Chickenman

I don't think it would be a problem, as I explained in post #17. As long as the rocker is in good shape, L series engines are not as sensitive to rocker matching as a SBC for example. As long as the rockers are in good shape, you can reuse them on new cams. In fact, some Cam grinders will recommend used L series rockers arms over anything else other than New FACTORY Nisan rocker arms. Regrinding can be done poorly and aftermarket rocker arms are usually POS made in China with poor Metallurgy.

No I am seeing the point. You are not understanding the importance of adequate ZDDP levels in regular daily driving of older motors with Flat Tappet cams. You need to do more research It's not unsupported Dogma. There are hundreds of SAE papers written on this issue alone. Technical articles in " real " magazines such as Race Car Engineering, Race Tech etc. I've been personally aware of this issue for over 10 years and so have all my friends in the Racing community. All the information is out there... just start looking it up. SAE sites are one of the best. It is common and proven knowledge to those who have investigated enough. I'm sure once you really start doing a bit more Research you will be convinced by the overwhelming support of Data. Still..there are some people who believe that the Moon landings were all a hoax. I don't think you're one of those Regarding JGR. Did you actually look at some of the links I provided? Particularly the one that explained why you need adequate levels of ZDDP in older engines. And how higher levels of detergents can actually destroy the boundary layers of Zinc/Phosphorus as the miles add up. And this is only one example. As I explained, I chose JGR because it is a reputable site and explains the basics. I could provide dozens of more links to SAE papers and engineering article that all state the same things. But I don't have the time for that and frankly don't believe in doing other peoples work for them. look up the " facts " for yourself. You will find this repeated over and over again in reputable publications and independent testing. It is not some dogma. It is not some Internet Forum BS. It is not unproven. It is a modern FACT and for those who do not understand it, well...you need to do some more investigation to discover the Truth. With respect,you don't have to believe me... who the heck am I. You don't know me from Adam and I don't know you. But we can ALWAYS learn if we choose to... Edit: I'll provide one more link..then I'm going to bed. This is an link to a PDF article from Brad Penn Oils on the importance of ZDDP levels in Vintage and HP engines. I'm not going to provide any more... you can't lead a horse to water etc: http://penngrade1.com/CMSFiles/File/July%202011_PG1HP_TECH_LETTER_ZDDP_BRAD_PENN.pdf

Yes... a lot of Bike guys like the Rotella T6 5w-40 full synthetic as well. As a bike owner you probably know how hard air cooled bikes are on engine oils. T6 has a great reputation for maintaining HTHS properties under adverse conditions. Ford Power Stroke engines also beat the living Snot out of engines... and T6 is one of the few oils that maintains it's viscosity with high milage. Consistently proven by independent lab results such as Black stone labs. Edit: The VW/Audi 1.8T Turbo engines are also very hard on engine oils. The Rotella T6 5w-40 excels again in these engines. It really is a pretty damned good oil.

