jeromio

Henavevy58 - All the pics I have are up on my website. Specifically, the LS1 stuff is at http://240z.jeromio.com/motorswap. I do have pics with the motor out. Perhaps you mean motor out, but the motor mount towers in place? No luck there - I had the motor in, towers clamped, then drilled the bolt holes and bolted it up. Haven't had the motor out since then. I did use the FBody mounts.

I could never get enough travel out of the S30 e-brake lever setup. The caliper's lever needs more pull than the drum. I put spacers on the cable ends at the caliper. After years of having just the slightest parking brake, that needed constant twiddling, I switched to a zx (S130) cable setup. But I'm having problems with that too - the middle cable (that attaches to the handle lever) is too long.

Using the search term "K-member" turns this up at the very top: http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=117390&highlight=K-member

T56 equals super-crazy heavy.

Cardone = crap. I ordered a passenger side ZXt CV axle fro RockAuto. What I got was some kind of wierd hybrid axle. The joints were correct, but the shaft was too long. RockAuto was good - I shipped it back, they credited me on everything incl my return shipping (although it was still a hassle). I spoke with a guy there who said it was the correct part number and everything shoulda been good, but obviously it wasn't. What I'm saying is that the people at Cardone may have done the same thing to your part that they did to mine...

240z.jeromio.com 1971 240z - 1999 LS1 custom, K-member mounting - T56 w/ custom, tunnel mounting - R200 w/ deGroot-style front diff mount. - 280ZXturbo CVs w/ Scottie-style flanges (from RossMM) - sectioned struts w/ coil-overs - re-located LCA pivot - full length frame/floor rails - poor-man's rear toe adjuster - 280ZX brakes front & rear w/ 84 ZX front rotors (relocated caliper mount ears) and home-made rear brackets. - Camaro V6 rad w/ Taurus fan - Camaro (2000) Fuel tank - home-made wiring (maxima fuseblock) - Konig 17x8 23mm offset wheels (soon forsale) Not yet complete: - 280Z HVAC - cage (and seats/harnesses) - bodywork - flares - wider wheels/tires - paint

That kinking is exactly what I produced with the HF bender. I also tried the sand+heat. I filled with sand, welded large washers on the ends and then nuts and then bolts - figured I could tighten the bolts to compress the sand, remove air pockets. Anyway, I put it in the bender and then heated the whole bend area while pumping on the cyl. The result was a very nice 90* bend. Almost perfect actually. However, it took about an hour. And that does not include the prep (filling and capping the tubing). In the process, I popped the welds on the bender and had to basically rebuild the frame. When I stepped back and admired my one bend and then calculated how many bends I would need - well, I decided this was not going to be a good use of my time. So, I'm saving my pennies for a proper bender....

I agree - not sure what the length is, but 13" is too short. I figured the hockey stick could have suffficient length to make up the distance. Agreed also on the change in the Camber curve - but really this would be only in the extreme. If you figure the TC rod is around 16" then that ~1" that the tie rod's ball moves the pivot axis equates to a 6% change. If I decide to increase caster, then the difference starts to get smaller.

In another thread, a similar design using inner tie-rods for the TC pivot was panned as being undesirable (vs., in that case, a customized mono-ball) die to moving the pivot out towards the wheel. What are the specific disadvantages of this pivot movement? I fail to see any intuitively. I can see the advantages of lining up the vertical axis of pivot with that of the LCA. For instance, on my car the LCA pivot was moved up 13/16", but the TC was left alone. If I exaggerate this in my mind, I can see that braking could induce extra dive in the front. Therefore, and I think this was explained in Jon's thread (already referenced once in this thread), moving it up maybe even past the point of parity (for example, moving TC pivot up 1.5"), might create a resistance to brake induced dive. However, I am not able to analogize movement of the pivot in the X or Y directions as having any particular negative affect, part from the obvious potential reduction in suspension travel or binding in the extremes. Looks to me like picking up some Escort inner tie rods (LENGTH= 13.34 in.; OUTER THREAD= M12x1.25R; SHAFT DIA.= 0.560 in.; RACK END THREAD= M16x1.00R) for $30/ea ($70 ttl w/ shp) some hockey sticks made 3/8" plate (with 3 holes drilled) and a pair of female clevis ends: for $9/ea, prob'ly $25 w/ shp. Maybe add $8 for the generic dust boots. So, just a wee bit of effort and less than $100, I can reduce (eliminate) the possibility that my currently doubly poly bushed TC rod will snap. I can also move the pivot up to remove the pro-dive geom. I introduced when I raised the LCA pivot. Any holes in this theory of mine?

This is kind of strange. My experience is that at full droop, with the car jacked up, that's when the axles are most compressed. I used to have the stock 280ZXt CV shafts and the stock ZXt flanges. These flanges are rather long. With the car jacked up, the driver's side wheel would "hang" when at 3 clock positions when turning the wheel. I was always worried about "catching air" over a riser and blowing up my CV or my diff or both. I switched to the Scottie adapter (sourced from Ross C) which is much shorter. Do you have camber plates in the rear on this car? Maybe you could loosen your coilovers and take measurements of "shaft length" (perhaps with the shaft removed) as the arms move thru their range. Then some others of us could do the same and we could compare?

