jmortensen

Gary could you please explain why the signal that comes out of the distributor on a Ford or a GM or a Chrysler Hall sensor is any different from the one that comes out of a Datsun or Nissan hall sensor? Because I've SEEN the GM and Chrysler module fire a 280Z distributor and a modified L4 distributor. There is nothing "Nissan specific" about the voltage signal that the hall sensor puts out IME. The only problem that might come up would be a module which adjusts timing, like an E12-92. The problem with the E12-92 is that the module retards the timing, not that it won't fire the sparkplugs. I believe just about any module meant for a hall sensor that does not affect timing should work just fine. I'd bet $5 that if you plugged the output wires from the Z distributor into the E12-80 module and plugged it's leads into the + and - sides of the coil it would run just peachy. I do agree that the E12-80 might not be the way to go purely on a cost basis which is why I suggested the Chrysler module. I'm open to the idea that I'm wrong, but I'd like to know exactly WHY you think that I'm wrong on this subject.

The E12-80 might work, but it is actually really tiny, just a little bigger than a matchbox, and screws right onto the side of the distributor. Pretty much any module will work. All it does is sense the signal from the trigger wheel and tells the coil to fire. HEI, Chrysler, whatever. The air gap is a potential problem too, but if it was running before the guy hooked the battery up backwards and it isn't now, the air gap isn't the problem you're having now...

Possible that the module (spark box) got fried. A friend of mine runs that distributor with a Chrysler module. He uses the Chrysler because the module is cheap, something like $12 at any auto parts store. I can't remember the year of the vehicle he asks for but mid 80's Dodge van with a 318 rings a bell. I understand wiring it up is pretty easy too. Power and ground then the two from the distributor. Just an alternative to buying a new Nissan module...

You could also swap in a ZX distributor and run it's module Generally about $50 from a junkyard, and it is a very easy swap. Bolts right in, one wire to + coil terminal, one to - terminal, jump the ballast resistor and you're done.

First off let me say that I like that car. It would look better with the correct size tires on the wheels, but I like flares, etc. But you're being rude Hypertek, without cause. No idea what that means. This paragraph serves no purpose other than to wizz people off. So it's a good thing that he hits stuff with his car? Are you really saying that it's better to hit things with the front of your Z? I'm not much for garage queens either, but this statement is pretty out there. Go to a racetrack and find me a REAL race car, not a drift car or some riced out "tuner" car that shows up for an open track day, but a real race car that has the wrong size tires on the rims. I've been to many a race track and NEVER seen it.

Ahhh... I see. So he bought a 3rd one for the metal. That makes sense. I've seen several made with engine stands. I don't think it's that hard to do. I also don't think the connector under the car is necessary unless you're going to roll the car around. Mine will stay stationary, so I'm not using the wheels. I bought some 1.5" x .120 wall tube and my plan was to make extended legs that plug into the end of the tubes to give the extra 8" of height. I've also seen one that was set on a bunch of 6 x 12 (guessing the size) lumber to raise it up. When I actually get it going I'll post pics. Haven't had enough motivation lately...

I just bought 2 engine stands just like the ones you had for that exact purpose. I can't see if you extended height of the posts. On a Z I understand the pivot needs to be ~37 inches off the ground, I think mine stands 29" straight out of the box. What I didn't see is how you straightened the post. Looks like you cut it right above the bottom where it's welded on at an angle and straightened it there. But then is that about a foot of extra height you added in there? Mine need 8" more height. My plan was to cut the TOP of the pivot off and weld it back on straight, then make "legs" for the stands that would lift them up 8".

Me I guess. And Richard.

It's not going to do any harm unless you start welding structural members on the car when it's flexed.

http://www.classiczcars.com/classifieds/showproduct.php?product=756 OK guys, come and get em.

I'm not kidding. I actually have 2 sets in similar shape to those in the auction. You heard it here folks, $500 is an EXCELLENT price. If you want to pay $400, I'll even cover the shipping.

Wow. I thought it was the opening bid. I've got a couple sets if someone wants I'll GIVE em to you for $400 per set!!!

Looks like a typo. His other auctions are reasonable. Probably supposed to be $50.00

No it isn't. At least it's not the design that Haldex shows on their website that I linked to before. The Haldex site shows pistons and clutches. I did a quick check of their site and didn't see a gear driven style LSD. Maybe it's there and I missed it? The gear driven Torsen, Quaife, etc works in an entirely different way. If you want to know how the gear driven units actually work, check this link out: http://www.tractech.com/docs/OEMTruetrac.pdf Basically when the side gears connected to the halfshafts or CVs spin at different rpms as you go around a corner they force the little pinions (that look like rotini pasta) into the case itself and the friction between the pinions and the case is what causes the limiting of the slip.

