Royce

If you overfill them then the excess will be forced out over the top of the reservoir and into the carb then burnt in the engine. Not a bad way to make sure they are filled all the way! Otherwise, if you are using proper oil it shouldn't go anywhere. You should probably check them every 6 months or so just to make sure everything is up to snuff. If you are using something like maybe jack oil, shock oil or sewing machine oil than I suppose it could evaporate from the heat. The manual calls for straight 20w, use oil intended to be used in an engine. You don't want to use anything too light or you will get a lean condition when you stomp on it. Have fun!

Unless someone has changed to a direct fan(no fan clutch), your fan clutch is seized! You should not be able to turn over the motor by the fan with a clutch type fan! There are instructions on www.zhome.com for fixing it, however, I wouldn't be surprised if you find it too far gone and need to replace. They are very pricey from Nissan, $100+, but I have seen them for a fraction of that at local autoparts stores. Hope it helps!

How about putting the old intake back on and seeing if it goes away? Could it be the cooling fan!? If you have a stock fan and the fan clutch is stuck then the fan will be engaged all the time and will make noise as you rev higher. It should really only be fully engaged at idle when the engine is passing normal operating temperature. Testing it is somewhat of an art form but if it is really hard to turn by hand when the engine is off it may be a problem. Try turning it before you start the car in the morning than again later after driving around. Usually, they stop engaging all together but if left they can eventually lock up. Maybe someone added a Turbo when you were at work? One can dream can't he!

I also agree that this should be pretty simple. Most likely the 5-spd is from a US 280Z or 280ZX. Either will work but the ratios will be a little different. You can keep your current clutch that is in your 280Z, just be sure and also use the clutch slave, fork, and throwout bearing collar. You probably should check the clutch surface, this would be a good time to change it. Also, good idea to change the throwout bearing. The shift levers will be interchangable as well so if you like one more than the other you can swap them. Also, check the little plastic bushings for the shifter(between the pin and shift lever), if there are any left, and use which ever are in better condition. Also, if your speedo was acurate you may want to swap over your speedo gear from your 4-speed. The trans mounts after '71 should be the same so you may compare and use the better one. You should be able to use your 280Z drive shaft as well. Have fun!

We had lots of those around North CA when I was a kid. I remember thinking of them as a small Vette. Because the shape, headlights, and tail lights are very '68 - early '70s Vette like. It is a much smaller car than a Z and good luck fitting a V8 in that one without using cutting tools!

Will be paying $5.00/gallon this weekend. However, that will be for 110 octane at Sears Point International!

I believe the newer WRX's have R-180 but back in '87 I am pretty sure they were all R160's. But a LSD R160 is probably stronger than an open R180. Of course a LSD R180 would be even better yet. And a LSD R200 would be nearly indestructable behind an L6 motor(if you keep fluid in it!). If you can learn to identify the R160 and the R180 the rest can be easy because there is a little foil tag on the back of the Subaru diffs that has the part number, ratio, and LSD if it is such. Have fun!

Yup that's it! Thanks!

Try going to the main site http://66.155.22.117 then select Drive Line, then the picture of the transmission. As far as I know this was done by the previous owner before Mark bought the car.

