Hi, 

i have some (hopefully) easy to fix problems with my 1978 280Z. The car has a pre '81 5 speed in it with a R200 diff. The first problem is a buzzing/mild grinding noise coming from the gearshifter especially in 5th gear, which gets louder the fast you drive. I checked different forums for this problem and the suggested solution was always checking the bushings and plastic cap on the stick. I did that, they are Nissan OEM parts in pristine condition ( is suspect a previous owner swapped them). I am pretty much clueless right now if this is just normal or a serious problem with the gearbox. 

The noise dissapears if you hold the stick tight in the right position. 

My second problem is a noise coming from the left rear drum brake during right hand cornering. It makes a 'grind grind grind grind grind' noise (faster with higher speeds). Not particular loud or alarming - it is more on the embarassing side. What do you think could be the reason for this?
- worn springs/brake pads 
- uneven drum
- broken wheel bearing
- loose backing plate
- Anything else? 

Thanks in Advance for your help. 
Best Regards
Johnny

 

As far as the shift lever noise goes, try removing the shift knob and see if it still does it. This has been discussed here before. Someone else will chime in about the brake noise.

Cheers, Mike

21 minutes ago, Johnny280 said:

My second problem is a noise coming from the left rear drum brake during right hand cornering. It makes a 'grind grind grind grind grind' noise (faster with higher speeds). Not particular loud or alarming - it is more on the embarassing side. What do you think could be the reason for this?
- worn springs/brake pads 
- uneven drum
- broken wheel bearing
- loose backing plate

My first thought was a worn bearing or one that wasn't replaced properly.  People have problems installing the rear bearings.

If it only happens when it has a side load that implies that the wheel and everything attached to it might be shifting slightly.  If you take the wheel and drum off you might see some grind marks and/or be bale to feel the wheel flange play.  There is a spec for side play.  It's not much.

That's what I would do too.  Take it all apart and look for anything unusual.  Those horizontal springs as well as the shoe's small push in the cap springs could be loose. 

Ok, thanks for all replies i will check for any play/ anything suspicious and try it without the shift knob.

It's not uncommon for the backing plates to get bent on the edges when people try to remove the drums.  I had one of those.  You'll see a shiny spot on the edge, where it almost meets the drum.  Actually, where it meets the drum but is not supposed to.

If axle play isn't bad you can just tap or plier (ply?) the ding out and put it all back together.  The rear bearings aren't really super precise.  You can wait to change them.

Edited November 10, 20186 yr by Zed Head

Hi, 
finally found the time to check both problems. 
For the Shift Knob it was really the inlet buzzing (without knob/ with knob without inlet everything is fine). So I will try to glue it back in place with some better glue. 

The drum brake noise came from a bent edge on the backplate (thx for the hint zed head). Wheelbearing  play was minimal.  After pulling the drum it was pretty obvious which part was rubbing (ground some nice groove into half of the cooling fins).

Thank you all for your help.