Muzez

Yeah. It was like the second thing I did on my car with 0 knowledge about car maintenance or restoration. I thought to myself, this thing only has 30k miles, it will be way better than everyone else. Mistake lol. If have a moment sometime over the holiday break to PM me a picture, would love to see it. I need to do the other spindle pin at some point but the immense feeling of dread keeps that at the end of my to-do list.

I already removed 1 of 2. What a harrowing adventure. I will buy the spindle pin tool next time since my "walk the pin out using 1234353245234645324 stacked washers" technique ended in tears. Ends up that tightening and loosening hardware a few hundred times under load is not good for the threads, who knew. 😛

Thanks @siteunseen. Its a life long dream to do it so it feels great. I have it resting on two wooden stands under the bolts that connect the oil pan to the block. I don't have any junk tires at the moment, but will get it on the engine stand in the next 2-3 hours.

Thanks @siteunseen. Was definitely nervous. I didn't put it on chassis stands. Instead I raised it up with some wheel stands just enough to get the legs of the lift under. Can send a picture in a bit but it worked well. @Patcon I wish I had capped the coolant in the back of the engine. Put an old crappy carpet under the engine to catch the fluids as it got lifted, but it drained down the transmission just past the edge of the damn carpet lol.

Safely removed! Just need to get some longer bolts to get it on the engine stand since the stock ones look like they are too small. Only one hiccups, forgot to remove the shift knob so I tore the rubber gasket which pissed me off becuase I just replaced it. Anyone have a photo of their shift lever? Trying to make sure I didn't bend it, but this thing has more curves then some women I have dated so it'd hard to tell :p

I have the rubber cap! I listened! 🙂 I think I have seen you mention it on 3-4 other posts. Sounds good, will shorten the chain in the front.

@Jeff G 78 @Patcon moved the strap between 5 and 6 and then around 6. Need to adjust the tension so it is level from start. Going to wrap a backup strap around the bell housing. Thoughts?

If I pull the fuel injectors, could I hook to the intake manifold bolt between 5 and 6?

That is not far from where I am at! Got really excited that you might be local until I checked your profile. If you are ever in the neighborhood, give me a holler.

@Jeff G 78, @Reptoid Overlords, @Patconthanks for the replies guys and apologies for the post duplication. Got a 500 server error that the post didn't go through so I reposted, should have double checked. I will see if I have a chain long enough to go around the exhaust manifold runner. If not, will set two straps on the exhaust manifold side. Will post back in an hour with pictures when I get it moved. Patcon's reply from old post: I dont really like that set up. Thread a section of chain through the exhaust manifold. Use bolts to close the loop on the manifold end. Take the other end to the leveler. I wouldn't want a large loop like you have now. Too easy for the load to shift.

Hi Guys! Need a second opinion. Pulling my engine for the first time (77 280z). Front chain is mounted to the sligner, but the 6th exhaust cylinder bolt is sheared off so I can't use the back one. I saw that a few members have used ratchet straps so I got the 1000lb working rating strap and wrapped it around the bellhousing. Could you guys give this a second look before I pull the engine tomorrow? Where should the strap be connected to the leveler? Right now I have it through the rear next to the leveling drive but not sure if that is right. Should I wrap the strap around the bellhousing a few times? And is there anything else I should connect it to? Any advice is helpful! Thanks guys @Jeff G 78

😉 At least it is getting some miles! It will happen eventually!

Just got my xenon 3125 drop shipped from xenon through an eBay reseller. Packaging seemed much nicer than your experience @Av8ferg My wife’s cat for scale

No apologies needed, I need to do this in a week so a big thank you!

Thanks @grannyknot will give this a try

Welp! Drove all summer and had a great time. Few gremlins with the fuel system, but otherwise it was great to get out and get some sunshine Unfortunately, winter means maintenance and this winter is the big one. Pulling my engine. First time doing this solo (though I have been leaning heavily on you guys and the service manual for insights so not really solo.) So far, making progress - Gas tank dropped - Fuel lines emptied - 5mph crash Bumpers off - Radiator drained and out - AC system drained and condenser removed - Intake out - Wiring labeled and photographed The plan is to pull the engine this weekend but the biggest barrier is the exhaust manifold to collector pipe connection. I already snapped off 1 of the nuts and I have no idea how to access the one in the back closest to the transmission. I have tried heat and break-loose and similar products with no luck. Anyone have any advice for getting the exhaust pipe disconnected from the manifold?

@Av8ferg This might be helpful for you. I remember something about later 280zx ones having a bolted plate on the top, but I am missing it in these photos.

Was thinking a rubber grommet like what @SteveJ linked, but I figured I would ask in case there is a kit or something already available. I am always pleasantly surprised what neat solutions the gaggle of degenerates wisemen/women on this forum come up with. 😛 Thanks again guys!

Hi Guys, Just dropped the rear bumper on my 280z. There are now 3 holes on either side of the trunk by the spare tire where the crash bumper bracket came through from the bottom. What did you guys do to close the holes to keep exhaust from coming back in? Will add a photo tomorrow in case my description is confusing, but tonight I need to try to convince my daughter to go back to bed. 😛

Can you tell I haven’t installed the trans yet? 😛 Thanks Zed. @Av8ferg the guy I used is retired, but takes on work from time to time. I just messaged him to see if he is taking on new work. If you want to PM me with your contact details, I will forward them on.

Thanks for clarifying the lockout behavior @EuroDat! Though I was recommending to try shifting from 1st to Reverse. I wasn't sure if he knew the lockout is only from 5th to Reverse, so the first diagnostic step Tristian can do is to see if he can shift from 1st to Reverse (or any other gear than 5th) to make sure its not just the lockout blocking him from shifting.

@Tristan In my case, my first problem was not knowing that there even was a lockout because it doesn't exist on the early 5-speed. So first thing to check is that you can't go from 1 to R. The second issue was that all shifting was a little crunchy because my main bearing was destroyed so some metal fragments were preventing the change. Zed is right about checking the shifter and shifter bushings in case it is sticking on something since its probably the fastest check.

Yeah I just snapped one of those off while trying to remove my front bumper and the cosmetics that go along with it. Always surprised these things hold together as well as they do with soft fasteners.

Any idea what the performance is like compared to the wide ratio with 3.9? Also, I have an early ZX trans. How different is the .77 to the .75 od?