Zed Head

I got a lot out of this book - http://www.amazon.com/Rebuild-Modify-Transmission-Motorbooks-Workshop/dp/0760320470/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1333848551&sr=8-1 How to Rebuild and Modify Your Manual Transmission (Motorbooks Workshop) by Robert Bowen Lots of pictures, of both good and bad parts, with good descriptions. The dog teeth (the pointy triangle shaped things sticking out from the side of the gear) on that gear in the first picture do look worn. The tops of the triangles should be sharp, not rounded. They look abused. And the rust isn't good, that's actually a splined piece that has a matching splined collar that slides back and forth over it. The collar needs to slide easily over that area. The inside of the collar is probably rusted also. It would probably wear off over time, but might be stiff shifting for a while. Just some thoughts. Someone who's actually rebuilt a transmission could tell you more.

While you have the front panel off, you could also adjust your voltmeter. Looks like it's reading high, unless the shot is with the engine running. There's two holes on the back on the back of the meter with adjusting "screws" inside, one of them has an adjustment that will move the "zero" point. I don't know what the other does, it didn't have much effect when I turned it. Set it to 12.6 (eyeball it) with the engine off. You have to turn the screw and plug it back in to see where it's reading. Just a thought, while you're in there.

Maybe BU was thinking of the word digital, versus the word analog. It's not a digital system.

Sorry BU, but that is a little overly pedantic, and incorrect. The injectors are fired by transistors as is the coil. So, by strict, detailed definition, the L-Jet is "electronic." As I understand the definitions...

My 76 does that. It got worse as I advanced the timing for a little more performance. It was also worse with my old N42/N42 engine which had a fair amount of blowby, and worn valve seals, probably leading to a little bit lower intake vacuum when cold. Also, the engines with dual pickups in the distributor run advanced timing when cold, maybe to keep the idle up, or for emissions (but it would still keep the idle up - 6 degrees of extra timing advance when cold). I only have one pickup now, but if you have two, getting the water temp switch to work with your ignition module like it was designed to will help. With a better N42/N47 engine my idle still drops way down when cold, but manages to keep running. And I'm fairly certain that everything is working correctly. One work-around is to bump the idle up to 900 - 1000 to get further from stall RPM. Edit - forgot to ask for curiosity, but are you running flat top pistons with that N47 head?

The symptoms don't really match the solution, but if the timing is correct, you might as well drive it as-is until you have some reason to drop the oil pump. It won't hurt anything, and the odds of breaking something while trying to fix something will be reduced. Hopefully your mechanic set the timing with a light and not by ear when he "fixed" it.

So, back to the OP's question then, as long as the right rotor is paired with the right hub, no discernible change in performance. 280 rotor with 280 hub or 240 with 240. And if does take them apart, all he needs to do is confirm that the offset is right when reassembled, which would be the measurement from wheel face to bearing race. Is this for the early 240s or all of them? I'm surprised that the carpartsmanual calls out the same part number for both, hub and rotor. The parts "bible" is wrong?

That's interesting information. I was under the impression that the S30 wheel base was the same from 240 to 280. You're suggesting that they're different, unless Nissan used different rim offsets, to offset the hub offset. Interesting stuff, especially since the 240s have problems with half-shaft binding when the R200 is installed. i would get some numbers myself if I was at the right computer. Eidt - I have some 78 280Z hubs and rotors sitting in my garage. I could measure hub thickness from inner bearing race edge to wheel mounting surface Thursday night or Friday morning. If someone has a 240 hub we could get a comparison.

It could just be mechanical, not electrical. I had one that would not drop below 2,000 when it got warm but would drop to normal when it cooled off.

What markings are on the injectors you have, and what color are they? I get the impression that some injector companies ID their injectors by color, not marking. My BWD injectors just have RAM molded in to the part, but I don't know if it means anything.

ZX? Looks like a BCDD. No reason for fuel to come out of the hose though.

When you said they took it apart and had the parts in a box, I was thinking of the assembled gears on the adapter plate and the front and back cases, along with a few odd parts. Didn't realize that they would tear it all the way down, taking gears and bearings off of the shafts. Most of what I've read suggests that it's a bad idea to reuse a bearing once you use a puller on it, because it puts high side loads on the ball bearings when they're not rolling, damaging the race and the ball. If that's true, then Aamco knew they had done some damage and was going to put it back together anyway. They should have been able to give you a rough idea without removing the gears and bearings. I think that you might be stuck now, needing a rebuild of at least bearings and probably a little polishing on the gear cones if they do have rust on them (I've read that it can be done). I'm not sure that putting the old bearings and gears back on and running it would be a good idea. I could be wrong. The $131 might still be a decent price for a teardown, if you can get a rebuilder to discount that portion of a rebuild. Now you've got a bunch of choices. Good luck. Edit - One more thought - before you spend more money and time, you might be happier, in the long run, sourcing a late 80 - 83 5 speed, with the close ratio 1-4 gear set. The 77 has the big 2-3 jump and is not the best transmission to rebuild anyway. 80 - 83 has a better reverse lockout also.

