zcarnut

Thanks for the reply, Doug. I measured a R180 axle flange that uses the single bolt to secure it to the diff and it has an OD of 26mm with 25 splines. This is also the same as the flange of the R180 CV axle. So, I would assume all the R180 axle flanges have these spline parameters. The issue is now the LSD circlips. Are the circlips “internal” (clips located inside the side gears of the LSD) or are they “external” (clips located in groove on the axle flange). Also, the location of the circlip groove on the axle shaft is critical, as the circlip groove on the axle flange must line up with the groove inside the LSD side gears. My guess is that the LSD diff uses the early (1970-72 240Z) style R180 axle flanges which I think use an external circlip and probably have a different location of the circlip groove. However, I do not have one of these early flanges readily available so I can’t measure one. I guess I could have a groove machined in the CV axle flanges if I need to. BTW, it appears that the R180 Maxima CV axles are identical to the R180 280ZX ones, (at least by my measurements).

Is anyone using the later (from 8/76) R180 Nissan Motorsports LSD with CV axles? I was wondering if the R180 CV axles used in some of the 280ZX’s and first generation Maxima’s would fit into this LSD side gears. BTW, in the Nissan competition catalog they say: “...side gears are 26mm [with] 25 splines [and] axles are secured with a circlip”. And yes, I used the Search Function but I only found info on using the R200 LSD with the R200 CV axles.

It sounds like you are referring to the vent for the float bowl. In theory it should be vented to the same space as the air entering the carb throat. This will allow some mixture compensation for any air restrictions. For example, without compensation, a restrictive (clogged) air filter will lower the absolute air pressure in the throat of the carb, result in a slightly richer mixture. By venting the float bowl to the same space the float bowl “sees” this reduced pressure and there is some mixture compensation. Basic Carb 101 stuff.....

More info on LSD's: http://www.mr2supercharger.com/lsd.html

BTW, there is another 4 piston Toyota caliper that will accept a wider vented rotor. It was used on the 1992-95 Toyota 4-Runner. The casting number is S13WB. It is identical to the caliper you used except it will handle a 28mm thick rotor (rotor slot opening is 29mm). Maybe this caliper could be used without [the grinding] mods?

That’s too bad. It seems that I hear that a lot whenever I try to order any Nissan parts. I got one of the 38335-N3100 bearings from a local dealer only six months ago. Hard to believe that it may have been one of the last available. The 38335-N3100 bearing is a Koyo type 83601A. It is a single row deep groove ball bearing with dimensions of OD = 73mm, ID = 28mm and a length of 16mm. You can try contacting Koyo, their USA web site is http://www.koyousa.com/ I have spoken to one of their application engineers before about another Nissan bearing (used in the steering rack) that was no longer available from Nissan. After of lot of looking and cross referencing it was determined that this bearing was specifically made only for Nissan. I’m sure that this applies to the 38335-N3100 bearing as well. My other suggestion would to use another bearing and have a collar machined for it so it could be used in place of the 38335-N3100 bearing. An SKF type 62/28 bearing has the dimensions of OD = 58mm, ID = 28mm and a length of 16mm. So you would require a collar with an OD of 73mm and an ID of 58mm (length of 16mm).

I got it from either the “main” Z car mailing list (IZCC) or the 240Z mailing list. BTW, there were at least three different steering wheels used by the 1970-1978 Z cars. Only the 240Z used the fake wood one. The 260Z had a steering wheel with a soft foam cover (terrible feeling, IMO), and the 280Z used a vinyl covered. However, the different wheels could be swapped amongst the early Z car models.

