KenshinX

I just got finished dealing with headaches with my charging system even after replacing a bad battery and alternator, the first issue was the battery which I expected since it was 5 years old, but I suspected that the bad alternator put it out of its misery. (It was a Walmart battery which served me well!). Next I replaced the alternator, but the reman I received from the local parts store was rubbish. Got a new one and all was well for a little while. Then it wouldn't charge again, yet the alt passed the load test every time. So, I replaced my voltage regulator got 2 for a good deal at rock auto for 20 bucks shipped wholesale closeout! But that didn't fix the charging issue; I checked my fusible links (good). Then I checked my fuses and the lid that labled the fuses seemed fishy so i referred to the FSM and sure enough for my 260z the fuse placement was completely different then what the lid the PO had in the car. Replaced the fuses with the correct rated fuses in the right spots and all was well for a week. Then it would stop charging every so often. So, I suspected the belt because it wouldn't get tight enough, but it would charge correctly sometimes. So, the parts store rep. noticed the diameter of the alt pulley on the reman and gave me a smaller belt and all was well. So the key parts to this story/nightmare is: -Check your grounds, connections etc. -Get your alternator LOAD tested. -Check your voltage regulator if you have one. -Check your fuses and fusible links. -Check your alt belt tighness. Key links: Parts: http://www.rockauto.com/ http://www.courtesyparts.com/kb_search_result.php?chassis_id=0&keywords=fusible+links&Submit_Button=Go&cat=1 FSM: http://www.xenons30.com/ http://www.xenonz31.com/s130/index.html

Afcoils, AFCO springs are yellow by default.

virgina beach, va willing to pay shipping cost if the bumper is in good shape.

Let me know who has a good condition or OK condition rear bumper for the 73 240z or early 260z cash in hand ready to offer!

Yea I saw those i know they were made of steel at one point, but they are billet aluminum now. I was hoping for steel since they would be easier to weld to the steel strut housing. I guess I'll keep browsing.

Well I ended up getting the Illuminas they can in the mail with shock shaft poking out of the box. I bought them from shox.com and they were shipped via UPS this time ( go figure). they seem to be fine but that just annoyed me. Anyway, I also found out some interesting news. I basically had a home-made coilover setup. The springs I have are stock 3" ID springs with a length of 13.5 decompressed. I'm in the process of ordering new springs t fit the 2.5 ID camber plates i received. After a little bit of searching My question is should I just go with a 12" spring or a 14" to stay as close to the height the stock spring was at before. I'm thinking 12" springs because of where the camber plates will be mounted now ( underneath the tower which brings the whole setup down a few inches. I like the height the car was at and I CANNOT move the adjustable perches I dunno if they are stuck or welded that way.

Well I have bad news. I shipped the strut out on the 6th of january and got a call from bilstein this evening stating that they received my package but the strut was missing. The tech said there was a small hole in the box and only the service request paper work was in the box.... So now since the strut is long NLA i have to buy a new pair of illuminas and hope they can take the unknown spring rate of my mysterious black springs. Not to mentions I have to spend $236 for them as opposed to $100 to rebuild my bilstein strut. I asked for insurance and never got it. Not that it matters since i have no way of proving the value of the part or a receipt of purchase... I digress.

Hmm I may do that. I just called shox.com and found out that Im running stock sized 240z struts and that the Bilstein P30-061 are no longer available. and that the P30-032 are from a vw (which i already knew from reading the thread) but they are much shorter then what I am running and I dont want to do anymore modifications. So he suggested I run the Tokico Illumina BZ3015 for $129.99 each shipped which I think is a good price. Now the Tokico would be my second choice if I can take JohnC advice and send off my struts and get them redone it would be cheaper and probably more durable not to mention I know for sure that they fit and work. lastly If I can get in touch with design production racing I'll order those camber plates with the 3/4" bearings as well.

