nowak1981

Just wanted to finish this thread up. The rubber disc was in fact missing and floating around inside. I had to use my borescope and a bolt grabber thingy to get it out. Pedal travel is much better but the brakes still need bleeding. Its at the shop now getting done.

I did already for some other stuff, ill have to add it to the list.

I used brake cleaner, I drove it around a fair bit, I still think the idle is high though but I couldn’t find any more leaks. I think there is a component or two I should check. I don’t remember what they are called atm. I added about 4g to the fuel tank and the gauge still reads about 3/4 full. I wonder if my cleaning messed it up a little. It didn’t look like there was much to the sender. The gauge does sweep but perhaps something might be up with that. Also need to find some seat belts, mine catch really easily. Is there a bracket or something that holds the belt closer to the seat?

Found a leak on one of the smaller length crankcase breathers yay! I think it might be ok now!

Got the booster pulled out today and I did find that the rubber disc was not where it was suppose to be. I had a fun time fishing it out but I got it. Gave it a quick clean and a coat of paint and reinstalled it. The pedal travel feels a ton better but it still needs a good bleeding. Im gonna take it to the shop and have it done. I did notice that the rubber washer that goes around the rod is a little loose. May need to replace that at some point. My passenger side door handle seemed off. It pulls our farther on the back side than the front. I thought maybe something was broke or loose. but it seems to be ok. I dont know why, but I decided to take the window out for better access to the handle and I had a heck of a time with it. I tried putting it back together but I just couldnt get the slide rollers back in place. I gave up on it for now so I that could find some info on it. I figured I was doing something wrong. I noticed that my fuel gauge is way off. it reads almost full when I know there is only about 4g in the tank. So ill have to look into that. I have high idle I need to look into and I need to figure out why my RPM gauge doesnt work. I think it has to do with the new GM ignition.

thank you for this! I think you’re absolutely right. I was considering asking a while back about whether or not the booster rod should be flopping around. Reseating the rod wasn’t an issue, but it makes sense if there is suppose to be pad back there.

I adjusted them some more, to the point where I can still get the drum on and off fairly easily

Got the brakes bled again and actually put it on the ground. They kinda work. I actually did manage to take it on its maiden voyage around the block!! Im just gonna take it down the road and have a shop bleed them. I just dont have the right tools or extra arms/legs to do it to my satisfaction. I think the bleeder system I have is allowing air back into the system.

finally got out and measured. from the mounting face, they both have a depth of 10mm+- I rebled all the brakes again and it didnt really feel much better. I decided to actually put the tires back on and see what it feels like on the ground. Seems like they are meh. They do work, but I think it needs more bleeding. They work well enough that I can take it down the road and have them professionally bled.

Yea it’s still rear drums. I think the calipers are Toyota units, I bought them used here on the forum. I concern I have is that I’m not sure if I bled the master cylinder correctly. I did one bleeder at a time since all I had was a one man bleeder bottle with a check valve. I also have one of those cheap handheld vacuum pump, but I never got that to work when I originally bled the brakes before the rebuild. I had good solid flow near as I could tell. I could only watch the driver side. Worth a shot to orient the calipers.

yea, the bleeders are at the top. I replaced all the hoses and wheel cylinders as well. the system was completely drained.

I've been upgrading and refreshing the entire brake system and I got the 1" wilwood MC since the 280zx MC wasnt available. I also have 4 piston front calipers. I bench bled it and then installed and bleed everything, but I think something is up. I dont feel like I get any pressure until its almost to the floor. I've flushed quite a bit of fluid through it and it doesnt feel any better. I'm wondering if anyone else has installed this MC and had any issues. I feel like maybe the booster rod may not be adjust right? I left it at the stock depth. I also noticed that the pedal feels the same weather the car is running or not. I read that if the booster was bad the pedal would be really stiff.

Thank you for this post, I am also trying to identify relays and the beginning of this post helped a lot. You mentioned a wiper post, but I cant seem to find it, can you link it?

Cleaned up the fuse box and installed new fuses, seems like it made quite a bit of difference, I had a headlight that was dim and now they both seem ok. The right side is cleaned. Used a drillbit wire brush. Now im working on dealing with this mess. Im going through and trying to figure out how/where they mount. Come to find out there are a few doubles. I had 2 horn relays and 2 of another relay, (I forget which one) I have a couple I still need to identify, Wiper/AC/catalyst but I think I have them figured out. Been using this post 1975 Datsun 280Z CA Market Relay Identification And ATC Fusebox Replacement its nice that I found a post that pretty much duplicates my issue. Once I get everything identified Ill run through the diagnostics on the relays. My wipers and blower motor dont work. I pulled a couple apart and found those to be nice and clean. I havent really spent any time on it, but I also need to find the problem with the blower motor. The blower motor itself works fine, but im guessing I need to find the relay. The fuel tank is installed, I just need to install the hoses for the vapor canister. The imperial size hoses are a pain to get on there. I screwed a bolt into the end to try and stretch it out a bit, hopefully that works Also waiting on a master cylinder to complete the brakes. Sprang for the 1" wilwood. Eventually I'll upgrade to rear discs Not really a high priority, but I need to find a new washer switch. part of the plastic that holds the rocker nub is broken. on a side note. Does anyone know what these star like patterns are on my windshield? It looks like its in the glass. Delamination? I dont see any chips. Im assuming its not repairable.

Brake lights are fixed .Turns out it was a combination of several things. Most notable was that the contacts werent making reliable contact with the fuse. I was also breaking fuses pulling them out without realizing it. The end caps were getting twisted just enough to break the fuse. I ordered new fuses and im gonna go through and clean all the contacts and put new fuses in. Its going to be such a pain to get that fusebox remounted assuming I can find some pictures of how all that stuff is mounted. Horn is also fixed. Brakes are finally completed at the wheels and I started to bench bleed the new master cylinder only to find out I apparently bought the wrong one. I was looking to upgrade to a larger MC since im using the 4-piston brakes but the mounting holes are horizontal instead of vertical. whoops. Guess im buying more parts. Also found the hole I needed for the fuel tank strap, but I need some rubber cement for the tank pads and strap isolators. Also have to figure out why the large end isnt seating up all the way. Dont really have a lot left to do anymore to get it on the road. Edit #1 After looking around for a few min, it doesnt look like 79-81 zx MC's aren't available with the reservoir. I have the MC for the 82-83 zx turbo apparently. Does anyone know if that reservoir will fit on the 79-81 MC? Edit #2 Figured out that the newer reservoir wont work, looks like the 79-81 is a clamp on. the bigbox auto parts stores either dont have them or are special order for over $200 without the reservoir. Rockauto has only 7/8" without the reservoir. not really seeing anything on ebay either. Looking into the wilwood for the moment.