2ManyZs

Egad, that is not good. But as long as you are OK, well, there is always another car to tinker with. Look on the bright side, you live on the "left coast" where Z's are plentiful.....and usually a lot cheaper than here on the east coast. Can it be fixed?

If you are talking about the cylinder that bolts on the outside of the bellhousing that operates the clutch fork, yes they are the same. The proper term for it is slave cylinder, and they are quite cheap and easy to find, so you will have no problem finding a new one. MSA, VB, and probably even your local Napa, Advance, Pep Boys can get you one with no trouble, probably no more than 25 bucks.

Saw one recently on Ebay for $ 250US, so they are not that cheap....:disappoin There are not many of them in working condition for the first reason, and a lot of them got thrown into a box or into a dumpster when a previous owner decided to put an aftermarket radio in. So, to answer your question, yes, they are becoming scarce and finding a very good, working example if you want to do a proper original restoration is not going to be easy. You might end up paying a good sized sum for a perfect original radio, it all depends on who is selling, and if you are bidding on it on Ebay or the like.

If you want the book, use the Bookstore in the Main Menu. It will link you to Amazon.com and it does help support the site...... You can find nearly all the books ever written on the Z in there..

Never saw one lose a blade, but I have seen them break where they attach to the mounting plate to the fan clutch though.... either way the result isn't a good one.:disappoin

Not sure, but I think the trans has to come out through interior tunnel on these early MG's as well. Notice the missing trans tunnel in the foot pedal pic? If he re-wired it to get rid of the electrical problems that were the downfall of these cars, I'd say this would make a real cool cruiser...

Cool, a dependable British sports car...... That is a pretty interesting swap..:cheeky:

Everybody's prices are going up on some of the items that are getting harder to find, it's not just VB....:disappoin

If you have never taken one apart and don't have the proper tools such as a torque wrench and a press, I would advise against it. The rear pinion bearing is pressed on the pinion shaft, and the pre-loads need to be set correctly on the pinion shaft to get the proper contact at the ring gear. It does require some special tools, but you should be able to find someone to do it for you for a reasonable price. I haven't done one myself as I don't have all the tools to do one right. If you do some checking with a local Z club or some of the racers in your area, they should be able to tell you of someone that can do it for a reasonable cost. I believe you can get most of the bearings and seals from Victoria British out of their catalog. The only thing you might have to do is get the pinion shims from a Nissan dealer to set the preload on the pinion, if it requires shims other than the ones from the old diff.You should be able to get all the bearings and seals and shims you would need from someone like Courtesy Nissan, or perhaps even a local dealer. Of course, if all else fails, a Nissan dealer should be able to do the work, but it will likely cost a bit more.:disappoin It is possible it could be in the thrust washers in the carrier that is causing the noise, but then, that is also something best left to someone who knows what they are doing. Are you absolutely sure it is the diff that is causing the noise and not a U-joint or something else? Since you say there were not that many shavings in the diff, I'm wondering if it could have been caused by something other than the diff itself, like perhaps a U-joint, or a worn bushing causing excess movement in the diff mount or mustache bar?

There's only a couple things that could cause the howl, bearings or the ring and pinion itself. Best thing to do is to pull the rear cover and see what the ring and pinion look like. Hopefully it will just be one of the bearings that is going bad, and hasn't caused any permanent damage. Pull the drain plug from the bottom of the case and drain the oil, if you find a lot of metal shavings, pull the rear cover and take a good look to see if you can spot where the metal is coming from, if the ring gear has deep grooves in the faces of the teeth, you will be looking at a complete tear down. If there is no real deep gouging of the teeth, it may be just a bearing going bad which you might be able to replace without a total rebuild, of course, you'll then have to figure out which one it is.

I think it would be a good idea to pull the plugs and pour a bit of regular motor oil in each cylinder and then turn the engine over by hand to coat the cylinder walls. Mystery oil is too thin to stay on the cylinder walls for very long, it will just run down the walls and pool on the pistons and not protect the cylinder walls like a thicker viscosity oil would.

I hate giving people bad news like that, but with the problem of pushing the coolant out and now the sludge in the engine, it sounds like the problem is fairly serious. I think a compression test or leakdown test at this point is a waste of time. I'd say there is a definate problem in the head gasket or head itself. It could be the engine has gotten hot to the point the head has warped, and that has caused the head gasket to blow. Is there any coolant leaking around the base of the head on the outside of the block? This is usually an indication of a warped head/blown gasket. More than likely the damage is confined to the head so the next thing to do is to remove the head and have it checked for straightness and cracks if the head is not warped significantly. If you are lucky, it might only require a slight shaving of the head and a set of gaskets to re-install it. Of course, you should the valve seats checked out carefully and re-place them if needed while it is off.

