Pomorza

Hey guys Today I invested in a set of new tires. 215/70R14 in the rear and the stock 195/70R14s in the front. Car drives great but I've noticed that when I decelerate I get a thud thud thud sound from the rear passenger's side. The best way I can describe it is it sounds like I'm crossing a bridge. (and hitting the spacers on the bridge once in a while). The tires don't rub. Three things that I've thought of at the moment. One, for some reason they used different lugs on the one tire. don't know why, but it could maybe make a difference. Secondly, the struts on the rear are gone, literally I don't think they "absorb" any kind of impact anymore. They are leaking fairly badly and make noise. Thirdly, the rear tires are misalligned. They are pointed inwards towards the front of the car. If you look at them from the top, they are about 2-5 degrees pointed inwards. Any ideas. Thanks greatly Jan Happy 4th to everyone.

My first conclusion last night (at 3 am) was that the catalytic converter on my 280z was dying. I've had the same smell on my 96' Grand Cherokee when it cat was about to give. I'm pretty sure that the catalytic converter on my car is more than likely at least 10 years old if not older as its pretty much rusted to the rest of the exhaust. I'll check the battery in a second but the volt gauge never exceeded the normal range when I drove. The car didn't run any different or any richer that I could tell but then again it was late so it is possible. I only drove about 2 miles and the engine temp just hit the normal temp when I got home if that makes a difference. Thanks all Jan

Hey guys. This evening when I was back home and got out of the ol' gal I started smelling a rather potent smell of sulfur (rotten egg type smell). Any ideas? Jan

I've used sta-bil in my dads boat as it had that same problem in hot weather. We ended up having to clean the carbies first as there was tons of gunk in there. But ever since that day we've used sta-bil and it seems to help. Jan

By the looks of your picture you have no A/C belt. From what you stated above (or what I got out of it anyway) is that when your car is cold and you start it it makes a squeeling noise. If you seem to be loosing power it could be that either your water pump and/or the alternator bearing is seizing. This is my way of figuring it out. If Z's are anything like all the other cars I've worked on you should be able to run your car without the belt for a few minutes. (or seconds as that's how long you said it lasted). See if you hear the sound with no belt. Jan

Not all 280z's have separate belt tensioners. My 280 had and A/C (which I took off). It just ran off the crank and was adjusted by moving it over on the mount. I took it off and now basically have just one belt to the alt, water pump and crank. It makes sense that that the belt would make the squeeling noise. It is possible that it can be the alternator. It hard to "hear" the noise over then net so I'm just making an educated guess. Jan

Did you wash the engine bay when you washed your car? What exactly does it do when you try to start it? Does it turn over, or just not make any noise at all? Jan

Thanks guy. I changed out nearly all the lines on the fuel line last night. It took a bit longer than I hoped (4+hours) but no more leaks. Jan

I'm sure this has been asked before but. One of the many rubber lines on the fuel rail has developed a very slow leak on my 280z. (76'). Is there any tricks or hints you guys can give me on replacing them. Is it just basically take out and put in or is there something special I should do. Thank Jan

The number one cylinder is closest to the front of the car. There's a topic here posted about two or three weeks ago about how to set the timing if you can't get (or see) the timing mark on the crank. For what I remember you have to find TDC for the first piston and then take a look at the dizzy. I'm not exactly sure but think it supposed to be pointed at about 11ish looking from the driver's side of the car. The simplest way I've found to find TDC on the number one piston is to pull the cover and look at the intake valve for the #1 cylinder. When it points straight up the piston "SHOULD" (and I can't stress that more) be at TDC. But make sure using a straw or something in the piston. Once you find this and make sure the timing is right you should have an idea of what should be wrong. Jan

Thanks for the help mate. The calipers I put on were brand new and the pistons were all the way in. I might take it to my mechanic and see what he says. Jan

Two things. 1. I see no photos. I think you forgot to insert them or something. 2. When you mean bed the pads what exactly does that mean. I just did the same thing you did (calipers pads and rotors) and when I was done I just took it for a nice long drive and applied the brakes a bit harder. Did I miss something? Jan ooops didn't see your second post until after...sorry. And one more thing. Are the pads supposed to ride on the rotor a bit. Mine do, just a tad so you can hear them when you drive.

Hello all This past weekend I was cleaning my Z and came across an idea I hope you guys can help me figure out. There is a tiny wire that goes to the top of the starter, I believe this is the ignition switch wire. Anyhow, is it possible to splice in a switch of any kind that would prevent power to reach the starter? (A kill switch on it that is) Thanks Jan

Hey guys. I know this is old post but here's a bit of an odd update. Sunday I decided to clean and wax the Z. In the process I found that I have a can of Seafoam in the car. Decided, hell why not clean the motor too. Poured a third of the bottle in the motor and let it sit for a bit. Started her up and saw just a tad bit of white smoke. (let it sit of about 5 min). To my amazement I come out this morning (when its like 85 degrees) and take the Z for a drive. No noise, nothing, nadda, it's gone. It was there the night before when I poured the seafoam in. Today it did it twice in a 20 minute drive. (for reference it used to do it all the time, anytime I revved the motor on the way down it would rattle). Any ideas? Could it be a stuck valve or something? Jan

Thanks guys you've been great help. Now I just need to actually get all the bearings and parts and get with the program. Jan

Matt you are the man. Thanks a ton for that. I was on that site earlier this morning and I guess I completely skipped that section. I'm sticking with the stock calipers and drilled and slotted rotors at this point. I don't "track" my car but I do go driving around the mountains here in Arizona so brakes are kind of important. Do have one questions. What grease did you use for the bearings? Would white lithium grease work fine or is there a specific type I should look for? Jan

Hello all I finally have time to redo the front brakes on my 280z. In short the caliper on the right wheel is riding the wheel the entire time. The left caliper sticks occasionally. So I ordered a new set of calipers along with rotors. According to the manual I have to remove the rotor I have to remove the hub assembly, which contains the outer wheel bearing. I've never done this before so I'm rather in need of an explanation of how it should be done. Should I replace this bearing while I have everything apart? Thanks Jan

On 280's there are two different flashers for each function.(i.e one for the turn signals and one for the hazards). Good call, check those also and see if the connections there are nice and good. Jan

Check all the fuses again mate. Check all the bulbs and check all the connections. With this electrical problem (like many others) you have something causing a break in the line between the switch and the light. It can be something as simple as a blown fuse or something such as a shorted wire a bad connection or a bad switch. From my experience with this problem the flasher and the brake light use the same fuse (or in my Z it did), so look at that first. And just because it "looks" good does not necessarily mean that it is good. Hope that helps Jan

Last time my Z had a chirp noise that you described the U-joints were nearly completely blown. I would go under the car and take a nice look at the shaft again. It is possible that there's something there that's making the noise or binding the transmissions/drivetrain. Hope that helps Jan

No to hijack this thread, but my 280z runs pretty much at or below the middle mark on the gauge. According to the laser heat gun I have the rad sits about 160 and the upper hose at ~170. Are the gauges that inaccurate on older Z's? Jan

What are you using for coolant? How does your radiator cap look like? Jan

Hey guys How exactly does one remove the little clips that hold the panels on to the interior? I've tried using a screw driver but that ended up breaking it in half? Any ideas would be great? Jan

I bought mine for my 76' 280z at MSA. HERE. Jan