steve91tt

The differential isn't too bad. I drove the car home...just a thud now and again. The track mechanic put it up on the lift and checked it out. He thought it was a 50/50 shot whether or not I'd be going home on the back of a tow truck if I tracked the car again. So I called my wife and she brought out my G37s to finish the day. Didn't even miss a lap. Here is the last lap I did in the Z. You can hear the diff banging on the transitions. <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/yGzsrbZkmI4" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe> The G37 was a very different experience. On paper it has better brakes, suspension, power and tires but I prefer driving the Z. The G feels sterile and the Z feels raw. Raw is more fun. Here is a lap in the G. <iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="480" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/0JSUeGgeQeo" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe> Overall a great experience. I learned a bunch about the car and my abilities (or lack there of). I'll be doing it again in April if anyone wants to join! http://www.thedriversedge.net/02_tracks.htm Doing some reading on diff options now. Any suggestions are very welcome.

Believe or not someone I just met is letting me take his gt3 out on the track! I love car guys.

Diff is toast. Noooooooo

Just finished my first session. The car developed a thud with throttle transition. On the lift now. Fingers crossed.

I'm surprised at just how well adapted for the track these cars are. Even on a higher speed track like this one. I am in fourth gear in all but three corners where I down shift to 3rd and the car just seems to want more. Very cool.

My wife happened to have a roll and I just got finished installing it in the car. Feels like it should help some.

Thanks for the tip. I see if I can round up some anti-butt-slip mat before tomorrow's session.

I just got back from the first day of a Driver Edge track even at Texas MSR http://www.thedriversedge.net/ http://www.msrhouston.com/msrhouston/trackmap.asp I have never been near a track of any kind before so encountered quite a steep learning cure for the first couple of runs but by the third and fourth 25 minute session things were starting to make a little more sense. Before going into it I was quite worried that my 240Z could not cope but I'm very happy to say that my little car felt quite at home on the track. My run group included a GT3, GTR, 2 race preped mini's, several lotuses (loti?) and more corvettes than I could count. However, I did not feel any lack of power, braking or handling. I was definitely out driven at times (spun off once but definitely not the car's fault). It was clear that the ability of the car was higher than my ability to drive it. By the last run, I was able to keep up with most of the cars and even passed a race prepped mini, 370Z and a C6 corvette. I got passed more than I passed but it definitely felt good to get waived by newer, more powerful cars. The only modification I would make before going back to the track would be to improve the seat. I was sliding all over the place and with a helmet I had to recline the seat to quite an awkward angle in order to keep my head off of the roof. I can see the appeal of racing seats and harnesses now. It was interesting that people would regularly walk past the high dollar cars to come and tell me how much they love the old Z's. Eveyone seemed to have a story about how they either owned a Z or knew someone that owned a Z. I guess the old girl still has some sex appeal. I have lots of in car video to look through but if all goes well I post a video after tomorrow's event.

All engines produce some blow by (exhaust at the PCV). That's why we need crank case ventilation. How much exhaust are you seeing and under what conditions? In the end, as ajmcforester said a compression or leak down test will tell you if your rings are bad.

I absolutely agree. Painting over rust is a risky thing. I was an industrial epoxy coating formulator for 15 years. I've seen how rust can reappear if you don't take care of it. Thanks!

I wish they would have mentioned it to me.

I had my front and rear bumper done by Denver bumper last year. I loved the results but I have to say that the back of the bumpers are now rusting badly. :disappoin This surprises me as the backs did not look like bare steel but I guess whatever they put on the back was not good enough to keep rust out. I plan to take them off and POR 15 the backs next weekend.

Sounds good. Let us know how it holds up.

What brand of gasket did you use? Did you use any RTV or did you put it on dry? My pan is wet around the edges again. Not bad but it looks like I have to do my oil pan again some time in the future.

Are you trying to remove the cap from the distributor, distributor from the mount or mount and distributor from the timing cover?

Is a lead additive necessary? I've read mixed opinions on this. I don't use one.

I daily drive my 240z. Great little car for commuting. The only time i leave the z in the garage is for longer trips or if i have more than 1 passenger. My last project was a 91 turbo 300zx. Compared to that These cars are a dream to work on and parts are super cheap. Sounds like you have more than enough mechanical skill to work on these simple little cars. Good luck with the search!

Last weekend, I rolled up a piece of nylon window screen, folded it in two and shoved it in the vent tube. This seems to have done the trick as I now have a bone dry diff cover. I think the wadded up screen allows air to move in and out of the diff due to heating/cooling cycle but provides lots of surface area for a mist of gear oil to deposit. The gear oil droplets can then flow back into the diff. Anyways, whatever the reason, the little wadded up screen seems to be keeping my rear end clean.:laugh:

Welcome from another Houstonian. If there is anything I can do to help get the old girl back up to tip top shape just let me know.

Noooooooooooo!

It's boxed up and will ship this afternoon. I'm looking forward to hearing the results of the autopsy. If it turns out to be something stupid that I should have done or not done...I tried my best.:paranoid:

Incredible deal! Part ordered. Thanks.

$40? I thought that this was the part that I needed ($185) http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/SEIC06A/12-4201

My new front carb came from ZTherapy last night! They even included a set of new gaskets and a return shipping label for my old carb. Very nice. It installed and tuned very easily. The car runs great and seems to need much less choke in the morning. I have noticed that this winter I seem to be using way more choke than I did last year. For this first 10 miles or so in the morning I have gotten in the habit of pushing in the clutch at intersections, if the RPM's drop below 200 then I give it some choke to keep the car running. Once the car is moving I cut the choke and repeat at the next red light until it's warmed up enough to keep going on it's own. This has been taking about 10 minutes of driving on cold mornings (<45F) With the new front carb this morning was entirely different. I started the car with choke and let it idle for 30 seconds or so (ambient of 35F). I then turned the choke off and it ran perfectly all the way to work! No more red light choke or die dance! I'm not sure what was wrong with the front carb or whether I have the new setup tuned slightly differently but the car is definitely happier in the morning. If the slide sticking issue is gone as well I will be one happy camper!:classic:

I'm am definitely having electrical issues with the switch. I need to wiggle it to get the heater fan to come on and sometimes when I wiggle it the car shuts off. I was hoping to rebuild my switch and avoid buying a new one as they are quite spendy. I'll try taking the unit apart this weekend to clean and lube as best I can. Thanks for the feedback guys!