Weasel73240Z

I'm changing back to the stock air cleaner box as part of my Winter upgrades. Which got me thinking...has anyone tried a ram air set-up with the SU's and stock air box? I was thinking about running a 3" +/- duct from the intake of the air cleaner box to a collector (maybe 3" x 24") above the front valance, below the bumper. I work in construction, so getting a collector box fab'd should be pretty easy. Seems like it might be a pretty cheap and easy way to pick up some HP's, and help with the problem of overhead heat affecting engine performance. Anybody tried a set-up like this, any results?

Here's whats in my garage...Z up on stands...cabinet blaster, compressor, parts washer, vibratory tumbler....walk down to my workshop...beer fridge. And the last pic is the attack dog (Sid) that protects it all.:beard:

With respect ezzzzzzz, I'm a 40-year old man, with a very good job at a company that doesn't invade their employees privacy (i.e. no testing) and I have no kids. I have ample free time and money to make the choices that I make. I live in a state where minor possession is not a crime, but a civil violation (i.e. a parking ticket, more or less). I appreciate the social commentary, but I believe in freedom of choice, and 20 years of exercising my freedoms hasn't really held me back. But more than anything, I respect your right to express your opinion. It just isn't the same as mine. Back to the point, I tried the modification, and I'm heading out to the garage in about an hour to give it a try.

Thanks Mike. I actually cut a new groove into the sleeve last night, and it looks like it'll work fine. But I did it at night, and didn't feel like climbing under the car to try it out. Very simple mod, took me about 15 minutes.

Marc, If you want to see the ZTherapy carbs in action, take a ride from Lincoln to Taunton. That's only about a half hour or so. Of course, my cars not running right now either, its all torn apart for the Winter upgrades. But I'll have it running again in a week or two. The ZTherapy carbs are awesome. Once I dialed them with the help of the video, I haven't had to adjust them at all. The car starts easy, idles great and pulls hard. Of course, next year with the 4.11, 5-speed and ZX dizzy upgrades complete, I bet it pulls a lot harder.:bandit:

My set took a little tweaking, but the car started fine with them right out of the box (once I got my timing straight). Minor adjustments were all they needed "out of the box". The ZTherapy video is great and walks you right through tuning and balancing.

I was ready to try that last night Stephen, but I was afraid I'd screw something up and stopped myself. Having just taken advantage of the newly relaxed pot laws in MA before heading to my garage:smoke:, I didn't think it was a good time to break out the dremel.:paranoid: I suppose there no harm in trying it, since the sleeve won't work as it is anyway. I'll give it a shot and let you know how it works out.

So I got the 5-speed tranny installed, pretty simple bolt-up (79 ZX 5-speed into my 73 240Z). Problem is, the 20-tooth pinion gear that I needed to correct the speedo (new 4.11 R180 installed also) doesn't fit. The 20-tooth pinion is larger (diameter) than the 18-tooth that was in the tranny, and won't mesh with the drive gear. The issue is discussed several times in the forum, but I couldn't find the info I needed.:stupid: It seems that there is an "offset" sleeve that will make it work, but I can't find a Nissan part# for it. Does anybody have the part number for the offset sleeve? Or is there another mod. that I can do to make this one work? It looks like installing the sleeve "upside down" would work, but then the groove that locks the sleeve in place would be on the bottom. Thanks.

I think (not knowing the exact origin of my R180), I'll go with 25/ft. lbs. Thanks guys.

Stephen, I'm not sure of the origin of my R180. The guy I bought it from bought it used from someone else. He guessed that it came out of a 200SX, but couldn't say for sure. Carl, My FSM ((PD Section - Page 4) Illustration PD-2 #17) says 13.7 - 18.8/ft. lbs. Either 18 - 23/ft. lbs. or 25 - 33/ft. lbs. seems more appropriate for a fairly high stress component like this. I just felt like 13.3 - 18.8/ft. lbs. that was in my FSM seemed very low when I was preparing to torque it down. Since the 4.11 R180 clearly isn't a 73 240Z part, I figured my FSM was wrong (although that torque setting seems too low for the old 3.36 R180 also, IMO). Without knowing the origin, maybe I'd be best off applying my Loctite and torquing it to 25/ft. lbs. and stop stressing so much?:paranoid:

Anybody??? :nervous:

I'm about half way through the 5-speed/4.11 R180 swap. The tranny is in, and so is the rear differential and driveshaft. Just waiting on my new rear control arm bushings to finish up. My question is about the correct tightening torque for the side flange bolt on the differential. The FSM says 13.7 - 18.8/ft. lbs. (which seems low to me, but I obviously tend to believe the FSM) and the Haynes manual, that says 50/ft. lbs. Can someone confirm the correct torque setting. BTW, I'm not sure what my R180 came out of, I bought it from a guy who'd owned it for a long time, but I assume the torque setting is the same for all R180's. Thanks as usual for the help.

