technicalninja

Most open differentials will light up both tires if your initial application of torque far surpasses the two tires ability to transmit it to the pavement. Even a standard trans econobox will do it if you launch it as you described. Try launching it as fast as you can without wheelspin then add just a little more throttle. It will light only one and usually it will be the right rear (engine and driveline torque, often less weight on right side of car-no passenger) although exceptions to every rule always exsist.

I suggest that the music should be back ground and become silent during spots to emphasize burnouts, passes by tripples at 8K, etc... For the music I would use car themed songs My favorite is Rush/ Red Barchetta- has a sports car, civil disobediance, and a love of machinery that crosses generations.

The GR2s had 20 k miles on them and still had their gas charges. I couldn't believe the damage either but I saw it. I have been an automotive (Import vehicle) technician for 20, have installed many GR2s in many different brands and recommend them as a stock replacement for anything (have a set on my wife's minivan). Correctly installed I have yet to run into another bad GR2 much less a complete set. The missing heat transfer liquid killed this set. One of the selling points of the strut for my customers has been the lifetime warranty and I haven't had to replace any of the struts I have installed (a serious selling point for me- Don't have to eat 2nd strut job). This customer upgraded to Tokico blue and did not want to pursue getting the KYBs replaced. This is not a plug for KYB GR2 struts. For performance I prefer Tokico and Koni- GR2s are too soft Yes, I have removed inserts that were dry and did not have any obvious heat damage but I now wonder if they would have lasted longer with the oil bath. Most strut installation instructions recommend it. I agree and would not warranty a job if the customer requested them dry.

I have run into this isse many times and use this method Back off adjusters Apply a penetrating spray(use tube attachment to apply into holes that lugs come out of- Doesn't really matter which brand Strike the drum between wheel stud on outer face (like you were trying to hammer it further on to hub-This vibrates the bonding corrosion loose) Apply more spray Using a 2X4 scrap placed on the back side of the fins stricking outward from underneath car. Speading force over many of the fins keeps them for being damaged. None of your hammer strikes have to be very hard- Your wiggling the drum loose from the hub-not hammering it off! I'll work on the drum for maybe 10 minutes then go do something else for a while. Some times when I get back to the problem drum it has released on its own. Patients and persistance is the key.

Having oil in the strut tubes IS important. I have always just reused the original strut oil which came with the car. The type of fluid probably doesn't matter (atf- light engine oil-strut oil). Heat transfer and anti-rust properties are the important issues. I have wondered if this trick was truly important. During a suspension restoration on a 70 I ran into a set of KYB GR2 (normal gas replacements-the silver/grey ones) which had been installed in the car 8 years previously(by someone else) without the oil. The outer housings of the strut inserts had collapsed in the bottom 40 percent of their length. Fronts had most damage but all 4 were affected. Discoloration and damage was obviously heat related and almost unbelievable- Damaged area formed 1 inch wide troughs which dropped into strut 1/4 of the diameter, were between 1 and 4 inches long and limited compression depth. Car is a pampered original which is driven briskly on street but not raced. Car has never been abused and was using Nissan European rate stock springs at normal length. RossCs method is how I've always filled the struts. Use something as a heat transfer agent or replace struts more often. Wish I had taken pictures of them now.

The VG30 and L28 engine have vastly different attachment bolt patterns. Easier to find the correct transmission. You would have to make a bell housing adaptor and then have to modify the clutch to work with the adaptor. One exception to the rule (maybe?) is the T5 out of the 280ZX turbo and the T5 out of the 84-85 300ZX turbo. These transmissions have removable bell housings and as long as you had the correct bell housing for the block the trannys might work. Have not heard of anyone doing this but it might be possible.

Yes I was refering to the F54 L28 engine. This should have flat top pistons. If they are dished then you have a L28 turbo bottom end. I will post needed mods to put F/I on your car tonight (at home).

