Leon

Ouch, at least you got the best of them eventually! I was able to separate the puller and pin by putting the pin in a vice and using a pipe wrench on the all-thread. We should start a support group for those who've pulled spindle pins, and have SPTSD (Spindle Pin Traumatic Stress Disorder). We can have therapy sessions and counseling.

Mmmmm, high-revving German V8, I'd love to see that swap work out!

Well, the first time I used the puller, I didn't use enough heat. The all thread snapped at the nut end, toward the end of the inner threaded section, a stress riser. John said that the center section has to be heated enough for the bushings to essentially melt after I talked to him about it. I used the puller yesterday, but I got a little mixed up on the first pin. Since I am re-using the old, shorter all-thread and have a new one, I have two lengths of pipe to work with (the pipe that slides over the all-thread). I forgot to put the coupler on the first pipe that butts against the control arm and had it sink into the bushing. That's why the first pin came out mushroomed on both ends. When I went to do the second pin I saw the pipe coupler on my other pipe. "D'oh!" The puller worked well on the second pin and got the pin out using copious amounts of MAP gas and some tapping on the other end. I'm glad to finally put the pins to rest.

It was the murder weapon. Luck is the magic word! I don't have a compressor, or that much patience. I thought so too, until I got this 260Z and spring/shock replacement turned into a full rebuild. Diagnosis? While-I'm-at-it syndrome.

I'm rebuilding the suspension on my early 260Z and it came time to do those, oh so fun, spindle pins. I had taken the pins out once before, in my first 240Z and have blocked the majority of that out of my memory. I felt sprightly and masochistic today so I decided to tackle my second set of pins. By the way, this is a wonderful idea for a day-off activity. The painful process started this morning, around 11am or so, and finished around 6pm. I had technically started on the pins weeks earlier, but did not have the patience to do much. The mayhem started with John's pin puller but crept into whack-a-mole mode as the day wore on. Instead of boring you all with more details I took a video. I did eventually get both out. Never thought I could hate a piece of metal so much.

The search function is your friend: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/97567-help-can-you-identify-this-front-end/

Tony makes complete sense. In SF, some crosswalks have the timers and I alter my driving pattern depending on how much time I have. If I see that there's no way I can make it, I coast up to the intersection in gear, saving gas. It really does take the uncertainty out of intersections and it saves on gas and brake linings. The core of the problem lies in stupid, inattentive drivers. But that's for another thread and forum altogether...

If your round tops are worn around the throttle shafts, that will create a vacuum leak. This will cause to car to run lean at cruise unless you richen it up. Since the round-top SUs don't have a dedicated idle circuit, you will richen the mixture across the entire band. Just another possibility.

Sounds like you're running too rich and possibly have an exhaust leak. You may have a crack somewhere in the piping or a mating surface is warped. An easy, although not necessarily conclusive, test you can do is stick your hand down by the exhaust manifold (don't touch it!) and see if you can feel exhaust pulses. A leak will also be noisy depending on how much it's leaking.

Allowable %EGR and how lean you can run an engine depends a lot on combustion chamber design. The more efficient the combustion chamber (faster burning), the more EGR an engine will take before it becomes detrimental to performance (tip in hesitation, misfire, etc.).

Injecting EGR into the combustion chamber will dilute the mixture and increase burn time. Saying that you can run more advance is a bit misleading, because it leads people to infer that they will then gain power. You have to run more advance with EGR than without in order to keep max cylinder pressure vs. crank angle the same.

Almost anything looks complicated in exploded view. SUs are very simple carbs with only a few moving parts. Get the SU video from ZTherapy and you'll be just fine. SU carb:

The BE section of the FSM is critical to gaining a good understanding of the 260Z, believe me. Print out the wiring diagram and some associated illustrations from the FSM and have at it!

All these questions can be answered by spending a little time with the FSM and wiring diagram. I have an early '74 which had a few electrical problems (mostly due to PO laziness and ignorance). I spent a day or more tracing wires and figuring out what everything is and does on this car. "Lack of interest" doesn't excuse you from putting in the effort. Pic 1: Red is fusible links and blue is the interlock relay, NOT the voltage regulator. Pic 2: That's your voltage regulator, the charge relay is integral with the assembly. Pic 3: Emergency switch, refer to the FSM for its complete function. It essentially bypasses the safety interlock.

Football puts me to sleep, I'd rather watch some rugby. Those guys are real men, not a bunch of idiots that shoot themselves at night clubs.

Under "Gear oil" I see API GL-4 as the recommended lubricant for both the turbo and NA transmissions. I don't see any ATF implications...

My tach works intermittently, but it pulls well from about 3k to 6.5k rpm. Around town drivability is great as well, and as you said, the majority of your driving will be done on the streets. I'm using my Z as a weekend car and occasional autocrosser, so having a "hot cam" in my engine would be more of a conversation piece than a real performance benefit at this point. When I get to the point of further modifications I will dyno the car beforehand to make sure that what I'm doing has a worthwhile benefit. I'm actually planning to make a comparison video of the Z with SUs and then with the Webers, with no other engine changes made. The Z is down right now because I'm rebuilding the suspension but I hope to be done with that in the near future. Trying to prepare for my first autocross!

So you want to turn the pressure side of the pump into the suction side? Not a good idea...

I run 40DCOE Webers on a stock 240Z cam. It idles great and has plenty of power up top, and the triples definitely pull better than the old, worn-out SUs! My point is, there is no need to get a "performance cam" especially if you want to be in a suitable autoX class. I plan to do some autocrossing with the SCCA and I have made it a point to read their rules regarding car classes. I plan to run in BSP where induction, exhaust, etc. are unlimited but you must keep the stock cam. Just another consideration...

I guess I have to repeat myself... If you don't want to put in the $20 investment for the video, at least learn how they work by searching online. I'll give you a site I know off the top of my head: http://zparts.com/zptech/articles/mal_land/ml_sucarb2/images4/SUcarb_111601d.htm Listen to Tony.

http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/cam/index.htm

Manual fuel pump? That would be a hell of a workout!

Ztherapy has a video on how to tune these carbs, plus other tuneup tips.

Can anybody tell me where to find a shrubbery? I've used a search but haven't found anything.

Greetings Tim the Enchanter!