ta240

I just checked the resistance on the coil and found it was .8 across the primary and 4.3 across the secondary. The specs list .355 and 4.4 so the primary resistance seems to be a lot higher than it should be. I don't know if that would get worse when it gets hot or not. I know the pertronix wants 3 ohms for resistance but since the MSD 6a is actually triggering the coil that shouldn't affect the pertronix... right? I've thought about removing the MSD 6a as it seems like overkill for a stock street car and it is actually quite loud mounted on the kick panel. I guess if I do that then I'd need to switch to a regular 3 ohm coil.

egad! Is that what those go for now? Yikes, maybe just a brake upgrade then

There is a return line ( I should check it tonight to make sure it isn't plugged or restricted ). The tank is vented. I've got a basic infrared thermometer, I think I'll put it in the car and the next time it acts up I can pull off and kinda scan things to see what the temps are on the different components. I've got a couple electric fans from my old Z and thought about either trying one in front of the radiator that I could turn on when moving slower on hot days to try to force some more air through the engine compartment. Or figured it wouldn't look great but also thought maybe the smaller one I could mount facing upward somewhere on the passenger side of the engine to force air up and around the engine and push some of the super hot air coming up from the exhaust manifold in the other direction. I also seem to remember something about the ZX injector fan being used by some people to help cool the carb area. Might look a little cleaner than an oddly mounted fan on the other side of the engine. Changed the fuel filter last night but they said chance of rain today so I didn't drive it, new mechanical fuel pump should be here by Saturday.

That was a good one I read sometime back where someone warned that the urge to honk at the people that seem oblivious because they are moving so slow in front of you can sometimes have the unwanted result of them panicking and slamming on the brakes.

I guess I should have kept the Monza 'muffler' on the car, that said "here I am" a bit more, except then after driving for the hour to get to work with the window down my left ear would be ringing a bit. That's good advice and I'm thinking this might be a good justification for me to drop the car off at Rebello this summer

I wondered about the gas some as the problem does fluctuate but right now the weather fluctuates a lot too so I wasn't able to nail it down completely. A 72 degree day with a breeze makes it a lot less likely to act up than a still 72 degree day. So I keep wondering if it is just a bit cooler so it is doing better and some days I don't hit every stoplight red like others. I only do Exxon, Texaco or Shell for fill ups. I'm not sure how to find ethanol-free gas around here. I checked one site but there wasn't anything for 90+ miles on it. I thought I read one place where having the tank fuller helps as the gas that recirculates back cools before coming back up again so I'm trying that too. I ordered a new mechanical fuel pump to try that. I guess an electric fuel pump isn't that much work (and it allows for really a really fun hidden kill switch). I've had an aversion to them since my old Z had one. But I didn't have Dave's writeup back then and had one of those little box style ones that go thump,thump,thump no matter how much you isolate them and then tried a different style one that kinda screamed so that was always fun.

wow, great writeup on the electric fuel pump install. How is that one for noise level? Trevor http://240z.me

whenever it gets to over the low 70s and I spend any time in traffic my Z starts cutting out something awful. It isn't so much a sputtering as it is half seconds of no power at all. No real coughing just jerking along where it pulls then doesn't for a second or less then pulls again for a second or two and then repeats. It will rev freely if it isn't in gear but as soon as I put a load on it it goes back to the cutting out. Generally once I get out of traffic and start moving again it goes back more to normal. It will idle pretty much normally at that time too. It slows a bit like it is bogged down if it sits idling at a light for too long but doesn't cough or sputter there. It just has the stock mechanical fuel pump on it and it is likely original. It also has the SUs off a 72 on it. What all should I check? It almost feels like it is an electrical issue with the ignition as it cuts in and out so completely. I have a petronix ignition with MSD 6 on it (the MSD box is inside the car). I know these are prone to fuel overheating problems but didn't want to go throwing money and time into adding an electric fuel pump if it might be something else. It is a bit hard to diagnose as even if it is still cutting out as I pull into the garage it will rev fine in neutral. thanks for any help. Trevor 240z.me

Turns out the air line was partially crimped on the horns. They are much louder now

