My Datsun 240Z

[bartsscooterservice]

Meanwhile this arrived today

[bartsscooterservice]

Okay... I got the rear wheel bearings in ! Also replaced the prop shaft and the 2 short shafts. I didn't take pictures when changing the bearings , but here are some of the result. I've made a home made puller to get the shaft out with a 15 kg weight but it didn't came loose. After I tried almost everything, I heated up the housing with a propane torch and voila one whack and it came out instantly ! So I'd recommend anyone who is going to do this, just use heat.. to make the job easier and save alot of time.

The locking nut came of pretty easy, I used an impact wrench. First I used a chisel to whack off the flat spots on the security ring on the nut before loosening it.

I found the grease reservoir to be completely dry on both sides ! Those bearings must have been in there a long time :paranoid:

I found while replacing the prop shaft that the 4 bolts connecting the prop shaft flange to the differential flange where not original, but US size bolts. I found this may cause an alignment problem, Lucky I had the original metric bolts..

I also freshed up the fuel cap/housing area, there was some rust there. And put some extra sealant between the gaskets to prevent leaking of fumes.

Also a pic of the new original gearknob in the car.

[bartsscooterservice]

After going to 3 wheel " specialists " , finally found one who found the following:

2 bent rims

and the holes will be drilled conical, so I can use conical lug nuts to center it just right.

Fingers crossed !

[EuroDat]

Bart, That sounds like good news. Hope it solves your problem after all the effort you have put in trying to find it.

Chas

[bartsscooterservice]

Well.. problem is still there...to bad

I even cleaned the inside of the wheels, so they could balance it properly.

What could be it ? It start's at 50 mph.. steering wheel wobble ( left to right )and vibration, also vibration on the chassis noticable. Could it still be the rims, or tires ? They are Dunlop..

It's driving me nuts , but I will keep searching for the problem.

Edit: I notice engine movement shaking the car a bit when running stationairy in the car, when parked or waiting in front of a traffic light. Not sure if this got anything to do with it. All mounts are replaced.

Edited March 23, 2014 by bartsscooterservice

[DougN]

Could be a bump on the tire(s) itself or another issue with the tire itself, rather than the wheels.

Doug

[EuroDat]

Bart,

I thought you had it beat with the wheel runout. It could be something like a blister in the tyre that start to play up at higher speeds.

You can try my wheels. I don't have any vibrations up to 80mph. That way you can eliminate the wheels or identify it as a wheel problem. Let me know and we can arrange something.

Chas

[bartsscooterservice]

Okay... I had another look and found a " knock '' sound in the steering housing ( rack ), when turning fast left to right on the steering wheel when parked. Als found play in the right side in the steering housing ( rack ). So I took the steering housing(rack) out for rebuild ( I guess it was never done since 1971. Hopefully this solves the problem. If not it should be the wheels or a hub that is bent I guess. I checked the brake discs and they are not warped.

[bartsscooterservice]

Bart,

I thought you had it beat with the wheel runout. It could be something like a blister in the tyre that start to play up at higher speeds.

You can try my wheels. I don't have any vibrations up to 80mph. That way you can eliminate the wheels or identify it as a wheel problem. Let me know and we can arrange something.

Chas

Yes.. I will try one last time with the rack. If that doesn't solve it, I will try that. The steering rack is the last part I haven't replaced/rebuild.

[bartsscooterservice]

Steering rack arrived yesterday.

[EuroDat]

Hi Bart,

The vibration problem is one hell of away to fast track your restoration.

All jokes aside. If another set of wheels (mine;)) don't fix it, then I have no idea what will. It can't be in the engine or gearbox because you would feel that at lower speeds in the lower gears with the same revs and you have changed just about everthing that rotates.

Chas

[northernz]

Hey Bart, I was just reading a blog at White Head performance and it mentioned `typical brass bushing wear``at either end of the steering rack which can cause wheel shimmy at highway speeds, perhaps this is your problemÉ FWIW

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