RebekahsZ

This method reminds me of the time my brother had a loose tooth. He tied a string to his tooth, then tied the other end of the string to a door knob. Then he asked his little brother (me) to slam the door really hard. Well, it didn't work, but it yanked him to the floor. He bled like a stuck hog and squeeled even louder before running to get mom and blame the whole thing on me! Tooth came out on its own a few days later and I'm still trying to get over that whippin'.

I'm having a hard time keeping this thread clean...that last one begs all kinds of replies.

I appreciate all the tips-I started this thread to help "the next guy" who has similar trouble. Keep the tips coming!

Yeah, I kept getting my thong stuck on my belly button ring.

It is a PITA trying to get the stock outer LCA bushings out to replace them with poly. On my next car I will leave them stock-so totally not worth it. If you do remove them, burn the rubber part out with a torch, then carefully cut out the outer metal casings with a hacksaw. Do not try to press them out-I ruined a set of LCAs trying to press out the bushings.

Looks great-nice work.

Dual fans wired. Set up is for one fan to blow when the low-speed ECU wire is grounded, then when the temp gets high enough, the high-speed wire will ground and turn the second fan on too. Going out to garage now to finish fuel pump wiring. Hope to pick engine wiring harness and PCM from repair shop this Thursday. Have bought LSD R200, R200 mustache bar, have Z31 CV axles: on M2 buying group for shortened shafts and companion flanges. Modern motorsports adjustable rear LCAs have arrived. Will delay further rear suspension and differential work until motor swap is finished.

I've seen a few threads discussing the difficulty of removing the snap-in type R200 axles. After working for about an hour with screw drivers and a pry bar trying (and failing) to pry out the axles, I then tried the tug-of-war method with both feet on the diff trying to use the outer CV as a slide hammer. That didn't work either and I probably won't be able to walk tomorrow. Finally, I took the cover off the diff and drove a large, tapered flat-tip screwdriver between the internal end of the axle an the spider gear cross shaft. The axle popped right out!! The smart guys can chime in to state whether I hurt anything, but this method worked great. Wish I'd tried it from the beginning.

Found ratio stamped on ring gear. It is 39:11, so it is a 3.54. As you suggested, I spent a little time with a body hammer on the CV axle end cap: got it straight enough to stay in, although it is not as tight as the other side. Boy, was it a chore getting the CV axles out of the diff (I'll be sore tomorrow). After failing with pry bars and a tug-of-war, wound up taking the cover off the diff and using a screwdrive to pry between the end of the axle and the cross shaft-that worked great. The great news is that I bought a LSD R200 from screen name CobraMatt in Atlanta. A friend picked it up over the weekend and it is beautiful. I now have a R200 mustache bar from screen name JSM. I bought a set of 27-spline axle flanges from screen name redleg so that I have the option of running my Wolf Creek CV axles while waiting for the M2 shortened axles shafts and companion flanges to get finished up. Making progress. Thanks to everybody for the help/advice. Keith

Problem resolved. Unable to find a replacement, so I carefully took a body hammer to the bent end-cap. Restored cap to original shape - the metal was just stretched really bad. It fits a little loose, but I think it is going to work. Now waiting on some M2 shortened axle shafts. Thanks to everybody who helped me.

Anybody got a favorite heat wrap/cover system for an LS starter (I'm serious)? We are gonnat be heating some things up in addition to our tires. Looks great!

Has anybody intalled a shift light that is compatible with the stock speedommeter? Keith

How do you keep these carbon fiber hoods from becoming hazy?

Just found 2008 thread on VSS to Cable - X connections. It seems that it is the high-speed trans VSS wire that I need to jump a wire from for the Cable-X. Thanks to the admins for keeping the archives and searcch function working. Thanks to mnoel for the info. Only remaining question is: where will I find a good source for volts when the key is in the accessory postion?

Sunny-I have 225/250 rate springs on my coilover kit. I love them: rides great, corners great. They are the only springs I have had except stock, so I can't do a comparison like the others can. Most of the cracks in my unibody occurred when I was running cut stock springs. The rear was bottoming all the time. I had trouble with coil bind with the "progressive" springs that ground control included with my kit-the car hammered away like it did with the cut stock springs. Stay away from progressive springs-it is just a gimmick. Non-progressive springs cured all my ills. GC swapped them for free. If you decide to sell your 240z coilover kit to buy a 280-based kit, let me know, I have a buddy who might want it. Keith PS-lets race to see who can get his LS swap on the road fastest!

The axles I got had one end cap removed, but at least it was present. However, it is not flat like the other one. It looks sprung, kind of like a sock turned inside out? I tried to get another one from sources on the forum, but the only one I found is for some other axle. I am about to take a rubber mallet to this end cap to see if it can be straightened out. Any suggestions? Pictures show both installed cap and the one that was removed. The next two pics show how it is turned "inside-out." The final pic shows a normal cap.

Wiring harness and PCM are in the hands of a new (local-2 hours each way) LS tuner-didn't know he was here until I had breakfast with the local Cobra club. When this is done, I don't want to every hold a set of wire strippers in my hands again! Cable called me from California and he gave me a lot of advice. Wiring for fans is all done and they work great. Reused GTO wiring harness from the fans to the relay. Looks great, should quick disconnect well. Gotta get some more heat-shrink to finish fuel pump wiring, but I know exactly what needs to be done. We will see what the local tuner comes up with. Got a Longacre toe gauge from Summit-car pushes a lot easier without an inch of toe in. Rebekah gave me a hand. It is a race to see which happens first: car running, or the arrival of long-tube headers. Still PLENTY to do. After fuel pump is oil pressure gauge wire and to put a connector on the back-up lights switch on the tranny. Have a friend picking up an R200 LSD for me in Atlanta on Saturday. Mustache bar and flanges on the way from Florida. New rear LCAs should be here this week. Thanks to everybody for the help and encouragement.

