blueovalz

I went to the local parts place to purchase some strut-rod bushings (T/C bushings) for an S30. The counter guy said he'd have them by the end of the day and cost was $15 (sounded good...but...$15?). "Are you sure you have the right part?". Anyway, I go back yesterday afternoon to pick them up, and see the familiar blue and yellow MOOG box, and think, "good, these are the same good bushings I installed years ago. I open the box, and these strut-rod bushings look like they've been in the movie "Honey, I shrunk the kids". They are 2" in diameter and look like a miniature bushing set. I suppose that's why they were so cheap. They actually will bolt onto the car, but I don't like the reduction in bushing area used to support braking compression, so I've left them off. No, I'm not wanting to use any polyurethane bushings. Question: Has anybody recently gotten a good pair locally without ordering out?

In my opinion, the radiator does not need to be angled forward for this mod to work. The leading edge of the vent is still behind the OEM radiator location, and in reality, the lower part of the radiator being pushed forward would help more than the top part being pushed forward. The ONLY reason I angled the top of the radiator forward was because the new radiator was too tall to set vertically (unless I wanted the lower hose to be just inches off the ground)

If these were mine, I'd try a last-ditch idea before missing the dyno day. I would take a center-punch and carefully punch a point just outside the contact surface for the copper washer just adjacent to the divot. This will raise the edge of the punched spot and may give you enough material movement to allow full contact of the copper (crush) washer. You could start with a shallow punch, then angle the punch toward the hole a bit, and punch again (which would pile more material toward the divot). Doing this on the threaded side of the divot will prevent you from screwing the fitting back into the caliper. Depending on how this goes, you may need to dress it a bit to ensure it is not raised too much on the sides of the divot (which would prevent the washer from sealing as well. Lastly, heating the copper washer with a propane torch (or gas-top stove burner) will help anneal it (soften) to where it may seal even if you've not dressed the punched area well. I wouldn't consider this a permanent fix, but I seen odder remedies work great.

Good write-up. The forming of the metal band is great and obviously from the photos, appears to hold it tightly and evenly. That part was always the most challenging when it came to replacing the boots.

What I did was bought a bunch of used oven heater elements on Ebay so that they could be inclosed in an insulated metal enclosure that would be flat and wide enough to do the job. These come in such a large variety of shapes and sizes that you can make an "oven" of just about any size.

My very limited understanding of the bubble issue is from water (yes, even plastics have water in them, and in my tesla coil hobby, it becomes more apparent). The use of any fuel to heat the plastic usually envolves the creation of water (gas, propane, etc), which is why I believe the electric ovens or heating elements are used for this purpose.

Years ago, I looked into this extensively being I wanted Lexan headlight covers for the BlueovalZ because the normal Z covers would not work. I found (and haven't seen it mentioned yet) is that air bubbles can form in the plastic if not warmed slowly and evenly and allowed to stay at temperature for a short period. I've not seen reference to this as yet, but I seem to remember something about electric ovens being a great deal better than a gas oven in reducing the bubbles as well.

Interesting thread, but I couldn't find what I wanted (started getting frustrated when those guys couldn't figure out if an internally balance motor needed a damper or not), and the link in the forum didn't get past my firewall. Is it correct to assume from what I read that the OEM pulley is a half-assed damper, and that replacing the OEM pulley with a solid metal pulley effectively eliminates the damping (what little there was) of the OEM part?

I'm even more confused. Does the VQ35 NOT have a harmonic damper separate from the crank pulley, or does the OEM pulley act as a damper?

Is that only with this motor? My UR crank pulley on the SX has lasted more than 180K miles with no issues (214K on the motor) and still going.

Only an assumption, but I believe it is because of the different intake, and perhaps pistons that are needed for these heads. Everything on the top end is different from the normal ubiquitous SBF market support.

What Glenn said. Usually, the Master's contest Fords have the top 2 or 3 places running these heads, but with displacements in the 400 cid range.

And that was what I was told, BUT, the critical point here is that you want the point that the PP disengages the clutch to be toward the end of the HTOB's travel. Why? Because as the clutch disc wears, the fingers of the clutch move toward the HTOB, which decreases the gap, and if the HTOB is adjusted too close to the PP fingers in the initial install, then the fingers will eventually have no gap, and the clutch will start slipping because the HTOB is no longer able to "self adjust". I wished I'd understood this concept when I stabbed the transmission the first time, because I set the gap at about 50 thousanths with the bearing on the stop (or backstop of the bearing). So, after a little bit of wear, the PP fingers eventually moved toward the bearing, and eventually started resting on the HTOB and no longer pulled completely away, leaving a slight amount of pressue on the PP, and thus slightly releasing pressure on the disc. Once I understood this concept, I pulled the bearing back to about 170 thousanths (bearing still on its backstop), which allows clutch disengagement after the HTOB nears the end of it's stroke. NOW, the clutch is self adjusting even after the clutch wears.

Uhhh....no John....you just were....ah........crossjacking some weight around...yeah, that's it! It happens to the best of us, (and for me, and even to the worst of us) as well. Last month I put the intake manifold on, and left the lifters out.

