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Maxima Final search

6K views 45 replies 5 participants last post by  L8YBUG 
#1 ·
Getting the final drive is now down to finding a good tranny but I have been searching for shops that have the ability to machine a set, not going to well and I have only found this place who seems they will do custom jobs.

http://bowlertransmissions.com/c/106/custom-machining

May take someone with a final drive set sitting around to send to them after communications are established to run a batch. I'm just throwing out ideas for now as I am not in the position to have a tranny laying around right now to contribute.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Sent an email to that owner and got a response hella quick:


John Frana <johnfrana@yahoo.com>

To
crickikaze@yahoo.com

Today at 4:36 AM



Can you send any pictures? Assuming it's a normal transverse front wheel drive transmission, it would be about $1200 per set if we made at least three sets. A one off would be about $2500.
Thanks,

John Frana
Frana Vehicles LLC
815 639 9183
www.franavehicles.com

--------------------------------------------
On Sat, 10/22/16, <crickikaze@yahoo.com> wrote:

Subject: Final drive gears
To: "johnfrana@yahoo.com" <johnfrana@yahoo.com>
Date: Saturday, October 22, 2016, 10:17 PM

Looking into what it would take to
make a set for a 02-06 nissan sentra final drive with the
02-03 maxima gearing.

Sent
from Yahoo Mail on Android


I smell a group buy coming on, except for those that do thanksgiving and christmas.
 
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#6 ·
Was this just for a final drive setup? Or an entire gearstack?
 
#8 ·
Just for the final drive set up.

Also would like to know. So ur saying replicate a Maxima final drive for 1200/person in a group of 3? Ive been looking into final drives for my build.
Yes, if 3 are made it would be $1200 each.

Due to ridiculous working hours I haven't had a chance to respond to him as I forget to. I'm not sure if the price would drop more if more people got on board, but what do you expect from making one or three from scratch.

I will get back to him by the latest Thursday if not tonight.
 
#7 ·
Also would like to know. So ur saying replicate a Maxima final drive for 1200/person in a group of 3? Ive been looking into final drives for my build.
 
#10 ·
My big question is, will it be made stronger than an OEM maxima gear would?
i.e. wider/thicker teeth?
I wouldn't want to drop 1200 on a custom made gearset if it might still break at the track
 
#12 ·
Assuming he is making it from "scratch" I hope he is making them stronger than oem.

Post up questions and I will send a batch to him to see if he'll answer.
 
#11 · (Edited)
Anyone near there to drop of a tranny???


Today at 4:05 AM



It would take about three months to make them. We would need a sample OEM ring and pinion at a minimum. It is also best to have one side of the case, typically the bellhousing, and all the splined parts that fit the pinion shaft.

John Frana
Frana Vehicles LLC
815 639 9183
www.franavehicles.com

--------------------------------------------
On Mon, 11/7/16, <crickikaze@yahoo.com> wrote:

Subject: Re: Final drive gears
To: "John Frana" <johnfrana@yahoo.com>
Date: Monday, November 7, 2016, 11:51 PM

It is
a normal transverse front wheel drive transmission. I
currently don't have any images on hand, I only info
from the Factory Service Manual for both
transmission.What
is the time line to have one/several made, and do you need
anything from information such as
measurements to pictures?
 
#13 ·
I do have spare tranny parts along with a bellhousing here in MN which shouldn't be too terrible to ship to IL. But I'd want to make sure everything is in place first.
Also I wouldn't be willing to drop that kind of coin unless it were a thicker profile.
And since it's being made from scratch I think we'd really benefit by having an exact ratio made rather than just replicating a Maxima.
I'm a little biased here but the final drive plays a major factor in 1/4mi times and could be a huge player in getting multiple sentras into the 10's
 
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#14 ·
I agree, though I'm using mine for N/A with a thought of SC. Stock tooth count is 62/15 and the maxima's is 61/16, subtract from one and add to the other by 1, not a lot of wiggle room unless you want to do custom gearing for each?

If he is asking for those kind of parts I would assume he is looking for the best clearance....?

Wonder if I could do a GB interest and see.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I would agree as well. If some specs were easy to change, a custom made ones would be preferred when paying the asking price. Or a different kind of cut for strength/ harder metal?

Where ever I may get ring gear from, I was going to cryo treat the ring gear and hopefully the other gearsets along with it when the time comes for me.
 
#16 ·
I was thinking of asking if we have to go with the helical cut teeth our if there was an option to go straight.

Been thinking of questions to send since no one else offered any.
 
#24 · (Edited)
I just got a VQ car that dyno'd about the same, or a little less, than my turbo should.

I really like the gearing on the VQ. I really like that transmission much better ALL AROUND.

I couldn't speak to what isn't enough power for the gearing. But I would gladly swap transmissions altogether in my turbo car. The stock transmission gearing is not at all ideal.

idk what it is that's different besides the final drive. But aside from just the gearing.....the VQ transmission feels way way better to shift.
 
#18 ·
I have read that NA is too long on the highway. It will bog and struggle to accelerate because there is not enough power for the gearing. After all Ive read I think it would best fit low-medium boost and onward.
 
#19 ·
I know exactly what you read, and that stems from a thread during the MSV days with a lack of reading comprehension from those who failed to grasp the concept of what the guy did.

