zcarnut

No harm done Scott! But you do have a point that they would be more noticeable if they did blink with the turn signals. BTW, I think _front_ turn signals are useless. All they do is encourage people to pull out in front of me!

Scott, the side marker lights do not blink when you use the turn signals (different circuit).

According to Nissan nomenclature, the first number is called the "set number" of the ring gear and the second number is called "the variation number" of the ring gear. These numbers are factory measurements done in a jig after the ring and pinion were lapped together. They are used (together with the diff case measurements) to determine the right and left side spacer shims which determine backlash and the pre-load of the side bearings.

Why even use the side marker lights? They are there only because of DOT regulations..... IMHO, I think removing these and filling the holes flush would smooth out out the body lines on the early Z cars.

>BTW I pulled my '78 r200 stub axles and popped >them into the LSD. Is that all there is to it? You will probably need to change the input (pinion) shaft flange piece of the LSD diff to match your driveshaft. Nissan made several different input shaft flanges. Just make sure you use a R200 one and not an R180 (different pinion shaft diameter).

Let me offer a little correction here. The 1979-81 (early 280ZX) booster has the same firewall bolt pattern as the '82-83 (late 280ZX) booster. (In fact the '74-'83 boosters all have the same firewall mounting pattern). It is the master cylinder mounting that is different. The '79-81 booster uses the "vertical mount" master cylinder that Nissan used on all the 1970-81 Z cars (and other Nissans), and the 1982-83 booster uses the "horizontal mount" master cylinder that Nissan adopted on all it's vehicles. If you change both the booster with it's corresponding master cylinder, then you can swap the entire assemblies between the early and late 280ZX's.

Anyone wanting to build either a stroker or a "de-stroker", then email me as I have both a LD28 crank and an L20A crank for sale. I have to have $250 for the LD28 crank as it has been polished, magnafluxed and checked for staightness. $150 will get the L20A crank.

The stock parking brake cable works better if you use the rear caliper from a 1982-83 200SX instead of the 280ZX one. This caliper also bolts up to the Maxima bracket (see photo). The pad area is the same as the 280ZX although the caliper piston area is less, (but it is not as small as the 240SX piston). If you still want to use the 280ZX caliper, then I would replace your stock parking brake cable with the EC-80FU universal one from Lokar Products. http://www.lokar.com/brake_con_cables.html This cable can be cut down to the desired length. The Lokar cable is very well made and is easily adapted to the Z parking brake hand pull mechanism and the ZX caliper. (Sorry, no pictures of this.)

You must support the end of the solid steel brake tubing (the hard lines) like the factory did! Any movement (flexing) of the steel tubing will lead to work hardening and then the possibility of a crack in the brake tubing. I agree that you should reposition the end of the hard line back on the stock support. What about using another one of those 90 deg ends on the other end of the flexible line? You could also try securing the flex line to the strut. BTW, be sure to check for line kinking over the full range of suspension movement. Removing your front spring and re-installing the strut makes checking this out a lot easier. Use a floor jack both to raise and lower the strut and also to raise and lower the body/frame near the strut. As my boss at work says: “The real engineering is in the details”.

Last time I was down at the Z Barn I noticed that they had just gotten one of the SE 300ZX's in for parts. Give Roger a call at 1-800-247-2793 and leave a message on their voice mail.

I don’t mean to brag, but I have polished stainless steel lug nuts on my aftermarket mag wheels. I got them from Classic Chassis. No more rusty nuts or washers after you have removed them a few times. Best $72 I ever spent on the Z car!

If you are just wanting to temporarily bypass the proportioning valve on your 260Z, then I would recommend removing the valve. Unscrew the large nuts on the ends of the valve and remove the aluminum valve plunger and reassemble the valve. Replace on the car and go for a test drive. If the internal valve is stuck or the insides of the proportioning valve are corroded (very common) then the proportioning valve needs to be replaced. They are not re-buildable. New ones are probably over $200, so I would hit the junk yards and hope you can find a good one. This is just another reason to routinely flush your brake system with new fluid. Nissan used the same the proportioning valve on the 280Z’s. Just remember to use the coupe valve if you have a 2-seater and the 4-seater valve if your 260Z is a 2+2. They are different internally. Like wise, the 280ZX valve (and the 810/Maxima one) is identical externally to the 260Z/280Z but it has a different valving characteristic. BTW, the 240Z’s had a proportioning valve as well. It is located nearer the rear brakes on the tranny tunnel and also serves as the brake line splitter for the rear brakes. However, the 240Z is the more standard “two-way” proportioning valve whereas the later Z car valves also have an interface to the front brake lines (“four-way” valve).

