Zed Head

Take a look for loose parts, including lug nuts. And "rear end feels like its sliding back and forth while driving" isn't very informative. Could be wandering while in a straight line, could be while cornering, could be while accelerating, braking, etc. Bald tires, bad wheel bearings, over-inflated tires, worn-out bushings (suspension or steering), many possibilities. You have to get under there and see what the state of the situation is.

That's a good point. It's difficult to measure advance when it's off the marks. I've estimated mine by setting static to zero and revving the engine. Still have to eyeball/estimate the final few degrees. I regret not spending the extra few dollars for a dial-back light.

Aaccck. 1978 went to the oil pump switch or alternator power to trigger the pump relay. Each year has it's own little tricks. For 78, removing the small wire at the starter and turning the key to Start might work. Z cars that have sat also have their own little problems. Like the combination and dimmer switches getting tarnished and not passing current. To the OP, how long did the car sit before you got it? Of course, it "ran when parked" but that doesn't matter much.

You should have full advance before 3500 RPM. 24 + 10 = 34 total. Are you using projected tip plugs? I've read that because they start the flame closer to the center of the chamber it's like adding 4 degrees of advance. That would put you at 38 total. I think that worn weights and the pins they ride on can let the advance move further than stock. A timing light would tell you what you are getting, but 24 + 5 is still 29 total. The pros would say you should get some dyno tuning to find what you really need. Do you feel like there's more power to be had, or are you looking for cheaper gas? Also, have you measured cylinder pressure? We all talk about CR but it's really the cylinder pressure that matters. That's why the longer duration cam can help, it lowers static cylinder pressure. It will give you a better idea of your starting point for cam changes or head work.

Don't forget the basic resource - Index of /FSM And, if you're listening for the fuel pump or checking power to the pump when the key is On, that's not how they work.

Z brakes are generally hard to bleed. What method are you using? Do you have someone helping, one in the seat and one at the bleed screw? I installed speed bleed screws on my rear cylinders so that I could easily push a lot of fluid through the lines. I've also developed a one-man system using a broken shovel handle on the brake pedal. But using vacuum at the wheels, or pressure at the MC reservoir would probably be easier. It can take a lot of time and brake fluid to get it done. Eurodat's implication is right, you need to start with a good methodical step-by-step plan and get each step right. One bad step can allow air back in. And your car looks modified. Even though they worked before, if you have one of the brake "upgrades" on the front or back, that will add a lot of difficulty to the bleeding (ha ha, that's a UK double entendre pun) process.

Not sure what changing hoses and lines all around means, but did the brakes work before? Is it a factory stock system or modified? No pressure even with pumping or the pedal goes straight to the floor every pump? You've given not much at all to work with. Check the orientation of the bleeder screws on the front calipers.

One clue that you might have original is that the factory gland nuts are aluminum,while the aftermarket nuts seem to be stamped/welded steel. A magnet will tell.

Make sure it's standing straight up before you remove the nut completely. Oil will spill if it's original. And the gland nuts can be very tight. Set things up so that you can get high leverage and make sure that the tool you use on the nut is very tight and a good fit so that you don't round the nut. You might consider going directly to vise-grips if you have some that fit well. Of course, once I say it's easy, reality sets in.

If you have the strut in a position that you can push the rod up and down, you really might as well remove the gland nut and look. Nothing will pop out or get displaced, you'll just either be looking at the top of an aftermarket strut insert or exposed factory stock internals. You could closely examine the gland nut, and post a picture (the aftermarket inserts come with their own nut) and look down inside the inner edge of the gland nut to see if there's a seal there, but that would be like trying to estimate the number of a horse's teeth by the shape of their head and what they eat.

I read through the thread and, actually, the studs just seem to be difficult to find. Dtsnlvrs reported in Post #242 that the part number, 38228-21000, does work and can be found. In #245 you found 12. So it comes down to luck or, hopefully, Nissan made more. Somebody talked about Nissan having a vendor make more so maybe they've restocked by now. I forgot to note which post and got tired of reading so can't say who said that. Post #257 reports an option using hex heads. Maybe a design revision would be in order to allow the use of readily available studs. It's Wolf Creek's program now, maybe someone can send a prompt. By the way, somebody had "whine" in Post #273, although it was just one of several. But, reconsidering everything, the OBX option seems to score a few more points in the viability contest. Subaru WRX STi R180 Side Axles - Vendor's Forum - HybridZ

Wonder if the dealer might have them. Looks like they're called out in the R180 diagram, but not the R200. Part #34. Datsun 240Z/260Z/280Z Differential Gear, Pinion & Cover (R180) And Courtesy shows availability. $3.11 each. BOLT-DRIVE :: Nissan Parts, NISMO and Nissan Accessories - Courtesyparts.com

