spotfitz

When I bought my bushings from Energy Suspension they told me that the black bushings they sold WERE graphite impregnated, yet they still sent the lube in each of the packagings(except sway bar end links) and after feeling them it appears that they are not graphite impregnated. Was this false advertisement? Anyone else come to this conclusion on ES's stuff?

quote: Originally posted by jeromio: For some reason I thought that fabbing these brackets would not be this labor intensive. Here is what I am finding myself up against: - Half inch plate is really thick. No, make that REALLY thick. Which leads me to some questions: - for mock up, does anyone have a suggestion for faking the position of the stub axle so that I can try out the fit before final welding? If I put in the inner bearing and seal, I doubt I'll be able to insert and remove the stub easily. How far off the carrier does the stub end up? I was thinking of putting 2 or so layers of tape on the edge of the carrier and then resting the stub on the tape. Since the caliper floats, this dimension is not severly critical.....right? At some point I'll post this stuff (with some lame pics) on my website for anyone else who may want to try this... I don't know which disc setup you are going for, but this may help. Inserting the inner bearing without the seal would be your best bet, if you plan to pull the axle out again. Once your sure of everything then put the seal in. Getting the stub axle in and out afterwards wasn't a problem. I believe the bearing is tighter to the housing then it is to the axle. The stub axle sits 1 25/32" from back of hub to face of bracket mounting surface on the housing. YES, the offset is critical. The caliper is a floater, but the hanger for the caliper wraps around the rotor. You have about 2mm of clearance on each side of the rotor. It's best to not have enough offset rather then to much. You can always grind afterwards like I did. Offset was 15mm using the rotor and calipers from a '82 ZX. Distance from center is critical too. If anything, go long on this one, but not to long. My pads are almost rubbing the hat of the rotor. Again, about 2mm of clearance. Hope this helps. I have all these measurements in autocad, if you need them.

quote: Originally posted by highpsiguysz: I said hits rear crossmember...I meant to say it hits what looks to be the rear sway bar. Thanks Kevin Sounds like a front diff. mount prob. What mount are you using? May want to go solid.

Sorry Evan. I was in such a hurry to work on my Z when I posted. Sweet looking rims though. It does bring out the beauty of the Z. Don't feel to bad. Atleast yours has been in the garage and not getting washed in the past year. I had to buy a house to get it mine out of the weather and I still haven't washed it in the past year. Very soon though. Get those pics up!

quote: Originally posted by Evan Purple240zt: hey guys just thought id show you a picture of my car with the new wheels on it. They are OZ monte carlos. If someone knows how to post this thing so it comes up as a pic let me know. Otherwise heres a link for ya! http://home1.gte.net/buetow/evans-hotwheels.jpg Thanks all- Evan PS, sorry to dissapoint but i dont have any badass brakes LOL Damn, beat me to it. When you want to post a pic put(without the qoutes) "" at the ending with no spaces. Or just type these together and plug your http between. [This message has been edited by spotfitz (edited February 13, 2001).]

I hate to say it, but those rotors and calipers look small behind those beautiful rims. Guess it's time to up grade your brakes again. How much you want for them? ~

After getting the stub axle back in and the calipers bolted down I found out that I had acouple problems. One, the e-brake cable was running right through the hard line/flew line connection mount on the frame. After drilling out the spot welds on the mount(PITA) I managed to move the mounting bracket to a better spot. I then noticed that the brake line mount on the stub housing was running the flex line right into the caliper. I thought I would just take the mount and bend it over where the flex line would run underneath the caliper. Worked great. Then I tried to hook up the hard line from the flex line to the caliper. Well, the ZX caliper doesn't have a flare fitting on it for my early Z hard line to hook up. I went to the junk yard and got the end of the flex line that went to the ZX caliper and took it to the hardware store where I found (2) 8.8 grade bolts w/ 1.00 pitch about 1" long with matching nuts that all matched the ZX flex line. After taking the bolt to the shop and drilling a hole straight down the middle for the brake fluid to flow, I cut the head off the bolt. Now whats left of the bolt will thread into the caliper with the nut securing it tight(and allowing for removal with another nut). I will do away with the hard line that is between the flex line and the caliper and just hook the flex line to my make shift adaptor. ? is, what is the pitch of the flare on the flex line? I have a double faring tool, but it won't flare this bolt. If I just leave the flat end of the bolt I'm sure it will leak. What do you think of my adaptor? What has everyone else done with this set up.