Thanks for the advice again Jon, The "design products racing" camber plates have an option of a 5/8 spherical bearing and a 3/4 diameter bearing, so I guess thats my answer right there. I may give them a call and figure out whats, What I'll be sure to post pics hopefully I dont run into anymore issues during the re-install. Design Products Racing: http://designproduct...uspension1.html

Is this what you were referring to as the thrust bearing? http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/23-4376 Although, I know I'm not running a the stock strut mount insulators. I also noticed that there was no bump stop on the strut so would a stock "bumper rubber" as the manual calls it be suffice? The only camber biscuit style plates without going into all the mods to get it to work would be the MSA style ones I linked above but they have no monoball and I cant find any detailed reviews on them as to how they perform. I have found these and the price seems excellent are there any word on these plates? http://designproductsracing.com/Z_Suspension1.html I may just go with a set of Illuminas since they measure out to a little over 14" in the front just as my sectioned tubes are and will probably be easier to find and easier to install with mods.

Great points guys. Ive actually been skimming through several threads and manuals to try to find what exactly I missing after taking down the whole assembly. I did not see any type of bushing or bump stop I guess you would call it anywhere when i removed the assembly. Is there anyone that can post a pic or diagram of what this set up should look like. I am actually having a hell of a time getting the camber plates off as you can see from the pics the bolts are so close to the hole mount that I can't get a socket or wrench around it to unbolt the top nuts or vice versa. I was considering inexpensive plates such as these: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PSDC15/23-4188 Jon: Thats actually exactly what I was trying to see by trying removing the camber plate. Also is there any benefit to running the struts linked in the thread over the ones I have now? The car will likely not see any track or auto X and mainly be street driven, but not daily. Bilstein P30-0032 revalved 300/100 in a shortened strut housing with some P/N 450424 gland nuts to adapt them to a Z strut thread. I have Bilstein P30-061

Well if thats the case I'm gonna try giving Bilstein a call and maybe I can order a new pair using the stamped number. The one picture the threads are snapped therefore I cant bolt back down on the camber plate. Thanks for the info and Link

I'm not really sure how old these struts are or the specs on them They were on the car when I bought it. After getting my L28et swapped in and running good on stock components Ive decided to work on the suspension. Well last week hastened the process. I notice that the wheel was sitting at negative camber with the top wheel pointing in the fender and i figured it was the tie rod or wheel bearing. After close inspection it seemed the strut/coilover was at fault. (fine cause I wanted to get new GC coilover kit anyway) Well after more inspection it seems the top threaded part of the strut snapped or the top plate piece connected to the camper plate gave way not really sure I just know the whole assembly was leaning against the inner frame. Well after getting the strut out I found them to be Bilsteins I was expecting them to be KYB or Tokico. The number on the sticker is P30-061 with 3060061H003 stamped at the lower half of the strut tube. My question is since I dont know what the PO put together on this car. How can I tell if these are able to handle the coilovers on the car and if the failed because the spring rates were too much? Are these stock rated? I cant really tell what the spring rates are or who the springs are made by because I see no stamp I just know they are black and look to be in good shape. Any help would be appreciated. If possible and these are good struts I would like to get another set if anyone could tell me where I could get them from they measure about 14.750" inches at the tube

Thanks, yea I found out that it was indeed too long(it measured out to be 31" not 29 1/4"). My mechanic said that it could be used for a 280zx coupe especially since it has removable U-joints. A new one has been ordered to the exact specifications. Hard lesson learned but nevertheless it couldve been worse.

I bought a custom basically new driveshaft off the forums here a few months ago and measured it out to be 29 and 1/4" which is what several post and sites state for swapping a T5 into a s30 model. Well mechanic says it doesnt fit I cant see why; the only difference between my car and others are the r200. I am using stock r180. My specs are L28ET into a early model 260z with BW T-5 and stock r180. From my knowledge i thought that all the diff r180 to r200 were the same length so whats the deal? I dont wanna pay another $400 for something i dont need. I'm going to the shop on tuesday to see for myself. I just wanted to know what everyone elses measurements are? Thanks.