Cody's Goon

[Patcon]

I think I want to avoid using a rust converter because of the possibility of Nitrogen embrittlement. I am hoping if I get it fairly clean I can lightly grease the surfaces to prevent future rusting.

I think I will still probably open the cases up to check the oil gutter, the bearings and make sure the dogs look ok. I would prefer to not go further than that.

[Zed Head]

The rust on the tip of the shaft doesn't look terrible.  You can still see the smoothness underneath.

Haven't seen anyone recommend removing the front cover.  They're usually very stuck but it would make cleaning the splines much easier.  Plus  you can inspect the front two bearings and replace the seal.

[Patcon]

We got a stereo hooked up in his car this weekend. It's in the glove box for the moment. I don't know if we will move it into the dash or not. It's a full size DIN stereo we had and putting it in the dash would require some cutting

I also tried to install this tach.

I found an online article that gives a couple of ways to hook it up with a matchbox dizzy. One is inline with the coil power and the other is inline with the blue "C" wire to the match box. It also suggest reversing the connections because it is polarity sensitive. I tried all 4 ways and couldn't get any needle movement. I checked resistance on the inductive loop and got something like 0.3 Ohms and it also rings when tested for continuity. Any ideas on where to go from here? The black from the gauge was connected to the Neg on the battery and the green was touched to the Pos on the battery. I bought this off Craigslist so it has an unknown history.

 

[Captain Obvious]

That inductive loop is just that... A single loop of standard wire. It should read as a direct short on the meter.

Can you point me towards the on-line article you were using for connection wiring? I've never messed with one of those tachs, but I might be able to come up with something. Are the wire colors the same as the Z's that used the inductive style tach?  Nevermind that. I see they are different colors.

Do you know what the third (blue with stripe) wire is supposed to be for? Is that for illumination?

Edited November 7, 2018 by Captain Obvious

[Patcon]

On 11/6/2018 at 9:49 PM, Captain Obvious said:

That inductive loop is just that... A single loop of standard wire. It should read as a direct short on the meter.

Can you point me towards the on-line article you were using for connection wiring? I've never messed with one of those tachs, but I might be able to come up with something. Are the wire colors the same as the Z's that used the inductive style tach?  Nevermind that. I see they are different colors.

Do you know what the third (blue with stripe) wire is supposed to be for? Is that for illumination?

So that sounds like my loop measurements are correct. The crimps on the gauge make me wonder if they're good

Here is the link

http://elfecc.no-ip.info/510/Tachometer/Simplified_Tach_Hookup.htm

[Captain Obvious]

Yes, the loop measurements are correct.

So... Does the meter draw any current at all on the power lines? Try connecting it with an Ammeter in series with the meter. Like this:

Set your Ammeter for the 1A scale.
Battery positive to Ammeter positive.
Ammeter negative to gauge positive (gauge G/W).
Gauge negative (black) to battery negative.

If you don't see anything on the 1A scale, knock the scale down a click and see what happens?

If it's dead open, it won't draw anything at all. Like 0.0

Another thought would be to watch the needle when you first connect power to the tach. Does the needle bump at all? In similar devices, sometimes you'll see the needle bump a tiny bit when power is initially applied.

[Patcon]

I will see if I can set up an ammeter measurement with what I have.

I watched the needle, it never moved in any of the 4 configurations

I will post this in here too. Retro fit repair for a 510 tach using newer parts. This would probably work for a Z tach too, if needed

http://dimequarterly.blogspot.com/2011/08/tech-how-to-510-factory-tachometer.html

[Patcon]

Ok, I haven't done an amperage test on the tacho yet because it was cold today and I didn't feel like messing with it.

I did adjust the timing a little. We had about 6d at idle and about 33d all in at 3000 rpm's. I moved it to 9d at idle. It seemed to clear it up some.

How much total advance can I run? I think some more initial advance would be good but I don't want too much OA. I have a matchbox dizzy. I could unhook the VA and run more initial advance. Thoughts?

