Cliff. Elford

1971 240 Z for sale 25 miles south of Riverside , California. A lot of work has been done to this car in the past three years but a heart attack 23 June forces sale. Trying for 5,ooo dollars. It is probably worth it. Cliff Elford 909-672-0596. Sun City , Calif.

Thank you a bunch for the ideas. The gears and teeth look good, no wear shows, no cracks. The oil was clean , no metal particles. I suppose the bearings are at the three points where the drive shafts meet. Right? Are there other bearings between those points? I do have an old repair manual that will answer those questions I suppose. Would changing all the bearings and seals be a job I can do in the garage or are there special tools needed to remove pressed on seals, bearings, and such? Where would these new bearings and seals be available?How about a torque wrench for reassembly? An absolute necessity? Once this thing is taken apart can a complete novice put it all back together again? Thanks. I appreciate your input.

The original Differential in my 71 240 was very loose and noisy so I purchased a different differential from a wrecking yard that is nice and tight. The drive and shifting improved dramatically but the darn thing really has a loud howl as I proceed down the road. Can anyone tell me if there are many things that can cause this howl or one thing that maybe I can correct myself. The noise was bad enough that I changed back to the old diff. I have not yet tried to take it apart . Any ideas? thanks.

Gas, oil and filters is about it for me. My big expence is the high test gas at the pump. cliff

Hmsport: I would like a price on the signal switch. Mine has been apart so many times I am afraid it will not take much more abuse. If the price is right I would like to have another {better} one. Thanks. cliff. celford52@mchsi.com

Sorry about your trouble. I suggest you very carefully remove the turn signal assembly and dive in with both thumbs. That is what I did and was lucky enough to discover the problem when my turn signal started tossing out the wrong commands. Go for it. That is the way to learn about these beasts. Oh,yes, disconnect the battery first. Cliff

I think it ain't a 240, I'm a purist, mostly.:sleep:

I asked an upholstery shop owner in my area of California for an estimate for my two seats {240} . He wanted $400.00 for the two of them. After sales tax. Said he would use thick, long wearing material. cliff

Gentlemen: Thank you for the input. I have decided to replace the water pump without that bolt installed. New coolent and a can of Bars Leak along with a few prayers. I think it work just fine. {hope, hope} cliff.

Haynes says to seat them then back off about 3/4 turn.

Problem: The water pump bolt {one of five} that bolts on at the 10 o'clock position {71 Z} has broken off deep inside the block. Why is this bolt 3 1/2 long? Is this length necessary to get past the aluminum block? Is the block not aluminum? Has anyone had the experience of drilling this bolt out at this depth? Is it possible to tap the hole as it enters the block and installing a new shorter, fatter bolt in the new tapped threads? I am looking for enough pressure to keep the gasket from leaking, {or blowing out altogether} the first time I drive through Baker, California when the temp outside reaches 120 degrees. Right now there is no leak because I applied a bit more pressure than I normally would to install the new water pump. Is there any chance that block sealer used with the new coolent would help keep that gasket stronger? Novice that I am I hate to try to dig that old bolt out myself. Suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, cliff

After giving it more thought I remember solving that very problem on my 71 by increasing the mixture screw on each carb by one half turn. It stopped sputtering and the shifting in heavy traffic improved mightely. The car was running too lean to properly "take off" from a dead stop, especialy if it was stop and go traffic. cliff

Please define sputtering. My 71 sputtered at idle when the mixture was too lean or a plug was bad or the timing was off. Low octane gasoline at times caused that also, I feel. How about the points? For that matter how about a tune up? In any event have fun! cliff.

