Daemione

Faster decel engine speed isn't a big priority for me. On a daily driver (which is what this car is) I don't want to worry about have to worry about rev-matching clutch wear on an average lazy upshift. But the reduced inertia does make rev-matching a lot quicker when I do want to pull off a more aggressive downshift. And I suppose it technically does make the car faster overall, although you'd be hard pressed to measure a difference.

So I've got a '79 280zx, and the fuel pump is awful noisy. For the month I've had the car, I just figured it was a normal symptom of it not being an in-tank pump, but I read something that makes me think that something might be wrong. Is the pump supposed to prime loudly for a few seconds & then stop if I don't start the car? Mine just hums loudly indefinitely until I turn the key off, or changes to a higher pitch if I start the car. Anyway, here are some videos - the first one is from outside the car, about 8 feet away. I toggle the key from 'on' to 'acc' once, it's not shutting off on it's own. As far as I know, it will buzz like that indefinitely as long as I leave the key in 'on'. Mic doesn't pick it up as loud as it seems in person - it's the humming at a pitch of F#. Second video is from sitting in the drivers seat, windows up. It's covered up some from the engine/exhaust noise, but when I start the car pitch raises to a G#. Again, the rear trim is missing, so it's probably a little louder inside because of that. So any thoughts? Is it supposed to be running that loudly that long before starting? Should I be worried about the pump dying on me in the near future? Or is it all just normal noise as a result of an external pump? Thanks in advance!

All the difference in the world with the new clutch. I'm still in the break-in stage, but a hundred miles and I've started to get used to a normal clutch again (although it's still a little grabbier than I expected). The old one was in ROUGH shape, slipped like crazy with anything more than the gentlest throttle, it was like driving on eggshells to get it up to speed. I almost couldn't even get it up on some ramps it slipped so bad. For kicks, here are some pictures of the old clutch disc -

I've got a '79 280zx, and am in the process of redoing most of the steering system. It's the power recirculating ball version, so finding the idler arm, 4 tie rod ends, & 2 adjusting sleeves wasn't a problem - but sticker shock on the center link was a little rough . . . BDA has it listed for ~$275, and I haven't had any luck finding any other source. So my question is, how reasonable is to to just refurbish the old one? The ball-joints on either end SEEM to be okay, but it's hard to tell without taking it all apart - it definitely needs new boots. Or does anyone know of a more affordable option than Black Dragon Automotive for a new one? A junkyard find is an option, obviously, but if mine is structurally sound I'd just as soon reuse it after a little tlc. Thanks in advance!

I've been looking at seats from cipher auto lately - they've got seats on their own site as well as ebay, and pretty positive feedback. And the customer service guy I exchanged e-mails with was really helpful with exact seat measurements. :shrug:

Not a drastic difference, but it's appreciable & quite fun. Both videos were taken with the car in neutral & clutch engaged, the difference with the clutch disengaged is greater. I also upgraded from the 225mm to the 240mm clutch & pressure plate, so the net weight loss was 8.5 pounds (compared to the 12lbs. 11oz. drop in flywheel weight). Just thought I'd share.

Yeah, that's true. I think I'd rather have a true 2" exhaust with no restrictions than a "mostly" 2.5" with disruptions & diameter changes. At least then, even if the high end was limited, it'd have consistent exhaust velocity to provide good low rpm power and pumping loss reduction for better mpg. The good news it that most of these cars are old enough to be legally flexible in catalytic converter choice. The best designed header & exhaust system in the world is going to be wasted when it has to pinch down through a 2" circa-1970's cat.

Something more useful to research would be exhaust flow requirements, and maintaining exhaust velocity. Engine size/displacement is only 1 variable - desired power band & how many cfm your particular intake/head/exhaust manifold can flow are important in exhaust sizing. 2.5" piping can move a LOT of exhaust. I haven't done the math, but unless you're running a 8k+ rpm engine with a race only cam, I'd be amazed if any n/a engine this size would find 3" beneficial. Honda's may be generally despised for whatever reason in the Z community, but check out the tech articles on http://team-integra.net. Lots of good information there.

Yeah, I read several bad reviews about that Advance puller, so I didn't even bother checking it out. But I got it out. Visited a friend of mine at a nearby Mobil service station to borrow their shop press for the throwout bearing, and he had a slide hammer & custom hook attachment I was able to borrow. It was embarrassingly easy to pop out then.

Hey everyone - would appreciate an experienced set of eyes or two taking a look at what I've got going on. The little I know about the car's maintenance history is that the slave cylinder was replaced in April of '07. If the clutch lever boot was in as bad a shape then as it is now, could that all be a result of clutch fluid sprayed into the bellhousing from the slave cylinder? Even if that's the case for the interior, I'm concerned about the seepage on the exterior of the bellhousing. Rear main seal showed no signs of leaking (although I replaced it anyway) . . . is there any particular tranny seal I should investigate first? The front one in the bellhousing doesn't look too bad, and it seems to me I'd have oil spread all around if it were leaking, not just on the upper passenger side. Anyone know if Nissan still stock the shift lever boots & tranny seals? I'd rather not have to wait on shipping before finishing this job. Thanks!

Big fat FAIL with the dowel for me . . . I had it snug enough so that I couldn't push it in by hand, had to use a mallet - and still ended up with grease spilling out around the edges with the bushing going nowhere. Oh well. Shopped a few local places (NAPA & Autozone) for a tool with no luck - NAPA didn't have anything, and the autozone tool you can rent was a hair too large to fit inside the bushing. Advance has one that I'm going to check out tomorrow morning, and there's another place called Levine's up in Danbury that supposedly has one as well.

I saw those when looking for an inexpensive pilot bearing/bushing remover . . . But the ones I found said they were only for use on brass or bronze bearings, not steel. I found that a 5/8" wooden dowel is an EXTREMELY tight fit in the bushing, so I'll sand it down until it can barely slide in. If all goes to plan, I'll be trying it out this afternoon . . . wish me luck!