S14 Rear Sub Frame Into S13?

[BoroBoroS13]

So yea, I have a es bushing kit that needs to be installed and I dont want to deal with having down time on my S13. I also have a S14 parts car with complete rear sub frame. Soooo, I was wondering if the S14 rear sub frame with all its suspension goodies will bolt into a S13 w/o any major work. Thanks :D

[JDMark]

nope. s15 does with minor mods, but no s14.

[BoroBoroS13]

Hmmmm, that sux

[final act]

I thought the rear s14 subframe did bolt in......are you totally sure it doesent?

[BoroBoroS13]

Im kind of confused right now as well, I had a couple friends saying it will work but I thought it would be better to post it before I started going crazy. Where are the sub frame masters??? lol

[JDMark]

at first i was pretty sure but after some research becuase im bored as hell maybe its possible
i found this post pretty helpful

http://www.zilvia.net/f/showthread.php?t=24504&highlight=s14+s13+subframe

[BoroBoroS13]

Good find cause I know Dousan put a S15 rear sub frame into his S13 and if its true that the S14/S15 sub frames are the same then it should be the same procedure to put it in. One thing that I didnt like hearing is the poly suspension bushings wont work cause they wont flex enough to let the S14/S15 sub frame bolt in. Its looking more and more like im just gonna need to do it and see if its even possible... I hope Dousan sees this and can put shead some light on the subject though.

[jedc]

Hell, give it a try and see if it works. You might just like what you find ;) .

[projectRDM]

S14/S15 subframe is a half inch wider than the S13, so offset bushings or the pry/bang method is required to make it fit. The Z32 subframe a full inch wider, so it requires custom drilling to the pickup points.

Either way it's not a huge benefit, the S15 subframe is slightly stiffer but a few metal rods and a welder can do that with any of them.

[kazuo]

Russ,

I believe my halfer-friend is swapping subframes for rust reasons. ;)

IIRC his car was from the East Coast.. so its rusted all to hell. And he happens to have a S14 parts car laying around...

[projectRDM]

Russ,

I believe my halfer-friend is swapping subframes for rust reasons. ;)

IIRC his car was from the East Coast.. so its rusted all to hell. And he happens to have a S14 parts car laying around...

Ah, no big deal, just wanted to inform him.

And that would be North East Coast if there's rust. :cool:

[BoroBoroS13]

Naw Art... this is for my coupe project, not my fastback (the rusted out pos). I want to do this for less downtime on the coupe cause I got to install rucas and es bushings and I want a beefier sub frame as well.

[jedc]

R240NA, can you clear somethings up about your post. Do you happen to mean that the mounting points for the subframe are 1/2" or 1" wider? The subframe width per say from spindle to spindle doesn't matter as much as from bushing to bushing.

[projectRDM]

R240NA, can you clear somethings up about your post. Do you happen to mean that the mounting points for the subframe are 1/2" or 1" wider? The subframe width per say from spindle to spindle doesn't matter as much as from bushing to bushing.


Correct. Mounting points are wider. The Z32 subframe from spinlde to spindle is wider also, because a Z32 diff/axle combo is too wide to fit into an S13/S14/S15.

[S13Grl]

Swapping a subframe is a pain enough as it is. Don't do it unless you absolutely have to. Mark and I just got done with ours a few weeks ago and will never do it again.

[sciamop]

Swapping a subframe is a pain enough as it is. Don't do it unless you absolutely have to. Mark and I just got done with ours a few weeks ago and will never do it again.

I certainly wouldn't do it for fun, but what difficulties did you encounter? IIRC: 6 big nuts (19mm???) + 2 small ones, disconnect driveshaft, disconnect brake lines, disconnect shocks (2 big bolts) and *BAM* it falls right out. 3 hours max...

On topic: this is a good thread. What about the J30 VLSD? Does it have the same dimensions as the Z32?

Todd
93 Coupe

[projectRDM]

The diff dimensions are the same for S-chassis, Z32, and J30. It's the Z32 axles that are longer, combined with 5bolt output shafts. The J30s are a direct swap, diff or axles, or both.

Swapping a subframe is really not a chore if you have a floorjack, I did mine complete with diff and arms in under 40 minutes. You just have to make sure and let it rise up flat, otherwise the front points will hit first and the subframe won't want to twist into place.