The rears are 2 inches longer than the fronts, seems kinda silly to think he can't figure out which is which. If there is a sleeve on the bottom you can grind it down a bit. If you make it too short then the gland nut will bottom out and there won't be any pressure on the strut itself. So it will slide up and down inside the tube. If that happens throw a washer under the strut to shim it up until you get the threads where you want them.

Not in the quantities discussed here. It's so diluted its not going to do any damage. Won't have any benefit either, but it won't do any damage...

That's pretty similar to this one: "If you make ice cream with $^!#, you get shitty tasting ice cream." - my old boss Guy Ober My personal favorite: "Those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one." - Thomas Jefferson My own quote: "Science is the new religion."

The problem is that people believe what they want to believe. Once the belief in something sets in it's very very hard to get accurate measurements out of someone.

Thanks for the discussion guys. I've had this problem as have a bunch of my friends with Mikunis. I messed around with my float level quite a bit to fix, but this seems like it's so easy to do that I'm definitely going to do this mod as well.

If you get rid of the open diff and get an LSD that is not the Nissan 2 pinion LSD then the R180 is fine. I know 2 people who had the 2 pinion Nissan LSD, both broke it, and I bought the R200 for just that reason, not knowing at the time that there is also a much stronger 4 pinion LSD available. The Quaifes or Torsens are very much overpriced, and that also factored into why I went with the R200. I used to sell diff parts and we had a stack of Zexel Torsens for Camaros that were $135 and they sat on the shelf for YEARS. Nobody wanted them. For "new stock" we had Dana TracLocks (another very similar design) for $350 to $500 depending on the size for just about every American car out there. For some reason when you try and get the same type of diff for a Datsun a "good deal" is $1200. IMHO, a big ripoff. I looked up Haldex as I had never heard of that type of LSD before. Looks like its more designed to transfer torque to the rear for an AWD car than as an LSD inside a diff. Even if this were available for an R180 or R200 I'd still go with one of the others. Just MHO. Some more info on that one: http://www.haldex-traction.com/technical_information/design_info/actual_design.htm#

Actually pulling the carrier out of a diff is very easy. As long as you keep the shims straight it goes back in easy too. Getting the diff in and out of the car is the hard part, but I guess I assumed you had one already out of the car. The hard part of setting up gears is setting the pinion depth, but in order to take the ring gear out removing the pinion and it's associated shims is totally unneccessary. But that's a moot point since you apparently know the history of the gears. So the answer to your question is that the 5mm smaller ID makes no practical difference as far as the strength of the gears and all that, so there is no reason to avoid or prefer one over the other.

The ID of the ring gear changed sometime in the mid 70s. Most of the aftermarket LSD's are 115 mm, so if you have the 110 they are too large to fit into the smaller ring gear. BTW its ring and pinion, or crown and pinion, not rack and pinion. I suppose on your 3.90 you'll have to pull the ring gear off and measure the ID to know what size it is. 3.90, 4.11, and 4.38's are all common ratios from the front of 80's Nissan 4x4 trucks here in the US. I don't believe any US version Z car ever came equipped with a 3.90 R180. So if you were in the US I would doubt that it is the 110, unless some early owner of the car went and bought 3.90 gears from Nissan Comp. Europe was probably different. You got 5 speeds, so it would make sense that you got lower diff ratios as well.

I don't think you're going to get much cleaning action out of 2 oz of Acetone in 10 gallons of gas either. Just pure BS.

Uh... I'm gonna go ahead and call BS on that one. I have run other types of solvents/paint thinners in my gas. I've used Tolulene and Xylene in much heavier concentrations of 5:1 with gas and I can tell you that those increase your octane but not your mileage.

You know you're right. I think I misread his original post. I thought he was saying that his pedal went most of the way to the floor with no brake engagement. The typical master cylinder test is to step on the brakes with a light pressure. Usually a bad master will let the pedal slowly fall to the floor. Then if you hit the brakes really hard the pedal will hold the pressure. Try that and see what happens. If oil=brake fluid then he obviously has another problem of the fluid leaving the system somewhere. Could be the master leaking into the booster or one of the connections in the hard lines or a bad caliper or wheel cylinder.