You milled the bracket and the compressor fit? I tried that but had to "mill" (sand/grind really) so much that it was no longer useable. The 2 squinch pulleys (one fixed and one tensioner) that tighten the belt ended up hitting the crank pulley. I ended up making a custom bracket....

Bind occurs at full droop. As the rear susp compresses, the distance betw. the diff and the hub increases. So installation is a bit harder b/c the shaft has to be compressed. I always disconnect the arms when working on the shafts - I don't know how you could do it otherwise. On a similar note, I bought a rebuilt passenger side shaft from Rockauto. It had the correct nose - fit in the diff with a nice click. But the shaft was too long by an inch (compared to the old shaft). I figured maybe my boots/CVs on the old shaft might be making it have a shorter length in the "relaxed" state, so I tried to install the new shaft anyway. No go. Had to return the stupid thing. Also, I was going to replace the driver's shaft too "while I was at it" (torn boot on pass. side, driver's is okay, but old). No one has the driver's side shaft.

I'm having a hard time imagining what you're refering to. In order to maintain adjustability, the connection betw. rod and LCA has to pivot, yes? Are you talking about changing from clevis to some fancier pivoting "rod"? I presume the complaint against the clevis is the load on the pin. With braking, you would get quite a lot of force on that pin. Perhaps something like a heim would be preferable, where the pin (or bolt) would be much thicker.

You're supposed to land on your head - that's what the helmet is for.

Fixed it alright. Speeding ticket: 80 in a 65 on the way to work this AM....

Back on the road again, this time thanks to John (JT1) sending me the missing bolt. I also ordered one from Courtesy in TX, but it has yet to arrive. I made sure to put loctite on every bolt when I put everything back together. The difference in gearing is soooo nice. I have not been able to really test out the difference in acceleration since I did a "while I'm at it" mod to the ebrake mechanism. I have ZX rear discs but the stock emergency brake mechanism has too short a throw for the calipers, so it barely works. I decided to lengthen the lever arm that actuates the cable. This lever is right over the Ujoint. I left about 1cm of clearance thinking that since I have 2 poly bushings holding the diff in place, that would be enough - diff wouldn't move that far up. Wrong. Normal driving is fine, but stomping on it yields some nasty sound effects. Oops. I guess I need to get an ebrake cable from a 240sx. It's amusing b/c the front of my diff seems locked in place. But I suppose applying ~400lb/ft of torque will get things moving... Anyway, the motor only turns 1400rpm at 55mph. I can do 70mph at around 1650rpm. One odd thing, I used to get a really annoying, head-ache inducing drone at 70mph which was around 2000rpm with the 4.11. But now when I tach to 2000rpm (which is much higher speed), the sound problem is minimal. I guess the engine is just loaded differently. It's very nice. I have not opened up the old 4.11 to see if there's any damage yet. Oh yes, and the wierd pull to the side problem is gone....

Everyone who said it was a suspension issue gets a cookie. The driver's side inner control arm bolt was loose. Well, that is to say, it was loose awhile ago, now it's just completely gone! Obviously my first check was not thorough enough. I guess I just assumed that since I had my toe adjuster that the problem would be around there and that's what I focussed on. SO, now I need to get a control arm bolt. Not exactly something you can pick up at HomeDepot. Does anyone have any ideas? I need the washer that goes with it too. BTW, I picked up the R200 from Mark - thanks again, Mark. It's in great shape. The gear oil looked brand new. It's a 3.54 and I'm gonna swap it in.

Oh crap, didn't even consider that. But actually, if the diff was okay and one stub was broken, wouldn't all the power go to the broken side and the car would not move at all? That's what happened to me after I Dukes of Hazzarded over a honkin RR crossing and busted a CV on my old Accord. Put it in gear, rev motor, no movement.

I'm definitely soaking up all the comments about this being a suspension issue - I hear you and I will definitely triple check everything. It's true I did some big mods to the susp. (to get it to align). But then I drove it problem free for about 1500 miles. This problem is new, so it would have to be something broken. However, the diff is definitely broken. Whether replacing/rebuilding it also cures this wierd behavior is certainly up for debate. It's to the point now where I'm worried the thing might lock up on a downshift (so I'm not doing that anymore ). I would rather not rebuild the diff myself, I'm just having a hard time locating a competent shop locally. Can't seem to find a book on R&P rebuild either.

