Picking up a 1977 280z 6 Hours Away. Tips?

[Av8ferg]

Stock is two piston I believe. One on either side. The Toyota’s are 4 piston (2 per side) I’m no expert but that’s what I’ve read when researched doing a brake upgrade on my crappy brakes. Found out my brakes were crappy because there there were no rear brake shoes on my car.



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[Zed Head]

My mistake.  You're right.

Many of the brake "upgrades" are really just brake modifications.  Anything that adds "more" is considered an "upgrade".  But, if you put stronger brakes on the front but not on the back then you change the balance.  You can get more stopping power with less effort just by changing pads also.

It's a fun job and a reason to be in the garage but if you don't go all the way you just end up with an unbalanced brake system, confusion for the next owner, and difficulty finding parts.

 

[BayAreaZ650]

Thanks for al the replies. I was able to get new brake pads for the Z.

i just pulled all 6 spark plugs. There’s motor oil around the threads of all 6 spark plugs. It seems like there’s also a bit of oil on maybe 2 of the spark plug tips as well.

The Z has been running extremely rich and has had a misfire issue due to one of the injectors not working. I wonder if that could be the reason.

[Zed Head]

If it's not running great, and you already have dirty plugs then a full tuneup is a good baseline.  Set valve lash, check timing,  etc.  Followed by checking the specs using the EFI Book or the Engine Fuel chapter of the FSM.  While you have the valve cover off check your cam timing using the notch and groove.  If you want to go deeper, measure cylinder pressures too.  Then you'll know you're starting point for further troubleshooting.  I've spent hours way back when I was first learning about engines swapping parts and "tuning' when all I needed was new spark plugs and points.

Many people don't like the fancy "irridium tip" plugs.  They recommend plain old standard NGK plugs.

[S30Driver]

Go with the good old NGK copper plugs,  nothing fancy,  no platinum, g grove, tri fire,  just the plain old NGK copper plugs.

[BayAreaZ650]

18 hours ago, Zed Head said:

If it's not running great, and you already have dirty plugs then a full tuneup is a good baseline.  Set valve lash, check timing,  etc.  Followed by checking the specs using the EFI Book or the Engine Fuel chapter of the FSM.  While you have the valve cover off check your cam timing using the notch and groove.  If you want to go deeper, measure cylinder pressures too.  Then you'll know you're starting point for further troubleshooting.  I've spent hours way back when I was first learning about engines swapping parts and "tuning' when all I needed was new spark plugs and points.

Many people don't like the fancy "irridium tip" plugs.  They recommend plain old standard NGK plugs.

Thank you for this. The Z is running pretty well. I’ll start working on the List you gave me.

[BayAreaZ650]

I found a few drops of oil coming from my transmission. I looked under and it’s coming from what seems to be a sensor.

What would be the best way to fix this?

[Zed Head]

13 minutes ago, BayAreaZ650 said:

I found a few drops of oil coming from my transmission. I looked under and it’s coming from what seems to be a sensor.

What would be the best way to fix this?

Sometimes the leak is through the body of the sensor itself.  Probably have to remove it and see.  Be careful with the wires they get really brittle over time. Many sensors with wire stubs out there.

[Zed Head]

I think it's the reverse switch.  Looks like they might be available out on the internet.

http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/power-train/transmission-case/5-speed/23

https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/nissan-switch-rev-lamp~32005-k1000.html

[BayAreaZ650]

On 4/21/2019 at 9:59 AM, Zed Head said:

Sometimes the leak is through the body of the sensor itself.  Probably have to remove it and see.  Be careful with the wires they get really brittle over time. Many sensors with wire stubs out there.

Thank you for this Zed Head! Would replacing the entire sensor fix the leaking issue or are there additional o-rings I need to replace as well?

[rcb280z]

There is an o-ring on it. Worth replacing, it could be the culprit. Remove the switch from the tranny and you'll see the o-ring. I keep an assortment of o-rings for stuff like this. Hopefully that'a all it is. If not I see zcardepot has the switch as another option to suppliers Zed Head gave you. Even autozone has them for less than $20 amazingly. 

[Zed Head]

I'm not so sure that there's an O-ring there.  The ones I've seen are just two machined flats, no gasket, no O-ring.  Worth removing to take a look, for sure, though.  Easy.  19 mm wrench.

I just went and messed with one I had off to see what I remembered.  The body of the one I looked at is metal, crimped around a plastic mechanism.  some have a metal plunger.  I don't know if there's an O-ring inside or not.  But the plastic portion was loose in its seat in the metal body.  I wiggled it and oil started to work its way out.   I think that the plastic, or internal O-rings, shrink after a few million heat cycles and leaks start.