rusty97

HELLO GUYS i wanted to drop a line here. After six months of searching i finally bought my Z. a 1980 280zx California edition. for 500 bucks from a lady that was just trying to get rid of the car, it was over heating and didnt even turn on. She totally didn't know what she had. The car has VERY little rust some dents here and there not a big deal. So far i have all liquids drained, fuel filter,distributor cap,fuel injectors, alternator, o2 sensor, thermal vacuum valve, egr valve.Bigger radiation, Intake system, been cleaning and changing hoses, redid most electrical on it. new Air flow meter, Wires, Battery, fix all smog test componenets etc and passed smog test. Started driving the car around and damn this puppy has power ive owned 3 nissans before but this my fav i am going to fix it and keep it until the day i die maybe later ill post pic of my other nissans. Anyways im having a hard time finding some parts maybe you guys can help me. i found a leak on the power steering hoses so i ordered those. what i cant find anywer!!!! is the Power Steering Resevoir i would like to replace it , i cant even find the cap for sale anywhere. and also the pin that goes from the throttle to the gas pedal rod i have no idea what is called is a rod with 2 plastic ball caps. i already looked at black dragon.com and zstore and auto parts world and nothing.

NismoPick

Welcome to ZDriver!

Good looking Z! You can always call Nissan for your parts. Look up the part on http://nissan4u.com/ so you can have the part# ready for the Nissan parts guy, or to check it on www.courtesyparts.com . Or you could always hit up the junk yard (www.car-parts.com).

I doubt anyone but Nissan would sell JUST the reservoir. I looked up the part for ya: http://nissan4u.com/parts/280zx/us_s...eering_piping/

Part# 49570-W1705

rusty97

I think i got lucky finding this beauty being parted out so cheap.
Thank you so much for all those websites that really helped me out a lot!i mean a lot!!! and now i found out what that other rod was called lol Rod-connecting , accelerator. I'm glad i'm part of the Z family now! my first car was a sentra wich in process of my youth i fixed it up. then i had a 79 300zx at the time i was forced to sell both cars for school expenses etc. But now older and can finally work on a car i will keep for ever. Yes it looks like those two parts i will only find it with the nissan dealer. This time around i want to concentrate on having the engine working perfectly before i start slapping cosmetic upgrades on it. But just like my sentra i want to keep the clean look. Shave everything off door handles, side markers, replace antenna to the roof etc. heres a pic of my old sentra.
Also a few pics of my 300zx i found it rotting away at someones backyard during one of my runs. had frogs living inside. Some one broke the window and stole the radio, the owner just left it there to die. Old man sold it to me for like 200 bucks. Had to push it to my house lol. took me a lot of elbow greese but only like 300$ to fix it back up and get it running like a champ.

many thanx!

WildmaN

^ Nice cars bro'. Oh, and I am pretty sure you didn't have a '79 300zx. Maybe an '89? Anyway, looks like you have a knack for fixing cars up. And making them nice. And congrats on your recent 280zx purchase. And welcome to the site. Enjoy, and keep us posted.

rusty97

oh yes it was 89 sorry it was typo. yeah ill take pics and keep you guys posted right now i'm debating if i should just go buy a used engine crane and take off the engine and start stripping it to get it painted in the future etc or just keep fixing it and paint everything but the engine compartment. it all depends in money really. i found today the second leak was between the master break cylinder and the break booster. i took the apart and found all the inner parts all shut and wore down in side both as well as some cracks so since those parts not so bad ill just order the cylinder and booster, i noticed there is no gasket between these two just some old rubber puddy any idea what puddy is used to seal these two.
Ill make sure to take pics as i go along, going to be a very long road lol as money comes in but a fun one for sure.

WildmaN

That's cool, I kind of figured it was a typo. Anyway, you don't need to put anything in between the master cylinder, and booster. You just bolt the new ones together. And you should be fine. I have replaced a master cylinder before, but not a booster. The brake boosters always have worked on my Z's. Even if the car has been sitting for many years.

Good luck with that man.

NewZx

@ rusty97, what did you do and use to make the engine bay clean up?? Thanks

rusty97

Ive never had to replace a booster on any of my cars before either, but this one the outer casing was completely eaten away by long term leakage of Break fluid fluid and once i removed the master cylinder to view the inside connecting rod of the booster it was completely rusty, dry, and some of the teeth where chipped. I could only assume that at some point the rubber inside the master cylinder wore off or cracked and caused the liquid to leak outside. You said there is no need for any sealant to be applied? at some point both these parts had some sealant that i'm scrapping away right now and with no gasket between these parts is just metal on metal. once i get all the new parts i will take pics and get you opinion. Thank you so much for the input.

about the clean up.
Aside from draining all liquids and filters, i bought couple of feet of rubber hoses different diameter and for fuel, coolant, etc. and new clips. filled a small bucket with degreaser and water. I slowly started to replace all the hoses and clips as i cleaned every surface i can find. Its time consuming and i probably will have to do it in depth if i take the engine off but for now it looks 100% better. In some hard places full of gunk like inside the throtle body and intake manifold i used a toothbrush and little bit of gasoline. In my opinion this is the best way to get to know the engine. I learn so much just following each hose to learn what its connected to etc and check for cracks etc. In my experience a lot of people buy a old car then do a look over really quick then go slap on a turbo of a some big time upgrade and blow off something in the process that will cost $$$$. so far i have completely cleaned and replaced every hose from the intake, fuel and coolent system before i slapped on the new air system, MAF meter and Radiator convertion. Now i know these 3 systems are in top shape. Right now im still in cleaning process as i have moved to take off the gunk of the under chassis im working on cleaning and replacing the steering system and fuel system. Few months from now then i finally done cleaning lol i will know that most the important components are working perfectly. Also if i do descide to take off the engine i will have a very personal knowledge of where everything is etc.

nothing beats elbow grease and patience

WildmaN

I believe the grommet or boot, or whatever it is. Helps seal between the master, and the booster. I have only replaced one master cylinder before. And I didn't put any sealant or gasket in between. And everything worked perfectly. But yeah, looking forward to the pics. So we can see how everything is inside. Also it is the 2 12mm bolts, that hold the master to the booster. And when putting it back together. Don't forget to put the bracket back, that helps with the heatshield.

