Pennyman

I live just North of some kind of ricer central. Now, please, understand, I am NOT a racist, but there seems to be two distinct forms of "rice": Asian, and Mexican. They are sometimes hard to tell apart, but there are some differences to point out. Asian rice usually consists of a body kit, fart can exhaust, Extra gauge pods, and sometimes neon paint and/or lighting underneath. Mex rice on the other hand can contain all of these, but instead of spending their money on neon paint and gauges, usually spend it on chrome trim for their wheelwells or door mouldings, or cutouts for the taillights or extra exhaust openings. It seems like Asian rice spurrs from "The Fast and the Furious" style, while the Mex draws from both that, and the lowrider style and smooshes it into one. I see a lot of this about 20 minutes South of where I live, and it's just ridiculous. I have friends who are both Asian and Mexican, so please don't think I have something against them in general. In terms of the popo, they are generally ok, but the motorcycle cops are the ones you must look out for. They also REALLY don't like reckless driving around here, such as drifting. Kinda depends too on which small part of town you're in too. Local cops are usually stricter because they have to make money for their town, so they'll stop you for anything, where CHP will only stop you if you're doing something bad.

Damn it I'm late. Oh well. Next time.

Most auto parts stores carry special heater hose with molded in bends and curves such as the ones needed for the heater core tubing. Just ask for the necessary curves such as the 180 degree curved tube and the 90 degree angled tube. I could be wrong though, but depending on the shop, they might have what you need.

The one that I made out of sheetmetal which cost me absolutely nothing. I know, it's more of a front lip, but I like the subtle look as opposed to the replacement valence which requires the original piece be removed. Cool thing is, if it bends, I can just bend it right back using a hammer and dolly, no cracking or splintering. If anyone wants the specs and measurements on how to make your own, let me know. It's not hard or expensive.

Well, put in the new switch and it runs ALMOST $100 better, hehe. Very smooth, and I can tell the emmisions system is working now because the car idles higher when cold with the new part installed. Yay. Not hard to put in either. Just gotta make sure you don't tighten it too far or you'll really mess stuff up. TAKES A 21mm BOX END WRENCH.

I second that, I just checked in my service manual and it says that fuel is injected simultainously for all cylinders. Bizzare, but true. Hopefully your ECU isn't damaged. I'm sure you'll figure it out though.

I can only imagine. I think another bad design was putting the main interior wire harness running right beneath the area where the heater hoses and/or the heater core would leak (passenger side floor next to tranny tunnel and firewall). I'ts a wiring nightmare down there, hehe.

Alright, I ordered a new one from Nissan. The guys there are crooks seriously. After tax it came out to be $97.54. Holy crap. I'm poor now. I just don't even understand why my Z needs it and a bunch of others don't. Aperantly it's the sensor that tells the EGR solenoid valve to open a passage to complete a vacuum through the EGR valve itself when the car is at normal operating temp. So until the part comes in, I'll be polluting a little more. Poor design on Nissan's part to put fragile little wires sticking out of a sensor that is exposed to constant heat, without using a larger gauge wire to help maintian conductivity over time. Anyone else have something to say? Wanna commiserate? How did later Z's get by without this sensor? I'm confused.

The wire was brittle and that's why it broke. I don't think it'll last long if I solder it. It's the temp switch, not the gauge sending unit or thermotime. Only CA models have it.

I think it has to do with the emmision control system actually, the wire I broke eventually makes its way to the EGR solenoid, so I think my car will be running kinda rich actually... I just hope I can find one. The trick is getting a 21mm wrench in there to take it out, hehe. My car is one of the CA models with every sensor known to man on it to make it run cleaner. Any tips on getting it out? I guess I have to use a box end wrench huh? P.S. I think that picture is worth...at least 2 thousand words, hehe...sorry for the kick in the butt 56K folks!

Are you sure? that would SUCK. I don't want to have to pay $50 bucks for it, but if I have to I guess I have no choice...what do you think?

Hmm, separating the men from the boys now it seems, hehe. I'm gonna head down to the junkyard tomorrow and take one out of another Z. Maybe the ones from the 280zx's work too, hehe. Do you think the sensor off a N47 head would work as well? I don't think there are any N42 heads left at the junkyard...

I broke the wire off of this: It's on the thermostat housing off of a 76 280z...what is it? can i fix it? the manuals don't seem to help!. Thanks guys.

That's what I thought at first. It's also called "checking" it has to do with a coat underneath the present one (previous paint job perhaps) which had chemicals which don't like the chemicals in the newer paint (different, non-compatible paint additives). My roof is doing it pretty bad. Sometimes a water-based sealer primer can be used to help stop it, but you'll have to get it at a body shop.

That would rule.

Yeah, I can imagine in on the stiffest setting, the illuminas would be deadly when coupled with stiffer lowering springs, hehe. Couple that with strut braces and swaybars and sounds like you've got the fixings for hairline framerail cracks, hehe....maybe.

If I remember right, there's one 4wd 350z that was custom built for the Pikes Peak hillclimb. It's based on a R34 Skyline GTR platform.

Hell yeah!! (being a fellow electronic musician, I say you have good taste!) Hmm, either Drum and Bass or some Rammstein or some other electronica. Sometimes some jazz and some classic rock.

Don't the original U-joint style halfshafts fit into the input holes on the new diff? Or are the inputs different on CV style joints?

Well, my Z is under warranty for the new seals that were put in when I got my new clutch, so I guess I could have them look at it...It could also be what you mentioned about it being polished sub-par. Any other ideas? I wiped off the outer case of the tranny this morning, so if it leaks from either end I'll be able to see. I just hope it's not too big of a deal.

Hey everyone. I got the MSA replacement driveshaft about 2 years ago or so, and since then, I also had the tranny get new seals and bearings. The problem is, the tailshaft leaks where it meets up with the driveshaft and basically creates a circular ring of greasy gook buildup on the inside of the transmisson tunnel and running down the inside of the exhaust shield.. Also, I recently had to have a new clutch put in because of tranny fluid contamination, and thankfully the clutch shop put in a new rear main seal to help keep that from happening again. Yet they ALSO put in a new tailshaft seal, but it still seems to be leaking. I have a feeling it's one of two things. Either the input part of the MSA driveshaft is a little too long, allowing any extra tranny fluid to come out, or the tranny was overfilled with fluid when I had the new seals and bearings put in, thereby causing the leakage at both seals on either end of the tranny. Maybe the shops around here don't deserve to work on Z's? Let me know... I'll try and post pics when I can.

Well, I went to the junkyard today and effectively changed my setup from #2 to #1 (with the exception for the weird valve bolted to the side of the intake manifold. It isn't in #2 or #3). Tha car runs fine, and the engine bay looks a little better. I think I'm gonna keep it this way and see how it runs. BTW, the sticker on the bottom of the hood which has to do with the recall says: "PCV valve modification and emissions system integrity inspection. This vehicle has been modified under blah blah blah"...but there you go.

So do I, and in my opinion,that long breather tube is the ugliest thing in that engine compartment. I'm thinking about trying out config.#1 and see how it runs. Just for fun kinda.