quote: Originally posted by Danno74Z: Spotfitz, I have a question for you and hopefully it is not a dumb one. Like I said, I purchased all new bearings and seals for all 4 wheels. I noticed the rear bearings did not come with any races like the fronts is this normal? I helped a friend remove the fronts and clearly races needed to be punched out and replaced with the matching mate. I haven't removed all the grease from the rear housing yet to see what is in there. I know the outer bearing came out with the axle and the inner bearing is still in the housing. I'm assuming the outer bearing needs to be pressed on the axle shaft and the inner bearing needs to be pulled out with a bearing puller. Is all this correct? Again what about the races I'm very curious about that. Thanks Danno74Z These bearings are what you call a sealed bearing. They are self contained. The out side of the brearing doesn't move once it is in place. I thought the same thing when I got my bearings, where are the races? The races in the housing are fine as long as you didn't burn the old bearings up causing heat to expand the housing and race giving a loose fit for the new bearing. Check for cracks in the race, if none, you will be ok. Removing the races has to be done at a machine shop from what I can tell. There is NO place to grab them. Well, everything is lining up. I chose to grind the face of the bracket done for the clearance as apposed to using shims on the rotor. Now I have to reroute my hard and braided brake lines to clear the caliper. These brackets put the caliper at an upward angle from horizontal putting the e-brake cable straight through the first hard line bracket on the body. Oh well. Atleast the brackets work. PS. I found that when putting the new inner bearing back in you can use the old bearing as a drift. You have enough clearance to avound getting the old bearing lock in behind the new one. And yes, a machine shop will have to take care of the outer bearing. Should cost about $15 a side. Go ahead and get them to do the studs for another $5 per side while their at it. [This message has been edited by spotfitz (edited February 11, 2001).]

quote: Originally posted by Danno74Z: Spotfitz, Thank you for the help on the bearings. I went out to the shop and cleaned all the old grease out and you are correct. Everything is fine inside the carrier so all I need to do is grease up the new bearings and I'm set. I shopped around and British Victoria had the best prices for bearings. With 500 members it would be nice to have one of the retailers would give us a price break on parts. Thanks again. Danno74Z I managed to get my rear bearings for almost half of what I could get them for from MSA or Vic Brit. Total was $112 w/ seals and they were Federal Mogul which is what everyone else sells. I purchased them from Carquest up the road from where I work. It took a week to get one of the seals, but I think I would have waited longer on our normal sources to ship them to me. Good luck with the axles and don't get your finger caught between the slide hammer. Don't ask.

quote: Originally posted by alsil: Ok, I have another question for you guys. How far does the bearing go in to the housing (outer) when it's seated? I thought the the bearing was close to the outer edge of the housing, but maybe I'm wrong. I haven't done the rears before, so I'm curious. Thanks AL The inside bearing face goes into the axle housing 1 3/16" until it hits it's stopping point at the back of the race. If looking down on the stub axle and housing, the thin metal ring that the studs go through on the back of the stub axle will cover the housing. This metal ring will be centered in the "groove" on the outside of the housing. I just picked up the flange for the slide hammer and can give you an exact measurement from bracket mounting surface to the back of the stub axle surface in about 20 minutes. I'll just edit it in this post. It's just 1/32" over 1 3/4" from the bracket mounting surface to the back of the stub axle. You should hear the difference in the noise the hammering makes once you "hit bottom". I just slammed the left side together and put the rotor on and the caliper hanger to see if everything lined up. Well, the hanger is sitting alittle closer to the rotor then I expected, but it also looks like one of the ears is bent towards the rotor. I'm going to see what I can do with the ear. If all else fails I can put a 2mm shim between the rotor and hub and everything will line up nicely. (Big sigh of relieve!) I haven't bought the torque wrench yet, but they wanted $90 rental retainer at Auto Zone. I'll still buy one, but not today. [This message has been edited by spotfitz (edited February 11, 2001).]