I have heard lots of pros and cons regarding this modification over the years. With any mod you have to consider the entire system you are changing. I haven't done it myself so no direct experience but you should think about them before making a change. I have seen many writeups on the web that include all the specifics, although I cannot seem to find any of them right now. Most of the links I have are no longer valid, but if I find them I will pass it on. With more front brake force and no changes to the rear you are more likely to lock up the fronts. May not be a big deal because the fronts do most of the braking anyway. You can add an adjustable brake proportioning valve but it can be very difficult to get the brakes set up right again. Another thing is heat. You will generate more heat that could lead to boiling of your brake fluid or rotor damage during heavy use. I have heard people going to Ford Heavy Duty brake fluid. It is a Dot 3 non-synthetic fluid that can handle more heat than the standard stuff you will find at most auto stores. Also, good idea to put in some proper brake ducting if you are going to be autocrossing and especially if you do track events. Weight, like your stock Z brakes the Toyota 4-piston are cast iron brake calipers. Since they are larger they do weigh more. Brake feel, it takes more brake fluid to push the additional two brake pistons. This change will mean more brake peddle travel. This is one reason to upgrade to stainless steel brake lines. Stock rubber lines can expand which will cause more peddle travel as well. I think as long as you will need to drain the brakes anyway you may as well get the stainless steel lines and that may take up some of the travel increase due to the new hungrier calipers. The 280ZX master cylinder upgrade can also help with this although I have heard it is really only prefered if you also convert the rears from drum to disc brakes. Rotors: Drilled rotors have holes drilled in the braking surface from one side through to the other. Slotted rotors have slots or groves somewhat diagonally across the braking surface. Vented rotors have a air space between the two sides of the rotors. Hope that all makes sense. Do not attempt to alter you own rotors!!! If you want to buy vented and/or drilled and/or slotted rotors get good quality! The word is that it really doesn't help much because the stock Z rotors are so narrow. With more work and some 300ZX parts you can modify the brakes to use vented rotors. But the rotors are smaller. Fit: The Toyota calipers are larger and may not fit with some wheels. Also, you will need to modify or remove the brake dust shield to fit them. Last, do you have a problem with you current brakes that you think this will fix? It is always best to make sure your current system is working correctly so you don't get disappointed when things still don't work correctly after spending a bunch of money on a modification. Hope it helps! Sorry for the long post!

Howdy, I took a look at a 2 for 1 deal today in Roseville, CA (about 20 minutes North/East of Sacramento). They guy has two '77 280Zs that he wants to sell as a package for $600. Both cars turn over but neither start. He things it is something to do with the fuel injection. I didn't spend much time looking at the cars because there was nothing of particular interest to me. Here is some description of what he's got: Silver '77 280Z - N42 L28 block, N47 head, 5-spd, vented hood. Claims it is low milage car, I think it showed less than 70K on speedo. Car is all one color but paint is oxidized. Body in very good condition except, gouge in passenger door but is in center of door where could be repaired. Front valance is damaged. Battery tray is rusty but no holes. Didn't see any other signs of rust, not even in hatch. Interior is black and is ruff. Carpet cover on cracked dash. Looks like 14 x 7 Dukes of Hazzard style wheels! Speaker holes cut into door panels. Says has non-opp and clean title. Red '77 280Z - N42 L28 block, N47 head, 5-spd, vented hood. Paint isn't too bad although not a particularly good shade of red. Looks like several parts under the hood have been replaced- AFM, master cylinder, etc. Body looks good. Did not look at very close for rust, car was in garage surrounded by stuff, but nothing obvious. Fiberglass air dam. Brown interior that is absolutely trashed. New ignition switch. Original windshield wipers in good shape, almost worth the price if they were 240 wipers! ;-) The guy is desparate to get them out of his yard and may take less. Drop me a note if you are interested an I will put you in touch. (I didn't get his approval to post his contact info on the web so I am not going to put it here.) Overall not bad cars but nothing I have the time or space for. Just trying to help.

I am NOT familiar with automatic Z cars, but I thought the hole in the trans tunnel and the console were the same as the stick cars with just different console insert for the auto shift guide. but As for the sticks the location of the shifter in the trans between all post '71 4-spds and 5-spds is the same, with the exception of the Borg Warner T-5 from the 280ZX Turbo. The actually shift lever may be shaped differently. You should be able to swap them from one to the other and end up with the same shifter location. All of the pre '72 - '76 cars I had used a curved shifter. And I believe somewhere between '77 280Z and '79 280ZX a very stright shifter was used. (I always assumed it was the ZX)