I will definitely check and re-check the alignment again and also triple check all the various bolts and nuts. There are alot of them now with the adjuster. I've sort of been not-following Mark's "break it" advise. There's a nice big, zero traffic road by my office. If I downshift hard, the right wheel will actually skid. Accel thru a right hand turn leads to tire smoke. But a left hand turn will not (unless the throttle is pegged). And now of course the various bad diff noises are occurring more often in more situations. I spoke to someone else about the rusty 3.54 R200 I have who said not to worry about the rust. Can anyone corroborate that? Should I just soak it in light weight oil? This thing was in a car that sat in the woods for who knows how long. It was already rusty when I took it apart about 5 years ago. Ideally I would like to rebuild this one that's already out, so I can keep driving the car. Then I would just swap. Also, I think 3.54 would be a better gearset with the T56 and the torque of the LS1. Looks like it's about $100 worth of parts: # Axle Differential Bearing # Differential Pinion Bearing # Differential Pinion Seal # Differential Seal

See the summary of background on my car in the first line of the first post. I have a deGroot diffmount - no noise coming from there. That makes sense and lines up with the behavior I'm experiencing. The car goes left on hard accel, goes right on hard deccel. I wish I could locate a drivetrain/differential specialist in this area. Can anyone recommend a good book on the subject of rebuilding R&Ps? The more I think about it, I would much rather rebuild one of the diffs I have rather than take my chances on another used part.

It gets worse. For the past few months I've noticed a sharp popping noise when I back out of the driveway too fast. Didn't really think anything of it. Now I hear that same noise when I downshift. It doesn't do it on a mild, coastie downshift, but it definitely sounds broken on a good, slow-the-car-down downshift. Junkyard drivetrain plus big V8 - I suppose it was inevitable. I realize that the 2 things (deccel lurch and popping noise) may not be related, but I guess I need to look for a new diff either way. I had all these long term "when I get the big fat raise/bonus" type of ideas of doing an R230 plus Z32 shafts/CVs plus 280 stubs plus 5 lug conversion plus new disc setup, plus new wheels and tires to go with and then the flares to accomodate them dreams. Now I gotta track down a decent R200 to get me by.

By the way, Ross, you almost got an impulse buy from me today - the website defeated me. I was adding to my diff. thread and having to explain about the lame-ness of the stock ZXT CV swap (binding). Made me really want to not have to deal with the issue anymore. I clicked over to the site, added the adapters to the shopping cart, tried to figure out the wierdness of the shipping charge thingie ($21 add'l charge? - I'm sure it's some odd canada customs thing, but it is hard to understand) - then I just clicked on "checkout" figuring, WTF, I've been thinking about buying these since back when they were cheaper. Anyway, the check-out button just spits out thousands of PHP errors. Tried 2 different PCs, same results. It just continuously prints a never ending stream of errors like: Warning: feof(): supplied argument is not a valid stream resource in /home/virtual/modern-motorsports.com/webroot/htdocs/catalog/includes/classes/ups.php on line 137 Over and over and over again.....

It's not a caliper - both wheels turn with the same effort and there's no noise from a brake. My diagonal measurements were equal and the numbers from the alignment shop were all dead on. EDIT to add that the wheel bearings were replaced ~10K miles ago. Can't really hear any noises. Also, just to further clarify, when the car is in gear, jacked up, it's not like the wheels spin at different speeds. The driver's tire doesn't spin at all. If I floor it (which is a bit scary with the back of the car jacked up - worried it'll jump off the jack-stands and plow thru my garage wall), the driver's wheel will spin a little bit - pass. side is flying. Oh, and the ends of the A arms are jacked up a bit so the system can turn freely. I actually have the bindy zxt CV setup with the zxt flanges, so it makes the pass. side wheel catch a bit at full droop. I'll jack it up and look again, but I checked everything: front and rear diff mounts, spindle pin nuts, inner mounts and bushings, top isolators, everything was tight. Nothing looks broken. Can't move the wheels laterally at all. Also, and I don't mean to sound argumentative, but what would explain the specifics of this issue? If I slam on the brakes, I don't get this wierdness. This only happens briefly when I let off the gas. I don't necessarily have a good explanation behind my idea of what's happening - perhaps the driver's side pinion is binding slightly? That would make the system favor the pass. side. It does seem strange that it would introduce this much crooked behavior. I wish I had a lift....

Non LSD. Thrust angle (same as toe, no?) is zero. I measured it myself and then got it confirmed by an alignment shop. EDIT to add that the brakes are fine - they're discs, no adjustment. I can fill in more background. I used to have a misaligned rear susp. due apparently to a poorly bored spindle pin hole (which I've learned is a relatively common problem). The car, with this toe out situation, was actually okay in the dry, but impossible to drive when the roads were wet - the rear was all over the place. It also wore rear tires very quickly, even with the sad little L28. So, I went to great lengths to correct this problem by fabricating a rear toe adjuster and modifying one rear control arm. But the rear susp. is now dead 0*. Both tires are parallel and the diagonal measurements are identical. I'm totally at a loss to find any other explanation for this new problem. When I let off the gas, it really feels like it's trying to turn right. And I'm talking rear steer kind of turning. It's a very brief little jerk, butit's very disconcerting. In other words, it's not like I have to crank the wheel when I deccelerate, this only happens for a second as I let off the pedal. I doubt that others on the road can notice anything, but I can definitely feel it. It's pronounced when going at highway speeds. Much harded to discern below 40mph. I'm hunting around for R200 diffs right now. Hate to spend money and time and not bump up in performance (as in, LSD or R230). I just don't have enough money or time to do a car project just now....