What most people do is to re-drill the rear stub axle wheel mounting flange surface for the five bolt wheel pattern. Go to http://zcar.netdojo.com/5lug.htm The Z31 rear stub axles have a smaller (both OD and ID) inner wheel bearing and a larger (again, both OD and ID) outer bearing than the Z’s or the ZX’s. Hence, the stub axle tapers out, unlike the earlier Z cars which have similar sized inner and outer rear wheel bearings and a constant diameter shaft. You could probably handle the inner bearing problem by using the earlier inner bearing with a suitable “collar” as a spacer, but the Z31 outer bearing is the real problem. Yes, you could machine down the diameter of the Z31 stub axle shaft and then use the earlier outer bearing. But you should then follow with the correct heat treatment operation. Unless you _really_ know what you are doing, this is risky, in my opinion. Too bad, as the Z31 stub axle is larger in diameter where the wheel flange is welded, and this is a stressed area, as noted by the failures experienced by some ITS racers.

According to Nissan the D21 (Hardbody Truck) came with the following diameter master cylinders: 11/85-08/88--VG30---------------15/16 inch 11/85-07/87--Z24-----------------15/16 inch 11/85-07/87--4WD----------------15/16 inch 11/85-08/88--HD VG30------------15/16 inch 07/87-08/89--2WD VG30 SE--------1 inch 07/87-07/90--4WD----------------15/16 inch 07/87-08/89--2WD Z24------------15/16 inch 08/88-08/89--VG30----------------15/16 inch 08/89-01/92--2WD KA24E----------15/16 inch 08/89-01/92--2WD VG30E----------15/16 inch 07/90-01/92--4WD-----------------1 inch 01/92-07/93--2WD KA24E or VG30--1 inch 01/92-07/93--4WD KA24E or VG30--1 inch 07/93-07/98--2WD KA24E or VG30--1 inch 07/93-07/98--4WD KA24E or VG30--1 inch (My micro fiche is only good up until 12/98, but the last two entries may also apply to the later D21 trucks.) As you can see there is some overlap. So, the best way to be sure is to examine the master cylinder itself. Like on the Z cars, Nissan used two suppliers for this master cylinder: Tokico and Nabco. The Nabco one has a raised "1" cast it's side, indicating a one inch diameter, but the Tokico one does not. However, both supplier's one inch master cylinders have "BM50" on their castings, so use this marking to identify the one inch master cylinder. If you can not locate one a good used one, I have several available for sale. Please contact me off line.

According to “Aussie” Steve Lamb (of the main Z car list) the 1960's-70 vintage Nissan Patrol used a one inch diameter cast iron brake master that bolts up the early Z cars. This brake master seems to be unavailable in the USA. The Nissan Patrol had drum brakes at all four wheels, hence the residual pressure valves. BTW, the rear drum brakes found on the early Z cars do not need a residual pressure valve as the wheel cylinder seals are kept in contact with the wheel cylinder walls with a spiral spring. Hence, no need for the 3 to 4 psi developed by a residual pressure valve.

