Healeyalt

I've got a 76 2+2 and I'm wondering about greasing the universals on the drive shafts; there aren't any zerk fittings, but it looks like there are some screws; do I remove the screw and put a zerk fitting on to get grease in the universal and then put the screw back? If so, anyone remember what size metric zerk? Thanks Gary

A couple of years ago I purchased a california 76 2+2 with a 5 speed trany. From what I've read, the 76 never came with a 5 speed so a previuos owner must have put one in from either a 240Z or a 280ZX. I'd like to know what year vehicle the trany came from, but I can't seem to find any numbers or codes on the trany itself, however, the top flange on the bell housing has the numbers; 7310524 Can anyone tell me if that number has any meaning with regards to ID'ing the trany? Thanks Gary

Thanks guys. Lots of good points. I already had the heat shields sand blasted and so I guess I'll paint them with some of that high temp paint and then back they'll go. To keep things above the shield as cool as possible, I might even buy some of this heat reflective sheeting from Advanced Auto to stick to the under side; cooler intake = denser air charge = more power. Design Engineering Reflect-A-Cool - Heat Reflective Tape 12" x 24" 010461: Buy best Exhaust Heat Shields & Wraps at Advance Auto Parts

I just replaced the head gasket on my FI 1976 and now I'm putting things back together. I'm wondering, if I go with the MSA ceramic headers, which supposedly decreases radiant heat by 40%, do I still need to put that ugly heat shield back under the intake manifold? To me, part of the attraction of headers besides flowing better and being lighter than the cast iron manifold, is they look nice, but with the stock heat shields, you can't see much of them. Thanks Gary

That's a better idea, I do have it safely supported on jack stands so I could easily lower the front some vs messing with the block's drain plug. When I tried taking that tube off that runs from the exhaust manifold to the bottom of the intake manifold for the EGR, the bolt on the manifold end of the tube twisted off. Oh well, I'll just plug it, I didn't want that EGR on it anyways, pumping hot burnt exhaust gas back into my intake manifold (yes I know it is illegal to mess with emissions). This is such an occassional runner, I won't be contributing much to global warming and there aren't any smog tests in my area.

Namerow, thanks for the additonal info. Another question I have is whether I have to take the coolant drain plug out of the side of the engine block or is pulling the plug on the bottom of the radiator going to be good enough to lower the coolant level below the head-to-block surface. That drain plug on the side of the engine has been in there almost 40 years and I hate to break, crack, or strip something!

I did remove the heat shield for a better view and it does appear to be leaking along the head gasket beneth the manifolds. I'll start with a 3/4" thick wedge the same dimensions as given in the sm and trim it down a little at a time if too tight. I do plan on doing things little by little, kind of one step at a time, looking things over good before I proceed. Last night I was able to loosen all the nuts on the intake and exhaust manifold. Because this was a southern California car, there isn't any rust and everything unbolts fairly easy. The block still has the original blue paint on it, although really faded, but there isn't any rust around the freeze plugs. After I remove the mainfolds I'll certainly look things over better before moving on to head removal. Thanks Gary

Actually Zed Head, I dread the thought of having to pull the head. But I looked and looked and can't see where else the leak is coming from. I even pulled the thermostat housing from the cylinder head and cleaned it all up and remounted. I did check those hoses that run to the intake manifold and did replace one of them that was getting bad. The antifreeze seems to be seeping from around the middle of the engine below the exhaust manifold. Since the engine did seem to run fine, I'm hoping the gasket is just leaking to the outside. I'm really hoping I don't have a cracked cylinder head. Last Fall before putting it in storage, I did bottom out the exhaust on a bump. Has anyone ever heard of hitting the exhaust hard enough to crack a cylinder head? I never had a chance to test the compression and now that's its been below zero day after day, it'd be kind of hard to start it and warm it up to do a compression test.

I seem to have antifreeze leaking down the driver side of the engine under the exhaust. I was hoping it was coming from the thermostat housing and running back down along the side of the engine, but that doesn't seem to be the case. So I guess it is time to pull the head and see what is going on inside and I have a few questions for any of you who might have done this before on a 76 FI engine. BTW, there isn't any oil in the antifreeze and no antifreeze in the oil, so I'm hoping it is just a leak to the outside. Can I unbolt the intake manifold and then the exhaust manifold and just pivot them away from the head (after loosing the exhaust hangers, etc) instead of disconnecting all the fuel injectors and other FI hardware? Regarding the dimensions/shape of that block of wood to wedge the timimg chain with; from the Service Manual -- 9.1" L x 1.57" W x doesn't say how thick from Haynes Manual -- 10" L x 1.5" W x 3/4" thick from Tom Monroe's book -- 7" L x 1" W x 1/2" thick (but his eg was on an L16 engine) So which is it? Does anyone have a web site or post with a pic that can be printed, cut out, and traced? Then regarding the head gasket, do most of you use the Felpro or go with the more expensive Beck/Arnley for example? Which wouldn't need gasket sealer? Anyhow, any advice or words of wisdom are greatly apprciated. Thanks Gary

I cleaned them up and they seem to be working OK, but the rubber seal around both of them shot. Anyone know where to get replacement rubber seals for these? I can find where they sell the switches, but not the rubber seals. This is on my 76 2+2. Gary

I should have also mentioned that over the past two years that I've had this car I have ordered lots of parts from MSA and Black Dragon. I just thought I'd try something different and try to save a little money thru RockAuto. Gary

Blue, slick tool. And I have noted your quote before, "There is scarcely anything in the world that some man cannot make a little worse, and sell a little more cheaply. The person who buys on price alone is this man's lawful prey." The old "buyer beware". It is interesting tho that RockAuto had flagged these parts as being "most popular", kind of reassurring me they must be a safe purchase.

