. I have plenty of clearance on the steering rack, so I am going to try changing the 38mm thick Rover V8 engine mounts for some 34mm ones. This should drop the engine by about 6mm. It still won't be completely level but it will be a step in the right direction.

That output shaft is as high as it will ever need to be!

On my Vauxhall convos, the sump to rack clearance is best measured with feeler guages and the oil pan is ever so slightly lower than the crossmember, something that bothers me when faced with speed bumps around here!

I reckon you could drop the engine a good inch if needed to get it level. Of course, that's more engineering, but might be the best way.

Steve

Yes, it can't go much higher.

I have been looking at engine mounts again this evening and I have found some 25mm thick 75mm diameter ones. I am going to try these with some 3" diameter washers, which I can add, or subtract to get the engine nearer to level. I want it as level as possible but I don't want to get to the stage of using feeler gauges for sump to rack clearance though!!

Glen.

25mm mounts should be OK and may be more useful. As is normal for me, I used what I found lying around the shop and what I found was Volvo 240 mounts which are nearer 50mm thick and quite soft. They compress with age, so every now and again (5 years or so) I am alerted by the vibration of the sump on the rack and have to add a shim under the mount! It's not quite a feeler guage job, that was exageration for effect, but it is very close, necessitated on the Carledo by the tall inlet plenum. But I got it under the bonnet without cutting any of the ribs away, so I call that a win.

I wasn't quite so successful on the Dolomega, the bonnet bulge is functional to clear the cambelt cover and all the ribs have gone apart from the edges. Turns out the 2.2 block is nearly an inch taller than the 2.0, which I should have guessed, but didn't.

For my next trick, i'm going back to a 2.0, but with forced induction. The Carledo's 140 horse 2.0 8v is going into my 1500FWD (which will then be RWD) and the Carledo is getting a Z20LET, having got the chassis right enough to take more power, i've a hankering for 200 or so horses and the LET seems to be a cheap way of getting it!









Steve

[GlenM]

Haven't had any time on the car for a couple of weeks but I managed to get the 25mm mounts fitted today. I tried them first with a washer between the engine brackets and the rubber mounts but there was still quite a good clearance between the sump and the rack, so I took them out.

The sump now hangs down a bit below the front crossmember but is still about 20-25mm above the main one.



The sump to rack clearance is now only 7-8mm.



The o/s mount looks good.



But I am going to have to add some extra steel to the n/s subframe plate.



I might also cut a washer to sit round the engine bracket mounting face and weld it into place, so that the bracket/washer contacts the whole of the surface of the rubber mount.

The engine still isn't completely level but it is as close as I can get it now, without major alterations to the steering rack location, or the sump.