Z Car Technical Posts to the IZCC mailing list

This page contains miscellaneous Tech Posts and Replies sent to the IZCC (Internet Z Car Club) mailing list which I have had the good fortune to be a part of. They are primarily related to the 70-78 240Z, 260Z, and 280Z models.

To learn more about joining the IZCC mailing list click here.

Although most posts are responses to other tech threads on that list and may not seem to be the definitive answer to what may interest you about the topic, these posts are offered as mostly unedited text write-ups on a variety of Z Car topics that I thought were not always addressed adequately. Some of these topics are important enough that I may address them more thoroughly in the ZP TECH SECTION at a later date. Others are merely my drop in the Z water bucket.

Eric Neyerlin

Index

Fixing New Door Seal Problems

Eric
I installed the driver's door seal (weatherstrip) last night and it fit pretty good, but...... I can hardly close the door. It came from the ol' 'bag of rubber' brand. It take serious effort to close the door (not sure I'd be able to close it from the inside). And once closed, it is far from flush with the rest of the body. Will this stuff ever compress or loosen up? Will it ruin the hinges or something if I use it like this? Anything I can do to to fix this?
----------------------------------------------------------
George,

The door under so much pressure does not sound healthy to me. If Nissan stock rubber is installed it will be noticeably tight at first if the door latch, hinge and window frame have not been readjusted from the settings for the old compressed rubber. Have you done those adjustments first?

Just by loosening the door latch on the door jamb and making adjustments there you can significantly reduce the pressure, but if your door is sticking out past the door jamb body lines more than perhaps 3/8th of an inch then something may not be correctable. Nissan new rubber will compress after awhile and re-adjustment will be necessary, but I have not seen the density difference or rubber characteristics of the "Bag 'O Rubber" that you bought and hence, can not determine if it is inherently improper for the car or not.

I will mention one important place to look for damage due to this "pressure" problem. At the forward part of your door, above the top door hinge at the point where your window frame enters down into the door shell there is a thin rubber weather-strip that covers that area and the weld that joins the outer door skin metal and inner door shell. Under this rubber an early Z owner will often find that the door skin has either partially or totally separated near the weld.

I think this is because when the upper window frame is adjusted to lean in too far at the top or if the weather-stripping in the upper door entrance body frame is improperly installed, it creates tremendous leverage against the upper window frame which causes it to pry against the door skin weld below.

I see many owners with new weather-stripping come in here that keep slamming their doors closed really hard to make the door latch. What often develops is that they end up opening up or totally tearing the door shell loose because of the window frame prying effect. Be careful about this. You can adjust the upper window frame outward at the top to reduce this potential problem after installing new rubber. Then readjust it inward later on. There also is the matter of door "sag" due to worn hinge pins that can contribute to binding and other door problems on an older Z car. I have a technique for salvaging those worn door hinges and will post that solution and other tech posts like these to my ZP Tech Section on my website as the year goes on. -EBN
Index

R200 Differential Ratios

>Eric,
> From reading the Z news group, it seems like your the guy to ask. If at
>all possible, could you tell me the gear tooth count for the different ratio's available in the R-200?

I believe some of the tooth counts are 11:39 (= 3:54), 11:37 (=3:36), 10:37
(= 3:70), and 10:39 (= 3:90)

Yes, those are the main ratios available. There are some 4:11's available in some hard to find vehicles I understand. 3:36's are the rare in the R-200 unit, but very common in the R180's.
There are or were more extreme ratios, but they are mostly available through Nissan Motorsports and even some of those are reported to be no longer available.

There are 2 methods to check your differential ratios.

1. With the unit off the car or the rear cover removed and rotating the gears until a stamped number like 10:37 or 11:37 appears on the left flange surface on the vertical oriented ring gear. You may need to wipe the thick oil off or wire brush this surface in order to read the numbers. When you find the numbers divide the larger one by the smaller and you can calculate the differential's ratio.

2. With the unit on the car you can jack up the car, put the trans in neutral, and put an index mark on the driveshaft. Turn a rear wheel one turn and count how many complete and partial turns the the driveshaft turns. The last turn of the shaft needs to be given a guesstimate in % to correlate the ratio to one of those listed above.

>I believe I have 3.90. Having a V-8 and a four speed, the car is pretty much useless on the highway. Do you think things will start to break with 3.36's?

I think that 3:36's are excellent for a V-8 Z on the street after you get
tired of of terrorizing your neighborhood with low-end ratios. You can only
race to the grocery store so many times in your life before you get to
feeling kinda stupid.   Any Z with a 200+ HP engine in it will be more than
enough for 3:36's    3:54's are not bad, but you still get a "buzzy"
freeway experience and not the best gas mileage.
The bad news is that the 3:36 geared R200's are very hard to find these days. I stock them whenever I can find one.

