ConchZ

I had another thing causing a clunk that seemed to be coming from the rear end whenever I released the clutch. A loose nut on the backside of the T/C rod. Because it clunks against the frame, and your biggest connection to the frame is through the seat, you feel it underneath and a bit behind you, making you think it comes from the back end.

It's either Noise/Vibration/Harshness, or New Van Halen. Depending on how well Roth can still sing, those might be the same things. Yes, he rejoined the band for another tour.

Seems like you could make one out of a bathroom towel bar.

I got a chance to drive the car during some good weather last week. I am happy to report that it is much smoother with rubber bushings on the back of the T/C rods. All the twitchiness I was experiencing at highway speeds is gone. I now notice other NVH issues that I wasn't noticing before because of the twitchiness, though. The car is smooth as can be until 90 mph, then I start to get some vibration.

By any chance did you open up the gap on your spark plugs when you upgraded the coil? My PO installed an unknown pretty chrome coil, and a Crane Fireball 700 ignition module. Some websites suggest opening up the plug gap with an aftermarket coil, so I tried it. Made the idle rough, and created random misses under load.

A quick update. I did install a freewheeling diode on the postive side of the fans, with a branch from it that takes it to ground, per some instructions on electric fan installation I found elsewhere. This seems to have cured the problem. However, by the time I did this, the hot days had ended, so I'm not sure. Will likely not know until next summer. I hope I have sovled the mystery, because these fans definitely help your AC cool better.

Just a quick update. The NAPA bushing kit arrived, and it is definitely real rubber. Much softer than the poly, and it fits perfectly. I put a rubber bushing on the back of each T/C rod, and left the front bushing poly. Also, it is worth noting from Z tech tips which way to install the big concave washers. I originally installed the rear most ones the wrong way. I did this over 3 years ago, and I was tired. If you install those things backward, it seems like it would further limit the vertical movement of the rod. I assume I incorrectly installed the one that fell off, but who knows. Don't work on your car when you are exhausted. I haven't driven the car yet, because of the salt rime on the roads. Will report back in the spring on whether the ride is improved. Speaking of salt, I also did my annual policing for rust. Found some starting on the left front frame rail, where some undercoating was cracked. No big deal, just scraped off all loose undercoating, sanded it back to clean metal, chemically treated it for good measure, painted it and put on some fresh undercoating. Having paid good money to get all known rust cut out and replaced, I'm a bit nuts about fighting rust. Once a year, I pick over the underside, looking for loose undercoating and other signs of problems.

Thanks. Gives me a data point. I will need new exhaust soon, and will go with best I can find that is reasonable. That sounds reasonable if you got what you paid for, which you did not. Sorry to hear about that. Hope you get some satisfaction.

Out of curiosity, how much did they charge you for the system?

Sorry to bring up a really old thread, but I'm looking for thoughts on this kit. First off, I have been using poly bushings on my tension rods for about three years. Somehow the nut came off the back of the tension rod on the drivers side, and I lost the backside bushing, big concave washer and the nut. I now need to either go with this kit, or go with another set of bushings. Either way, I need to source that concave washer. I can go the easy route with a bushing kit from NAPA that has the big washer, and everything else I need. Should be a quick and easy install. However, I don't mind trying the MSA kit if it makes the car less twitchy. I imagine it won't, but thought I'd see if anyone had noticed improvements. What I mean by twitchy is highway behavior. It isn't bad, but its not a car the wife can nap in while on a long trip. It's just too jittery at highway speed. I have Eibach springs, with KYB inserts and poly bushings all around. Stock front sway bar, and no rear bar. I'm thinking this kit might let the control arm move vertically. With really stiff bushings on the tension rod, I think a vertical force on the rod would get partly translated into a horizontal force and back into the frame and also into the steering knuckle, thus making the car jittery at speed. A third option is if the NAPA part is really rubber, I can put a rubber bushing on the backside of both tension rods, with a poly bushing up front. This might also allow more vertical movement, and would be an easier install than going with the MSA kit. Any thoughts? Thanks!

