soundmasterg

Thanks for the vacuum advance suggestion...I would have forgot that. I'm trying to fix the L24 without pulling the engine apart...as I think since it was running correctly since I put it all back together for 200 miles or so...whatever problem I have now I don't think should require pulling the head.....I'm thinking it must be simpler than that. I could be wrong of course....but I appreciate the suggestions! I get a break from school in 6 weeks and plan to spend some time with it then. I'll check the valve adjustment for sure, and will probably readjust the float levels in the carbs to start with. Greg

I hear what you are saying....I was wondering if it could possibly have something to do with the valves or the adjustment of them, or the seats....I am hoping to get more life out of the L24 without major work like pulling the head though....not to mention I don't have the time or weather to pull the head. 6 inches of snow and 19 degrees at the moment. I am also a senior in an EE program and am very busy with that and working when I can find it. I also have an L28ET that I would like to put any engine work into instead of the L24 if possible. My 240Z isn't a great candidate for a perfect restoration so it will get the hybrid style one with a turbo. My 240Z best I can tell is 6/72...it is missing the mounting stuff for a rear anti-roll bar, and has a 6/72 date on the seat belts. As far as I can tell, 7/72 was when the rear anti-roll bar mounts were put in. Only 87k original miles when I get it in 2008....it was sitting in a chicken coop for 20 years....now it has 98k on it. The lash pad fell out after a day of driving in 95 degree heat...went to start it the next day and that was when I got the original valve clatter problem due to the lash pad being out, and didn't have time to mess with it until 6 months later. And that was the back valve on cylinder 5...whereas currently cylinder 3 and 5 are the ones that have issues...with cylinder 5 beginning to run along with the others as the engine warms up, but cylinder 3 never seeming to run. I plan to recheck the valve adjustment as the weather gets better. Any idea where to set timing? Book says 10 degrees BTDC, but if I set it there, it pings like a MOFO. I was wondering what others are setting theirs to? Greg

I won't really be able to work on it for a little while still due to school and work, and weather issues. Right now I'm trying to gather ideas to help me when I do get a chance to look at it again. It will probably be until early spring before I delve into it again at this point. I appreciate the suggestions as they will help me when I get a chance to delve into troubleshooting it! My thinking is that it was running perfectly for several years before the lash pad fell off, and then the car sat for a year....I think the carbs should still be ok with the rebuild I did previously. I do have the Z Therapy DVD's btw. I may readjust the float height though and make sure those are still ok, so I'll be calling Z Therapy for new gaskets if nothing else. I have gone through several Pertronix over the years....one was bad out of the box and would randomly quit. The other I burned up from leaving the ignition on while working on it, so since then I have been very careful to avoid that. I did readjust all the valves, but I was planning to check them again just to be sure. I know if a valve was misadjusted it would cause it to run badly and the compression numbers would also be off. Incidentally, the lash pad fell off the exhaust value on #5 previously. I did try moving the plugs around, and the ones in there now are brand new NGK BP6ES. I also have the ones that were fouled from the chokes sticking on that only have 200 miles on them...I cleaned them up, so I can try them if needed. The wires are new in 2008, but I suppose maybe something could have failed....though I moved the wires around between cylinders previously and the problem followed the cylinder. I know it has to be something other than the engine itself, since it ran well not many miles ago....so fuel or carbs or spark...etc. Its just baffling and leaves me scratching my head. What do you guys run your timing at? As I said above...I have it at 6 degrees BTDC at the moment....I'd like to go more advanced but it pinged when I did that before. Previous to all the issues I ran it at 10 degrees BTDC with no pinging, but that was also with a stretched timing chain too. Greg

Hello all, My 1972 240Z with original 2.4L was sitting for 20 years in a chicken coop when I bought it in 2008. It only had 87k original miles on the engine, and I spent some time getting it running well. I drove it without incident for several years until the summer of 2012 when I went to start it and there was a very bad valve train clatter. I didn't have time to look at it for awhile due to school and work. When I did get a chance I discovered that one of the lash pads had fallen off the rocker arm, so I put that back on, but I also noticed that the timing chain was badly stretched, and the tensioner had broken too. So I had a friend who is a Datsun mechanic help me replace the timing chain and all the associated parts up there. I adjusted the values cold to the recommended values in the specs, and I tuned it up with new plugs, cap, rotor, etc. It uses a Pertronix instead of points. I started it up and reset the timing and mixture etc. By the time I was able to do all of this, the car had been sitting a year. The carbs were overhauled in 2008 by me and they are stock Hitachi SU's. It ran great for about 250 miles, and then started fouling the plugs and running on less than 6 cylinders. I found out this was due to the chokes sticking on. So I fixed that, replaced the plugs and it again ran well for about 200 miles before running on less than 6 cylinders again. Now however, the plugs are not fouled. When first started it runs on 4 cylinders, then after it warms up, it runs on 5 sometimes. The cylinders that are not firing are consistently number 3 and 5. If I pull those plugs I can see they spark just fine with good strong spark. I've adjusted the carbs to hell and back and can't get those two cylinders to fire for some reason. I've tried adjusting the timing from 6 degrees to 10 degrees BTDC and at 10 it pings badly, even though that seems to be what the book suggests to set it at. I am using good fuel and have tried super in addition to regular. Compression is good and even in all six cylinders....around 150-160. I can't figure out what is going on here....I seem to have fuel and spark yet it just doesn't want to run on all 6. Does anyone have any ideas I can try as the weather gets better? Thank you! Greg