A number of years ago I put a 3:54 R200 in my inter cooled, turbo 240Z with
a 5 spd and decided it was too low a gearing. For one, turbo lag windup is
often reduced by having taller gears in the rear because the counter
leverage of the tall gears causes the turbo pressurizing to be quicker.

With the amount of torque that your V-8 Z has you should not have much
disappointment with the 3:36 gears. And no, I don't think you will have
problems with breaking the 3:36's. Nissan made the R200 very strong. If
you like to "slam it" a lot then the solution will be simple. Just budget
in a replacement rear end every 6 months. You are more likely to have your
stock u-joints fail before the R200 unit. >Joe Ragno >327 260-Z >IZCC #2686
Index

>Hi everyone, just last week I strutted to do my turbo conversion on my 240Z
>8-), when I pulled out my 5spd tranny I noticed it said said "L20 5spd."
>This 5spd tranny is of the ZX style 5speeds..

Tim, If you have a 5spd in your 240Z that says L20 you most likely have a 5spd tranny from a Nissan truck or other car that had a L20B 4 banger in it. The import used tranny places were full of them and many were put in Z's unknowingly in the early 1990's. Only a slim possibility that L20 references a L20a six from a Fairlady although possible.

Index

Repairing fuse blocks

>I remember that someone said that if you soldered the connection on the underside of the 240 fuse box you wouldn't get all that heat and melt down. My question is do I need to drill out the rivets before I soldered the connections or can I just solder over the rivets?
>Thanks, Pat Drayton
>IZCC # 768, ZONC
----------------------------------
Pat,
You can do it either way, but if you solder with the metal riveted together and next to the plastic cover you risk melting the plastic and not achieving a reliable solder contact unless you are experienced in using a heat sink compound on the metal around the solder area and a fast heat solder gun.

On the other hand drilling out the rivets and removing the fuse prongs and wires is time consuming and problematic for some. Using a strong metal prep chemical first will improve your odds of a reliable solder point. (ZP note: Someone on the list later made a good suggestion of soldering a solid copper wire to all the backside rivets as a second bridge piece to the first. That seems like a good idea if the above cautions are followed.)

Related information and photos

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L6 Engine Cam Removal & Installation

>I am about to take the head on my car (74' 260) to a local machine shop to have it resurfaced. First I have to take the cam off. I understand this isn't difficult, but has to be done exactly right or the engine, once it's put back together, will go bye-bye. Any hints or tips? >Mike Palma

Mike,
If you are intending to re-use the old cam and rockers I would suggest the following;

The main concern when removing a Z cam before head work is to take the time to mark all of your rockers so that they can be re-installed matched up with the cam lobes that they have previously established a wear-in pattern with. I use a # stamping kit to number them 1 through 12 starting with the #1 cylinder at the front of the engine. Do this BEFORE you remove the retention springs to make the job go smoothly.

(Rocker Removal Tool)
Afterwards I use a tool made out of a high-tensile steel phillips screw driver that has had its phillips tip cut off and ground down to a tight fitting taper so it will fit into the hole drilled into the pivot end of the rocker. By inserting the tool deep enough into the hole and then levering toward the cam you can cause the ball and socket end of the rocker to lift up and to the side of the ball, thus enabling you to easily remove all of the rockers without a valve spring compressor. This tool also is excellent for checking rocker wear on a used engine before doing a valve adjustment in the field. Try to keep each rocker's lash pad matched up to it's original rocker tip, but don't # stamp the lash pad surface. This last precaution is not too critical to reassembly, but it never hurts to follow it.

The next precaution regards the removal of the sharp-edged forged steel cam through the soft aluminum cam towers. Slide the cam toward the front of the engine very slowly so as not to have the steel cut a nasty gouge in the aluminum bearing surfaces. Be sure to oil the bearing surfaces well before sliding the cam out.

Lastly, the removal of the cam towers from the main head block is somewhat controversial in some Datsun engine rebuild shops. Several rebuild manuals recommend against the practice because the cam towers were originally factory line-bored to exact tolerances. If this inline center cannot be re-established at reassembly time the cam will bind causing the rapid destruction of the cam tower's bearing surface.

On the other hand, many excellent Nissan engine re-builders that I deal with, have no qualms with removing the towers, because there is a technique to re-aligning the bore centers that works well for them. But they are experienced. A less competent beginner might be wise to not remove them if the resurfacing shop does not require it. Either that or let them take the responsibility.

Valve removal is usually accomplished by using a valve spring compressor of which there are 2 prominent types, the overhead and the "C" clamp type. The overhead type must be used BEFORE you remove the cam from the towers. Both types can usually be rented at your local tool rental store.

Reassembly of the whole head is a reversal of what I have just described with all the precautions still applying. Often the head shop will do the reassembly for a small fee. At least if something really comes apart at start-up time you can blame the shop instead of yourself and maybe get your money back!

