Nissanman

The adjuster lever has a detent pawl on it to prevent the wheel from unwinding and moving the shoes away from the drum. The FSM says: - ...Remove the clevis pin from the wheel cylinder lever and disconnect the hand brake cable. ...Remove the brake drum adjust hole plug and remove the adjust lever from the adjust wheel with a screwdriver [disengages the detent pawl]. ...Turn the adjust wheel downward with a screwdriver to loosen the brake shoe and remove the brake drum. Additionally, the drum may be siezed on to the cast iron hub but that is another story:surprised

For the 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8 with solid lifters the valve clearance is: - HOT Inlet.........0.010"[0.25mm] Exhaust....0.012"[0.30mm] COLD Inlet.........0.008"[0.20mm] Exhaust....0.010"[0.25mm]

As far as I know, all L series engines have solid valve lifters, thus requiring valve lash or clearance to be set manually. The rockers should all have a Rocker Arm Spring Part #31 to hold the rocker captive on the Rocker Arm Pivot Part #28 hooked into the Rocker Arm Spring Retainer Part#30. Are yours still there? Without those little suckers the rocker can wander and pop off the works.

If you haven't already done so, check the voltage at the headlamp sockets. Dull lights are usually caused by poor +12V supply voltage or bad grounding. Use a multi-meter on VOLTS to measure the supply side of the lamp to the 12V battery -ve GROUND terminal. It should read 12V or above [~13.8V] with the engine running. Use it on RESISTANCE setting to measure the ground side of the lamp to the battery -ve GROUND terminal, with the car at rest i.e. key turned OFF. The GROUND pins should not show any appreciable resistance to the 12V battery GROUND terminal. Loss of voltage and/or high ground resistance is usually caused by dirty or burnt contacts, faulty fuse and the like. There is a plethora of high output Halogen globes but they may not be any improvement if the electrical system is not in good condition.

From the AWFUL 1977 280Z wiring schematic in my Haynes Manual: - Water Temperature Sensor, Black & Black wires. Thermo Time Switch, Green & Green wires, both of which go to the Cold Start Valve terminals 45 & 46. That's all folks, I went crossed eyed at that point:cross-eye:cross-eye

I assume you checked for adequate fuel flow at the supply pipe to the carbs? Sounds like you may need to check the fuel level in the float bowls. The bowls should be full of fuel at any time. If they are dry or low, then the inlet connection, float valve or atmospheric vent may be faulty/blocked. I would advise you to remove the bowls, inspect them for residue clean everything up and replace the valve and seat in each. Also check and clean if necessary the flexible pipe between the float bowl and the carb. It is relatively simple to set the float valve correctly to ensure the fuel level in the bowl is correct.

If you are confidant that you have addressed all the external electrical connections, the only iffy bit left is the starter. See if you can arrange with an Auto Electrician to have it bench tested. If it is the original starter it might just be worn brushes. At least they are reasonably easy to remove/replace.

....or 10 spoke:classic:

Well I guess that's better than being a proselyte If you can, I suggest removing the drain plug from the tank and using some fresh gas, give it a flush out. You will probably need to back flush the fuel lines as well. You can use compressed air to do that, blow them out from the engine end. Then of course the float chambers [if applicable] will need to be checked too:paranoid:

OIL PRESSURE: - if you are relying on the OEM electrical gauge and sender then it will be an unknown unknown! I would suggest an oil and filter change since you may not have decent stuff at present. The higher performance oil pump from a 280ZX Turbo engine is a possible improvement, but in good order, the stock pump is quite adequate. REAR SWAY BAR: - appears to be an aftermarket one size fits none type! I would get it off since it clearly doesn't fit correctly and is dangerous. ENGINE: - can be identified from the engine number stamped on the pad which on the engine block between cyl. 5 and 6, oil filter side. L24 for 2400cc, L26 for 2600cc and L28 for 2800cc engines. Externally, these 3 engines a virtually identical in respect to interchangeability.

It is usually by chance that we detect how warm fuses actually are when passing their rated current. Cleaning contacts has been mentioned [very important], but you might check all the connections to the fuse box for tightness. The factory either riveted or spot weld the wires to the fuses and if these are loose and/or corroded, they will introduce a high resistance joint which can cause excessive heat. Just a gentle wiggle will be enough to determine if they are tight and safe. If you have a Multi-meter, you could measure the fuse to wire resistance and see how they shape up. As for the fuses themselves, a normal 3AG fuse may need to pass up to 200% of its' rated current before rupturing. That is why it is important to replace a blown fuse with one of the same rating or slightly lower rating. Also, you could squeeze the fuse holder tabs to grip the fuse tighter, thus ensuring a low resistance contact. Unfortunately, this "old technology" fuse system has some inherent problems! The more modern blade style ATC fuses are designed to introduce a significant friction component to the fuse contacts and are not susceptible to the physical breakdown that a tubular glass fuse suffers.

