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If we take it at literal translation, either answer is correct. I'm curious if TonyD has any input on this. Lots of what I've read is this exact same topic. Nobody can give the "final" word - and if they do, there's someone around the corner to rebut that claim.. From my experience, I noted better shifting (i.e. less grinding) in my track car when I ran ATF. When I had MTL 90 in the box, it had a bad grind b/t 3rd and 4th. When I swapped over to ATF, the grind was much less pronounced. Took the box apart later to find a couple bad synchros. When the box was back together, I just used ATF. This is just my personal experience using both. As the disclaimer always says "Your mileage may vary". I don't think there IS a right answer on this topic. The vote could go either way and still be correct based on the FSM's recommendation.

Case in point. My gearbox. Hashed synchros b/c running MTL.

I think I paid $165 for my kit. The regular Z 5 speed kits were about $80ea. my cost. The T5 was double the cost of the normal Z tranny kit.

Re-read post #2 and answer that question. You need to be running ATF, or a thinner viscosity gear oil. I had the same problem on the track, it would grind from 3rd to 4th. Changed out the gear dope to ATF and problem was a lot less pronounced. I won't say it completely alleviated the issue, but it certainly did help a lot. Another oil you could use is the RedLine ShockProof oil. It's a thinner viscosity and acceptable for use in that tranny. Then again - you may just have bad synchros on those two particular gears. Nothing but a rebuild will cure that. And those T5 rebuild kits are EX-pennnnnsive...not much to them, but they wack you for the rear seal, which happens to have the big metal ring that the driveshaft fits in attached to the seal.

Answer me this, and you will have answered your own question. When you go to put it in reverse, does it grind then? If so, you need to either bleed the clutch, or adjust the pedal so that it doesn't grind when you put it in reverse. If not - your problem lies elsewhere. And let's think about it from a practical sense. If it grinds in 2 gears but not the others - your problem is in the box, NOT bleeding the clutch. Turning the driveshaft by hand?? WTx......????

They're the two little 3.5" long rubber bars that slip down in the rear main cap between the block and the cap itself. The rear main cap is grooved for them to fit down in. I'm trying to get a hold of just these two seals and I don't know what to call them. FSM just calls them "oil seals".......tell that to your local AutoZone employee and you're in for 2+ hours of guesswork. Need to get a hold of a couple of these bad boys ASAP....

"over boost error" - "never ran right since"......hmmmmm " never mixed water and oil".......happened to me once. It was FAR from a head gasket. You have done your diagnosis though, and a leakdown test shows 4 and 5 leaking air? I lost 3 sets of ring lands when those last words were uttered.....

What kind of oil are you using in the transmission? Gear dope or ATF?

There is no ballast on a 78 Z - I know this to be a fact, as I own 2 of them. I also just referenced the FSM - no ballast in the circuit. So - got the MSD box back and put it back in. Car runs perfect at 10 degrees initial, 38 degrees at 3K RPM. I have no explanation for the necessity of excess timing advance when running just the coil from the transistor box. NONE. What I DO know is that the last time the MSD box died, I ran the car just fine for several weeks on just the coil - this makes absolutely NO sense whatsoever..... Oh well - at least I'm back up and running until I get the time to swap the Electromotive setup in......

The coil I have is the Jacobs Ultra. http://www.amazon.com/Jacobs-380876-Ultra-Coil-Universal/dp/B000BWE1PC Looks like either they bought Accel - or Accel bought them, b/c apparently they don't make the Jacobs coil anymore - it's been re-branded as an Accel Ultra. I can't determine if it is a high voltage coil or not, but based on the description, it can do both (???). I do recall, however, that the last time my MSD box took a dump, I ran the car just fine on the coil alone for 3 weeks while the MSD was out getting repaired. I'm at the point now where I may just yank the Electromotive out of the racecar with the crank pulley, put it on the 280, and be done with all of it.

Hey Tony and Randy - thanks for the replies. The stroker motor came out of my racecar that was running Electromotive crank fire ignition. I didn't pay attention to ANY of the distributor accouterments because I wasn't going to be using one. Now the motor is in my 280. I did find my dizzy shaft was indeed off one tooth (pointing at about the 10:30 position) - I dropped the pump, pulled the shaft (while at "known TDC") and got it on the right tooth. I also found that I have/had a 240Z distributor base plate. It doesn't bolt up near the way the 280 one does. I got the correct baseplate and set everything back up after testing the dizzy. The vacuum is ported vacuum - that's the term I was looking for. I'm pulling it from the vac port on the middle carb. It is prior to the throttle plate. FUEL = Just installed a brand new filter, as well as put in a new pump (thought it was that at first), and also put in a Fram G3 filter b/t the tank and the pump. Still clear as a bell. My inline gauge says 3.5psi when I kick the car over. You may be on to something. I am NOT running a ballast. Blue wire to negative of the coil and Black w/white stripe wire going to the positive of the coil. That's how it was on the other 78 that I just bought as well. The spark is orange, and I was a little concerned. I will have to recheck again tonight. I put a screwdriver in the coil wire and laid it near the strut tower. It was arcing from the screwdriver to the strut bolt - but it was clearly orange in color. Not the blue that I'm used to seeing. So......are you thinking my Transistor Ignition box is faulty? I thought they were "all or none" - they either worked or they didn't.........hmmmmmm. I will test more this evening.

