Build Thread - New Turbo-Swapped 280z from WA

[JSM]

Dang!  I love to watch people spend their money on Z cars!  I have to spend it carefully and in secret.  Shhhh, don't let my wife see this.

[AlbatrossCafe]

Fixed my weird noise and clunk!!

One of the u-joints in a rear half-shaft was bad, so I replaced it (and the other 3 while I was at it) yesterday. Took me about 9 hours to replace all and reinstall the half-shafts cus it was my first time ever doing u-joints. Not too bad of a install though, and definitely worth saving $300-$400 vs. a shop install

It 100% fixed the noise that I was getting in my rear diff (see this video) and it appeared to also fix the "clunk" I got when the clutch was let out. I'm really happy about this cus I thought it was the diff clunk, but it turns out it was just play in that bad u-joint. It reduced some vibration as well.

One thing I dislike about this car so far - how the f are you supposed to easily access the bolts to remove/replace those half-shafts? I barely have any room for a 14mm wrench, let alone a socket. It takes me an hour just to take them out or put them in cus of no clearance to turn it.

Cracked end cap - the bad u-joint had a cracked cap with no bearings left. No wonder it sucked

Pressing out old joint and cleaning up interior surface:

New u-joints installed!

Pic of car for good measure

Edited October 16, 2017 by AlbatrossCafe

[esmit208]

49 minutes ago, JSM said:

Dang!  I love to watch people spend their money on Z cars!  I have to spend it carefully and in secret.  Shhhh, don't let my wife see this.

WIFE..............Guess what HE is doing with the cash!

[JSM]

14 minutes ago, esmit208 said:

WIFE..............Guess what HE is doing with the cash!

LOL!

[esmit208]

Ably

You have probably figured it out but if you rotate the wheels it's puts both the inner and outer studs at the optimum angle for assembly and removal. Nice job BTW. I too like seeing new parts show up even if it is at someone else's garage. It makes me believe all these great parts really exist! Is it me or do the rear LCA's need to be BEEFIER? They look really nice but over the long haul is it enough. Definitely a weight savings and some have reported autocrossing with them, but they just seem to be a little svelte! Tell me what you all think.

Edited October 16, 2017 by esmit208
Additional

[AlbatrossCafe]

Tried to mount my new wheels today (15x7 with +15mm offset) and the 25mm wheel I bought won't fit on the fronts. The center bore doesn't clear the hub:

See this thread for more pics: http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/128078-wheel-spacer-doesnt-fit-280z-front/

I'm thinking of getting the center bore diameter drilled out a bit at a machine shop so that I don't have to deal with swapping out a brand new set of wheels/tires that are already mounted.......

[AlbatrossCafe]

Changed fluids today. I got everything except the diff. I couldn't loosen my differential fill plug I was stripping the bolt and had no leverage to break it free, so I'll leave that for another day.

 

The coolant reservoir I'm pretty sure had never been cleaned. There was seaweed like gunk in there... gross!

 

I found a problem while flushing the coolant. I let the car idle in the garage for about 7 minutes with the heat on and more than an "slow drip" of engine oil was deposited on the floor during that time:

 

There is definitely a leak.

What's even more curious is that I drained/changed the oil and then let it sit overnight without turning it on and I come out in the morning to some more (but not as much) spillage. WTF? So could there be a leak at the bottom of the oil pan or something? Was hoping with this car that I wouldn't have to mess with the engine much.

 

[Dave WM]

oil leaks..

clean everything real well from the spark plugs on down. when you see the leak again see if you can see it starting up high like around the head, if not look lower like around the pressure sending unit or oil filter. If still dry look closely at the pan, right at the mating surfaces. is it in the front or back of the engine?

if in the back of the engine do you see any oil coming from the weep hole on the bottom of the bell housing of the transmission? this can be hard to determine, clean this area well with some brake cleaner.

IF you have what looks like a pan gasket leak in the back of the engine AND if you can see what looks like a leak that is coming out of the weep hole, then you may have a rear main leak.

the only way to know for sure is to pull the trans and the clutch and the pressure plate and take a look at the rear main. focus on the seal AND look at the seam that is where the rear main side seal resides. I had a persistent leak that did not respond to the pan gasket or the rear main but from the side seals.

You can replace the rear side seals without pulling the trans, can do them when doing the pan gasket. You pull the pan, then unbolt the rear main bearing cap (need a puller or fashion something to pull it) don't mess up the main bearing, replace the seals, use the sealant as per the FSM, make sure the pan is not dimpled from over tightening use a new gasket and hope for the best.

My leak was from the side seals for sure. It looked like a pan leak.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[siteunseen]

Could be as simple as the copper crush washer on the drain plug. I've had that happen on a couple of cars. I was told not to tighten too hard and have done that ever since. No more drips.

[Dave WM]

I have heard (for what that is worth) that running synt oils in old cars that have used dino oil can sometimes effect seals. Could just be internet lore..

for what its worth I run Valvoline VR-1 racing oil.

Edited November 6, 2017 by Dave WM

[Zed Head]

1 hour ago, siteunseen said:

Could be as simple as the copper crush washer on the drain plug. I've had that happen on a couple of cars. I was told not to tighten too hard and have done that ever since. No more drips.

I like this one since it leaked without the engine running.  The oil just sits below the edge of the pan when the engine's not running.  The only seal it can get by is the drain plug's.

If you ran the engine then turned it off and let it sit, the filter gasket is a potential leak area,, since it's tilted and is supposed to stay filled.

[AlbatrossCafe]

I've put off the "investigating oil leak task" in favor of something more fun... I added a boost gauge!  I need to start doing research on what intercooler to get so I can increase boost levels. I plan to add that and a new exhaust system soon to get some easy/cheap HP.

I got an Autometer gauge for about $65 and put it in a generic mounting pod that I mounted to my A-pillar with 2 sided tape. I can't imagine needing (at this point, at least) anymore gauges and I didn't want to drill anymore holes than I needed, so this was a simple and effective solution.

It reads right at 7 PSI boost under hard acceleration exactly as it should.

Here's a demo:

 

Finished location on A-pillar:

I drilled a 3/8" hole through the firewall next to the existing wiring harness hole to route the vacuum line (rubber grommet not shown):

y

Vacuum line cable was not super "clean"... I just ran it up the side of the dash and wrapped it in electrical tape so it was less noticeable.

This is looking at the left side of the driver dash:

Vacuum line from outside (this part still need some electrical tape to help hide it):

Assortment of new vacuum stuff:

Mounted t-fitting at capped vacuum ports on the intake manifold (perfect fit/location):

Stock 7 PSI success: