Zs-ondabrain

Just buy a full rebuilt starter. Solenoid replacement now-a-days isn't worth it. It's easier and cheaper to just buy the whole thing. Solenoids are simple enough, a copper striker plate hits the power and start motor wire and connects them when the solenoid slides forward from being energized (you starting the car) but over time, the copper plate gets loaded with burn marks and carbon till it no longer make the connection. The clicking you hear is the solenoid sliding forward and hitting the copper plate to the 2 contacts. Enough times and it'll start to smoke from too much resistance and build-up. 15 years was a good run, time to replace. Just spend the $70 and call it done. Dave

Excellent question. When I had my triple Weber DCOE's on the 70', they were kick-arse after 2500 RPM. Awesome throttle responce, sucked air like a Hoover on Roids, and just sounded awesome. The car would idle, like you said, all day long and were adjusted to about 800 RPM. However. Daily driving was a pain because my E88 head has bad valve guides, my block has bad rings on 2 pistons and Webers are a bitch to properly tune if the motor isn't up to par. If the motor was rebuilt and the N42 I have on the shelf was installed, and I had an O2 Sensor on the header with a proper meter, they would probably a lot easier to tune and more worth having for daily driving. The problem with mine, on top of the bad motor, was between 1800 and 2500 RPM. Total flat spots, back-firing and low power. Those constant backfires filled my K&N filters with fuel, then the last time it ignited that fuel and scared the hell out of me with flames coming from the engine compartment. Beating the crap out of it with a towel then finally giving up and hitting the ignition sucked the flames back into the Webers and the fire was gone. That's when I decided to do the full polish and rebuild of the Original SU's and put the Webers on the shelf till the motor gets rebuilt, or I put them on the 260Z's rebuilt motor. So in closing, the Webers are fricken awesome over 3000 RPM's, for me, but others will obviously have better or different results. Learn about them and how o properly tune them before considering them. They work great on 2.8's or bored out L24's and L26's. By the way, when tuned right, I got over 27 MPG on the freeway. Hope that helps, Dave

Cough Cough YOU'RE CRAZY!!! Cough Cough And to think, I could have brought the van over and loaded up like a Fat kid in a Candy Store. Damnit Kirk. Well, at least the wifey is happy. And sometimes, that's all that matters. Or something like that..... And now SHE's giving me dirty look #2 as I read this aloud for her. Welp, time to go hide in the garage. Working under a 1 ton car seems safer than being in the house with the wife, 2 daughters, and one of the daughters has 3 girlfriends over for last nights sleep over. HELP!!!!!!! I'm surrounded by the "Itty Bitty Titty Committee"....... Dave

When I reinstalled mine, I too ran into the snag of not having the right clips. But being a stereo installer, I had a butt load of "Speed Clips" That are metal clips that come with almost every set of after market speakers. Having a few hundred handy, I found 4 that fit the tabs of the vents. Worked great and 2 weeks after I did it, I found the clips I really needed at my local "WESCO" automotive Paint Supply store. Dave

I was dressing the car up for Halloween. the theme was "The Brown Goblin" cause it's brown and it's Goblin up all my damn money. 810 makes sence Arne, seems like they would be an early 80's thing.

Sorry to hijack but I felt left out. I know they aren't the same but maybe someone can tell me if these were a Dealer part or if they came off another Datsun car??? Dave

Keep an eye on your local craigslist.com as you'll see then here on the west coast all the time. You're actually better off getting one from this side of the Mississippi. Stay away from the "Rust Belt" cars. Spend a little more to get one here and have it shipped to ya. the money you spend now will easily outway the price of rebuilding a rusty one. JM2CW Dave

On a good note, you CAN use brake parts cleaner on the washer reservoir. Just stay clear of the OEM Sticker, it will wipe it clean. I just used the Brake parts cleaner on mine and it it much cleaner, not totally whiter, but cleaner. Dave