Dan, It appears you need a project of some sort....PLEASE! :biggrin: :biggrin: TheNIck, where in STL do you live?

There is a plethora of examples, drawings, and text on the internet discussing this. Some of the issue may be your understanding of the terminology. You're quoted 4.5" offset is what I believe to be a term called BACKSPACING, not offset. Any spacer creates a smaller combined backspacing, and subtracts algebraically from the offset value. The front rim in your example has a 4.5" backspacing with a positive 1/4" (~6mm) offset. Adding a 2" spacer will reduce the combined (wheel lip from the hub surface) backspacing to 2.5", and subtract from the offset by 2" (+ .25" - 2.00" = -1.75" offset, again for the combination of spacer and wheel). I may have confused you even more than you already were. If I were you, I'd focus on your backspacing needs first, then figure out if you've got an appropriate amount of offset.

It is possible with the L6 motor. I investigated this type of hood even before the decision to go with the V8. In essense I would do the same set-up as I currently have except insert a blister in the middle of the vent that would just clear the valve cover. This is what Ford did with the GT40 (original) where the spare tire was located. Ford created a "blister" (in a sorts) around the spare tire which was positioned under the hood at the back half of the vent, which in effect split the upper (rearmost) part of the vent into two halves.

Very nice indeed!!

Rotor diameter is only one factor in brake design. Caliper piston size is another factor. A larger rotor with a smaller piston can in essence provide the same braking force. A different rotor may push the caliper axially and radially out from the bracket's design, so you're more than likely going to run into a problem with this. The only ZX rear caliper issues I'm aware of is the piston getting stuck (internal design flaw in my opinion) which has not been demonstrated with the 240SX calipers.

I'm using a 3/4" MC with my Mcleod HTOB. I've no evidence to support this, but I believe the size of the MC is dependent upon the type of pressure plate used as well as the HTOB design. Various pressure plate designs call for a different amount of bearing movement before disengaging the disc. There may also be different effective bore diameters between different manufacturers as well in the HTOBs. So if you decide to go this route, you need to speak to these issues before committing to the purchase of the parts. Pros of the HTOB - Clean transmission tunnel with no slave cylinder or arms. For those with the really low chassis, and higher engine/tranny positioning, this is a real advantage. After that, I saw no advantage. For those with the aluminum front bearing retainers, no need to be concerned about the bearing wearing on the tube because it does not slide on the tube to operate. Cons of the HTOB - Once it's in, if you've not made the correct measurements and adjusted the bearing correctly, the tranny has to be removed to adjust it (well, not always, but I'm not going into the method I used to get around that issue). In particular, if you don't allow for clutch disc wear in your initial install, you'll end up pulling it back out to readjust it later on. Clearance MUST be maintained between the lines and the rotating assembly (or you'll be replacing the lines in short order, which again, requires the removal of the transmission). All of this is usually avoided in a typical SC configuration, but must be considered with the HTOB. Extra cost for the HTOB (not cheap) Something I found helpful: Because my configuration is very tight (headers and frame rail completely cover the OEM arm cutout in the bellhousing), I found that drilling a couple of 2" holes in the housing under the bearing allowed me to visually inspect the guts of the whole bellhousing from time to time. This is where you'll see clearances between the PP and the bearing, clearances between the hoses and the rotating assembly, and aids in trouble-shooting any problems should they come up.

I found the articles very interesting and historical. Too bad these were not production items for street use.

I think you're an attention whore. I put the bellhousing up in place last night, measured for the HTOB, and will be putting the transmission up in the car this week some time. I put longer AN-4 lines on the HTOB to make it easier to pull/push the lines through the bellhousing hole while simultaneously stabbing it. And yes, I bought some M12 x 1.75 5" studs (actually bolts which I've cut the head off) to assist in this endeavor per KTM's post. While I have the transmission out, I'm replacing the reverse switch, and the other switch (another reverse related switch) with short M16 x 1.5 bolts to get rid of the switches and wires associated with them..

The strut weight really surprises me, BUT my C5 rotors on the front weigh 25 lbs just by themselves.

The race is on. Stayed up until 0230 last night assembling the t-5. Contrary to any other time that I've R&R'd something, putting it back together was actually easier than pulling it all apart. Obviously generic assembly instructions did not apply completely, but none-the-less, it is together, sealed, and appears to shift fine (a little tight, but fine), LIKE NEW! BTW, I want to put in a premature plug in for the guys at G-Force. Their main shaft had a hole in it for a pin, and the hole was a little too tight to slide the pin in (it was machined prior to the hardening process). I tried to force it (yeah, I know...1st rule of mechanics), and the pin snapped (extremely hard and brittle). Anyway, I explained the situation to those guys, and they sent me a new shaft (no cost) with the stipulation that I needed to send the original one back to them. Great customer service (answered a bunch of questions as well). If the gears hold up as well as their service, I'm set!

Already talking smack and I aint even got an engine fully installed! When you see these bad boys glowing red from the gargantuan horsepower, you'll think back to your words and crumble as a mere shell of a man (whipped cream knees and jello spine) and wonder, how could a FORD do that?