Captain Obvious

Looks great!

I really don't think so. I don't think that tension adjuster really adds that much friction. More just to keep the rack loaded under all conditions so it's not so floaty? Mine is adjusted according to the manual and the spring is not binding. Other than that, I don't think it's that much of an impact. To be honest, it really feels like a caster change from the previous years. Like I'm really having to lift the front end weight when I get the wheel cranked off straight ahead. I know they changed a lot of the sheet metal stuff in 77 and the 77-78 cars look similar from the outside, but are very different cars underneath the skin. I wonder if some of those changes affected the steering feel. The FSM's say the caster and king pin angle and all that is pretty much identical to the previous years, but I'm skeptical. I need to find a 76 close by to compare it to.

Thanks for the confirmation on the 78. So according to the parts breakdown, all of the 240's used the same rack gear and pinion gear set from inception until summer 73 (7307) when both the rack and pinion gears changed part numbers. And then from that point forward until the end of the run in 78, everything used a new pair. In other words... The 240's used one set of rack and pinion gears, and the 260s and 280s used a different pair. At the same time is when they changed the whole rack housing to the newer style with the wider bushing groove. That could certainly explain differences in steering ratio or L-L between 240 and everything later. But based on the part numbers, I think the 75 and 76 steering is identical to the the rest of the bunch from 74 through 78 and there are some documentation issues that make it seem like they are different. I don't think they are. And.... None of this explains why my steering is so much heavier than my buddy's 260.

Yes, lock to lock can be different from ratio. The stops are on the rack. The rubber washers bottom out on the ends of the rack housing at each lock. I was just doing lock-to-lock because it's so easy and clean. It's nowhere near the whole story, but one that I can do now without getting under the car or taking anything apart.

Oh, and you guys are the best!

So we got a 72 at 2.7 and every year 280 comes in at 3.1 (assuming 78 is the same as the rest). Thanks for the data points guys.

Yup, That helps! Thanks! 72 manual says 2.7 (assuming the units in the FSM are incorrect), so you are right on. Doesn't answer the question about why my 280 (with harder compound touring tires and a higher steering ratio) would be harder to turn than an earlier year, but it's confirmation that something is different!

Wow. Instant service! I'm honored!

Yeah, I don't know what's up with the 76 spec in the FSM. It seems pretty clear that they believe the ratio in 76 to be 15.8, but I'm not sure I believe that. It was eighteen in 74 and eighteen again in 77, Makes me doubt that the two years in between were that different. And for the L-L numbers in 76, I wonder if they were intending to have a different spec for the 2+2, but forgot to label it as such.

Yup. Just like that. Turn the wheel all the way to one lock and note the position of the wheel and then count the number of turns until you reach the other lock. I did mine in a parking lot moving slowly (so I didn't rip my sports-aged shoulders out of the sockets), but you don't really even have to be moving to test it. You can do it sitting still in the garage.

I thought my Z driving season was over a few weeks ago because we got a bunch of snow and they salted the roads, but it has rained and rained (and rained) since then and washed off the roads. So because of that, I've been taking full advantage of the late season opportunities to drive my Z. While out yesterday, I measured my steering wheel turns lock-to-lock and got just over three. So that confirms the FSM is correct on that spec at 3.1 turns L-L for my 77. Can someone with a 240 or 260 measure their turns L-L for comparison? As a side note, every time I put the Z away now, I park it "as though it's the last drive of the season". At least now, I'm doing it intentionally instead of being surprised by the snow last time!

