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The set of drive hubs I have use press-in bearings. A quick check of the order log shows they're for an 05 Altima.

I've kept the idea of a "weld it yourself" knuckle in the back of my mind for a while. I could use the 05 Altima non-driven bolt-on cartridge hubs up front instead of the Miata spindles and 626 hubs, which would save a small amount of machine work on the spindles.

It would also allow easier adjustment of steering geometry up front, and in back.

I've been tempted to steal the upright design that mjalaly is using, and modify it for the driven hubs I have.

Now that I think of it, using an off the shelf knuckle in the rear won't really save me any time, and would cause some rather fun bodge work to get it shoehorned into my trac width requirement...

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

To make an upright with pressed bearings, you need to use a bearing holder tube that's thick enough it won't distort under welding, or finish machining the bore after welding. Or you can make your own bearing housings and press together your own cartridge bearings. That's the route I'm taking; I have two pieces of round bar waiting for me to pick them up at the steelyard...

A cartridge bearing is heavier than an integral setup, and adds a bit more complexity, but it was easiest for me to make with the toold I have at hand, and it will be much easier to service the bearings if it ever becomes necessary.

I have a sneaking suspicion that there's a lot of interchangeability between axles, hubs, and bearings; there is between different live axle parts, anyway. If there's a place within driving distance that rebuilds FWD driveshafts, it might be worth taking an axle down there to see if they recognize any interchanges.

The order from Nissan came in yesterday.
I flubbed up and ordered the wrong plug. Got the tiny all metal welch plug, instead of the rubber coated one that covers the mainshaft snap ring access hole.

I'll wait and put an order in for it with the local Hyundai dealership closer to the end of the fit-up stage. Gotta love having multiple places to source parts.
I could probably get it from the Mazda dealer if I order for an 05 Tribute 6 speed... Hmm... Lowest price wins.

TRX: I've scraped rockauto for near all their CV axle info graphics using wget and some scripting magic, it's just not in an easy to post format. All images, and I don't feel like doing OCR on them right now, or building a site scraper to pull the info from the info pages.

I've come to the conclusion, after looking at the Maxima uprights in the junkyard, that I will have to fabricate my own.
I'm looking into the idea of solid aluminum with snap ring bearing retention, seems to be the easiest route, with the best weight savings. I can prototype them in steel if I want to, and I can bore the bearing bores easily enough.

I've almost narrowed down my rim choices...

Konig illusions in 18" or 17" (I've wanted a set for years... ), Cadillac CTS 17" alloy, Mitsu Galant 16" alloy, or Mazda RX-8 18" stockers.

It's a hard decision, and it will have to wait till more is done on the adapter plate, and the post-holiday wallet balloon gains some more mass..

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

I expect that too. We had a comment from someone that seemed to know, that for one of the major suppliers there was only 2 different axle bars for their halfshafts. So it seemed with a little effort you could put together huge numbers of different parts to mix and match to get lengths and ends correct for any application....

We've just never had anyone go down that path and see where it goes though.

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Marcus Barrow - Car9 an open design community supported sports car for home builders!
SketchUp collection for LocostUSA: "Dream it, Build it, Drive it!"
Car9 Roadster information - models, drawings, resources etc.

I've got a SurTrack NI-8188 pass side axle for an 04-06 Maxima, and I've got it partly broken down already.

The short shaft between the tripod and the CV isn't my main concern right now, I'm more worried about the jackshaft that goes to the differential.
There aren't many other applications besides Nissan that use a 29 spline shaft on the differential side, and most of the ones I've seen don't use the jackshaft/extension shaft. So I'll have to fabricate one or have a shop fabricate one.

As far as the shaft between, that should have similar ends along an aftermarket manufacturers lineup. The OEM's have been known to use different styles based on different design specifications, even between two model years or option packages, such as a high output package having more splines and a larger diameter shaft, with a low output package having fewer splines and smaller diameter, with the differential side changed to fit the proper spline/pattern.

I'm just blissfully ignoring the elephant of the axles for the moment, till it bops me on the head later on.

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

How long are the Sentra axles? Or more to the point, what's the flange-to-flange distance on a Sentra?

Once you know that, you can figure the chassis width by juggling wheel backspace. The tripod joints have a fair amount of travel too.

If you can find wheels, even with spacers, that will give you enough space for your chassis, it would save a lot of hassle to just Sentra axles, hubs, and uprights. Saw off whatever bits you don't want and weld bits on as needed to make the uprights you want. No need to bore bearing hubs if you can adapt the upright somehow.

If it comes right down to it, the only part you really need from the Sentra upright is the middle part where the bearing is, though the more you keep, the less you have to fabricate.

I need to lengthen the center jackshaft so the bearing carrier and tripod cup clear the front cover on the engine.

The info page on rockauto for the shaft I have is http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinf ... 301&jpid=0

An extra 69mm of length on the longer shaft will allow the bearing and tripod cup to clear the front cover.