Length of rod has nothing to due with total swept volumn of engine(what we call displacement). The only factors which affect displacement are the size of the bore,length of the stroke(crank) and the number of cylinders. Using the longest rod possible in an engine has been proven time and time again to assist in making power(long rods good!) but they are not always necessary. If you are reusing pistons then the rod length is dependent on the pin height in the pistons. An area of concern is what is called the deck height of the piston (how far the piston sticks out or is below the top surface of the block). This can be the most critical parameter of the engine. If the pistons stick to far out of the block they could hit the head (just because you can turn it by hand doesn't mean you have proper clearance- rods streach at high RPM). If the pistons are to shallow the the squelch area is negated (you end up with a low compression motor which detonates like a high compression one.) Reusing the 280 rod and a stock pin height 280 piston will put the piston 2mm higher (1/2 the stroke of the LD crank) which equals .080 inch. the 2.0 mm HKS head gasket takes up some of this distance but the stock gasket is approx 1.2 mm thick thus 2.0 mm gain - .8 mm head gasket increase in thickness= 1.2 mm effective deck height increase. it would be like assembling a stock L28 and leaving the head gasket out! Pistons will hit the head without modification. You could have the tops of the pistons flycut or milled but now you have as much money in it as the KA pistons and you do not have the longer rods. Could be done but why? If you use the Z22s standard pistons with the 280 rods and the LD crank you end up with the pistons 1.2 mm lower in the bore than stock and the HKS 1.0 mm gasket and a N series head will put you at approx 8.4:1 This set up lowers the piston more than I like but will work with no modifications to the pistons. My information shows that to use the KA 24 pistons, the 240z rods, and the LD crank the KA 24 pistons have to be machined anyways. I am building a LD stroker but am using J&E custom pistons which negate the height issue. Hope this answers some of your questions.

You have a excellent set up with what you have. Mill the head (you will need to anyway to restore flatness). Have your machine shop mill the bottom of the head until it is flat (usually between .010 and .015) then mill the top what ever is necessary to equal .020 total off of the head. Then purchase cam tower shims (which are .020 thick(they will restore cam bore height) If your machine shop doesn't already know this trick take head to machine shop which does!. It is not necessary to take .080 off the head to get a strong engine. Milling this much is a common trick to increase compresion but has some drawbacks. Many folks will argue with me but your post sounded like simplicity was a required aspect. Milled .015 the engine will have between 9.0 to 9.2 comp ratio and will run on standard unleaded fuel. I prefer a different head casting but yours has some very desirable features- Good squelch area, liners in exhaust port which act as anti-reversion devices, round port headers fit better than square port headers, and most importantly you already own it!. Reuse the original pistons if possible. Stock piston to bore clearance is .0015 but I have reused pistons with as much as .006 clearance (block wears-not pistons) reboring is more expensive than finding a usable block and pistons. You may use a little oil but oil is cheap. I would use a header and 2.5 inch exhaust (Motorsports stuff is reasonable and easy to work with but it often does not fit as well as Motorsports advertises). I would trade the Webers for a set of early SUs- easy to work with and will support 200+ HP. The F/I is also good but much harder to swap over. If you have it, the 83 distributor is a good choice (HEI built on side of dist). This engine should not cost you a mint and will give good performance without being finicky or problematic. Before putting money into engine modifications I would change transmission to the 81-83 zx and the rear end to the 81-83 R200 3.9 (there was one in the car your engine came out of). This drivetrain in an early Z will give years of enjoyment and will accelerate far quicker than expected (much to the surprise of local Mustangs,Camaros,ect). It is also a good platform for further upgrades. It will accept nitrous and mild turbocharging easily. Compression can be taken above 10:1 with a simple head change. very user friendly-good luck.