I mentioned in another recent post that I'm "freshing-up" the front suspension on my 76 with new bushings, etc. Like most everyone else, I'm kind of shopping around to get the best deal. It seems RockAuto has the best price on many items like rack and pinion bellows, control arm bushings, etc. So tonight my new rack and pinion bellows arrive, Raybestos SPR 4301010B. The problem is that the large end is significantly too big so that there is no way I can get a snug fit. They supply one of those slip ties but there is no way it will snug it up. Obviously, having well fitting/sealed ones to keep water and dust out is rather important. Anyone know where I can get better fitting R/P bellows without paying a fortune? I also got some new control arm bushings tonight, Raybestos SPR 5651052. I haven't pressed them in yet, but when I put the bolt thru them, its sloppy, not a snug fit like the original. I'm not sure if that will make a difference or not? Anyway, this is kind of disappointing to say the least and I guess at this point I'd not recommend these brand of parts to anyone. The other parts I have coming are MOOG parts and hope they fit better than Raybestos. Gary

Well over the weekend I did check the gland nut with a magnet and it did stick so its metal and not the original aluminum. I tried to unsrcrew the gland nut with a pipe wrench which is the only wrench I have which is large enough but it wouldn't budge, it's really on tight, and I stopped trying before I "Mar" something up. I guess I'll just put it all back togther with the new bushing, ball joints, tie rods ends, etc. and try it with the current shocks on it before I spend the time/money trying to get that gland nut off to check &/or install new shocks. Gary

Thanks for letting me know "nothing will pop out or get displaced" if I remove the gland nut. That being the case, you are right, when I get home tonight I might as well take a look.

I'm refreshing the suspension on my 76. I have no history regrading the car's maintenance. Without taking the shock (strut) apart (gland packing nut, etc), how can I tell if they are the originals and still OK? For example, when I push the piston in, I get a smooth steady resistance and the same when I pull it back out. They feel like they would be oil filled -- when I push them in, they stay there. I've haven't driven the car on the street yet, but before I took the suspension apart, when I pushed down on the car and then let go, it didn't continue to bounce. If this sounds normal for these cars, I plan on just replacing the ball joints and bushings for now and leave the shocks and springs as is. As long as I have everything apart, some might say replace the shocks also, but like most I'm trying to do this on a limited budget and also, I am so impressed at how easy these cars are to take apart and put back togther. So if later on I have to pull it apart again to redo the struts, I guess its not that big of deal vs spending a couple extra hundred dollar unneccessarily. Gary

Hi Zed Head, I haven't pulled the rack out of the car because the mounting bushings still looks good. I'm not sure if I can easily take that apart and get it back together with it in the car. I'll have to look it over better. I wanted to mention to Dave (off topic), I see you are a member of the Windy City Z Club. I just recently came across the club web site. I'm about 300 miles North of Chicago. I'm hoping to have my car together by Spring so I can consider attending some of the club events. I used to work on/own kit cars and never felt like I belonged.... Now I feel as though I could belong to a legitimate club! Gary

As mentined by Jim Arnette, grease fittings must have changed by the 1976 model year. I'll probably have to do as Siteunseen did and use a paint stick or similar to pack grease in the teeth, etc, hoping this will be adequate before I slap new boots on to seal it up.

I don't see any grease fittings or plugs for grease fittings on the rack and pinion on my 76. I bought this car about 2 years ago and the boots (bellows) were falling apart so I finally got around to getting everything cleaned up. There didn't seem to be any "grittiness" to it and it seems to turn easy and smoothly so I'm hoping everything is still OK. As far as greasing, Do I just turn the steering as far as possible in one direction and coat the rack with grease then turn it in the other direction and do the same? Thanks Gary

I'm a real fan of 3M products. I've used their spray adhesive for headliner installation, their car polish/wax, etc. I'll have to get some of the 8119 weather strip adhesive. Thanks

Hi Fred, this will be a fair weather, summer only car. And the garage I store it in for the winter is heated, The adhesive-sealer I plan on using is supposedly non-shrinking over a large range of temps. So I'm thinking I should be good to go with this approach, but, as ususal, I'm not sure of anything.

With much effort and patients, I was able to work the lower outside corners outwards just enough so that the lip barely covers the gap (Jim was correct that it won't stretch and hr369 was correct that pushing downwards helps). Now I'm thinking that if I flow or flood some seam sealant under the corners to fill the void the lip should stay positioned enough not to roll back under itself exposing the gap. Thanks again for you help. Gary.

Jim, that's a bummer, but atleast I guess I'm glad to hear others have also had the same problem and it's just not me. I'll have to think things over a little bit more before I pull it all out again and order a new OEM weather stripping.

Thanks guys, I thought the windshields were the same. I got the windshield in place with no problems and even got the stainless steel trim mounted OK. But were I'm having a problem is that there is a gap along the lower outside corners on both sides which the outer lip of the weather strip doesn't quite want to cover. I was wondering if anyone else had this problem and how they may have fixed it.

I've got a 76 2+2. Is the windshield the same for the coupe as the 2+2? The windshield they sent me says it is for the coupe, but I'm thinking they are the same. Second question; After installing the new windshield I'm having trouble getting the lower outside corners of the weather strip lip to cover the body flange. The weather stripping I'm using came new from The Z Store (It is the 2+2 weather stripping). Any tricks or suggestions on how to get it to "stretch" enough for the lip to cover that gap? I'd hate to just gob-it-up with a caulking. Thanks Gary