Disposition

Thanks Daniel, I will check there next. Yes Mike, that was the most detailed, well put together instructional guide I have ever found on this site. Thanks for your work on that. Even though that was not the fix, it needed it anyway and I learned a lot. Thanks Darren M

Hey everyone, Let me start by saying that for the past year I have had the funky headlight switch problem that many of you have encountered. I would have to turn it on and off a couple of times to get the headlights to come on. Recently the headlights finally went out. I was expecting this so I had printed off the PDF from here of how to take apart and clean the indicator switch. I followed the instructions to the tee, put it back together and still no lights. I took the switch back apart thinking it could be the little nubs with the springs inside. They were fine. I decided to hold the contacts together by hand. Same thing, the parking lights would work, but not the headlights. I checked and I am getting heat all the way to the wiring up near the front bumper. Checked the fuses and the fuse box. What are the chances both headlights could go at the same time and not blow the fuses? I would like to check to see if there is any power to the back of the lights, but I am going to have to drill the screw heads out and replace with pop rivets. Before I go through all of that I wanted to see if anyone else had a better idea. Thanks for any susgeestions, Darren M

Hey guys, I could use some help here. Yesterday when I got in to start the car after work it seemed like the clutch pedal was catching lower than usual. I cranked the engine and started home figuring that it was just my imagination. A mile into the drive I knew I had a problem. The clutch was now catching even lower. Going over an overpass in backed up traffic I could barely get it in gear. At that point I had about two inches left in the pedal. I made it to the interstate and all was good until I went down my exit. At the bottom it wouldn’t go into gear at all, the clutch was basically all the way down on the stopper that sits above the floorboard. I was able to bend the clutch with my foot to the left of the stopper so I could push it all the way to the floor. This gave me enough to get it into second and that’s where I left it until I got home. The only thing I can think of that could have caused it was a weird take off the night before. When I pulled out, kind of fast into traffic it wound up a little and then something smelled hot. But only for a minute. It seemed fine but obviously was not. Sorry for the length but I wanted to include all details that might help. I am just looking for someone with a little more knowledge than me to tell me where to start looking. I checked the fluid and it was full. Other than that, do I take it to a mechanic and get raped by their prices or is this something a novice might be able to tackle. Thanks in advance for any response. Darren M

I have been a little out of the loop here for a while due to work. I was looking for a hard to find part and went to Midwest's website. Of course you know what I found. I came back here and did a search for Chloe and found this thread. This is really crazy. She always seemed to remember me when I called on the phone. I am sure she treated everyone here the same way. This is really a loss to the Z community. If anyone hears anything, please post it.

Thanks for the pics. The one on the right looks exactly like mine. I don't know what the PO was smoking when he put all of that together. I ordered a new 73 fan from Chloee yesterday. I am going to get the clutch at Autozone. "If" it turns out to be the right one. It was less than half the price than the clutch at MS so I am skeptical. I am keeping her in the heated garage until I get the parts. But she ran perfectly yesterday on the drive home. I smiled the whole way. I got lucky. There will be no more unattended warm ups. frank13, I do have a few pics in my gallery. Will take more in the Spring. I actually love the color. Maybe not a first. But it grows on you. And it's fun to see people break their necks to see what the hell just drove by them. You guys are a great resource and I appreciate all of the assistance.

Sounds good, thanks for all of the help, I'll keep you posted...

Thanks for the suggestions. If I understand your advice correctly I should be looking for a clutch and fan for a 73. Is this correct? Will that be a metal or plastic fan?

Last one...

Trimmed...

You can see how close the fan is....any thoughts?

Here are some pics...

My dad, who builds race cars in his spare time, agreed to me me at work this morning to take a look at the car. Here is what we found. The first thing I checked was to see if the fan had any play in it. It didn't. One of the blades had just got wedged in the lip of the radiator. We trimmed the corner off of that blade and off of another one that was really close to hitting too. All of the blades come within an 1/8 of an inch of touching. It has been this way since I have owned it, but I never thought it could cause a problem. This proximity issue may be due to the fact that the car is a 72 and the motor is a 73. Just a guess. Anyway, after we trimmed the fan down, we added radiator fluid and water. Checked the oil, still no water in it. Got in and she cranked right up. Let her run for a bit, without incident. I mentioned last night that the clutch was acting weird. I checked my clutch fluid to find it almost empty. We refilled the resovoir and bled it. I am going to call MotorSport and Chloee and see if I can get my hands on a new fan. I am worried that the trimmed edges could throw it off ballance and wear the bearings out. I still don't know why that fan sits so close. The water pump housing seems overly long. Anyone know a good way to correct this? Anyway, I am going to keep checking the water and the oil for a few days. I know I am not completely out of the woods yet, but I feel much better now. Man I couldn't sleep last night. I was sick.

