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L4N71B Transmission into Early 10-Series Car


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Update.....Ok, so after yesterday I actually talked myself into swapping in a spare L16 with a 5-speed into the truck. Then I told myself if I was willing to do that why not try unbolting the motor mounts and try slipping the trans in. Well, after I talked myself into not being lazy I unbolted the motor mounts and pulled the engine forward....well what do you know, I was able to get trans in to test fit. It will work in a 620!!! I'm going to pick up some metal in the morning so I can make a new trans crossmember. I'll also be going to the parts store and trying to locate a low profile trans mount, because space is almost non-existant under there now. If I want a speedo cable I will have to notch out the torsion bar crossmember for cable clearance....I think that is a function I'll want to retain as it will be my commuter. I am taking pics along the way and will post when I'm done with the swap. Between work and whatever life throws my way, hopefully it'll be completed in about a week. :frantics:

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we want pics now.

 

btw, I think I might have mentioned this before in this or another thread.

 

Go get the shift lever from an '88 or so maxima along with it's wiring and stalk. It's a square stalk to allow room for the wiring going to the OD switch. You will have to drill and tap the truck lever for the mounting screws and possibly cut down the stalk of the maxima lever to fit the truck lever. I had to on my zxt 4 spd auto swap.

 

cut and or dremel the shift plate to allow for the square lever.

 

ftm005.jpg

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'82 280zx Turbo. It was good for 5 mpg better on the highway, probably could have been better with the 3.54, but I put a 3.9 when I did the swap.

 

It is a good swap for any car. Just don't race with it. The zxt was just a cruiser for me. I had two long road trips with it, one with the stock 3 spd auto, the other with the 4 spd auto. Both trips were at least 4200 miles each. Denver to seattle and back with both taking in 101 and pch.

 

I would have done the swap in the '78 kc I had, until I found a rust free '79 kc with a manual.

 

I had to run new exhaust so i went with 3" with a magnaflow twin tip muffler like stock. You definitely want to use some shielding where the new exhaust runs along the transmission.

 

And about the auto trans stalk. The square stalk is just a cover piece to hide the wires. The lever itself is still round and hasn't changed the mechanics of it.

 

The fun thing about the new exhaust on the zxt, It had a very nice rumble. So nice that just by idling through my sis's parking garage it set off a few alarms when i just blipped the throttle. Pissed her off and had her husband running to the parking attendant trying to apologise. The attendant was LHAO.

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This is what Nissan should have put in the last zx cars. Nice going.

 

 

The L4N71B can be modified to handle 500 hp. Needs the turbo modulator valve and drill some holes and add shins in the valve body. This tranny was used in Maximas and designed for comfortable shifts. This will up hydraulic pressures and reduce 'soft' slippage of the clutches.

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I bought the tranny from TWheel on zcar. He was one of the first ones who did the swap into a zx turbo. And he was close enough I could pick up the tranny. He rebuilt it to turbo specs along with the valve body mods. I'm not really into drag racing, but liked the idea of the .686 OD since I knew I would use it mainly for long trips and weekend drives.

 

I realized it needed the turbo modulator valve when it wouldn't get out of passing gear when in the lower gears. Replacing it with the turbo one let it shift correctly.

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I bought the tranny from TWheel on zcar. He was one of the first ones who did the swap into a zx turbo. And he was close enough I could pick up the tranny. He rebuilt it to turbo specs along with the valve body mods. I'm not really into drag racing, but liked the idea of the .686 OD since I knew I would use it mainly for long trips and weekend drives.

 

I realized it needed the turbo modulator valve when it wouldn't get out of passing gear when in the lower gears. Replacing it with the turbo one let it shift correctly.

Twheel was my inspiration for the idea of putting a 4 speed automatic behind my L20B. If you know him and speak to him, please refer him to my build. I feel like a novice in comparison to him and want his opinion(s).

 

Let me understand (as I just had a full rebuild on my L4N71B), The turbo modulator valve fixes the "long shifts" from second into third and third into overdrive? My transmission shop said they tried their best to get it adjusted but it still felt long-winded to me and even a bit harsh on the shifts. It drives good, just feels like I have a bit more RPMs between shifts than before.

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Just a quick update. With my limited time i've had to work on this swap this week, I am making a little progress. With swapping this into a 620 space is very resticted, between torsion bars....torsion bar crossmember....exhaust....trans pan.....etc., when I finally get pics loaded into computer a picture will speak a thousand words. LOL! With the limited space, I had to make a new mount to mount the tranny mount to the transmission.(boy that was a lot of mounts in one sentence!) You can't use the stock maxima mount setup(no room), and you have to trim off the mount tabs on the rear of the tailhousing to clear the torsion bar bolts. I finished making that new mount today. Now I just have to finish making a new trans crossmember. Then I can tear it all out and replace all the seals and trans filter and put it back in. Yay!  Oh, and hopefully it works! It did come from PNP........Ha-Ha! Hopefully my next update it will be completed with pics to show how to cram it in there.

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Twheel was my inspiration for the idea of putting a 4 speed automatic behind my L20B. If you know him and speak to him, please refer him to my build. I feel like a novice in comparison to him and want his opinion(s).

 

Let me understand (as I just had a full rebuild on my L4N71B), The turbo modulator valve fixes the "long shifts" from second into third and third into overdrive? My transmission shop said they tried their best to get it adjusted but it still felt long-winded to me and even a bit harsh on the shifts. It drives good, just feels like I have a bit more RPMs between shifts than before.

I am not sure if there is a difference between the modulators or not or just a big difference in the pin for shift adjustment. I know I tried screwing it in and out which I couldn't tell the difference. I still had my old tranny at the time and decided to use the old modulator. That cured the problem. I just don't know what the difference is if any or just the length of the pin.

 

The last time I heard from Todd was on ebay when he listed his zxt. I tried messaging him through there but never heard back. That was probably 5-8 yrs ago, I could check my ebay account to see if I still have my message to him, if it still has the record.

 

When I did get a hold of him, I did ask how his transmission was holding up. The 2nd gear clutches weren't holding up and he was trying different materials for the clutches. James Thaggard(below) decided to go another direction with his transmissions and went with the 700r4(?) with an adapter plate to fit it on the l28et.

 

When I first contacted him and picked up the tranny, 12 yrs ago he was thinking of moving to florida.

 

There is another guy you can contact, he and todd swapped info and experiences with the swap todd pioneered. James Thaggard. You should find contact info through the other forums, zcar, hybridz would be the most familiar.

 

 

 

 

ghammer,

 

Yes definitely would like pics, if not on here then on a build thread with a link for it on this thread.

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