djwarner

According to Carl Beck the valve cover change occurred at the same time as the introduction of the automatic transmission at SN 8944.

I'm certainly no expert on carbs, but it seems to me that if it runs with the main throat blocked, the air must be coming from somewhere else. You don't say whether you are applying full choke or partial choke. As disparaged as the DGV's are, I would think you can buy a used replacement carb cheaper than a four barrel manifold.

If you absolutely hate the new GUI interface of Windows 8, there is an option to startup with the Windows 7 style GUI. I'm still running Windows 7 64 bit simply because I have found no significant improvement in 8. I do have a laptop with XP on it to support the drivers for my legacy camera because the mfg stopped supporting the camera before the driver standards changed. If you have a legacy driver issue with Windows 7, you can install 7 on to an XP machine as a dual boot. Unfortunately, if you already have 7 or 8 installed, it will not allow you to create a dual boot install of XP.

My R180 has 180K miles on it and has the developed the usual whine between 45-55 mph that changes pitch between driving and coasting. The manual says this is an indication of excessive runout between the pinion gear and drive gear. I have previously replaced the wheel bearings all round and have been impressed with the change in ride. When I first got the vehicle 18 months ago, the side seals showed evidence of leakage and one half shaft was installed backwards. After the mechanics replaced the forward differential mount, side seals and re-installed the half shafts, I noticed a clunk when shifting from driving to coasting and vice versa. The u-joints were okay but there was a noticeable amount of free play (read runout) in the differential. After my success with the wheel bearings and I have read through the FSM several times in anticipation of replacing the bearing in the differential. I have learned several things: A. It appears that the shims on the pinion shaft serve to establish preload on the pinion bearings and to establish the correct height of the pinion gear to the side shafts. The preload is required to minimize the axial movement of the pinion shaft. The correction to the height is needed due to variation in the various machined dimensions of both the pinion shaft and housing. B. The left/right position of the differential case assembly is established by shims installed under the side bearing retainers. These shims establish the preload of the side bearings and the clearance between the drive gear and pinion gear. The variation in clearance of the drive gear and pinion gear determines its runout. These shims come in various thicknesses from 0.2mm to 0.5mm. Again these shims account for variations in machined dimensions including bearing heights. The various machine dimensions are stamped on the parts to determined which shims are to be used. C. The shims in A. correct heel or toe contact errors in between the pinion gear and drive gear. D. The shims in B. establish the clearance between the pinion gear and drive gear. This is a major contributor to runout. E. Page PD-8 of the FSM manual says to inspect the pinion and drive gears for surface defects and runout in excess of 0.08mm and to replace the pinion and drive gears as a set if needed. F. Pages PD-12-13 describe checkout after re-assembly and specify drive gear/ pinion gear runout of 0.1mm to 0.2mm - This is greater than the allowed runout in E. ?!? G. Correction for excessive runout or improper preload under F. is to adjust the shim thicknesses under B. by trial and error. The side bearing preload value is less on re-used bearings to account for wear and may require adjusting shim thickenesses. The various shims are sold in sets of 10 - if you can find them. The pinion/drive gear matched sets are rare and can cost more the a used differential. The side bearings are relatively cheap. Pinion bearings are expensive. Considering the above, I have the following questions: 1. If the pinion gear preload is acceptable and no axial runout found, would you consider changing the side bearings only? 2. Since one half shaft was installed backwards, what are the odds that the left and right side bearing retainers and or shims were inadvertently swapped resulting in a shift in the differential carrier assembly and an excessive runout? 3. Assuming bearing heights should be pretty consistent, would you consider changing bearings and re-using the same shims? 4. Has anyone replaced bearings without swapping the pinion/drive gear set and what was the result? I am also open to the opinions of our more experienced members.

Sorry, my post was not intended to be a direct quote, but rather my interpretation of his first post. If he wasn't asking, then I guess I will.

