2ManyZs

I would guess that the most likely cause is the throw out bearing. It is possible it's the clutch slave cylinder adjustment, but that will directly involve the throw out bearing. You will have to pull the trans. to replace it though. If the sound seems to be coming from the front of the transmission in the area of the bellhousing, this all points to the throw out bearing.

I guess he was trying to make the rear bumper look like the front cover, or so it wasn't as noticeable. Rear bumper cover to match the front would finish it off really nice. Other than that one thing, it looks great to me. :classic:

Since it says it is for the L16-18 even if it did bolt up to your crank, I doubt it would hold up the the L-24. You are trying to mix parts designed for a four cylinder with a six. Not a good idea even if it does bolt up. It probably would work fine in a Roadster but not a Z.

You will probably need to have a u-joint already out so that you can find either a number on it or to take all the measurements to try to get the replacement. They will probably need to know the cross shaft lenght and diameter as well as the cup diameter to cross reference.

Good job. Don't worry about the extra day, they'll never get him to work any more than what he already does.(?) Too bad you can't do something about people leaving those surprises on his chair, he wouldn't have that look on his face.

Well, if you have a limited slip in your car, then the differential is definately not the original. It would be an open 3.36 if it were the original. It's possible you know have either a 3.90 or a 4.11. You can check it out on the gear calculator if you know the RPM's you are turning. Try this: www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/

There is a separate fuse for the Park, and taillights. It should be right under the two for the headlights on the right side of the fuse panel. I'd start there and check all the wiring for a short, or perhaps a loose or corroded connection in the fuse panel before pulling any switches. I'm looking at a cover for a fuse panel off one of the cars, not sure which year it is, but the top two on the right are for the headlights, the next one down is the Park, Taillights, and the bottom one on the left should be the Brake lights. Also you could check the common fuse on the bottom right, not sure what all is connected into it, but never hurts to check it anyways. If possible you could try to bypass the switch itself to see if that is the problem, not easy with all the wiring there. Green/White wire is the common wire to the taillights, side markers. Green/Blue is the common wire to the front turn and marker lights. Try jumping them after the switch to a hot wire and see if they work. Hope that helps a little. Too late at night to read this wiring diagram anymore.:sleepy:

Grainger might be the easiest and cheapest alternative. Of course, if you can find one of their stores or catalogs that is.

Well, since we are having fun at your expense. You really should have a doctor look at that funny looking thing growing out of your right ear. Hope it isn't contagious.:cheeky:

I've never seen anyone offer a replacement u-joint for the steering column. However, I have heard it is possible to find one at your local tractor or implement dealer the right size. Have never replaced the u-joint, but the steering coupler is a fairly easy one to do. It is easier if you remove the column from the car to do it as there is very little room to work (obviously) and it will make a difference in your steering. If you take it out to replace the coupler, you could take it to a farm implement dealer and see if they do have a u-joint that will replace the u-joints. Another place to look might be an industrial hardware supply dealer.

Well, if you use the search function you should find quite a few posts to find a few tips and tricks to the rear spindle pin removal. Not sure if this is the one you are referring to as they don't have cotter pins, at least not on the US models they didn't.

First time I've seen a retaining nut that wouldn't come off. Most need a little "persuasion" with an impact at times but never one that had to be cut off. Looks like someone took the easy way out when they installed it and used a 1/2 inch drive impact to tighten it and run it down past the threads. Glad to see you did get it off after all. One down.........

I'm not sure what diff was used in the Maxima. I have a chart here that lists the Maxima automatic as having a 3.36 R-180 rear and the manual as having a 3.54 R-180. I'm not sure if they offered an R-200 in the Maxima in the later models, they may have changed over later when they discontinued using the R-180 in the Z series. Of course, there is the possibility that the chart I have is incorrect also. I would be surprised if they used anything lower than a 3.70 or 3.54 in the Maxima as it was not as sports oriented as it was intended to be. It was more of a sporty touring model so it would be my opinion that it would have a higher gear than what you are looking for in either an R-180 or an R-200. If you can, I believe you would have an easier time finding an R-180 from a 720 4x4 truck in the gear ratio you want. 1/83-6/83 720 4x4 had a 3.90 R-180 6/83-12/85 720 4x4 had a 4.11 R-180 as did the Non turbo 200sx 84-88 R-180 will hold up to anything you can do to an L series engine, however if you are planning a V-8 conversion you do need the R-200 for durability. R-200 is much heavier and will require suspension crossmember and mustache bar as well as diff mounts to be changed to fit.