Bill Rhodes of Bill's Datsun Shoppe in Clackamus Or has been building Datsun street and Race engines for over 37 years. The guy knows his stuff.... For break-in I believe he used Delo 30wt HDEO oil. It's only in for about 75 to 100 miles. After 100 miles of breakin, he recommends a Pennsylvania Grade Dino oil such as Pennzoil 20w-50. After 1,000 miles you can switch to a synthetic or stay with a Pennsylvania Grade base stock oil in a 10w-40 or higher viscosity. The reason for the 10w-40 rating or higher is that those weights do not meet Energy Star ratings because of there viscosity. Thus they do not have to comply with SM or SN ratings and are frequently formulated for use in older engines. After 1,000 miles you can stay with a Pennsylvania grade oil such as Pennzoil oil. But he recommends at least a 10w-40 for the reasons mentioned above. I've had the same recommendations from the machine shop who's been building my race and street engines for the last 30+ years. I've followed their advice and have never had a Cam Lobe or lifter wear problems on any of my engines. This was mainly on SBC race engines. Dino oils seem to be fine for our engines. With stock cams and springs they are not hard on Valvetrains. And the spray bar system keeps the cam well lubricated ( If its not broken ) . I choose to use the best Synthetics that I can because: 1: I've had excellent experiences with high end Synthetic oils. I've seen the tear downs for my race engine freshening and the results are always excellent. For the last 30+ years. So my engine lubrication choices are obviously working. 2: The Z gets stored for long periods of time. One of the big advantages to Synthetics is that they cling to metal surface much better than Dino oil. Your worst wear occurs when an engine is dry started. Synthetic oils reduce that wear. That is a proven fact. BTW... the build up and maintainence of a ZDDP level ( Boundary layer bearing protection ) is one of the main reasons to use a higher ZDDP engine oil in Vintage cars or cars that do not get driven much. 3: Oil is cheap. My engines aren't. I've used Amsoil, Redline, Motul, Liqui Moly and recently Rotella T6 5w-40 in my Audi ( since 2006 ). The Audi has 225,000 km's on it and engine looks like new. All the time I've owned it it's been on mainly Amsoil 5w-40 Euro Blend, or Rotella T-6 5w-40 full synthetic. Amsoil is great, but you can't beat the Rotella T-6 price point. I prefer a slightly thicker oil for the Z and SBC engines ( at least a 10w-30 in something like Amsoil ) because they are older designs and a 5w-30 or 5w-40 is too thin for the bearing clearances that the car is designed with. My SBC engines got the best 10w-30 synthetic I could find. That was usually Amsoil or Redline. Amsoil has great HTHS properties, as doe Rotella T6. Mobile One I tend to stay away from as it breaks down under high temperature and loads. I have seen this for myself on numerous occasions. The old Mobile One formulations ( 1990's ) were good. The new formulations are crap. Exception possibly being the Mobil 15w-50race oils, which are apparently still the old formulation... and not Energy Star compliant. Are we starting to see a trend here folks?? ( Energy Star = bad for HP and Vintage engines ) Castrol products? I try these every 10 years or so when they go on sale..... it takes me that long to forget how bad their oils are. Immediate increase in mechanical noise, coloring of oil and reduction in idle RPM are warning signs of increased friction. Every time I try ANY Castrol motor oil I end up with the same results and end up draining and refilling with a better oil. Just my .02c. YMMV

Not trying to argue with you..but you're trying to re-invent the wheel. The evidence of adverse ZDDP reduction on flat tappet cams is already well documented ad-nauseum. If you choose not to believe it, that's your choice. As for myself, I have seen plenty of older flat tappet engines destroyed by using these new " Energy Star " motors. Mainly in Detroit Muscle cars but also a lot of Vintage British cars. It was an issue 10 years ago and still is today. I doubt that a Poll will reveal much in this particular case. The stock Nissan L series valve train has excellent metallurgy. That is a proven and documented fact. And it's going to have a very small data pool. And if you use a 10/40 wt or higher motor oil you will probably not run into the problem as these are not considered " Energy Star " classification. The problems are rampant in Forums outside of Nissan/Datsun, in engines that use flat tappet cams, such as GM, Ford, Pontiac, Chrysler VW/Audi etc. Those are the ones that are full of failures directly due to ZDDP reduction. And there are literally Millions of data points out there. I've seen enough first hand and trust the advice of the Professional engine builders that I deal with to convince me. Mind you, I've been an Amsoil user for over 20 years.. but even Amsoil has recently changed and it's oils aren't as good as they once were. As far as theory vs actual fact? I trust the results of independent oil testing laboratories such as Blackstone Labs. And white papers by SAE and technical articles on Motor oils by Race Car Engineering, Race Car Tech, Race Car Engine, David Vizard, Joe Gibbs Racing, my engine building shops and others. With respect, just because you or a small sampling of people don't have a problem does not mean the problem doesn't exist

