NewZed

Here's a link to a current thread that implies the 5th gear swap is doable. No details, it's in a For Sale thread, Post #1. Maybe the poster can offer some insights. http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/105479-built-l28-and-other-goodies/page__pid__986795#entry986795

Sounds like bad battery cable connections. They get corroded. Check the cable to the connector (probably one of those aftermarket clamp-on styles) and the connector to the battery post. Including the ends on the starter solenoid and the starter bolt. Clean the battery posts. Also check you fusible link connections, under the covers, and the green ones connected to the battery positive terminal.

The 77 - 79 5 speeds have the same 1-4 ratios so the odds are good. The 80 - 83 transmissions have different ratios. The thicker gears didn't come until 1984 with the 300ZX and the 71C transmission. I've seen it suggested that 5th gear should swap easily between the 71B transmissions but never seen someone say that they've actually done it. You might compare drawings from the FSMs. If they use all of the same pieces for 1-4, then the odds should be in your favor. Of course, to get the gears you'd have the whole transmission. Might be easier to swap the tail housing with 5th and reverse on to the 4 speed case, to get a 5 speed. Sounds interesting.

There's most likely a good description in the FSM, Engine Fuel section, of how/where the ECCS gets its signal to determine when to ground the injectors. EFI uses the blue wire from the coil (-) to Pin 1 but the ECCS might use the CAS. If you haven't already looked...

Thanks, that's what I was wondering. So the Z31 axles are too long for both models, 240Z and 280Z. I can't find your install thread. I searched "z31", "280z", "install" and "build" under your name but only a few threads come up, none of them an install thread. Could you post a link? Edit - Never mind, it's linked in jm's post. Thanks. Edit 2 - Is your car a 76? For the record. I'm guessing from the turn signals.

For the sake of that last few millimeters of clarity - your comments are for the 240Z S30, correct, not the 280Z? The 280Z S30 seems to have more width between the wheel flanges than a 240Z, as shown by the fact that the R200 plus half-shafts work fine in a 280Z without binding, but the R200 with half-shafts in a 240Z has binding problems. Assuming that the body and suspension mounting points are the same between the 240Z and the 280Z, the difference must be in the position of the inboard axle flange at the wheel. I believe that the wheelbases are the same between the two models. Maybe the "thickness" of the axle, bearings and flange assembly (hub assembly?) is greater in a 240Z? If I had the right 240Z parts or a 240Z, I would go take some measurements. But all I have is a 280Z. If someone wants to measure between the flanges, driver side to passenger side, on their 240, I will do the same on my 280. Drive shafts level would be easiest, I assume. Another good comparison would be the measurement from wheel mount surface to inboard flange on both models, on the hub assembly. Something has to be different, I just haven't seen it called out anywhere. Either that or all 280Zs have binding problems from the factory, which doesn't seem to be the case.

This link has an informative chart - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_FE_engine

Looks like not much. I think that the last value is ft-lbs.

There's not a lot of benefit to the ZX distributor in a 280Z. Nissan dropped the ballast resistor in 1978 anyway. If, by performance, you mean running a wider gap on your spark plugs, then probably not much, for a stock engine. Plus, the later ZX distributors all have lots of vacuum advance designed in, probably to work with EGR. If you're not careful, you'll just get a weird advance curve and a bigger shock when you grab the spark plug wire. Plus, an expensive module replacement cost if the E12-80 module dies. I think that it's popular on the 240Zs to replace points because it's everything in one package, with just a couple of wires to connect to make it work. On a 280Z you could just replace the coil and add an HEI module and probably get the same spark performance or better, but keep the stock advance curves.

http://www.betamotorsports.com/benchracing/index.html The 240Zs must have less distance between wheel hub flanges than the 280Zs. Some people shorten their halfshafts, by taking them apart and doing some grinding work.

