Lazyeye

They've backordered items on me for almost a month twice now. I'm displeased with their customer service. *frustration*

My Z is still down from stuff that failed during a shakedown run. Bench racing is all I got!

Thanks for the advice, I'll be checking it out this weekend.

The oil pressure shows in the low-middle of the gauge (I don't recall numbers) and then about the time the rattle goes away it moves up to 2/3 to 3/4 position.

Vehicle: 1979 280zx, stock N/A engine Symptoms: When the car is cold there is a rattling sound and it runs very rich. After running for 5-10 minutes the rattle clears up and the engine stops running rich. If I stop the engine and wait a few minutes then start up again, the rattle is there for a few miles again. While it is rattling and running rich, the engine idle is low, about 400rpm and it hesitates and tries to die when I come to a stop. After 10 minutes or so the richness clears up and the idle comes up to 1400 (I have a lightweight flywheel and haven't adjusted the idle yet). I adjusted the valves very carefully using the fit/no fit method (thanks to KammyZ's photo tutorial), there was no change to the sound. I stethoscoped the engine with a driver extension rod and the sound seems to be coming from the block and or the valve cover. Link to short video I shot with my blackberry: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6MAzNcwmS8 I've been searching a lot around HBZ and youtube and it seems this could be a timing chain rattle. What do y'all think? If I take the valve cover off, can I check the chain tension? How loose/tight should the chain be?

If you're going to do something stupid, use a deserted length of rural highway to do it, then have your friends tow you back when you break something.

Vehicle: '79 280zx My ZX has all the symptoms of a bad alternator, so I went to remove it. When I removed it I found out that the adjustment bolt was the only thing holding it in. My question is: What kind of bolt(s) should be holding the alternator on in addition to the adjustment bolt? Thank you.

Degreed IT geek.

I want to go on it.

My guess is that some people just haven't come back after the migration. They had "remember me" checked in their login and forgot their credentials. I like the new boards.

The Fidanza flywheel you linked to is a 240mm, and you shouldn't have a problem mating it to the 240mm clutch you linked to. The TOB will be the same size, but the collar may need to be changed. What transmission and clutch are you CURRENTLY running? Measure the length between the back of the fork mating surface and the beginning of the bearing mating surface on the TOB collar, what is it in MM? There are two common measurement of TOB collars here, and you may or may not need a new one. The turbo clutch pressure plates are typically "taller" than the NA pressure plates and thus require a slightly shorter (1mm or so) TOB collar, which depending where your tranny came from you might already have. When changing to a performance clutch from a normal street clutch, almost always the clutch pedal will need to be adjusted. This is so that the TOB pushes "harder" into the diaphragm springs on the clutch. Spray some WD-40 on the lock nut, turn it out, then turn the rod (the one that goes through the firewall). Turn it (clockwise?) so that you have less of the rod in the cabin and more on the firewall side. *Edit: be aware that the Fidanza flywheel has shallower bolt holes than the stock steel one. 2-3mm shallower.

Rgr that. Thanks for the help. I'll continue investigating for leaks and probably replace a lot of these 30 year old hoses.

The Distributor itself was OK. The cap/rotor/wires were all toasted. I checked around for leaks and didn't find any. I replaced the melted/burned parts and it works. I think I'm going to chalk this up to some kind of short or something due to the squirrels the previous owner kept under the hood. I'll keep a close eye on it as I work on other parts of the car.

Now that I own an S130, I want an S30. Oh well. I gotta finish this project before I'll let myself start a new one.

I like to drive fast(er than I should). The reason I got into Z's instead of any other brand was because I wanted to learn what was under the hood, and there were plenty of readily available Z's being sold. Aesthetically though I prefer Z's of the 70s-80s to other cars of the era.

Car: 79-280zx Miles: 80K, I've owned it for about 100miles Last night I was taking my 1979 280zx for a shakedown run after finishing up with the clutch. After about 30 miles I had a sudden loss of power, like the engine just died for no apparent reason. I popped the hood and saw that the distributor was ON FIRE. We batted the fire out and then my buddy Chris towed my car back to his garage (good thing he tailed me in his 300zx). It was late and I was kinda angry, so I didn't investigate past taking a few pics with my Blackberry. I've never heard of this happening, any ideas on why it would catch on fire?

What front end is that?

Sorry to resurrect this but I need info. After being told I needed a 2+2 collar, I bought one and then found out it was SHORTER than what I needed. So then I researched more and found this: http://www.zparts.com/zptech/articles/trans_swap%20parts/4tobear_specs1.html Which suggested that the 4-speed sleeve was longer. Well I got my sleeve for a 4-speed today and its the same length as the collar that was originally in my 5-speed. http://i247.photobucket.com/albums/gg154/variablex85/Mobile%20Uploads/1266633953.jpg Left to right: 2+2 30501-K0404 (too short), 4-speed 30501-1c104 (same length as original), the original out of my 5-speed '79 (too short) So I'm at a loss here. The Nissan dealership thats been helping me says there is one other Sleeve, part number 30501-S0284. But I couldn't find out what its length is since its a special order item. Before I blow another $20 on a sleeve that may or may not be the correct sleeve, can anybody tell me which one I *should* be looking for? EDIT: Its looking like that may not have been the issue in the first place. I finally took calipers to measure, and the flywheel isn't thinner as thought. I'm investigating the hydraulic system and clutch pedal as the culprit. This thread can probably die now.

Thats more over the top than Shoot Em Up. Those Bollywood stuntmen really earn their pay.

Can someone confirm for me that the 2+2 TOB collar is longer than the coupe TOB collar? Thank you.

Whats the significance of that?

So my plan of action will be to drop the tranny and use a clutch collar off a 280zx turbo such as this one: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/21-2123 This ^ is the part we're talking about right? I just want to confirm so I don't make another mistake. Thank you all for being patient with me, before I started this project I'd never even changed my own oil.

I missed that. Sorry for wasting your time.