Skyline gearbox in 260z?

[JP240z]

Hi all, been a long time between posts after the sale of my 240.
Heard from somebody recently that the gearbox out of a r33 etc skyline with fit into a 260z with the only modification being a bellhousing swap.
Just wanted to confirm if this was true or not as I know the skyline boxes are strong and my 260 box is for the bin.
Any help would be much appreciated
Cheers,
JP

[Wayne G]

r33 turbo box wont but the n/a version may

[Vindicare]

Turbo box definately does not just bolt up. Requires a adapter plate. The rb20 box is the one which just needs a bell swap. Plus a couple small mods i think. Have a rb25 turbo box in my car

[Whittie]

I've put the RB20 (skyline)  and the Silvia SR20 box, and the SR20 box is the one you want, the gear lever is 5cm further back. With the skyline box I had trouble selecting 1/3/5 as my hand would hit the console.

I wrote a big paper with pictures and instructions here:

http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/75401-l28-transmission-swap-options/page__st__20__p__881963#entry881963


VERY easy mod, if you want to do on the cheap then just swap the bellhousing, machine out the gear selector holes and use the countershaft bearing from the 260z box, off you go.

[Scando]

I've used both a FJ20 and a R31 box with the same modification.

[JP240z]

Ok so Ive got no problem doing those small modifications to fit selector shafts etc..
But what I can't understand from all of that info is what box is best to use?
Should I use a box from an rb20de, rb20det, sr20, ca18 or an r31?
Which one of these boxes is the easiest mod?
And will I need to shorten the tailshaft and fabricate gearbox mounts?

Thanks so much for all your help boys its much appreciated

[Scando]

I can only talk for the boxes I've used (FJ20 & R31).  Both of those are the right length to use the Z tail shaft but both require modified gearbox mounts.  For both of these the position of the gear lever was fine and required no modification to the tunnel.

[JP240z]

Thanks Scando
So all those boxes needed was a bellhousing swap and custom mounts?

Whittie any more to add??

[NZeder]

RB Skyline = new gearbox mount and bellhousing swap. Leaver in stock location - however the 71C leavers are usually straight vs 71B which bend back = Whittie found this caused him issue on the track.
SR/CA box = new gearbox mount, bellhousing swap and a shorter drive shaft. Does move the leaver back 50mm IIRC.

[Lurch]

http://www.viczcar.com/forum/index.php/topic,3210.0.html

[JP240z]

thanks NZeder very helpful

yeh i'd read that lurch just had trouble sifting thru alot of the irrelevant stuff.

whats the difference in strength between the rb and ca/sr gearboxes?

[JP240z]

gearboxes out of which rb engines will fit with just a bellhousing swap and gearbox mount?
just rb20det gearboxes or rb25 turbo or non-turbo?

[NZeder]

RB20E
RB20DE
RB20DET
RB25DE
RB30E

but not the RB25DET or RB26DETT - or the RB20DET 4WD unit

[JP240z]

thanks NZeder very helpful.
So all those boxes are the same??

[NZeder]

thanks NZeder very helpful.
So all those boxes are the same??

No and Yes.

Yes as in the length and mounting etc. No as in internally - some have different ratios, some have narrow gears with just dual cone syncro's on 2nd others have dual cone syncro's on 2rd and 3rd. These boxes with the dual cones on 2nd and 3rd are usually the wider gears. Most RB20DET are these type of boxes. Some RB30E we have seen have the wide gears and dual cone on 3rd - hard to tell we are talking about 20 year old boxes now and they have might have been replaced before you get your hands on it. We did notice that front input shaft on these wider/dual cone on 3rd was different.

How much power are you looking at? For a L6 road n/a with good power levels I would think any box will do not much better than a B box if you get the narrow geared version other than it will be newer and has better shifter/selector setup.