jmortensen

SWAG: springs sag. Especially cheap ones.

I thought surely boarded meant that they simulated washing it, perhaps with a wet rag. You know, not enough to actually wash it, but enough to make it feel like it was being washed.

No offense taken. I thought at the time that the R200 had a crush sleeve, and that idea was reinforced by Kim Blough. Steve Golik corrected me. I tried to correct Kim Blough, he apparently "knows" that he is right and finally asked me to stop bugging him about it. Now I've been into a couple of these diffs and seen the solid spacer for myself and read the FSM. It's a solid spacer. Solid spacers are not really torque sensitive. No amount of torque is going to crush the solid pinion spacers and change the length of the spacer. You need to get enough torque for it not to loosen up, and not so much as to destroy the threads. That's basically it. That's why the FSM has a WIDE torque spec of 137-217 ft/lbs. I have a good quality Ingersoll Rand 231 impact, so I set that puppy on 5, let the compressor fill up and blast away at it 3 or 4 times and call it done. FSM with pinion torque on p39: http://www.xenonz31.com/files/Z31%20R200%20Differential%20Service%20Manual%20%28includes%20Limited%20Slip%29.pdf

Ground Control is one of probably hundreds of companies that make or sell those parts. I would suggest searching for "coilovers" if you're trying to locate them with google. You could also get a catalog from www.colemanracing.com and there are several different options listed. I see one listed in last year's catalog for $42 per corner. You might also try ebay. You'll have to do some homework though. The Z was sprung so softly that it suffers from pretty horrible body roll. When the body rolls, you lose neg camber, which makes the car handle worse. If you could control the camber better than stock and have the car 1/2" or 3/4" higher than stock, I think it's a fair bet to say that you could get the car to handle better despite the slightly higher cg. Stiffer springs will do that.

I'm not sure what "fistey" means. 275 in/lb 2.5" ID springs are availble from Hyperco, Eibach and Carrera among others. When you run coilovers, you have a threaded adjuster which allows for corner weighting. You don't need anything extra to do the job. Am I missing something about what you're trying to do?

When you have the GC adjusters you can run any 2.5" ID spring. They typically run $50-$75 per spring, and you can get lengths of 8, 10, or 12 inch and weights by 25 lb increments. I can't imagine that you would need a custom spring to get what you wanted. Just run the regular old 2.5 ID springs and save yourself the hassle and expense of having springs wound. http://www.ground-control-store.com/products/category.php/CA=50 http://www.speedwaymotors.com/Carrera-Coil-Over-Springs-25-ID,171.html http://www.maximummotorsports.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=22_109_210 You can get the coilover sleeves from circle track suppliers like AFCO and Coleman Racing and maybe save a little cash. IIRC the Z has a 2" strut tube, so you want the threaded tube with a 2.040" ID. Double check me on that, I bought mine from GC in the mid 90's...

Yes, I have them on my car. They are usually used to lower the car, but you can easily raise the car too, especially with stiffer springs. Another way of thinking of it is like this; if the strut is extended all the way, then you have the car as high as it can go. You can set up the threaded adjuster so that the spring is touching the top and the bottom and it can still be screwed up further to preload the spring. Do that with a heavier spring, and like I said before, you can get it to where the strut barely compresses with the weight of the car on it if you really wanted (you wouldn't want that--but you could).

Nonsense. You can start the sleeve right at the top of the strut tube. Get a 10" or 12" spring and you can put a lot of preload on the spring, and the threaded tube will still be below the gland nut. If you go with a stiffer spring and preload it you could get the car to have virtually no sag at all if you wanted. You wouldn't want that, but you could do it.

You might try my brother-in-law Mat. MatM AT m2differentials.com. I know he has a couple auto transmissions. Can't recall whether he had any flex plates...

Maybe it's because Geddy Lee sings like a bleating goat. Only more goat-like lead singer I've heard is the guy from Budgie, Burke Shelley. Metallica has covered a couple of their songs, Breadfan and Crash Course in Brain Surgery. If you know those songs, these originals are a trip. Here are the original Budgie versions: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54H3EUAzpVg&feature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KSzjQBpU6A New Wave driving music? Gary Numan - Cars http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ldyx3KHOFXw

In arguing with Tony I did find one thing that I think he is right on. That line that goes to the front should not be routed the way it is in the OP's post. If you have a full tank and park on a hill for example, I think it would be fairly easy to have gravity drain the tank into the crankcase. All that would be needed would be to get the tank vent higher than the outlet at the front of the car. If I recall that tube correctly it comes out on the driver's side frame rail and goes up to about mid fender height where it connects to the crankcase breather tube. If that recollection is correct I would suggest plugging it at both ends or running the vent to the filler neck and plugging the tube at the front.