Jeff, Was your 240 built in or before September of 1971? Is your ashtray in front of the shifter opening? If so than you have a '71 model 240Z! It was the '72 when the new style trans was used with the shifter further forward. This shifter design transmission was used in 4-spd and 5-spd variations through '83. There were different shift levers used in some of the years but you can interchange the shifter from one to the other as well. If you cannot physically swap shifters from your 240Z 4-spd to the 280Z 5-spd than you either have a '71 model 240Z or your 5-spd is not a standard Nissan Z 5-spd, maybe a Borg Warrner T-5 or ??? I put a 280Z 5-spd in my '71 240Z. I cut the trans tunnel and the console but I have heard of people who have modified the shifter enough that they didn't have to modify either. One of our member, Mark Magnus, recently put some pictures up of his restoration. It happens to shows a 280Z 5-spd shifter modified to work with the early 240 body. See http://66.155.22.117/Img_0025.jpg. I would try to avoid modifying the console at all costs, I wish I hadn't. But if you have to modify the trans tunnel it is no big deal. However, if you do modify the trans tunnel you will need to use a later style ('72 - '78) Z trans rubber boot (to seal the trans tunnel opening) and metal bracket. This is not very difficult to adapt and I think it seals better than the early Z type because the later style mounts with a metal bracket and sheet metal screws. Hope it helps!

But have you done the leak down test and compression tests since the leak??? I can understand that some of the plugs might look worse than others, could depend of valve position at the time you pulled out the plugs. But the fact that it is all the front cylinders is interesting. Is there any way that your front carb is pulling in oil somehow. Maybe if you are using a aftermarket/custom air cleaner setup with only one carbs connected to the PCV or vavle cover breather or something like that? It could be the valve stem seals, but this would have to mean that the vavle guides are really trashed too! Back in the old days OHC engines didn't use vavle stem seals, this is both before my time and before the Z's time. Over time the valve guides would wear and when the engine sat it oil would collect on the back of closed vavles or in the combustion chamber. When the engine was started it would blow blue smoke, oil, out the tail pipe. Once the engine warms up and the metals expanded the oil leak would be sealed off and the smoke would stop. Then next time the car sat for a bit it would happen again. Now this is before the use of valve stem seals and also before the use of hardened vavle seats and more importantly hardened valve guides. The N47 head has hardened valve seats and guides so I am surprised that you would have that much leak. And I would also be surprised that it won't go away after warming up the engine throughly. Are you letting the engine warm up and run it after it has reached opperating temperature (180 - 190 degrees F)? If compression and leak down tests with the engine warmed up are still good then putting on new valve stem seals may very well solve the problem. You may have some wear in your valve guides as well, but I don't know if that is necessarily a big problem on a L6. Maybe someone else can shed some light on the issue of when a worn valve guide is a problem!? Hope it helps!

First check the spark plugs to determine which cylinder it is. This may also give you a clue as to what fluid it is. What color is the smoke??? If you are indeed leaking something into the combustion chamber than it sounds like a compression check and leak down test may be in your near future. Again, a visual on the plugs will get you on the right direction. Let us know what you find.

Sorry to disagree but I still don't see this happening. If fluid can make it out through the spark plug hole than there would be a sever loss of compression in that cylinder from the fuel/air getting forced out the spark plug hole during normal engine operation. This would indicate a bad plug, a cracked head or at least a head damaged around the spark plug hole. I still put my money on the valve cover gasket or maybe oil following the spark plug wire! Hope it is helpful!

Now I am confused. Are you asking about heads or about headers? If you put a stock P90 head on you stock L24 block you will end up with less power. That is unless you are going Turbo! I think this is what you are doing but I just wanted to clear things up. Now there may be another problem with going to a P90 head on a L24. That is there may be a valve clearance issue! Maybe someone else could help but I believe there is potential for the larger valves of the 280ZX head hitting the sides of the cylinders in the smaller L24 block? Sorry to have more questions than answers but I am hoping to save some headaches!