I've got a similar problem on my '72 240Z. It sat for almost a year, and I finally got a chance to look at it and found my problem with the noisy valves....a lash pad had fallen out on intake 11. So got that sorted and started it up with the chokes advanced and it ran great for a minute or so....then when I went to get out and adjust the timing it died like the fuel was cut off and wouldn't restart. I verified spark and then disconnected the fuel line from the filter and ran it into a gas can and still didn't work so that ruled out the tank. Then I made sure the fuel pump actually pumps, which it does. Then I pulled the airbox and sprayed starting fluid in it and it runs great for a second until that dies out....so I have a block in the fuel lines or inside the carbs...and if I remember right, there is an internal filter in the round top SU's....so there is probably one also in the carb that you have too. Greg

To the OP, your computer is probably infected with spyware. Go to www.trendmicro.com or Internet Security - Antivirus - Online backup - Mobile Security - Anti-Virus for Mac - Free Antivirus | F-Secure and run some of the free antivirus scans and get rid of the garbage that is on your computer. Be warned that due to the garbage on your computer interfering with everything, the free online scans may not work as the spyware may stop them. Also, if they do work, the scans will take a loooong time...like half a day or more. Greg

In addition to my '72 240Z, I've got a '69 Volvo 1800S, but it isn't for sale. Sorry guys! It is waiting for me to get some money to finish the paint and put it all back together. One of these days hopefully. You can find a lot of Volvo 1800's both coupe and wagon in the Pacific NW. They are so thick that even moderate rust that would doom a Z isn't a problem on the Volvos. There is also very good parts support (expensive though) direct from the dealer with quite a lot available. The parts that aren't available though like hoods, trunks, some smaller parts too, are REALLY hard to find. There isn't as much of an aftermarket for those as with the Z. If you want more power out of the Volvos there is a guy in NY who does a supercharger kit for them and you can get 300 reliable rear wheel hp but it is spendy. If you don't want to be that extreme, you can get 170-200 rear wheel hp NA with them, though you have to build the engine the right way. The driving position is really low on them and they have the feel of an old car whereas the Z feels modern. Greg

I've got an original at home in the box I am pretty sure. I got it off ebay right after I bought my car in 2008 and I thought my coil was bad. It was NOS in box. I will not be using it. I can take a look over the weekend and give you more info. If you're interested, send me a PM with an email address and I can email you pics and info. Greg

I should probably order up one of those kits before they disappear since I plan to do this to my Z too. If I got one through you would I save anything over getting it direct Dave? Greg

There should be a code on the passenger door lock cylinder and also on the hatch lock cylinder. These should be the same, and a key in those should fir the other locks too. Been there, done that! A local locksmith fixed me up with keys that would fit, and all the locks were the same. greg

Captain Obvious, I might be interested in a spray bar setup like the one you made. My 240Z just started making a racket the other day when I started it and I pulled the valve cover off to take a look. I didn't see anything obvious so I ran it at idle briefly and could see that the spray bar wasn't spraying on the back 3 cylinders hardly at all. So I pulled the spray bar off and it came unsoldered from the back mounting block. Some holes look to be plugged too....so I either get yours if you are still doing them, the billet ones, or find a used one somewhere that will likely break eventually, or fix mine. I eventually plan to put a turbo engine in mine, but that is at least a couple years down the road, so I need something to get my L24 E88 head to that point. Since I have no idea on what your pricing is like, perhaps you might PM me the price and if you are still making these? Thanks! Greg

I had this problem with my 240Z as it was sitting in a chicken coop for 20 years. I just jacked the car up on stands and ran it in gear and reved up and down and used the brakes and ebrake and it broke free after about a minute of it. I think I had it in 4th the whole time. Think about it this way,....it doesn't hurt you to try some more and be rough with it as far as revving and braking as if it doesn't work the clutch just has to be replaced right? Try again and I bet you'll get it! Greg

I can get just about any part I need from the dealer for my 1969 Volvo 1800S. They are expensive, but they ARE available. Nissan doesn't seem to be as good about it, but they can't be as bad as VW/Audi is. As far as I understand it, manufacturers are required by law (at least in the US) to supply parts for 11 years from the data of manufacture, and VW/Audi cuts it off on the dot, and when you ask about older parts they just tell you to buy a new VW or Audi. I have a 1985 Audi I can't get a lot of parts for because the local dealer up here threw away a whole bunch of parts for anything older than 1995 a couple years back! Greg

For the 240SZ calipers, at least on the 240Z, you leave the cables attached where they are at the front of the cables, but at the rear where they attach to the calipers, you just swap the sides....so the right cable goes to the left caliper and vice versa. It works fine. The only complaint I have is a good way to attach the cable to the arm that sticks out from the caliper that is supposed to hold it. On the 240SZ there is a molded plastic thing that fits into the arm, but on the 240Z the cable is round and doesn't really stay in the arm well at all. Maybe I am missing some parts off the conversion or something? I used the Moderm Motorsports conversion on my 240Z and it didn't seem to come with anything.... Greg

I run the Pertronix on my '72 240Z without issues now. However I have had issues in the past and have discovered that you need to make sure if you are going to leave the ignition on for even a short period while you work on the car, or if listening to a radio etc., without the engine running, then you need to disconnect the wires going to the Pertronix unit in the distributor, or the Pertronix unit inside there will overhead and fry itself. I went through a couple Pertronix units due to this reason, and now I always unplug the connections before I work on the car, and plug them back in afterwards. Also, I would suggest to find a better way to connect wires up than black electrical tape. That will give you intermittant problems overtime due to the poor connection. You should strip the wires that have to join and put proper connectors on them, or solder the wires together with heat shrink tubing over them. Greg