pete280z

I can't speak from experience yet, but I just picked up a combo unit from Wilwood to replace both the distribution block and the proportioning valve. Part number is 260-11179. More info here. I'm planning to run all new lines, so this just made sense.

I agree with everyone else - I'm very glad I got in on this. My best guess is that one of the axles got loose in my box and bounced around in transit. Any issues are cosmetic, and easy to fix. Where have you guys found your Explorer 8.8s? My usual Pick-n-pull yard hasn't had any Explorers lately, and the prices on eBay seem a little steep (probably in no small part due to shipping).

Payment sent! For anyone else staying 4 lug, I can confirm that the SKF hubs are drilled on a single pattern. So we should be able to get those redrilled. I got these from Amazon. They're priced similarly to Timken.

Thanks!

Could be different stud size, could even be different circle. Didn't check because it doesn't matter, either way I can't use them. They're on their way back to RockAuto.

D'oh! You're right, it would just be two. These will be going back for sure. It sounds like ValuePro (the cheap RockAuto option) will work. I was using the photos on RockAuto as reference. The ValuePro had 10 holes but Moog and Timken were both 5. In hindsight they're probably using generic images for several part numbers.

For those of you that have already purchased hubs, what brand did you purchase, and how many holes were drilled on the flange? I'm staying 4-lug and looking for good hubs to have redrilled. I just received a set of Timken hubs and they already have 10 holes drilled. Adding 3 more for the 4x4.5 pattern does not sound like a good plan.

Thanks for the hard work Will! Taking 0.040 out of the 0.250 hat face seems like a lot (but I'm no ME). I'm assuming there's not enough material on the caliper mounts to cut them? I checked with Coleman, and we're looking at $273 a piece for custom hats. It's significantly more than the off-the-shelf Wilwood stuff, but not necessarily a deal breaker. I still need to check with Wilwood to see if they'll sell me something like 170-10040 drilled for 4x4.50.

I'm good with checking out the Coleman option if Will can help out with the details they need on the spec sheet. So long as the price is within a small-ish multiplier of the Wilwood units that makes a lot of sense.

PM sent. This is awesome!

Tring to get the Z project going again. It's been sitting for about 5 years. I suffer from too many projects... Sounds like DarthZ and I have that in common.

AZC does mention that the outboard edge of the LCA may need to be trimmed for clearance, though you need to read the instructions carefully to catch it: http://www.arizonazcar.com/frontz4luginstall.html (I skimmed the instructions and missed it until everything was installed and I ran the suspension up and down to check clearances.)

I would be very interested in this if I could make it work with 5 bolt axles. I've still got that 30 spline Nismo Z32 LSD laying around and would like to put it to use. Now off to find my notes from back then...

Yeah, Cowtown got a little boring after co-hosting the ZCCA national convention. I'll take responsibility for some of that since I was an officer (and had mostly inoperable Zs) during those years. But if you still have that opinion after the last couple of years I think the issue may have more to do with our ability to get the word out. Cowtown has hosted track days, dyno days, tech sessions and cruises in the last couple of years. I think a show-n-shine or two as well. The folks on the mailing list have coordinated informal meet-ups at the drag strip from time to time. More importantly, this gang has big plans for this summer, so stay tuned. If you've got ideas for other sorts of events, we're all ears. Especially if those ideas come along with the time or resources you can commit to help make them happen!

I guess it is a little depressing. Definitely not my school's brightest moment. The boy is doing great. Not quite grown up but he's walking and talking these days. Hopefully I'll be able to check out your car in person before too long. I think Cowtown Z has some pretty big plans for this summer. From what I've see here it's come a long way from that pile of backyard pool parts that you started with.

Some universities can be very resourceful when chasing down revenues like this. Years ago I was attending Texas A&M when a friend from out of town (non-student) got a parking ticket on campus. She blew it off because it was a university ticket and she figured they had no way to collect. She died in an accident a few months later. Three years after that her sister enrolls and starts taking classes. She found a charge for her dead sister's parking ticket on her fee statement for her second semester. We could only guess that they ran the vehicle registrations on both and found the same permanent address.

From what I've read I think that it's likely that at least you'll be able to assemble it that way. Putting the pieces together from various posts, the spline count on the pathfinder axle and the z31 cvs should be the same. I've been meaning to buy a set of z32 axles to disassemble see what works, but don't have enough parts on hand to experiment.

I don't have a solution for you, but maybe some more information to help clear things up. afaik there are no Q45 R200 shafts with 5 bolt CVs. It may be possible to also swap the companion flanges from the Q45 diff to the z32 R200, but I'm not positive. Most of the conversions I've seen replace the 4 bolt flange on the wheel side with a 6 bolt version that matches the Q45 CV.

Go to the funeral. I was in your situation when I was in school and chose to stay for exams. It was the wrong decision and I still regret it. Stop thinking and start making your travel arrangements.

Scott, Savage42 made a run of those braces a while back. I don't think he's making any more of them but you should be able to find the thread with info. I think that thread even has detailed drawings with dimensions if you want to have your own made.

Gotcha, thanks

First off, great job transitioning to the new forum software. I know how much effort it takes to make a platform switch like this one appear effortless. Quick question: is there a time frame on the global upload quota? On the "Attachments" section of the new post form I see a message that says: Used 491.92K of your 500K global upload quota (Max. single file size: 8.08K) The used number started out at 200K or so the first time I saw it. Is this an overall limit or will it reset after a period of time?

Let the Wookie win.

That was awesome. Anyone else have to go back and make sure they heard "John Steinbeck" and "Joseph Conrad" in there?

I'd give Jerry a call at All Z Car in Fort Worth. http://allzcar.com/