LOL!!! 'Tis but a scratch.

bat'leth http://www.startrek.com/database_article/batleth And just from the category of "Good to know": United States[edit] The legality of the bat'leth in the United States differs between states. In 2009, a bat'leth was used in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in two armed robberies.[30] The Colorado Springs Police Department said that it was a deadly weapon.[21][36] In New Jersey, bat'leths are considered weapons and are liable to be seized. The Federal Bureau of Investigation discovered and seized a bat'leth as part of a cache of weapons in connection with a $4 million Medicare fraud investigation in 2010.[37]

Cool. Glad to hear you are narrowing in on the root problem. So if you measured 25 GPH with the only restrictions in the line being a filter and a couple feet of hose, then I can certainly believe that number will go down even further when you have all the piping in place. And then there's the fact that some (most?) fuel just get's routed back to the tank. @GGRIII has gone through two different electric pumps in his car. Don't remember which ones they were, but I'm thinking one of them was the Holley red? I do know that he pulled the first pump and replaced with a second, but I don't remember if it was a delivery issue, or simply because the first pump was so durn loud. Hopefully he'll see the tag and chime in here to provide some input.

And since the new owner is a member here, make sure they understand that the long standing typical behavior of bashing the previous owner simply will not be tolerated in this case. I got your back!

LOL. Well if talking about sports is frowned upon, then you may have just tipped the boat!!

Sarah, Wow. Seconded. So sorry to hear you won't be a Z owner anymore. I've greatly enjoyed all of our interactions and hope we can continue in some form in the future. I understand the need for attention on other facets of life and here's to hoping that life's priorities are achievable to a happy balance. Enjoy the sailing waters. Bruce

At least I'm not the only one who heard it on the internet! I probably read it at the same place I read that you should grind your TIG tungstens on a dedicated wheel that you don't use to grind other materials so you don't contaminate them.

I heard that steel wool is often a bad idea on stainless because it embeds rust-able particles in an otherwise non-rusting surface. Doesn't hurt the overall integrity of the material, but can make it look poorly. Same with wire wheeling. Note that "I heard it on the internet", so take that for as much truth as it's worth. YMMV.

Yeah, the unbelievable part was that total no-call for pass interference against the Tide. Should have been first and goal Georgia at the spot of the foul. (Clearly stirring the pot....)

Exactly. I was like all like T-Rex arms after driving Wayne's car at Zcon. Couldn't lift my elbows off my waist. Thankfully there's still enough range of motion at the elbow to get the drink high enough to sip.

Can you point me to that thread? Would be an interesting read. And I agree... Seems counterintuitive, and would like to read that. Zed Head, My 77 manual says 18.0 ratio. Both .pdf and hard copy. Are you sure you were looking at the 77 manual?

I don't think it's tire pressure. They were all within the same general range of "general use". No severely deflated mud bog tires were used for the eval. So I was looking at the steering specs thinking that maybe I missed the most obvious answer... Maybe there was a change in the steering ratio over the years? Well it's hard to tell... The specs in the FSM's are all confused. First, the spec for the number of turns lock-to-lock in 74 is given in both meters and feet. WTF is that all about? And then in 75, they dropped the units for lock-to-lock (which is a good thing), but the number changed. And then the spec for steering ratio changed in 75, going from 18 to 15. That would surely make a difference, right. But then in 77, it went back up to 18. And I can't get any of the numbers to line up... If you have rack stroke, ratio, and turns lock-to-lock, you should be able to use any two to calculate the third. But none of them work out... In 74, they said there were seven teeth on the pinion, and from that point forward, they stopped listing that spec. I've got pics of my pinion gear from when I had my rack all pulled apart, but it's hard to determine the number of teeth. It's clearly either six or seven....

LOL, well she already knows who's naughty and who's nice. As a matter of fact, when I mentioned the welding helmet, she said that she's put in a good word for me and ask to have me put on the "nice" list. My reaction was like "Wait... What list was I on?" Haha!!

It's not tire width as the 260's tires were even wider (and stickier) than what I have on my 280. I've got 195 "touring" tires, and the 260 has 205 "summer" tires. Point is, the 260 tires should be grabbier than mine both due to the compound and the width. And I'm not sure about steering wheels... I'm running a wheel from the 1990 300ZX, but it's pretty much the same size as my original 280 steering wheel. Was there a change in wheel diameter from 240 to 280? Also, I do believe that the weight went up over the years, but it's not by that much. Couple hundred pounds maybe? Not a big change in percent.