FuFu'Z 240Z Project! 56K warning... too slow.

[fufu]

OK, definitely bad news.

 

Brake cylinder is gone. After changing the drums to rear discs. The re-calibration of the brake cylinder has caused it not to work for the rear brakes.

 

Dad and me confirmed it today. Kept bleeding it, with and without the engine on and it kept getting soft for the rears. The fluid level for the rear would always drop and never stay steady like the fronts.

 

So our conclusion is for the 30 yro brake cylinder its time for a re-kit. If i can get my hands on one  :-\

 

Welps time to move on to paint while i think about this problem.

[JP240z]

Oh yeah I forgot to mention that was another one of the parts I had to fix while bleeding my brakes..

Try ABS, they kitted mine and did a good job of it.

[fufu]

Hey JP240z,

 

what sort of price am i looking at if they re-kitted it?

Also do i just drop the brake cylinder there? or the car?

 

cheers,

fu

[JP240z]

um.. i cant really remember exact price..

i am thinking it was about 80-90 bucks? but not too sure..

yeah you just take the master cylinder there, probly not a bad idea to rekit the slave while ur at it.. i think that was a repco part that was pretty cheap.

[zedevan]

couldn't u just buy another master cylinder for that sort of price? good excuse to change to the ratio mayb to suit ur new brakes better?

[JP240z]

yeh i could be way off with that figure..

I could go and look through my reciepts, but that folder is kinda a massive unit so I cbf a bit..

It's probly easier to give abs a call and ask them.

I'm pretty sure it would be cheaper than a master cylinder.

[fufu]

So i decided to go with a new master brake cylinder. Should arrive next week *fingers crossed*

 

Anyhow I'm stuck with another problem now.

 

I kinda threaded the brake lines that lead up to the master brake cylinder. Theres still a little bit of spanner angle left but the damn things just so tight it won't budge or crack for me to get it off.

 

I've even tried a flare 10mm nut spanner and it doesn't work either. Too tight to even budge.

 

Can anyone advise me on what to do from here?

 

 

[pauly_adams]

one word (vicegrips) the vicegrips will lock on the line even if it is completly round just make sure u replace the line if you can, or you will keep having drahmas removing it the mechenic striped mine so i ended up replacing mine too was only bout $15 for the new line

 

cheers pauly

[Zeddophile]

I kinda threaded the brake lines that lead up to the master brake cylinder. Theres still a little bit of spanner angle left but the damn things just so tight it won't budge or crack for me to get it off.

 

I've even tried a flare 10mm nut spanner and it doesn't work either. Too tight to even budge.

 

Can anyone advise me on what to do from here?

 

 

Here we go, I get to tell people again about my favourite little trick - works for most of these types of lines - auto coolers, brake lines, etc.  As long as you have enough flats left on the nut to load it up a bit, you should be right, BUT this is a two person trick.

 

First, you need to get your spanner onto the nut and load it up as far as you can before it will slip off.

Next, the other person needs to get a smallish pin punch and a hammer.  Position the pin punch at right angles to the spanner, and put it on the SIDE of the nut - so on the face which is perpendicular to the part the spanner grabs.  Usually there isn't a massive surface here, but it doesn't matter.  Now, while the first person holds the pressure on the spanner, the second person needs to give the punch a sharp whack with the hammer.

 

The person with the spanner should watch their knuckles with this one though, as it will release much easier than you expect, and you may punch things!  I have seen someone with a 2 foot pole on their spanner trying to undo an auto cooler line, and not able to budge it.  I then did this trick with them, and when I LIGHTLY tapped the punch as a sort of lining up thing, he just about punched himself in the face.  I hadn't even given it a proper whack yet.  The impact through the nut works wonders.  If giving that a few goes and it still doesn't work, you're either doing it wrong, or the line is welded in.

[fufu]

Hi guys,

 

a little update on whats happening so far.

The new rotors have been installed on the fronts and as you all know from the previous posts, the rear disc conversions are done.

 

Front shot of the rear brake conversion. I'm pretty sure this is on the right way, I've even tried to reverse it, but theres no way it can fit in as the parking brake wouldn't reach.

 

Up close shot of the caliper.

 

Pics of the front rotors before installing them.

 

Pics of the front rotors installed. Yea, i should have painted the hub and the calipers but I've been really busy during the festive season.

 

After installing the rear disc brakes I've been thinking, isn't it a bit dangerous to not have a backing plate? To reiterate, I've also been reading up that drilled rotors tend to crack pretty easily or warp. Let's say that the rotors do crack... they would just fall off and lock the brakes up? Some serious danger isn't it? Does anyone else think the same? or any issues relating to this topic?

 

 

 

[Zeddophile]

I wouldn't have done drilled and slotted discs personally, I've looked into it all before.

