Marty Rogan

Well, I had a chance to look into this a little further on the weekend. I cut open the second fuel filter. I did find some chunks of rust. So, I guess there is rust in there that I couldn't see when I had the tank down last summer. I also took out and cleaned the bango fitting screens. Those did not look too bad at all. I think Ihave heard of people removing those. Not sure if that's a good idea. Afterall, is Nissan put them there, they must have had a good reason. I got a quote from a local radiator shop. They will boil it out, acid etch the interior and seal it with a product called "Red Coat Liner". Comes with a 3 year warranty on the liner. Cost $100-175 depending how bad the rust is. Another $70-80 for the installation labor. About $250 total, which doesn't seem too bad. I may do the install myself if I can find the time. Anybody ever hear of this product? I sure hope this ends this long and annoying problem! Thanks for all your input. I'll let you know if this does the trick. Marty

Sean, That's another good thought. I'll have to see if the exhaust manifold is leaking. It's all stock, so no headers to add extra heat. But if there is a leak, it could cause a hot spot near the carbs. Marty

I have recently replaced all of the fuel hoses, so there should be no clogging or kinking. I did not change any of the metal fuel lines. Have not touched the fuel bowls, needles or jets yet. I am only running the stock mech fuel pump, which I replaced with a new one when I bought the car just shy of 2 years and 5,000 miles ago. The tank looked clean when I replaced all of the fuel hoses back there. Is it possible that removing some of the vent lines have caused this? The Z was set up without all the extra vent likes for other countries, and I have not heard of them having problems like this. The track days I have been running this year have been pretty hot, around 90+. Track conditions do raise the under hood temps. But I also had this problem in October. On the other hand, driving it to work should not have raised the temps that much, and it was maybe in the 80's in the morning. ARRRRRRGH!!! This is really getting on my nerves! Anybody have other ideas? Marty

Ok, Thanks for the response. Marty

Do you have any pictures of this set up? What is holding up the fuel line going into the SU's? thanks, Marty

I am reviving my own old thread since the problem has not gone away, and in fact is getting worse!!!! Here are some details on the car and what has been done to it for a baseline. Car is an early '71, blt 1/71. The engine is the stock L24 with 78K original miles MSD coil and Pertronix installed Carbs were rebuilt by PO 10-15K miles ago (several years ago though) Eliminated the excess vent hoses in fuel tank, connected like non-U.S. spec cars. Under normal driving conditions it runs fine. It also starts easily and idles smoothly. The last track day the car ran good in the first session or two. The problem started showing up again, so I filled the tank, thinking that would solve the problem. It didn't. Now it starts bogging down badly any time it is under hard acceleration, even on the straights. After the track day, I changed the fuel filter. On cutting it open, I found a fair amount of crud in the screen at the top. Took it out and terrorized a local clover-leaf on the express way at about 55 mph several times and it had no problems at all. I thought that had solved the problem. I drove it to work yesterday, and one hard acceleration off an entrance ramp set it off. It lost power and started making a droning sound. Once I backed off a while it drove fine again. I have been thinking it may be a vapor lock problem? Would that explain why it only acts up under a heavy load? The early 71's really aren't known to have that problem though, like the 73 & 74's. What do you guys think? Marty

Here are a few thoughts on things to check out: 1) Make sure the Master Cylinder is competely bled. 2) If the MC has been replaced, make sure the reaction disk behind the MC push rod, inside the booster has not fallen inside the booster. 3) Make sure the calipers are installed on the correct sides. If the bleeder valve is on the bottom, you will never get the brakes bled completely. 4) Replace the rubber hoses at the front with braided hoses. It will give better feel to the brakes (takes out spongyness). 5) If in fact you are going to replace the calipers, I would replace them with the 4 piston type. Be prepared though, from my experieince with these, they are even harder to bleed correctly. They may not fit under your wheels either. Good luck, Marty

You will never have a better time to change the seals. As long as the engine is out, change ALL of the seals. That's what I did. Should be good for another 30 years. Marty

As stated before, they are black. Marty

To tell you the truth, when I put in the Centerforce II, it did not look much different than the 240Z clutch that I took out. I did not measure it, but it could be slightly thinner. You asked for someone to speek up who had actually DONE this, instead of what they THINK should be done. I just did it, and it works. In my mind there is no confusion. I followed the advice of our fellow experts here and bought all matching components for the tranny that I was putting in, which is a '78 5 spd. I bought a CF II, clutch slave (auto adjust), T/O beraing collar and fork for a '78 5 spd. Like Carl said above, MSA notifies you to buy a 280Z collar when buying a CF II. And yes, the 280Z collar is definitely THICKER (longer). I put it all in, and after a little tinkering with the pedal adjustment at the MC, it works flawlessly. I would also recommend that you replace the clutch hose with a stainless steel one from MSA; Earl's hoses, about $15. Also, put in a Speed Bleeder on the slave, to aid in bleeding; http://www.speedbleeder.com/. I believe its the SB7100S, but I could confirm it tonight if you want. I would also recommend using a brand new Nissan T/O bearing. The only real difference in the clutch fork is that the early ones have a hole in it to accept the rod for an adjustable slave. Later ones have a dipple in it where the later, self adjustable rod connects to the fork. You can use either fork/slave matched set, but why bother with the hassle of having to adjust the clutch??? Let us know hwat you find out on the measurement. You have got me curious now. good luck, Marty