quote: Originally posted by Danno74Z: spotfitz, This is directly from the shop/service manual. Tightening torque (182 to 239 ft-lb) To assemble: (most important paragraph) Tighten wheel bearing lock nut, and measure the preload and rear axle shaft end play. Readjust as required. Wheel bearing preload: 3.9 in-lb At the hub bolt 27.9 oz or less Rear axle shaft end play: 0 to .0059 in Caulk wheel nuts securely after tightening. Can someone interpret what all this means? Readjust as required - how? The distance piece I have is a B part does one tighten the nut until you get - At the hub bolt 27.9 oz or less preload? 181 to 239 is quite a range so I figure one continues to tighten the nut up to 239 but once you hit 27.9 oz you stop. Is this how its done? I just received all new bearings and seals and I don't want to ruin them or have the axle come loose! Thanks Danno74Z PS I will scan this page of the manual and send it to anybody who wants it for reference. My new email address is: laurizio@ezlink.com That is basically what the Haynes says, but the preload in "between 25 and 30 oz." AND "When the preload is correctly set, the endfloat of the rear axle shaft stub should not exceed 0.0057in." Danno, I get the same thing of these statements. I think pparaska and blueovalz have it all together. As pparaska said, If you haven't switched parts around, which I labeled mine before I sent them in to replace the outer bearing, everything should be ok. I think I'll just torque it down and give her a spin. Torque somemore. Thats what I have done in the past with front hubs. Never burned any up before. I've just never played with independent rears before. Love the handling. Just afew more parts.

I have searched to no avail. I will be hammering in my stub axles tomorrow and I guess buying a torque wrench that will go beyond 240ft.lbs.(always like an excuse to buy more tools). What I am concerned with is the preload. My Haynes speaks of a spring balance. I have never heard of such an animal. Is it a big concern? I guess I could just check preload and if it isn't correct just torque it down more checking preload as described? I would hate to pull all this apart again after frying my new bearings. I have read alot of posts on pulling/installing stub axles on multiple forums and not seen anything concerning this problem. Is it really a problem? BTW, the brackets went on fine, but have yet to test the offset. I'll know whether it all works out tomorrow. I'll have to have one of my halfshafts fitted with new u-joints, which I have. That will come Mon. Might as well send in my drive shaft while I'm at it. Sometimes buying in advance can be a good thing, but I wish I would have found out about the bracket fiasco before buying rotors and calipers. SCCA would have been happier and so would I.

quote: Originally posted by scca: spotfit..... a few posts back i mentioned trying the caliper hanger from a 280zx with a 240sx caliper on a "offset" maxima bracket.... it got confusing with all the things that are brackets..... i think your talking about the same thing though??? I read that post and yes I repeated what you said, but it's not the calipers that are different(by looking at alsil's pics) it is the "hanger" or bracket that bolts to the piston part of the caliper's that have a difference to them. The offset. I'm sure of this. What I was suggesting was that using what ever Maxima bracket(or fabbed bracket) with what ever hanger bracket(not necessarily the caliper itself) is what we are trying to figure out. We are shooting for the SX caliper. If the actual piston part of the ZX caliper and SX caliper is the same then this cheap and readily available SX caliper is for us. Once you have a set of ZX calipers from a bone yard go buy a set of SX calipers and just exchange the piston portion of the caliper and you keep the ZX hanger on your maxima bracket(which ever it is). The SX hanger and ZX caliper would be your core. Assuming the ZX hanger is the one we need to go with the maxima bracket offset. I'm mainly playing with the offsets of the brackets I've heard about and seen and the offsets of the hangers I've seen to make the piston portion of the SX calipers work. So, will the hanger of each caliper swap? The other thought was if alsils' stub axle is correctly seated and neither hanger will work then we are right back to the same deal. No bracket, but you mentioned in another post about a Maxima bracket that you found that was way to deep of an offset(about 1" or so). Looking at the spacing needed to make alsils' hanger to bolt up in the correct place, the bracket needs to have more of an offset using the SX hanger, which could then be used with the piston part of the SX caliper. Basically, the whole SX caliper could be used with the Maxima bracket that had the 1" or so offset to it. I'm probably just repeating myself again in other words, but we need to know if his hub is seated all the way. Besides the fact that I need a cup of coffee still. Does any of this make since?