If the sludge is a light brown it probably is oil in the coolant. This is the same engine that was forcing coolant out of the radiator right? I'd say that pretty much confirms my suspicions that you either have a blown head gasket or cracked head.:disappoin Before you do anything to the engine you should try to get as much of that out as you can. Using an old garden hose, cut off one end and put it on the transfer tube on the passengers side of the engine and block off the end you unhooked and flush out the block and head as well as you can. You could use the "Y" where the line goes to the intake and just turn on the water pressure and let it run for a while until the water looks fairly clean. Then I'd say it is time to pull the head and find out if it's a head gasket blown, or if the head might be cracked or warped. I'd have the head checked for straightness at a machine shop and if it is OK, and the gasket looks good, then have the head checked for a crack. Either way, I think you will need to do at least a top end rebuild. When you get the engine back together, I would use a commercial engine flush to make sure the block and radiator are clean. The sludge you found is probably clogging the tubes in the radiator and will cause a lot of problems later....

Most of the suppliers have sold their molds and gotten out of the fiberglass business.:stupid: Just saw a set of molds on Ebay just a few weeks ago for stock front fenders, guess I should have bought them..... Try Doug Piner, if he can't supply them, he probably knows where you can get a set as he is racing in EP, so it's likely he has a set on his car, and has a supplier if he is not making them himself. http://www.piner.com/japco/

Hey, I'm over 40, you trying to tell me something?:devious: :cross-eye

Jet-Hot, HPC, Airborne Coatings, there a quite a few on the market now and they are all pretty close to being the same thing.

See these links as they will explain everything. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/competition/shaving.html http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/competition/heatcycletech.htm BTW, nearly any question you could have about a tire is covered on the Tire Racks web-site if you know where to look. Be ready to spend some time digesting it all as there is a lot of good info there on some of the more popular brands of racing tires.

Between 18 and 20 a woman is like Africa, half discovered, naturally beautiful with fertile areas waiting to be explored. Between 21 and 30 a woman is like America, well developed and open to trade especially for someone with cash. Between 31 and 35 she is like India, very hot, relaxed and convinced of her own beauty. Between 36 and 40 a woman is like France. Gently aging but still warm and a desirable place to visit. Between 41 and 50 she is like Yugoslavia, haunted by past mistakes and massive reconstruction is now a necessity. Between 51 and 60 she is like Russia, very wide, and borders are unpatrolled. The frigid climate keeps people away. Between 61 and 70, a woman is like Mongolia, with a glorious and all conquering past, but alas no future. After 70, they become like Afghanistan. Most everyone knows where it is, but no one wants to go there. THE GEOGRAPHY OF A MAN: Between 15 and 70 a man is like Iraq... Ruled by a prick....

Are the lights you are referring to the "Halo" lights EScanlon has on his car?

Maybe I should re-phrase that, as far as I know all the P-90A's used on ZX's were hydraulic lifters, now what else they might have used the head on is a good question. Perhaps the Maxima had one before it went to the V-6? I dunno much about the Maximas so I'm just guessing as there weren't all that many that used the L series besides the ZX and the early Maximas, here in the US that is...... Ok, found a little more info on the P90-A. http://www.geocities.com/row4navy/p-90.html I was wrong, they do have lifters available from Courtesy, but geesh, they are 42 bucks each and who knows what they might be now?:tapemouth

This another of your tests? As far as I know all the P90-A's had hydraulic lifters. And I don't know if replacement lifters are even available... I don't think I've ever seen them advertised anywhere now that I think about it....

I've never had a problem with the two headers from MSA that I have had. I would suggest one of two things, either get the header with the ceramic coating and don't use any tape on it at all. Or, use the header blanket instead of the wrapping tape. The tape absorbs moisture and holds it tight against the header, which does nothing more than promote the header rusting. The tubing is so thin on the header pipes that any rust will not take long to deteriorate it to the point at which the metal just blows out like yours did. The header blanket doesn't hold moisture directly against the metal, therefore any moisture that does get inside should evaporate. My money is on the ceramic coating, it helps seal the metal against rust, and it does help contain some of the heat inside the header, where it should be, going out the exhaust...... But since you already have the header, you should ask MSA what the difference is between the header "blanket" and the header "jacket" they show in their catalog... If you notice, the header wrap is not recommended for long-term use, or for street use.... because it holds moisture and promotes rust perhaps????