Another good Tech bulletin to read is the one on High Temperature High Shear issues with new API standard motor oils. http://www.drivenracingoil.com/news/dro/training-center/latest-tech-bulletins/hths-tech-bulletin-september-2012/ BTW, I'm linking to JGR Driven oils just because it has factual information and in a no BS language that the average gearhead can understand. . I'm not a JGR " fanboy ". I use what is best for my engines. ( I use Rotella T6 5w-40 full synthetic in my Audi..because it is an HDEO that works well in Turbo engines and it's HTHS properties are extremely high ) You'll find the same tech info at Redline, Motul, Amsoil, and most importantly... all of the major aftermarket camshaft companies such as Lunati, Isky, Comp Cams, Edelebrock etc.

No that is an incorrect impression. It is not just during breakin that ZDDP is required. It is required in sufficient amounts throughout the lifetime of the valvetrain. Z- cars have a very stout valve train design with very well matched metallurgy. That is the only reason why we haven't seen more problems with our valve trains. But we are borderline none the less. The reduction of Zinc is wreaking havoc in all forms of Vintage and High Performance cars. Even brand new Vehicles are having problems with the lack of ZDDP. VW/Audi are having HUGE problems with their direct port fuel injection cars. They have a high pressure ( 1,000 + psi ) Mechanical fuel pump that is driven of an eccentric lobe on the cam. They used a DLC ( Diamond Like Coating ) bucket lifter instead of a roller lifter to actuate the mechanical pump. Guess what?? ..they're all wearing out because even with the DLC coating, the buckets cannot survive at the reduced ZDDP levels. Huge warranty issues for VW/Audi and other engine designs that use this type of HP Fuel pump actuation. VW trying to keep it all hush, hush. But they are seeing failures in all Global markets WITH factory approved oils. Joe Gibbs Racing has a video on why you need ZDDP in Vintage and High Performance engines. It's a bit " Hokey ", but any Professional engine shops all know these facts are true. And if you follow NASCAR, JGR was the first to develop it's own custom engine oils in the late 1990's to fix a problem that Chevy was having with lifter failure ( Nascar mandates flat tappet cams.. no roller cams allowed ). Pay particular attention to the Valve Spring pressures that API uses in it's testing!!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQ6NXXLZA3A&feature=youtu.be BTW, it's worthwhile reading all of their Tech articles.

Matching followers to lobes is more important on on designs that use a round tappet. Those are designed to rotate during operation. The Cam lobe has a slight taper mahined in to the face and the Lifter has a matching " Crown " on the face. Typical domestic flat tappet design. Lack of rotation will destroy those tappets in short order, that is why it is critical to match the lobes to used lifters. The design of the Datsun L series engine has no taper ground into the camshaft Lobe. As long as the cam lobe is in good shape, you can safely swap in another follower if necessary. A good used Nissan/Datsun follower is better than an off shore made POS. To OP: I would replace that follower ASAP. It's on the way out and failure is not far behind. You are already " galling " the cam shaft lobe. I would also recommend either replacing that camshaft, or sending it out to a reputable Cam shaft grinder and have that Lobe " Micro-Polished ". It's saveable at this point... but eventually if you keep running it like that it will destroy the Lobe. If it's a HP cam and you have stiffer valve springs installed, do it NOW... not later. And you certainly do not want to wear through the surface hardening of the Cam Lobe ( only a few thousandths thick ). Once you do that you hit softer metal underneath and the Lobe will fail VERY rapidly. You do not want " Chilled Iron " filings running all through your motor. That can destroy a complete engine. Catch it now and correct the issue while you still can.

