ZX rear calipers: just say no

[80LS1T]

I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too

 

 

Hey I'm going to have my cake and eat it too when I'm done with my ZX conversion! I think 400HP should be a fun 280ZX, dont you? LOL

 

Hey all I can say is that the 240,260,280Z's have nicer looking bodies. I hate the front of my car. That will all be fixed though when I get the ground effects and front and rear spoilers from MSA. I am getting the one like "Cody 82 ZXT" and "David Karey." Have. I like the looks then! The ZX is a little bit heavier yes, but most of the extra weight is for sturctural support anyways. So that is kind of a good thing if you ask me!

 

 

Guy 8)

[Georgia Flash]

I have had Two Zx's and never a rear brake leakage problem. In fact I never had a single problem with the rear or front brakes period. As far as sitting goes, my old 71 Ford F-100, that I don't have anymore , sat for about 3 years and my current Z for about 5 years and no leakage on those vehicles either. Go figure, like someone else said there may be a problem with the rear calipers that you have.

[Cody 82 ZXT]

I must admitt now that I think about it some more I did have ZX that one rear brake leaked on. It was a 79 with about 3 Zillion miles on it. Ofcourse the 79's do have differnt brakes than the later ZX's.

 

About compareing the Z to the ZX I think everyone needs to consider what the cars were designed for. The Z a lightweight racer basically. The ZX a heavier more comfortable and power highway car. I've had both and for me driving the car everyday the ZX is the way to go. If I were racing the car I would choose the earliest 240 I could find.

 

Also I really don't feel like the ZX is a wallowing pig if the suspension is atleast up to stock specs. If the bushings and struts etc... are worn out then yes the car is a pig. If it's all tight and done right then the car handles great and runs like a scalled dog. My last outing to the track took me to a 13.4 @ 108. Not to bad for such heavy Z.

[j260z]

you can't really fault the Zx. i've owned my 260 for at least 14 years and i love it (even though it has been on blocks for a year now) but two of my buddies bought 280zx's and with a bit of work they were great cars also but when you add luxury you add weight. my 260 was faster and handled better but i didn't have power steering, power mirrors, power windows, a rear wiper, headlight sprayers, fuel injection, t-tops, rear disc brakes....need i say more. they are both good cars.

 

can't we all just get along!!

[jeromio]

Well, just to tie up this thread, let's be clear. My post was meant as friendly advice to others considering swapping rear ZX calipers on their early Z. The only thing better than learning from your own mistakes is learning from someone else's. Personally, I have a huge stockpile of mistakes that any and all are welcome to learn from.

 

IMO, the ZX rear caliper swap was one of those. I have gone thru multiple sets. Two on the left side and now 3 on the right. BTW, I do have the ebrake connected and that is another PITA about these things. The adjustment mechanism does not work all that well. Furthermore, and this is not the fault of the cals, the 240Z's drum brake ebrake cable doesn't work that well with the caliper. There's not enough travel. So the thing has to be adjusted perfectly to work - any drift and the ebrake stops working.

 

Also, the fronts happen to be ZX units. No complaints about those so far (other than the exhorbitant cost of the anti-rattle hardware which I am missing). But seriously, if you're going to take negative comments about a particular part on a particular car personally, well, that is really just pathetic.

 

Hopefully the 240sx swap works better in this regard.

[Tim240z]

But seriously' date=' if you're going to take negative comments about a particular part on a particular car [i']personally[/i], well, that is really just pathetic.

 

 

Amen Brutha!

[TomoHawk]

Any of you still hunting for the mythical Maxima rear brackets - STOP! Don't do it!

 

OK........

 

Who currently has the brackets for the rear calipers for 280Z?

[datsunlover]

Boy oh boy.. time for my $.02: My first car was an 81 280zx, and I loved that car. I ended up having two more after that, and after selling my last one (LOADED: power evryting, T-tops, Black on black, front air dam, sweet looking/driving car!) I was left longing for another Datsun. That was 5 years ago, but now I have a 75 280z.

I like the overall look of the Z a little more than the ZX, but I miss the 4 wheel disk. Man that zx stoped good! Mind you, the e-brake NEVER worked, because of the silly set up on the rear calipers. Read; seized and left that way! I don't think anything that was said was ment to be a shot at the ZX, its just a 'not so good' system to swap into a diferent car (earlier Z)

And as for the 'mythical' Maxima rear disks, would those not be similar to 300ZX?

[JMortensen]

My $.02,

 

The early ZX calipers are bulletproof, but they are heavy and have small pads. The later ZX calipers are problematic, the ebrake mechanism tends to fail. This is not just my opinion, but also the opinion of a Nissan master tech and another mechanic I know who has owned probably 20 Z's and ZX's.

 

Personally, I don't think that the 240SX caliper was significantly different from the late ZX, so I would assume that similar problems will be reported with them as well, although I haven't heard complaints yet...

 

Jon

[VRJoe]

Have you tried a different rebuiler, could be your problem right there, not the calipers, but the guy who's doing the rebuilding. I rebuilt mine and just bled the system. I just got the LT1 and T56 mounted today so it'll be a while before they're tested with power, but no leaks yet.

