78 280z distributor parts

[One Way]

Cap, rotor, wires are all readily accessible and I have new ones on hand.  I am finding pick up coils and reluctors but can not seem to locate a vacuum advance unit or the springs for the advance weights.  I have found some Cardone reman distributors available that have all those pieces included but thought it would be neat to retain the original distributor assembly that was installed at the factory.  I did get all the pieces for the alternator which also was the factory installed unit on my resurrection project.  I am not a big fan of Cardone reman products and looking for some helpful tips.  Obviously these parts must be available if they are being installed on the reman units or are they just getting cleaned up real nicely and put back on?  Thanks for any help and Merry CHRISTmas.  "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a SAVIOR, which is CHRIST the LORD"  LUKE 2:11

[One Way]

I have a rare day off from work as well as from babysitting grandchildren, so I decided to disassemble a very dirty and a bit rusty 42 year old distributor.  Any helpful hints on removing the vac advance unit.  Soaking in Blaster, a bit of patience, and also some prayer, all the screws are out, pins pressed out but the vac advance unit is not moving.  Repair manual says to slightly angle it to remove it from the advance weights but have not had any success so far.  It will be soaking in Blaster overnight and see what happens tomorrow.  Also a question on what the manual labels as a "slide".  The very thin sheet metal channel that acts as as locator tab for the base plate.  The top portion is pushed away from the distributor body-the channel portion is bent.  Originally I thought it was corrosion that bent the slide but after a bit of cleaning and poking with a pick, I am not sure if it is corrosion or some type of glue.  That is also soaking in some cleaner and will have to investigate further.  That portion of the distributor did have some corroded sections.  Thanks again for any tips and suggestions on #1 removing the vac advance unit-#2 locating a new advance unit,  Merry CHRISTmas, John-Lugoff. SC

[Zed Head]

50 minutes ago, One Way said:

, pins pressed out but the vac advance unit is not moving.  Repair manual says to slightly angle it to remove it from the advance weights but have not had any success so far.  

I don't recall any pins on the vacuum advance unit.  Just the tiny screw that attaches the arm to the breaker plate and the big screw that locks the unit to the distributor body.  Usually you can twist the unit after the big screw is out to break it free from the distributor body.

Couldn't identify the tiny screw so I just marked the spot where it attaches.  Remove those two screws and all that holds it in is corrosion.  Some heat on the body (housing) might expand it enough to break loose.

[One Way]

Thanks for the reply.  A picture in this case is worth a thousand words.  My words often come out wrong.  The pins I referred to were for the bottom drive collar and the pin in the reluctor.  That process went smoothly.  The diagram #6 is listed in some parts look ups as the reluctor and has some specs for California emissions or high altitude applications only.  The contactor in my distributor is a bit gummy and grimy.  Not sure if a good electrical cleaner would be sufficient or purchase a new one.  I do not believe my resurrection project-1978 280Z-has the California emissions.  No air pump or Oxygen sensors on this vehicle.  I will continue to do some more research on the parts but the vac advance unit seems to be non existent so far in my search.  The other question I had was about diagram #13 listed as cap setter.  The parts diagram I had lists it as a "slide".  Definitely  bent in at the top along one edge.  Glue or corrosion?  Some more cleaning and time will tell. Thanks again, John-Lugoff, SC.

[grannyknot]

9 minutes ago, One Way said:

The other question I had was about diagram #13 listed as cap setter.  The parts diagram I had lists it as a "slide".  Definitely  bent in at the top along one edge.  Glue or corrosion?  Some more cleaning and time will tell. 

That slide is as you say, a guide to insure that the cap is put on in only one direction, sounds like from your description that someone forced the cap on 180 degrees in the wrong position and crumpled the guide. It is made of thin zinc plated steel held in by one screw and if the corrosion between it and the cast aluminum is bad enough you may have to destroy it to get it out.