quote: Originally posted by Stealth: Just have to say that was awesome....defintely worth the 5 minute download its good to have high speed! Very true on the high speed. Have you tried downloading the 120MB 911 file? I have, about 55 minutes. I think it had alot to do with the sending end. average 500kbps. Not that great for speed, but considering the alternatives. It was pretty good, just thought I would have seen alittle more of the cops.

SCCA, I was just thinking of something. Lets say that the 240SX caliper hanger is actually different, which looking at the pics alsil put up they are, but what about the actual caliper? Thinking what I'm thinking? Here is another thought. If I do recall you had mentioned a bolt on Maxima bracket that had all the right measurements, but the offset was to deep. About an 1" or 15/16" was the actual offset. Looking at the hanger for the 240SX calipers it appears that it needs about 1/4" more offset compared to the offset that the Maxima bracket gives on Alsils car. See where I'm going? This idea can only be determined by the fact that the hub is actually seated all the way and the offset is where it needs to be with that rotor. Plausible though. Even if I do say so myself.

I have yet to actually venture into this aspect of the rear disc conversion. I was atleast smart enough to grab the e-brake cable from the '82 ZX when I got the calipers. I have read most if not all on the subject of these disc conversions, but has anyone actually gotten the e-brake to work using the existing cable or another cable? I plan to investigate everything this weekend on my Z but wanted to know what others have tried. I was thinking that the ZX cable could be used with some sort of locking mechanism for the cable housing, but I haven't looked at how the Z cable is hooked up at the front of the diff. It's a shame considering I was replacing my diff., mounts and strap just before Christmas and everything was right there in plan view.

The '82 ZX caliper "hanger" I have, measures in at 5/8" or 16 mm where it bolts to the bracket and a rotor opening of 14mm or roughly 9/16". As stated before. I am willing to share any or all info with anyone that asks. Especially if it will save time and money(alsil, hint hint). I am still looking for better/cheaper alternatives. Everything that I have done so far has been through the calculator more then acouple times. I just hope I remembered how to use it. I'll still need all this material when I do start the V8 project. [This message has been edited by spotfitz (edited February 09, 2001).]

quote: Originally posted by alsil: There is a BIG difference in the calipers. http://zcar.netdojo.com/upload/mvc-086s.jpg (240sx) http://zcar.netdojo.com/upload/mvc-093s.jpg (280zx) There's about 5/8" - 3/4" difference in the mounting ears - and the 280zx caliper does not work with this rotor and bracket combo. I am going to have to have my own made. The 240sx caliper cannot fit between the rotor and bracket. The 280zx caliper: http://zcar.netdojo.com/upload/mvc-090s.jpg sits 3/8" too far out from center and 1/2" too far back. Crap! I'll let you know about the brackets when they're done. I'll have pics and details. AL Whats really strange is the fact that the bracket in your pic http://zcar.netdojo.com/upload/mvc-093s.jpg Looks to have the exact offset as the ones I just had made. Which rotor and hub are you using? [This message has been edited by spotfitz (edited February 09, 2001).]