Tony D? Confirmation bias? Surely not!!! ;-)

That makes sense Carl, thanks. I also looked and found some stats on gasoline expansion, and the estimates varied, but I did find one that said 375 ml on a 20 gal tank with a 15 C temp change. Since the tanks are underground they are somewhat insulated, and that apparently is the standard temp difference for checking pumps to make sure they deliver enough fuel. 375ml is about the volume of a coke can, so unless you filled up right to the very top on a cold night and lived next door to a gas station, I'm guessing that you just wouldn't have a problem.

Anyone had problems with gas expanding and pouring out the filler with the expansion tank removed? Asking because of comments made on this thread: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/95827-replace-plastic-expansion-tank/page__gopid__902347#entry902347

What is the toe setting?

Ball joints/tie rods in good condition? Alignment settings?

I ran a dead headed fuel system with no return. I ran an electric pump and had the feed line out of the fender go to the filter, and then a rubber hose off of the filter and ran that around the front of the core support and back to the carbs. Worked great. I think the mech fuel pump puts a LOT of heat into the fuel, and the rail which is bolted to the head adds even more. By removing both of those I solved a vapor lock problem, never had it again after those mods.

Along the lines of what Bruce is saying about checking the radiator, you can also literally put a smog sniffer or an air conditioning leak detector in the neck of the radiator and sniff the hydrocarbons if it is blowing exhaust into the coolant. The L6 is not a weak engine, nor is it prone to headgasket failures. There is some controversy about headgaskets, I always used a Nissan or Stone gasket. I fall firmly into the "don't use a Fel-Pro gasket" camp, but others who know what they're talking about disagree. If everything else is OK (if the head and the block are flat), you're not likely to have problems again. I wouldn't pull the motor to change a headgasket.

Good luck man. I've quit twice. First time stuck for a couple years, it's probably been 5 since the last time I quit. Smoked between a pack and 2 packs a day for about 13 years altogether. Honestly I don't feel that much different at all, but not giving the state the sin tax money is a nice feeling. A-holes still get me when I buy a bottle of Tuaca though. Interesting fuel door. Looks nice so far.

I ***think*** slot mags all have 5/8" holes, which is what your typical mag lug fits. Nissan has a different size on their factory wheels, for the record.

You need shank style lug nuts or "mag wheel lug nuts". Any auto parts store should have them.

Sometimes you need a bit of silicone to seal the corners of the window. If someone did silicone the window, I don't think that will make any difference in terms of how you take it out.

The toe in on the OP's car is not bad at all, and it's so even I'd have a tough time buying that it is a result of a bent arm. Much more likely to be bushings that are worn, but the .25 degree number is totally driveable. I used to add 3/16" total toe in to my car when I was autoxing because it makes the car more stable on the brakes and also when you get a little sideways. With a 225/50/15 tire, the toe in degrees to achieve 3/16" is .43 degrees. With that same size tire, the actual toe of the OP's car in is .050" total. Very very driveable. Inches to angle toe conversion tool: http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/60450-toe-in-converter/

That actually is the single BEST alignment printout for an unmodified Z car I think I've ever seen. Fix the front toe (you can do this with a partner and a tape measure) and drive it.

I thought the head was already ported. I also assumed that a ported head already had a big cam in it. When I did my budget build L28 I did the following: Ported the head and cc'd the chambers (did it myself). Used a reground cam that was about .490/280 spec and Schneider springs and retainers. Honed block, but rings and bearings in the bottom end. Shaved the head just a bit, not a lot. I had to replace the valves and paid a machine shop for the bore hone and the valve job and setting up the springs and all that. Total in machine work was something like $1500 if I recall. If you added in the cam which I already had and springs and all the BS, it would probably cost $2K or more to duplicate what I had done. How cheap do you want? What is the goal here? If you're not looking to make a bunch of power you might be better off getting a used L28 and dropping that in.