I want a Z

[I'm BLUE]

Give it a break and gather thoughts for next attack :)

 

Worn needle(s) ?

Have you had a chance to checked/set your float height ? ( they are pretty touchy ,,, inspect needle/seat in process )

 

Make sure your choke cable adjustment is completely off on dis-engagement ( I'm sure you have already :) )

[72240z]

Even if the choke cable is full out the nozzle/s could be stuck down. Physically check each at the carb and make sure they are fully raised.

 

Your rich but you cant lean it out at the adjustment screw?

 

Did you actually check the floats? I remember I suggested it early before my lil write up and you skipped right over it. The floats set the range of your adjustment at the screw so if they are off your screwed.

[cdub42]

i spent a good hour adjusting the floats and verifying them with a clear tube. to my understanding i want the fuel level even with the bottom of the bore right?

[72240z]

roughly ya, its like .5cm below but checking with the tube from the bowl is a rough check. Here is a pic.

[cdub42]

That might be the problem right there. I had it set too high. I was setting it aprox 1cm too high. I'm also questioning if my choke is set right. The lever will only come half way back (in the car) and its at the end of the cable on the carbs.

[I'm BLUE]

Good catch 72240z. I was thinking that exact same comment about the choke levers even being semi closed directly at the carb. Not sure why I forgot to write that lol. Thanks for the clarification !

 

Indeed cdub ! That float level will cause a few issues lol. glad ya found. Should be very close to good to go !

 

Discussing alternators ,,, If you go with re-man alternator ( rather than spare ) ,,, drive it close to your home for a bit ,,, as you probably know ,,, a lot of re-man's are = :poop: haha

I've taken some back to the store up to 5 times in a row lol.

usually 2-3 times at most ,,, but ya never know ! lol

I have actually had better luck pulling some off wrecked z's in the junkyard than purchasing remans lol.

But IDK it's really more of an opinion and some experience than anything.

try NAPA !

 

Also an oddball topic. If your starters go bad , and you need to buy one ,,, get a 280zx starter ,,, they are a gear-reduction type starter as opposed to the 240z type starters :)

[72240z]

Ya also to eliminate any choke/nozzle possibilities after the car is warm disconnect the choke and push up on each nozzle making sure they are at full return. Its pretty common that if the return arm on the nozzle isnt set up perfectly the nozzle will bind on return and constantly cause a rich issue. The nozzles in the rebuild kit I suggested from z therapy have a ever so slightly smaller diameter which helps alleviate this issue. I tune without the chokes hooked up at all on SU's but didnt note it in the steps because it seems to be a preference thing.

 

+1 on the gear reduction they are much easier on the bat. I feel like with my high comp l28, triples and no choke a regular starter would be killing me lol.

 

I would take a junk yard nissan alt over a reman any day of the week. A guaranteed piece of shit is still a piece of shit. I take stockers apart and replace the brushes, I forget the part number though. Most alt shops have them on hand.

[I'm BLUE]

Ya also to eliminate any choke/nozzle possibilities after the car is warm disconnect the choke and push up on each nozzle making sure they are at full return. Its pretty common that if the return arm on the nozzle isnt set up perfectly the nozzle will bind on return and constantly cause a rich issue. The nozzles in the rebuild kit I suggested from z therapy have a ever so slightly smaller diameter which helps alleviate this issue. I tune without the chokes hooked up at all on SU's but didnt note it in the steps because it seems to be a preference thing.

 

+1 on the gear reduction they are much easier on the bat. I feel like with my high comp l28, triples and no choke a regular starter would be killing me lol.

 

I would take a junk yard nissan alt over a reman any day of the week. A guaranteed piece of shit is still a piece of shit. I take stockers apart and replace the brushes, I forget the part number though. Most alt shops have them on hand.

 

good stuff ^^ !!agreed What 72240z said lol. :)

 

Speaking of which ,,,

 

I loaned out my zx gear reduction starter to a bud a while ago . He needed a starter as his fell apart and he was low on dough as only car he had working was his s30. I proceeded to pull out the zx starter straight off my s30 and handed it to him . (I would have given him my spare stock 240z one , but I knew it was a bit tired der der haha ). I drove my pickup to work instead for a bit.

 

I knew better than to try this but I took my spare stock 240z starter(tired one I might ad) and installed it in my s30 for temp purposes. At the time I had my old tripples L28 setup (flat-tops f54/p79 ... timing turned up a bit ,, cant remember exactly what the timing was ? ,,, as I messed with it so much back than haha.)

 

The stock 240z starter ,,, SORTA turned it over ok ? ,,, It kinda sounded like this == woo ,,*slight-pause* ,,,, woo *less slight-pause*,,,woooo woooo wooo ,,, ,, vrooom vrooooooom ,,, :rofl: . Had the car not started so quick and ran so well to begin with ,,, the stock 240z starter would have barely or never worked lol.