That kit was sold by Bob Sharp in the late 70s. It originally came with a hood bulge (looks like a Vett), a front spoiler, and a 930 turbo style tail along with the four fender extensions(flares).Originally it was over 3k cost. I have a 72 that I am restoring which the previous owner purchased the entire kit from Sharp for. Do not have any pictures yet but will post them in the Body forum when I can

Some possibilities- Thrust bearings- when thrust bearings are worn out or damaged the endplay of the crank is to large (ie the crank can move in and out of the engine) and noise can be generated. This is easily checked by applying a pry bar behind the crank pully and forcing the pully outward then apply bar to front of pully (use sway bar as push point) and move pully back into engine. Acceptable thrust is .005 inch (which you cannot see). If you can see front pully move then thrust is an issue. The thrust bearings are located on the center main bearing and require major dissembly to repair. More likley is an issue with the clutch. Bad throw out bearing or incorrect pressure plate (maybe badly worn out pp) could also cause your symptoms. You need to purchase a automotive stethoscope to help diagnose your problem. These can be purchased at local automotive parts house (ie Pep Boys)and should cost 10-20 dollars. These look like a normal stethoscope with a long metal prob at the business end. you place probe on oil pan and bell housing while some one pushes in the clutch (car on jack stands,engine running,in nuetral). Where the noise is loudest is probably where you problem lives. Be careful with you new steth. It can magnify noises far better that you would expect and can damage your hearing if you make mistakes (do not allow probe to hit a moving part- ie moving fan belt-most painful) I am a betting man and I would put my money on a clutch issue but checking thrust is easy and cost no money- do thrust check first. If you have thrust issue the engine will be coming out of car and you will get to see clutch anyways. If a thrust issue exists and you don't catch it you will get to do a clutch job that was not necessary. Another minor diagnostic trick is to remove all V belts from engine and see if this changes or eliminates your noise. This is also free and eliminates all external possible noise makers on front of engine.

Cheapest bang for the buck is to find a usuable 81-83 NA 280ZX engine. Don't take it apart. Any time you break into a motor it cost mony and time. As many on this site will attest it will consume alot more money and time than you ever expected!. I believe you will have more fun with a running car for the first couple years and you will gain experience and knowledge which will be priceless when you do "build up" a killer engine. The stock 81-83 ZX motor has 9.0 to 1 compression ratio 2753 cc and other improvements over the L26. Keep the orginal block in a bag in your garage if you worry about having an original drive train but enjoy the dime a dozen flat top L28 in your car. The 5 speed which came in 81-83 ZX has many improvements as well. Do not pay much for these parts as entire cars are commonly available in the 200-500 dollar range. If you purchase the car (and it is a 5 spd) you will also gain a 3.9 ratio R200 for the back. I believe if a person were careful they could install a complete 81-83 drivetrain for less than it would cost in parts and machine work to bore the L26 top 280z bore (.120 inch) and reassemble the engine. The flat top (pistons) 280ZX block is the best starting point for a serious engine and will provide excellent performance as it is stock. Do not use 74 carbs as they will make you go insane. They can work but it takes a master who has many years of experience to get them adjusted properly. Use either the earlier round top SU clones of of 70-72 240ZS or the fuel injection from the ZX. The F/I will be much more difficult to swap over but may be worth it in long run. You can use the ZX exhaust maniflod but a round port header (to match the p79 head) will make the job easier. Swapping drivetrain 1-2 weekends using 72 carbs. Swapping F/I probably 1 month ( get real NISSAN! manuel if you are going to do this for the correct year 280ZX It will be expensive 70/80 bucks but worth it!) Swapping a engine/drivetrain is an excellent first project. Trying to modify an engine internally is far more complex and many "first time project cars" with fully dissembled engines are sold by disgruntled young owners for pennys on the dollars. Choose your battles wisely as it is more fun to drive a Z than work on it.

Supra diff is lsd and very strong,should handle any streetable smallblock. 944 is a complete transaxle were the differential would reside normally. It is attached to normal bell housing (bolted to rear of engine) with a telephone pole sized rigid tube running the entire length of the drive shaft. drive shaft always turns at same RPM as motor. This design makes sense from many engineering reasons but it is very difficult to service and the parts are priced as if they were made out of "unobtainium". Avoid this set up. Easiest LSD set up by far is 4/87-8/89 R200 300ZX Turbo. As strong as Supra diff and a bolt in any where a R200 lives now. I know they are rare and sometimes expensive but you will experience $500.00 worth of hassle trying to fit the Supra unit. Mounts,axles,angles, etc... Does anyone else remember which Porsche made famous the word "unobtanium"?