To OP. One thing that I'm surprised has not been asked... what are you using for a Motor oil? Modern energy efficient Motor oils have the percentage of ZDDP ( high pressure Zinc and Phosphate additive package ) reduced so much, that these " Modern " Energy Star oils cannot provide enough shear strength for high performance Cams and higher pressure valve springs on older Valve Train designs. It is a HUGE industry wide problem on Vintage cars and Muscle cars with flat tappet cams or finger followers. These new oils are barely adequate for stock cars. Only reason they work is that most new cars have Roller Tappets or Roller Finger followers. These days, you absolutely MUST research the oils and use a correct formulation before you buy. Any oil rated SN or SM has vastly reduced ZDDP amounts and is inadequate on modded cars with any type of flat tappet or finger follower. Pretty much any " off the shelf " Motor Oil under a 10/40 weight is SN rated. Start looking at the specialty oils with higher ZDDP concentrations for Vintage motors. I use Joe Gibbs Hot Rod full synthetic in the 10/40 weight, but there are many " Specialty " brands formulated for Vintage and HP engines. More information can be found at BITOG ( Bob Is The Oil Guy ) which is one of the best no BS sites for all Lubrication information. Actual chemical engineers and Motor Oil researchers contribute to the site. Do some searching and you will find charts and recommendations for most popular motor oils with Zinc and Phosphate levels. But bottom line is...stay away from API SM or SN ( Energy Star ) rated oils. Especially if you have a high performance cam and stiffer valve springs. You have a Vintage car..you MUST use an oil formulated for a Vintage or High Performance engine. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/ There is also a very good oil article on the VW Vortex forum on recommended Motor oils for Big Turbo Engines. This was a particularly good Technical discussion thread with info on the whole ZDDP debacle. Turbo engines are particularly hard on Motor oils. 1.8T VW/ Audi engines have bucket followers that are sensitive to ZDDP levels, when you run bigger cams and stiffer Valve springs. Well worth reading: http://forums.vwvortex.com/showthread.php?5867396-Built-Engine-Big-Turbo-Heavily-Modified-engines%28aftermarket-cams%29-what-Engine-Oil&highlight=Big+Turbo+Oil BTW...I'm " Chickenman35 " on that Forum

I use the same tool to clean out my W/Washer nozzles... but great idea for the spray bar

Have you tried contacting Jock Rhodes at Bill's Datsun Shoppe in Clackamas Oregon? He has a ton of 240z, 510 and Roadster engine parts. I'm sure he could fix you up with a good cylinder head of whatever variety you want. Shipping is easy. He built a new L28 for me last August when my old engine expired near Portland. Very impressed with quality of work. Website needs updating, but important info is here: http://www.billsdatsun.com/ Edit: E-Mail address on website may not be current. Try this: jockracing@comcast.net

It definitely works. I drive Motor Coaches for a living and they are a SOB for keeping the windshield clear. Especially when you load up 50 soaking wet kids from a Ski trip and humidity shoots to the moon inside the Bus. Most of of the drivers always carry a bottle of Rain-Ex Anti-Fog in their kit bag. Makes a huge difference. In a jiffy, a few drops of dish washing detergent, wiped onto windshield, also works very well. Old Scuba divers trick. A good glass cleaner helps as well. " Invisible Glass " is a very good glass cleaner, as is GM or AC Delco glass cleaner. Windex is crap. Leaves a lot of streaks.

2,000 RPM sounds too low for 60 or 70 MPH. Double check that RPM. If it's anywhere near 2,800 RPM ( + or - 200 RPM ) it could be just the Fuel cut...which is perfectly normal. How bad is the jerk? Unless it's really big, best solution may be to find another passenger who's less " nervous "... Seriously, could also be the BCDD as previously mentioned.

I hope that's a Typo. Factory gap on those plugs is .8mm or .032"

Colten. I've sent you a PM. I'd be happy to help you tune and set up your SU's. Contact info in PM. I'm local in Metro Vancouver. We probably know some of the same people in local Datsun clubs. Richard.

Ah yes. I have the exact same problem. Cold outside air coming out the Center Vent regardless of selector Lever position. Air is directed correctly to Floor and Defroster vents though... so it must be a seal or Flap issue. Time to rip the dash apart...again.