We have a speedo problem. Coming home from Zcon he didn't want to run 85mph. I told him we were running about 70. By the time we got home, his speedo would read almost to 100 mph. We took it apart and checked it. Seemed like to grit in the speedo case but it rotated freely.  Can I spray some lubricant into the speedo without damaging it? Any other ideas?

We took the ends off the 5 spd tranny. Looked pretty good to me. But I didn't see the infamous oil gutter

Anybody see any issues? @Captain Obvious, @zKars

@Dave WM

We started with this for an input shaft

I sanded the snout and it looks ok. The pitting is very light and hard to feel except with a finger nail. I could probably remove almost all of it, but I don't want to overly reduce the ID.

I had to file and sand each spline after wire wheeling to get it clean enough for this

There is this long gutter in the rear case

Is there supposed to be a short gutter in the main mounting plate? This is a 280ZX transmission. I don't know the exact year. Is there supposed to be a gasket at either of the mating surfaces. There was only sealant at both transmission halves.

Let me know if I need to make any other pics

Thanks Guys

[Zed Head]

15 minutes ago, Patcon said:

We took the ends off the 5 spd tranny. Looked pretty good to me. But I didn't see the infamous oil gutter

Is there supposed to be a short gutter in the main mounting plate? This is a 280ZX transmission. I don't know the exact year. Is there supposed to be a gasket at either of the mating surfaces. There was only sealant at both transmission halves.

No gaskets on the main cases, only the front cover.  People like to use the Blue Hylomar non-hardening sealant.  You can take it apart when you forget to do something.

Your synchros look a little worn.  Supposed to be even on both sides of the pyramid with a sharp point at the top.  Hard to tell from pictures.

There should be a gutter sticking out of the adapter plate.  Might be broke off.  Is it stuck to the drain magnet?  Here's 1982. 

[Captain Obvious]

1 hour ago, Patcon said:

Anybody see any issues?

I've not been inside a Z transmission so the only input I have is generic transmission stuff.

The only thing I see is there is some gear chipping on the reverse gears. Probably either from shifting into reverse while the internals are still spinning (clutch dragging a little maybe) or from clipping reverse on a downshift from fifth to fourth.

Other than that, what I see looks like normal wear and tear on transmissions internals. If it sounds good and shifts smooth, I wouldn't dig any deeper.

[Patcon]

I ordered an oil gutter for the 5 speed. I will have more info when it gets here. We plan to clean the 5 speed, reassemble and run it to see how it does.

On another note Cody has decided he hates body work and wants to find a shop to finish his car. That's fine with me because it will free me up and he will pay most of it. It also gets his car finished sooner. We found a guy by talking to a couple of shops and he works out of his own garage at home, but the finished work appears to be good. We'll see...

On a related note, I need to source an antenna for his car. The one mounted to the windshield pillar. Does anyone have one? @zKars

Even if I have to make it from a couple of different ones. The one on his car now is after market and doesn't use the proper holes. I need to source one before we can get his car in to do paint, so that we don't paint the car and then have to fix extra holes.

[Patcon]

On 11/8/2018 at 9:31 PM, Captain Obvious said:

Yes, the loop measurements are correct.

So... Does the meter draw any current at all on the power lines? Try connecting it with an Ammeter in series with the meter. Like this:

Set your Ammeter for the 1A scale.
Battery positive to Ammeter positive.
Ammeter negative to gauge positive (gauge G/W).
Gauge negative (black) to battery negative.

If you don't see anything on the 1A scale, knock the scale down a click and see what happens?

If it's dead open, it won't draw anything at all. Like 0.0

Another thought would be to watch the needle when you first connect power to the tach. Does the needle bump at all? In similar devices, sometimes you'll see the needle bump a tiny bit when power is initially applied.

I got like .04 amps when I tried it today. That seems awful low. Does that seem right?