I am suprised no one has brought up valve guides. If the guides are worn oil will be pulled past the stem seals during high vacuum conditions (ie when you get off throttle during gear changes- due to large number of intake strokes at 6k rpm vacuum in intake can reach 27-28 inches for a moment). This issue is common on all engines. Did your machine shop replace the guides? In 20+ years of wrenching on Zs I have all ways had to replace at minimum all of the exhaust guides and 50% of time intakes also. when both the guides and seals are bad the engine will smoke badly at start up (worse in cold weather). Replacing just seals will usually cure cold start smoke for 10-15k miles but engine will still smoke during shifts and smoke will be more prevalent during high RPM shifts. Stem seals will wear out much quicker on bad guides. If guides are in perfect shape stems seals do very little to reduce oil consumption. Nearly all early chevy V8 engines had no seals (some had a useless O-ring which rode the valve stem itself). Hope this helps-good luck

See thread under drivetrain, I took one completely apart and it is not LSD or VLSD.

Tried search to no avail... What driveshaft will work for a 73 240z with the Borg-Warner T5 installed in it? Will the stock 82/83 ZX driveshaft work? Is a replacement front yoke available that would fit on a 240 shaft? Any hints or ideas would be appreciated.

I dissembled a M30 R200 today and although it is vastly different than a standard R200 open it is not LSD nor VLSD. The carrier is in multiple pieces as most LSDs and has 8 bolts that hold it together (not invloved with ring gear) but no clutch packs or VLSD unit was in it. I did take it all the way down (spider gears loose in my hand). When you look into the axle hole (with c.v. removed) you see a flat plate (not a rod as in earlier open diffs). It is also 1 inch longer (case) than any other R200 I've seen with an ABS sensor on the nose of the diff. The car was a 9/91 production date (listed as a 92). Maybe a 90 is different but I wouldn't purchase one untill I verifed it by dissembly. The axles came out normally but I had to use more force than I expected. It would require a custom drive shaft to install it in a S30 (early z). Buyer beware!

Another possibility is the cam shaft locater plate on back of cam. remove 3 6X 1.00 bolts on cover and check tightness of bolt which holds it to back of cam. I once repaired a v6 trunk that had been to 3 shops to get noise fixed (2 Nissan Dealers!). The noise was as you described, rattle on start up changing to a rythmic noise at idle. This is easy to check before you take car to shop. Keep us informed. Rick

Swap tires front to back and see if vibs change. It is possible to have belt delamination which seriously affects ride without showing on outside of tire. Also check front dif mount (pry up between dif and crossmember with large screwdriver-if you have prob it will move more than 1/8-1/4 inch). Good luck.

The stock T/C bushings and the aftermarket Al/Der kits all can be shimmed to increase caster. GM shims work fine to find out how thick a shim you need but I would not use them as a final solution (the shims are U shaped and will fall out sooner or later). Use the shims to get to the caster setting you want (place them between the shoulder of the T/C shaft and the first washer) then take T/C bushing apart and replace U shaped shims with a washer of the same thickness. Reducing caster can be accomplished by machining shoulder of T/C bar (difficult to do) or bushing itself.

Another possibility is the green foam that florists use for flower arrangements. It comes in fairly large blocks. I believe it is urethane based and accepts coatings better than most other foams. It's nicest feature is that it is easily carved with a knife (works better with warmed blade). I do not have a good source anymore for this foam but I would speak with your local florist who shouldn't mind revealing a wholesale source after you explain what your using it for. They might give you some for test purposes. This foam is dirt cheap! Plugs are also called bucks in the glass industry and destroying bucks (after mold has been taken) is one of the fun aspects of a glass project. Good Luck!