I'm getting ready to put the 79 280ZX 5-speed into my 73. I noticed that the 5 speed only has one electrical connection, toward the front of the tranny near the shift fork boot. I assume its for the reverse lights. The 4 speed had 2 elec. connections (back-up lights and neutral switch I guess). If I don't connect the neutral switch, is that annoying seatbelt buzzer going to be going off all the time?

I just want to know where the seller scores his weed.

I assumed it was the spacer, but based on the diagram, the spacer would go between the spring seat and the insulator. This part was inside of the spring seat, between the spring seat and the strut. I hear you about Kotchman, I guess having Youkilis at first isn't so bad. Even with the 2 World Series wins, we (Sox fans) still have a complex when it comes to the Spankee's. (At least we can all agree to hate them). :nervous:

Just thought I'd update you guys...I won, BIG (155-117). Thanks to Antonio Bryant, Reggie Wayne and De'angelo Williams, all Winter 2008 upgrades paid for by my friends. :bandit: As far as the tranny tunnel thing...you'd certainly know better than me Stephen since this is my first Z. But I thought it was the case for all original 4-speeds.

I need to ID the part below. It seems to be some kind of insulator that goes between the top of the strut and the spring seat (spring seat is #55 in the attached catalog page). On the pic that shows the 2 spring seats together; the 1 on the left is missing, 1 on the right is there. No part in the BD catalog seems to correspond. Is it the "bump stop" that I've seen on eBay? Story is....I was beginning to put my rear suspension back together, and as I prepared to re-install my springs, well, I thought the "part" was build-up of 35 years of road dirt, so I put a screwdriver under it, and "cleaned it out". Of course, once the part broke, I realized my mistake. I can't figure out which part it is, I attached the page from Black Dragon if that helps. I'm not even sure if I need it, or if it was only necessary with the stock struts, which were still in the car. The new strut cartridges are KYB's, if that helps. Thanks in advance for the help. (The pic of the new 4.11 differential is just to show my progress so far this Winter). Now I must go cry, I just heard that the Yankees have signed Mark Teixeira.

Yes, thats where the valance goes. BTW, what a great B-Day present. Is your wife looking for a 40-year old to adopt? My birthday's coming up! :nervous:

I'm with beandip on this one. I know you said you don't want to replace the parts, but I have a 73 240 that came with flat tops. I ordered the ZTherapy SU's, and now the car runs, idles accelerates like new at any temp, and no matter how long (or how hard) I drive it. The ZTherapy carbs are worth every penny, and Bruce is great to deal with.

Having the car in neutral won't have any effect. The only things that I know of that could cause your problem (assuming they are all compatible Z parts) are damaged teeth (on either the driveshaft end or tranny shaft), or something jammed/stuck in the female end of the driveshaft that's keeping it from seating. Or, if the rear end (differential) came out, was it put back at the original spot (could it be too far forward somehow?)?

If you're trying to shift the tranny on the floor, it can be a little harder to get it into 5th. 1st - 4th gears are the standard H-pattern, but you have to push the shifter to the right (from neutral) to get it into 5th (up) and R (down). Sometimes it takes a little effort without the clutch, but not much. If you have to force it to the right, you probably have a 4 speed.

The ZX tranny's do bolt up, but I believe the Borg-Warner 5 speed (out of Turbo ZX's) requires some modifications. If you get a 5 speed from a 77 - 83 NA 280Z/ZX, it'll bolt right up, you just have to open up the hole in the tranny tunnel for the new shifter pattern.

I didn't realize that my 4-speed shifter would work. I actually replaced the original plastic bushings with CNC'd brass bushings this past Summer on the 4-speed, so it should be all set. Thanks for the speedo gear source.

That's what I was thinking Arne. So I'll do the seals, fluids and the bushings. I also have to get the 22-tooth gear so my speedo works with the 4.11 diff. Anyone had luck heating/bending the 5-speed shifter so they fit in original 4-speed cars?

I got my 5 speed out of the 79 ZX in that local boneyard. So now I can complete the R180 4.11/5-speed conversion. I can't wait to drive the car again in the Spring. Between the tranny/diff swap, the new rear struts and the new rear sway bar, I'll be looking for punks in Mustangs to run past. :classic: Apart from changing fluid, what should I do to the tranny before installing it? Its got about 65K on it, and it was driven to where it sits. The best part, I made the finals in my fantasy football league yesterday, which guarantees my at least $330, and up to $700. Cost of the 5 speed and the 4.11 R-180 package...$350. If I win the final this week, all of this Winters upgrades will be paid for by my buddies.