ZSaint, I just put a '78 5 spd and Centerforce II clutch in my 71 last weekend. The Centerforce needs the 280Z collar, which is the LONGER one. I also used the 280 clutch fork, so I could use an automatically adjusting slave. Marty

Rick, I recently completed a complete rebuild on the suspension on my '71. I did the same to my '70 2 years ago. In both cases, I used "Moog" brand ball joints and tie rod ends. They are very high quality parts and at least half the price of Nissan parts. I got mine at CarQuest. Don't know if they are in your area. Call around, you should be able to find them. Don't use anything made in Taiwan. Good luck. Marty

Very cool! Looks like a great Magazine. Is it available at any news stand or only by subscription? Marty

Your best bet is buy the Club's PArts CD and buy them direct from a Nissan Dealer, or Courtesy Nissan: http://www.courtesynissan.com/en_US/HomePage_1.chtml As long as the engine is out, you should also replace the tranny pilot bushing. It's also a good time to get there and scrub out and fix anything in the engine bay that needs attention. Marty

Ok, thanks! I think I have got it now. Marty

Thanks for the response Victor. Is that 2MM between the adusting nut and the fork, when the fork won't move anymore? I guess I am getting confused as to which direction to move the fork in to get the TO bearing up agains the PP fingers. Is it toward, or away from the engine? Marty

I have a track date on Saturday. My clutch seemed to be loosing some grip at about 5,800 RPM. I would like it to hold a little longer than that at the track. This is a stock trans, and gine, build date 1/71, so it has the adjustable slave. So, I got out the FSM and Haynes. Their descriptions leave a lot to be desired. Something like, back off the locking nut (pretty straight forward). Adjust the adjusting nut until the fork just stops moving (which way do you turn it, doesn't say; which way is the fork supposed to move, toward or away from the engine?). Then back off 1.5 turns and re-tighten locking nut. After I tried to follow the directions, now I am starting to lose grip at 4,800 - 5,000. I have adjusted it back and forth about 10 times and it hasn't got any better. At this point, I would be happy to get it back where I started. The TO bearing seems to be making some noise now too. I don't think its bad, because it was replaced last year. Can someone explain in detail how to get the proper adjustment? I tried a search, but it didn't reveal a good step-by-step procedure. I need to get a base-line to start from and adjust from there. I only have tonight to get this right and I am off to the track at 5:00 am. TIA, Marty

First of all, make sure that rod is adjusted properly. Second, I would re-bleed the master on the car, then RR, LR, RF AND LF. If that still does not do it, try this: Start with the RF caliper, take out the outer brake pad, open the bleeder and carefully push in the piston with a pair of channel locks or pliers that will reach in there. I put rubber grippers over the pliers so that I don't scratch the pistons. Step on the pedal to push the piston out again. Push it back in. Do that a few times. Replace the outer pad, and remove the inner pad. Repeat the procedure, then replace both pads. Move over to the driver's side and repeat. I had one hell of a time bleeding my brakes after I installed the Toyota conversion. This procedure was the only way I could get all of the air out. Good luck! Marty

Hey TexasZ, Thanks for the tip on MSA. I placed an order with them. FedEx 2 day was only $13, not too bad. Marty

Thanks. How much are they at MSA? My only worry, is that I won't get them in time to get them installed by Saturday. Of course I guess I could pay through the nose for overnight delivery. Marty

Cr#%!! I can't seem to locate Spicer U-joints locally. Everybody seems to have Precision Brand, or I can get Beck Arnley. Anybody have experience with those brands? Otherwise, I guess I will go with Nissan. I need to get them in a hurry, since I have a track day on Saturday. TIA, Marty

I grabbed the half shaft and turned it back and forth. It moves about 1/16". There is an audible noise, before the wheels start to move. So, it looks like it is shot. So there are 2 u-joints on each half shaft, right? I am going to locate some Spicers. I have heard lots of good things about them. Marty

I finished up the suspension rebuild on my '71. Put in PU bushings, new MSA springs and Illuminas. Now that its all back together, I have a clunk coming from the driver's side rear. The clunk wasn't there before the rebuild. I thought something may not have been tightened down, so I went over everything again. Its all tight. While under there I grabbed the half shaft and twisted it. I get about 1/16 of an inch slack and it does make some noise when I move it. Is any slack acceptable in the half shaft u-joints, or should I just repalce it? TIA, Marty