deuce-Z

That's what I meant thanks. Sorry my post wasn't more detailed, but I figured someone would know what I meant.

The rubber connectors for MAF sensor are pretty well shot. The poor things have been silliconed so many times it's pathetic and all the used ones I've came across are so hard and brittle that they pretty well disintergate when I try to remove or install them. Does anyone know of a source for these?

Hey thanks! I was wondering what that strap was for! I just swapped out my diff a couple of weeks ago. I did it just like Zs-ondabrain describes, axles, driveshaft, front mount and the two rear bolts. The only thing that was a real pain in the butt was getting at the driveshaft bolts. I highly advise soaking down all the nuts and bolts with a good penetrating oil, preferably overnight or longer. It helps big time on old car nuts and bolts, nothing sucks worse than rounding off a really hard to get to nut or bolt. It can turn a fairly simple job into a nightmare from hell.

Thanks for the link Enigma, interesting read. I took her for a ride up to a friends house in the mountains this evening. It's a 20 mile ride one-way with some good grades and curves, so I was able to wring her out good. The noise was nearly gone except for an occasional WOOM-WOOM which seemed most noticable when decelerating. I hadn't really thought about it before but there was a slight vibration when the noise got loud. Now there's no vibration even when I hear the noise, of course it's not as loud either. I agree it's almost certain there's bearing damage and I won't feel right until I've changed them. The only thing that bothers me now is if I go through all that work and the noise is still there! I'll wind up doing it of course, but at least now it's not a top priority, I can just turn up the radio now.

Well I swapped out the left axle and switched around the tires. This has quieted down the noise considerably but not eliminated it entirely. I hear it occasionally but not as frequently and it is much quieter. The axle I removed had been swapped out before and was marked with a junkyard crayon '82 280ZX. It appeared OK but the other axle fit in place much easier than the ZX. I laid them side by side and they looked identical but for some reason the ZX axle fit in there tighter. I suspect there maybe bearing damage or wear but since the noise has quieted, I'm going to just try it for awhile and see what happens. Thanks for the help.

Thanks for the replies! I've got some spare axles that came with the differential. My next step is going to be swapping out the left axle shaft. My first thought was bearings too, but I've already checked them and couldn't find anything obvious. I hadn't considered the tire but now that you mention it that is a very distinct possiblity. While I've got it in the air I'll try swapping around the wheels. Thanks guys, I'll let you know what happens.

It only does it at road speeds [30+ mph] and it does seem to get louder when I'm going around a left hand curve. It does it in neutral or any gear and does not seem to be effected by acceleration or coasting. It doesn't always do it either sometimes I can go a day or two without hearing it and other times it's constant when it gets up to speed. It sort of sounds like a tire or something rubbing, but I've thoroughly checked for clearance and for any shiny spots on the rear-end components. I've even tried putting it on the lift and running the wheels up to speed, but can only get the noise when it's on the road. I've visually inspected for any bent or damaged parts and everything looks just fine. Like I say the only thing I've noticed is the left axle has to be pried out and the right comes out easily. One other thing I noticed is that there is some Bondo on the left door and quarter panel, which leads me to suspect that it was hit on the left, however there is no noticeable damage to any of the rear-end components and the body does not looked tweaked from a bad wreck just some sheetmetal work on the left side. I've always considered myself a fairly competent mechanic but this one is really throwing me for a loop. It also looks as though someone else tried to figure it out as well, when I was checking the bearings the left axle-nut had been removed previously but the right side nut had never been touched. It doesn't seem serious but it as me wondering if this might have caused the differential to go out?

I recently acquired a '78 280Z and am in the process of restoring it, everything works well and is in decent shape except for the rear-end. It had a nasty CLUNK when shifting gears and makes a WOOM-WOOM-WOOM noise when you get the speed up to about 30mph and up. Well I checked the differential and sure enough it was shot with about a half turn of play on the input yoke. I found a nice tight used one locally and swapped out the old diff. That cured the CLUNK noise but it still has the WOOM-WOOM noise. I took the rear brakes apart no sign of problems, and I took the rear hubs apart to check the bearings, everything was great and fresh grease didn't stop the noise. I did notice that the left axle was difficult to pry out and the right came out easily. The noise "seems" to be coming from the left but it's difficult to tell for certain. Should I try a new axle shaft on the left or has someone else encountered this problem? My other suspect is the strut any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.