cozye

Thank you. Excellent communication and service. Looking forward to it.

I appreciate the input. I've pulled my pan before, it's just the stocker. If #1 is at TDC it slides out very easily. On the bearing, will it stay in place and are their any precautions I should take removing the cap? I'll probably put this off a bit as I'm finishing up body and paint right now, but I'll need to resolve it some time in the near future.

Interesting. Any reason why you removed the tranny and motor mounts? I can easily get the oil pan off without doing either, so I'm wondering if I do attempt this if I can get away without those steps. I can get the oil pan off in less than an hour. From the looks of it, it looked like the rear main cap would lift straight off as well, without the need to redo the rear main seal ?

I should also add that once, while troubleshooting and trying to find vacuum leaks, I had the PVC and crank case breather hose clamped off while the motor was running. It was a dumb move, but positive pressure built up in the crank case and shot the dipstick out after about a minute of running. I thought that possibly this would be how the side seals may have developed a leak. Also worth mentioning is the fact that there wasn't any leak prior to me replacing the rear main seal when doing the clutch last fall as preventative maintenance. It all started after I replaced it the first time. The 2nd time I replaced it I used a different brand seal to be sure.

That may be true. I'm just not seeing how the rear main could be such a PITA. Both times I have replaced it, it made absolutely no difference. It shouldn't be that difficult to repair a rear main, and all of the previous advice I've received and the research that I've done shows that people generally don't have issues replacing it. I'm pretty good with a wrench, and I was especially careful about it the 2nd time around.

whats an ST ? gyrt57, I've seen the side seals in there, I think they are the type without the metal shims, and there isn't anything sticking out to grab a hold of. Sounds like I may just have to live with this oil leak.

After replacing my rear main seal twice, and replacing my oil pan gasket. I still have the same small oil leak on the back of the block. I believe the only thing left that it could be is the side seals. The 2nd rear main seal I pulled out had no visible issues, and the 2nd one I put in I was very careful to make sure it had no burs and went in correctly. I saw the two side seals on the rear cap when I replaced the oil pan gasket, I guess my question is can they be removed easily and replaced once the oil pan is off? The FSM shows installing the side seals on a motor rebuild, but I've not seen any decent "replacement" procedure.

good work. Nice pics.

where are you located in KY ?

patience and a putty knife. Work slow. Don't bend the lip on the pan. Yes, it is glued.

Interesting. sorry for the incorrect info.

I think you will have to cut the 280 springs. They ride higher than the 240 I think. They aren't stiff either. Softer than what you have I think.

That car is toast. Dump it and find another. And don't drive it, it's very dangerous. You will spend 15,000k easy to put that car in any kind of shape and thats if you do a bunch of the work yourself.

Pics would help. Take good ones from all angles. I've done a bunch of cutting and welding on this same car so I might be able to help you figure out if it's fixable or not.

Is this the car that you just got for $500 and had issues with the seller on ?

These are pretty thick (16ga ?), if he knows how to weld it won't be an issue to tack on the mounting plates from the back side. That being said, and as quick as they ship I wouldn't even attempt it. They can send a label to retrieve the old ones and send you a new set in a week.

They aren't the cheapest place in town. I do get the club discount. The shipping is a bit high on large items. That being said, my local parts stores can't get a lot of the stuff MSA gets. I've spent quite a bit of money with them and have been pleased. I do shop other places, it depends on what I want. If it's brake parts or gaskets, I'll get those at rockauto.com or the local parts store. If it's weather stripping, wheels, air dam, emblems, exhaust, or other "z" special part, I'll look to MSA first. Life would really suck if we didn't have a few "z" special shops around. It takes a lot of effort to run a specialty business and they deserve our support.

You could, however you would have to polish it again as the steal will turn colors from welding. However, the bumpers you got were not complete. I would contact them back and have them send you completed bumpers. Mine came complete and ready to mount.

You can make your own very easy with some 16ga sheet metal and a small brake. I replaced one side of mine and it took about 4 hours to make them and weld them on.

I didn't catch any other thread, so I appreciate the link

My old ones were in good shape, so I just reused them.

Why would the canadian model get 29mpg when the US version only gets 22mpg ? Maybe thats 29kpg ? From fords website http://www.ford.com/trucks/f150/specifications/engine/

The bushing install is a big job, for sure. I'm sure you could do it if you put your mind to it, but it will be a major PITA. It will involve a lot of work, a lot of PB plaster, a lot of burning out old bushings with a torch and cutting sleeves out with a hack saw. Also, I wouldn't bother with the bushings without doing the springs and strut cartridges as well, but thats just me. Unless you are just looking for a big project to learn from, I'd consider just paying someone to do it honestly. It took me about a week and a half to do it, working several hours a night.

Good advice Zed. Zewald, if you are expecting good gas mileage, don't get your hopes up too much. 19-20 mpg seems to be about the average for an EFI 280z.