Thanks for the reply. I have the white plastic fan. One of the blades were actually jammed into the radiator lip. I still have no idea how the fan got close enough to the radiator to hit it and then get stuck. And yes I was able to spin the fan around by hand.

Ok here is what happened. Everyday about 5-10 minutes before I leave work I go out and start my car so it will be warmed up enough to pull out into traffic. Last night it got down to 26 degrees here and today was really cold, so I decided to go out 15 minutes early. I cranked it, put the club on, locked it and went back inside to finish work. When I came out 15 minutes later there was steam pouring from underneath the front of the car. I hopped in and saw that the thermostat was pegged over to the right. I turned it off. It smelled pretty bad. I popped the hood and found that the fan had somehow wedged itself against the bottom of the top lip of the radiator. It had sat there like that for I don't know how long. I know it didn't overheat on the way to work this morning. I got the plastic fan un-jammed. I noticed also that there was quite a bit of water on the ground. When it was on I could see that it was comming out of the overflow tube on the radiator. I let it cool down for quite a while and decided to try and crank it. The first thing I noticed it seemed as though the clutch was barely there. Doesn't seem to me in my limited knowlege that this could be connected. But the pedal was really soft. Maybe I was just freaked out and it just seemed that way. Whatever. So when I try and crank it it turns but won't start and acts like the battery is dying. I asked a co-worker and he said the fan wasn't moving. So I pushed it into our wharehouse. My question: Where should I start my investigation? Is this something I might fix on my own, or is this a job for a mechanic to rob me blind on. Any help would be much appreciated.

I will replace the thermostat a.s.a.p. I didn't realize it was that inexpensive or I would have already done it. The plugs and wires are all new. The carbs are probably slightly out of adjustment. I still get some afterfiring. I haven't had the time to tackle watching the videos and making the adjustments just yet. Luckily in Florida, even up in the N/W where I am, it doesn't get overly cold too often. I don't know how anyone manages to get 240's to start in Colorado and up North in the winter. I've seen photos on this site where the Z's are covered in...what's that white stuff called? Anyway, Thanks Darren

Thanks Victor, I guess I will look into replacing that thermostat. It is very cosistent in it's behavior so I assumed that it wasn't a problem. But who knows. I'll start there. I'm happy to hear others have this same problem. No offense. But at least I know that it is common to the make of the car. I thought that there must be something wrong when I was driving with the choke on for the first 1-2 miles. If that's normal I'll let this rest. Thanks Darren

Thanks for the quick reply Carl... However, I don't think that the problem is within my thermostat. I probably didn't describe my situation clearly enough. The engine runs best when the temp gauge reads in the center position. This takes about 20-25 minutes of sitting at a little above idle with the choke on during a cold morning. In the first 5-8 minutes the engine warms to about 10 degrees below the center mark. At this temp it sputters badly in first gear when taking off, and will do so until the temp moves up to the center. Once it's there, she sails. But I almost got smacked pulling out of work Monday on a cool evening. It had been warming for 10-15 minutes, and I thought it was fine. I pulled out and expected to go and it just sputtered around, I floored it and it was just putting, and then it kicked in and flew. Did the same thing at the next stop sign. Until the needle reaches the center spot, it runs like crap. So I guess it could be the thermostat but it doesn't seem likely. Anyway, maybe this better describes the situation. I have the new hose on and the switch set to winter, but to little avail so far. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks Darren

Ok, first off this isn't that big of a deal, more of a curiosity. I searched the forums first and didn't turn anything up. I know the older Z's are notorious cold starters. But now that the temp has dropped here in sunny Florida (31 last night), it took 25 minutes to get the engine warmed up enough to drive her. She lives in a garage and I left my shoplight on in the engine bay overnight for added warmth. (Yes I am a little obsessive). I have just recently purchased the SU Videos but haven't had time to tackle the adjustment yet. It runs good when warm, just a little afterfiring. I remembered the Summer/Winter setting on the air filter enclosure. I set it to winter and then noticed that the hose was missing that connected it to the manifold. I bought a flexible hose from Autozone 1 9/16" x 21" for six bucks. Perfect fit. However, there didn't seem to be a noticeable difference. As I have stated before, I do not claim to be a mechanic. The only knowledge I possess is from tinkering with my Z and reading this site. Little help please. Mainly I wanted to know, should the replacement of that missing hose make a difference? And does the opening and closing of the mouth using the winter/summer switch really correspond to the outside air temp? Does it really matter? Thanks in advance, Darren