78 280. Carbed setup. OEM distributor, MSD 6AL and Jacobs coil. Leaving the gas station one day, the car died as I pulled away from the pump. Not a fuel death - an ignition death. No sputter then die - just dead right there. Tested MSD box - found it to be bad. Bypassed it and ran the original wiring to the coil. Starting the car is now a royal pain. It needs excessive amounts of timing just to start and run. Like 22 degrees initial. Anything less, the car dies. I have set everything to TDC and verified my timing mark on the crank pulley AND on the cam gear are on the mark. They are. Nothing has slipped or moved. I even went so far as to pull the dist. drive shaft (while at TDC) and verified it is indeed pointing at the 11:25 position. The only thing that has changed is that the MSD box is out of the loop. Mechanical advance on the distributor is working fine. With vacuum unhooked, goes from 22deg. (idle) to 44deg. at 3000rpm. With vacuum hooked up, it goes to nearly 51 degrees at 3K RPM. I am pulling vacuum PRE-throttle plate. I am totally baffled as to why the car (now) needs so much timing to run. I'm pinging like a sombich when I get on it. (I did that one time only). There is way too much timing. It used to run fine on 10deg. initial and 38deg. at 3K. When I try to start the car when warm, it chugs and chugs (starter) but doesn't catch the first time. Turn off the key and try again, and it will catch. This is the strangest problem I think I've run into to date. ANY suggestions what else to look for? This is beyond me......

Pistons didn't come with any. Guess I can order them from JE....????

I understand being able to completely dissasemble the motor for "extreme race" motors would be one advantage, but how often does one do that? Even the extreme racers with big pockets - how often do they disassemble the rods from the pistons? I just saw my buddy's L20B tear itself to shreds due to a failed spirolock on a full floating setup. Unfortunately, I believe I'm going to be in the same boat. I don't want to tear up my motor though. Got a set of JE pistons with spirolocks and had my rods bushed for a full floater setup. Just looking for some general advantages and disadvantages. I would really rather have pressed rods. Less "points of failure" - in my eyes. Comments welcomed!

I tried the MTL in the T5, and after my 3rd session on the track day, 3rd to 4th started grinding like a bear. I would imagine on the street, the MTL would be fine. It worked for me - until I hit the track and started abusing the tranny, then it really became noticeable and a big problem. With the ATF in the T5 now, track days are "grind free". You're absolutely right - it's all about "intended use".

"With this said, focus on good cylinder head portwork, good balancing on the rotating assy, match the camshaft to the head flowrates. It is also a good idea to get the intake ported to match the heads' flowrates as well....this way you have a strong, tuned powerplant with no weak links." All that stuff was done. I gave my cam specs, and then port matched the intake myself to the head that Paul did. I have a "strong tuned powerplant" but apparently not as strong as others. This was tuned in my racecar with a wideband O2 and dialed right in to 12.8-13.2 under WOT. Not sure where else to go to let the ponies out. I guess it's at that "design limitation", albeit, others have surpassed my numbers with lesser motor. Wonder if it's that doggone MN47 head that I'm running.......might have to hog out one of my P90's and do a comparison.

After seeing some of these numbers, I'm wondering to myself why I can only get 213rwhp out of my stroker. MN47 head that BRAAP did a full race port on. Racer Brown .500 lift cam, Rebello modified Mikuni 44's, Nismo header, 3" exh. Not meaning to thread jack - but if someone can get 267rwhp out of a stroker running 40's, then either I did something wrong, OR there's a lot of ponies pent up inside my motor that need to find their way to the pavement.....sigh....

Nice harvest!! I'm actually about 2 steps ahead of you (minus the Pauter rods). Got the crank back, new Nissan bearings, JE custom dished pistons with 35.1mm pin height for stroker turbo (no need for 2mm HG) 240 9mm rods, shotpeened and balanced and bushed for full floating pins. De-flashed the block and painted with Glyptal. P90 w/full race port, custom Delta Cams turbo grind. ARP hardware throughout. Just about to start assembly. Will be documenting the whole build process as well. Glad to see another turbo stroker in the making - congrats!!

Damn!! Clifton's track car is getting around more than a cheap hooker in the ATL!!! Love the new paint scheme Cleve - hope to see you at Road Atlanta someday soon! And yes - we need prices!!!

ATF for the T5 for sure. I tried regular 70/90w gear oil in mine and it ground gears like a bad tranny. Drained, cleaned and put in some Mobil 1 ATF, shifts like a breeze. Honestly, the AutoZone brand of ATF would suffice, but I'm a "brand name" kinda guy, so I use either Valvoline or Mobil 1. For the diff, I use Royal Purple or Mobil 1 synthetic - whatever's available. You can use the 75/90w, I personally prefer the 75/140w - others may disagree.

You have cash sir! I added my shipping address, as sometimes it doesn't show up in PayPal for whatever reason. I've updated my profile 50 times and can't seem to get it to show all the time.....whatever!

Jeff - is your PayPal fleamarketbum@yahoo.com ? I won't be anywhere near a computer this weekend, so if I don't hear back from you prior to that - I'll get it to you first thing Monday morning once you confirm PayPal address. It's funny about your avatar - I play in a band with my wife and she made me a Hannah Montana T-shirt by cutting out the front of a childs shirt and sewing it to a regular sized t-shirt. You should see some of the looks I get in the clubs when I wear it when we play - priceless! Might even have to do it tomorrow night! Have a great weekend! Tim

Hey Jeff - shoot me a shipping quote to 30044. The 4 studs that hold the turbo on are in good shape - yes? Tim

Really don't want to pay much over $50 for it. That's what I (stupidly) sold my last one for. I'll cover shipping to 30044. PM if you have something.