From our club web site: Refinishing 240Z steering wheels 1. Remove the steering wheel. Gently pry up the horn pad and remove the 22mm nut. The wheel then can be nudged off. This will also give you access to clean out with WD-40 the little turn signal return springs/levers that may be gummed up and making you do the old manual return on your turn signal lever. 2. Using a medium to fine grit sponge sand paper that you can get in any hardware store, gently sand off the 20+ years of built up dirt off the wheel. Be careful not to sand off the wood grain on the plastic! Clean up using rubbing alcohol. 3. Sand the metal spokes with fine grit wet sandpaper (the black/gray stuff) to remove any corrosion or rust. 4. Using masking tape, tape newspaper around the wheel part being very sure to cover all the plastic/wood part of the wheel. 5. Hang the wheel from a tree limb outside with a piece of coat hanger or cord and put three to four coats of semi-flat black paint on the spokes. Allow each coat to dry a couple of hours and use several light coats multiple times instead of one thick coat to get a professional look. 6. After the spokes are dry (overnight is best), tape a covering of newspaper over the spokes. 7. Here is the tricky part. Purchase at the hardware store or Wal-Mart a furniture scratch pen. These look like a big brown magic marker. I like the dark walnut color. Use the scratch pen that matches the grain pattern and color of the steering wheel. If you get too much on one spot you can use the pen to smooth out and blend the color. Add a few darker lines in the grain pattern on the plastic to make it look more like wood. 8. After the ink is dry, use a thick UV Protective Spar Varnish applied with a loaded 2" paintbrush. The first coat is critical, apply gently and don't be afraid to put it on heavy. Try not to dab around too much as the scratch marker ink can come off. The ink will mix with the varnish a little bit and add to the wood tones. 9. Add 2-4 more coats of the varnish, sanding with very fine paper (300 to 400 grit) between coats. Touch up any spots that you sand down too much with the scratch pen before applying the last coat. 10. Re-install the steering wheel. The finished product will look better than original without looking non-OEM. The UV protectant varnish will keep your wheel looking good for the next 20+ years. The varnish will last longer on the plastic than it would have lasted on real wood. The end result looks like hand rubbed walnut that would have cost two to three hundred bucks to purchase and then not look original. If you have an artistic flair and want to experiment with different shades of the scratch repair pens you could get some pretty exotic wood looking combinations on the finished product.

No. The first year of the V6 FWD Maxima was 1985. Yes, this 1984 tranny will bolt up to any L-series Z or ZX engine. Ratios are: 1st-----3.321 2nd----2.077 3rd----1.308 4th----1.000 5th----0.752 Rev----3.382 Note: The 5 speed Maxima _diesel_ had the same ratios except that 5th gear was 0.833.

Check the number of electrical connections to the sensor in question. If there is only one then this is the sensor that the TEMP gauge uses to operate. If there are two electrical connections then this is the thermal sensor used by the ECU to enrichen the mixture during engine warm up. Last time I checked at NAPA you could still get either one, if you wish to save some money by not buying a Nissan part. I'm a firm believer in only replacing parts that are defective. But you can do what you want

The R200 pinion and side bearings are standard bearings which can be obtained at any good bearing supply company. Just use the part numbers printed on the bearings. However, the front (input bearing) is special and can only come from Nissan (same goes for the seals).

No. The offset (which I define as the distance between the centerline of where the rotor is to the caliper mounting surface) of the 1985-88 Maxima rear caliper is different than the 280ZX, 200SX or the 240SX (or even the 1981-84 Maxima) rear calipers. Hence, to use the 1985-88 Maxima caliper requires the Motorsport Auto bracket which is different (in terms of offset) than the 1982-83 Maxima rear caliper bracket. There is no such thing as a single “1980-84" Maxima bracket. There was an 1981 bracket (which you can use with the 1979-81 280ZX rear caliper) and a 1982-83 bracket (which you use with the 1982-83 280ZX rear caliper). The 1984 Maxima rear brackets were welded on. BTW, the 1985-88 Maxima rear bracket is flat and requires modifications (welding and re-drilling) to use.