There is one important check to make at this point. After a Z head has been shaved (surfaced) it will sit closer to the crankshaft of the engine causing the cam center line to be close enough to the crankshaft center line as to cause a worn cam chain to have too much slack. If this slack is too great it could cause havoc in a fast revving engine, not to mention throwing off the timing of the cam and valves. The common solution is too reassemble the cam towers with the proper thickness of shims installed at the base that are specifically made for the Datsun L-series engine. It is the inclusion of these shims that often can make it difficult for an beginner to align the towers properly so be careful.

You might want to consider several other great improvements to your head and performance potential when going to the time and expense to do the necessary head and valve job. While you have the head off, doing some clean-up of the casting obstructions in your intake and exhaust ports and around the backside of your valve mating surfaces is an excellent way to improve your heads air flow and engine performance. Just don't get carried away with a die grinder or you will do more harm than good. Especially in your intake port. Don't do more than lightly clean up the casting bumps and match up the inline surfaces of the port and the matching manifolds and gasket. For good gas mileage you need the rough factory casting inside the intake port. The exhaust port can be ground and polished to a greater extent without penalty, but making it larger than the intake is not much help.

Recently, I acquired several new Nissan rebuild gasket kits for Datsun 4 & 6 cylinder L-series engines as well as about 15 Nissan intake/exhaust manifold gaskets. All are OEM new Nissan factory gaskets from a dealership. The kits are in original Nissan boxes. If any of you are going to be installing headers soon or doing an engine rebuild you might want to check out what I have. Some of the kits have not arrived yet, but if you let me know what engine kit you need I will have the inventory checked and reply to you in a couple of days.

Go to this URL to see the entire list of gaskets in stock http://www.zparts.com/tables/gaskets8298.htm

Eric Neyerlin - Z PARTS

Index

240Z Exhaust System Experiments

>Is there anyway to improve my stock 240Z exhaust system without ending up with a loud and obnoxious exhaust tone?

>Twice Pipes, time to tone down: Any thoughts on how to tame the loud exhaust sound from the Twice Pipes I have had for two years now. I would rather not have to replace the whole pipe section from header back, but rather just replace the silencer. I haven't had any luck in finding a muffler that has two inlets that could pick up from where the twice pipes feed into the glass packs that are on the car right now. Is there any way to quiet down the glass packs that came with the Twice Pipes set up? -Gord Thorne - 78-280Z

If all you want is a stock exhaust then just about any shop or mail order house can supply you with a decent one. You may also want to explore the added benefits of a header, larger mandrel bent pipe and complimentary muffler. I recommend 2 1/4" pipe for stock L24's and 2 1/2" or larger for L28's. Flowmaster and Super Trap mufflers are nice additions at the rear of such an exhaust setup.

I have had good luck with the Thunderbird line of headers and dual exhaust tips such as MotorSport Auto in LA sells. If you go with glass paks at the rear be aware that the "blatting" and gurgling noise at the rear tips may become annoying. My experiments with adding a "baby" turbo muffler in the transmission tunnel area has greatly enhanced my 240Z's exhaust sound to the point that many have thought my L24 engine sounded like a small V-8. Seriously! The sound is now quite smooth and low without any high pitch or blatting sound. What this addition does to performance would have to be experimented with, but on the well setup L24 that one

Most muffler shops will make up the entire setup if yours is rusted out, but keep in mind that theirs usually are made with a bending machine that will add a neck down restriction at every bend. This is not good for smooth flow. If you run a stock engine this may not matter to you. If you have a high performance engine and can afford a setup that uses all mandrel bent tubing then I would encourage you to do so. It is far superior to crimped bends when it comes to smooth exhaust flow.

Eric Neyerlin - Z PARTS

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SU Carbs vs Triple Carb Setup:

Fuel Economy & Performance Questions

>Kyle & All,
>The SU type carb on a 2.8 engine is not "laying over due to a lack of fuel".
> It is actually too rich with fuel. If the carbs are right for a 2.4 ( which
>they are ) then the air hole in the front of the carb will really be too
>small for a larger engine. Think of it as a restrictor plate.
>
>The SU carbs will run on a 2.8, but it runs much better when the correct size
>carbs are in place. The Weber and Mikuni carbs work fine once you get them
>set. There is a formula for getting the correct size choke insert for Mikuni
>& Weber carbs. From this formula the initial jet sizes can be determined
>also. Works great as a starting point.
>
>Back in the early eighties I took off a set of SU carbs on a 2.8 Z engine.
> We put on a set of 40 mm Webers. I forget right now what chokes and jets,
>but we got an 11 mpg increase on the highway. These were still small for the
>engine. They were available for the customer, so we set them up. The same
>guy now has a 3.1 with a set of 50mm Mikunis on a matched E -31 head from
>Daltech.
>
>It is easy to think the more gas bigger fire. Internal Combustion engines
>have to operate on a ratio of air to fuel. If this engine gets too much
>fuel the power will fall off. It is also easy to get fooled by the larger
>engine. Even with poorly set carbs, it may run better than a 2.4 that needed
>replacing.
>Alan Giles
---------------------------------------------------
Alan,

I am puzzled by your analysis of the fuel efficiency of SU's compared to
triple Mikunis. Perhaps you can show me my error in reasoning.