After I get that clearance issue sorted out, then I can move on to looking at the shaft between the joints.

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

I recieved the 0.374 reamer I ordered for the transmission dowels, and that's been about it.
The RX-8 being at the dealership with a blown motor put this project into cold storage, and all funds are tied up in that repair.
We'll see how things go in a few months, once the cash reserves recover.

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

Well, without the RX you might as well go out into the shop and work. Surely there's something you can accomplish without spending money!

Did you ever get around to looking for a local-ish shop that rebuilds CV shafts?

I haven't actively looked for a driveline shop that does CV's, the axle arrangement is further down the road.
I do know a local transmission shop that can point me in the proper direction.

I'll probably start attacking the adapter plate again this weekend, once I get the subframe for the VR-4 fully dressed up.

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

TRX, you're a good motivator.

There will be a post within 24 hours that has quite a bit of "happy happy joy joy" in it.

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

Ok, update time!

Was restless after work, so decided to dig into this project again.

I decided to test a theory, and see if the Sentra starter would engage the ring gear on the flex plate I have, since my cad models showed it as being possible, and the diameter difference of the ring gears was only 0.046", the Sentra one being the smaller one.

I split the transmission back in half again, to make it more manageable, and set the bellhousing side down on the engine while it was on the stand.
I used some 3/8" tool steel blanks as spacers initially.

I used the automatic flex plate that came with my counterweight for the trial run, since the ring gear is the same as the one on an RX-7 Turbo flywheel. It was just set on the locating boss of the counterweight without any bolts, so it could spin freely.

I had clearance between the ring gear and trans housing, and could spin the flex plate by hand without anything hitting.


I then jammed the starter bendix in the max outstretched position with a chunk of wire between the sprag clutch and housing, and set it in place on the trans.
It's a bit hard to see, but there is engagement, and rotating the starter back and forth moved the flex plate.
(Below photo is with 1/2" bar stock spacers, I didn't document the initial "Eureka!" moment)


Needless to say, I did a happy dance.

Then I remembered my adapter plate is going to be 1/2", not 3/8", and to confirm that it works, I should make sure I have the input shaft bearing bore concentric with the eccentric shaft.

To maintain alignment, I turned up a quick centering jig out of aluminum round stock, with a 15mmx25mm end teat to match the pilot bearing in the eccentric shaft, and the rest 1.03" diameter to be a close slip fit into the clutch release tube of transmissions housing.




Now I did another happy dance, since my findings were verified.

This is a crucial development, since now I know that I can use an RX-8 or RX-7 Turbo aftermarket flywheel (Looking at an aluminum one, either Fidanza or Racing Beat), stuff the Sentra clutch disc in, and use an RX-8 or RX-7 Turbo pressure plate.
I'll need to make a spacer for the flywheel, but that won't be difficult.

I then decided to check CV jackshaft clearance again, since now I have the trans concentric.
That meant plopping the differential back in and putting the rear case back on.

Surprisingly, I have enough clearance between the jackshaft bearing and the front cover.
(photo rotated to "normal" driveline view)


This is another good thing, since it means I don't have to modify the jackshaft on the CV, and can probably get away with using the entire unit as-is.

I then decided to test-fit the lower intake, and found that one of the nipples hits the transmission.


Hacksaw time. I'll pull it fully later.
I'll be honest, and say I can't remember what it goes to, or what function it has.
It routes back to the ACV mounting area on the manifold.


A few pics with the middle intake and starter on, rotated to put the transmission on the proper side.










I'm going to be ordering either a Fidanza or Racing Beat aluminum flywheel, and will use that to verify a few more dimensions.

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

Ah! I didn't realize you were going transverse.

Ah, now some of the earlier advice makes a bit more sense!

Yeah, I'm stuffing this thing in a weird way, most people use Porsche/VW/Subaru transaxle units.

I ordered a Racing Beat aluminum flywheel kit just now, so we'll see how things go.

I still need to make the MDF mockup adapter plate, but that will have to wait.

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.

I nearly forgot to post it, but I've ordered 16 feet of 1/2" SCH40 6061-T6 aluminum pipe for my formed oil lines for the dry sump system.

I figure, since all the external oil lines will be under suction, or low pressure off the scavenge pump, then it will work without issue. Plus, it's quite similar to how seven13bt did his setup for the suction tube.

The 1/2" pipe has a .622 nominal ID, which is a close match for the 12AN hose fitting ID

I went with 16 feet because I forsee kinks when bending (unless I buy weld elbows), and I need some material to practice with when welding, since it's been a few years.

_________________
Walt
06 RX-8 Shinka
04 RX-8 GT
06 325xi
Some people never have anything except ideas. Go do it.
Emissions & fuel economy haven't exactly been areas of strength for past rotary power plants, but absolutely no one with a soul has ever cared.