Mike, thanks for weighing in, and welcome home. I had a week off, so I went a little psycho trying to get a lot done. The VSS on the tailshaft of the transmission has 2 wires; I gotta figure out which one to hook to the Cable X. Do I just cap-off the Speed sensor wire from the PCM? More to follow-let me let you get your bags unpacked. Then I really want to squeeze your brain. Fans are all wired up and work correctly. Keith

Beautiful car.

OK- I'm down to the following wires that I don't have a plan for: Accessory voltage wire-where to pick up accessory volts? Should this be fused? Starter relay control-I don't know which starter relay this refers to. Engine control relay control-I don't know what this refers to. VSS-which wire do I jumper off of for the Cable-X box? Stock fans, which wire is positive volts, which is ground? Thanks, Keith

Like the carnage thread, we should have an "I screwed up" thread. I burned up my $400 modified LS2 engine wiring harness yesterday. It was all my fault, just a stupid, careless mistake. Then there was the time that I went off the road backwards on a test drive after puting in a new differential.... My dad had a VW motor burn up right after he rebuilt it - he forgot to put an oil pump in it, and my dad was the smartest guy I've ever known. Sorry about your trouble, I don't know what to recommend.

Thanks, guys. I'm picking up little snippets of info from different sources and am making progress on my body of knowledge. Really anxious for mnoel to weigh in-he knows his stuff. Cable called me and gave me some encouragement and cleared a few things up. No replies to messages on LS1tech and LS2tech. Have been busying myself with the fan and fuel pump relays. Did a rough front end alignment to make car easier to push around. Rebekah helped me! She got her Princeton application done yesterday, big load off the household. Tomorrow is Rebekah's birthday-18! riscard-if you have the skills to do all this stuff, consider specializing in Z-car LS conversions. Publish a manual and make a few bucks. It is crazy that we each have to reinvent the wheel on the wiring aspect of these swaps. I'm gonna try to share everything I learn. I was a platoon leader in an AVIM - a lieutenant when I was in the Army (7th ID and 82d ABN), so I was the least proficient guy in the platoon-but i was in charge-crazy. I hated that climate, but my guys rocked. Keith

I don't disagree with the post above. Any wheel and tire combo will fit if the car's ride height keeps the tire out of the fender-just don't hit any bumps. My advice only applies if you will have a car is lowered or it you want the tire to clear everything at full suspension compression. My advice also only applies if you have tires that are sized normally for your rim. You can probably go wider than I recommend on the rim if you stretch rubber bands onto the rim, but you will have no tire to protect your rim in the case of a pothole, low tire, flat or curb rub. If you are just trying to get a tuner/ratsun "look" for your car, ignore anything I tell you and follow your heart. I nailed a deep pothole that was in shadow last night - it would have had a stretched tire waiting on a tow truck. I just stopped to make sure everything was ok, then I kept on driving.

I need you to start a harness company-waitforme has gone on strike on me: not returning phone calls, emails, etc for the past several months. After talking to other forum members, there are now better companies to work with that provide a more complete conversion package with relays and fuse blocks already installed. I shouldn't have used them and I have gotten apologies from the guys who recommended them to me-I'm not the only customer of theirs having quality and service problems. We'll figure it out. I already have the diagrams, I'm just not smart enough to read them. Also, the diagrams don't really tell me the ECM logic, to know what info goes into what and how it is processed. Best I can tell from PMs and telephone calls: the LS2 harness I have can be used on a manual or auto trans. I very specifically told wait4me what I needed removed and what my application is, but it seems they overlooked my letter. Live and learn, and learn some more. I ain't giving up! Gonna post my issues on LS1 tech tomorrow. KT

The add I saw on the forum for brake lines showed a picture that had the proportion valve on the firewall. On my 72 Z-car, the proportion valve is on the floorpan under the rear axle. So, it looks to me like those lines are for a late 260 or a 280z, but I can't be positive. After my experience, I'd say $50 is a pretty good gamble (that is cheaper than a spool of tubing and a flaring tool), even if you lose your money and come up with nothing. It is just that if you are trying to have your lines go thru the stock looms, it is pretty hard to get the bends right-you will definitely need to bend the same line several times and do a fair amount of cussing, not that there is anything wrong with that! I used a cheap flaring tool from the parts store. One broke, but I got the entire car's lines (fuel and brake) before the second flaring tool broke (it still hasn't). Go to youtube and watch several videos on double-flaring brake lines (there are some good ones), practice on some scrap, and you'll be a pro in no time. Mount your flaring tool in a vice before flaring. Expect to have to re-flare the first few lines you make. On your question of brake line diameter. See the post above this one, he is correct. It is simple engineering physics: you want the line as SMALL as practicable, not bigger. Force=Mass X Area. You want the cross sectional area of the line as mall as possible, or you will have to push harder and farther on the pedal. Plus, bending small tubing without kinking is easy. It was very hard to put tight bends in my 3/8" fuel line without kinking it. In fact, I left one substantial kink in my fuel line because I had already made the dam_ line 3 times and I'd had it. There is no performance to be gained by modifying the brake lines-stock is best.