No experience here with coil overs but it looks like the OP is assuming that the spring has to be tight between the perches, when, in reality, to get the car lower there will be a gap, with the spring loose, until the spring is loaded with the cars weight. The gap is okay, as I understand things.

The basic facts indicate that you bent something during the jacking process, assuming that the wheel was straight before you started. No reason for anything to change just by lifting and looking.

Maybe he's just trying to save a few dollars on injectors...

I've also suggested dropping fuel pressure to allow using a high capacity injector, in the past. It was pointed out by a knowledgable Hybridz member that at low pressure you might lose fuel atomization. If you go too low on pressure, you'll get a dribble instead of a spray. That would be bad.

Thanks for clarifying. I was speaking historically, in general, not in terms of Nissan's use of lock nuts. Nylock nylon would just melt away and burn if used on the exhaust manifold.

I believe that original self-locking nut was all metal. Nylocks came later. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distorted_thread_locknut Zs have several self-locking nuts, like the transmission cross member mounting bolt nuts, the mustache bar nuts and the exhaust flange nuts. They thread on easy until the last few threads. In general, they're re-usable. The exhaust nuts and studs tend to weld themselves together though, and either break or come out as one piece.

Since you're about to junk it you might as well heat the crap out of it while pressing. The power of heat on loosening tight metal is generally underestimated. Use a MAAP torch. You'll probably toast your bushings, but those can be replaced. If you've been beating it with a hammer, be aware that the rubber bushing can pull back the gains made with the hammer if the pin is stuck in the bushing, not the housing. Cooking the bushing on purpose will help with that.

The nuts should be self-locking nuts or nuts with lock washers. Whatever they are, they shouldn't loosen. Do you have a complete seal, then the nuts loosen, and the gasket starts leaking, or do you have a partial seal, the gasket burns away, then the nuts loosen? If the sealing surfaces on the manifold or flange are screwed up you might have to get creative with a double gasket or something else. I've made a good seal with a gasket wrapped in crinkled up aluminum foil and I've also cut the center rings out of a gasket to make a double seal under an uncut gasket. Might help to torque the nuts before you mount the rest of the pipe also, if the pipe is bent. Or straighten the pipe so that everything is aligned for sealing. They're often bent from curb, rock or speed bump scraping.

The proper term appears to "differential case". The carrier is the "pumpkin".

The drawing is a picture of the intake manifold and throttle body. It's pretty clear. The BCDD is on the bottom of the throttle body. You'll probably need a mirror, or to crawl under and look up, to get a good look at it in the crowded engine bay.

There's a drawing in the FSM. Emissions.

More informative reading - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/32313-putting-lsd-in-non-lsd-r200/ The simple route to OBX LSD with the gear ratio you want seems to be to buy an open differential "assembly" with the desired ratio (~$90 at the local Pick n Pull), then bolt the ring gear on to the OBX carrier/differential/center/whatever and re-assemble. Here's a thread about long-nose, short-nose, etc. - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/49194-differential-cv-lsd-hp-torque-r160-r180-r200-r230-diff-mount/

Remove the right side line completely and blow some air through to the caliper end (remove it to so you don't blow crud in to the caliper). I have to ask, just to get a feel for the state-of-the-world-we-live-in: did you write that whole half page above from an iphone or blackberry or whatever? I guess I'm old school when it comes to writing but how can anyone not be embarrassed to send that mess out like that?

Actually, his question was more about how to get a specific ratio. That would require a certain ring and pinion gear set, to be bolted on to his OBX. So the link is right in line with what he was asking, and he should be happy to check it out. What's up with people using the word "center" to describe the differential? Even though the whole assembly is often called the differential, if you're going to go deeper, isn't the "center" that you're talking about typically called the differential (see the OBX page). How did "center" get in here? A little more research seems to show that "carrier" might be a more common word.

This might help - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/54124-step-by-step-installing-an-lsd-into-your-open-diff/ It's in FAQ - Powertrain instead of Drivetrain for some reason. Hard to locate. Worth reading.