78sid

78 5-speed seems to be running strong after about three years of rebuilding. However, now that I've got it back on the road, the gear shift is buzzing in all gears. I paid an experienced Z mechanic to rebuild the transmission about a year ago and it's going back to him next week to review my DIY work. I'm fishing for probable issues before I start questioning his work. I'm also getting some whining/roaring from the drive train. I initially assumed this to be the rear end bearings since that was about the only thing I haven't replaced or rebuilt, but I'm now wondering if it is all related to the transmission rebuild. Thanks for any input. Sid

Fingers crossed that I can give it a more formal workout this weekend. Next Friday will be the three year anniversary of the timing chain breaking and the beginning of the complete rebuild process. Daytime Bean Counter..Evening DIY Mechanic.

I think you are probably right about the condensation after browsing a few other threads. I've probably started and stopped that car 150+ times without ever really letting it run to warm for any period of time. I have let it get up to temp, but never for more than a couple of minutes. I'm going to clean up the pan and get her back on tomorrow. Thanks for the help.

I pulled the oil pan tonight to fix a gasket leak before I get it back on the road and I found a milky goo in the bottom of my pan. The car did sit for about a year prior to an oil change and restart. This scares me. Little more info. This is a new build. I had the head and block redone by a local shop with lots of Z experience, but I did reassemble it. The car runs (sitting still) pretty darn good with no smoke of any kind. I've run it long enough to watch the temp and idle settle, but I've never ran it for longer than about ten minutes. Been working on it for about three years. The oil I drained does not smell of anti-freeze or anything else. The pan does smell a little of gas. It did take me a while to get the timing right, but the oil has been changed several times during that process. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Thanks and good stuff guys. I'll take care of it tomorrow.

I'm going give it a good torque and see if it is dry in the morning. If it still leaks, I'll try a washer. If that doesn't work, I'll start over. Not a huge expense either way. I'll update my results.

Thanks. Saw a post on zcar.com about using a brass crush washer. Any thoughts?

I've got a leak that on the hydraulic hose mating to my clutch slave cylinder. It appears to be metal on metal. Should there be a gasket of some sorts? Seem obvious, but I wanted to make sure I'm not missing something else. Thanks.

Thanks Zed!!!!! Holding steady and clean at 800 RPM's. Sweeeeeeet. I might actually get to drive this car on the road tomorrow after a three year rebuild.

I did get it to turn using vise grips, it is all the way down or at least the spring seems to be tight. It did improve if only slightly but the engine still slowly idles down to shut off once the engine warms up. I'm assuming that tightening the screw increases the idle speed. I was also wondering if I could adjust the idle screw on the AFM and get some results. I was going to try that before trying the pot.

78 Z. I put 6x9 Infinity's in the deck behind the seats and 3.5 in Infinitiy's where the stock speakers went in the panel behind the seats. Infinity was the only 3.5 in speaker I could find that would handle the power from my amp that I mounted under my deck. I'm still thinking about putting some kind of tweeter at the front for more balance. My Z in college had some speakers in the door panel that took care of that nicely.

Very timely post for me. I've been rebuilding a Z for three years and I'm about to get it back on the road. The engine has been rebuilt and all the components tested per the FSM. In testing my engine which is almost completely stock for leaks and other issues, I've noticed that it runs fine until it warms up. Once it warms up, the idle drops and the car shuts off. If I hold the throttle only slightly, it will run fine, but if I rev it up slightly and back off, it shuts down immediately. I can restart easily with slight throttle, but I have to hold it. I'm thinking I need to try adding this fuel pot, but I'm also wondering if the idle set screw could help. Turning that screw seem almost as hopeless as getting out a spindle pin. Any input would be appreciated. 78 280Z

Glad you are making some progress. One of my pins came out with a press and big hammer to finish the job. The other one was a PITA. The 20 ton press wouldn't budge it. I eventually drilled out the core to just outside of the locking joint on both sides which gave a good seat for a drift; heated the assembly with a MAPP torch, sprayed the pin core with WD40 to shock cool it, and then knocked the hell out of it with a big hammer. I felt like I had climbed a mountain when I drove it out. Good Luck

I've just used my local Ace Hardware. They had a great selection of 10.9 class. The only issue has been head size, but with all the other issues I've encountered trying to rebuild a 30+ year old car, I sleep just fine.

Abbreviations Front Axle Rear Axle Factory Service Manual

The box I initially opened did not include instructions, but the second strut box had them enclosed. Tokico says any oil will do, but they do recommend light weight and to fill is as is described in the FSM. I used 20 weight motorcycle oil because I had it on my shelf. Thanks for the help, humor, and patience.

Thanks Jim.

I was under the impression that there was still oil in the tube to help disipate heat. I've been following Blue's tech tip guide on the install and he uses oil(?) in the tube with HP's.

I'm installing HP's on my 78Z this week. I know I need to fill the strut tube with oil, but I've been unable to find a reference on a forum as to what type or brand is recommended and appropriate. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

Very nice and thanks for the info. On my 78, I've got my OEM setup rehabbed and running well, but I strongly considered going this route rather than take the time to clean it up. It may sound like a stupid question, but when you do something like this, do you regulate the fuel pressure by replacing the stock fuel pump with an adjustable one?

Thanks for the heads up.

This was my first choice, but he no longer sales Tokico.

Thank you for the responses. One thing that is a little un-nerving is that they all seem to use the same graphics and descriptions. I found a BBB ratting of A+ for Import Replacement Parts LLC which is the second link and pulled the trigger just as shox.com responded to my email. All of the sources were in the 650-670 range. FYI, I paid 657.18 with UPS ground free shipping.

Thanks for the reply. The online listing says they don't have them for a 280, but they also imply you might have to call or email. I've emailed them.

I'm about to pull the trigger on buying new struts and springs for my 78 280z. I've pretty much made the selection of an Illumina Strut with the Tokico springs. I've found a couple of sources for the combos, but it's hard to tell if they are really reputable on the net. I would appreciate any good references that members have had with any vendors that sell the combos. The ones I have found are http://www.autocarparts.com/part/list/262/ http://performance.importrp.com/tokico/tokico_spring/shock_kit_ilk/toilk254/i-526785.aspx http://www.silverminemotors.com/Tokico-ILK-Suspension-Kit-Tokico-ILK-Suspension-Kit.htm;jsessionid=07BA1125A9C680E0A49790F9BC980166.qscstrfrnt01 http://lightningmotorsports.com/i-526785.aspx thanks thanks.