Jeff G 78

Wow, that's scary. Hope you're back on your repaired foot soon and can install those shiny new parts before summer. I have tons of 1/2 finished projects. Money is usually the main factor for me though. My street Z is on the road and drives great, but needs to be stripped and painted plus a hundred other nickel and dime repairs and upgrades. It's one of the reasons I like LeMons and ChumpCar racing so much. We painted my race Z with Rustoleum applied with foam rollers and it turned out great. From more than 20 feet away, it looks better than my street Z even though I have little money in it even with the roll cage and other safety equipment. Keep us up to date on your health. Have a beer and enjoy life.

What offset? Even a few mm of positive offset makes a huge difference.

Yes, all 260 (coupe's) came stock with R180 diffs and yes, we did break ours in LeMons endurance racing. You will also need a R200 mustache bar to make the swap. You can use the short side half shaft on either side if needed, but it's best to have both and mark them. There isn't much length difference. Which distributor do you have? We have had stock ignition modules fail. We borrowed Geezer's ZX dizzy and module and we plan to swap once I buy one. Those too are know to fail often, so I'm not sure what the best long-term solution is. I've been told that the trans should be double roll pinned, but we haven't had a problem with our stock trans(s). We did break a trans housing when the R180 diff broke. The vibration and shock cracked the housing that holds the rear seal.

Thanks John, I thought it was lost for good.

Yeah, me too Stephen. I've rebuild many L6's and have never had a main seal leak afterwards. I guess there is nothing wrong with adding sealer though.

Interesting KTM. I've never heard of doing that.

The original link works again, but unfortunately someone messed up the data again in the 280 section. The VIN column is shifted.

Thanks Steve, My 260 was built in October '74. EDIT: Corrected build month of my 260.

Is the registry down? I'm getting an error when I try to open it.

I'm looking for late 260 fuel tank sending unit for my track car. I can't remember off hand what years have the same sender, but it's the tank that has the sender in the front like a 240. Have any?

Hard to see the quality in pics, but it looks great. Nice job.

I think your 15x7 Libres... err Retro 4's will be the new hot wheel for the S30. I have a set of 14x5.5 Libre copies, but they are just too narrow. They were on a '76 I bought back in 1985 and they have now been in storage for 25 years.

I doubt it matters. I have a Fel Pro in both of my Z's and they work fine. I bought the complete Fel Pro engine kit otherwise I'd buy Beck Arnley.

The MSA seal should be fine, but you might also check with www.rockauto.com. I have been buying all my parts there lately with great success. Before you install the new seal, run your finger around the crank and feel for any burrs or grooves. If you find any burrs, sand them off. If you find grooves, install the seal slightly inboard or outboard to avoid them.

Stephen, if he was just doing a main seal, he shouldn't need any sealer. It is only needed when the pan or main caps are removed. cozye, my only guess is that the lip got knicked when you put it in. If it IS engine oil and not gear oil, you are pretty much screwed and will have to pull the trans again. Rear main leaks only get worse and the oil can ruin your new clutch. It really sucks, but you should pull it soon.

Then yep, you are correct. I guess I was basing the trans on what I actually used. It must have at least 1/8 qt. trapped. As for the diff, I was thinking of the R180. You have an R200 in your manual trans 280, so it will take over a qt. I've been told to apply lots of heat to the fill plug for easier removal. I still haven't gotten the plug out of my '78. I filled my 260's R200 through the vent since the diff was out and I couldn't get the plug loose.

Amazon carries it for about $12 a qt. if you can't find it locally. BTW, I don't think you need that much. I'm remembering just about 1 qt. for the diff and 2qts. for the trans. I'm not near my FSM, but you might want to check that first. No point in buying extra. You won't need to change it for a long time.

Easier said that done on the diff. Be sure to remove the fill plug first. If you remove the drain plug and then can't get the fill plug loose, you can't easily refill the fluid. The fill plug is a pain to remove. Lots of heat might be needed before it breaks free.

Yep, I can appreciate that. I had a '75 that had the same exact rust patterns. The RH side was rotten from the windshield all the way down the firewall to the rear kickup panel just like yours. My RF strut tower also had the same holes.

+1 on the Redline. Here's a link that explains what you need. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/mtl/index.html Most Z owners use MT90 rather than MTL for the trans and 75W90 gear oil for the diff. Don't use MT90 for the diff as it is not formulated for that usage.

You read my mind. I was thinking the same thing and was going to draw on the picture in MS Paint. Can anybody help explain the process? I'm out of spit and I'm too busy right now to mark up the picture. :stupid:

Very unlikely. Like I said earlier though, you don't NEED a new handle. The fix is free and takes less than an hour to do both sides. You need only a few simple tools that you likely have.

Pretty funny that they are priced different for the two sides.

I don't have a picture handy Jan, but I'll try to explain. If you look at the handle, there is an arm at each end of the handle facing inwards which is what always breaks. To save money, Nissan only tooled one handle with two arms that can be used on either side of the car. Only the rearward arm of each handle is used on each side of the car. When you swap the two handles side to side, the forward arm becomes the rearward arm. That broken arm will no longer be needed since it will be the forward arm when mounted on the opposite side of the car. The only thing you need to do is swap the little plastic keeper over that the rod goes through. Once you or your mechanic looks at it, it will be obvious how it works. If you still don't understand, let me know and I'll take a picture of a spare handle tonight when I get home. EDIT: Gotta love google images. I found this... It shows the two arms and the little plastic keepers. You broke the RH arm on your driver's side, but the LH arm is still good. Do you understand now?

Like EScanlon said, just swap the LH and RH handles. They are the same and each has two arms (the part that broke off). Only the rear arm is used on each handle, so when you break one, you can swap the two sides. You will now be using the two arms that have never been used. Of course this only works if they have never been swapped by a PO. I've had to swap them on quite a few Z cars.