 

I got Maxima brackets from a dealer. A little expensive, but I couldn't find any at the local JY at the time.

 

- Joe

[Dan Baldwin]

It's a bit of a reach to say the calipers are inherently "no good" based on one failure. I've had the '82-'83 rear calipers on my Z for the past three years, no problems. Of course my experience doesn't prove them "good", either.

 

One bad seal or one botched build (or rebuild) doesn't make the ZX rear calipers "bad".

 

FWIW, I don't have the parking brake hooked up, the rear brakes do stay in adjustment anyway.

 

Dan

[Tim240z]

 

FWIW' date=' I don't have the parking brake hooked up, the rear brakes do stay in adjustment anyway.

 

Dan[/quote']

 

Thanks for that info, Dan!!!!!

 

I keep hearing that the E-brake is necessary!!

 

Tim

[JMortensen]

Here's another tidbit for you Tim, if you decide to run the ebrake. I used a mid 80's 240SX ebrake cable which made hooking up the ebrake really easy with the early 280ZX calipers. I removed the rear bell crank and hooked the cable up directly to the front bell crank right off the handle. Very easy modifications and works great.

 

Jon

[jeromio]

I'm interested in this 240SX ebrake cable mod. Did you use the whole cable mechanism from the handle back?

 

BTW, as to Dan's point, I'm not basing my complaint on a single failure. We're talking THREE failures here.

 

Disappointing to hear that the 240SX calipers are the same. Interesting to hear that the non-turbo units are more reliable? Mine are Turbo calipers.

[JMortensen]

I used the cable from the clevis all the way to the Y part. It has some mounts which attach to the underbody of the 240SX, and I just bolted them to the underside of the Z where it was convenient.

 

It took very little modding to get it in there. I'm sure if you get a cable from the JY, you'll see how easy it is. I don't have any pics, unfortunately. The clevises hooked right up to the calipers, and I seem to remember using a longer than stock bolt to connect the Y section to the front bellcrank, and just unbolted the rear bell crank.

 

I think I paid $10 from the JY for the cable.

 

I did this all about 6 years ago, so if you get stuck let me know and I can jack the car up and help jog my memory. I remember being surprised at how easy it was.

 

Jon

[gramercyjam]

My own bad experience with the rear ZX calipers was in my '83 ZXT when it was a couple years old. Rears started locking up all the time and were looking pretty corroded and the parking brake stopped working and even with new pads and full adjustments it wouldn't pass inspection so I went to the usual auto parts places for rebuild kits or rebuilt calipers - none available. None available from Nissan either. They made me buy brand new ones for what seemd to be a simple problem that should be cheap and easy to fix and I was not a happy camper. Of course, back then junkyards and aftermarket had nothing for the ZXT's anyway. Nissan reamed you every time you needed something.

[TomoHawk]

We're talking THREE[/b'] failures here.

 

How did the calipers fail? I'm considering the rear conversion, but things seem to be really confusing concerning which calipers & e-brake cable to use?

 

I've seen about 6 different versions of the conversion and they basically used different parts for each

 

?

[JMortensen]

The failures that I've heard about were like gramercyjam's.

 

Jon

[jeromio]

I've had the adjustment failure as well as just plain fluid leakage.

 

The whole reason for this thread is to advise people against this swap. These calipers are crap when used or even rebuilt and crazy expensive when bought new.

 

Also, you run into little annoyances like the cable routing. Plus, since "L" is on the right and vise-versa, it can be confusing. As in, I go to the counter and say "I need a Driver's side rear caliper", and they go and get it and I realize, Doh! I need a Passenger side cal. to put on the Driver's side of my car.

 

Also, you just can't find stock (early Maxima) brackets. So you gotta make some. And if yer gonna make brackets, well, why use these crappy calipers? There's gotta be lots of others to choose from that work better and cost less.

[Phantom]

As a current owner of a 280Z and a 280ZX I find it hard to say one is better than the other. The one thing we can all agree on is that they are VERY different. The ZX is a much more refined touring vehicle. Power windows, power mirrors, cruise control, power steering, 4-wheel disc brakes, cushier seats, T-tops, overall quieter inside, better stock stereo - the list goes on. The Z has the classic first gen lines, is marginally lighter, has better road feel feedback with the manual steering, the seats are a bit more supportive during hard cornering, it's noiser inside so it adds to the feel of speed - and it's list goes on. If I'm in a good mood and want to challenge the world I hit the street in the 280Z28. If I'm feeling mellow I go cruise in the ZX. I've even considered sticking an automatic (Heresy!!) in it.

Speaking of brakes - I did the Toyota 4x4 upgrade on the front of my Z and it is still not right. Got remfg. calipers from AutoZone and one drags all the time and wears out prematurely. They stop like a bandit but occaisionally will tend to dart one way or another. Definitley keeps me alert. That, however, is just my experience. I'm sure others have had absolutely no problems with theirs. At this point I'm looking at the JSK or Modern-motorsports upgrades both front and rear but, before I do that, I'm going to take the car to a Z mechanic I know that has a reputation for being able to make brakes sing an opera and let him tweak them and see how they do. Sometimes it pays to admit that it's worthwhile to pay a true expert to do the work rather than doing it myself.