I think mine are the fiamm dual ones, I'll have to give them a close look. My main problem is when I'm next to the zombies and they decide they want to be in my lane and just start coming over. No amount of honking seems to wake them and sometimes there isn't anywhere to go without causing more problems. I thought the supertones were loud: but a couple times those haven't woken the idiots up so I dug up my old dual air horns I had on my other Z and I'm not sure if they will be enough. They don't sound as loud as I remember, maybe the compressor is getting weak or there is a problem in the air line. The supertones would always make me jump if I accidentally set off the alarm getting into the car and the air horns don't seem to be as startling. Someday there isn't going to be anywhere to get out of the way fast enough and then it will be the fun of my word against their as to who caused the impact

I've tried the hella supertone horns and the dual air horns and people still don't react as they move over into my lane. Is it hopeless to think you can wake them up when they are that out of it or is there a louder (and still legal) horn out there that might penetrate their mental fog? Trevor Trevor's Datsun Z Car Site, 240Z, 260Z, 280Z

Thanks! That's a weight off. I remembered reading something on here before about the stems being impossible to find so I was worried I was screwed. And after they specifically told the guy that they didn't need to do anything to the stems. I still can't believe that they apparently tried to cut some type of custom seal for one and just left the outside part off the other one and thought it would work...

I had 2 of my tires replaced at work today (at a Honda dealer) and when I was cleaning the wheels up to put them back on the car I found they messed with the valve stems and apparently destroyed the seals. These are the bent valve stems Any source for new stems or at least new seals? will something like this work? MC Enterprises Tubeless Tire Angled Valve Stem 945 : Amazon.com : Automotive or this? http://www.summitracing.com/parts/gor-vs403c

Years ago I worked at a farm that sent off oil out of every truck and tractor to be analyzed at every oil change. I talked to the guy that ran the testing place one time for quite some time on the phone when we were looking at different types of oils and additives and his recommendation was the same as yours. It isn't as important what you put in it, just as long as you change it frequently. And it was for the same reasons listed here, oil gets a lot of bad stuff in it when you run the engine and you don't want the concentrations of that to get too high. We had a late 80s Pontiac that I pulled the valve cover on at around 120,000 miles (we got it at around 110,000) and it had layers and layers of cooked on crud on all the insider surfaces. I have no idea what they used in it or how long they left it but it was ugly. When we got our first brand new car it had a little tiny oil filter and only took about 2.5 qts or oil per change and it got a lot of in town driving and not a lot of miles overall so I changed it every 3,000 miles and did use synthetic but here is the top end of it after 100,000 miles: and I never ran any sort of flush or cleaner through that engine. That kept me a fan of the regular change. I just run the GTX 20-50 in my Z but it is old and original. And I change it twice a year and average about 7,000 miles a year on it.

Any had experience with Motorsports Auto's quarter window interior plastic? http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/SIC06G01/40-3630 just curious how the fit and look of it is before ordering. thanks, Trevor http://240z.me

I just used a threaded brass plumbing fitting. The threads seemed to grab the hose pretty well and I never had anymore problem.

I don't know if this has been mentioned before but since I've now run into it on 2 Z's I figured I'd post it. On the first Z I had I chased down everything looking for the cause and didn't find it until well after replacing the tank vent hoses (should have noticed it when I replaced them). This time I knew what to look for when replacing the hoses. On my 73s on the short hose that goes from the main filler hose to the canister just above it there is a little plastic fitting that the hose goes over and then the fitting goes inside the filler hose. You can see the opening for it when you remove the gas cap. That plastic fitting likes to crack and the crack is just enough of an opening to vent fuel fumes to inside the car. It also seems to like to crack just to the side so it is somewhat hidden. I probably should have gotten a picture of where it goes in the car but after replacing the interior panel the first time and discovering that I'd forgotten a screw from the vent tank and then replacing it again after that and forgetting to get the front of it pushed under the other panel I decided I'd had it off enough for one evening Trevor http://240z.me

I did the un-graceful option of pushing the transmission off the jack and dragging it out from under car to get it to fit. That went okay. Trying to get the transmission slid back on the jack while under the car wasn't as easy, but still not too hard. I got very lucky. Everything went back together faster than it came apart on mine.