Well, here they are finally! I went to pick them up and found out the axle housing bore was slightly offset. I don't know if the machinest did it or if the original stamping process was off, but loose enough to work. Probably the later. The machinist seemed to be very intelligent. He didn't charge me anymore to fix the problem with the bore. Thank god. He even bead blasted them for free, although I thought the welds could have been smoothed out more. I'll have to do this before I get them powder coated, but I want to make sure they fit first. I may just paint them for now. Once I pull the whole car apart for painting I'll go all out with the rest of the suspension. Several companies are going to love me. I will be putting everything back together this weekend to see if my measurements are correct. Wish me luck. I really hope they work out like planned. SCCA, have you compared the SX & ZX calipers yet?

quote: Originally posted by scca: the bolt pattern on the hub and the caliper hanger are correct..they just need the ears further offset than they are so cutting and welding wont work as there is no steel further back to weld to.. as for calipers i am 99% sure that the maxima (81) is different.. the 82 that i got one bracket off was similar to a ZX would need one here to compare .. i want easy. that means readily available parts.. and i priced out rebuild calipers.. ZX are almost $40 more rebuilt than 240sx. the core charges are $75!...... I would like to know how thick the hanger bracket is on those SX calipers, where it bolts to the bracket. I'm still going to look for a car with the right brackets and/or a better setup. I tried to pick up my new brackets today, but didn't make it there in time. I had to drop off my taxes so I can have alittle more money, due to the $162 I wasn't going to spend. Damn that hurt! Sad part is, that price didn't include lubricant and I still don't know if it will work. I will be taking pics of them when I pick them up, if anyone is interested. As for the '81 Maxima caliper being different compared to the '82-'83 ZX, I have yet to have them side by side, but recall there is a difference in the offset of the hanger or something. I can take pics of my ZX calipers to send you if it will help, or give any measurements needed. I have measured them thoroughly. I need to get them cleaned up and ready for install this weekend anyways. I would much rather use the SX calipers, as you stated, readily available and cheaper. Best of both worlds. BTW guys. I've found myself a '79 280 coupe for sale that will receive a V8. Guy will hold it for me until I get the money, which won't be long. $1200 with straight body and minimal rust. I payed more for my '74 260.

It looks like I will now have rear discs using the '82-'83 ZX calipers and rotors using the retrofit flat bracket after all. The guy built them before I could discuss anything with him. He told me $70 per, which turned out to be $75 per. Total of $162.OUCH!! I'll be picking them up on Friday and hopefully putting my Z back together this weekend, if all my measurements work out.(sounds of chattering teeth and finger nails flying) SCCA, 3/8" huh. Let me guess. If it was about a 1/4" further back the offset would be right. Is the bolt pattern correct? I'll be testing my measurements when I get the brackets back. If you find out if there is a difference between the calipers from the 240SX and the 280ZX speak up. I know the '81-'83 and possibly newer maxima calipers are identical to the '82-'83 ZX, but I have yet to look at a 200sx or 240sx. I was hoping to do this before these brackets were fabbed. PS.I still have the autocad drawings and dimensions of this bracket made of unobtanium(so well put Morgan) if it will help with the CNC calculations. BTW everyone, after looking at all the great cars on this site(and comming home from a friends house tonight), I have finally decided to have a V8! But not anytime soon. I think I'll just enjoy the ride for awhile, while I build the motor. Once I get the ride back together that is.

quote: Originally posted by jeromio: So, wait, in order to get the brackets off of the Maxima, you have to pull the stub axles? Ugh. I mean, it obviously makes sense, it's just that that's a pain in the ass. How do you remove that nut without an impact wrench? B] I totally agree. Doesn't sound like much fun to me either. After I pulled my Z stub axles loose using a 2' cheater bar AND the floor jack handle on that, I managed it. Doing this without rear brakes was challenging, but I was successful. I thought of an easier way. I was already planning on replacing the wheel studs. Using a ratchet on the nut, up against the control arm, you can use a pipe between the wheel studs. A pipe with 2 holes drilled into it would be safer, but you do what you gotta do out in the yards. With a long enough pipe the leverage would be great enough to break them loose easily and the car body wouldn't be in the way as much. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm still looking for these brackets and plan to do it this way. I'm out of money to fabricate them right now anyways, but I could get a credit at the yard with no problem.