Like I said, I wasn't sure of the tone but no big deal, I answered the question anyways. Maybe I was 2 cups shy of my morning caffine. I basically demanded the manager and told them I was gonna start sending them the bill for everytime I had to Swap out a Lifetime Warrenty Alternator. And at $90 an hour now a days, it's gonna add up quick. Luckily, the manager did'nt know how easy it is to do the swap in an open engine bay 240Z. So they gave me a full refund, tax and all. I took the money down to Schucks and picked up a Bosch unit and have had it ever since. (A few years now) Ain't no thang but a chicken wing. Dave

That's actually a great idea Will. 5 minutes of their time can save you an hour of your time. R&R, travel time to and from the store, etc, etc. Tomo, I wrote in the second sentence "Obviously not the case for your Internally regulated alternator." So I Obviously read her post. Did you? Thanks for your input though. Dave

On 240Z's, the alternator, when it goes bad, can ruin the VR. And a bad VR can ruin a good alternator. Obviously not the case for your Internally regulated alternator. Your question of "is that the way you can get out of a lifetime warranty situation on a substandard part -- getting your money back?" almost sounds offensive but you can't always here the "Tone" when reading a sentence. Anyways, If I buy an alternator with a "Lifetime Warranty" on it and it goes out a seconed time, I Better get my money back. Lifetime warranty should basically mean that I can instal it and forget it. If I have to do it twice, I better be reimbursed for my time and trouble. Then I'll take that money and buy a different brand. Dave

8 Gauge is good for the alternator to the battery (or even to the power wire on the starter = same thing) But make sure that the ground wire on the alternator is of the same gauge (8ga) And it never hurts to upgrade your battery cables to a larger 4 gauge. I know the 240Z's typically have 6gauge cables but you'll see better power transfer on 4 gauge cables. Duralast Parts are not really up to their "Lifetime Warrenty" that they represent. I've heard of too many people returning their Duralast Alternators, Starters and Batteries and trading up to Bosch Alternators and Starters & Interstate Batteries. Most Interstate Batteries are under-rated, as they usually last longer than their stated life (my 60 month battery lasted beautifully for 9 years before having to replace it. And it was in 3 different Daily drivers) I prefer Schucks/Kragen/Checker Auto parts for most parts. I have a Schucks, an Auto Zone and a NAPA all within a 2 block radious of each other, so location and convenience is not a factor when choosing where to go. You probably just got a bad alternator. Take it in and have them check it and replace it. If you have the problem again within a year, get your money back and get a Bosch Unit. Just remember to ALWAYS replace your Voltage regulator any time your alternator goes out. Everytime. FWIW, Dave

I know, I know, I just had to give ya crap about it, cause I told you that you wouldn't do it. Rule #1, Make sure car runs. And you've followed the rule. Sure, she burns 1 quart per tank, but that's better than 2 quarts. Right? And it's a bigger motor with less miles. Just toss that head when you get some extra cash. I might have another N42 in my possesion real soon. I might even barter with ya. Dave

It's about time Kirk!!! J/K. Looks good, but you know I gotta ask..... If you had the motor out for more than a day, why did'nt you clean that damn engine bay, even a little? Sorry, you know me and my picky cleanliness. Motor looks great and it's good to hear that it's so much better than the 2.6. Hows life and hows the kid handling things? You know we're concerned around here. Leah says "HI" and we hope to see ya before the Pass gets too bad. By the way, that engine color looks Awfully Familiar.... Chevy Orange? Maybe? Keep up the hard work. Dave (and Leah)

Just did mine as well but the whole column was out of the car. My 240Z's shaft is able to move in and out of the shaft but the 260Z's shaft seems to be solid. I also beplaced the bolts and nylon locker nuts. And yes, more POR15 as it's below what turned out to be a leaking master cylinder, rust was abundant. The Urethane bushing allows me to feel a more responsive steering and speedbumps at an angle are a pain, if you're not holding on tight. Dave

