fastd

follow up this: i replaced the valve lash pad (.180 with a .175) and my problem was solved.

trying to set valve lash. a couple of things: 1. can't get one valve (exhaust) lashed wider than .007 (trying for .010); can this be resolved by anything other than replacing with a smaller lash pad? doesn't this seems like a strange problem; how does the previous owner get all but one valve right? 2. i believe i have a schneider stage iii cam - is anywhere on the 180 degrees of the heel of the cam "heel" is ok to set the lash? does it matter if its not TDC, or the lobe center isnt pointing towards the sky? The reason i ask is that it feels like maybe the lash is changing even when i am on the 180 degree heel arc...is that possible? 3. most importantly, how do i replace the lash pad without removing cam and/or the least amount of effort. Thank you, fastd

they are a good resource because their parts list is detailed and they are nissan part numbers. my experience was there are no worse than all of the online sites; nissan dealerships are no better and more expensive.

i was wondering if i needed to go through the trouble of dropping the pan to take off the rear cap to replace side seals and main seal rather than just slide out the main seal and skip the sides. i did pull the pan mainly because i couldnt get the main seal off. good thing i did: the side seals that were in there didnt have the nails installed and tom monroes book says to use sealer on the cap in a couple of places. never could have done this properly without dropping the pan.

see a bunch of oil pan gasket posts but didnt see a direct answer. what's better for oil pan gasket? cork or rubber? i got a worldpac cork gasket today (part number 11121-E3001) the people at carquest said it actually is a composite of cork and rubber; it looks like cork with black specks in it or maybe just darker cork...cant tell if that is rubber or not. looks more cork than rubber in any case. my search did yield varying opinions regarding using sealants; seems like many that recommend cork do not recommend use of sealant...

will do. did you apply any sealer on your side seals?

Just replaced rear seal but looks like I still have a leak; I had to pull the tranny again for other reasons so will replace seal again. Didn't replace the side seals; will do those later. I didn't grease the main seal before I installed the first time; so since the tranny is out again, will do it right this time. Called Nissan to ask for the seal but they have two different part numbers: 12279-2B500 and 12279-R4611. I have a 260z block - any opinions about the right part number? Also, is Nissan geniune replacement seals the best seal to reinstall? Better luck with Felpro or others? Thanks.

thanks so much to zKars; nice guy that went out of way to help out.

that's the one; I'll email you. thanks.

Is it possible that the distributor was somehow rebuilt and assembled with the shaft backwards? Is that even possible?

will look into it; thanks.

Captain, I applaud your curiosity. Here is a picture of the engine, I am pointing to the #1 spark plug wire. Regards, Fastd

thanks zed. Since Nissan just stopped making that part, Courtesyparts.com and all of the others no longer offer it. I cut the rod when I couldn't remove the striking lever pin out think that I could always buy a new one (I had the transmission out to change the clutch but kept going to replace all of the transmission seals). I didn't realize the part was discontinued until after I cut it. I tried to weld my old rod together but it failed (I am a beginner welder) after about 20 miles after I reinstalled the tranny. Now I am trying to find a used one.

anyone have or have an idea where i can get a striking rod for a 1979-ish 280zx or similar transmssion?

any transmission parts? i need a striking rod...

deleted on vimeo but i found it on youtube

No; mine doesn't look like that; mine has the small moon towards the back. The picture is from the bottom of my distributor; you see that the small moon is towards the back; so in order to match that up, I flipped the oil pump shaft so that it would match the dizzy. I didn't take a picture of the oil pump shaft after I flipped it; let me know if you would like a picture of it; I'll pull it for you.

ive seen a lot of posts regarding the clutch upgrade from the 240z clutch to a 280zx clutch. for me it was a little confusing and i think that the existing clutch had some mismatched parts. i am posting this because i want to let others know its not very difficult for those with little to no experience. i was able to get it to work - the parts i put in (collar, throw out, pressure plate) added to 92-94 mm. the parts i took out added up to 100+mm. i added about 3/8-1/2 inch to my slave pushrod and everything happen to work.

that looks like 12:30 to me not 11:25. i was thinking about trying this position because the least amount of advance i can get is about 12-14 degrees.

I dropped the oil pump and re-inserted the oil shaft at 11:25 but with the small moon towards the back (rather than the front as it seems most cars are). It then matched up with the distributor that had the small moon towards the back. I am still curious as to why the distributor shaft is "backwards" (unless I am just confusing myself). I don't recall how it was before I pulled it although I doubt anything was jammed (don't think that is possible without breaking something); this was all before my education is Z dizzy's.

OK; here are the pix. I bought it while on a vacation trip to San Francisco; this is what it looks like off the truck. Had one in 1988 and this one is almost the identical twin to my old one (expect my old one had a black vinyl top). Car was in pretty good shape when I got it; needed a lot of little things; most electrical that I have cleaned up over time.

Finally got it. Thanks for all your help. Special thanks to Jeff G 78. Jeff was very generous with his time and patience. In summary, the only think unusual about my set up was that the distributor shaft small moon was towards the back, not the front; not sure why that is, but I flipped the oil shaft and it started right up. That, among other things caused me time and confusion. All that other stuff about 1:35 was my own non-sense. Best regards.

what ever happened here; I think I might be having the same problem; my dizzy looks like 73 240z Man's did on 9/24/2012...?

I rotated the oil shaft so now the small moon faces forward but it's still pointed to "1:35"; i tried to drop in towards "11:25" but the only way the pump fits back in is at "1:35"; I don't seem to be able to rotate one tooth at a time - does this seem accurate?

"1:15" doesn't really make sense; call it "1:35"