IdahoKidd

Pull the plugs and have a look. It is either leaking out (oil slick or all over bottom of car) or it is burning it up. I have heard of slick 50 being sucked past the rings so it could be doing the same.

I think I will paint the cover to match the car. I think it being "off" just a shade will make it look awkward. And, I am betting that the vast majority of lookers won't know or care. I am keeping the l24 the original blue/green but the "driver motor", an l28, will have the block painted to match the car as well. I'm thinking it will contrast nice to the polished aluminum. I'm staying "correct" as far as visual physical parts, but adding some polish and shine for my own benefit. IF the budget holds out, it should be a really nice ride. My painter didn't like the surface rust on the dog legs so he changed them out. Probably didn't need to. Somewhere back in it's history, there was an extremely thick coating of undercoating applied to the bottom of the car. I mean 1/4 inch. We finally found a dime size piece of rust on the right front shock tower so all of you who claim there isn't a rust free 240, you win. Regardless, I am very tickled. I'll post a few pictures in my gallery as we go along. No need to put them out here really. Just another car. When it is finished or at major accomplishments, perhaps one or two. It was interesting to look at the 3 different red/orange, orange/red and orange colors (110, 905 and 918), they seem to be pretty close in general terms. I'd have thought they would have gone with a more definitive color, perhaps a brighter red, something to set it apart a little more.

I have read enough posts in the search function to become dillusional. The orange air cleaner box on my 10/71 appears to be the same orange as the 110 body color. Does anyone know if it indeed was that color? and will I be chastized if I paint it that color? Leonard

Zed, the longer rod will only work because there is some room in the slave for the piston to move back about a half inch. That half inch isn't being used right now and I would think I would gain that extra travel. I already have the piece made and will try it before dropping it all out. Nigel, thanks for the lead. His problem is the exact opposite of the problem I have but much of the info is very relivent. I don't know which collar came with which clutch so it may be that I will have to set down and do some math to find the correct one. The catch in all of this is that it was working well for a while. I am confident/certain it isn't in the hydraulics. I think I am going to order a complete and known matching set and start again once the doc says I can move that shoulder. I am going to have to take it all apart either way it looks like. And, I probably should follow my own advice to my clients as a contractor... "which is cheaper, doing it right the first time or doing it over again?"

$18 dollars. Maybe more with a better pictureLOL

Jack stands are for kids. I actually have a rotary lift in my garage;) The PITA part is that I don't have a right shoulder rotator cuff so lifting anything much above my knees isn't much fun. BTW, with a friend to help with the lifting, I can have the tranny in and out in less than an hour. (three Z's makes for lots of practice). It is waiting for an unsuspecting friend to show up that is the hassle. The slave moves that arm about an inch when the pedal is depressed. I'd have thought that was enough. I actually built a longer rod for the slave as I could push the piston in about 3/8 of an inch. I figured more throw would release the pressure plate. No change. As mentioned, changing the slave and the master didn't help either. It is the 225 clutch. Not sure why that would matter except for the amount of pressure on the disc I guess. I am pretty sure there is something amiss with the pressure plate. I can't drive the car after next thursday for 3 months nor can I fix it til then either (surgery on the shoulder). Had hoped to get to it tonight but no such luck.

Correct, I went from 4 to 5 speed. I definately had the wrong one in the first time as the clutch fork wouldn't even move. Took it right back out and changed the fork and bearing. Everything worked fine for a couple of months and then the cluctch sort of faded away making me think the master or the slave wasn't holding pressure or fully depressing the pressure plate. Now I am thinking the springs in the pressure plate are stronger than the "fingers" that leverage them open. (not a true finger pressure plate-not sure what to call the diaphram part). Changing out the clutch is a bit of a PITA so I am trying to be sure I haven't overlooked the obvious.

Recently I have installed a 5 speed into my 77 280z. At the time, I put in a new clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing. The clutch and pressure plate were new in a plain brown sealed box but were at least 20 years old. (Came with the car with other "spare" parts.) Everything went well now for a couple of months. Recently it has become difficult to shift from neutral into gear and reverse seems to be the worst. The clucth isn't disengaging enough and the tranny wants to grind. Double clutching seems to help when rolling. So, I changed out the clutch master and the slave to be on the safe side. No change. There is about a full inch of movement on the clutch fork from the slave (measured at the slave). The car begins to move the instant the pedal comes off the floor. Much to close to the floor I believe. No adjustments I seem to make make any difference which leads me back to the pressure plate. It is a diaphram style. Is it likely the diaphram is collapsing instead of releasing the pressure on the clutch? I can't come to any other conclusion... BTW, there is NOT enough room under the pedal assembly for a 230 lb guy laying on his back with feet over the top of the back of the seat AND a teenage kitten that wants to play with the wiring harness while trying to get that pos pin and clip into the linkage. Without the newly relocated and imprisoned cat, it still took nearly an hour to get the pivot pin back in. I was approaching the max depth of the love for the car.........ugh!