You can purchase universal Urethane spacers that fit on the strut under the spring. Couple of the big Urethane bushing manufacturers make them. You can also find them at Race shops that handle Circle Track Parts. Either spacers that go under the spring or " Spring rubbers " that go between the coils. Pitstop USA is one of my fave Race Parts suppliers: http://pitstopusa.com/ Spring rubbers: http://pitstopusa.com/search.html?q=Spring+Rubbers Universal Spring Spacers: http://www.energysuspensionparts.com/Energy-Suspension-Coil-Spring-Isolators.asp

BTW, unless you have Interlock balls or springs missing, it is very unlikely that they will cause a jumping out of gear problem from my experiences. YMMV. Other than the wrong shifter boot, most jumping out of gear problems will caused by worn Synchro hubs and the Blocker inserts ( Dogs ) that engage in the Synchro hubs. The Blocker insert dogs and springs should be replaced when a Tranny is rebuilt. The blocker dogs are the main part that lock the Synchro hub in gear. Torque transfer " LOCKS " these dogs in place, but if they wear down, the Synchro hubs can jump out of gear. You may also have to replace the Inner and Outer Synchro hubs if they are worn. Picture of Blocker Dogs and springs below. F4W71B ( F4W71A is similar ) . Numbers 30 and 31 in picture. Synchro hub assemblies consist of #28 ( x 2 ) " Sleeve Coupling " and #26 and #27 " Hub Synchronizer in this example: http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsuns30/DatsunZIndex/PowerTrain/TransmissionGears/4Speed/FromSep-71/tabid/1711/Default.aspx

OP. You may want to check one simple thing before you go taking anything apart in the Transmission. F4W71A ( early style ) and F4W71B ( late style ) have different shift lever attachments and shift levers. The shift levers are positioned slightly different in the transmission tunnel shifter cutout. There are different shifter plate boots that fit in the tunnel to allow for the difference in positioning. Now, either boot will physically fit, but if you get the wrong combination of shifter boot and transmission you will get the shifter boot compressing ( Bunching up ) too much when it is in 3rd gear. When this happens it is like you are driving with your hand on the gear knob and constantly pulling back with a little pressure. Now, if you get the right " Coast " or unloaded conditions, the force of the shifter boot pushing back on the shift lever will be enough to pop the tranny out of gear. I had this exact problem waaaayyyyyy back in the late 70's when I used to Race D- Production ( CSCC ) 240Z's. Car kept popping out of third gear whenever I let off the gas. Problem turned out to be the new shifter boot that we installed for that weekend. We put a new one in because old one was torn. But we got the wrong part number for the matching tranny. Careful examination showed that the shifter boot was " bunching up " in 3rd gear. We put the old boot ( it was torn. Failed Tech. Through some Duct tape on to pass Tech ) back on and problem was solved. It was surprising how little backwards force was required to make the lever pop out of gear. Then again, any one who has driven Dog Boxes ( like those in Formula cars or even Big Rig trucks ) knows that you can up-shift without the clutch, using very little force when you unload the transmission correctly. With race cars you just make a slight lift on the throttle and quickly ( and effortlessly ) grab the next gear. Now you can get WOT ( No Lift Shift ) systems for any Dog Box that have a very sensitive pressure switch attached to the gear lever. At the slightest pull back they will initiate an short ignition cut or timing retard and you grab the next gear. No clutch disengagement needed at all. Now Synchro boxes don't shift as easily as Dog Boxes, for clutch-less shifting. But it can be done. I can tell you from experience, if you have a the wrong shifter boot installed, it can cause enough backward force on the shift lever to make the Tranny jump out of 3rd gear. 1st gear doesn't seem to bunch the boot up enough to cause the issue and you are usually always accelerating in 1st gear. It's only under " light coast " situations that the Tranny Synchro hubs can disengage without use of the clutch.... and you don't " Coast " in 1st gear much. BTW... the same issue exists with 5 Speeds. If you've swapped a 5 speed into your 240Z you must use the correct shift boot. Might be something to check carefully. Easiest method is to just remove the shift boot and go for a drive. If Tranny doesn't jump out of gear anymore then you've found the issue.