 

My Brother came over to wrench the next day. He heard me try to start it ,,, he then paused and :lol: and said " uhhhhh ,,, maybe we need to change out your starter ,,, I know you have new battery cables and a fresh battery ! " I chuckled a bit :devil: than told him what cross-eyed deed I did to my s30 temporarily.

 

I was doing repairs/diagnosing on my s30 at the time. Only needed something to start so I could move it around if need be.

Friend gave me back my zx gear reduction starter after a week and a half. I was happier than a pig in shit to have that zx starter back lol

Installed the zx starter back in it's rightful home (my s30) faster than a french canadian can say "oui oui"

 

Thank goodness I can push start the car myself ,,, if need be :lol: :sneaky: ,,, never had to do it though !

 

I had a friend in high-school ,,, push started his car quite a bit ,,, :rofl: it was awesome !

[cdub42]

Good stuff! Imma be taking it back apart after work!

[I'm BLUE]

:thumbup:

[cdub42]

got the carb leaned out and running much better. ended up taking the dampers apart and cleaning them too. my car is a lot more responsive now. it still needs some fine tuning, but its going in the right direction. the auto tranny on the other hand, is getting worse. i think thats where the hesitation is hiding. the TQ converter feels like its shot. every day i drive it brings me another day closer to ripping that bastard out and putting a 5 speed in it. i think I'm gonna wait till it starts raining again since my car doesn't have any of the seals around the doors and hatch. it'll be spending that time in the garage anyways. been doing my research and getting a plan together. i went to go pop the hood on my other Z car yesterday and found that the hood latch is stuck now. can't get the damn thing open!

[San Maru]

If you take the grill out (70-74), you can get to the bolts for the hood at the hood hinges. Loosen them and shove the hood towards the cowl, it may pop open then. You can use masking tape on the back edge of the hood to protect paint. A malaligned hood or loose bolts at the latch, catch, hinges, or hood can cause that among other things like cable failure, corrosion etc. If that doesnt work just unbolt the hood altogether.

[cdub42]

i took san maru's advice on how to open the stuck hood latch. it helped but the release mechanism was rusted. i ended up crawling under the car and reaching up around the xmsn and grabbing the cable. gave it a few hard yanks and it popped free. off the hood came, and into the shop the car went.

 

this morning bananahamuk and his son showed up to help me with the swap. i was expecting technical advice, perhaps holding my hand while i muddle through the process. not the case. they dove right in there and parts where flying! banana is the man. i was wanting to get step by step pictures of it all, but that didn't happen. i can sum it all up tho.

 

the parts used for the conversion where as follows.

-5 speed from an unknown zx. automatic driveline is the correct length.

-clutch master cyl from a 620

-clutch slave from a 620

-hydraulic line from a manual 240Z, my 240 had all the mounting clips and brackets for it. just needed to change the rubber grommets

-clutch pedal and brake pedal from a manual 240Z, but the ones in my 620 are identicle. i had to change the brake pedal in the auto 240Z cause it was wider than the manual one and there where clearance issues. but my 240Z had all the mounting brackets already for it. i was very happy about that. it was just a matter of swapping the pedals and hooking them up.

 

we pulled the 4 speed out of my parts 240Z to get at the clutch and flywheel which was needed. bananahamuk showed me a neat trick to get the pilot bearing out. he used a clutch alignment tool and packed the bearing full of grease, then smacked it with a hammer and the hydraulic pressure of the clutch tool on the grease popped the pressed in bearing right out. then over to my project 240Z... which i still haven't named.... and pulled the starter out, disconnected the drive line, vacuum line, speedo cable and electricals (reverse light, safety switch, and kick down switch). pulled the bolts out of the bell housing. through an access hole by the starter the 4 flywheel bolts where removed one at a time by turning the engine with a wrench from the front to line up the bolts in the rear, and then the auto xmsn came out. heavy and drippy. at this point we had lunch. came back and threw the flywheel in, the clutch (which i think is the same as the one on my 620's L20B), and mounted up the 5 speed. hooked up the driveline, put the starter back in, then went about hooking up all the clutch parts. the car had the mounts for the master cyl already, just needed to remove the cover plate on the firewall. i went to remove the pedals from the cars and swap them around while banana and his son routed the hydraulic lines. had some issues with the slave cylinder, but i think those where resulting from using donor car parts, if new parts would have been in my budget i think the clutch setup would have been easier. next time around id recommend going that route. took the two wires for the safety switch and connected them together, taped them together and tucked them out of the way. the reverse light wires went to the side of the tranny, and the kick down switch wires are just kinda... there... I'm sure ill think of a clever use for them as they are activated when you mash the gas. flame thrower in the tailpipe? theres a bunch more I'm sure I'm leaving out, and ill be editing and adding stuff..as it comes to mind.