I believe that they call this necro-posting. But, at least it completes the thread (dead) for future searchers.

Looks like they're all the same - http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/Axle/FrontAxle/tabid/1728/Default.aspx

Take a shot of the pointy parts of the teeth on the bronze colored thin gears (synchros), edge on. And try to keep the synchros with the gear that they were on. They should stay matched if possible. I hope the shop didn't just toss everything in a box. Also, if you could take a shot of the conical shiny portion on the side of the gear (upper right in the bottom picture) it looks like there might be some surface rust there. I have an old transmission in my car, and it took a few hundred or more miles before the synchros worked right. I had a theory that the synchro cones had rusted, taking time to wear back in, and you might have some evidence to confirm that it happens. I don't see any dramatic damage. The bearings can stick on the inner race (shaft) or the outer race (housing), it's not uncommon.

I'm no expert. It should work and I'm 99.9% positive it won't hurt. For the record, I went out and measured one that I have in my garage and got 0.477 microfarads (477 nanofarads, tiny numbers). My memory lost some zeros.

It's a small item and might not be on a typical parts store web site. Baxter Auto, a west coast store, carries them, and has them through Amazon also - http://www.amazon.com/Bosch-02100-Ignition-Condenser/dp/B000BYELIM I'd be surprised if Napa didn't have them if you called and asked, or paid a visit. It will be aftermarket though so you'll probably have to make a bracket for the body or make sure you get one that has a bracket. You could also buy a set of points even though you have electronic ignition. They will come with a new condenser. I've measured a few and only found two readings, about 50 microfarads and 75 microfarads, if I recall. I doubt that a few microfarads will make a big difference. If you're looking for 1976 stock that could be a search.

I wrote the following while you were editing. You can take the hose off of the AFM and hold the flap open while starting to test the cutoff switch. "In your first post you said it wouldn't start unless the fuel line was pinched, which implies low fuel pressure. But now it will start but won't keep running. How long does it stay running? If it's just a few seconds, then it might be the fuel pump cutoff switch in the AFM. It's bypassed at Start but comes in to play at On."

I would go get it in a box, soon so that parts don't get lost, bring it home, take pictures and post them here. The plug might have been cleaned when the fluid was drained so no clues on condition there. You can take the shifter out of your 72, from inside the car, to test the 5 speed. The shifters will interchange. It's just a clip, and a pin and it pops out. The hardest part is not dropping the clip or having it fly out and hit you in the eye. The parts the shop mentioned are standard full rebuild parts, but the shift forks rarely need work. Sounds like they just quoted you a full, like-new, rebuild cost. It's not Aamco is it? I worked at an Aamco for a summer and their modus operandi is to rebuild everything that drives on to the lot, whether it needs it or not. It's corporate policy.

Hopefully on someone elses's car?

Did you try Zspecialties? He's in your neighborhood. Might not be on the web site but he might have one. http://www.zspecialties.com/

There appears to be a 77 280Z at the Arlington Pick n Pull.

Thinking about how things work, I think that the piston and valve may have collided and you probably have a bent valve. That's how the valve keeper popped out. The lash pad probably got crunched on its way out also. Looks like the valve got stuck open, the piston came up and hit it when the rocker arm was up, punching the valve up faster than the spring could move and letting the keeper and lash pad free. That's the only way I could see that that would happen. Hopefully for you, I'm wrong. You could do a compression check and see if that cylinder holds. If it had a bent valve it should give a zero pressure reading. Edit - For the record, I posted this before I read TimZ's post over on Hybridz. He beat me by 15 minutes. But that's two for valve damage. Different theories, but hard to imagine that you got away free. Also, you can't measure pressure unless you put that keeper back in. You'll probably find though, by spinning the valve and moving it up and down, that it's bent or bound up. Don't let it fall in to the cylinder if you pull the other keeper half out. Full disclosure - I have not even had my cylinder head apart, I'm just working from words I've read.

The bypass plug (adapter) is for the 240Zs. bhermes has a 76 280Z. It's still not too difficult, using home-made jumpers at the plug, although there is the brake check warning lamp relay to worry about. Although, it may be that bhermes is refusing to be beaten by the external system. He'll probably make it work then switch to the internal just to show complete mastery.

Thanks Jeff, that's a good look. Wish I had paint like that. I just posted on Hybridz about using KYBs with Tokicos and got some feedback that it should work fine. I'll try the springs with the KYBs and see if I need to look for another HP shock or not. Should take some of the harsh out of the full Tokico setup, I would guess.