super74

It's good to know that others have gotten through this process and have had decent results. Now that I know the tool issue isn't insurmountable, I feel better about diving into this project. The funny thing is, the previous owner cut the driveshaft about an inch behind the front universal joint in order to remove the transmission in the first place. This left an intact "anchor" (a driveshaft yoke) right in front of my eyes and it never dawned on me. I wouldn't have thought the yoke to be tough enough to take a bar through it (I figured it would deform from the twisting force when loosening the mainshaft nut) but I guess you learn something new every day.

Thanks to everyone for responding. All those techniques are just what I need. It just so happens I was poking around on atlanticz.ca yesterday and went into a section of the tech tips that I hadn't looked in before: transmission. There, I ran into the tip about the long pry bar through the driveshaft yoke. I was going to post it here as a follow up so that anyone searching in the future could find it more quickly, but now that it has been mentioned by people other than myself, it's here for the ages. Thanks again. It's time to start wrenching.

Hello, everyone: I've been searching the forums regarding manual transmission rebuilds for a couple of weeks now, and I've come up with a lot of good information, but there's one piece of the "puzzle" missing: how does one get around the "special tools" problem?? I am referring to an early 5-speed (fs5w71b), and I know that bearing pullers/separators and hydraulic presses can be obtained fairly easily, but what about a holding fixture?? In all the really terrific write-ups I've seen here and on other sites, no one refers to or even alludes to how the heck you hold the main and countershafts stationary while trying to shear the bolts loose (120+ and 80+ ft./lbs. of torque each). Can they be reused, even though the factory manual (I think) states to replace them?? Not to mention, how do you retorque them once the parts replacement is done?? I'm assuming that it is possible to engage two gears at once and effectively "lock" the transmission in place while it's apart, which might make the loosening/tightening possible, but that might be a recipe for disaster if something slipped or broke. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated, as I'll be going down this road very soon. Thanks in advance.

Thanks to both of you for the responses. I think I answered my own question late yesterday evening. The bends in the hollow parts of the spray bar probably wouldn't ever cause any serious problems, but I thought of something else that would...bends in the mounting plates. When I got home yesterday, I checked to see if the bends might cause the mounting tabs not to "seat" against the cam towers and the small oil jets that feed the bar. Sure enough, the rearmost mounting tab won't engage the oil hole in the cam tower, which would have starved the lobes for cylinder #6 of oil. I wish I'd removed it from the packaging when I initially got it. I would've seen it and returned it, but now, that's not possible. I like leaving the anti-corrosion paper in place on parts like these. All things considered, it's far better to figure this out now than lose the engine after all the work. I guess the lesson learned is to always check these things right after purchase no matter what. Thanks to Theghosttanker and ezzzzzzz for the input. The old bar is actually in good shape and has cleaned up really well.

Hello all: I searched, but nothing I found answers the question I have, so here goes. I'm just putting the finishing touches on my rebuild project. I opened the new spray bar I got several months ago to find that it is slightly bent. When I install it, it bolts right up, but the two end sections (for the lobes on cylinders 1 & 6) bend slightly: one inward (6) and one outward 1. The oil jets for their respective lobes are only slightly off-center and since they're so close to the lobes anyway, I'm not sure if I should get another one or use the old one. My questions are: (1) has anyone ever run into a QC issue like this with a new Nissan part?? I haven't. (2) Will this compromise the spray bar's ability to do its job (oil the lobes)?? I'm near the end of this project and I want to get it running, but I don't want to destroy all of my hard work. Last but not least, (3) Am I better off using a "used" (the one that came with the head) spray bar that is dead-on straight even if there is no way to tell if there is any accumulated sludge inside of it that could plug an oil jet?? Any information would be greatly appreciated, as always. Thanks in advance to all who respond.

The part number was actually my next question...clearly, you're a mindreader!! I better snag one before they vanish.

Good afternoon, all: I did the search....but it didn't produce the results I needed so here goes. Most here know the rule about the reuse of rocker arms when changing cams...but what about the pivot studs?? I got a set of generally good rocker arms resurfaced recently, but now that I have them back from the cam grinder, I have no way of knowing which rocker arm was matched with which pivot stud. Is it OK to reuse reconditioned rocker arms on mismatched pivot studs, or is this asking for a disaster?? All the old pivot studs are "shiny," of course, but are in surprisingly good shape, and I really would rather not buy new studs if I can avoid it. Adding to this, I've already taken the wipe pattern with the resurfaced arms and gotten the proper thickness lash pads, so there would be additional time involved along with money if I cannot go with the old hardware. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to all who respond.

