malski Posted June 10, 2016 Report Share Posted June 10, 2016 Hi I was thinking about changing from my automatic to a 4spd and was wondering what my simplest options were. I can get a 4spd from a 78 280Z but don't know how hard a swap that would be or if the bell housing would be a direct bolt up and would the Zs flywheel work? With all the knowledge on this forum I can be certain I'll get great guidance. Thanks 1 Quote Link to comment
Charlie69 Posted June 10, 2016 Report Share Posted June 10, 2016 Use the search function I did a page that showed all the parts required to do this swamp. Quote Link to comment
Lockleaf Posted June 10, 2016 Report Share Posted June 10, 2016 L series trans will bolt to L series engines across the board. Assuming you still have your L16, you have a 5 bolt flywheel. The Z will have 6 bolt flywheel. Quote Link to comment
Dolomite Posted June 10, 2016 Report Share Posted June 10, 2016 You need to get a manual pedal assy, flywheel, clutch fork and bearing collar for whatever engine you're using, clutch, master and slave cyls, probably have to fuck with the trans mount, possibly shorten driveshaft depending on trans used. Probably forgetting something else. It's not hard but mildly time consuming. Quote Link to comment
LenRobertson Posted June 10, 2016 Report Share Posted June 10, 2016 Charlie69 - I'll admit my search skills are iffy, but I couldn't find your tranny swap page. Can you post a link maybe? I've done an auto-manual swap in a 510 and I;m curious how different it is for a 620. malski - The first thing to check is what engine you have in your 620. There is always a possibility it has been swapped sometime in the past. On the passenger side of the block just below where it meets the cylinder head is a flat spot with the block id stamped in. If it is a L16 or L18, they use 5 bolts to hold the flywheel to the crankshaft. A Z flywheel has 6 bolts. If someone has swapped an L20 in (which uses a 6 bolt flywheel), then a Z flywheel will work. I'm not sure of the length of your 620 auto tranny. A short tail Datsun tranny is 26" long (or maybe it is 26 1/2"; I can't ever remember). A long tail is 31" (or 32 1/2"). Z manuals are long tails. So if you measure your auto and it is 26"ish, your drive line will need to be lengthened. I believe 620 trannys are mostly longtails and you shouldn't have a problem, but you need to measure to be sure. Very important - the sleeve that carries the clutch throw-out bearing (located in the bell housing) must match the height of the clutch pressure plate. So it may be the sleeve that comes with a certain tranny isn't correct for the clutch from a different Datsun. So if you happen to have an L16/18 and get a 5 bolt flywheel and clutch, you will need the correct TO sleeve for that clutch, not the one that came with the Z tranny. No doubt several other things I'm not thinking of, but this gives you a start on what to check. Len Quote Link to comment
banzai510(hainz) Posted June 10, 2016 Report Share Posted June 10, 2016 this isn't a 1 day swap. Quote Link to comment
malski Posted June 11, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2016 Mine is a L16 would it be easier to get parts from a earlier 1600 or 521 ? Quote Link to comment
LenRobertson Posted June 13, 2016 Report Share Posted June 13, 2016 Mine is a L16 would it be easier to get parts from a earlier 1600 or 521 ? As far as I know you need a 5-bolt flywheel from an L16 or L18, either from a 510 or 620. The one source I'm looking at says only the '71 521 came with an L16. I doubt the earlier 521 engine flywheel will work although I'm not absolutely sure. It is worth looking around in your area for a 5-bolt flywheel, but realistically you may need to put a Wanted ad in the Classifieds here and buy one from someone out here in the west. Shipping will cost a bit since a flywheel weighs around 20 pounds, but that may be the only way you can find one. Look up Rockauto online for prices on a clutch kit and clutch master and slave cylinders. I screwed around with used cylinders on my 510 and ended up buying new ones. They aren't expensive. You may be able to order clutch kit and cylinders from your local store, but Rockauto gives you an idea on what is available and cost. I think you can make your own clutch hardline that goes from the master to slave cylinder from brake line you can buy from an auto parts store, but I've never done this. A search here on Ratsun may give you info on making a clutch hardline. You need to knock a clutch pilot bushing into the back end of the crankshaft. A bushing may come with the clutch kit, but they can be purchased separately if your kit doesn't have one. On a 510, the hole for the the clutch pedal arm is already there in the pedal box under the steering column, but I don't know if that is the same for a 620. So possibly you may only need to buy the clutch pedal arm and special bolt, not the entire pedal box. You may be able to bend your auto brake pedal arm and grind down the pad to a smaller size. Easier though to buy both arms from a manual truck (if you can find them). Be aware the bolt holding the brake pedal arm is left-hand thread (at least it is on a 510), and can be twisted off if turned to the left to loosen like a normal thread. As hainz said, this is all a bit time consuming, but nothing really difficult. Len Quote Link to comment
malski Posted June 15, 2016 Author Report Share Posted June 15, 2016 Thanks you for all info, I will start my search. Quote Link to comment
Skillsinc84 Posted October 27, 2016 Report Share Posted October 27, 2016 Hi, was wondering if you did this swap. If you did what did you do with the auto trans? Quote Link to comment
spoonman Posted November 20, 2016 Report Share Posted November 20, 2016 I just recently did this swap in my 75, from auto trans, to a 5 speed out of a 76 KC, a few little glitches here and there, for overall, it took me about a day and a half. Pretty easy. I have all the auto trans parts. Hi, was wondering if you did this swap. If you did what did you do with the auto trans? Quote Link to comment
gene knight Posted December 3, 2016 Report Share Posted December 3, 2016 Malski: I need parts from your automatic transmission Quote Link to comment
5t341tH Posted December 15, 2016 Report Share Posted December 15, 2016 i got my auto tranny parts laying around Quote Link to comment
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