Anyway, sounds like you have a pretty good game plan. It will be rewarding with all the time, effort, and work you put into your Z. I know it has been worth it to me. And you definitely have the right attitude, and objective, to get things done, and done right. Good luck man.

rusty97

Thank you for the tip. yeah that heat shield is the one full of that plastic gunk. im cleaning it right now as i wait for parts to arrive.

ThankS! gona be fun!!!

rusty97

Wildman did you leave the Automatic Speed control Devie on, on all your Z's? i been debating i think i'm going to completely remove the entire cruise control system. Is not working properly right now and i will never ever use it, from what i been reading all the diagrams i don't see any complications at all if i take off the entire system including the vacuum tank, hoses, solenids and acuator. It will also look better as i am going for the clean look i want the inside and outside of the car clean! i'm going to shave off everything door handles, side markers, antenna, etc. And maybe maybe if $$$ lands i want to convert the doors flip up lambo style. The engine bay the same i want to keep it clean open. i want to remove anything i wont ever need like the windshield pump, water, etc. Just on your opinion i wanted before i go ahead and dissmatle it. I'm pretty sure nothing else is connected or needs any of the parts of the speed control system only 1 hole will be were the vacum connects to the intake manifold but i can just plug change that screw to a close plug.

WildmaN

No I have never taken the cruise control out. Just didn't want to go through all that work. Maybe I still wouldn't mind it on long trips. If I ever take any. lol

If you are going to shave stuff off. Would you have parts available? I wouldn't mind another stock antennae, and such. Also the windshield washer pump, and tank. When you say water. I hope you are not referring to the overflow tank. You need that if that is the case.

And I beg you, please do not put Lambo doors on your Z. Only Lamborghini's look right with those doors. I have to tell you up front. I wont do it. But people will probably flame you for doing it. Just trying to save you some grief man. Please think about what I said.

rusty97

lol wow ok just a thought about the doors LOL.
about the parts yes, anything i take off i will never use again and they are in working order just old. antena, windshield washer pump, prob shave off the back windshield wiper too so all those parts too. when i said water i meant the tank u put windshield wiper liquid to squirt all over you windshield lol. NOT the coolant tank helllooo!!! lol. on my sentra i shaved everything off and i really like the clean look of it not even a sticker. just Z emble in the hood and the datsun in the back and thats it. on my sentra i took off the engine and put on a bigger nissan sunny engine and i took off everything i could and it just look clean and good i want the same for this one.
this a slow process but more and more i'm leaning over just buying the crane and take off the engine.
i can start a box of parts if you want and later on tell u all the parts i have that i wont use.
thats not a prob.

WildmaN

Sorry about the doors. I was just saving you some grief. Okay, I was hoping it wasn't the overflow tank. lol As for the windshield washer. It is better to put washer fluid in it. It is not really good to put water in it. That is probably why mine do not work. lol

And cool on the parts list. As for cleaning things up, and shaving. I can agree on some of it. But I still the think the door handles, are pretty flush to the car. I can understand some of the emblems though. I only really have the Z hood emblem. My 280zx one on my hatch is only half there. lol And I do plan on shaving my sidemarker lights. I have clear lenses on there now. But none have bulbs in them. I have got to figure out how to cover the holes, and smooth them out.

rusty97

cool ill save stuff on a box for later. and post a list of parts .
on my sentra all he holes left over from door handles etc i did it at my buddys body shop we welded small sheets of metal behind the hole easy 5 mins then covered the hole with bondo. if you see i put way more pics on my profile gallery of my sentra i really dig the flush look of the doors. i hated door poppers so i had the alarm unlock the doors and a seperate button to roll the window down thats how i opened the doors. this car dosent have power locks and i dont wanna fill up the inside of to much stuff so im thinking if i do shave off the handles to do the same a viper alarm system to roll the windows. My sentra was auto so i had remote engine start, windows down, and 2 seperate modules we came up with one to adjust the volume of the radio to loud or off and a dif module to a solenoid to rev the pedal LOL was funny to see people look into the car wth no one is in there. lol but i was younger lol. im not doing that this time around lol just roll windows and thats it . ;oP
thanx for the feed back!!!

WildmaN

Cool man, sounds good. I plan on putting a Viper alarm on my Z in the near future. Mine did come with power door locks. So that will make it easy for me.

As for the sheet metal. That would be the problem. I don't have a welder. I am trying to find a way to fill the holes, and then bondo to make it flush. I thought about riveting. But those will show, and it wont look right.

And you are welcome, good luck with your Z.

NismoPick

Fusor: http://www.lord.com/Products-And-Sol...t-Products.xml

3M and some other popular companies make the same thing... much easier than welding, and when done right, just as strong.

WildmaN

Thanks for the information man. I will look into it here soon. That should do the trick.