LOVE the flares!! What size tires are those? Nice to see the Whale Tail went bye bye. Dave

replace it with a heavier gauge wire, like 4 gauge and make sure all connections are clean and tight. Also, make sure your ground cable gets updated as well. All ground points should be clean and tight and abundant. (the ring terminal above the harness near the starter, the cable from the negative post to the firewall) Make sure the alternators power wire is clean and tight as well. There is a ground wire at the alternator, clean the terminal and tighten it. The key to a good electrical system starts at the battery, then the cables, then the connections. Your Z will thank you. Dave

They Are rebuildable. You just have to be careful. The outer shell tabs like to break off. The metal tab on the inside of the propeller typically rusts and no longer allows the motor shaft to turn the prop. It's a small peice about 1/4" x 1/8" x ?? the thickness of a business card? So you can see how easily a small peice of metal will rust and break.

Actually, I prefer the Trico Units but I couldn't find any today whe I was out looking. But thanks for the P/N and info. I'll definately look into the 601's Dave

So it's been shown before by me and some others but there's not a specific thread on the subject, so here it is. Go down to your local Auto Zone and pick up a 9-300 Universal Washer Fluid Pump for about $11.00. When you unpack it, you'll see that it has a plastic foot attached to the back end of the pump motor. You'll want to cut it off. Use a dremel with a cutting disk or a simple hack saw. Try to keep the cut close to the body of the motor, so it'll be able to slide thru the rubber boot of the washer fluid bottle. Remove your old motor by disconnecting it and sliding it out of it's rubber boot. Now take a small drum sander on your dremmel and Hone out the inside of the rubber boot, making sure to remove the motor retaining lips from both sides of the lip. Hone it out till the new motor will fit in there snug. Insert the wires into the rubber tube from the front and pull them through and then force the motor in till the rubber boot just touches the plastic pump part of the pump. Connect the tube of the resevoir to the tip of the pump (pointing outwards) Connect the tube that goes to the washer nozzles to the other tip that is now pointing down. Connect the white pump wire to the Black/yellow wire from the harness Connect the Black pump wire to the black wire from the harness Make sure to cut off the excess wire so it don't look ugly. Slide the resevoir back into its holder and you're done.

With the exception of all the water that can get in there. Then you insert the nozzle and all that water falls down the filler neck and into the tank. If the fuel door was hermetically sealed, then it might be feasible. Dave

Typically, a "Stub Axle" is the peice that is double stuffed with bearings and is mounted to the Strut assembly. The "Stub axle" gets or has 4 studs to mount your wheels to it. I think that is what the spline count John gave you at first was for.

I understand what you're saying and asking for. But knowing that you are new to the Z scene, I'll try and help you out a little. The cowl is the panel between the hood and the windsheild. Under the cowl is a Single wiper Motor. The motor rotates and moves a single arm that goes to the drivers side windsheild wiper arm. Then there is another arm under the cowl that connects the Drivers side wiper to the passenger side wiper arm. Both arms are protruding through the cowl panel via a pivot arm. The wiper arm that You need is connected to those pivots arms. The wiper Blade is connected to the wiper arm.... Learning the lingo is part of the fun. But Knowing the lingo will help you get answers a lot faster than 12 posts in a single thread. So hopefully this helps for future reference. Hell, I might of even got a word or 2 wrong as well but you get it. Dave

And now I know. I just find it real interesting how 2 plastics, that almost look identical, can have adverse effect on the surface when introduced to Acetones, fuels and oils. Like I know that the white plastic on the turn signals can be cleaned with acetone, but the black plastic plate on the early combo switch's will immediately melt w/ acetone, as will the black handle and knobs. So I used hot water and soap and mostly isopropel? alcohol. Good to know J. I might consider this while reassembling the 260Z. Thanks again as usual. Dave

Weirs, I only used a thin film of the supplied grease from ES and I've Never had ANY squeaks from the suspension. Oil and grease tend to break down rubber and poly materials. So I never use any other than the supplied grease. Sorry to hear you have a squeaky rear. Dave