Hardway

Thanks for the compliments guys. Yes, I am very glad they are out and its over. I used my rotary tool with a rolled sandpaper bit on the end to clean up the bore inside the hole where the spindle pin was. Once I ran it through a few times it looked really good. I will know for sure once I test fit the new spindle pin. By far the best tool I learned about from this experience was the Acetone & ATF mix for a penetrating lubricant. PB Blaster cannot hold a candle to this stuff. Best off all, its super cheap to make a lot of it. I am going to find a bottle with a needle on the end so I can squirt it in to tight places.

My apologies for the delay in an update on this thread. After the differential was done I turned my attention to pressing the spindle pins out. Due to the issues I ran in to I started another thread which can be seen here -> http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/suspension-steering-s30/48583-spindle-pin-woes.html As I was taking a break from my frustration with the pins I did manage to clean up one of the control arms that I freed from the hub assembly. Like everything else on the car it was just really dirty. Thankfully it was all dry dirt and not oil caked sludge. My variable speed Makita rotary tool with a 4” wire wheel on it made pretty short work of knocking the dirt and revealing a great looking part. I still need to get a small wire brush to get in to the hard to reach spots. In the picture above I am wearing a pair of Dewalt brand safety goggles. They are $10 on Amazon and by far the best you can buy. They have soft seal around them which provide the best protection when doing work like this. They are supposed to be anti-fog but after 20 minutes or so they do have to wiped out, a small cost in my opinion for how good they perform. Remember, you only get 2 eyes in this life time, better take care of them! About 30 more minutes of clean up is needed and it will be ready for paint. That is all for now.

Since I was pretty miserable over the second half of last weekend due to my cold I did not get anything done. Knowing the other spindle pin was waiting for me and could very well be just as difficult as the first I start feeding it some of my Acetone/ATF mix throughout the week. I figured if I could just get it to move, hopefully it would be easier this time around. For starter I would try pressing on it as a full assembly. After some promising initial results it reached a point where I could no longer keep a bolt straight on the pin due to the head mushrooming to one side. Darn! I also tried my puller one more time but sure enough the end broke off just like with the other pin. Out came the cut off wheel to cut the ends off and pull the control arm from the hub assembly. Followed up by half inch hole drilled in the end of the pin for the bolt sit in, 30 minutes of heat and pressure later and the pin was out! A shot below of a new pin versus the old. Good riddens!

My apologies for the delay in an update. Last weekend I was determined to get the spindle pin out and had been letting it sit in the Acetone/ATF mix all week, periodically adding to it with a spoon each morning and evening. After about 20 minutes, 2500 degrees of heat, and 20 tons of pressure it started to see things my way. After reconfiguring my press a few times and pressure sessions it was out. Even with less than half of inch left to go I still needed the press to get it all the way out. Finally, victory was mine! I did a pay price for all my productivity. Mother nature dealt me a good head cold and have been getting it over all week.

Thanks Siteunseen. My handle is the story of my life with cars. An almost ongoing state of self induced misery with moments of victory and joy. After owning 30+ project cars one would think I would have learned by now. However for some reason I can't help myself and end buying cars that need rescuing to some degree or another. Is it a disease? Possibly. More like insanity but in the end I enjoy it (most of the time) and learning experiences and the people you meet along the way are the best part of it all. Also, acquiring new tools is a bonus!

It is situations like these that clearly illustrate the need for a air or hyd. powered flaring tool that can get in to tight spaces. I know they make tools for on car service but they are big and likely not going let you access the line properly to work on it while on the car. Plus they are $$$. Time to put our thinking caps on and come up with a solution.

