EuroDat

Ive used Jerry's method a lot and never had problems. My compression tester has several adapters and they also fit my compressor hose. See photo. I have had it a really long time, but it still works great and I check the calibration every once and a while at work. Just turn engine to TDC, remove spargplug, select 5th gear and handbrake on. Fit the adapter and turn air on. The engine will turn a couple of degrees until all the play in the drivetrain is gone. Chas

Would it not be easier the change the spring tension in the AFM or the resistance in the temp sensor circuit to adjust air/fuel mixture? If leak down is a problem, replace the FPR with an OEM. Just a thought

Im not sure when your doing the vacuum test. If the engine is not fully warmed up the cold start valve and engine temp sensor could be effecting richness. Basic vacuum readings. If vacuum is steady around 17- 20 in/hg thats is normal for a warm engine at idle. Vacuum under that can be caused by small leaks, valve clearance, low compression or efi sensors effecting fuel mixture. If the needle keeps bouncing around then you have something with one or more cylinders. Have you done the checks Zed mentioned in post 49. It has been standing for some time you could drive it a couple of weeks and see how it goes.

Hi Zed, What I meant. If you have the technical know how to remove injector and track down electrical problems in your efi you should be able to adjust vavle clearance especially with the fsm. "rope trick" I have never used the rope trick to change valve seals. I have always used the sparkplug fitting from my compression tester and the air compressor to keep the vaves in place. Keeping the piston close to tdc with tranny in 5th and hand brake full on. Chas

We use water blasting to polish SS parts. I used then to do the outside of my 71C transmission. Could be an option for the threshold plates too. The water treatment is not so harsh as grit blasting etc. They can also do satin finish. http://www.innomet.nl/docs/WATER%20BLASTING%20rev%203.pdf

YEP, I second that. Im like out there on planet pluto. Everything I want is overthere in the states and the frustration of getting it here with shipping costs often more than the part itself. And then I have to pay 21% tax on everything, just to rub a little more salt in..... Ben, keep up the good work. Your doing great. You probably dont think that atm, but later when you are finished and look back it will be ok. Chas

Ouch, its a pitty they didnt compare the vavles before pulling that stunt. Then they would have seen it in time. It was the only reason I could think and its a common mod when using the P90 on a NA engine. Well look at it this way Ben and not trying to be rude. When your finished youll be a expert on what can go wrong when rebuilding z engine. When its all finished up an running all the frustration will be forgotten.

I agree with esmit. Its all fixable given your ability and/or budget. If you can't afford to repair it properly now than you really need to treat the rust to stop it getting worse. The quick "getto" fix would be to treat the rust. Just giving it a coat of paint wont help. That will only hide while it keeps eating the car. You will need to wire brush it as much as possible and treat it with rust converter. Fill the holes to stop water getting in. This will slow it down a lot, but wont stop it completly. You will need to do a propper cut and weld new metal fix in the future when budget permits.

If you have pulled injectors, you can adjust valve clearance. Just ask for help when you start. There are a couple of pointers to get you on your way. Projects can get like that$$$$ chas

You can get it out, but its a lot of work. I have never done it to a z, but I know someone that did it. He removed both engine mounts, radiator hoses, fan shroud, some other hoses and cables so he could use a jack to lift the engine (with a block of wood under the front pulley) high enough and get the pan out. The transmission bellhousing is what makes it hard. You need so much height to get the angle under the bellhousing and not damage the oil pick-up. Clean all the surfaces. Place the pan under the block and fit the gasket. Dont glue the gasket first and try put the pan back under the block. You will damage the gasket. Support the top of the engine while you do this because its free to swing around and damage parts. I can remember he wasnt in a very good mood after doing it.

No reason, but it just costs a lot more. We chrome SS304L and SS316L shafts to give the shaft a harder wear surface for our process equipment. Hard plating (chroming) SS is a little different than normal steel, but in general its the same process.

I have seen these bumpers and they do looked good on a Triumph. You can tell they are not chrome. The shine is different and the owner said they scratch easy too, but light scratches can be polished out. The bumpers are all made in Vietnam and these particular ones were sold in the UK, but you can pick them up just about antwhere. Some vendors have better contact with the factory and can arrange extras like bumperettes. The triumph guy have some minor mods done to his order. He just sent them a drawing of what he wanted. Chas

My bumpstops were missing. I think the PO removed them or they broke up and fell off, but not certain. It made for a harsh ride. It now has the urethane stops which are pretty hard but better than nothing. Next time Im doing anything with the suspension, Ill change over to the Fatcat bumpstops in the link above. I have never seen bump stops on the control arms. Did that start on the 280zx? Chas

