Dat73z

Alright so with the transmission in neutral and my housemate fully depressing the clutch the engine is completely locked up. Going to pull the transmission tonight and see what the heck is going on! Will report back with results. I checked for rotation every step of the way since I was mixing and matching parts EXCEPT right before I bolted my header and manifold on . Got too excited. If anyone has anymore thoughts please chime in, really appreciate it.

Ah, that makes sense. My housemate just got home so I'm going to have her hop in the car and depress the clutch pedal while I attempt to turn the engine. Will report back here shortly. In my previous post I used my cell phone video to record the clutch slave moving the clutch fork fully thus depressing the pressure plate. Have not attempted to spin the motor yet with the transmission in neutral and someone depressing the clutch.

So I need to pull my header to remove my transmission. I have not run the engine with this gasket and I liberally slathered the gasket with anti-seize. Anyone think I have a shot as re-using the gasket or should I just bite the bullet and order another?

Did not even need to slide prop shaft in, transmission output shaft rotates freely in neutral between my fingers. Removed starter, flywheel visible still no dice, engine stuck. So I suppose this leaves me with pull the transmission and inspect?

So was not the clutch slave bolts. Also filled and bled the clutch system, and set up my phone to record. Clutch fork movement is superb, no binding and functioning as intended. Pedal feels great, a little more effort than the factory 240z, but everything in the car was leaking before. Engine still won't turn. Going to slide in the prop shaft and attempt to rotate trans in neutral then onto starter. Will report back with results. Thanks for the help guys.

Thanks NewZed, I'm going to give that a shot later today to see if I can narrow this down. I'm pretty sure I used the OEM 240z or 280zx slave cylinder bolts based on the picture above, but I recall recently reading about that potential issue as well.

Hi guys, Looking for advice to turn my motor over which doesn't want to turn by hand with the spark plugs out. Also some pictures to detail some of the steps which I took in case I second guessed something. Everything torqued to FSM spec with Snap On digital torque wrench. So here is the short of the long in basic sequence of events over the last couple of weeks: Engine side (L24 Block) 1) Installed new rear main seal + front main seal + timing cover gaskets - motor turns over fine 2) Installed AZC oil pan + felpro cork/rubber gasket - motor turns over fine 3) Installed 240mm chromoly flywheel + new OEM 2+2/turbo bolts (these are thinner than stock 240) + pilot bushing - motor turns over fine 4) Installed 240mm clutch + PP (9 bolt) - motor turns over fine 5) Torqued everything down to FSM spec + blue loctite including crank pulley bolt since I could lock the flywheel at this point easily - motor turns over fine Transmission side (280zx 5 Speed) 6) Installed all new gaskets and seals - transmission rotates fine 7) Installed short turbo throwout bearing collar and new bearing + clutch arm onto transmission - transmission rotates fine Assembly 8) Installed transmission onto motor along with new 280zx starter and clutch master + slave cylinders. Clutch system is bone dry right now. Did not need to force the transmission on, just lined up the splines to slip on then torque down. After (8) engine does not want to rotate by hand in neutral from the crank pulley bolt and did not want to force it with a breaker bar so left it at that. Am I missing anything here? I should also mention that when I had the front timing cover off I'm pretty sure that I did not bump anything out of alignment in the process. I'm thinking I should pull the transmission and backtrack, but literally just got the header + intake on there and clearances are pretty tight. Have installed many a clutch, transmission, etc. over the years but have never had this issue. Thanks in advance guys, just trying to backtrack and figure out what could be causing the no turn Edit: A couple of last thoughts and points: 1) Both engine and transmission are bone dry right now and has been for a couple of months. Motor was not burning anything. Was running but water pump blew up and every seal on the motor was leaking along with 4 speed going out. Clutch was soaked from both ends due to rear main and transmission seal failures - refresh time. Last time I turned the motor by hand was 3 or 4 weeks ago? I shot some penetrating fluid down each cylinder a day ago when I discovered this (was trying to set motor to TDC to adjust valves). 2) Should I fill the clutch system with fluid and try pumping the clutch a couple of times to see if anything frees up? No idea, just trying to avoid pulling everything apart again. I'm running out of beer and patience.

Thanks, was just about to pull the gasket and thought to check this thread once more. Probably saved me from a headache a couple of miles down the road.

Thanks! So basically I need to pull the gasket and reverse it. Good to know and hopefully this will help others in the future. I've seen a lot of conflicting information about this out there.

Hi, Does anyone know the correct orientation for the intake / exhaust gasket with metal backing? I searched online and found some pictures which show this gasket installed with the metal backing either way. In speaking to some Z people it sounded like the metal backing needed to go towards the header so that is how I've currently installed it. My repair manual does not detail this and the MSA exhaust gasket looks a lot different than the one I'm using (Harada / Kameari). I've attached a picture detailing how I've put the gasket on for now. Check out the area by the header for the metal backing. Can anyone confirm if this is correct / incorrect? Thanks!

Maybe a double post but meant to say the bracketry for the heim joints. Sorry it's a bit late, haven't figured out how to edit posts, and was impressed by the setup!

Great information here. I used to run a lot of FEA a couple of years back (solidworks, catia, etc.). Just out of curiosity since it's hard to make out in the pics above with the white on white and exposure...but how are the joints mounted above? Are they welded on? Do you have any better pictures? I see the hood latch is gone. Thanks!

Hi all, Does anyone have a good source for replacement brake booster vacuum hose with similar or factory bends/routing? The car is a really late 73' 240z and so far as I can tell the booster looks to be the larger 260/280 unit. I've replaced all of the other hoses in my engine bay with OEM (newer non-fiber wrapped) and trying to find these last 2 lines between the manifold and check valve + check valve to booster is driving me inZane. Thanks in advance!

Agreed- for a dedicated track tool there are better options out there which would be better suited for increased torsional rigidity (ex: that awesome z above). For a truly bolt on option and bling factor though, it's hard to complain!

Can confirm T3 triangulation bar fit with Cusco bar- here is a picture I took yesterday of a fellow Z enthusiasts' engine bay. Looks great!