sboy79

Ok. Swapped wheels. No change. Swapped half shafts. No change. My other observation is that it isn’t present at first and then comes back when the car is warm. I’m thinking diff. It’s the only thing (other than driveline) that hasn’t been rebuilt.

I can hear it when coasting to a stop (no brake) but that’s a good point. I could just adjust the brakes super loose and try it again to make sure it’s not a brake thing. Locking pliers are probably easier though and I’d still have front brakes immediately. Clamping the lines like that won’t damage them?

Still sorting out my 280z after manual trans swap and r200 diff install. Transmission was rebuilt and diff was resealed after inspection (everything looked good). Upon first test drive when coming to a stop I can hear a rhythmic thunk/thump coming from the right rear of the car. The only thing that wasn’t touched in the swap was the donor half shafts so I rebuilt them with Japanese u-joints. Reinstalled them and still have the same thunk. The driveline is original but u joints seem fine (nice and tight). This *sounds* like a half shaft or driveline u joint problem but I can’t find any slop in any of them. Next step might be swapping the half shafts side to side to see if it moves but before doing that I thought I’d post here and get some opinions. All bushings in the rear end have been replaced with rubber except for mustache and diff mount which are poly (couldn’t locate rubber replacements). Brake drums and shoes are new. What else should I be looking at? Thanks in advance for the help!

I know wheel fit and size has been beaten to death and I have spent WAY too many hours on this and other forums reading old posts but I do have a timely questions regarding both. I'm ready to buy new wheels and think I have a good feel for wheel fit (leaning towards 15x8 zero offset) as I want to keep the stock suspension for now and also keep the fenders intact. The problem I think I'm running into here is that the availability of street tires in these relatively small tire sizes has really decreased in the last 3-5 years. Just clicking around on Tire Rack, there's a good selection of track tires in the small sizes but hardly any good high performance summer or all seasons. I've had two Miatas and an e30 in the last twenty years so was well aware of tire availability in these sizes during that time and it feels like it's fallen off a cliff in the last few years (track tires excluded) So here's my question, given tire availability and how it's trending, what's the best wheel/tire size combo that will keep me in a sweet spot for tires into the future? I realize things will continue to change but I'm hoping a good decision here will buy me a little more time in the future. I also realize 16" wheels put me squarely back into a good selection of modern tires but it seems like the ability to use 16" wheels really varies from car to car if you don't want to roll the fenders (which I don't).

Just to follow up and close this out, I followed this direction and everything is working great. Thanks everyone!

It is and they also base their instructions on a 77. http://www.zcarcreations.com/howto/voltreg.htm I’ll follow the AtlanticZ instructions. Thanks!!

I didn’t. I cut that off the external regulator that I’m replacing. The female side (wiring harness side) is intact.

Hey all! My 77 280z alternator and/or regulator have decided to go to Valhalla. I have a 280zx parts car with a good alternator so want to upgrade to the zx alternator which is internally regulated and delete the original external regulator. I've read all the DIY posts (which are all really well written) and am a little bit stuck. I'm seeing conflicting info on two of the best sites and wondering which is correct. I'm attaching pics from each site and pics of my connector in two configurations. Which is correct? I chopped off the regulator plug to keep keep the car-side harness intact so the colors don't necessarily jive (I think I had an aftermarket regulator hence the wire color differences), however the pin number should coincide. There's two options: Jumping 1 to 5 and 3 to 6 OR Jumping 1 to 5 and 2 to 3 I'm guessing both might be correct but one operates the charge gauge/light correctly? Any help here is much appreciated!

Interesting. I also went from a R180 to a R200 diff. The face to face distance between the transmissions and diffs must be the same. Thanks Zed!

Hey all! I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel for my auto to 5 speed swap and just wanted some confirmation on driveshaft fit. After reading dozens of posts I assumed I'd need to either build or modify a driveshaft when going from 280z auto to zx 5 speed. I went to measure and test fit to see which of the 2 driveshafts (my original auto and the 5 speed zx 2+2 from the parts car) would be the best to modify and when I placed the auto driveline in it *appears* to fit! I took two pictures. In the first I have the driveshaft fitted. I marked the end of the slip joint collar on the tranny tail shaft and then removed the driveshaft in the second pic-- you can see where the mark is. Is this a good fit??? Did I just get lucky here?? Also, yes, my exhaust mounting tab is broken Here are my measurements: 25 7/8" from end of transmission output shaft to diff mounting flange 29 7/8" from end of slip joint on driveline to the face of the driveshaft mounting flange So basically 4" of slip-joint and output shaft overlap

@Yarb I left the kickdown solenoid leads unconnected, jumped the neutral safety and made an adapter for the reverse switch which kept the original harness intact. Cutting the hole in the tunnel is the only irreversible change I’m making for the swap. This car is low miles and no rust (my grandma bought it new) so making sure if someone wants to restore it someday they could. Keeping all the original parts too. I can’t imagine someone putting the auto back in but a true restoration could be done if they wanted to

Definitely. Confirms not only the cut but all the stuff I’ve done up to this point as well

Will do!

