Frankendrivetrain?
11-13-2006, 07:00 PM
#1
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Location: Houston TX
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Frankendrivetrain?
Hey ppl me again.
was wondering if anyone has the RB20 Flywheel + 350Z clutch/pressure plate combo on their cars.
I've heard a couple of times here and there that it works on a stock KA tranny and I found it rather intriguing.
I can get a billet steel lightweight RB20 flywheel for relatively cheap and there's plenty of 350Z clutches floating about at competitive prices. Even a stock unit would be good for at least 300HP since that's what Z's come with to begin with so to me it sounds like a winner.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks!
was wondering if anyone has the RB20 Flywheel + 350Z clutch/pressure plate combo on their cars.
I've heard a couple of times here and there that it works on a stock KA tranny and I found it rather intriguing.
I can get a billet steel lightweight RB20 flywheel for relatively cheap and there's plenty of 350Z clutches floating about at competitive prices. Even a stock unit would be good for at least 300HP since that's what Z's come with to begin with so to me it sounds like a winner.
What are your thoughts on this?
Thanks!
11-26-2006, 10:45 AM
#2
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Location: Houston TX
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UPDATE
Ok so I went ahead and decided to give it a shot since it sounded like a good idea but now (I should have known) I'm having some issues and I'd like to hear your thoughts about it.
What I noticed is that the flywheel and 350Z pressure plate combo stick out slightly more then the stock 240 I think 1/8 of an inch if I remember correctly also the clearance to the sides of the bellhousing is much tighter then with the smaller 240 clutch.
At first it looked like the thing didn't want to go in so we disassembled the clutch, realigned it and then put everything back on and it finally fit right. I noticed the clutch grabbed firmly and all the way at the bottom of the pedal so I had the pedal adjusted to have a little bit of deadzone when releasing it (but not much as it's not possible to get more out of it) so the clutch isn't half engaged when I'm off the pedal (i.e. putting the car in reverse before the adjustment caused a big grind from a standstill, now it happens every now and then).
Drove the car home and I noticed by the time I had gotten close to my house (about 30 miles down the road) the floorpan by my right leg was HOT. Now here's a couple of scenarios I'm thinking.
1) when the tranny went back in the car I installed a nismo mount which are notorious for being thicker then stock and pushing up the drivetrain which causes my exhaust (3in.. with a truck cat converter) to ride very close (and hit) the bottom of my car.
2) they didn't put much oil in the tranny so I added a bit of lucas stabilizer to cut down the temps (seemed to help a little but not much)
3) something's happening with the oversized clutch and it's creating a lot of heat be it breaking in, tighter clearance to bellhousing, or plain simple friction from the clutch being too large and not disengaging completely.
As I mentioned the floor gets hot, but as far as smell goes, there doesn't seem to be burned clutch smell, also I was told that if the clutch was grabbing and heating up I should feel some degree of sluggishness or restraint and I'm not (if anything i've gotten faster with the ligthened flywheel) so at this point i'm out of ideas as to what could be causing this heat. Does anyone have ideas on it?
Thanks for the help.
What I noticed is that the flywheel and 350Z pressure plate combo stick out slightly more then the stock 240 I think 1/8 of an inch if I remember correctly also the clearance to the sides of the bellhousing is much tighter then with the smaller 240 clutch.
At first it looked like the thing didn't want to go in so we disassembled the clutch, realigned it and then put everything back on and it finally fit right. I noticed the clutch grabbed firmly and all the way at the bottom of the pedal so I had the pedal adjusted to have a little bit of deadzone when releasing it (but not much as it's not possible to get more out of it) so the clutch isn't half engaged when I'm off the pedal (i.e. putting the car in reverse before the adjustment caused a big grind from a standstill, now it happens every now and then).
Drove the car home and I noticed by the time I had gotten close to my house (about 30 miles down the road) the floorpan by my right leg was HOT. Now here's a couple of scenarios I'm thinking.
1) when the tranny went back in the car I installed a nismo mount which are notorious for being thicker then stock and pushing up the drivetrain which causes my exhaust (3in.. with a truck cat converter) to ride very close (and hit) the bottom of my car.
2) they didn't put much oil in the tranny so I added a bit of lucas stabilizer to cut down the temps (seemed to help a little but not much)
3) something's happening with the oversized clutch and it's creating a lot of heat be it breaking in, tighter clearance to bellhousing, or plain simple friction from the clutch being too large and not disengaging completely.