Jon, Thanks for correcting me. I didnt write that very clearly. Should have read it over before posting. I meant you need to reduce spring pressure in the standard proportioning valve. "reduce the spring pressure to compensate for the front braking power." the only way to do this without modifying the original is to replace it with an adjustable proportioning valve and than you need enough capacity in the rear brakes to compensate. If thats not enough you are left with upgrading the rear or at least fitting bigger wheel cylinders to the rear brakes. Thats the whole problem I am getting at. You need to do a fare share of R&D to get it right and IMO brakes are not something to play around with until you get it right. If your racing it then you have the place to test under controlled conditions, but someone using the car for street use, that is NO testing ground. My brakes are standard and work excellent for street use. I like this thread. Its the way we learn from each other and maybe someone has done a lot of testing and come up with the right combo. Chas

Am i missing something here? If you "upgrade" your front brakes and leave the rear as is you will need a proportioning valve to correct the balance between front and back. Or in other words, use the proportioning valve to reduce the front braking power so the car is in balance when braking. Then your back to square one. Therefore you have to upgrade the rear to have any real benifit. The problem with this is that you now enter unknown territory because you now have a combi from two different vehicles on the front. Discs from the z and calipers from toyota 4x4. IMO I would be more inclined to investigate a complete change over to eg 300zx (z31 or 5 stud z32).

Ben, Sounds like you might have exhaust valves from a N47 head. If so that is a PITA. They are 0.80" (2mm) longer and will cause that problem. Those valves are used in a P90 if you go NA, shave 0.80" of the head and shin the cam towers. Are they new valves? If so try to get hold of the originals and compare them with the ones in the head. I cant remember what the total length is. Maybe someone here can tell you.

chaztg I know how you feel. On another forum I was hooned off when I asked a question above replacing the 5th gear fibre synchro ring in a 71A transmission. Here its a lot different. Everyone has ideas and the comments are friendly even if they don't agree with each other or your point of view. Chas

im using standard brakes. Just finished rebuilding the front calipers. The sells between the two sections are hard to get. Nissan dont supply then and the fsm doesnt recommend pulling them apart. I stripped them down and had then cleaned and coated instead of the quick and easy heat proof paint. With seal kits and these pistons http://www.ebay.com/itm/160720280159?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 They are like new. Toyed with the idea of "upgrading" but thats was more for looks than performance. One word of advice if you go this road. The original setup had a complete engineering team behind it testing and improving it till it where it is now. Your upgrade will not have that benifit. You will have to do all the testing. I helped a friend do his car. He thought it was great, but it wasnt. The car was nose driving which gave him the impression it was braking better. Just my two cent worth;)

Can someone post a link to a shop where you can buy SEM's. Im having trouble trying to find it in Europe and might have to order it over the net. Or a photo of the cans, then I can ask a local if he can supply it. Thanks Chas

This is truly the most impressive resto job you can do on your car. Really amazed how the old badly cracked dashes turn up like new. Im now buzy with 240 bumpers on my 280z and a 71C transmission swap. The next project will be the dash, thanks to you guys. My dash is cracked and the PO put a cap on it. He used plenty of glue and I think he might of been cross eyed:ermm: because it didnt line up to good. It really annoys me when I look at it. Grats for the Great posts and the dashes, but that goes without saying, just look at the results. Chas

You can check the cylinder by doing a compression test. If the pressure is the same as the other cylinders its oke. I have used my Compression tester plug with an air compressor to test leaks in cylinders. If you dont have that kind of compression tester, you can punch the internals out of a spark plug and fit a hose to that. I can post photos later. On the smart phone now. The test is simple, just turn engine to tdc on that cylinder, transmission in top gear, handbrake on, conect air compressor the spark plug hole. Listen at the oil filler cap, intake and exhaust. Try a couple of other cylinders to get and idea of what it sounds like. Chas

A lot of effort for little gain. Im not sure what you want to achieve here? A set of extractors from MSA, which are now 20% cheaper in their Holiday special, would probably work better and more fuel efficient which would mean no problems with smog regulations.

If your planning to sell, have you tried new oil? Drive it for a while and get the oil warm, drop in over night. Fill it with a good quality oil and maybe an oil additive will help drop noise down to an aceptable level. Its less work than changing a transmission and you don't know what the other one will do. Yes that possible; Im speaking for a "been there done that" and now on my third transmission project, the 71c. Just working my way through the alfabeat, abc... Goodluck Chas

I threaded my tension rods and fitted a tension rod T/C kit from MSA to get some caster adjustment. Im now in the same situation your in. Chamber plates or the bushings for the lower control arms. I like the idea of the bushings, its simple and doesnt require any structure mods. Effective?? I have never seen them in use and would be interested in other members experience/advice. Chas

I have listerned to your video and cant make much of it. Doesnt make much differance anyway. If the noise is really annoying you then you need to replace ALL the bearings since the rest wont be far behind the suspect bearing. Identifying which bearing is not that important, just nice to know before you pull the tyransmission apart. I used C2 bearings, but didnt help much. I think my transmission is just to old. Bearings are not the only things that wear in a tranmission. I included a couple of photos of my tranny and the bearings. They are the old one out of the 71B. My next project will be the 71C transmission I have on standby. Good luck with it Chas