A few days ago I was reading about some one who wanted to change their shifter bushings. Some one suggested the bushings be purchased before starting the job. I plan on changing my shifter bushings but I wonder if having the part number would help me. Can some one supply me with those part numbers for a 71 240Z 4 speed? A second question might be: Are these paticular part numbers necessary when ordering from the local Nissan Dealer? cliff

I solved the problem by removing,cleaning and resetting the turn signal switch. This is a monster to work with because the parts are so small and a very delicate setting is required to get all the contacts to come together properly relative to each setting of the switch. It takes a lot of patients and in my case assembly and disassembly more times than I wish to remember. I was lucky that the little tabs that hold the whole thing together did not break off at any point.

Hey people, try this one: No left side brake lights and the left side turn signal lights are very very dim. Ideas? 1971 240 Z. Thanks. cliff

Plugged fuel filter?

Thanks Rex, for the reply. Sorry for the delay. Your suggestion is just about what I decided to do. So much else going on this is just one of the things to put aside for later. Thanks again, cliff

Mmagnus: The bolts to remove the seat are located at the four corners of the seat. The front ones are easy, the back ones are knuckle busters. I am talking about a 71 Z I don't know about the others. No need to go under the car. cliff

The first thing I did to get at that pesky little rheostat is to remove the drivers seat and put a pillow down to lay on. Thre are two screws holding the rheostat in place that are accessible from behind the panel. You will disconnect the connector plug and withdraw the rheostat complete with the mounting bracket. It sounds easy but it is a real pain. Give the rheostat a good shot of electrical parts cleaner and hope that does the job. no promises, cliff

My 1971 Z date of manufacture is posted on the door post- drivers side. Was that procedure changed by 1973? cliff

Thank you, Mr C. for all the information. I am surprised that the Haynes Manuel does not mention the preened flats. I can only say to them, Thanks a lot. The one time I had one of those nuts loose I made no effort to remove it all the way and therefore did not notice that the preening existed. There is also an off chance that the bearings have been serviced in the past and some one else did that work before me. I can only hope that is true. The original owner was a Datsun mechanic and he owned the car until about 1989 when my daughter purchased it. Perhaps he did service those rear bearings. In any case you have renewed my confidence in myself enough to take on the job one of these cooler winter days. If I find the preening does not exist I will rent a slide hammer and have a go at it. Thanks a lot, Partner. cliff

I use the Haynes book. I have no trouble with the front bearings, that job is no big thing, I just don't like to think of all the trouble and problems that can be caused by misuse of a 15 pound slide hammer. Perhaps I am being too cautious but that is the way I am at times. I think that one day I will pull them and at least force some fresh grease in there if nothing else. Also the experience will be good for me. I have had one lock-nut loose {before descovering I needed a slide hammer} and that was no problem because I used a hydraulic jack on the end of the wrench handle to turn it. I don't know how close to specks I got when I replaced the nut the same way. It is all just a big {expensive too} experiment. The car is fun to drive and I do like working on it. I just don't want to break something really expensive. Chicken me. cliff............By the way, to anyone else reading this,,,I do look forward to any other suggestions or ideas you might have. My email address is supposed to be at the end of this message, You don't have to be afraid of the whole world reading your stuff if you are worried about that.

Mike, Henry, The stub-axle bearings in each rear wheel. Do I want to get into that being a novice mechanic? I am sorry that was not clear in my original post. thanks, cliff.

I AM STILL WAITING FOR FOLKS TO TELL ME IT'S A BAD IDEA AND TO NOT OPEN THAT CAN OF WORMS ..OR TO EXPLAIN THEIR EXPERIENCES AND GIVE ME SOME ENCOURAGEMENT. I think I may be a bit afraid of breaking something. I have to admit to some surprise that no one has pulled these rear bearings or are willing to share their experiences if they did. Except for a whine in the differential the rear end sounds OK but after 250K miles I wouild expect some attention to the bearings would be in order. While on that subject: I have a differential off the car that may be a good one, how can I tell if it is OK without paying some guy $200.00 to tear it down and tell me? I can't detect any slop in it but who knows what may poke it's ugly head when it is under load. I hate to change it and drive it for a few miles and discover it is no good. Any way, thanks for asking. cliff