RebekahsZ

Spent the last two days replacing the steering rack. ZCC/JDM tie rods aren't in stock so I kept my OEM stuff. Got to use my Longacre toe plates and used my neighbors storm shelter/oil change pit to get the toe set approximately to zero. Found a weld in my cage I don't like the looks of so I'm headed to the cage guy tomorrow to have him go over that one weld again. Have passenger seat out and hoping to be priming the cage tomorrow before the sun goes down. I think I found the source of my difficult starting-either a bad battery or a bad alternator. Sure hope its the battery. Stuck a trickle charger on it and will have them both checked on the way home tomorrow. My buddy found a set of used drag radials for $100 so I'm getting closer to having my rolling stock on hand. Starting to wonder of my wheel studs are going to pass tech at ECTA. Those guys are pretty clear about their lug nuts and even with the extended studs, if you combine Draglites and spacers, my studs still look too short. I don't know if an inspector will recognize that Weld lug nuts are threaded all the way through. Will look at some Vision wheels to see if they have something that will work. Resolved to leave car home for ECTA in a couple weeks, but still going as a spectator.

I just replaced my steering rack from under my LS motor's crank pulley. It was tight but do-able. You do have to consider future maintenance on these motor swaps or you will want to blow your brains out later. Cleaning the underside and keeping it clean helps with the frustration factor.

Come clean my garage! I can't find a single counter top.

Looks like he/she/it used shock inserts that were too long and redneck engineered a way to make them fit. Depending on which side of it you are on, it is either brilliant or criminal. If you plan to keep this car very long, I would start looking for new tubes. Look on the bright side: good excuse to get some pre-made sectioned coilovers. It's gonna be lots of work, but you can turn lemons into lemonade!

A single, clean spot weld isn't a bad idea.

I love it, I just can't afford it and wouldn't want to keep it clean! In my hands it would be dirty and corroded in a short time. But I DO love it.

Tell us about your brakes and what happened in more detail. It took smoking mine to make a believer.

Matt, I'm going to work on getting a room for Mike-will you need one too, or will you just commute from Marrietta?

There's about 3 feet of tubing between the filter and the throttle body with three or four 90-degree bends. That's a pretty good water trap before the throttle body. You're good-go for it.

Ouch, I had to put on my sunglasses! A little warning next time!

On the growing to-do list is some pre-radiator-support radiator shrouding/frontal area block off that will create some protection of my air filter from rain drops but will preserve the "cold air" effect of being forward of the radiator support. Will get to it sometime in the next two winters.

I understand. Ill go look for your timeslip.

I had the same concerns. The hood covers it pretty well. Mine is the same and it has been fine. Have raced on days with 4" of standing water on the track and rain so hard I couldn't see the cones. Car ran great. No traction but plenty of power. K&n would have us oil their filters but I never do because I don't want the mess.

After you post some time slips. Why the mileage gears?

Thanks. I got the expensive rebuilt one and I'm gonna install it. I did find a forum member who can cut apart an inner tie rod, adjust out the wear, then weld it back together should all inner tie rods become unavailable. EDIT: I only started this thread to bring folks up to date on current new/rebuilt availability. I have a couple of other threads related to my current repair.

3.70...are you geared for 1/4-mile or 1/8-mile? I think you run 255/60/15s? What's your final drive ratio in the tranny?

We want pics of that diff setup!!!! What a great looking chassis to start with. I'm very jealous.

My 240z steering rack is shot. I found a rebuilt for a 280z on RockAuto.com that includes inner tie rods. Total cost is $205 with a 27$ core return available bringing total to about 180. Finally found a 240z rack (I hope) at DatsunpartsLLC.com (his last one) for $245 with a core charge of $100 on top of the $245 for a total of $345. It arrived and looks fine (haven't counted turns to lock. ). The inner tie rod ends seem to be unobtainable to the public but the rebuilders can still get them. My inner tie rod ends seem fine so in gonna keep them and give up the core charge because I feel that my rack will be judged as un-rebuildable. Nobody has inner tie rods in stock and I'd rather have those hard to find parts in my garage if I need them. That's the state of the union for steering parts.

I think he usually follows this thread.

Time to change your screen name!

I just reviewed the pics and the whole discussion. When you have time take one of the broken sections off the wheel and fit it back into the puzzle that was your hub. If the studs hit the spacer, that's your problem. Put a straight edge on the wheel mounting surface to see if it is deformed, if so that's your problem. I wonder, could your new studs have thicker "buttons" on the backside? If neither, I'm scratching my head. The stock 280z hub has no scalloped cut outs so it should be stronger. But, it has different backspacing for the rotor, so switching would cause you to have to get different rotor spacers. I will hush now.

I love the video! The part where your wheel passed you is the part where I usually climb under the car to get about 5 cones out from under my oil pan. Im gonna stick to my hypothesis till i hear something better or I start to be a bother. When a stock part fails on my car, it is usually the fault of the aftermarket part bolted to it. I think I saw the G-meter hit at least 1.2 several times-you are generating some serious lateral power and are a way better driver than I am. For the sake of future discussion, can you post a picture of the front-side of the wheel mounting surface? If it is flat, it will flex more than the "spoked" part because the spoked part is arched. I think it is flexing between each stud. On production steel wheels, the stamped hubcap mounting circle served a dual purpose of stiffening the wheel center. If the wheel center is flexing, it lets each wheel stud see the full cornering force rather than distributing that force to all of them and all the hub and spindle together as a unit. If the back surface of the wheel is bent, then just mounting the wheel puts bending forces on the hub even when it is sitting in your shop. Fatigue cycles, then pop! I have seen some steel wheels at dirt track and land speed that have a thick steel plate that reinforces the wheel mounting area. In fact, I think it is a requirement at land speed for cars exceeding a certain speed. And theoretically they generate minimal lateral Gs unless in a spin. Listening and learning.

I ran without a bracket on the front for years and never had problems. But it always bothered me. So I found some brackets and had them welded on. A year later I went to AZC brakes ((which don't use the dang bracket) so I'm back to going without one. I think you will be ok to neglect it. I have run stock lines and stainles lines in the rear and had no trouble with the length. Mock it up and see if the line is gonna rub on anything, then let 'er rip!

What wheel is that? Bassett?

Put a straight edge on the mounting surface and I think you will find that it is conical instead of flat. It looks to me like that is a wheel flex issue. Those stamped wheels maybe flexible in the center.