I would like to use the automatic console if possible. It’s pristine! The car has been in the family since new. Would be tough to find a manual console that doesn’t look beat up next to dash trim. Everything is pretty clean

I have a 77 Z automatic and swapping 81 ZX transmission/diff into it. Any tips would be greatly appreciated Zed! Still prepping everything but looking to install the transmission and diff to measure for the driveline in the next few weeks.

I’m debating heating/bending the shift shaft to avoid that. I’d feel way better about that if there were replacements readily available but they look tough to find.

Hey all, Want to be sure I do this correctly ONCE since this is the one part of the auto to 5 speed swap that requires permanent modification to the car. See my two pics-- It looks like I just use the existing sheet metal as a guide to cut and enlarge the shifter hole for the 5 speed shifter? Based on other posts I will still need to modify the shifter shaft to clear the front of the hole in the uppermost (shift pattern) gears? Just working up the courage to cut and looking for a quick confirmation from you experts before I start hacking.

This is the best summation FTW

Absolutely. I should have been clearer there. What you wouldn’t want to do is set the pedal height without adjusting the master cylinder rod too or you might have a situation where you’re riding the clutch a little all the time.

This is nuts! A 3/16” change at the master cylinder rod made a 2” difference in pedal height for me so these different length parts DEFINITELY matter.

Granny- Pouring over old posts I think I can sum up the clutch adjustment like this. The threaded master cylinder rod is only used for adjusting pedal height. The only problem you can have with pedal height is if the pedal is too low. With a low pedal you may not have enough swing of the pedal to completely disengage the clutch making for tough shifts. Clutch engagement is controlled by adjusting the slave cylinder rod and it seems the best way to adjust that is to extend the rod until you have zero free play then back it off a smidge to ensure you are not riding the clutch all the time. So how I understand it a clutch pedal engaging too low is most likely a misadjusted slave cylinder (too much free play) which could be exasperated by a low clutch pedal (not enough swing of the pedal). So basically your initial movement of the clutch pedal just takes up all the free play but doesn’t actually disengage the clutch until the free play is gone. With a pedal that sits too low by the time you’ve taken up the free play and the clutch is actually beginning to disengage you’ve run out of pedal travel to completely disengage the clutch. Air in the system acts like excessive slave cylinder free play. You have to compress the air before you start moving the fluid and disengaging the clutch. Again, too much air and you run out of pedal swing. One more possibility is failing master or slave cylinders. If the internal seals are failing you’re pushing fluid past the seals instead of moving the cylinder and, again, you run out of pedal swing to take up all the “smoosh” of the air or fluid sneaking past the seals. So to sum up: 1. Make sure you have good master/slave cylinders (not sure? Just replace them— they’re cheap) 2. Bleed the air completely! 3. Use the threaded rod on the master cylinder to set the pedal height, preferably even with the brake pedal and somewhere around 8-9” from the floor 4. Adjust the slave cylinder until there is zero free play then back it off a bit and you should be good

I have that part, it was just not installed when I took the pic. I was talking about adding a pedal stop to the floor. Seems wrong to just bottom out on the trim-- but maybe that's just because this car was an automatic. Honestly your post makes me feel much better. Both the brake and clutch are about 8.5" off the floor. I'm guessing whatever weirdness you experienced is the exact same thing I'm seeing. Gotta be a combination of pedal boxes and pedals and/or aftermarket master cylinders. Thanks for the feedback! I'll keep working through the rest of the swap.

Well, unless you guys can convince me this is a terrible idea I think I solved my problem. I added about 1/4" of length to the master cylinder rod and now I'm sitting at 8.5" pedal height. Strokes quite a bit further but still doesn't bottom out the master cylinder. I think I'll add a floor clutch pedal stop and call this good.

I'm back with more questions. I installed the pedals for my auto to 5 speed swap (just swapping pedals into original pedal box). I have a 280z master cylinder and the clevis is adjusted all the way out. My pedal is sitting at about 6.5-6.75" from the floor while the manual is calling for almost 9". When stroking the pedal, I bottom out on the floor before I bottom out on the master cylinder. I was told these pedals were from a 77 or 78 280z but have no way to know for sure. Any idea what might be going on here? I'm guessing maybe a wrong pedal (are clutch pedals different over the years/models?) or the wrong master cylinder. Got the master cylinder from Rock Auto and have never had problems with wrong parts before. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Any reason not to order the one from Z Car Depot?