quote: Originally posted by Glenn Richelsoph: Well I went bake to the bone-yard today & pulled the 200sx apart only to find that the brackets are similar but the offset is .75 instead of 1.25. The 10/81 Maxima also seemed to disappear. Man im glad I bought these brackets a while back. Good luck to all. Glenn [This message has been edited by Glenn Richelsoph (edited February 04, 2001).] I take it that the 200sx all went together just like the maxima's do. Pulling the stub axles and all. Did you go ahead and get them? I was just wondering about some info on them. Don't suppose you could take some measurements. I thought the maxima brackets had a 5/8's offset(from outside face to caliper bolting face). Atleast the ones that are needed for the 280ZX rotor w/ '82-'83 ZX/200sx caliper. Am I mistaken? Are we talking about a different setup now? I just might be willing to take these off your hands if you don't need them. Assuming you did get them from the yard. I think I need to take a look at some of these 200sx's.

The verdict is in. About $70 per bracket to retrofit the flat for the offset, using the original ears. He will give me the jig for aligning the ears once they are cut off, incase I plan to do some more, which I doubt at this price. He's going to give me a closer cost on Monday, this is a rough estimate right now. I was discussing having them made from scratch out of billet aluminum. This is still an option, but don't know the cost yet. Looks like another weekend of fiddling with the Z with nothing to really fiddle with. I guess I'll be porting/polishing my E31. I'm still up for buying if someone is selling. SCCA, got anything going yet?

quote: Originally posted by Glenn Richelsoph: I discovered another car with bolt on brackets that appear almost identical. It was an 83 200sx with a sold/live rear end. I checked my Raybestos catalog & discovered that the 200sx used the same rotors as an 82-83 280zx. I was looking at all the Nissans and an 85 Maxima caught my eye. The rear rotors on the 85 Maxima are almost the same diamiter & thickness as an 84 300z and the Maxima had bolt on brackets for its calipers. After taking a carefull look and some measurements I'm wondering if the 85 Maximas brackets & calipers would work with the 84 300z's rotors. If anybodys heard or seen this before please speak up. These brackets & calipers were all over the place. Good luck to all in search of brackets & thanks in advance for any input. Glenn I mentioned the 200sx before, but I haven't looked at any and no one spoke up. The brackets I have at the "new" machine shop are off an '88 Maxima. It is a flat bracket and I believe all the FWD Maximas in that year range had the flat bracket. It is a bolt on, but the axle opening is to small. Making it the right size won't take much work, for a machine shop. The caliper bolt pattern is right and the bolt pattern for the housing is right(just at a different angle(40* from horizontal) and from center of housing to center line of caliper bolts is right for the '82ZX calipers. Basically, everything is perfect except there is no offset(which brings up the 300ZX rotor) and the housing bore size(minimal cost to open up). I got the quote from the first machine shop. $85 per bracket to adapt it to the right offset and to open up the bore size. Then he hit me with the pattern cost.$300, to make sure the calipers would be in the right spot. I had to explain to him how he could take the new ear and bolt it to the old one, then tack weld it in place at the bottom, then cut the old ear off and finish welding up the new one, quote"oh, yeh, that would work". And save me $300 dollars sir! I just grabbed my stuff and left after that. I then went by another machine shop and he will have me a price tomorrow. He plans to reuse the old ears, graft the offset to them and weld them back on. Sounds great and shouldn't cost nearly as much. I keep everyone posted. Someone go out at look at some of these 200sx's