While it is true that the smaller 240 SU's can not supply the amount of air
an L28 engine needs above aprox. 4500-5500 rpm, how does a 40+ triple
Mikuni carb setup ever get better gas mileage on the street than a properly
adjusted SU setup if all else is equal? If the mixture is set correctly, I
have always known the SU setups to be the most fuel efficient carbs for an
L28 on the street other than perhaps the Weber DGV's.

Obviously, if a tuner of SU's installs performance needles such as the SM's
or KM's, does not "massage" the carb and manifold turbulence bottle necks
and does not add a hedder, it is likely that the L28 engine will "lay down"
early in the higher rpm ranges. This is an error of the tuner, but not a
case against the fuel efficiency of the SU compared to triple setups.
SU's, by their design, have always been known for their tendency to achieve
very respectable gas mileage when properly tuned. (The driving habits of
heavy foots and feather foots is a variable to the equation that no tuner
can control)

For performance above the street needed rpm's it is obvious that the
triple setups have the advantage. They can definitely out flow the SU's.
But in gas mileage? I can not see the logic in that statement.

Triples make more power over SU setups only (see note below) at the point
when they flow a larger volume of an optimized air/gas mixture than the
SU's if all other variables of engine and exhaust are equal. Below certain
rpm's the difference in power is mostly in the ability of one setup to
"flow" air more efficiently than the other and to have it pulled out the
other side of the engine by a complimentary exhaust "scavaging" system that
"pulls" the exhaust according to certain principles of physics. The one
variable between the 2 setups in the low ranges is that the triples can be
dialed in more accurately for each rpm transition range that is critical to
transmission shift points and engine power bands. On the street these
differences tend to be of marginal importance. On the track is another story.

As for the performance potential of the SU's versus triple setups, it would
be good to remember that stock SU setups can be " massaged" to increase
their airflow noticably. Mated to a cleaned up and match ported E33 and
E46 intake manifold and a proper street header flowing to a 2 1/2" exhaust
system can bring about a very powerful L28 powered Z car as well as one
that gets very respectable gas mileage.

As an example I would point out that Rebello Racing has been massaging SU's
for years with very noticeable performance improvements. His customers tell
me that these SU carbs still pass smog in California, but really kick ass
on the street .

Well anyway these are my thoughts. If you can point out my errors in
thinking about your SU post please do so. I am always interested to
improve my knowledge of this subject.
(ZP Note: In rereading the above I see I missed a bit of Alan's point at first about the the richness of SU's being because of engine size, but I still would debate the improved mileage claims for the Triples especially in light that the needles can be changed in the SU's to flow different rates of fuel at specific lift.) Keep up the good posts. I enjoy reading them. Eric Neyerlin - Z PARTS eric@zparts.com

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Starting an Engine after long periods of non-use

>Eric, >
>I don't know if you got my message last week, but remember when I asked questions about starting a Z that had been sitting for a couple of years? Well, I leave Florida for NC to do just that this week. I had a few more questions so here goes: Should I run a light grade of oil in the crank case for when I first get it going?

No....!!!!!! Not in the crankcase. Especially if you are going to run the car in hot weather. My reference before to light oil was about prepping the pistons and rings and cylinder walls for initial start up only. After you have the car running decently you should change the oil to a 20-50 type for driving back to Florida. Even in a tired engine you need fresh, proper weight oil.

The WD-40 soaking treatment for a day or 2 was meant to loosen rust and un-stick rings due to old, dried oil and carbon deposits that collect in a sitting engine creating rust rings on the cylinders wall. Rings sometimes become locked back into the ring lands as well on a long sitting engine, preventing them from sealing well after start up. The precaution above is also to safe guard you from breaking a ring on a "rust groove" on the cylinder wall. After that treatment you can squirt in a gush of light oil to chase the WD-40 a bit. I would suggest that you crank it a few times with the coil wire disconnected in order to get a good coating of light oil on the rings and cylinder wall before trying to fire the engine. Do the light oil chase 2-3 times before a firing. When you first fire it, be very alert for any strange or loud ticking sounds or high pitch sounds. Shut it down immediately if something seems improper.

You will probably get a lot of smoke from all the oil in the cylinders when it fires. If the fire dept doesn't show up then keep the engine running at about 1200 to 1800 until the smoke dies down.

After all that WD-40 and light oil has gone down into your crank case your oil will be getting dangerously thinned down from the weight it should be at and you could wipe a bearing if you run it too long or drive the car without changing to a good oil.

> >Is there any additive that would work best to get the gas crud out of the >lines when I first get it going again? Is there anything that can dry water, >stop rust and clean my fuel system all at once?

There are so many products out there that are similar. Your local auto parts or body shop supply store will give you as good a recommendation as I can. They will be more up to date on what is best to use.

>Should I pull the injectors and try to clean the tips to get them going or will the gas cleaners more than likely do the job?

Well, you can, but it takes a lot of time and you risk the possibility of making matters worse. All the corrosion where the harness plugs into the injector and inside the typically cracked rubber harness boots may be more of a problem than the injectors. Check those first and clean them out a bit first.

Fouled and clogged injectors may be of serious concern, but you can not really clean them in the field properly unless you have good products and experience. A lot of that injector cleaner products that you can buy locally just do not work like promised. After attending to more logical concerns deal with this matter last. If it runs OK to drive it away and will accelerate adequately to drive it home then the injectors will clean up partially just by adding a good de-varnish additive to the fresh gas that you put the gas tank that you should first drain of all old gas if feasible where you are. What is more important for the drive home is to have new gas filters installed. Be sure to buy at least one extra one to have in the car with you and have the tools to change it where ever you may start to have problems. As you drive more and more crud from the tank, lines, pump and injectors will come loose and flow toward the new fuel filter, hence rapidly causing the filter to get clogged. You may have to change it more than once in the first couple of months. > >Whish me luck, >Brian ------------------------------------- OK, good luck and let me know how it goes?

Eric

Index

Repairing Worn Datsun Z Car Ignition Locks & Keys

Al Powell wrote: >Eric, thanks for your recent comments on pulling the 280 ignition switches. My 83 ZXT switch is worn enough that I can pull the key out while it's running - it actually must be pulled back about 1/4" to turn and often must be jiggled to turn on the radio, fan, etc. It's clearly near the end of its service life. When this switch is changed, can the tumblers be transferred to the new switch to keep the key same as the doors??

Al and All,

Here's my view and suggestions on dealing with worn Z car keys and ignition switches.

(you may also need to replace the electrical switch on the back side of the ignition lock, but I will not deal with that question here. It is a seperate problem that may be involved from what you describe above, but can be replaced later)

Z keys and locks often wear to the point that the key will slide out without resistance and even open another Z Car with ease. I used to shock a lot of my new customers by illustrating this fact with a little surprise. I would ask them if they would care for me to inspect their "new" Z car for any "unkown problems". When they answered "Yes", we would go out to the street where their locked car was parked. While they were trying to get out their car keys to unlock the car I would pull out my own set of 2 personal Z keys and insert them into the customer's door lock. My guess is that 80% of the time I was able to open the customer's door with no problem and was usually able to get into the car and start up his engine instantly with one of my 2 keys. I did this with new customers to illustrate how easy it was for a car thief to steal an older Z car. After my demonstration their car project priorities shifted from hot rodding to theft prevention rather quickly. Too bad I didn't sell alarm systems at the time.

To renew everything to factory freshness there are several things that you can do.

1. Some Nissan dealers and repair shops have a special key making kit that can stamp out an original key shape as opposed to a copy, from a worn key. To do this the original key code must be known because it is used it to look up the proper cut out templates. In some 70-78 Z cars it is printed on a fragile, white piece of paper often glued to the inside of the glove box . I do not know if that is true of 280ZX's. The dealer should be able to tell you. If you have an original factory key or ignition switch it may have that code engraved on it as well.

In many cases having one of these "cut-out" Z keys made will improve your situation noticably. Do this first.

2. If your tumblers are badly worn or the ignition switch is becoming quite sloppy you may be able to have a locksmith that specializes in automotive locks, disassemble your switch and install brand new tumblers for approximately $25. - $45. The new tumblers that he uses will be the same length as your old ones and will allow you to use your original key. That beats the cost of a new Nissan switch which lists for around $175.00.

If you do not get a fresh, "cut-out" key stamped out first by the #1 method you may still have problems, because a key copied from a worn original and then used with new tumblers may still be loose and slip out. With luck the locksmith will know how to make you a factory "cut-out", but they are not always authorized to have the Nissan key kits.

3. The last consideration is to have a new ignition key that fits both of your doors and hatch as well. The above approaches will usually get you there, but be advised that door locks sometimes wear out at a peculiar point. Not inside the tumbler mechanism, as many would suspect, but at the back of the lock where there is a pressure point on a half circle section of soft metal that must rotate the door locking lever mechanisms. Very hard to describe in words, but when this metal area wears too far the key turning in the lock will no longer be able to either lock or unlock the door. You can not repair this problem. If you buy new door locks you will again be faced with the problem of not having a matched set of locks to one key.

Your other main option is to buy an entirely new, Nissan matched ignition, door and hatch lock setup from the dealer or MAS. Very pricey, but very "tight". Unfortunately, a Z thief's badly worn key may still be able to open a few Z's with new locks installed so be sure to take other precautions as well.

I hope this answers most of your questions and then some. Eric Neyerlin

Index

Ignition Lock Factory Screw Removal

> Being as my 280Z was recently stolen, in the process the thieves managed to mess up the ignition pretty badly. Upon removing the column half-shells, I find 4 screws holding the switch unit to the column. Two of them have phillips heads, and two have no heads at all. Any tricks on how to remove the two that are sans-head?
Thx
>Shane Nelson
---------------------------------------
Shane,

Here's the procedure I use.

Tighten up the 2 philips head screws just a bit to help take pressure off the non-philips screw heads that Nissan installed as theft prevention. Use a small metal chisel to either notch a cross wise slot across the problem heads or use a very sharp, hardened metal point such as can be made from an old metal punch to gouge a small notch at the outer edge of the soft metal head. Make either the slot or the notch is deep enough that the same tool used to make the indentation can be then angled opposite from the direction that the screw has to turn to be backed out. Gently tap on the the tool with a modest weighted devise, such as a hammer or crescent wrench, until the screw head starts to turn. Be careful not to pound too hard or at too oblique of an angle lest you either destroy your notch or bend the screw in it's threads. Just be patient and tap gently. It will start to move. Keep following the notch around counter-clockwise as it moves.

Once the head turns aprox. 1-2 complete turns it probably will be quite loose to the touch. Take your thumb or a piece of rubber such as a pencil eraser to bear down on and unscrew the screw the rest of the way.

If you can't find a used replacement ignition switch for your car locally you could check with me later. I usually have some decent to very nice used switches in stock. I also have 2-3 of the very rare type for the 70 240Z's that used a one-side key..

Follow up comment to a second post:

eric- i've removed dozens of the switches and here is my quick and easy technique. I use a dremel (or similar) moto tool with two of the thin cutting wheels. Never put three together but that might be even better. I use two because one is just too darned thin and subject to breaking. Then I just cut a slot for a screwdriver in the head. Quick, easy, and works like a charm. If ya ain't got juice handy, then your technique is definitely the way to go. -------------------------------------- Ron Millik,

I have used your technique in the past and it can be a rather quick way to remove damaged ignition locks on cars at my shop, but I prefer the sharpened punch or small chisel method for 3 reasons.

1. The problem of not having electrical power on location as you state.

2. A dremel tool and wheels often are not available and the costly little wheels frequently break.

3. With the punch method I often can avoid chewing up the soft, cosmetic aluminum of the ignition switch housing on a good switch that I am removing for re-sale. The dremel wheel often cuts up the surrounding area in a way that makes the switch look like it possibly came off a stolen car.!

I agree with you though, that the dremel method is quick and to the point when you have everything handy.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

There is one more method that I did not mention before that is similar to yours, but a bit more accessible for home mechanics. It is the "easy out" method.

If one has a small "easy out" tool and appropriate drill bit handy he can stake a centering guide hole in the ends of the screws, drill a small hole in the end and use the easy out tool to unscrew the 2 problem screws.

The biggest problem with this approach is in getting drill and bit into position to drill the hole straight into the screw head. It can be done easily with a 90 degree angle drill, but then again, how many of us have one of those handy either?

Eric Neyerlin - Z Parts

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Rear Suspension Hinge Pin Removal

2/27/98 Am having trouble removing the transverse link pivot bolt on my 74 60Z. It connects the transverse link to the rear strut/hub assembly. Haynes makes it look like all you have to do is "remove" it. Maybe I was using the wrong hand. If anyone has any suggestions they would be greatly appreciated. >Curtis

Removing this long "transverse" or "hinge" bolt can be one of the most difficult jobs on the 70-78 Z car. Many long-time early Z car owners regard it as one of the major rites of passage in owning a Z car. The main problem results when the bolt becomes rusted into the long, tubular hinge holes of the upper strut unit. If this area is not rusted together then removal is usually easy. Some owners also think that this pin becomes stuck due to being warped by the pressure from the retaining bolt in the center.

Heavily saturating any exposed hinge pin areas with hourly doses of Liquid Wrench or WD-40 for a day or 2 often makes the difference as to whether the pin is removed successfully or not.

Before removing the center alignment retainer pin in the center area first back off the nuts at each threaded end of the hinge pin until they come out flush with the ends. Leaving the nuts at the end protects the fine, delicate threads and provides a surface to tap on. Warning: If you tap on these threaded ends without the nut in place you will most likely expand the metal ends or damage the threads, making the pin unusable.

There are 2 better approaches to pounding on the nut at the end.

1. One is to use a deep socket to slide over the threaded end. The socket chosen must fit loose enough to not damage the threaded end and yet tight enough to align exactly on the solid shoulder of the hinge pin inboard of the threaded end.

2. Some owners go to the trouble to make a special tool that is the exact outer diameter of the pin, but drilled and sometimes tapped on the inside so it will screw onto the threaded end of the hinge pin, but still will butt up against the shoulder of the pin shank.

Next, remove the center retaining pin. It's inside end has a tapered, flat tip that must be reinstalled in the position that it came out.

If gentle tapping on the pins ends does not cause the pin to drive out with ease you are faced with the typical problem. First spray WD-40 or like into the retaining pin hole and all along the hinging areas and threaded ends. Let stand. Repeat this action every several hours for a day or two. This may free the bolt, but usually it does not.

At this point there are only 2 more approaches that I can recommend.

1. Go to a shop and have them heat the outside cast metal hinge until it expands enough to release it's grip on the pin and then tap out. The heat method often damages the plastic/rubber bushings in the control arm section so be prepared to buy new ones from the dealer (which rarely has them in stock!)

2. Have a shop with a proper press setup press out the pin using a pipe-like tool end that fits over the threaded end and onto the machined "shoulder" of the hinge pin end. Such a tool can be useful in pounding out the pin with a hammer. Do not pound the threaded tip end of the pin.

Once you get the pin out and have replaced the bushings I recommend that you lightly sand off any bad rust and reinstall the pin with anti-seize compound. Be sure that the center retaining bolt installs with the flat tapered side facing the correct way.

Good Luck, Eric Neyerlin - Z PARTS

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Approaches to Early Z Car Theft Prevention

> Nothing will prevent a "pro" from getting your car if he really wants
>it. Regardless of what you do, they will eventually find everything if they
>feel it is worth their time and risk. However, there are several things you
>can do to discourage all but the most determined thiefs.
> A hidden battery disconnect.
> A hidden ignition disconnect.
> A hidden gas line shutoff (mechanical)
> A hidden gas pump shutoff for electric fuel pumps. >
> There are also electronic tracking devices that can be used to recover >a car after it is stolen (e.g., Lo Jack)......

>Arnie Carter, IZCC #3749, ZCCNoVA#306

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Arnie and All,

I was about to list almost all of what Arnie posted above, but he beat me to it. I'll try to broaden the discussion a bit.

1. Hidden battery disconnects are helpful, but often are a hassle to install effectively and can be easily circumnavigated by a talented car thief. They can be part of an effective defense, though.

2. Same for hidden ignition disconnects. The success of this approach is determined by how shrewd the installer is in first camouflaging the disabled stock ignition setup and then hiding his ignition disconnect replacement. I most like the approach of some where they actually make the ignition turn on easy to find, but use an electrical fuel pump timed delay that then shuts off within 2-4 minutes when some kind of code or special key is not in the circuit. In it's absence the car runs out of gas in the middle of the street or at an intersection where the thief least wants to be seen trying to get the car started. A thief faced with a sudden shut down of the car in traffic will often abandon the car and flee rather than continue to try and get the car started.

This kind of defense often results in the least amount of theft damage to the car. At worst you have to worry more about the towing company that tows the "abandoned" car to a tow yard where it's goons often damage the car or strip it themselves. What a nightmare it is to have your car towed away in SF these days. You'll be lucky if you get it back for less than $100. (first 4 hours) with the stereo and personal belongings all intact. Ah, but I digress!

3. A mechanical fuel pump shut off is OK, but is not difficult to find. A Z set up with either an electrical fuel kill switch or gas line turn off valve works better with the #2 solution. If the Z is running a mechanical pump then the thief can come with a small gas can and fuel line, quickly disconnect the gas tank line hose and hook up his can and start the car. A rubber strap is all he needs to secure his gas can near the altenator. If the mechanical pump has been replaced by an electrical one he has to get juice to it first and that takes up valuable time that a thief often does not have.

4. I love the James Bond image of electrical tracking devices and they actually may be affordable enough these days as to warrant their use on more valuable Z cars, but I have never experienced them. Remember though that professional car thieves are aware of the hi-tech era as well and can possess scanners that can detect and locate these devices in your car. If they are hidden in your dash or your interior panels the thief may use rather brutal methods of uncovering these devices so as to disable them. The damage done to your car may be worse than having just a stereo or some rims stolen. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I would offer some less drastic solutions for consideration.

1. Using too many heavy duty lock down prevention methods may lead to more damage in the end than allowing the thief easy access. If a thief can not easily unlock your door many times he will just break your window on the spot. Once inside a modestly intelligent thief knows that he can pull the ignition switch wires off the back of the ignition lock and hot wire it either from that point or from inside the engine compartment with a few clip wires hooked up to the correct contacts. Only the most ignorant of thieves needs to have a key to your ignition lock to start your early Z car.