Yeah..I was looking at that. Wasn't sure if it applied to Canada though. Ended up buying the last set of Tokico Illumina's that MSA had in stock for my 1976 280Z.

The Devcon product I mentioned won't go anywhere and will never chip or break when properly applied. It is an Industrial grade product made to permanently repair Industrial machinery and should last the life of the equipment. It is a tough as steel and can be tapped, drilled or machined just like steel after installation. It is much, much stronger than any product such as JB Weld. As I mentioned, Tuners who port Cylinder Heads and Intake manifolds have used this particular product to repair cracks holes and reshape runners for decades. I was using it back in the 1970's to repair/modify Cylinder heads and manifolds when I was racing Datsun 1200's. The FIA head and manifold that I patched with Devcon ( in 1976 ) is still being used in Vintage racing to this date at a local Track. Still with my original patch.... FWIW.

Testing of MAF on the 1.8T forums have shown that they are quite sensitive to air turbulence. This is true to all MAF's in general. With that in mind, an ideal bench setup would have a straight section approx 6" after the MAF, before any bends or connection to TB. At least 3" in front ( more is better ) with an air-bell entrance. Debris screens or flow straighteners on the front of the MAF should be left in place. That seems to give the most consistent Testing results.

That was me Len. With a Speed Density system and big Cam you simply run Alpha N, as you mentioned, up to an RPM where you start pulling a reasonable vacuum, then switch on the MAP feedback. Any street-able cam is usually stable enough by 2,000 to 2,500 RPM that you have a sufficiently stable vacuum signal to run the MAP. ( 2,500 RPM is on the high side ). GM TPI systems with speed density have the ability to re-programmed to enable Alpha N under those conditions. A friend of mine Tunes local Road Racing/Track Day/ Autocross EFI systems ( mainly GM, Ford, Mopar ) and has several Speed Density systems working just dandy on motors with really big cams. Running a DD Audi Quattro 1.8T, I'm more familiar with the BOSCH ME7 systems and tuning with Unitronics and Eurodyne. It's fairly easy to program the ME7 to run Alpha N up to a set RPM and then switch to a MAP system. Or MAF if you prefer. A lot of VW/Audi drag and Road Racing guys run MAFLESS systems based on just the MAP sensor. The " good " Tuners have all gotten wise to running Alpha N till about 2,000 to 2,300 rpm on the big cammed motors, but " off the shelf " tunes are pretty basic. Personally, I would always want to run a MAF on any Modded street driven vehicle engine. The part throttle drive-ability is so much easier to control. But there are some guys that prefer a " Clean " looking engine bay. Personally I prefer function over appearance...but that's just me.

Yes, I've been using Crane CD boxes ( HI-6 ) since 1998 and am really pleased with the product. Several of my racing buddies switched from MSD to Crane around the same time and we've all been impressed. I decided to go with the inductive system this time because the CD version was really over kill in this situation. As luck would have it, the Inductive version will be actually be a little easier to install than the CD version. The early 1975 and 1976 factory transistor boxes really don't have a lot of " Punch " to them. It's a pretty feeble spark.

Thanks FW. I wasn't sure about the Factory system. But modern rev limiters are far beyond the old style MSD Analog 6AL bang and stutter systems that use random cylinder cuts. Random cylinder cuts can cut out a cylinder for two or even three ignition cycles in a row. That is really hard on an engine. Most Digital systems, including the Crane, have very sophisticated Algorithm programs that sequentially cut cylinders on an non-repeating cycles. These control RPM's VERY accurately and are so easy on the engine ( " Soft Cut " ) it is hard to even feel the limiter working. There is no banging, stuttering or popping and the cylinders do not load up with fuel. A Crane Hi-6 ( CD box ) can hold a 1,200 HP Pro-Stock to within 10 RPM at Pre-stage I've been using the Crane boxes since 1998 on race cars and their systems were all Digital even back then. They really made MSD step up their game. And no.. I don't work for Crane or have any business relationship with them... . Just a very satisfied customer They really are very nice pieces of kit.