first time out

[Bread-Man280]

Hi,

First, I'd like to thank everyone here for the help that you have given, without you all I would never have gotten this far and probably not even out of the garage. This site and the people on it have provided me with so much information over the past few years. I feel a great deal of respect toward everyone here. I have finally finished my 76' 280Z (at least for now) that I began restoring about 3 years ago. I will try to get pictures up as soon as I can.

But, all may not be as well as I think. When I first started the project, one of the first things I did was swap from a automatic to a manual tranny. I had not been able to drive it for a long while, until about last spring. When I drove it for the first time, the clutch was very slippery; although it was brand new, it would not bite very well. Thinking I may have gotten a lousy clutch pack, My father and I replaced it with a new one in about 3 hours and since it was under warranty, it came at no cost; in no time, I was testing it again on the local roads. It was considerably better, and I tried a few hard pulls from a stop (without trying to peel out:finger:) and it performed fine. Flash forward to this weekend, I trail my father to the inspection station and feel her out. Drives fine, no bad tendencies. I get up to about 40 mph and start to push it a little harder to get up to 55 and the revs pick up very very quickly, and not exponentially with speed. I watch the speedo climb slowly, more slowly than I would think with the kind of rpms I've got. Now, it was raining that day and the clutch was new, so I know that clutches sometimes need to get an easy break-in. I have been driving it all weekend (no rain) and it does not seem to be improving yet. But, it got me thinking, "Did I remove the spacers on the crankshaft when I swapped the transmission?" From what I have read, I must have removed one of them, because the pilot bearing won't go on with it in the way. But did I (for some silly reason:stupid:) leave/reinstall the thinner one on. I cannot remember how many came out, nor did I really research the process (which was probably one of the first things I should have done), so I probably did not know the spacer existed. This brings me to my question, does anybody know if this spacer will cause the symptoms I have described? Or, am I just experiencing a normal part of Z driving phenomenon? I really don't want to take the whole thing apart to find out that its not the problem, as I'm sure everyone can understand. I will drive it the rest of this week to give it a chance, but if it does not get better I guess I will bite the bullet and tear it down. I am trying to keep things rational, I don't need to rush, three years is long enough to build this beauty, I can take some more time get this done right.

Again, thankyou all and I appreciate any help you guys can give.

[sblake01]

If you left the flexplate spacer on the end of the crankshaft it would essentially push the flywheel back against the clutch the thickness of the spacer. That would cause te symptoms you've described. You might be able to adjust the pedal to the point where the clutch will engage fully but the best bet would be to pull the trans and remove the spacer. You might try that adjustment anyway since you're not sure if you left the spacer in there or not. It might just need the adjustment.

[Bread-Man280]

Thanks sblake, I had not considered adjusting the pedal, I'm not sure if its going to help much, but I will give it a go tomorrow. Once again, the search will help me with this. I have been talking with my father about it, and he can't seem to understand why the spacer will cause the clutch to slip, and to be truthful I can't really explain it that well either. So now he wants to get another brand new clutch pack (it sounds like he is going for a performance clutch) but also wants to swap the 4speed for a 5spd (junkyard buy, 150$). He too cannot recall if the spacer was removed, the thin one, and will not waste time with a standard clutch any more, as this will be the 3rd time removal. Perhaps the 3rd times the charm... Will it be OK to continue driving, so long as I don't kick it much? It may take a lil while till the tranny can be picked up. I got to say, though, this car is the greatest thing ever; it is so much fun to drive. Now I know why people fall in love with these cars for more than just their looks. They really do have a soul all their own.

[sblake01]

You don't need a performance clutch unless you simply just want one. Nothing wrong with the stock clutch. I have stock factory clutches in both my 78 280Z and my 79 810. The Z's clutch has been in it for 8 years and the 810's for about 2 yrs. They both work fine. Like I said, if you're talking about the spacer that goes between the crankshaft and the flywheel, first of all, I'm not sure the flywheel would fit properly with it in place. If it did fit over the spacer, I doubt if it would cause the problem because it could be adjusted to compensate. I simply think you need to properly adjust the pedal free play because it sounds like you clutch isn't completely disengaging. The more you drive it in that condition, the more you burn up the disc. That would be true even if it was a performance clutch.

Edited November 18, 2008 by sblake01

[Bread-Man280]

I completely understand, I would not be helping the clutch out any by continuing to drive on it. But, at the moment I really have no choice, I suppose I will just have to take it easy... I did fiddle with adjusting the pedal today, but there was absolutely no difference. I gradually took the linkage adjustment all the way out to its extreme and all I got was grinding in reverse (not that I forced it), or not able to push it in gear. Adjusting it in some, made for a very short pedal engagement, but no change when I test drove it. She still revs up at speed, so I returned the linkage to my original setting, it engages about 2-3 inches off the floor. I don't really think I need a performance clutch, but could it really make that much difference over stock; if it is a little grippier, why would that be such a bad thing (but I think this is where my ignorance kicks in, performance clutch=faster car:devious:. Just Kidding, but that is the mentality of most of my peers anyway, it sounds fast). And, I read on here that high performance clutches are not good for the street. A friend of mine suggested that I bleed the clutch, and since I haven't done that since the last time the tranny was off, it may also be worth a shot. If that turns out to resolve the problem, I'll be feeling just a lil more foolish at the end of the day and everyone can get their laughs in, I know i will. Maybe this is just one way of keeping me from burning gas this weekend...

Edit: I just read the New Slave...No Result thread, it explained the clutch system very well, perhaps my friend is on to something with this; will have to apply that information tomorrow.

Edited November 19, 2008 by Bread-Man280