zoom240

Couple things I've done for turn signal problems: Make sure the connections for the center console are all plugged in. The power on my 260 routes through it (believe it's the emergency flasher switch) and the turn signals don't work with the console unplugged. That took me an embarassingly long time to figure out. Sometimes the connections get a bit corroded where all the plugs plug in next to the fuse box. Just pop them in & out a few times - or spray some electrical cleaner on them and work the corrosion off. Usually when the flasher's out, the lights come on but don't flash. You'll need a multi-meter to sort out anything more than try&see. My bet is that switch is something setup to crank the antenna up and down, but with an old car it could be anything. Dave

Zover, It might be as simple as replacing the flasher. Once, though, I had a bad plug connection - replaced the flasher, even replaced the column mounted signal unit ($$). Turned out the connection was poor @ the kick panel where everything plugs in. Worked the connector a couple times, used some CRC & that did the trick. Dave

Wayne, Thanks, but I'm going to look around a bit & see if I can find one for the air, but I'll keep it in mind. I will have to replace the blower motor - it had been making some noise :stupid: , when I pulled it apart - the armature is very worn. Probably was arcing. Not sure the picture really does it justice. Dave

I'd been having trouble with the voltage for several months, so it's not like it was a new problem. I'd changed out the voltage regulator twice & was thinking about changing the alternator. 16 volts is high - it used to be very steady at just over 12. The car had been running maybe 5 minutes when the heater caught on fire - just enough to get from the top of the parking garage to the bottom. Dave

Well, it's not quite an emergency, but I could use some advice. About four months ago, I was pulling out of a parking garage & smelled smoke. I got the fire out, drove it home & was so disgusted I parked the Z for 4 months while I worked on other projects. Today I finally crawled under the dash & found what happened. I think the heater switch failed & started a fire. I'm not sure why, but a couple of suspicions: > could have just been 25 yrs of crud & dirt > I've been running over-voltage because I haven't been able to track down why the voltage-regulator can't maintain voltage. Have replaced it twice. Might need to change out the alternator. So questions: I did some checking & you can't just replace the unit. You can see the fan blade is melted & will wobble from now on. Any source on parts for it? I'd like to replace the melted duct, but a junk yard is the only likely source. I've not had much luck here (New Orleans area). What about the heater switch - I guess I can just replace the switch. Anything I need to know that could cause problems there? The over-voltage problem. Do you think that was the root cause? Runs about 16 volts normally. I'm looking at changing out the alternator next, I think. Finally, I've done searches on this forum in the past to look for replacement wiring harnesses, but I've never found a source (other than the generic harnesses). Anything changed? Thanks all, Dave Car: 1978 260Z 5 speed with air (yes '78 - brought it from Holland & they sold the 260 there while the 280 was being sold in the US).

Good luck with your car. You'll find a lot of help here - just be sure to ask before you start. I usually end up asking after I've started and get stuck! Dave

Well, I do a lot of maintenance - seems like since I got it back, I drive it for a few weeks, then bam -- something else to fix. I think it's time to make a list & go through every system. The electrical has been one of the biggest pain in the butts. It spent years in Holland, which is wet & humid and then in the South here - so lots of contact corrosion & low voltage issues due to v-drop. Going to let it sit for a while, till I get my energy back. I did test drive a 350Z about a month ago, but to me they're just another new car. Nice, but no character. I kept hitting the rev limiter because I couldn't hear the engine! This one's a head turner. Kids wave at me & people ask me what I've got in it. Confession time - it's actually a 1978. They kept selling the 260Z in Europe, even after they had switched to 280Z here. This is the last year (I believe) they sold the 260Z in Europe. I thought it was a 74 & imported it that way - kept the tags as a 74 because otherwise the licensing/inspection people don't know what to think of it. Just keeps life simple. I'm attaching the Dutch license tag - has the VIN on it. It's LH drive. Had the flat top carbs & all the original pollution kit. That stuff's stored in the cupboard now, as I put the roundtop SU's on it. I've got a 6-1 MSA header and the Fireball ignition, but those are the only non-standard things I've done. Made a hell-of-a-difference in the driving excitement arena. You're all right, just need to take a deep breath and tackle it methodically. The clock works, the air works - gotta be thankful for small favors. Dave

Gents, I don't post much because I find this forum gives me upgradeitus & feeding that habit gets expensive! I'm down - damned near burned my z to the ground last night. Pulled out of the parking garage & plastic-burning-smoke was curling up through the defrost vents. Some wires caught fire above the heater. Don't know why - I put out the fire, pulled all the fuses & drove it home without lights. Fortunately it's daylight savings time. Seems like I never get to drive my baby. She looks good, but it's constant problems - just did the brakes, before that it was a busted shock, before that overheating, before that ignition, headliner, aircon, wiring (had lots of wiring probs on this one) and I've still got lots to go. Car's starting to rust in the louisiana weather, need to replace all the rubber elements in the suspension, tach doesn't work, fuel sender doesn't work, etc... So disgusted, I parked it & am thinking about selling it. It's a European 74 260Z. Pretty good shape, except for being bad luck to me -I bought when I lived in Holland and brought it back with me. I guess this will pass, I've been here before. Sometimes a Z car is like a rocky marriage - when it's hot, it's really hot & when it's not, you're ready for divorce papers. Dave:tapemouth

You're probably way past this, but I've had something like this happen to me when I got the firing order wrong. Are you sure? It's possible for the car to actually run with the firing order 180 out - but of course not well. Dave

