Sparx Macgyver

Ok, I'll look at those too. If it matters, I'm loosing fluid somewhere. It's too dark to locate it tonight, but my MC just empties. Fluid goes somewhere, but I dunno where. If it helps at all, after the "ka-klunk" feeling, while the car was running, I could place it in gear with no grinding at all. Should also note my head lights work. Well, sort of. The drivers side is bright while the pass is dull. No change between high/low beams. Also, my turn signal switch is a bit touchy. After I switch from low to high to low again, I gotta wiggle it a bit, but the lights come on. I should also mention, that when bleeding the brakes, the rear required some good amount of forcing, though allot of particles came out, and brake lines are now full of clean fresh fluid.

An update. Brakes are bled. No issues there. Bled the clutch, fired it up, pressed the clutch, and nothing. Pedal was hard to press, so I pushed a bit more, got a "ka-klunk" type feeling and then pressure was gone. No pressure at all again. SO I turn it off, and looking at the bleeder valve, I thought maybe I didn't tighten it enough, so I bleed them again. Same results, pressure again. Ok, cool. So I try to start the car, and now it won't start. I can hear something turning in the motor and I can hear the fuel pump, but it won't crank over. So, now it's not cranking and no clutch pressure. Any ideas?

Thanks Andy. I'm hoping to take a crack at it tomorrow since I'll have the day off. It'll make things easier than having to contend with my work schedule. What size hose am I supposed to use for the bleeder's? 3/8" is too small, 5/16" is nice and fit, and 1/2" is a tad big. I ask because fluid was seeping through yesterday afternoon from the 5/16". By seeping I mean it covers the valve completely, but where the hose meets the MC, it just sorta seeps through.

What prompted the project was that the brakes are non-exsistant. Like nothing to them. And that's was before and after I replaced the rear drums & shoes. Thanks for the tips. I'll look at those things you've pointed out.

I wanted to confirm something with you guys. I can bleed the MC without taking it off the car, right? Like as in bleed it like the brakes using the bleed valves? And ot confirm, the proper order of brakes is drivers rear, pass rear, pass front, driver front, right? I had pressure, but it didn't stay for long. I plan on going through, and replacing everything brake wise anyway, I was just hoping I could drive the car first. If it matters, I haven't replaced the MC yet.

Not a bad idea, AJ. Look into that after work.

I suppose...though I think I'll save that trick for dire emergency's only. Still need to replace the CSC. I have the part, I just need to actually replace it. Unfortunately, the manager of my Apt. complex is strict in that she won't allow any vehicle maintenance. She let's us check oil/transmission, and various little and/or light maintenance, but she won't let us do any heavy work, so I gotta wait till she's not at home to do it. Looks like Monday will be the time to do it. I hate having to wait to work on my car(s).

Cleaned my combi switch today. Followed MikeW's instructions. Flipped the switch and lights came on. Hit the high beams on, and they came on. Turned the high beams off/on/off again. And now the headlights are not working right again. We're back to high beams only again. If it helps, when the lights were on, the driver was bright, and pass. was dull.

Possible. After looking at that I just kinda went O_O But it's OK, I guess. I fixed it the right way. Old hemi, just saw you post. Yeah, it's up there..

And now for those drums. As promised, here's the pics of them. I don't know what he was doing or what he was thinking when he did this but you can see from the pics the damage done to the drum. The damage is to the Drivers side drum. It has several "teeth" broken off and two holes that were drilled into it, right next to each other. The passenger side just looks like it was drilled into a few times. Far as I can tell, replacing the drums/shoes has solved the brake issue. They no longer seem to be frozen. I still have the volt gauge charge light on, and the e-brake light is on. I even when the car is completely turned off and key is out... both lights stay on...I'm thinking maybe a relay switch somewhere? Have to look at that tomorrow after I replace the CSC.

Just a couple more updates. Since it's too cold to really do much (too dark as well) I went and looked a the fuses in the Fuse Block. Turns out my uncle didn't put a single properly sized fuse in all but a few of them. I flipped through my trusty book and found a diagram of the fuse block, and the proper amp fuse. After about 20 min of checking each fuse to make sure it's the right size and it's a good fuse, I re-connected the batter, and turned the key to the on position. Flicked the lights, and nothing. OK, put the high beams on. Voila, both head lamps are on. Except...wait a sec....Now the pass. light is dull, and the driver is bright. Turn signals are now almost non-existent. You turn one on, and both just blink twice, and won't do anything more unless you turn them on then off again. Not to mention the volt meter bounces a bit. Another question: are the running lights supposed to blink if you turn on the signals? The Fuse Block diagram in my Haynes manual, the Floor Temp Lamp is shown 1 or |, and there's an ST next to it. Anybody know what that is? I can't find it in the book. Is the fuse space supposed to be empty or do I put a fuse in it? I found this thing attached to my fuse block. I'm sorry for the blurry/crappy pics. I'll take better ones tomorrow. My little digital cam sucks, and I didn't feel like lugging the Nikon D40 down stairs. Anyway, what is that? It looks like a piece of copper wire. It's not connected to anything, just makes a loop. It's sort of twisty-tied to itself.

Ah got ya. I had a feeling that's what it was. And good to know about the wipers. I figured they were just old and dull and needed replacement. Still working on the brakes, only had enough daylight to do the pass side. Tomorrow, I'll get the driver side drum/shoes traded out. I'm quite ticked at the P.O. for what he did to "fix" the stuck/frozen rear brakes. I'll have to take a pic or two to show you guys.

I don't think the brake lights came on. I'll check that today. The wipers work, but are awfully slow. For the bleeder valve, I placed a 1/2" hose over the bleeder. I opened the bleeder first, about 1/4 turn, put the hose one, and placed the hose in a container with about 1/2" of clutch fluid in it. doing it that way, we can see when the bubbles stop coming. We kept the fluid filled up, but the bubbles never stopped coming out. It's pretty much the same way I do the brakes. And I'm going to ask...combi switch?

An update. Headlights are not working properly. Here's what we have: ~ Dash Lights ~ Parking/Running Lights ~ Tail Lights ~ Turn Signals What we don't have: ~ Hazard Lights ~ Head lights - They don't come on, however, if I turn on the high beams, passenger side comes on. That's the lighting issue. Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'm going to replace the rear drum brakes, and CSC. Speaking of the CSC, I don't believe it's the MC. It seems to be pumping fluid quite nicely. The SC doesn't move as it's supposed to. Fluid does come out of the bleeder valve, but if I'm correct after reading some other topics, it's supposed to move 1/2". I'm correct, yes? Thanks Guys. Edit: I'm speaking of the Clutch Slave Cylinder.

I'll keep an eye out in my area. I don't tolerate theft, either, and I'm sure you'll get some of it back. I'd have to agree, sounds like an inside job of sorts. Either previous employee, or somebody who know what they wanted, a shopping list perhaps. Either way, that's bull, and pretty jacked up.

Awesome! Looking forward to seeing what you're gonna do with her.

Just thought I'd share. I found a couple Hot Wheel Z's. These are 240Z's. From the Hot Wheels Wiki: The Datsun 240Z is a Hot Wheels casting based on the real car of the same name and was recreated in 1/64 scale by Hot Wheels designer Phil Riehlman. 2007 Fun Fact #80 of 180: Did you know that in 2004 Sports Car International named this car the number 2 sports car of the 1970's, beating out some well-known, high-end performance exotics? And here's the wiki page: http://hotwheels.wikia.com/wiki/Datsun_240Z The paints for these are Spectraflame Black and Spectraflame Red. I'm quite partial to that red. I think it looks awesome...

Thanks for that tip too. I wouldn't have known about that.

Interesting tale. Enjoyed the read. Any photos of the trip and of your Z?

Thanks for the tip about the Speed Bleeders. Defiantly adding those to the list of items to grab for the Z. If I upgrade the calipers/rotors to the Toy 4X4 ones, I'll grab a the 280ZX BMC. I haven't decided if I'm going to upgrade yet. For now, I just kinda figured on keeping ti stock to get everything in proper functioning order. But again thanks for the heads up.

So I'm going to be replacing the brake lines on my Z. So far I've gotthe following list of parts: ~Calipers ~Drums ~Pads ~Rotors ~Shoes ~Master Cylinder ~Brake Lines Did I miss anything? Should I be wary of anything from the auto store? I can change brakes fairly easily, though this will be my first Z brake job.

Alright, brought the car down. I put about 3 gallons in the tank, and a bit in the injectors to prime start it. She fires right up with no problems. I shut her off and restarted her several times. Fuel system is presently not an issue. Attempted to bleed the clutch. We hit a snag here. I loosened the bleeder valve, and placed a piece of 1/2" tubing over the valve, and pumped the clutch. We pressed ti fast, and let it come up slow. Couldn't get the bubbles to stop coming out. Well, we did for a about a couple pumps, even had some pressure, but then the pressure was gone and bubbles came back. :/

OK, so it's been a tough one fighting with my work, and with many other things. Tomorrow, I'm finally getting to be able to pull it down to my place. Though I wasn't able to get to the car recently, my uncle was, and he took the initiative, and did his best to fix it for me. He drained the gas tank, which whatever had been gas at one point was now a very odd looking deep red, smelling horribly like paint thinner/ether. But the tank is empty now. So, I assume this is just really old gas in the tank? He replaced the fuel pump. He said no issues came up during the uninstall/install. He lastly replaced all my fuses with new ones. He says he placed 32V buss fuses in place of the old ones. But when he did this, two things happened. The e-brake light stays on permanently, and the volt meter light stays on, both are on when the car is off, and the keys are out of the ignition. The other issue is the head lights don't work. Apparently, all the other lights work, except the headlights, and only the passenger light comes on if the high beams are turned on. He didn't add fuel to the car after replacing the pump, so I have no idea if that solved anything or not. I do know he says it is at an angle. The OEM pump I guess was flat, and the new one is a bit bigger? I don't know. Again, haven't seen it yet. I'll be bringing the vehicle to my home tomorrow, and would just like to give you guys a heads up and see if you guys might be able to give me some advice before I get out there and tinker before work tomorrow. Thanks in advance.

z4life92, I agree with your "to each there own". You are quite correct. I, nor do any of the other who've posted here, own your Z. I can agree with you, again, that there are things that people have done that I like or dislike. I also agree with the one slip and the cars done. See? We can get along. However, my opinion still stand that I think a vehicle being dropped that low is ridiculous. What area are you in? Please don't take us to be "haters" or even "old fogy's". I can tel you I'm neither. But you, in previous posts, have shown to have an immature attitude, and I think the above post is your most mature to date. Even said, I still do not like that particular mod. I am not, and never have been a fan of cars dropped that low. Show cars, OK. But not for street breed daily drivers. Take it for what's it worth. I just don't like it. Air bags or not. Note: z4life92 - be prepared to have some flak and negativity come your way when you post something. If it something against the general consensus, you'll probably get some folks who let you know about it. Also, if you continue to post as before, it'll keep happening.

esprist, If you do indeed make them for the 280Z, I'll be interested as well.