[One Way]

I may go out to the shop and dig a bit further on that slide part.  The vac advance unit and online searching does get a bit frustrating but I am not a very good internet navigator.  The Nissan # 22301-N4200 appears to be my correct choice-FED emissions, manual- which crosses over to several aftermarket #, none of which exist on the search in the manufacturer's website or in the parts suppliers' websites, or even worse one of the # comes through as a PCV valve.  The vac advance units must be available if Cardone is offering a reman unit or in some cases sending your distributor in to be refurbished.  We have some real horror stories at our parts store with us sending customer units in to Cardone, with all the proper paperwork and procedures done, and the part is unable to be located at Cardone and going through a maze of different departments all providing no answers.  Personally I never advise any of our customers to go that route even though our corporate office has that as part of their "NEVER SAY NO" marketing policy.  The last problem our store had was with a customer doing a numbers matching restoration of a 428 Cobra Jet Mustang and his water pump.  Our store manager processed the whole order correctly and he battled through countless phone calls, leaving messages that never got returned, and plenty of lame excuses on the whereabouts of the water pump.  Almost 2 months later it did show up at our store with no explanation after getting word they could not find it. The only thing enclosed was a bill for the service and the shipping charge.  Both of which were very reasonable.  Go figure.  I believe we gave the customer the unit for FREE because of the long wait, lack of answers, and the customer's good attitude about the whole mess.  Thanks again, John-Lugoff, SC.

[Zed Head]

Be careful with the breaker plate.  The ball bearings are probably stuck and if you put to much force on it you might break the plastic bearing cage.

The "slide/setter" has a lot of wiggle room even when it's new.  Once you lock the spring clips down on the cap it doesn't move.  It's not a precision piece.

[One Way]

Continuing the distributor renewal project.  I just ordered a vac advance unit #22301-N4200 through parts.nissanusa.com and hopefully it will be the correct part.  It is coming through Gwinnet Place Nissan in Duluth, GA.  I was surprised to see so much detail on that site.  I am sure I will be using it again.  I am still a bit unsure on how the supercessions go on these parts.  Not much info about that.  Also according to the diagram, my distributor would be the California version as the contactor appears to be the same as mine.  Our local Nissan dealer was clueless and pretty unhelpful with some of my previous inquiries-too old of a car to get parts excuse, even though I had the needed part numbers,-so it was a pleasant surprise to be able to find an easy to navigate website with prices clearly posted and good diagrams.  Will need continued help I am sure during this process.  Odd that part # on Google search did not get me any legitimate results. Thanks in advance, John-Lugoff, SC.

[One Way]

SUCCESS sort of.  I did get the vac advance unit out with additional Blaster and patience.  ZED was correct about the ball bearings and plastic cage.  Now I will have to search for a new plate assy.  Quite a bit of corrosion on that plate and ball bearing areas.  Plastic cage is cracked,  springs and weights look fine, inside distributor  housing looks like new after a quick spray with some brake cleaner.  Back to the parts hunt.  Enjoying the tear down process on this distributor.  Hopefully I can get it properly reassembled if I can locate all the correct parts.  Getting ready to go to work soon.  Will keep you all updated. Thanks, John-Lugoff, SC.

[grannyknot]

11 hours ago, One Way said:

Our local Nissan dealer was clueless and pretty unhelpful with some of my previous inquiries-too old of a car to get parts excuse, even though I had the needed part numbers,

I just go up to the parts counter with all the part numbers written out on a piece of paper, hand it to him and ask him to look them up.  Never tell them what year the car is, you just get that blank stare.

John, can you post a pic of the parts you are looking for? I have several distributors just for parts.

[One Way]

Thanks for the reply.  I guess I am not the only one to have the same issue with parts.  It was a pleasant surprise to find the parts.nissanusa.com website that covers all the old Datsun vehicles.  Some of the part # were clearly marked NO LONGER AVAILABLE but at least you get a valid # for the part.  I located and ordered all the parts I believe I will need to reman this distributor.  My biggest need will be the technical end of assembling all the advance mechanism parts properly.  It looks quite involved but I will dig into my Haynes repair manual as well as print out the info from the Factory Service Manual which I think my wife has downloaded somewhere into our computer a year or so ago.  Computer navigation just is not my strong point.  Requests for any additional parts or help will be coming as needed.  Thanks, John-Lugoff, SC.

[One Way]

Back to square one with the distributor.  After placing the order for the needed parts and waiting a few weeks with no results I contacted the Nissan dealer parts dept. handling the order placed through parts.nissanusa.com and got the bad news the parts are discontinued.  Why they were still listed on the site, I am not sure.  Other parts were clearly listed as discontinued.  Here is the list of parts needed.  

Vacuum advance-#22301-N4200

Plate                      #22136-N4200         First 2 are must haves.  Third part just would be nice to have,

Slider-holder cap-#22116-N4200

I will continue to investigate as time permits.  Hopefully the Z experts can provide some more clues.  Thanks, John-Lugoff, SC.