Well, that's a good question. Most people consider the 260 as a less than desirable Z because they were only made for one year in two different engine configurations. One was a PITA as the 73's were with the carb problems, and the rest were built as an intro to the 280. Neither is bad IMO, but I'd prefer the carb'd version. Guess the 260 doesn't have much of a following here in the states, as it wasn't offered long enough in either version for people to form an opinion of their merits or minuses. For those "down under", the 260 has a whole different following since they were offered for many years until the ZX was introduced. Here in the states it is often scoffed at since it is neither a 240 or a 280. This one was a shame as it looks to be an early version with the small bumpers. I noticed one thing, hardly any rust under the battery tray! Would have at least made a good car to sell for parts instead of hacking it away for fun. Should have used an old Pinto or Vega if they just wanted to destroy a car!:mad:

Me thinks we have just witnessed what happens when a person is too lazy to do a little repair work. I'd have fixed it, it sure looked better than a couple I've had to send off to the crusher, and certainly looks better than the parts car I have now. Even a lowly 260 deserved better than that in the shape it looked to be in. Shame on the wimps. :mad:

ATK does a very good crate engine. Find them in the web links section. I believe they do short blocks, long blocks, or just heads. I used one on the street for two years and then raced it in ITS for 5 years without a minutes problems. A little too stock for racing, but a quality job nonetheless. I believe they are in central or northern CA.

First off, yes, you will need two 14mm wrenches to unbolt the u-joint flange. So might as well get them together before you go any further. If you not planning on replacing the bushings on the control arm spindle, don't bother to take it apart as it is a PITA in most cases. If you are just wanting to replace the spring or the strut cartridge you do not have to remove the whole strut assembly to do this. Just unbolt the sway bar (if equipped), unbolt the u-joint flange, and unhook the brake line, and e-brake cable and remove the upper mounting nuts. You will be able to get the entire assembly to clear the fender with a little foot pressure to push down on the brake drum while pulling the strut housing clear of the fender. It will drop low enough that you will be able to pull the top of the strut clear and remove the upper mount and the spring/cartridge assembly. BTW, you will have to unhook the e-brake cable from the mount on the control arm and from the brake cylinder assembly. You will only have to bleed the brakes when you re-assemble it, not a bad idea to bleed them once in a while anyways. If you are planning on replacing the control arm spindle bushings, it will be much easier to do this with the entire control arm/strut assembly off the car. Just unbolt the inner control arm mounts and remove the whole thing. It is a lot easier to work on on a workbench than to try to do it on the car. You will be replacing the inner mount bushings anyways if that is your intention, so you will have everything on the bench you need to work on. The pinch bolt will require a bit of "persuasion" to remove. Just beat it on the nut end of the pin to remove, but be careful not to mess up the threads if you plan to re-use it. You can find quite a few posts in the forum if you use the search function for stubborn spindle pin removal.

Be careful and don't lose the detent balls when you take it apart. They like to fall out when you aren't expecting them, and they like to roll under things and hide. You will find out that the Z trans isn't too complicated unless you find a detent ball after it is all back together.:disappoin I've helped a couple people take them apart in the past, and they can require an extra pair of hands when you are putting them back together lining everything up correctly. If you don't have one already I suggest getting a good diagram out of a service manual to aide you. Hopefully you have access to the bearings in the center plate if you find them to be bad, I read a post recently that they are getting hard to find from the obvious suppliers.

A Z car is worth the time and effort to restore as long as there is not too much chassis rust. If it has a sentimental value such as yours it makes it even more worthy of a little TLC. One of the best sources of restoration parts is Motorsport Auto in Orange, CA. You can request their catalog at www.zcarparts.com. It is full of restoration and performance parts for all year Z cars. Their prices are fair, some may sell for less, but a lot of their competitiors don't offer the large selection they do. You can find many other suppliers in the web links section here also for comparison shopping. One of the other members will have to help you on the mechanic in your area.

Well, if you were to cap off all the lines you would end up with air in the tank. It is possible it will work fine if you were to vent the tank itself to the filler neck like most cars were and still are. I think you will have to make up a hose to make it work as I believe the line that goes to the filler neck comes form the evaporative tank inside the car. If you used one of the hoses near the top of the gas tank and ran it to the filler tube it should work without trouble. Never tried it though, so you may want to wait for someone who has to reply. I'm just trying to apply commen sense to the idea.:stupid:

You should be able to find a decent set of used early carbs either here on this site or one of the "other" Z sites. Possibly on Ebay but you never know what you are really buying from there, I'd rather buy from a Z enthusiast. Prices should be in the 100 to 150 dollars range with linkage and possibly even the earlier intake, which will have less smog ports to plug up.

Should bolt in with no problems. You will have to use the flex-plate from the L-24 and the intake and carbs, but that shouldn't be a problem. I have no experience with the automatics, but it seems to me if the flywheels are interchangeable the flex plate for the autos should be too.

As long as it passes this year, you can have till Christmas to get all the parts together to do the early carbs swap. Sounds good to me. Before you make an offer on the car, be sure to check for any hidden rust problems under the car or for any rust repairs that weren't done correctly. Be sure to look under the battery, in the front fender wells near the frame, and check out the floor pans and rails thoroughly. Outer body panels are still available if you find a bit of rust so that is not as much problem like certain chassis areas.

Well, this is only my opinion, but if a three row is better than a two row, then a four row is the best of all of them. Since you can get a four row, I'd shell out the extra 50 bucks over the price of the three row and have a little more safety margin. All it takes is one time overheating and it's time for head work. The aluminum heads have little tolerance for too much heat. I have always run the four row radiators just for the extra piece of mind. Besides, if it is overheating with the four row, you know it's time to find out why.

Had heard a rumor that they were selling some of their body molds, didn't know the whole she-bang was up for sale.:tapemouth