I have had that Harbor Freight jack for about four years, and like it. It gets the Tacoma off the ground, bit is still low enough to slide under the Z.

The problem happens when the AC is on or off. I think the fans stay on because by the time I get on the highway, the temp is warm enough to trigger their switch. Once they are running, they can't freewheel, and they block air on the highway, and the temp never falls far enough to turn off their switch. I have been reading a bit about diodes with electric fans, and agree that you need one. I see that they are often included inside the relay, to protect the relay from power spikes that happen when the fan freewheels. Interestingly, the relay in my kit was different than the relay that MSA normally includes. Usually, the relay has a metal mounting bracket, and mine did not. I suspect it also does not have this diode. Here's a question. I have noticed that my amp meter moves farther towards the positive the faster I go. It's always done this of course, but it now seems to go a bit farther than it used to go. Would this be a result of the fans trying to freewheel, generating electricity as they do so?

Sounds like a fuel problem to me. Float valve partially clogged up? I had this happen to me the other way, where the float valve stuck completely open and gas went out the overflow. Smacked the bowl with a screwdriver handle and it cured it. Got the car home and took off the float. Something really small fell out of the valve and the problem was solved. Anyway, there's a screen in there that could be clogged up. If you haven't already checked it, make sure its clear.

I'd hate to see you go. You've been a big help to me over the last few years. Thanks for all your input!

Thanks guys, those are all good ideas, and maybe Beermanpete has led me to a possible answer. They are both blowing the same way. I agree that this is why the fans can become a blockage to airflow on the highway. I just think they should be designed to spin fast enough under power to avoid this happening. Perhaps I'm not getting enough power to them from the relay? I'll have to dig out the volt meter when I get home. It's possible I have a weak connection somewhere in my homemade wire harness. I guess those were old pictures, because I put an air duct on a couple of years ago. The radiator support does have the usual amount of holes in it, although the biggest ones are partially filled already by AC piping and wire conduit. If the cooling capacity is so borderline that these holes are critical, then this electric fan setup isn't going to be good enough on extremely hot days and/or very long drives. I don't know how they turn off on the highway. The only switches they have is the one connected to the AC and the one connected to a thermal probe pushed into the radiator. I guess that ideally there would be enough airflow on the highway to cool the radiator below the threshold of the thermal probe, and they would turn off. That isn't working for me, because my temp goes up when I get on the highway. Again, thanks for the input. It helps to talk these things through with other folks.

I have a strange issue with my new fan kit from MSA. When I drive in traffic, the temperature gauge reads normal for the car, with the needle in the E on the TEMP scale. When I drive on the highway, the needle creeps up almost to the P on the TEMP scale. I think that what is happening is that the fans don't spin fast enough to allow air to pass through them at highway speeds, and are effectively blocking the airflow. As an experiment, I unplugged the left side fan, and it stayed cooler on the highway, with the needle barely reaching the M on the TEMP scale. When I got back in traffic, the needle crept up towards the P, though. I plugged the left fan back in, and the temp went back into the E range, until I got back on the highway, when it went back towards the P again. I think the fan freewheels when it is unplugged, allowing more air to flow through it at highway speeds, but when I'm in stop/go traffic only having one fan running isn't enough. An alternative theory is that on the highway with both fans running, it somehow blows air in just the right way to heat up the sender for the temp gauge, which gives me a false high temp reading. I called MSA, and they basically said they've never heard of my problem before, and have no idea. Attached is a picture showing how the two fans and shroud compare to the stock fan. A quick review is that directions are not step by step, but I figured out how to get it working easy enough. It's also not plug and play by any means, as you will have to completely fab up the wiring harness. They give you enough connectors to do it, but you'll need your own wires and flexible conduit if you want that. It does not compare at all to the quality and craftsmanship of Dave's headlight relay kits. Other than that, I will say this is a nice enough kit. The nice custom shroud isn't something most people could make themselves, although the rest of it can be bought off the shelf at Autozone. If I can get the strange near overheating behavior figured out, I'll writeup how to install this thing, complete with pics. Does anyone have any ideas, or am I on track with the airflow issue? If it's an airflow issue, maybe I've just got a bad set of fans that can't spin fast enough? I know they get enough power, being wired right to the battery (but triggered by a relay). Some additional info is that I did not have overheating problems before I put on the fan kit. I put it on because I wanted to improve the flow across the AC condenser. My old mechanical fan clutch wasn't engaging fully, either. Plus, I didn't have a shroud. I figured could get a new clutch and a shroud and hope it helped my AC cool better, or go with this kit. Since installing the kit, my AC blows nice and cold. Now I'm worried about overheating the engine though... Thanks, Matt