Thanks, zedsn: The issue of parts "disappearing" from stockpiles is the sad reality for all of us. That's something that I hadn't actually considered in this case, so your tip is very timely. Also of general interest is that I have found in the past that prices will often show up on dealer computers for parts that no longer are available, and only until a request from the dealer comes to a warehouse for a non-existent (no longer available part) part does the inquiry reveal the situation. Of course, that just multiplies the disappointment, as up until the time the "word" comes in, the customer is under the impression that he/she "dodged a bullet" and found remaining stock. I wish Nissan (or at least my local dealer) would fix that. Anyway, thanks very much for the tip. It looks like I'm headed to my local dealer to buy one of the last few.

Thanks for the information. I actually got the thermostat housing (brand new) from an earlier car ('71 or '72 I believe) and it doesn't even have the threaded hole for the temp. switch, anyway, so I was planning to run without the switch altogether. That was another thing I was curious about, coincidentally, so you actually answered two of my questions!! I know that switch sends temp. information to the emissions control system also (I believe to run the EGR system), so I was wondering if that might cause any issues after warm-up, but I doubted it would....it just helps to have someone who has "blazed the trail" before me confirm my suspicions. I probably will do exactly what you're doing now, as that represents the easiest option in the short term. Sounds good. Thanks again.

Thanks very much for your response. I've heard that this conversion has worked well for the 240Z owners. I guess the '74's require a little more "homework."

Hello, Everyone: I did a search, but I guess having an "oddball" has its disadvantages. For those that don't know, the '74 automatic uses a rather unique dual magnetic pick-up distributor which allows for "advanced" timing when the engine is warming up and "retarded" timing when at operating temperature. I have attempted to run a manual distributor using an MSD 6A and its magnetic pick-up (purple and green wires) system, but the car only ran once and died (engine worn). LSS, I don't know if the car never ran again because I did something incorrectly or if the worn engine (timing set) was the cause of the vehicle never restarting until after the repair. Does anyone know how to reliably bypass the stock ignition module?? The one I refer to is the one mounted in the passenger footwell in the car. Does anyone have experience a Mallory Unilite/Stock Manual Distributor/MSD box using this configuration as your "starting point?" When the engine goes back in the car this time (after its current rebuild), I won't be running the thermal relay or temp. switch, so the module may never get the information necessary to trigger the "retarded" pick-up. Sorry for the rambling, but there's a lot of background information here to cover in order to get the most accurate responses. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

I have the Craftsman thread chaser kit and it contains many useful sizes, both metric and SAE. I must say that I did accidentally break the M8X1.25 chaser, as they are not nearly as hard or tough as the fasteners that you'd put in the holes. It happened so quickly that I didn't even realize what was going on. Luckily, I was able to replace that one with an ARP chasing tap of the same size. It is much harder than the Craftsman ones, and more closely resembles the taps of the traditional "cutting" variety that are sold so many places. All things considered, the Craftsman kit is pretty good, just be mindful of resistance you encounter when cleaning, and stop the tap if it becomes tough to turn, then clean the hole with a small brush if possible before proceeding. One thing to remember about running taps through existing holes to clean the threads is not to use a cutting tap if it is possible to get the "cleaning" (chasing) variety. The cleaning tap is basically a fastener with vertical flutes cut into its shank that provide room for the dirt and junk that you're pulling out. Cutting taps are so hard and sharp that it's possible to damage the threads you're trying to clean. Just my $.02. Good luck.

Those are great ideas. I think the mistake I made when I had originally asked the question was mixing up the inlet and the outlet on the smog pump. It appears as though, at a glance, that the outlet (to the exhaust manifold and anti-backfire valve) is larger than the inlet. The end caps for bar stool legs really is a great idea, though. I should've considered that when I was originally brainstorming. Thanks for your response.

I've got to check the size on that barb, but you may very well be right. Finding the "larger" sizes can be a hit-and-miss proposition at some of the parts stores, as often the staff doesn't keep close tabs on low inventory, but I'll definitely check it out. Thanks for your response.

I've searched....but haven't gotten the information I need. I was wondering if there is any way to properly cap off unused smog pump inlet barb (back of the air cleaner housing/'70-'72 SU stock intake) if one were running the carburetors...but not the smog pump. There aren't any vacuum or "heater hose bypass" caps that are large enough to cover the hole, that I know of. The only other option I see is to size the barb and hope that K&N makes a crankcase vent filter with the correct sized opening, and just run it like a second tiny air cleaner. Otherwise, I may be forced to run aftermarket filter housings. Certainly not the end of the world, but I'd like to avoid this if possible. Sorry if this has been covered somewhere before (it might have been), but so far I've had no luck finding an answer. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.