I think what Jetaway is asking is "How do you decide which setting to use, 1,2,3 or is it time to buy a new chain?" From what I can tell, you set the crank at TDC; set the Cam with the alignment pin at 12:00 o'clock; and figure out setting is closest to right. Since we are talking about a few degrees here or there, is there a more precise method?

I have no idea what to think about this. It just showed up in the auto magazine on Flipboard.

You are focusing on the distributor timing with very little evidence. But since you ask, two things affect timing dynamically: rpms and vacuum. Rpms are sensed by fly weights resisting centrifugal force with a spring. You should be able to verify this is working by measuring the time with a strobe lamp as you rev the engine. You should see the timing advance smoothly with rpms and smoothly retard as the rpms drop. Vacuum advance can be checked with one of those brake line vacuum hand pumps. With the engine off, connect the pump to the vacuum line at the end that connects to the manifold. Squeeze the pump until you get 10"Hg. If the diaphragm and tubing is good, it should hold that value. Release the vacuum and start the engine and observe the timing with the strobe as you slowly pump up the vacuum. The timing should start to advance above a certain point (varies with model distributor) and retard as you release the vacuum. Assuming you have a D609-56A distributor, centrifugal advance starts at 550 rpm and advances 9 degrees at 1200 rpm. Vacuum advance starts at approximately 4"Hg and advances 7.5 degrees at 13"Hg. What you are looking for here is not a specific degree of timing, but rather the change in timing as the input is varied. Fly weight mechanisms are known to hang up when worn. Vacuum diaphragms crack and leak with age. Their mechanical linkages can also hang up when worn.

Here is the update on my head gasket oil leak. Went to Courtesy Nissan for an OEM head gasket but it seemed that the numbers in the parts catalog were no longer available. Unable to find the right part number, the CSR gave me the number to Nissan Motor Sports. The CSR there was quite familiar with 240z's and we were soon able to come up with a NISMO head gasket with 85mm bore and 1.2mm compressed height. The NISMO part number 11044-E4620. Since Nissan Motor Sports do not do retail, I went back to Courtesy and ordered one. When it finally arrived, I verified it did have the copper crush ring Madkaw mentioned. A quick check showed that it will crush about 0.012" when finally installed. This is much more than the rubber ring imprinted in the Felpro gasket which is a mere 0.002-0.004" thick. After installation, it appears to have done the trick. While the head was off, I did check flatness of both the head and block. The manual says they should be flat so that they will not accept a 0.004" feeler gauge under a straight edge. My head and block would not accept a 0.002" feeler gage. So it appears the leak was caused by a poor design on the Felpro gasket. The NISMO gasket was not cheap, especially compared to the Felpro, but it worked fine. And for the cost in blood, sweat, tears, time and money involved in a head gasket replacement, the additional expense of the NISMO is more than justified. As a "heads up" to my fellow Z car owners, When the Nissan Motor Sports CSR came up with a number, I asked him to verify it was in stock. He replied, "Just checked, we have 43 on hand." So now they have 42 or less. Considering legacy status of our cars, I suspect there may not be another production run. Fore warned is fore armed.

If you are talking about a classic cork shape, I'd worry about them popping out under pressure. I were you, I'd use the classic approach of using 2" of hose, a short bolt, and two hose clamps.

Series I headlight scoops are made of fiberglass.

And you intent is... Corrosion prevention? I certainly would not attempt to fill the void with oil as it can make a vacuum when trying to remove them as well as attract and capture dirt.

