Drax240z Posted July 18, 2000 Share Posted July 18, 2000 Well I finally fixed this problem with my car, and I thought maybe some of you with similar problems may have overlooked the same thing that I did. (Not too likely, I can't believe I didn't notice) Not certain about the 260's and 280's, but my 240 has an interior panel on the inside of the rear hatch. Behind this panel is an opening, and that opening basically connects the air in the cabin to the opposite side of the weatherstripping on the hatch! I think there are 4, 1.5" holes there. SUCTION! Well, I remade the panel out of stainless, and sealed it airtight, and no more leak! Go figure. Anyway, I'd not really clued in that those holes were on either side of the rear weatherstripping... And my panal was thrashed. I hope I can solve someone else's headaches before they happen. (literally!) ------------------ Drax240z 1973 240z - L28TURBO transplant on the way! http://members.xoom.com/r_lewis/datsun.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Scott Posted July 18, 2000 Share Posted July 18, 2000 I've been living with a monoxide buzz for years Good tip! I tried sealing every hole from firewall to floorboard. If I can cure the exhaust in the cockpit like you did then maybe my wife will ride with me again! Thanks Drax! JS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Anonymous Posted July 19, 2000 Share Posted July 19, 2000 Correct me if I'm wrong, but those holes are there for a purpose. Whether it's for water drain or air circulation. Every vehicle needs "breathing room". Cabin pressure can keep your a/c, heater from blowing to it's full strength and circulating the air properly within the vehicle(not that some really need these things) . I, for one, don't have a/c, yet. In Texas it is almost a necessity, especially with some of these latest temps, 107*F. Every vehicle I have ever owned has had some kind of vent/rubber flap that allowed air to flow out and depending on the method, not back in. This could be a bad design do to the location, but still a needed source of venting. Just a thought before someone goes welding up all the holes in their cars and can't figure out why their ventilating systems don't work properly anymore. Food for thought. ------------------ Might as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pparaska Posted July 19, 2000 Share Posted July 19, 2000 The Series 1 240Z (1969 through mid Jan 1971, VINs HLS30-00001 thru 051583) had fresh air vents in the outer sheet metal of the hatch just below the glass. These were piped to the two holes in the bottom surface of the hatch behind the weather strip and into the interior of the car through the hatch. The pipes were there to keep water out of the car. Later cars had no vents in the top surface of the hatch, but had filled rubber grommets in those two holes at the rear underside of the hatch. The filled area of the grommets are really thin and tend to rupture. Then you get exhaust gas in the cabin through the deck, just the way Drax found it. The key is that Nissan saw the flaw in this ventilation design and plugged those holes. The fresh air vents were moved to the C pillars, behind the Z emblem. Nissan still has the filled grommets if you want to buy new ones. Either way, fill those holes! I also found numerous areas where the the floor or deck behind the shock towers was not sealed well to the area where the little wells next to the quarter panel is. The radio antenna drain hose grommet is popular, as is the grommet where the vapor hoses go from the interior of the car into those little wells. One really good idea I found was to make a sort of boot for the latch mechanism in the hatch to block the gases coming around the hatch mechanism through the hole for it in the hatch lower surface next to those old drain hole grommets mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax240z Posted July 19, 2000 Author Share Posted July 19, 2000 Nice, thanks for that info pete. Actually I found another nice purpose for those holes, they make it possible for me to bolt on my BRE spoiler. A damn near impossible job without having those holes available. Rubber gromments from Nissan sound like a better way to do what I accomplished, I'd bet their not too pricy either. (shouldn't be much to them!) CO is really bad for you guys... I wish I had fixed this a lot sooner. ------------------ Drax240z 1973 240z - L28TURBO transplant on the way! http://members.xoom.com/r_lewis/datsun.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLKMGK Posted July 20, 2000 Share Posted July 20, 2000 True story: I had some work done on my Mustang to install a blowproof bellhousing. The mechanic who did the work charged me for "custom" exhaust work due to the bellhousing being wider. However, the exhaust still seemed to leak (hint to Mike - Springfield Motorsports!). I got under the car and found my H-pipe hammered pretty bad and a slight gap where the header pipe joined - for this I paid extra?! Anyway, I left it that way intending to get it fixed, I smelled no exhaust but it was slightly noisier. About 2 weeks later my company had a "health screening" to get a discount on my health insurance. Naturally I signed up for it Upon reaching the monoxide test I blew nearly as badly as a smoker - I've NEVER smoked! This truly puzzled both me and the person administering the test. She asked me if I had sat in traffic long (I hadn't) and a few other questions. Finally I did mention that my car appeared to have a "slight" exhaust leak and that I'd had to drive about 4 miles to the test center.... She freaked! It seems that CO is a "cumulative gas". This means that it gets into your system and leaves slower than it got in. Over time it builds up until it can kill you or at the very least cause you to fall asleep at the wheel. Needless to say I had a muffler shop build me a cusom H-pipe that next weekend and have never gone back to that shop ever again. The pipe looked even worse once it was gotten out of the car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Bayley Posted July 20, 2000 Share Posted July 20, 2000 Don't 'cha just love those "custom" exhaust shops some times? I've always believed that are only two types of pipe benders: Really good ones, and really lousy ones. Anyway, thanks for the sobering information regarding CO gas. After all the driving I've already done, I might as well just start smoking now and get it over with. -Andy [This message has been edited by Andrew Bayley (edited July 20, 2000).] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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