Hey Koalia, I'll come put it in for free, you pay the airfare,

Welcome Jen! Perhaps an easier way on the ecu is to pull three screws out that physically hold the ecu to the side of the car. Everything becomes more flexible that way. Really quick and easy. Then you can just rotate the ecu instead of pulling against the wires to get room. The caps on the sensors have a small metal wire retainer on them. Look closely at the base of an injector and you can see it. It wraps around three sides and snaps into place. I just use a really small flat screw driver and loosen one side and then it simply comes out. What year is your Z by the way. Slight differences in the electronics.

Are you closing the bleeder valve on the cylinder with the pedal on the floor before letting the pedal come back up? If not, you are sucking air right back into the system. Sometimes leaving out these "little" details throw some of us off trying to figure out what has been and not been done. Obviously check fuses and links. With the exception of the hazards, it sure sounds like dirty combi switch. I cleaned and then replaced mine before I got it all working. Do the brake lights work? Wipers?

Much more help on the swap at hybridZ.org. Your swap has been done 10,000 times and is detailed there nearly down to how many turns each bolt takes. Be sure to "search" or they will flame you hard. Good luck!

His original post was for the street and highway. Somehow it got over to racing. I don't race, and I don't notice the big hole between 2nd and 3rd. Maybe the tranny I have isn't the tranny I think I have, but am still happy. In my world, highway is getting into 5th and staying there until I get there. That said, having read your posts for some time, I wouldn't even begin to challenge you. I am certain you have forgotten more about these cars than I'll ever know.

Check to see if there is power to the positive side of the coil when you turn the key switch on. You'll kind of have to figure it out as you go along. Besure to check all the fusible links (under hood just above right front tire.) Be sure there is power to both sides of each wire. Look at the fsm, I can't recall if one of them is for ignition but I think it is.

5 speed will lower engine rpm about 400 rpm. Later zx non turbo's had 3:90 gears to help move the heavier car. 280z's have 3:54 gears. 4:11's are a bit quicker off the line but you have to shift sooner. Early 5 speeds have taller 1st and 2nd gears. An early 5 speed with the 4:11's would make a good light to light car. In reality, you aren't going to notice a heck of a lot of seat of the pants difference. Neither are going to help mpg with "a wild cam", what ever that is.

We did mine in the yard in about 15 minutes with a gasket from Black Dragon. Had the gasket nice and warm, used windex to lube the gasket well, used a thin nylon rope pulling from center bottom each direction. One guy inside pulling rope, one guy outside appling pressure. Also put the metal trim in when all done with no special tools and no problems. Adjusted the corners of the gasket by pushing gently with a blunt tool. Didn't use a drop of urethane and not a leak to be had. Maybe I was lucky?

either and either

You need to find out if you have spark. Pull the coil wire from the distributor cap and place the end of it about a quarter inch from a good ground. Let it lay there on its own. Crank the engine and see if the spark jumps from the wire to the ground. Or, let the wife hold on to the end of the wire and ask her if she feels anything when you crank the motor. Be prepared to cook for yourself for a month if there is spark.............. If you have spark, pull a plug, hook the wire back to the plug, lay the plug on a good ground and crank. Should be spark. Trouble shooting the spark depends on where you have lost it at.

UK no. US, (Idaho) $165-225. Depends on shaded, installed, needs gasket, etc.

They are cool. I am with ezzzzzzzzz, too many cars. What would really be cool is to have all the cars have dedicated key rings to match the wheels on the cars. One of my Z's has slotted mags, one has the 30 fin wheels, one has the heavy finned ones, the mercedes has the classic chrome oems. I could decided what to drive in the morning by selecting the wheels I like and head out the door;)

My body shop guy has an artists approach. He works on the car when he is inspired. NEVER tell them "no hurry" or "get to it when you can" . If nothing else, they will take these to phrases to heart. I did tell my guy no hurry, and I sort of meant it. He isn't doing a rotisserie, but he is disassembling the car piece by piece and stripping. I am more than impressed with what I have seen so far and the price was very fair. We agreed on a fixed price prior to start based on known issues so I am not worried about the clock. "Clock" shops often put inexperienced kids doing the menial stuff but still charge the same hourly rate. Often someone with experience can do the same job in a fourth the time, especially when the experienced guy has to come back and fix issues created by the new guy. (however, everybody has to start somewhere). After all of that, I should be driving in a year from drop off.

Well I am glad we got all of that settled! If nothing else, I got a great history lesson. And WingZr0, now that we have established the shift knob is worthless, I'll give you $20.00 for it:beer: (went back and read some old posts, some were misleading to say the least)

Not in old school American V8s and apparently not Korean cars. My teenage daughter, bless her non mechanically inclined heart, checked the oil in her Kia Sportage and then tossed the dipstick in the trash can at the gas station. Drove it for a month. I open the hood and there is oil residue everywhere. This car makes a tremendous amount of positive crank pressure. Still ran like it always did though. (aka, slow, no power, etc :sick:)

That's it. I have the same logo in a molded plastic on the console of my 240. Thought it might have had some significance. I'll settle for it just being cool. I'd love to have the shift knob to go with it. Maybe soon................

Thanks for the lead. I am guessing that it is just an honor badge of some sort then and has no particular direct association to the car? (240z). It isn't commerative or part of an option package or any such thing? (I watch too much Antique Road Show I guess). WingZr0 has the knob listed in the classifieds which brought it to my attention.