Well, I can think of a couple possible reasons. 1. The stock tank will hold a little less than 16 gallons. Do you have a stock tank? All the various Z tanks will hold 16 gallons or more. Most likely you do have a stock tank but after 30 years you never know. Someone may have put a racing fuel cell in it or whatever. Find a Z friend or club member and visually compare. 2. If you do have a stock tank than maybe it dented in the bottom (very common) and/or maybe the fuel pickup unit is damaged (also somewhat common). You may want to run the car close to empty then drain the tank to see how much is left in the tank. There also may be some water or other junk in the bottom that gets drawn in to the pickup when you get to the bottom of tank. Draining and flushing the tank every 5-10 years or so is a good idea. 3. The tank vents hoses could be crimped/damaged. If they are clogged, plugged, crimped this could make it so that you can not fill the tank all the way because there is no where for the air to go. Also, it can make it so that the engine cannot draw all the fuel out because air cannot get into the tank. It may be a combination of two or three of the above. I would start with a visual inspection and then drain the tank. Then go after the hoses! Hope it helps!

Owen, Next time you are going over there drop me a note! I'll bring the beer!

Zlish, You might want to just try things as they are before making changes. Replacing worn out parts, like bushings, shocks, springs, etc. is one thing. But simplicity and a slightly under developed car is really the best way to learn! A overmodified car will be less forgiving and can be frustrating until you get the hang of things. Also, once you get out there you will start talking with folks that have been doing this for a while and get some tips from them. Remeber, no setup is ideal for all situations. While one setup is best for one track or one autox course. A totally different setup might be best for another. That being said, going with a 1" front swaybar would not be over the top. Also, it may help keep the rear wheels down and may be helpful in limiting wheel spin if you don't have a limit slip or locked rear diff. Hope it helps!

It must be the valve cover gasket. If you are leaking oil out of your spark plug hole than you are filling a cylinder(s) with oil. I would think there would be a rather obvious cloud of blue smoke coming out of your tailpipe whenever the engine is running. Remove the valve cover, clean up cover and head surfaces, use gasket sealer to attach gasket to the cover. Put it back on and tighten the bolts evenly, use a torque wrench if you must. They don't need to be particularly tight, probably only about 10 ft. lbs. (check your manual to be sure!) But tightening them evenly will give you much better of a seal. Hope it helps!

Well, if I remeber correctly putting a stock P90 head on a stock L26 block would give you about 7.5:1 compression, which may be to low for even a Turbo setup. I don't know for sure, not a Turbo expert. Any Turbo guru's out there??? Also, like the N47 the P79 heads had round exhaust ports. You really would be best off to find a used complete Turbo motor, that way you would have the correct setup. Otherwise the square exhaust port alternative to a N47 would be an N42. They are otherwise the same except the N42 did not come stock with hardened vavle guides/seats. Hope it helps!

Yes, first test current across the fuses and inspect any wire connectors. If you must perform surgery, do it right. Take off the front wheels. You can try to short cut things, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. By the way since your car is a '78 it should have a plastic cover that you have to remove before you can get to the screws that hold on the headlight bucket. Sometimes they get broken or left off during reassembly. Hopefully yours are in place because it will have done a better job preserving you screws and maybe they will not be so tuff. The big problem is fitting you hand in there. A long screwdriver will help. Have fun! Hope it helps!

Oh yeah, for pictures and more description go to www.ztherapy.com. This is the site of a company that rebuilds Z and non-Z SU type carbs. Have fun!

In US there are 4 different stock carbs for Z's from 240 '70 - 260 '74. First, are the dome tops round or flat??? If they are flat then you have the '73 240 - '74 260 stock carbs. These are typically changed to any of the earlier type because of the difficulty of tune and finding parts. However, some people have used them on stock motors with success. Second, if they are round dome tops then check the number of mounting screws holding the domes on the carb body. If there are three screws then you have '72 240Z carbs. Like the later carbs they have water passeges on the bottom so that water running through the intake manifold also goes through the bottom of the carb body. If they have 4 screws then you have '70 - '71 240Z carbs. These are very similar to the '72 carbs except without the water passage in the carb body. Lastly, early '70 240Z carbs, which are 4 screw carbs but only difference is they do not have drain plugs in the bottom front of the float bowl. Hope it helps!