Zed Head

I just went out and stuck a tape measure in to mine and I can get the end to hook on the groove right where the groove should be to match the axle groove. You have a weird puzzle there. Edit - I see your diff picture in Post #1. An R200. I don't think it's a VLSD either because those have two sets of splines on one side, where the viscous coupling unit is.

When my 76 module was going bad the tachometer would show about 50% more RPM than actual. I'd guess this might trigger the injectors 50% more as a result. Just a thought on why the flooding might be happening. I didn't notice flooding on mine, but mine would only fail after about 3000 RPM, then it would keep working but with a bunch of extra sparks. Keep an eye on the tachometer while test-driving. It's typical for them to fail, then start working again after a cool-down. We have several threads about replacing the OE module with a GM HEI module, and a nice writeup in the Downloads area.. 1978 is good for it since there's only one electronic pickup in the distributor and circuit in the module. It's a cheap fix, almost worth doing just as a test and to be ready for eventual failure.

My point was that if the engine is turning over and the key is still on then you should still see the tachometer showing RPM. It's a spark counter. If the tach goes to zero and the engine is still rotating because the car is moving and it's in gear, then there's no spark. In short, if you're driving down the road and the the engine loses power with the tach going immediately to zero then you probably have either an ignition module problem or an ignition system power problem.

Here the back of an R200. That rectangular chunk of metal under the drain hole is how I ID them. The R180 doesn't have it.

Not the greatest picture but you can see the clip hanging in the grove, and that there is only about 1/8 to 1/4" of splne after the groove. And no holes n the center piece. Also a good picture of an R200. Take a picture of the back of your diff and post it.

I got some pictures, which I'll add to the next post. But, in looking at your diff I wonder if it's not an R180 that's made for bolt in half-shafts. Those holes might be threaded and made for bolts.

I have an open diff sitting out that I can pull the axles from and get some pictures. Might take a little while though.

Maybe you don't have a Nissan CLSD. I can't remember if the VLSD has the grooves in the same spot as the other diffs. I know that it has a longer axle but don't remember where the grooves are. What do your measurements show?

Was the transmission still in gear and the engine still turning over while the tach was at zero? Could be that you have an ignition module problem.

The groove in the diff is a slot in the splines. I found when I was messing around with diffs and clips that the clips could be deformed and made too small or too big to work right. They're not spring steel, they're just a bent metal wire. Try expanding the clips, permanent deformation, outside the diff, then compressing them just enough to get them in to place in the internal groove. You might have over-squeezed them when you installed them, so that they're too small to stay in the grooves.

If the groove is damaged and letting the clip slide back inside the diff, you might try doing some work on the tips of the axles so that they slide through the clip easier. File or grind down any concentric machining grooves and grease up the tip so that it slides through instead of pushing the clip out of the groove. Once the tip starts expanding the clip in the groove it should stay there until the axle groove hits and lets it drop in to place.

Yes, the clip is supposed to sit in both grooves at the same time, internal and external. So they need to match, distance-wise.

They look like plain old 280ZXT or 2+2 CV axles. Made for old-style R200 diff. I have a pair in the garage. Could be that your diff internals are damaged. The grooves look a little bit beat up in your pictures. Not sure what the fix is. Stick your tape measure in the holes and match up the groove distances to be sure on the sides.

What part number did you get? Your clip looks like the later style, from what I've seen on a later style diff that I have. Round wire instead of flat meal. You want part #18, I think. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/power-train/differential-gear/r200/18 Wouldn't be surprised either if a parts guy just assumed that they were the same and gave you the later clips.

Did the clunk go away? The bag looks nice but are the bushings black? Are they shiny or dull? How do they feel on your face? Soft and smooth? I digress... Good info on the results, you had the hard polyurethane before? Do you know the brand?

Thanks, I remember that now. Every single post in excruciating order, in to infinity. An endless list of topics is what I long for. Just trying to reformat the world the way that I want it to be....

You should put that in the title of your thread, or at least the text. Save everyone time.

There's a guy who just started a thread about a whole yard full of Z cars that he was helping somebody part out. Many of the pictures showed 4 barrel manifolds. I'd post a link but it's not in the last day's worth of activity and I can't find it. Search around. The title was something like "240Z, 260Z, 280Z parts", or something like that. There were a surprising number of 4 barrels. If we could just get an endless scroll of activity on a page to look through that would be so awesome. So much stuff disappears after a day. The old conversations are the reason people come back.

I don't think that the ignition module actually "flows" much current. It senses voltage but the current flow is probably more like what a capacitor might see, I'd guess.

BAT seems to be the go-to 240Z site these days. Have you been watching there? There's a member here who comments over there and might have made deals. Sccobyroo or scoobydoo or similar (edit - SCRAPPYDO is the guy). Can't remember who he is here. But he probably knows how deals get done over there. Seems reputable. http://bringatrailer.com/search/240z/

Oops. Stepped on Dave's lines... You can get spark testers also. I've never tried one but they make sense. Hard to see the spark sometimes if it's bright out.

That was interesting. I pulled down my 78 parts box and the old switch was right on top (meant to be!). I hooked up some leads so that I could easily turn the key and listen to my meter-beeper (I know CO doesn't like them but mine has a readout to watch also) and found that R had continuity with B right away and to the end of rotation, but S was iffy and seemed to only have one narrow range where it had continuity. Then I remembered that I had pulled it apart in the past when I had a problem with my 76, and had ended up bending the internal actuating rod to make it work right. Testing with the switch pulled apart and turning the electrical portion with a screwdriver showed that both S and R could be over-rated to where they lost continuity. The only thing controlling the total degrees of rotation is the mechanical (key) part of the switch So I'd guess that your new switch is just adjusted to turn the electrical switch too far. Not good news but it can be fixed, if you unstake it and take it apart. You can twist the flat rod with a pair of pliers. But I don't think it's right, it's a flaw in operation. One big "Ah Haa" from back when I used to start the 78 parts car is that now I know why it would start to turn over then let go all of a sudden, leaving the starter spinning loudly. I thought it was a starter problem but now realize that it was just the ignition switch rotating past the contact and losing the S circuit. I spent a lot of time trying to reason that problem out and never really had a good theory. Edit - more interesting stuff. I noticed that the brass male S pin was wobbly on the back of the switch. So I restaked it with a drift pin, put the whole assembly back together, and both S and R worked as expected, full continuity over the full Start rotation. So, check the pins on the back, maybe R is loose and can be reset with a little tap of a hammer.

So, to summarize - within the range of the Start position,which is essentially just off of the Run position, your switch completes the S circuit immediately and holds it, but loses the proper R circuit after a certain amount of rotation. Looks like 1978 still has an R but I can't find a diagram that shows it connected to anything. I'll dig mine out if I get out there.

All of that is correct. The nut is supposed to clamp the insert in to the strut tube. The sleeve keeps the insert centered. Your gland nut does look a little bit deep though. When you tighten it down are you sure that it is actually clamping the top of the insert? It might be bottoming out on the internal threads. Tighten it down with the shock/insert inside then grab the shaft of the shock and see if it can be moved side to side or up and down. You can put a washer on top to get more clamping if it's bottoming out on the internal threads.

Here's something that might be illuminating - what happens to the circuit to the starter solenoid when the power to the R terminal switches? If you don't get power to the starter solenoid then the R terminal is kind of irrelevant. Instead of looking at key position look at solenoid power.