As a case in point, I once had an ugly Z car parked behind a 12' high locked cyclone fence in the industrial area near Candlestick Park in SF waiting for a shop to do some more performance upgrades to it. My folly was that I could not wait to put on some exotic looking BBS rims and new tires on the car while I was building this project car. The car was sitting in plain view to many street people and industrial workers that passed by daily. Anyway, one or more thieves cut the fence chain one night, jacked up the car and used some heavy steel pipe or such to try to break the window for access. Well the idiot missed his first try and hit the door panel put a nice gouge into the metal exterior. Then he tried again, busted the glass, brutally wrenched my stereo out of the dash leaving pry marks and gouges all over the dash front.

Next they hammered on the right sized socket onto the mag rim locks until it jammed on tight and then he unscrewed and removed all the rims without difficulty. Once the thief (s) had every thing off they placed some crude rocks and other steel objects from the industrial yard under the car at indiscriminate points to hold up the car enough for them to remove their jack. When they let the jack go the car came down on the lower door rocker area, badly crushing it and the lower front fender area as well. So I lost the rims and new tires, the new, but cheap stereo, a fender, a door and it's glass and incurred a huge body shop bill as well.

Ironical footnote. Several months later a woman came to buy some Z parts from me and drove up in a ZX with the same BBS rims and tires on the car. I would have known these rims anywhere. While I put her off for a moment I called the local police. The officer arrived in time, but after a bit of discussion, informed me that because I could not point out any absolute mark of identification such as a metal stamped on serial # he could not detain the owner or press charges. The further irony turned out that the lady reported that she actually worked for a police deptartment, but claimed that she bought the rims and tires from a neighbor just down the street from her house (and not far from where they were stolen!) .

My point here is to caution owners of older Z cars not to get too carried away in how they implement theft prevention techniques. Suggest ion # 2 is one of the better ideas I know of where the thief is made over confident by relative easy access, but is then trapped by the errors that come with over confidence.

Another thing I used to do in one middle class neighborhood that I lived was to take out all my valuable tools, stereo and such, remove the distributor to coil wire and leave the car unlocked with a few quarters left out in plain view on my console ash tray lid. I did not drive these cars often and left them parked on the street, but I would check them every morning to see if the quarters ever disappeared. If they did I knew that there were thieves in the area casing my cars and I would then take more prudent steps to protect them after that.

One last suggestion: A master Nissan mechanic I know once made up an inexpensive electrial, red-blinking light device similar to the kind of blinking light that installs as part of a totally armed alarm system. By drilling a small hole in a console cover plate, interior windshield metal heating vent cover or upper door panel the little blinking light could be activated just by turning off the ignition or a pressure switch located under the driver's seat cover when the driver got out of the car. This light easily will catch the eye of a would-be thief and make him think twice before deciding to try to break in by any means. If he looks for a way to disable the "alarm light" from underneath he will not succeed and may decide to move on to an easier target. I remember that the mechanic installed several of these devices in his friend's cars that lived in bad areas of Oakland, CA and I don't think any of those cars were ever broken into?

My mechanic friend once talked about making these devices for resale on a casual basis, but I don't know if he is still interested in doing so. I would estimate that they would sell for around $25.00 if he did. If I get enough serious requests I would forward them to him to see if he wants to go into limited production.

PS, About those StarLocks. They sound great and I have tried to import them for resale, but hit a stone wall just like Bill. After some thought though I have wondered whether they make sense because of the cautions I have mentioned above. They really lock your door tight, but then the thief most likely will break your glass. Where are you after that?

Lastly, I used to lock up a lot of my cars with the kind of device that has a U hook at one end that hooks around the brake pedal and clamps around the outer part or a steering wheel. I still like them, but don't have as many cars to protect as before. I have 2-3 of these here at the yard for sale with keys for $20. each in case anyone is interested. I think they are better than the CLUB device ( which is not very effective on an early Z Car by the way)

Lastly, Lastly. I must put in a plug for all the early door glass that I have here for sale. I have a huge selection of most R&L door glasses for 70-83 Z & ZX cars as well as 2+2's. I think I would be willing to risk shipping some of this glass if anyone is interested. Coupe windows go for $45. and 2+2's go for $65. If you have an interchange manual like I sell or a fiche you probably know by now that all the 70-78 door glass looks and measures the same from the outside of the car, but are not the same nor are interchangeable between many of the models. You can easily get screwed buying door glass from a private party with honest intentions. Be carefull.

OK, gang , it's lunch time for me. Gotta go. I hope this helps some of you trying to deal with the theft prevention problem and solution.

Eric Neyerlin - owner of Z PARTS

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