2ManyZs

Well, at least they gave us the identity of the person responsible for the "love-it-or-hate-it" styling. While I'm here, I just wonder, who wants a navigation system on a supposed "Track" model? Sounds kinda stupid to me. Seems to me a car called a "Track" model should have all the go-fast goodies they can find, and get rid of all the superfluous junk that isn't really neede to a "real" driver! Ah, that feels better.:devious:

Street racing is not only a good way to hurt someone, it's also a good way to lose your car! If caught you can be subject to having your car impounded and sold at auction in most areas of the country. Hard to buy it back if you are sitting in a jail cell awaiting trial for vehicular manslaughter if your are involved in an accident. TAKE IT TO THE TRACK, NOT THE STREET!

An R-180 is not strong enough to hold up to the stress of a V-8 conversion for long on the street, don't try it if you plan on drag racing. Use the R-200 at the very least.

Ed, the problem you describe could be a couple possibilities. It could be the synchronizer is nearing the end of its life span, but more than likely it is an shift fork or rail problem. It may be the roll pin is bent holding the shift fork on the rail and it is binding it up. I would check it out soon. If it breaks completely you will be left with only one or two gears to choose from, usually 3rd or 4th which could make it hard to get it home. "Banging" a hard 1-2 shift is the easiest way to shear a roll pin off, they will take only so much and then it's time to replace. You can drill them out and fit a slightly larger roll pin or just find a hardened pin of the same diameter. Some racers even go so far as to double pin them. One or two seconds to complete a shift is not normal, although they are not the fastest shifters in the world, they are still very good considering the age of the cars. They won't be as quick as some of today's cars, but they are much better than most. If you have already replaced the shifter bushings the problem is almost certainly in the shift rail/fork area.

Yes, you may put the flat top pistons in your block in place of the dished pistons. It is one of the best improvements to an L-28 you can do. It will put your compression up around 9.5:1 to 10:1 depending on whether your head has been shaved, and which head gasket you use. With the mods you have now, it ought to really wake up the motor. I think you will see a huge improvement with the mods you have now, as you probably aren't gaining as much benefit from them as you would with more compression. Go for it!

Whew, every idea we come up with has already been taken care of it seems. One other item, when they rebuilt the diff did they replace or have you since replaced and/or checked the front diff mount?

So much for those ideas. Sounds like the only other things would be either a main shaft bearing (probably input) or a bad synchronizer. I'd suspect the input shaft bearing first. If there is any play in the input shaft up and down or side to side this would indicate a bearing gone south. It's also possible it could be one of the center bearings. Being that it is not as loud in the higher gears, it could be the input shaft bearing as the input shafts rpms would drop as you get into the higher gears. Is there any vibration through the shifter while driving? If there is, it will more than likely be an internal problem. If not, then it could be just the input shaft bearing. Still not good, but it does require less work to replace as you won't have to dissasemble the entire trans to get to it.

MRMoonshineMan, the first thing you need to do is verify the clutch slave cylinder is operating correctly. Have someone step on the clutch and check to see if you are getting enough travel on the rod. Check your fluid level in the master cylinder too. You could try to bleed the system, however, if this does not help you may need to figure out if the problem is hydraulic or if the clutch itself is shot. If the clutch is fairly new, I would try to replace the slave cylinder first, then the master cylinder. The slave cylinder and master cylinder for the clutch are fairly inexpensive compared to a new clutch.

Given that the vibration is worse in a right hand turn it pretty much rules out a driveline vibration. It is more than likely a suspension problem or possibly steering related. I'd have another shop take a look see. Never hurts to have a second opinion. Is it possible you may have a wheel that is bent? Or possibly a tire out of round? Have you tried to rotate the tires to see if it makes any difference? My first assumption would be a bad bushing somewhere in the suspension. Since it is worse on a right hand turn the first place to look is the left front , since you are loading that the most in a right hand turn. I'd check the wheel bearings, tie rod ends, T/C rod bushings, ball joints, wheel bearings, rotor and caliper (possibly warped rotor?)wheel and tire on that corner first. Also check the inner tie rod end and steering rack bushings. Then if the problem still persists, go to the left rear corner and check everything there. Work your way around the car one corner at a time and hopefully you will discover the problem.

I would guess that the most likely cause is the throw out bearing. It is possible it's the clutch slave cylinder adjustment, but that will directly involve the throw out bearing. You will have to pull the trans. to replace it though. If the sound seems to be coming from the front of the transmission in the area of the bellhousing, this all points to the throw out bearing.

I guess he was trying to make the rear bumper look like the front cover, or so it wasn't as noticeable. Rear bumper cover to match the front would finish it off really nice. Other than that one thing, it looks great to me. :classic:

Since it says it is for the L16-18 even if it did bolt up to your crank, I doubt it would hold up the the L-24. You are trying to mix parts designed for a four cylinder with a six. Not a good idea even if it does bolt up. It probably would work fine in a Roadster but not a Z.

