Mike

This was submitted to the mailing list by our resident pro, Carl Beck. see http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/MacPhersonStrut.htm Aircraft type landing gear - aka "struts" - were redesigned and applied to automotive use by an Engineer working for Ford of England in the early 50's - Mr. Earl F. MacPherson. In that sense of the term - an Automotive "MacPherson Strut" or "strut" is actually comprised of a shock absorber with a coil spring mounted above it. The "strut" is attached to the auto structure at the top of the coil spring and the wheel hub is attached at the bottom - the bottom of the assembly is located by a lateral link and anti-roll bar (al la TR-7) - or by a lower Transverse Link and Tension Compression Rod (al la Z). On our Z's the MacPherson "strut" is comprised of: (without regard to how the Japanese translated it in their Part Manuals;-) 1. Strut Tube: - the "shock absorber tube" with a spring perch or seat welded on the outside of the tube near the top.. the spring sits on this perch/seat. The front axle is located at the bottom. The combined Strut Tube and Shock Absorber are referred to as the "Strut Assembly". 2. Shock Absorber: -the "shock absorber" built into the inside the strut tube (normally replace by a cartridge insert). The shock absorber "piston rod" moves in and out of the tube/cartridge and is damped in it's movements via oil flowing through very small valves attached to the lower part or bottom of the piston rod. 3. Coil Spring: - the "coil spring" mounted near the top the strut tube, sitting on the spring perch - the perch is welded to the outside of the strut tube. 4. Spring Seat: - that holds a slightly compressed spring, at the top end of the shock absorber piston rod. The top end of the shock absorber piston rod is threaded - so a nut/washer holds the spring seat in place there. The "bump stops" sit on the top of the shock absorber tube - held in place because they surround the shock absorber piston rod. Under full compression of the coil spring - they stop the spring seat - from bumping the top of the shock absorber tube. 5. Mounting Insulator: - the mounting insulator is bolted to the car with three bolts at the top. 6. Strut Bearing: - The mounting insulator rides on the "strut bearing" thus allowing the Strut Assembly to turn right/left. If you shorten the springs, shorten the travel or length of the shock absorber piston rod (as happens with all to many cartridge type replacements), overload the car - - you increase the possibility that the suspension will "bottom out" - - - - - meaning it hits and compresses the bump stops. For this reason you almost always want to replace the bump stops when you change shocks.. cheap insurance.... A farther modification of the design of the Automotive Strut was done by Colin Chapman of Lotus to adapt it to the rear suspension.... Mr. Chapman located the strut via the use to two links at the bottom to restrict lateral and longitudinal movement. Thus our Z's use MacPherson Struts on the front suspension and Chapman Struts on the rear. So What Does Nissan Call The Parts in the Front Strut? 1. Strut Assembly = Assy. Strut Front Suspension (assy includes the tube, the axle & shock) 2. Shock Absorber = Assy. Shock Absorber 3. Coil Spring = Spring Front 4. Spring Seat= , Assy. Bumper Bound 5. Mounting Insulator: = Assy. Insulator Strut Mounting 6. Strut Bearing = Bearing - Strut Mounting So .. you can't find "Bump Stops" - in the Parts Manual because they are part of the "Assy. Bumper Bound - but you can buy them in the after-market. BTW - Later year Z's used a dust cover over the shock absorber piston - to help keep dust/dirt off the piston and out of the seals that surround it... thus lengthing the life of the shocks... not a bad addition to the older Z's while your at it... More than you wanted to know.... FWIW, Carl Carl Beck Clearwater, FL USA IZCC #260

Eric, I don't think there is such a thing as a complete listing. I've had to use 3 different manuals just to get the info that I need.

Damn... I spent a good hour at that site. Great looking cars!!

YES!! SEND THE LINK!!! Of course we want to see all of the picts we can related to this stuff..

The Motorsport show is posted. But, it only shows one day (friday). We should add the Saturday and Sunday events as separate entries. Maybe something like this: MSA Show - Day 1 - Description MSA Show - Day 2 - Description MSA Show - Day 3 - Description

Yes, and yes. Check the fuel filter first. I'm not saying that I'm a pro at EFI, but, I just got my first Z with EFI a few months ago. My problem was traced down to a bad fuel pump. But, I had to go through the whole system just to find it. Start at the basics and replace the filter. You should also check to see if you have fuel pumping by asking someone to hold the rubber tube (that comes from the filter) away from the car while you crank it. The fuel pump should come on when you are turning the car over. You should see gas squirt out the hose. And, do not pump the pedal. In fact, I've heard that pumping or holding the gas pedal down while you try to crank an EFI system can be damaging to the system. You might need to push the pedal all the way to the floor at least once (not while cranking) so you can get the system into 'cold start' mode.... But, I am still new to the EFI.

So, I'm thinking about attending one of these events in the next few months. I've got about a weeks worth of vacation and I want to head out and join my fellow Z nuts. But, I've never been to any of these shows... so, I have no idea which one would be better. What do you think? Is the National Convention or the Motorsport Auto show a better place to be? I haven't been to either of them, so, it's up in the air for me right now. I'm not really concerned much about the events themselves. But, I'd rather attend something that has the most amount of Z owners, Z cars, and unique experiences. Anyone have advice in this area?

Replace the following: 1) Points 2) Rotor & Cap 3) Spark Plugs Pick up a good manual at your local auto store. Or, get yourself a factory service manual and a Parts Diagram CD from the banner on the top right of your screen. All of these tools are extremely helpful.

OH man... yes, it's a virus. You must send the 240z club $10,000 by the end of tomorrow or we'll delete all of the files on your computer, raid your bank account, and set your house on fire. Yep, I'm kidding. No virus.

Okay, I found the problem. My code was opening up images from another server on the Internet. That other server decided to password protect their files. Because of this change, our system was asking for login information. Anyway, it wasn't a biggie... Sorry for the annoyance. [m]

Hi guys, Sorry about that damn password thing. I didn't do it!! I went out of town for the weekend and the system decides to blow chunks on me. Anyway, I'm looking into it. -- Mike

I like black and darker colors! It brings out my coloring the best. But, you're right... they are hotter. Just don't wear a dark shirt to the beach and you should be fine.

Beandip, I don't think a navy blue shirt would look bad. The red oval around the Z will probably accent it that much better. But, I'll have to find an image of a navy blue shirt so I can play with it.

You mean like this?

Here are a few blank t-shirts for those of you who want to 'tinker' with new design ideas. Front --> Back

Here are a few design ideas. They are simple, but, get the point across. This doesn't represent ALL of our ideas, but, just a few.

Hmm... that's good advice. I was wondering if the NOS would only give me the same problems down the road.

I ended up seeing quite a tax return this year. It was really quite a shocker to know how much money I'd get back because of all the money I gave the bank on interest for my home. Anyway, I'm going to spend my refund on the Z. First thing is to get my dash shipped of to AUS for the re-cover. Or, do you guys know if I can still get a new one from Nissan? Second, I need to purchase wiring harnesses for the engine bay and interior. Same question... can we still get these new? If not, who makes good aftermarket wiring harnesses? I'll save the other questions for later. Believe me, I've got more.

Yap, those are great ideas, I'll add 'em to the list of votes.

Driving to the office this morning on the Interstate, I looked over to my left and there was a woman in a brand new Mustang doing 65 miles per hour with her face up next to her rear view mirror putting on her eyeliner! I looked away for a couple seconds and when I looked back she was halfway over in my lane, still working on her makeup! It scared me (I'm a man) so bad that I dropped my electric shaver, which knocked the donut out of my other hand. In all the confusion of trying to straighten out the car using my knees against the steering wheel, it knocked my cell phone away from my ear which fell into the coffee between my legs, splashed and burned Big Bob and the Twins, ruined the phone and DISCONNECTED AN IMPORTANT CALL! DAMN THEM WOMEN DRIVERS!!!!!!!!!

Actually, you're not too far off from an item in my merchandise book. There's an emergency road kit available. We could put our logo on the box and sell the kit. But, I'm not too sure about the quality of the parts. They sorta look like your typical 'taiwan' parts manufactured out of die-cast metal.

We are in the middle of making arrangements to provide various pieces of club merchandise. This effort will be used to provide funding for the club and give us a great avenue to promote the club in general. If you were to help fund the club by purchasing club merchandise, what would you purchase? Please answer honestly because we will use this information to invest our time and money into the areas you have selected. And, if you don't think you'll purchase merchandise, we could also use that information. All answers are kept confidential for our own use in this 'venture'.

Okay, I've always wanted to ask this. What do you LISTEN to when driving your Z? I am speaking of a particular band, a particular genre (pop, rock, et), a particular song? What? For me, it all depends on my mood. If I want to take a leisurely drive to the Oregon coast, I'll pop in some Classical music. However, if I want to put my foot down and drive with white knuckles the whole way... I'll put in something like Static X or Rob Zombie. :eek: What about you?

Buy the CD! I'm tellin' ya... you can find out this stuff just by looking at the diagrams and part numbers. I'm not trying to sell it... I just think everybody with a classic Z should have this resource. If you can't afford it, let me know and I'll figure out how you can do other things around the site to 'earn' one. Wash dishes? [m]