As I mentioned the floor gets hot, but as far as smell goes, there doesn't seem to be burned clutch smell, also I was told that if the clutch was grabbing and heating up I should feel some degree of sluggishness or restraint and I'm not (if anything i've gotten faster with the ligthened flywheel) so at this point i'm out of ideas as to what could be causing this heat. Does anyone have ideas on it?
Thanks for the help.
11-26-2006, 07:36 PM
#4
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how much closer is the new tranny to the floorpan? or how much distance is their?
as long as the tranny isnt smelling burnt or slipping or nething like that(like u said) then i doubt that is the issue.
make sure ur fluid levels are correct, maybe try like a custom heat shield or something and see if that helps
as long as the tranny isnt smelling burnt or slipping or nething like that(like u said) then i doubt that is the issue.
make sure ur fluid levels are correct, maybe try like a custom heat shield or something and see if that helps
11-26-2006, 08:56 PM
#5
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Well can't be more then an inch so I'll have to guess about half or less it's hard to be precise w/o accurate measurements.
The only thing I smell is metal getting hot but nothing like burned clutch. I was suggested that my heat issue could be coming from the pressure plate rubbing against the bellhousing. Though I don't discount the theory completely I'd think that I should be able to hear something foul happening in there if that were the case.
Still last night I was working with a friend trying to space the exhaust down a little bit to at least stop the rattling and he (poor bastard) noticed that the tranny was definitely hot and in order from cool to hottest was the tailshaft, shifter, gearbox, bellhousing. Also the guy that gave me the tranny just informed me that he seems to recall noticing heat marks on the shifter when he pulled it from the tranny.
The plot thickens....
The only thing I smell is metal getting hot but nothing like burned clutch. I was suggested that my heat issue could be coming from the pressure plate rubbing against the bellhousing. Though I don't discount the theory completely I'd think that I should be able to hear something foul happening in there if that were the case.
Still last night I was working with a friend trying to space the exhaust down a little bit to at least stop the rattling and he (poor bastard) noticed that the tranny was definitely hot and in order from cool to hottest was the tailshaft, shifter, gearbox, bellhousing. Also the guy that gave me the tranny just informed me that he seems to recall noticing heat marks on the shifter when he pulled it from the tranny.
The plot thickens....
11-27-2006, 04:32 PM
#6
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Drove to work today with the car. I had the impression that it was hotter in stop and go traffic then just regular freeway traffic. Distance is still the usual 30 miles tho.
Last edited by EAGLE 5; 11-27-2006 at 04:35 PM.
11-27-2006, 09:28 PM
#8
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Ok so the tranny had been sitting out a while before putting it in the car. Could it be that it needs to be flushed? I know that Autos require flushing/servicing regularly because the cooling lines and conduits can get clogged up and cause overheating but I'm not sure the same can be said for manuals.
This relly is a major headscratcher not to mention an enormous PITA....
Thanks for the replies keep em coming, but sounds like I'll have to take the car in to a shop and get it diagnosed later on this week.
This relly is a major headscratcher not to mention an enormous PITA....
Thanks for the replies keep em coming, but sounds like I'll have to take the car in to a shop and get it diagnosed later on this week.
11-28-2006, 05:02 PM
#10
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No it wasn't. but this was also on a different tranny and with the stock 240sx clutch.
Also I talked to one of the mechanics at Awesome Z, and he also hinted at the possibility that I may have a faulty bearing that's causing some overheating.
Which bearing could he be talking about? I can only think of Pilot and Throwout bearings but i was under the impression that if those failed everything would grind to a halt...
Also I talked to one of the mechanics at Awesome Z, and he also hinted at the possibility that I may have a faulty bearing that's causing some overheating.
Which bearing could he be talking about? I can only think of Pilot and Throwout bearings but i was under the impression that if those failed everything would grind to a halt...
Last edited by EAGLE 5; 11-28-2006 at 05:53 PM.
11-28-2006, 11:09 PM
#11
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i would imagine it would have to be the throwout...but yea you would notice something besides overheating...i mean trannys do get hot, im wondering if perhaps its not really overheating but really only since its closer that it seems that way...
maybe find a way to take some temperature measurements..
maybe find a way to take some temperature measurements..