Re-reading your posts, it reminds me of an issue I had with a '70 510 wagon automatic that I purchased new. I had waited for the Japanese mfg'd automatics to arrive because the Borg-Warner AT Datsun had been using didn't have a very good reputation for reliability. With 11,950+ miles on a 12,000 mile warrantee, I was driving across I10 at 70 MPH when I heard a sudden loud bang followed by a bad vibration. Stopped at a garage where we pulled off the drive shaft and found the rear transmission seal was torn and a half moon shaped chip had worn off the aft end of the sleeve bearing at the end of the rear shaft housing. The chip had lodged between the bearing and the spline spinning the bearing in the aluminum housing. The housing was ruined as the eccentric bearing/shaft spline vibrated. It turned out the transmission, being new, had no spare parts in the US. We pulled out the chip and put things back together and I found that if I got the car up to 65 and eased my foot of the gas, the vibration would stop until the speed dropped to under 45. I ended up driving the car 1,000 miles that way until it gave up the ghost in Dallas. Datsun ended up pulling parts from a dealer demo car to get me back on the road. In my case, the drive shaft was perfect, but the rear transmission housing and sleeve bearings were shot. As Mark said, If you jack the car up and get any play at the front of the drive shaft, that is probably your source of vibration. However, the problem may be in the rear housing - the only part of the car you haven't messed with yet.

I am waiting for a NISMO head gasket to arrive for my L24. After much discussion with Nissan Motorsports, we came up with a bore of 85mm and an installed thickness of 1.2mm for my stock engine. The bore of an L24 is 83mm so OEM specs are 2mm larger than the engine bore. You needs will vary depending on engine size and whether it has been re-bored oversized.

Welcome, you certainly have one of the earliest A/Ts made. You might find this thread interesting: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-s30-z-discussions/50748-series-1-71-blue-blue-automatic-purist-debate.html The earliest A/T we know of is SN 7969.

There was a Service Bulletin TS71-18 issued 3/25/71 covering vibrations in automatic transmission vehicles. It was retrofitted on a "customer complaint basis". Besides checking basics like wheel balance and alignment, it specified the installation of a rubber mass behind the differential. I have no idea where you find one today beside a salvage yard with a 71 automatic made after that date.

Bart, sorry if I confused you, I mistook Blue's photos as part of yours. My bearings look like Blue's. As for your car, the parts microfiche shows only one bearing set for S30s including 240, 260, and 280. Sorry have no information on 280ZX. It show the inner bearing is PN 43210-E4100 and outer bearing 43215-E4100. In our bearings the inner race protrudes from the side with the fiber seal. The other side of that bearing and both sides of the other bearing exposes the ball cage and has inner race even with the outer race. Again, we can help if you ask for a specific dimension. The OD of S30 Bearings is 69.8 mm and ID is 31.74 mm. outer race thickness is 17.4 mm.

Have you checked the freeze plugs for corrosion, leakage? There are several on that side of the block. You should be able to see them without pulling the manifolds. If they are good, you might want to pull the manifolds to verify the source of the leak before pulling the head. On my car, it was impossible to remove the exhaust manifold without disconnecting the down tube first..

Mike shows exactly the problem I had with my Z. A quick way to isolate the switch is to turn on the 4 way hazard flasher. The hazard flasher does not use this particular set of contacts. One point of caution, if it does prove to be the turn signal switch, the metal tabs that hold the switch together will work harden and break off if flexed too many times. Also, when putting the switch back together, keeping the little ball bearing in position can be problematic. I use a tiny dab of Vaseline to hold it in position.

Your bearings look exactly like the ones I had installed last year. The old bearings sit on my desk as I write this, so if you have a specific dimension you are concerned with, I can measure it for you. I knew I had some rear end noise on the drivers side that prompted the bearing change, but I found out just how bad they were after I washed the grease out of the old bearing. It was so bad, it prompted me to change the passenger side as well. Well worth the cost.

Since no one else has mentioned it, Black Dragon has them in their catalog for $180 + $125 truck freight. Shouldn't take too long, they are in Kansas.

I think this is what Grannyknot is referring to: Eastwood Company: Search Results for zinc chromate inproducts

Getting parts zinc chromated shouldn't be that difficult. Look for plating shops in your area. Most if not all can do this. While you are at it, look for other engine parts with a similar plating and get them all done in one batch.

Great photos Michael! Are the toned HDRs?

Are you sure it's just a single wire? There was a pre-wire for a kick panel courtesy light that was never offered. There is also one on the passenger side.