 

A and D I'm grateful for the help, I'm amazed at how fast that went with you guys! i was expecting id be twisting wrenches late into sunday night on this. one day auto to manual conversion. thats gotta be a record somewheres.

[bananahamuck]

We left and got gas at the Arco towards wallmart then headed home lights worked perfect all the way..no flashin or nothing....turned off lights while unloading at garage then ....lights no worky at all.. :lol:

 

 

[cdub42]

We left and got gas at the Arco towards wallmart then headed home lights worked perfect all the way..no flashin or nothing....turned off lights while unloading at garage then ....lights no worky at all.. :lol:

 

 

im glad u made it home!

 

had to read that twice... coffee hasn't hit yet

[bananahamuck]

im glad u made it home!

 

had to read that twice... I was still conditioning my hair.

 

Yeah i figured.

 

 

 

That old truck will make it anywhere, but driving down the road in the dark kicking the fuse box to get lights to come back on ,, is tricky if in heavy traffic.. :lol:

[cdub42]

i did too. after mopping all the oil and grease off the floor with my hear, i had to cut the hair tie out. it was one big matted dreadlock.

[bananahamuck]

I would like to add, that i do really enjoy build threads like this one ,, because you can just read and read and read,, and all those pesky pictures ( everybody else seems to want to post ) don`t get in the way of reading all the words.. :thumbup:

[72240z]

mmmmmm thats good sarcasm lol

[cdub42]

ill be sure to use a more appropriate medium for you next time. lots of big pictures and colorful drawings. no big words.

 

 

 

[bananahamuck]

^^ You mean like the word hair?? :rofl:

 

 

And 72240Z you need to work him over in this thread some more ,cuz he kept mentioning taking off SUs and installing those down drafters ,,even though he has at least 2 full sets of SUs,, linkage and everything still on parts car engine.. Hell the ones on the car now started the engine right up and idled pretty good .I don't know how they perform on the highway but sounded good going through gears up on jacks..

[cdub42]

What's the harm in running the weber DGVs for a while? The worst that'll happen is I don't like em and I swap back. It's all gotta come apart to put the headers on anyways.

 

In related news, the new Xmsn drives great. I was in 4 th gear 55 mph all the way to work turnin barely 2.5 on the tach. Fifth was just a little to low for the pace of traffic. Car is really zippy. I need to adjust the clutch tho. It disengages At the extreme end of the throw. I think a longer rid in the clutch master is needed cause its already at the end of its adjustment

[I'm BLUE]

Dual Weber DGV's work fine to run (when they work right lol ). I've ran them and tuned them. Just make sure the suckers are dipped clean ( if they have been sitting )and jetted alike on the inside :lol: :), Check the accelerator pump diaphram's for rot and power valve's as well.

 

If you have a later zx nissan 5spd ( with a .. 0.74 ratio 5th gear )... and want "in-town" power ( below 55-60 ) ,,, add an R200 3.90 diff from a 280zx 2+2 ,,, and blow people off the line through 3rd :devil: ... of course your gas mileage will go back to where it was .. :lol:

 

Clutch disengaging at the "extreme" end of the the throw hmmmm could be the adjustment at the clutch master .. just spin it down a few turns and count the threads then check again. :)

*** air in system or failing clutch slave cylinder or failing clutch master cylinder. If you haven't replaced or rebuilt one both of these already .. I would strongly advise doing so. Buy Cast-Iron style slave cylinders as well ( Cast Steel ).

[cdub42]

k.. R200 diff is on my shopping list. I'm undecided tho... i spent a lot of time on the interstate. here before too long its gonna be stretching its legs for my weekly 400 mile oregon trips to see my kids. i need to sit and think (and research) the best rear end for what I use the car for. its my fair weather commuter. 20 miles from home to work, with most of it posted 55. i make the trip in fourth gear cause 55 feels just a little too slow for fifth. the motor doesn't seem too happy about it. is it good for the motor to be pushing along at 2 grand at the tach for a half hour every day? then again when I'm on the interstate headed to oregon.. i imagine it will be in the "sweet spot" on the rpm range and scooting along just slightly faster than the pace of traffic. imma see if i can't find a more comprehensive breakdown of rear end gear ratios and what the actually mean for what i need it to do. talking numbers is one thing.. its some how intangible in my head. i like to talk everything through before i make a decision.

 

the webbers are still on the horizon. they are gonna get a rebuild kit before they go anywhere besides on

my work bench

 

the clutch master is out of a 620. its all the way at the end of its adjustment and feels like it needs more. I'm thinking the culprit is a shortened slave cyl rod. I'm gonna see if i got an un molested one laying around i can swap into it. *edit* :poke: nanners :rofl:

[72240z]

I have bee looking for a 3.9 myself but you dont HAVE to go with a r200, especially at the power your likely to be pushing. I believe the 720 came with a 3.9 r180, thats what I'm looking for. That or I'll just cave in on a cheapo obx helical for like 300 lol.