300zx's ELX work log

[FE3-323]

i will never understand how honda thought 5 bolts was sufficient enough to hold that much weight hanging off the head......... good thing you'll be changing the flange

[KAinjection]

Ok so after a longer than necessary ordeal with an ebay seller, I finally got the correct toolkit to measure the bearing preload for final assembly of this transmission.

only to be disappointed in the end......but I will get to that later.

To my surprise the input shaft needs a thinner shim than is available from the Mazda dealer and the output shaft needs a thicker shim than is available from the Mazda dealer.
Input shaft comes in around .003-.004"
Output shaft comes in around .034-.035"

The service manual says "Do not use more than one shim" but what choice do I have in this matter. My have no idea what I will do about the input shaft at this point except to just not even run a shim and hope that .003-.004" wont cause a premature bearing failure.

The differential preload needs measured using a tool like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/181209712062?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

And after all this waiting, I am disappointed that I need to buy another tool to finish it. I thought the diff bearing were measured like the input/output shafts were.
Unfortunatly I cant use the adapter tool provided in the Rotunda kit to turn the diff and measure the preload since the Mfactory diff does not have that center diff pin which the tool sits on to turn it. I will have to fabricate something.

I did pick up a brand new OEM Mazda 3 passenger side frame rail mount so I can fully mount this engine.......when I finish this transmission.

[crazycanadian]

The biggest thing when setting up the bearing preloads is to make sure the bearing races are fully seated into the case halves. This can be tricky as the races can shift pretty easy when you turn the case half up side down.

I haven't had an issues using 2 or more shims. Usually though this is a sign of a worn case. If you are mixing and matching though from different transmissions I would worry to much about the case being worn unless you had play with the stock gear sets.

[KAinjection]

Ferdi helped me figure out what I was doing wrong so pending me getting the torque wrench so I can figure out what shim I need for the diff bearings, I will only need to buy 2 of them and then this thing can finally be finished. I did end up using 2 shims for the output shaft.

In other good news I went and picked up a Honda K20 Exhaust manifold gasket to compare port spacing to the MZR and its very close with only about an 1/8" difference side to side on 2 of the ports. The picture makes it look more than that but it really isnt.

[FE3-323]

none of the BG transmissions i can remember having anything less then 2 shims. the base shim is flat. while the 2ndary is a beveled shim.

[KAinjection]

Got the 1/4" drive 1-15 in/lbs torque wrench today so that I could set the preload on the differential bearings and figure out what shim I need to order. After I got everything measured I reassembled the trans as far as I can until I can install the last shims and bearing races.

I also have a few pictures showing how the Rotunda SST works for measuring to see what shims are needed in the transmission.

The first picture here is showing the spacers used to lift the rear case and the bearing race sitting on top of the bearing ready to go.

This next picture is just showing the spacer used to get the measurement for the diff. If you notice the 2 holes in the spacer used for inserting rods into and the 2 pieces are threaded. You unscrew them to take up the slack between the case and the top of the spacer.

In this picture you can see how the torque wrench is used to turn the diff and measure the resistance. You will want to unscrew the spacer with the rods until you can turn the diff and read a steady reading of 4.5 in/lbs. Once that is done you take a feeler gauge and measure the gap between the 2 spacer halves you screwed apart and thats your required shim size for the diff. In my case it was .011". Mazda uses metric shims in .05mm increments and the service manual advises to go with the closest shim to what is needed erring on the smaller side. So I will need a .25mm or .0098"


This picture is showing how to set up the input or output shaft with the proper spacer.


This last picture is how to measure for your shims using a dial indicator. For the input/output shaft, you must take 3 readings and then you add them together to find your average and that is your required shim size. In my case this was .027". I already have an .018" shim and so I will use a .009" shim added to it to get the desired thickness. Again since I have to choose from metric shim sizes, I will need a .2mm or .0078"

[FE3-323]

ah ****. thats mighty cool! would be nice to have a true transmission for once. mine has whine something fierce

[KAinjection]

Transmission is complete, and bolted onto the engine for test fitting the mounts.

[FE3-323]

sexy combo sir!

[KAinjection]

Here is a passenger mount and ground clearance shot for you Ryan.

[FE3-323]

quite low on the pan. hrmm

[azgtx]

Freeway cruiser James....no speed bumps or potholes.

[KAinjection]

I know I will have to be very careful and watch where I am driving. I could try and shave some material off the driver trans mount bracket so I can raise the engine up a little more, but that may start tweaking the rear torque mount and give me good clearance problems.

I am also wondering how I can even run the front torque mount since the clutch slave is taking up some of that space. Theoretically I could just run the engine without it since this engine was never designed to run a front mount.

[FE3-323]

cut & raise the pan. add wings to increase capacity back to OEM. problem solved

[KAinjection]

Good idea, although it may not help much considering where the A/C compressor is mounted........ Lol