Long story short, guy did final drive and 4th-6th longer custom gears with a plan to go turbo but never did it. Due to the longer custom gears he couldn't get a normal acceleration on the highway in 6th. The horse used it as proof that the maxima final drive was "only for turbos" with out reading and understanding the full post he made.

There has been others that have done this with a rev drop of around 1k maintaining highway speed, not the same acceleration as they had in stock gearing but it wasn't under powered for the final itself.
 
#20 ·
It was that thread I read and yeah I do remember the 4th and 6th he posted about. Just couldnt remember if it was the same thread. It was a long time ago I read that lol.
 
#21 ·
Unfortunately I remember it cause they pissed me off with there comments made out of ignorance and lack of reading comprehension, will include their lack of logic.

This is what I replied to the guy with:
I have a couple interested parties with one having what you need but with a couple questions they are asking.
How much stronger of a kit are we talking and the materiel used? Some are hoping for thicker/wider teeth possible but I understand you can't make that call unless you have an example in front of you.
Are we limited to retaining the helical cut final drive or can we opt for straight cut teeth?
I apologize for the questions.
 
#22 ·
I'm not sure what the point in spending $1200 on a custom final drive is. The 3.8:1 Maxima/Altima final drive is readily available for well under $1200 (complete transmissions for around $250 from a wreckers). It fits in the Spec V transmission.
If you want a final drive higher than 3.8:1 (numerically lower) then going to taller tires combined with the 3.8:1 final drive would get you where you needed to be. If putting down power is the issue then better tires is a better solution than neutering your gearing. If you've got an early Spec V, swapping to the later 3.153 1st gear will also help versus the 3.416 on launch.
As for strength, I'm pretty sure there are many other drive train components that will fail before the final drive. Your money is probably better spent elsewhere.
Can someone explain to me what I'm not getting?
 
#29 ·
A bigger picture.

I agree, but readily available to who? In my case, how much is it to ship a tranny to my location with a history I can't check on in that location, I would rather split the case and inspect what I can than order a tranny and get something that is done. All the salvage yards carry autos where I'm at, to my knowledge since I haven't had time to really look.
How is it neutering the gearing, my old info from someone else doing the swap got better 60 foot time in the quarter and better mpg, overall gearing is to short even for guys putting down more power to the wheels. Going to the 02's first gear won't help as much as you think.
The tranny is stout(some say it is even bullet proof) and the only thing that will fail first is the syncros before anything else, my opinion though.
You do know Nissan discontinued said final drive right?

What do you want from someone building something for scratch

For me it serves other purposes, if its not your thing than it's not your thing, I'm mainly looking for other options for custom gearing outside a discontinued product.
 
#23 ·
No I absolutely agree. I was beating around the bush on that that it would be a bit much for essentially a replica. Iirc the price for the swap was 450ish new from the dealer. Even cheaper for a used one from a used trans.
 
#25 ·
I forgot that the entire VQ trans swaps over directly...
 
#26 ·
Gotta swap bellhousing. Don't forget that.

Supposedly ours is stronger (idk if that's true). But it feels like garbage in comparison.

Slightly hard to find the LSD transmission you want. They ain't cheap either unless you find them at the junkyard. Plus milage concerns sometimes. But it's possible to find one. I found one a couple days ago at PullAPart but did not pull it (a buddy did yesterday though)

Definitely need a rebuild option regardless I'd imagine.
 
#27 ·
There are a few different transmission gearing options. Here's a list comparing a few, specs directly from the FSM. Excuse my chicken scratch
From left to right:
02 Sentra Spec V, 2004 Maxima with 6 speed (cars built after Feb 21 04 have triple cone 2nd syncho like the Spec V), 2003 Maxima, 2004 Sentra Spec V, and 2003 Altima V6 5 speed manual


As you can see they're all fairly close. The early Spec V and the Altima 5 speed are a bit different, the others are just the final drive.
 
#30 ·
02 was the only year with that final drive gearing; minus the final drive, the forward gearing between the sentra(03-06) and maxima(02-03) are the same.
What interests me is I was unaware of the 04 Maxima being offered in a manual.
One problem with the 5 speed is that we don't know for a fact that it is splined for supporting the 6th gear, I assume it would be but I have no info or example.
I know I'm just stating the obvious but might as well.
 
#28 · (Edited)
This is the transmission you want from a 2002 Maxima
6LSD

Text Font Number Vehicle Car
Text Font Number Vehicle Car
 
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#33 · (Edited)
The different final drive is advantageous for the listed reasons. Traction and # of shifts in the 1/4 and for turbos

All those things are a problem with stock gearing
 
#34 ·
And while I too often mention using taller tires, just like you mentioned.....

You can't actually fit a tall enough tire. You run into problems real fast
 
#39 ·
The trans picture I posted in from a VQ 5 speed altima with the 3.8 final drive.

I'm just going to re-iterate what my first post in this thread said:
Spending $1200 to make a custom 3.8:1 final drive is not a financially wise decision when there are plenty of used factory ones available for a fraction of the price. I understand now that you're on an island which makes shipping pricey, but 99.9% of the members here are not in that situation.
My opinion is that swapping to a 3.8:1 from a 4.1:1 final drive is only advantageous for people who make a large amount of power. Feel free to disagree and make all the snarky comments you want about my knowledge or experiences, it's clear to me neither of us will change our stance. So with that, I'll excuse myself from your thread.
Good luck with your project. :)
 
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