I just finished working on it. And did bleed the master cylinder just in case. And it hit me. Could I be confusing good braking for bad? The reason I was working on the brakes at all is for the longest time I've had a problem where the first press on the pedal after driving for awhile didn't feel the same as the next ones would. The second press had more 'feel' to it, resistance started higher and it had more resistance. It would brake like that again for awhile and then after longer time without braking would feel odd the first time again. I always thought there was some air in the system I just couldn't get out. But in looking at things I saw the master cylinder was leaking a bit at the back and found a good deal on a new one and reman booster so I figured it was time. Anyways, it hit me tonight that all the pedal feel now is more like the first press was before all the replacements. Only even more pronounced. So what I'm thinking is with the old booster the first press on the brakes was the good one, with good vacuum in the booster and as soon as I moved the shaft on it it would bleed off pressure and not work as well, but since I got more feedback from the pedal it felt better to me with it less boosted, especially since 90% of the time it felt that way. After bleeding things out and adjusting the rear brakes I found I could brake somewhat smoothly with it tonight and am wondering if I just have to relearn to drive the same car but with better boosted brakes.

great description on the booster operation. I'll check the rear wheel cylinders, I replaced the shoes back when I bought the car, about 30,000 miles ago and the cylinders looked pretty recent. And I adjusted the brakes last year but it can't hurt to inspect and check the adjustment. Hopefully I'll get the brakes back to where they aren't an on/off only setup again.

It's always good to confirm before heading off in other directions. It was a little rubber disk and on the new booster it was somewhat stuck on the end of the steel disk (at the end of the output shaft) with grease. I cleaned it off and glued it in place. After my test drive I was sure they had sent me a booster with a loose or missing reaction disk but it was there. The only thing I can think to do is rebleed the brakes but I'd think if it was air in there the braking would be soft at the end too. I pumped a lot of fluid through the brakes and have the speedbleeders on all of them and still had the fluid hose go up and then back down into the recovery bag and didn't see any more bubbles.

what would cause similar symptoms in the brakes to a reaction disk missing? I just replaced the booster and master cylinder and bled the brakes but the pedal travels almost freely most of the way down and then as soon as it hits some (3/4 way down) it goes from next to no braking to full braking with a rear wheel locked up in almost no travel. I pulled the master cylinder and popped the clip out of the front of the booster and the reaction disk was where it was supposed to be. It wasn't glued onto the shaft but it was at the end of it. Where should I look first? Thanks, Trevor http://240z.me

and here is why it is often better to buy parts from places that know and care. The online place I ordered it from replied to my question about the brake fluid with a cut and paste answer of "In regards to the question, I would suggest taking your vehicle to a certified mechanic for a proper diagnosis before buying and having parts installed that may not (solve/be) the problem. We want to ensure that you have your concern addressed and resolved the first time!" hmmm, so the brake fluid leaking out the back of the master cylinder into my booster might not have meant that I needed to replace the master cylinder? My email to them had nothing to do with the new part not fixing a problem it had to do with it having an entirely new 'problem'. Granted it turned out not to be a problem but still, what a blow off in dealing with the issue. And if they'd include the little strainers in their new part it wouldn't have been an issue at all. I've had questions about products from Motorsport Auto before and never got an answer like that. I guess you get what you pay for.

thank you! That makes perfect sense. And completely explains why some master cylinders had that 'problem' for me and some didn't. My old screen from my old MC fit the new one and no more 'problem'. Thanks!

okay, I must be doing something wrong. I ordered a new (non-reman) master cylinder and installed it this weekend. And it is doing the same thing. I have a video clip of it at: http://240z.me/mc.html I bench bled it and even used a 'tool' they sold that is basically a syringe with a rubber cap on it that pushes and pulls fluid through the master cylinder from the outlet port at the bottom. And did that till no bubbles came through. Here's a picture of the tool: http://kingtuttonline.com/~rjays2/images/mpbP1012869-lg.jpg Last time I bench bled it the regular way. looking back at the comments on the prior problem, the rod rests in the booster so it doesn't pull the pistons back. But if I start with the pedal down a bit and press hard it won't shoot fluid out so it looks like it isn't sealing up fast enough once the pedal starts to travel. After trying a few different things I think if I adjusted the push rod out of the booster and rod that connects to the pedal I could move it past that point, however it would have to be a combined adjustment of over a half inch and that seems like a lot of adjustment and would reduce overall pedal travel a noticeable amount.