Lance, 2ManyZ's, Thanks for the quick feedback. I think the MC might be it- I had to replace it on my 240Z, this one is original. Lance, it's a nice offer, but I'm trying to use new parts when things break - so I'll probably just order it in the morning. Dave

I'm frustrated. Just replaced the rotors & pads on my front brakes on the 260Z. Everything's back together & I can't seem to get the brakes bled. I read the other posts on the procedure & I made up the bleeder bottle discussed. I bled the rear brakes first, even though I didn't tear into them this time. I keep getting air - despite about 1/2 bottle of DOT3. I bled the master - lots of bubbles, took a long time to get them to stop & never completely stopped. I then rebled the whole system from furthest to closest. The front brakes never seem to quit giving up air. Can't believe I've got this much air in the system - seems like I've got an air leak. But I don't see any brake fluid leaking - you'd think you'd see it. I don't know if my bleeders are leaking or what's going on. I've bled the brakes on 3-4 Z's, including this one & never had this much trouble. Before I replaced the brakes, they were working ok (except I let the pads get too worn, had to replace the rotors). After weeks of idle time, the brakes would be spongy, but firm up with one or two strokes - so I know I had a slow leak somewhere before. Any ideas?

All, thanks for the advice. Haven't responded for a while because I have a hard time reading the site when my car's not working. It's a European 260Z & apparently it has a 240Z-style Voltage regulator, as the first VR had the wrong kind of plug. At any rate, that didn't fix it. The car's voltage has been rock steady since I owned it. Now, it swings up to 16 v when you rev the engine. I pulled all the grounds, cleaned them & locked them down again. No change. Guess next step is to follow Tomohawk's suggestion & try to get a Voltage reading at the back of the gauge to make sure it's not a guage problem. Seems a long shot. Could it be a bad wire going to the Voltage Regulator? Dunno. Thoughts?

I suspected the voltage mtr wasn't reading correctly with the VR out. I've got to send the new British Victoria VR back, ... the plug is the wrong type. Will look around for a replacement. Thanks Dave

My 260z's charging light came on & the votage indicator is showing high volts. When you rev the motor above idle, it jumps from 13 v to +16 -- off scale. The alternater & voltage regulator were replaced about a year ago & had no problems. The VR is a no-name brand (literally, no name on it). Got both from a guy at the Z club in Houston, so don't remember the origin, but they were new/refurbished. So this week, I ordered a VR from British Victoria, but it's a Wells & it's got the wrong plug. The odd thing is, when I unplug the VR, the voltage is rock steady. Isn't that odd? Any ideas? Dave

In a crunch once, I used a GM low pressure pump from the parts store, with no pressure regulator. The car also had a mechanical pump, but it would never run right when the electrical pump wasn't working.

I'll give it another go, but it will be a while. Leaving town this weekend & will be back late the week afterwards, so it might be 2-3 weeks before I give it another shot. I whaled on it pretty good before, so a rest break is probably a good thing. The lock pin is definitely out. Thanks for the advice.

`Looks like I might end up doing this. I got disgusted with it yesterday, threw a tarp over it and cleaned everything up. I'll have a trip to the auto store & see what I can find. I liked Darrel's tool because it could be used for pulling the new spindle into place - so it served double duty. Looks easy enough, just got to find the parts and a welder. Dave

Just a comment - should have researched this before I started. Just sent Darrell an email about the spindle puller. I got one out by pounding on it & the other is stuck - just flaring the end. Now the car's going to sit on jacks under a tarp until I either figure out how to make one or buy one.:stupid: You'd think I'd learn.

I once got stuck with a bad fuel pump when I was 100's of miles from home - on a Sunday. I trotted into the local autoparts store & got a low pressure, GM fuel pump for about $20-30 & hooked it up. Worked like a champ. The car had no mechanical fuel pump - it had been taken out long time ago. Seemed to work fine.

Brett240, by all means do the simple stuff first. But I have to share my overheating problem, which seems to be solved ... finally. Car was overheating in traffic - fine otherwise. Replaced the thermostat first with aftermarket model, no luck. Replaced the radiator cap. No luck - but now the system was finally pressuring up. I began to spring leaks. Had the radiator core cleaned out & leaks fixed. Ended up replacing the heater valve too. Replaced the water pump & fan clutch. No luck. What finally fixed the overheating problem was just buying a new radiator. I think the old one was clogged with crap. The Z's seem almost capable of running air cooled when they're on the highway -- I've driven the car home when it was overheating, with heater blasting away - only to find out there was very little water left in the radiator. Of course, when all the parts are new, it ought to work ... but what a pain in the arse. Almost sold the car over this. Hope your problem is just a thermostat.

Thanks Tanny, 2ManyZ's, I suspected the struts. Will start with them first + rear bushings. No sway bar, but I've had other z's that didn't do this & they didn't have the sway bar either. thx...

I've got a 260Z 2+2 with original rubber bushings & stock shocks. The shocks are still in reasonable shape - you don't get any bounce if you push down on the fenders. I use the car as a nice (very nice) daily driver. I know it all needs replaced - but was curious. When I go around a corner & there's a rough spot on the road, the rear end slips out- bouncing on the rough spots. Even when I'm going straight, if I hit some washboard road, the rear slips a bit sideways. What's the main cause of that? Any ideas? Thanks!

I call mine the Beast. It began when I bought it - so cold natured it was a beast to start. Everytime I get a little ahead and drive it for a while, something else crops up. But hey, rebuilt radiator, new carbs, new ignition, new exhaust, ... sooner or later, it'll be a new car. It's just long overdue maintenance. The PO made the car pretty, but didn't take care of any of the mechanicals. Hang in there.