I have found if you clamp a pair of vice grips to the pinion shaft splines you can then lever the pinion and bearing out with a pair of flat bladed screwdrivers bearing on the underside of the vice grips. If you are careful and lever from opposite sides simultaneously, you won't damage anything. All the above requires that you have already removed any retaining clips from the relevant parts:paranoid:

Does this look familiar???

The passing of time is very important. Without the passing of time, nothing would happen, or even worse, everything would happen at once!

A possible improvement to your oiling system would be a REMOTE OIL THERMOSTAT. From your location I'm guessing that your climate can get cold? An oil thermostat will do 3 things: - 1. restrict oil from entering the oil cooler until it reaches a minimum temperature, typically 82deg. C.[180deg. F] 2. with an oil cooler fitted it will improve the oil pressure to the engine while the thermostat is closed and, 3. in the event of the oil exceeding the thermostat temperature, switch the oil cooler into the path to stabilise the temperature. You'll never really know what your oil pressure is unless you fit a mechanical/direct reading gauge! More info. here!

There may be a little play in the shaft but certainly not a lot! I suggest if the shaft has a barely perceptible movement, that would be tolerable. If the output shaft has excessive wobble it will allow the drive shaft slip joint to rotate in an uncontrolled eccentric pattern which will chew out the rear seal again. If you are genuinely concerned it may have too much movement, it may be wise to have a transmission expert check it out.

It can do but it depends on the wattage of the globe you use. A smaller wattage will glow brighter for small leakage currents and vice versa. Conversely, a high wattage globe such as a headlamp, say 60W, will allow most loads to function normally when used, bar the starter. So if you suspect an intermittent short you can use the high power globe and switch everything on and rest assured that the maximum current draw will be limited to 60/12 or 5A. The idea is to give you an instant visual when the short occurs and not blow any fuses or burn any wiring:classic:

Washer...don't think it matters one way or the other, but I would suggest the raised portion at the threads to be facing the oil pan:rolleyes: Shifter...there is usually trans. oil at the base of the shifter mechanism. It is exposed to the oil inside the case, no seal there. The only seals fitted are for the input shaft and the driveshaft sleeve/yoke. Is he still a "friend":ermm:

...or just insert a 12V globe in series with the Ground or Negative cable. It will glow if there is a load, won't rupture any fuses and will extinguish when you remove the load. Don't try and crank the engine with either the multimeter or the globe in the circuit :finger: Typical culprits for running a battery down between starts are: - 1. alarm systems 2. rear window demisters 3. HI-FI head units with a constant 12v feed for memory etc. 4. anything else you can think of:(

Here is an example for the F4W71A gearbox: -

Was the fluid drained from the auto or did the Torque Converter get drained when the trans. was separated from the engine? Assuming the TC is correctly fastened to the flex plate and the selector is correctly connected and adjusted, the trans should do something when the selector is shifted to a driving position be it 1, 2, D or R, unless there is insufficient fluid in the trans. What is the fluid level on the trans. dip stick? Capacity is 5.5L. Try disconnecting one of the trans. cooler pipes at the radiator and crank the engine. The fluid should pump out quite well if there is any at all in the trans. If you suspect it is low, top it up with a litre or so. You can easily remove any surplus if you overfill it by doing the above into a container. The fluid level is supposed to be checked with the engine running , warm and in PARK. "The most likely causes of faulty operation are incorrect oil level and linkage adjustment" Source: - Haynes Datsun 240Z, 260Z, 280Z Automotive Repair Manual.

You are not going to know much more until you do a thorough inspection of all the rear end bits, BUT, I reckon you may have sussed the problem. I suspect the handbrake mechanism or maybe the rear shoe retaining springs have somehow let go and are freewheeling inside the drum. Anyhoo, I would not advise driving the car until you do ascertain the problem and repair it. Rear wheels off, rear drums off, and then post some happy snaps of what you find:nervous::nervous::nervous:

I was advised by a Motor Trimmer, after he did a dash re-skin on my 510, to just use a damp cloth to remove the dust. Done regularly it will prevent any build up of ingrained dirt. He wouldn't endorse or recommend ANY treatments for the dash:finger:

The fact that the alternator charge current climbs with engine RPM indicates that it is more likely a Regulator issue, or, a wiring problem between the Alt. and Reg. Here is a diagram of the typical Alternator and Regulator wiring connections, The B wire at bottom left is a GROUND wire.

Do you mean VOLTMETER or AMMETER? I really need to know which it is, VOLTS or AMPS. A Voltmeter is usually marked from say 9V to 15V no polarity indication whereas an Ammeter is centre zero with markings of -45, 0 and +45 for example. It sounds like your Alternator is running UNREGULATED:finger: This will cause the battery to EXPLODE if left too long! You need to check all the connections as a matter of urgency to rectify the problem. The squealing may be a misaligned belt/pulley, or it may be due to the extreme current draw mentioned above. The dim headlamp is probably due to a faulty ground for that lamp. It may be that both filaments are operating in series instead of using the ground circuit.