You will probably need to have a u-joint already out so that you can find either a number on it or to take all the measurements to try to get the replacement. They will probably need to know the cross shaft lenght and diameter as well as the cup diameter to cross reference.

Good job. Don't worry about the extra day, they'll never get him to work any more than what he already does.(?) Too bad you can't do something about people leaving those surprises on his chair, he wouldn't have that look on his face.

Well, if you have a limited slip in your car, then the differential is definately not the original. It would be an open 3.36 if it were the original. It's possible you know have either a 3.90 or a 4.11. You can check it out on the gear calculator if you know the RPM's you are turning. Try this: www.geocities.com/z_design_studio/

There is a separate fuse for the Park, and taillights. It should be right under the two for the headlights on the right side of the fuse panel. I'd start there and check all the wiring for a short, or perhaps a loose or corroded connection in the fuse panel before pulling any switches. I'm looking at a cover for a fuse panel off one of the cars, not sure which year it is, but the top two on the right are for the headlights, the next one down is the Park, Taillights, and the bottom one on the left should be the Brake lights. Also you could check the common fuse on the bottom right, not sure what all is connected into it, but never hurts to check it anyways. If possible you could try to bypass the switch itself to see if that is the problem, not easy with all the wiring there. Green/White wire is the common wire to the taillights, side markers. Green/Blue is the common wire to the front turn and marker lights. Try jumping them after the switch to a hot wire and see if they work. Hope that helps a little. Too late at night to read this wiring diagram anymore.:sleepy:

Grainger might be the easiest and cheapest alternative. Of course, if you can find one of their stores or catalogs that is.

Well, since we are having fun at your expense. You really should have a doctor look at that funny looking thing growing out of your right ear. Hope it isn't contagious.:cheeky:

I've never seen anyone offer a replacement u-joint for the steering column. However, I have heard it is possible to find one at your local tractor or implement dealer the right size. Have never replaced the u-joint, but the steering coupler is a fairly easy one to do. It is easier if you remove the column from the car to do it as there is very little room to work (obviously) and it will make a difference in your steering. If you take it out to replace the coupler, you could take it to a farm implement dealer and see if they do have a u-joint that will replace the u-joints. Another place to look might be an industrial hardware supply dealer.

Well, if you use the search function you should find quite a few posts to find a few tips and tricks to the rear spindle pin removal. Not sure if this is the one you are referring to as they don't have cotter pins, at least not on the US models they didn't.

First time I've seen a retaining nut that wouldn't come off. Most need a little "persuasion" with an impact at times but never one that had to be cut off. Looks like someone took the easy way out when they installed it and used a 1/2 inch drive impact to tighten it and run it down past the threads. Glad to see you did get it off after all. One down.........

Ok, so we know the steering wheel is fake wood, her "air bags" are more than likely fake, so does that mean the snake is a fake too?:cross-eye Nuttin worse than a fake snake:disappoin

I'm not sure what diff was used in the Maxima. I have a chart here that lists the Maxima automatic as having a 3.36 R-180 rear and the manual as having a 3.54 R-180. I'm not sure if they offered an R-200 in the Maxima in the later models, they may have changed over later when they discontinued using the R-180 in the Z series. Of course, there is the possibility that the chart I have is incorrect also. I would be surprised if they used anything lower than a 3.70 or 3.54 in the Maxima as it was not as sports oriented as it was intended to be. It was more of a sporty touring model so it would be my opinion that it would have a higher gear than what you are looking for in either an R-180 or an R-200. If you can, I believe you would have an easier time finding an R-180 from a 720 4x4 truck in the gear ratio you want. 1/83-6/83 720 4x4 had a 3.90 R-180 6/83-12/85 720 4x4 had a 4.11 R-180 as did the Non turbo 200sx 84-88 R-180 will hold up to anything you can do to an L series engine, however if you are planning a V-8 conversion you do need the R-200 for durability. R-200 is much heavier and will require suspension crossmember and mustache bar as well as diff mounts to be changed to fit.

Well, that's a good question. Most people consider the 260 as a less than desirable Z because they were only made for one year in two different engine configurations. One was a PITA as the 73's were with the carb problems, and the rest were built as an intro to the 280. Neither is bad IMO, but I'd prefer the carb'd version. Guess the 260 doesn't have much of a following here in the states, as it wasn't offered long enough in either version for people to form an opinion of their merits or minuses. For those "down under", the 260 has a whole different following since they were offered for many years until the ZX was introduced. Here in the states it is often scoffed at since it is neither a 240 or a 280. This one was a shame as it looks to be an early version with the small bumpers. I noticed one thing, hardly any rust under the battery tray! Would have at least made a good car to sell for parts instead of hacking it away for fun. Should have used an old Pinto or Vega if they just wanted to destroy a car!:mad:

Me thinks we have just witnessed what happens when a person is too lazy to do a little repair work. I'd have fixed it, it sure looked better than a couple I've had to send off to the crusher, and certainly looks better than the parts car I have now. Even a lowly 260 deserved better than that in the shape it looked to be in. Shame on the wimps. :mad: