chaseincats

Gotcha. I'll wipe off the red stuff and bend the wiper arm so its touching the coil and not hovering above it - then see if that fixes the accuracy issue. @zKars I'll take the sender out and pop it in a bucket to test the float - I may take you up on that offer depending on what happens - thanks so much for offering

Gotcha. I remember that my wiper arm also has a red liquid between the wiper arm contact (the part of the wiper arm that touches the metal wire winding) and the wire winding. I always assumed that was some sort of lubricant - should that be there or should I wipe it off?

Anyone? Also - on the sender unit, is the wiper arm supposed to contact the the wound wire or just hover above it?

So as soon as I bought the float (but haven't installed yet), the possible real problem reared its head. My gas gauge needle now bounces around and sometimes the gauge will just plain die - the needle will fall as fast as if I shut the car off then pop right back up a few seconds later. I've checked the gauge & fuel sending unit connectors before but don't remember seeing any corrosion at all. Is the ground for the gauge/sending unit hidden somewhere else in the car or is there something else you guys recommend I check? Here's a brief video of the needle slightly bouncing around: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MJjEKJtesk&feature=youtu.be Any ideas? -chase

Awesome, I'll give this a shot. Thanks!

Ya exactly haha. Do they sell the floats anywhere or do you know what they are made of?

I'd really not like to change any of the calibration. Are replacement floats (or substitutes) not available? I was thinking about replacing the float with some Styrofoam but I'm guessing the gas will eat that up, right?

Sorry, yes I meant moving the arm up and down while watching the fuel gauge. I'd prefer not to alter anything with the gauge. Is it really that tough to find something to replace the float with? EDIT: Also, the problem only develops when the tank is less than half full. Up to that point it is correct I believe.

Hi guys, My gas gauge has never been accurate past the 1/3 emptyish mark. When the tank has 8 gallons remaining, it will always read as empty (I've tested this by going to the pump the second it reads empty multiple times and I always end up putting in about 8 gallons. Recently my gauge hasn't been reading full when I top the tank off - it will read maybe around 15 gallons in the tank instead of 18. I have taken the fuel sending unit out a few times for cleaning and everything inside on the coil/arm (both plug ends too) look great. I pulled the dash gas gauge and everything in there looks pristine as well. The real nail in the coffin is when I have the sending unit out and bend the arm up and down to the half and 1/3 mark, it will read that on the gauge so that leads me to believe it's the 40 year old hard-as-a-rock float. TL;DR: My question is, is there a way to replace the float? A new fuel sending unit from zstore is almost $200 so I'd prefer to steer clear of that if possible. Any ideas? chase

Awesome, I'll look into these now. I've heard that having someone lighten the flywheel can make them fragile/shatterable if done improperly is that true or an exaggeration?

This is all some great information thank you so much. AFM idea is now down the drain for sure but for my edification, what's the point of a larger throttlebody then? Will definitely look into the beefier clutch when I take everything apart. Are there 18lb flywheels to buy anywhere, I can't seem to find any? (I'd prefer to buy one so that when I have the trans taken out, we can put it all back together in a day instead of waiting for my flywheel to be lightened then come back leaving the car on someone else's rack)

TBH im not sure. I thought that was the point of the big throat throttlebody, no?

Hi guys, My '78 has the weber "big throat" throttlebody on it but with the (I believe) stock AFM. Would upgrading to a larger AFM noticeably improve throttle response considering the larger throttlebody or is that just a lot of fiddling for marginal gain? (yes I saw the atlanticZ page) If there really is noticeable gain to be had with going to a larger AFM with my larger throttlebody, do you folks recommend the 280zx turbo or cressida AFM? I've been doing a lot of reading on them but couldn't find a stern verdict. Any ideas? -chase

Ah ok, good to know. Is the transmission chatter then a thing that happens when putting a single mass flywheel on a car designed for a double?

This is an extreme example of the single mass (light) flywheel noise - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vUdmshAsYM&t=20s I've heard shaving down the OE flywheel can weaken it to the point it may shatter if done improperly - is this true?

Great information, thanks! Which brand flywheel did you go with? Also, I've heard that these light flywheels (single mass) make this chattery noise (sounds like a diesel truck) - is that the case with yours?

Thanks so much, I didn't see that somehow. Regarding the clutch pedal pressure on the OEM pressure plate/clutch style - how tough should it be to press these pedals down? I will be replacing mine and want to keep it like what I am using now (very light pressure required). Basically asking if I buy OEM spec clutch/pressure plates how tough will it be to clutch in? -chase

How loud are these lightened flywheels? I've heard they make a noise similar to a diesel truck? Are there any lighter double mass flywheels (stock style) that are lighter which would eliminate the chatter (I can't find any)?

Hi guys, so I am having my transmission rebuilt soon and while its out I was considering having a lightweight flywheel swapped in. Do any of you folks have experience with one of these on an s30? I've read that the stock flywheel weighs around 23 lbs and all of the lightweight ones I've found online are around 10lbs. Having a flywheel that light will make street driving difficult/frustrating I'd assume (I've heard you have to kind of 'launch' the car after each stop light)? Are there any flywheels/weights you'd recommend for improved performance within reason (I only drive this in the city/freeway and never on the track). Side note: Right now, the clutch pedal is easy to depress especially compared to modern cars (fully depressing the clutch pedal is probably about as hard as flooring the brake pedal). Is this the standard OEM feel for s30s? (I'd like to get a replacement clutch kit/pressure plate with the same amount of pedal force (trying to not get a hard clutch pedal)) Any ideas? -chase

I second this. This vacuum line only receives vacuum when the throttle pedal is pressed. If you are hearing a hiss (vacuum leak) only when the throttle is pressed then it should be this port. If the vacuum line is indeed connected to the bottom of the throttlebody then it might be the distributor's vacuum advance pod's vacuum bladder is dead (this was the problem with my car. Cap off the vacuum port on the throttlebody and see if that changes anything (if thats the problem, that will be all you need to do to fix this).

Yea, thats the plan. I have a bunch of these laying around which is why I was curious.

Will the below switches work for the fuel pump cutoff setup or does the fuel pump pull more than 16amps? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NXJ8POI/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Sorry I forgot to finalize this topic. What it ended up being was a huge vacuum leak in the brake booster which just so happens to plug into the carb that was giving us trouble. After we replaced the booster, we were good to go.

I would also check all of the electrical connections in the below site, maybe one of them is super corroded and making trouble: http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/electricalconnections/index.html

Sorry, I forgot to update this thread. The new alternator I swapped out from oreilly's has been in for about a month and a half and everything is now perfect. Thanks gang!