The ECU is designed to work with 188 cc injectors. With 440's the ECU will be injecting over twice as much fuel as needed, if they opened properly. Those are probably high impedance resistors so you'd have extra resistance in the circuit with the stock dropping resistors and they might not open correctly. If they did open properly, you'd have a very very rich mixture. If the engine even started it's doubtful that it would run once it warmed up.

eBay doesn't use Boolean any more either. Instead of "OR" they use ( ) with comma separators. And they don't use "*" as a wildcard either, making it much more difficult to find things. To BUY. They've made it more difficult to make them money. The funny thing is that you can't easily find the Search Help instructions on eBay, I had to use Google's search engine to find out how to use eBay's search function. It's a weird circle.

This engine parts calculator will give you some ideas. The numbers seem to be mostly correct. You can look at any FSM's Engine Mechanical chapter to check things like valve size, although apparently there were several E88 head versions so you might have to do some digging to get combustion chamber volume. Don't forget that there are two basic types of "L28", those with dished pistons and those with flat-tops. Z L28's and ZX L28's (US market). Engine Design Utility p.s L28 Late would be flat-tops, and L28 Early and Turbo would be dished. 1.25 is a good estimate for gasket height.

So how long did it take you to do the work? And did you get the parts from the guy on Hybridz? What would you estimate you spent, all told, by the time you got it installed? Just to fill in the blanks for a good comparison to a diff and half-shaft swap.

With the OBX you'll have to get deep in to the guts of the differential, and the odds are high that there will be clunking or howling or the Belleville washers will fail if you don't replace them. With the STI you could not even remove the cover and probably end up okay. Kind of comes down to how much risk you want to take and how much wrench work you want to do. The OBX seems simple in concept but the details are difficult. On the 5 speed - don't forget that the early ones have a 3.321 1st gear and .864 5th, while the later ones have a 3.062 1st, and .745 5th. The later ones, 80-83 ZX, typically came with the 3.9 rear gear, so you'll want an 80-83 ZX 5 speed.

It's not difficult. You just have to work blind or with a mirror, but there's room from underneath. Finding a tool big enough for the locking nut takes some work though, I think that I used padded vise grip jaws on mine. And, as I think back, I also had to fabricate a big "screwdriver" from a flat piece of steel to turn the adjusting screw. The old grease inside was dry and chunky though, and I did get 10-15 degrees of extra tightening on the nut, if I remember right.

Why don't you lube from the inside? Remove #2 and the parts underneath, pack it full of grease, then do the adjustment procedure to tighten things up. You'll probably find that there's been some small wear and there is room to tighten.

The Future.

I had a very, very similar thing happen to me when I was checking a spare ECU that I had (coincidentally from a 1978 parts car that I had picked up). I installed the ECU, the engine started right up, I hit the road for a little test drive and it hiccuped once after a Stop sign, then died before I could turn around to get home. Within about a mile. It started again and made it about 1/4 mile before dying again, then another 1/2 mile, then wouldn't restart. The guy who helped me push it in to a parking lot said it smelled like it was flooded. I ran home and got the old ECU, replaced it and drove home. I reasoned that the transistors that drive the injectors had crapped out and replaced them, and it seems to work right now, although I don't trust it and only keep it around as a curiosity.. Flooding from a bad ECU has been documented a few times. I can't remember the guy's screen name but one member re-flowed the solder joints at the ECU connector to fix a similar problem. Summary - it might be your ECU.

The popular option is in the link, called the RT Mount. There are a couple of places to get them. Many people on this forum use it to get rid of the clunk. But others say that a new rubber mount and strap will accomplish the same. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/engine-drivetrain-s30/35995-ron-tyler-differential-mount.html TechnoVersions - Home of MeterMatch, TachMatch, Diff Mount and MotorMatch

The parts look good individually, but the combination might not be the best. The solid front with the flexible back concentrates much stress on the front cross-member mounting point. Here's a thread from Hybridz that mentions it along with some other facts and options. What is the deal with solid diff mounts? - Drivetrain - HybridZ

jmort brings up another good possibility. On my 76 I also found that the cable that actuates the heater control valve (the one that determines how much heat, cold to hot), was bent and not actually doing anything when I moved the lever, just moving the bend in the cable. I had to take the control panel off and dink around with it, and even after fixing it the valve is more off/on than gradual.

Glad it worked, you're welcome. You may have completed the fastest voltmeter removal and replacement I've heard of. And to be honest, I don't even know how to replace the charge light bulb, but I know it needs to work. Did you actually remove and replace the bulb behind the charge lamp? What kind of bulb is it?