I love these conversations so I will throw in my .02 cents. I have always had a late model modern car to drive every day and an old project car or several to work on. A reliable daily driver is a must for many reasons. First, your own personal safety. Second, you need to know that when you turn the key to leave for school to take an exam the car will start and the AC will blow cold and/or the heat will keep you warm. College and working is hard enough, don't add an old car in to the mix. Third, your social life. Let's face it, most girls do not like old cars unless they are fully restored with all creature comforts in working order. If you find a girl that actually likes project cars and might even lend you hand with yours, scoop her up! The point is, you need a nice enough car to take someone out to dinner in or who knows, maybe even a small road trip. See where I am going? CW makes a great point, a nice reliable car does not have to be expensive, although the chances of finding a $100 3-series BMW near by that you can drive home is probably not going to happen. I had a '98 Accord Coupe for 5 years as a DD, V6, auto, and I got compliments on it all the time. I think I paid $5K for it, and over the course of owning probably put another $3K in it. Hondas that are 4-10 years old can be had for cheap. If they have been well taken care of you can get a great car, drive it for a long time, and not have to worry about it. Plus, a bank will easily make a loan on a Honda. If not a Honda then a Toyota or something else. If you are going to finance something and your credit is good, go with a credit union. They have the best rates for used cars. Let us know what you got!

Can you post the year and model of your Z?

Another option would be Craigslist. Go to Onecraigs - Search all of Craigslist nationwide and search for 240z tool or tool kit, spare kit, or whatever. You would be surprised how many people around the country are parting these cars out at any given time. I have bought several items from guys out of state and as long as I paid the shipping they would ship me the parts. Worth and try and costs $0.

Once you get a part off, no matter how easy or hard it was, it is almost inevitable you will something close by that needs attention and that is when it becomes a slippery slope. You have to determine what is truly needed vs. would be nice to have. Another way of thinking about it is safety & reliability vs. just for my peace of mind. We have all dove in to projects head first with best intentions just to be swallowed up by our cars and all their issues in a sea of frustration. If I buy a car with the intention of re-selling it I am very good at doing just what is needed and what will truly add value to the sale of the vehicle. However on my '72 240z, the fuel system needed some real attention to be safe. The fumes were so bad I feared someone in a car next to me on the road might set me and the car ablaze with a lit cigarette. However on the brakes and suspension, I probably could have gotten by with just getting the rotors and drums turned, replacing the calipers, throwing on a new set of pads & shoes, and giving the whole system a good bleed. Is that what I did? Nope! Had to do a whole suspension rebuild while I was at it thus uncovering new frustrations like spindle pin removal, parking brake cable rebuilding, and all the other fun stuff that comes along with it. In the end, the important thing to have is an objective for the car. Full on restoration, bringing up to par to reliable driver status, or just running enough to move under its own power in and out of the garage. Once the objective is determined, MAKE A PLAN, with real goals, budget, and approx. timelines. I know this has been said before but a lot of us seem to epically fail at it. As many have said before, take it in phases. Get one phase complete, drive and enjoy the car for a few weeks or months, then move to phase two. Once phase two is done, drive and enjoy and then move on to phase three, etc. I think this is the best way to go about working on a car while keeping the enthusiasm for it. A full blown restoration requires a full tear down and tons of work, money, and time. The end result is a much higher quality car but you run a high risk of burn out since it may be many months or years before you drive it again.

I bought a MIG welder about a year ago so I will give you my recommendation as I went through the same research exercise before buying one. First, DO NOT BUY a Harbor Freight welder. HF is good for tool boxes, hand tools, and other "non-complicated" stuff but their welders are junk. Don't buy their welding wire either, it's quality is not consistent. Always buy name brand wire! Definitely buy a welder setup for gas and invest in a medium bottle of argon. You will need to establish a relationship with a local welding supply company or find a Tractor Supply Co. store that has a bottle program. Stay with one of the three brands, Miller, Hobart, and Lincoln. Do not stray from these brands as they are the easiest to get support and parts for. A 135 amp 110v welder should work find for just about anything a hobbyist wants to do. However if you think for even a second you might take on a bigger project in the future, go for a 220v welder. I picked up a Hobart Handler 150 with a nice cart at a pawn shop for $350 out the door. Its a 220v and I have a bottle of argon for it. The bottom line, it is an awesome welder! I run .023 wire in mine and with it set on 2 along with the argon it makes some very nice welds. Obviously if you go with a 220v unit you will need to have a 220v outlet in your garage. Don't expect to run it off the dryer outlet. If you have to pay someone to run a 220v outlet for you, have them run 2. You never know what the next piece of equipment is that you may be buying. If you have never welded you need to go buy or obtain some scrap and practice, practice, practice. It will take awhile for you to get a feel for the unit, adjusting your speed, and seeing which power setting works best. I am still a novice for sure but I get better every time I tackle a project or practice on a beat up fender. One thing to keep in mind, no matter which welder you buy be prepared to buy or build a heavy duty extension cord. A neighbor helped me build a 30ft cord for my Hobart. Cost $100+ in materials but it means I can roll it in to my drive way with ease and weld just about anywhere.