The only way to use the 1985-88 Maxima rear caliper and have use of the parking brake is to change the parking brake cable bracket and lever located on the caliper. Motorsport Auto outlines this in their instructions included in their kit: http://home.comcast.net/~zcarfan/MaximaRearCaliper002.jpg However, having installed one of these Motorsport Auto kits on a friend’s 260Z, I will state that this “solution” is not optimal. The angle of the parking brake cable is not ideal and even worse was the action and performance of the parking brake. Big disappointment. It’s obvious that not enough engineering went into the parking brake operation. Motorsport simply found some stock Nissan parts that “helped” the situation, but did not completely resolve the issue. Personally, I think the optimal solution for the parking brake is the “drum in rotor”. This is what Nissan used on the Z32 and what Toyota used on the Supra and early Cressida. The cast iron interior surface of the drum is an excellent braking surface. More weight? Yes. More complexity? Big yes. But these are the engineering tradeoffs. I have looking into adapting the Toyota parts into the early Z car rear strut (because Toyota uses the same wheel bolt pattern) and it would require a lot of machining and welding to even get a prototype built. Not the “bolt-up” solution I was looking for.

All the 280Z's (1975-78) had a split voltmeter.

Here’s the spacer I used. It features a lip that centers the rotor. This makes it more difficult to make but all the other spacers I have seen just use the mounting bolts for rotor centering which is not good engineering practice: http://home.comcast.net/~zcarfan/Spacer.jpg Yes. In fact that was the reason for using the 200SX calipers. The angle of the parking brake cable after attachment to the caliper is much better suited to the early Z cars than any other rear caliper, 280ZX and 240SX ones include. The 200SX brake pads are the same as used by the 280ZX rear caliper. Just be sure to use only the 1982 or 1983 rear 200SX caliper. Other years will not work. This will mount to the later 1982-83 Maxima (the one everyone is looking for) rear brake caliper bracket.

Sounds like this guy drilled them himself: http://zcar.netdojo.com/5lug.htm

Nissan only used the vacuum tank on the factory equipped AC 260Z and 280Z models. The non-AC versions had a different heater box under the dash which only used cables and not the vacuum operated bellows. Try the local junkyards and look for a non-AC 260Z or a 280Z (all will fit your car). Although these are rare, you might get lucky. My 260Z did not have AC when I got it and I added the factory AC and swapped out the heater box. However, that was a few years ago and my old non-AC heater box is long gone.

Did you connect the spark plugs wires correctly to the distributor cap? The L-series distributor rotates counterclockwise (when viewed from the top). To check rotate the crankshaft until you have the #1 cylinder piston setting on TDC by using the timing marks. Make sure that you are on the compression stroke of #1 cylinder (open the oil cap and look at the cam lobes for the #1 cylinder, both intake and exhaust lobe should be pointed up). If not, then rotate crank another full revolution. The distributor rotor should be pointing at the tower corresponding to spark plug wire #1. Then check the remaining wires using the 1-5-3-6-2-4 firing order sequence.

http://home.comcast.net/~zcarfan/page0.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~zcarfan/page1.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~zcarfan/page2.jpg http://home.comcast.net/~zcarfan/page3.jpg

The moustache bar is the piece that bolts to the rear cover of the diff and supports the rear of the diff. It actually looks like a moustache, hence the name. The transverse link bar is below and more rearward of the moustache bar.

More likely it was a mouse stockpiling for winter.

Well if the guys at Jiffy Lude can’t do it then it can’t be done... Seriously, you can remove the transverse link bar that goes across the back of the diff. This is the piece that ties the two rear lower crossmembers together. Yes, there are eight bolts to remove but it can be done fairly quickly. This will give you just enough access room and is a lot easier than removing the moustache bar.

If you’re interested I have the one for the 60mm throttle body that TWM sold. It’s identical to the Weber TB. But it’s not much of a “manual”. It is only three pages in length and concentrates mainly on adjusting the throttle switch, something the Nissan factory service manual covers in detail.

It was easy! Actually my 260Z shares the larger bolt pattern for the brake booster with the 280Z and the 280ZX. So the ZX booster just bolts in. Although you have to turn it upside down which does not affect its operation.

How about: New oil pump? New timing gears and chain? New core plugs? New rod bolts? Honing the cylinder walls? On high mileage L-series engines it’s a good idea to replace the oil pump/distributor drive spindle and corresponding helix gear on crank.