Zed Head

It doesn't stay there. That's my point. There's nothing holding it there, by design. If you fix the problem and restore the proper pressure to the other side of the switch, the switch moves back to its proper centered position. Like Nissan says.

It might be that the early switches just got gummed up and stuck. But it doesn't seem to be a factory described reset procedure. Short version...

I'm not an expert n the area, just regurgitating knowledge I've consumed, and adding some basics to it. The cam lobe is the area that almost always has wear problems, not the lash pads. Wait a while and you'll probably get some more experienced views. Doesn't seem like you have a major problem though, just minor details to correct.

I think that this might be an urban legend. Maybe country too. Just saying, the later FSM's say otherwise and I had the issue on my 76 and it reset just fine. On top of that, add that it doesn't really make sense to have to reset the switch, since it moves by pressure differential, and it would be surprising if they didn't include this piece of knowledge in the FSM, since they talk about all of the other details. I haven't seen a case where anybody actually had to reset the switch. I think that the light just goes out when you fix the pressure differential. And, to keep piling on, the FSM does say explicitly that the switch should not be disassembled, but replaced. Beside that, I don't see that the brake light is staying on in this case, which is the real clue. You can also check continuity at the switch itself if you're not sure about the wiring. Anyway, just one of those things that bug me. Carry on.

@Matthew Abate lives in New Jersey.

A plausible story might be that the PO installed a set of rebuilt rocker arms, didn't inspect them closely, and missed #8. Or got in a bind and decided to use it anyway. And didn't properly tighten the bolts. I can't see how you get a groove like that on #8 except during regrinding of the pad surface. If the cam lobe had worn out there might be a groove closer to the end, but not where that one is. If the others are all good you'd probably be okay just replacing the bad parts.

I thought that the "hard pedal" or abrupt brake actuation was almost always the reaction disc in the brake booster. I've seen people talk about resetting those switches but I think that the FSM describes that they automatically recenter when the pressure differential problem is removed. In the later FSM's anyway. They don't mention any need to replace it in 1972. Some people think that they divert pressure to the working half of the system but I don't think so. The master cylinder's serial piston setup will still pressurize just with more travel, I think. But if you have a hard high pedal that would mean both front and back are getting pressure. p.s. I think that you're blending up your terms and words. There's a switch, which you show, and distribution fitting (3 way connector), and a proportioning valve.

I meant that the OP should show the back of his. I've never seen one of yours on an AFM. I think it might be a hardware store replacement. I think that the rubber corks are stock, although many AFM's are sealed with clear hard sealant. Who knows.

That's a good one. Show the back of the piece. Is there a hole that fits over a nut or stud? The AFM plug is solid.

Looks like the rubber plug for the AFM's idle air bypass adjustment screw hole. On the lower right corner of the side of the AFM, by the black cover. Tends to pop out and fly away when removing.

Are you going to see if you can split the two parts of bad 3rd gear apart? I'd like to see how they're put together. Could be that whatever caused your 3rd gear to start coming part also bent it a bit. Maybe bent the shaft a bit also. I hit a curb in a four wheel drive Pathfinder hard enough to bend the bearing cage around the outer front wheel bearings. Took me forever to figure out why the front wheel would whine after driving some curvy roads. I replaced only the inner race and bearings, in the old outer race and got another 100,000 out of it with no noise. My point is that big chunky metal pieces will bend if you put enough force on them It's surprising.

Which set of parts did you end up with? You had a clicking noise and reinstalled some old parts to see if it would go away. Just curious, to fill out the story. Once you get off of that sand bar you might wish you had the 3.9 diff installed. It wouldn't be a huge difference, just a little less finesse required when starting from a stop on a hill, and a bit less wear on the clutch. I noticed it, here in the hills of the Portland metro area.

The story behind the two VINs makes the car more interesting, to me anyway. I'd try to flesh that out. Ten years from now it will be even more like a pile of parts, instead of an interesting car. An old all-original one-owner well-documented 240Z is neat, but there's really not much excitement to it. Not a whole lot to chew on, mentally. I'd spend more time at the car with a story, at the car show, than at the all-original car. But that's just me, one of many different types of aficionado. The basic question here, is what really makes a car a car? The point of my rhetorical question. Which has many answers, depending on which type you are.

You're welkome.

Nissan called it a shim.

You got clips. They're on the outside of the backing plate. They slide off. They tend to get dirty and stuck. Good luck.

Considering how many parts can get replaced during a restoration, it seems kind of limiting to make a small piece of firewall metal so important. If a person cuts that rectangle of metal out of a car and installs it in another car, which car is the legitimate one?

Some years have a bolt. And some years have a clip. Whichever you have, the bolt or clip will need to be removed first. The FSM will have drawings.

It would be more attractive if the second owner was selling it, with an honest story to tell. It's kind of contaminated now.

I think that, maybe, one reason mj87 is nervous is because he might lose the car if he digs too deep. If it is has been falsely titled in the past and the efforts to get it titled show that, he might be holding stolen property. So, really, no offense, it's kind of a moral dilemma - know the truth or hang on to what might actually be someone else's car. Probably better for peace of mind to just try to get the proper VIN on the proper title. It's most likely just a lost or reconstructed title in the past. You could probably do another lost title process and get it all squared away. It's the people at the DMV in your state that will know. Not the two people you've talked to so far.

Where's Carl Beck? @Carl Beck http://zhome.com/Racing/OMSDuplicates.htm He can't be 18,000 years in to the future.

Don't assume that all of the hacks are from the PO. Nissan's splices from back then look like hacks. Crimped splices covered with just black tape. Read the FSM sections to learn how the circuits work. The combination switch is not involved with the brake lights, for example. Post the year of your car in future posts. Looks like 71, I'm guessing. The hazard switch is often a source of lighting problems too. http://www.classiczcars.com/files/category/11-240z/

Just realized that this doesn't fit my "ball bearing basics" criteria, using the old bearing's inner race. The old bearing will have wear that allows the inner race to move away from the plane of the outer race. A flat piece of bar stock or the end of a steel straight edge in the hole would work though, after the old bearing is removed.

You know you've been in Z car world for a long time when you can easily use "distance piece" in a sentence without pause. That's a good discussion winner there zKars. I still like my "basics of ball bearings" approach though.

I had a VG30E in a Pathfinder so I've seen the plug problem. Pretty sure I felt a few grains of grit under the seat when I changed them. Luckily, the ignition and engine control systems on those engines are so good you can get about 50,000 miles from a set of plugs. Pretty sure I got over 100,000 out of a set. Not quite right, but it was just an SUV daily driver. Had 260,000 and still running great when I sold it. I was thinking here, like it hit the socket once -