I am using a one inch diameter master cylinder on my early 260Z. You can find a 1" master cylinder on the 1991 to '96 Nissan Hardbody 2WD truck. I have noticed that the later years have a smaller plastic fluid reservoir. This master cylinder does not have an internal proportioning valve. The Hardbody Truck also used a 15/16 inch diameter master cylinder during this time frame so you should identify the master cylinder it before removing it from a donor vehicle. I have also seen the same 1" master cylinder on early 1990's non-ABS Maxima's and also on an early ‘90's non-ABS Subaru Legacy. I have even seen an inch and 1/16 diameter(!) master on a Subaru SVX of the same vintage. All these master cylinders utilize the later “horizontal” mounting configuration. So, I also used the later ('82 and '83) 280ZX booster in conjunction as well. For three reasons: (1) The 1" master cylinder bolts up to this booster without any problems. The 1" master cylinder will not bolt to the '70-'78 Z car boosters without modifications. The bolt spacing is slightly different on the booster so you would have to slightly elongate the mounting holes on the master cylinder slightly to allow it to fit. (2) The 280ZX booster is larger in diameter than the '70-'78 boosters, and this helps to reduce the increased pedal effort you get with the larger diameter master cylinder. (3) The ZX booster fits the '74-'78 Z cars without any problem. You have to mount it upside down (but that does not affect its operation), and you will have to shorten it's mounting studs that go through the firewall. However, the ZX booster will not bolt into the '70-'73 Z cars (the 240Z's) because the firewall mounting bolt spacing is different. You might be able to use the '74-'78 pedal support bracket or perhaps be able to redrill the '70-'73 pedal support bracket for the ZX booster. In either case the firewall must be redrilled, and there still may be an interference problem with the clutch master cylinder. The brake line fittings on the one inch master cylinder exit from the side and the top of the master cylinder. The Z car's master cylinder brake lines all exit from the bottom of the master cylinder. So, you will need to fabricate some new brake lines from the master cylinder to the brake balance switch assembly. Use 3/16 inch stock brake line (it's less than .001" different than the Nissan 4.75mm lines) and double flare the ends. Why did I use a one inch master? Well, I had to! The earlier Toyota truck calipers that everyone uses have two 42.8mm and two 33.9mm diameter pistons, for a total area of 46.8cm sq. I am using a later Toyota four piston caliper (for a vented rotor) that has four 42.8mm diameter pistons. Total area being 57.6cm sq. A 23% increase. The 15/16 inch diameter master is only a 14.8% increase in area over the 7/8 inch diameter master. However, the one inch master has 30.6% more area. Result, firm pedal.

Last year at a Z car show I spotted a power rack on an early Z car. The owner said he used a rack from a Subaru Forester. Unfortunately, as I was not interested in doing a similar swap on my 260Z, I did not get any other details. Might be worth checking out at the ole' junk yard!

> What kind of machining is required on the > Maxima rotor? (Thats a FWD car right?) ... and > is the rotor larger than the stock 240Z? It requires increasing the size of the large center hole in the Maxima rotor to 81.0mm and then drilling four holes (sometimes only two, dending on the brand of rotor) on a 103.0mm diameter base circle to allow you to bolt it up to the Z hub. My machinist only charges me $20 a rotor for the mod. Remember the title of this thread is "cheap and easy brakes". I agree if you need to replace the rotor you must re-do the machining part, but I have seen lots of cars with well over 100K miles on a set of rotors. BTW, the '85-'88 Maxima rotor is 274mm in diameter and is 22mm thick (same specs as the Z31 rotor). The 240Z disc is 271 or 272mm, depending on whose catalog you are using.

> ...The carrier of a z32 will fit in a older > housing the only problem is the new carrier > takes 12mm ring gear bolts so you would need > one from a 87-89 housing or a v6 200sx.... According to a Nissan Tech Publication I have, _all_ the Z31 Turbo diffs used 12mm diameter ring bolts, not just the LSD's. So, when the LSD assembly was introduced in 1988, Nissan _had_ to make it fit the 12mm bolt holes in the ring gear. It would be nice to know if this is really true as there are plenty more of the early turbo Z31's in the junkyards than later ones (or the rare V6 200SX's). Of course the only ratio is [still] 3.70.

Also look at machining the '85-'89 Maxima front rotor to fit the Z/ZX front hub. (With the Toyota caliper, of course.) Much cheaper than making a spacer to use the Z31 rotors. I've done several of these conversions with no problems.

The specs for the 1970-89 Z wheel studs are a 12mm-1.25mm thread, and a knurl diameter of 12.87mm. The early Z cars used a 32mm length, but your 280Z probably has the longer 36mm studs. The 280ZX's and Z31's had a 40mm long stud and the 240SX used a 42mm one. The longest ones (that I am aware of) that will fit your hubs can be found on the rear of the Nissan Quest Van. It is 47mm long.

I don't know if this will help, but I'm using the 280ZX brake booster on my 260Z _without_ the spacer, and I have no problems whatsoever.

Use the '82-'83 200SX rear caliper. It's ebrake cable comes out at a much better angle. However you must use the '82-'83 280ZX "caliper support piece" or the "slider" bracket so everything will line up correctly.