I am with Mike. Its not a series one based on the lack of hatch vents and the B-pillar emblems. It is probably a '71 or '72 since the front bumper is tucked in to the body. The brown one has obviously been sitting awhile. If its a rust free car, mostly complete, and can be had for a good price you might end up with a gem. There are no shortage of stories of cars sitting and with a little work and fluid clean out they start right up. Keep us posted on it!

You are making some great progress! Keep up the good work.

Thank you guys for all the encouragement and suggestions. I plan to pick up a large selection of sockets and remove the hub and bearings to make it easier to move the hub carrier around. Once that is done I am going to throw in my vice, mix up some Acetone and ATF, pour some in the top where the pin has been pushed in, and let it sit for the week, periodically checking it to see if it has drained down in between the pin and wall of the hole. I will also put some around the center of the pin too. My only fear is that the pin is in so tight the fluid may not go any where. Pushing the pin back in is not really an option as it took a lot of time and force to get it out just to where it is at. If the penetrating fluid works it might become an option but we will see. In regards to the doughnut I need, some heavy duty pipe fittings should do the trick. To be honest, I am pretty psyched to have the press and already using it. I have been reading about all the possibilities that can be realized with even a simple press like mine. For now though I am staying focused on the project at hand. If all goes well I will have some updates later this week.

There are lots of write ups here on the boards documenting the process including my own. It can be done but taking stock of your tools and abilities if a wise exercise. Air tools are almost a requirement but a good socket set with a breaker bar can get it done too along with some other tools. The best piece of advice I can give it take your time and expect to run in to challenges. Do not expect to have it done in a weekend, or two, or three. The bushings in the hub assembly require pulling the spindle pins out. This can turn in to a huge project all by itself so you may opt not to replace those bushings and move on. Do a search for spindle pin removal, its all over the net. Most owners have reported good results with poly bushings and the set from MSA or any other supplier should yield the same good results. This what I am currently doing on my '72 as the factory bushings and other suspension components were beyond shot. Keep us posted on your project.

Back at it again today. I went to Harbor Freight this morning and purchased one of their 20 ton presses. I bought the 20 ton over the 12 ton version because the 20 ton was only $20 more and had much better reviews. The overall construction seems to be very good regardless of it being made in China. I used the bolt method as mentioned above so the press would have something to push against while pushing on the pin. I drilled a 3/8 inch hole first, used a grade-8 3/8 bolt and the pin moved maybe 1/16 of an inch while crushing the bolt. I then moved up to a 1/2 inch grade-8 bolt as recommended and it moved the pin out some more to the distance you see in the picture below. At this point I had worked at it for about 6 hours and called it a day. I need to source a dounut for the hub assembly to sit on while I push the pin out and have it be strong enough to not give under the intense pressure of the press, I was using a small piece of iron pipe scrap that started to compress. Just to get the pin to move the little that it did took all the power of the press, almost to the point where it was making me nervous. I did heat the hub assembly and was careful not to over heat it and heat up the pin. Another thing, I need a good second set of hands as wrestling the assembly in to place on the press was a job all in itself. All in all today yielded a very small victory but in reality the entire weekend feels like a disappointment. Maybe the upcoming 3-day weekend will yield better results. Disclaimer: to anyone reading this, if you are thinking of attempting this kind of work on your own and doubt or question your abilities please seek the assistance of a professional. This is very dangerous work and if something were to go wrong the end result would likely be very bad.

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Thanks for all the input guys. As always, this forum and its members rock! Yes, the locking pins are out. I made sure not to apply hear around the pin hole since I new it was a direct shot to the pin. Looking like a 20 Ton HF press is in my near future. I had looked at buying one to do my rear wheel bearing job but now it looks like I need one even more. If they have it in stock I am going to try and pick it up today and try again. I will post my updates once I have them.

