The Lime Green Machine Restoration Thread - 1972 240Z

[Hardway]

Thank you E-Tek. Yeah, the weather in TX is nice in the spring, fall, and most of winter. However in the summer we pay dearly for it with highs at above 100 for days on end. Factor in the humidity and it is just too hot to even go outside and check the mail.

No problem Grannyknot. The rotary tool is Makita GDC0800C, its technically a die grinder but I think of it as more of a big Dremel tool. I bought mine on Amazon at the link below. It is a bit pricey and for almost half you can get the non-variable speed version. In my honest opinion I think having the variable speed is worth the extra c-note. I love mine and you will not regret buying one.

Amazon.com: Makita GD0800C 1/4-Inch Die Grinder: Home Improvement

[madkaw]

If you buy a cheap one you will regret it. The rotary tools come in two versions-junk and quality with about a 100.00 difference at least. Don't buy a harbor freight one and think you will be happy. Cheap ones vibrate badly and put your hand to sleep or in pain. The heavier the better.

Eye protection is manditory with those wire brushes!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looking good.

[ollie]

Nice work...if you plan on having the suspension parts powder coated like I did, do yourself a favour and make sure you plug all surfaces you do not want to change dimensions due to the power coating...I can't tell you how much time I spent grinding taping out powder coat, lesson learned.

[bartsscooterservice]

Looking good !

Makita is quality tools

[Hardway]

Wanted to share another item I crossed off the list. With the spindle pins finally out I removed the outer control arm bushings. First, just as I have done with previous bushings like these I used my giant C-clamp that is part of my ball joint service kit to push the sleeve out from the middle of the bushing. Then using my reciprocating saw I cut 4 slits in the bushing shell and tapped them out with a cold chisel. 2 of the shells came out just by the force of the saw pushing on them back and forth, 1 required just a few light taps, while 1 required much more persuasion. I find it so odd that 3 of the 4 came out with such little effort while 1 put up the biggest fight. Oh well, they are out!

[Hardway]

With a pretty Sunday in front of me and the honey-do list satisfied for the day I headed to the garage to work on the Z. I decided to tear in to the half shafts, starting with the worst of the two.

The grease and grime was not coming from the seal on the differential but from the u-joint itself. It will get replaced for sure.

Using my new favorite tool I pressed the old u-joints out and finished disassembling the half shaft. The end cap has come loose so once everything is cleaned up I will press it back in to place and follow it up with a few tack welds for safe measure.

I ran in to an issue once I cleaned everything and attempted to press in my new u-joints. I started a separate thread to try and gain some insight as to what is going on. It can be seen here -> http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/suspension-steering-s30/48852-brute-force-u-joint-cap-too-short.html

Since the u-joint issue left me at a stand still I figure why not get some time in with wire wheel and clean up some more parts. All in all, a productive day.

[Reverend]

Nice pictures, nice thread, keep up the good job!

[Hardway]

Got some more work done on the Z this weekend. On Saturday I wrapped up the u-joint install on my half shafts. I thought I had an issue with the solid u-joints I bought but I determined my outer yokes had been slightly crushed, probably due to the shop who put them in last time. I used my vise to successfully spread them back apart. I got the one finished that I started above so I started on the second one.

Even though the boot was still in tact it was brittle but the worst of it was at the ends. Someone had obviously been pumping them full of grease and as it squeezed out pass the seals it attracted all the dirt and grime that it could find.

The end result, lots of dirt! The u-joint off to the right refused to budge, even under the pressure of my 20 ton press.

So before I went at with my torch I decided to let it soak with some 50/50 mix of acetone and ATF. To make it easier to apply I picked 2 4oz bottles with needle tops. This allows me to not only direct it exactly where I want to go but I can shake it up before each use as the acetone and ATF will separate over time. Needless to say it is the best $7 I ever spent! They can be found on Ebay and probably other places as well.

After some time soaking with the Acetone/ATF mix the persistent u-joint came out of the yoke and everything else went according to plan. After about 45 minutes of work everything was together and looking good. I had hit everything with my wire wheel prior to assembly and will probably give everything another good once over before I lay down some paint next weekend.

[Hardway]

With a fresh Sunday in front of me I turned my attention to the rear differential. I wanted to replace the side seals before filling it with fluid and installing it. Everyone had said the axles just pull out, well they require a little more effort than what you can produce on your own. I have a slide hammer so I fabbed up a quick puller bracket out of some scrap steel so it would pull the axle out straight.

Using the vise grip adapter that came with my slide hammer the axle came out with 2 light pulls.

Once I had the axle out I could quickly see the seal in the diff was not like what I bought as my seals do not have the lip that protrudes out against the axle. So using my slide I hammer I put the axle back in marked the project as on-hold for now.

[Hardway]

Since my diff seal project did not work out I turned to my parking brake cable that needed some serious attention. Not only was it super dirty but when I removed it I could see that several of the fibers in the cable had broken and one of the ends had broken off the tubing assembly.

I know I can buy a brand new parking brake cable assembly for $50 + $25 S&H off of Ebay. However I knew it was at least worth trying to salvage what I had since I shudder at the thought of dropping $75 for just a parking brake cable. I had seen Patcon’s write up on replacing the cable itself which can be seen here -> Classic Zcar Club - e brake/emergency/park/parking brake cable repair

Since I have a welder I felt confident about replacing the cable, therefore my real challenge was reattaching the broken end of the tubing. I started by inserting a straight piece of coat hanger wire in to the metal end and tube so they would stay level and close together. I wrapped them with some electrical tape and covered them with a small piece of heat shrink tubing. On top of that I did a longer run of electrical tape wrapping followed up by a larger piece of shrink tubing. The end result, a very firm and solid connection. I tried to pull them apart and could not. Since it is a piece that is under compression and not being pulled I have no doubt it will be good for a long time. I only wish now I had used a longer piece of tubing for more a more finished look but I did not have much to go around. Below is the end result.

The other side was not much better off. It was still attached but just barely so I gave it the same treatment along with the last of large heat shrink tubing I had.

On to the cable itself. The old cable measured 71 and 1/4 inches. The new tee nuts I would be using as cable stops measured 1/4 inch long giving me 71 and 3/4 inches. I subtracted 3/4 of an inch to account for stretch giving me a total new cable length of 71 inches.

Before I welded the first tee nut on I ran my wire brush over the face of the tee nut to knock off as much of the zinc coating as possible. This still didn’t stop a brief light show of zinc sparks from taking place on my bench. However the weld looked good and felt super strong.

I used my dremel tool to cut off the edges and followed that up with a few minutes on bench grinder to help round it out. Slipped it in the retainer bracket and proceeded to slide the rest of the cable assembly together. Once together I repeated the same welding and grinding on the other end.

The final result, a fully refurbished parking brake cable. All of the hardware and springs were cleaned using the grinder’s wire wheel and will be shot with some paint on a warmer day. A brand new one would be very nice but for only $8.00 and about an hour of my time I cannot go wrong with this one.

[73str86]

I appreciate your attention to detail and you're making amazing progress! I too am going through my 240Z in the same fashion. The only difference is I started with my engine. It'd been depressing how long it's been since I've driven her.

I will be sure to follow this thread.

[EuroDat]

Like the work on your hand brake cable. Looks good.

Thats a good idea to change the diff seals. Its so easy now you have it out of the car.

If the pinion seal isnt leaking dont do anything to it. Changing that can though the pinion/crownwheel geomentry off and that can cause the diff to whine. There are steps you can take to try and minimize the risk,but its best to leave it alone.