I figured they could have cut off the back end of the shorter tip, but you are right that it looks a bit too well done to be something cobbled together.

The best thing I've found for removing old wax, and refreshing the paint is Turtle Wax Liquid Clay Bar. It leaves your paint super smooth, too. Once a year, I do it on all the cars. It takes just a bit of elbow grease, but it's easier than a regular clay bar. I had some clear coat overspray on my hood that it smoothed down, even. You just hose off the car, rub this stuff on with the supplied sponge(that has a hand strap on it for easier holding), and then hose it off. Apply twice to really rough paint of swirl marks. A trick is that you are supposed to apply it to a wet car. Do not let it dry on the paint, or it will be somewhat hard to remove.

Thanks Arne, my exhaust is getting old and crusty. I'll probably redo it this winter, and will consider your idea. I do really like the way my old one sounds, though. Does anyone know if this dual glass pack combo is an old prefab unit, or something the PO had custom made? It has red paint on the tips, like an Ansa, so I assume its not a Monza. There's a resonator in the tunnel, BTW. Thanks.

I used the CDM foam and leather covers, in white. They were a very tight fit, I mean tight. Had to shave the foam a bit, even. I decided to do that after I measured and compared the dimensions of the originals with the CDM ones. The CDM was definitive smaller. They are a combination of leather seating surface and vinyl back. Heating vinyl makes it stretch, but heating leather makes it shrink, so you can't use the old warm them up first trick. They also aren't wearing well for me. The outboard edge of the drivers seat back outside bolster is already worn from my sliding in/out of it, so I have to be really gentle when I enter/exit the car. They sure look good, though, when they are clean. White leather is hard to keep clean, did I mention that?

Last fall, I bought a 2010 Suzuki Kizashi GTS AWD. It goes in snow and ice like you wouldn't believe. It's only problem is low ground clearance. Hit a berm left by a plow, and you'd rip the front air dam off. However, it is a nice compromise for someone not wanting an SUV, like my wife. I like it because it handles better than my 240, and certainly better than any other four door in its class that I test drove, and the brakes are great. Last week, I drove it on Devils Tail, in NC. What fun. Wife said she thought she was riding in a roller coaster. Gets 32mpg highway if you turn off the AWD. I also like that there aren't very many on the road. I've only seen two other ones so far.

Based on my recent experience, seems like a carbed Z needs a return line just to help prevent vapor lock in the fuel rail. Fuel injected rails might be under enough pressure to prevent vapor lock, and thus not need one.

I have to say that if you put a ton of work into a 240, it will become your second car...a toy you only drive during nice weather, and even then not to certain parts of town. Mine gets to go from a locked garage to a secure parking lot at work, when I think it isn't going to rain or snow. For a special treat, I drive it to the grocery store. Once or twice a year it goes on a medium range cruise for a special event. I've put about one thousand miles per year on it. Every mile is pretty darn special, though. Look on HybridZ. You'll realise how much reinforcement a 240 needs to safely accept significantly more horsepower. By the time you do that, and put the engine in, you're talking a lot of work and money. You will then need another car to drive during inclement weather or to certain areas. If you are worried about gas mileage, you don't have enough money to do your proposed project.