After several weeks of rounding up tools and doing all the research I could find I decided to tackle my spindle pins. I have the rear suspension off the car so it makes things easier. I invested in an acetlyene/oxy torch setup and got a crash course in how to use it from my neighbor who is a certified welder. I built a pipe based puller that has been shown all around the net. Instead of having the all thread tapped in the middle I made an adaper that would screw on to the end of the all thread by welding a M14x1.25 lugnut to 5/8 coupling nut. I had been hosing down the pins with PB Blaster for the last few weeks and today I used my torch setup to heat up the strut tubes/hub assembly. I made sure to go slow but ended up snapping the end off one side. On the other side I heated it up longer but it snapped the end off too. Knowing there was no way to pull the pins out I got my cut off wheel and cut the pins so I could free the control arm. Now I am left with the hub assembly and the stuck pin inside. I am thinking I am going to have to take it somewhere and have it pressed out. In addition I still need to extract the broken piece of spindle pin from my adapter. So before I tackle the other pin that is still mint I wanted to see if I am missing anything. In addition I think 2 factors were possibly working against me. 1. Even with the torch maybe I am not getting the hub assembly hot enough? 2. My adapter is not 100% straight and thus it was not pulling the pin out exactly straight. If anyone can add anything to this for items I may have missed is greatly appreciated.

Just wanted to share a quick story of my recent experience with Brock Racing Enterprises. I ordered 3 of their medium size long sleeve shirts a few weeks ago. I was careful not to wash or dry them at too high of a temp but they shrunk down a full size, to the point they were too tight in my chest and shoulders. I emailed BRE about it asking if anyone had reported the same experience and if there was anything they could do for me. Alison promptly wrote me back letting me know they had not heard of anyone else having this experience but was disappointed to hear what happened to me. She asked if I sent the shirts back she would give me 50% off some large shirts and ship them to me. This came as a total surprise as I was willing and ready to donate the shirts and buy some new ones at the regular price. I recieved the shirts yesterday and carefully washed them today. They were too big when they arrived but after a wash and dry they are now the perfect size, fit great, and even the wife said it looked good on me. It is very refreshing and satisfying to see there are still companies out there that work to make their customers truly happy with their product. Needless to say I will be buying some more items from BRE in the future.

Great info to have and could serve as a plan A or plan B depending on what others are doing with theirs. I found the one below on Ebay, runs $75 to your door but has the ends already on it. The Dorman cable looks to be around $65 - $100 depending on where you buy it from. Datsun Fairlady Z 240Z 260z 280z 2SEAT Hand Brake 2 Cables New | eBay My cable has stretched and has a few broken rusty steel stands in it. I plan on doing the repair below since I have a MIG welder. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/suspension-steering-s30/42241-e-brake-emergency-park-parking-brake-cable-repair.html

Would love to see and hear an update on this car if there is one!

My half shafts bolt up on each side to a 4 bolt flange. After doing some reading to determine exactly what I have I came across the site and article below. My driver side rear wheel bearing is shot as I can hear what sounds like a ball or two is missing when I turn the hub by hand. Other sites indicate the driver side half shaft should be shorter than the passenger side to make up for this. It is possible mine were not installed correctly by a PO. At the very least I think I will be replacing the u-joints and continue researching exactly what I have and ensuring it is installed correctly when I put it back together. Beta Motorsports, LLC Bench Racing

Thanks for the info guys. I plan to open them up, clean out any dirt, check the condition of the splines and balls, re-grease, and put back together with a new boot and straps. Part of me wants to replace them as getting a socket on the side of the flange where the zirk fitting is located is a PITB. I will be dropping my rear hubs off at a Z shop in town to put in new bearings and I may have them put in some new u-joints in to the axles as well. That way everything should be good for many years to come.

If the stub axles come out that easy then I go ahead and change the seals. I had read about leaving the pinion seal along as well as it takes a skilled mechanic/expert to know how to set it correctly and reassemble it. I could tell mine has leaked just a TINY little bit so I am leaving it alone.