 

The consensus among the racers I've spoken to is that slots don't do anything except chew the pads up quicker UNLESS you are running a pad which emits a lot of gas which needs to be removed.  The cooling effect of the slot is negligible compared to the wear on pads it causes.

 

Crossdrilling as you said causes cracking, because the hole is an edge for the heat to gather at to try and escape.  This eventually causes stress fractures.  Its not going to cause your disc to fall of, but if it were to crack, and then go unwatched it could conceivably get worse and worse until it throws a chunk.  Unlikely, but a possibility.  More likely what will happen is the cracks will be a cause or a part of the disc warping, and you will get brake pulsations.

[fufu]

Thanks for the input Zeddophile. I won't be tracking it any time soon, mostly just around town and stuff, so i think it's a good temporary solution.

 

anyhow a little update on the project so far. Due to the Christmas period a lot of my purchases didn't arrived until today, i got flooded with about 5 parcels in 1 go.

 

Master Brake cylinder (MBC) arrived today. I managed to get the old MBC out, i pretty much used a flared nut wrench and took the line from the brake equalizer (i think it's called that) and removed the lines with the brake cylinder. Upon further inspections the brake lines connecting to the MBC are pretty much rounded.

 

So I'm getting the brake lines redone first thing tomorrow morning (the place opens at 8AM, MY LORD they are early) and back into the car with the new MBC. Hopefully this time it won't give me anymore problems.

 

Slowly getting there... yes a lot of hiccups.

 

[fufu]

OMG boy am i stupid,

 

ummm yea... i found out the problems to the brakes... i had them on the other way round/opposite side...

 

I did a search on hybridz and they showed me how to properly bleed it by removing the bottom bolt and lifting the caliper so that the bleed nipple was at the top and then bleeding it. So the caliper does work but boy oh boy do i feel stupid at the moment. Forking out some money on a new cylinder and all.

 

So yea, i need to loosen the rear handbrake cable to even get it remotely in the area that it's suppose to correctly be fitted, this looks absolutely impossible to do but we will see.

 

Ah welps, learning experience.

 

[fufu]

Sweet the brakes are working.

 

However, boy was it hard to affix the parking brake cable. It was literally a *beep* (censored).

 

I literally had to take the cable hanger off to get the cable through it and connected to the brake cable bracket and then pull it back to put back the cable hanger back.

 

This is with the parking brake adjuster at it's maximum length.

 

Not to mention now with the car done, when i pull the parking brake. 1 click and it feels tight, 2 clicks and it's impossible to go any further.

 

Time to burn some brakes to get them to smooth in. 

 

I'm also having issues where when i pull the handbrake off and select a gear. The car won't budge, i think the rear brakes are super tight for it to move. Is this because the rear brake calipers are still adjusting?

 

When i accelerate it does move but its got this loud sound before it moves like it's breaking free. The rears don't lock up though.

 

Cheers,

fu

[JP240z]

sure your handbrake isnt slightly engaged?

coz it should take way more clicks, and it would explain the car not wanting to move lol.

[fufu]

It's definitely slightly engaged theres not enough slack in the cable to even have it remotely in the off position.

 

The parking brake adjuster is set to maximum length too, to the rear of the car. I can't see any more possible solutions in freeing it besides going crazy with the handbrake while driving to get rid of the pads a bit.

 

[fufu]

Some more news,

 

I've booked the car in for Monday at the panel beaters to get into the rust repair as well as the respray. As some of you may know, I'll be doing it at the same place Warren, "Kim's Paints and Panels" where Warren got his very delicious looking silver Z repaired and resprayed.

 

He seems to have a low load currently, so hopefully that will speed up the time frame a little. His also got 2 new apprentices, initially the business was operated by only two people, Kim and Tan(older brother). But they have a really high output of work now.

 

I can see the end! *the moment i said that everything came crashing down*

 

Schedule to come:-

 

Rust repair will consist of the following:

- repairing various small holes in the radiator support

- repairing fender link rails

- repairing small holes on the passenger side floor-pan

- repairing both front dog legs

- repairing small holes on the corners of the bonnet where the hinges meet

- repairing small 50 cent size hole in the firewall

- repairing several small holes in the bottom of both doors

- repairing both fender pieces as a result of the dog legs rusting and affecting the the fenders

 

- Repair all dents and warps - straighten the panels up

 

- Rust bullet all common areas of rust

 

Paint-strip exterior

Epoxy prep

Painted in the same Datsun 240Z 903 colour/original vehicle colour

Clear coats

 

- affix all panels together and straighten

 

Then finally the horrible un-stripping phase, where everything will be placed back together.

Also a final bitumen spray of the underside.

 

- get a few things sorted, wheel alignment, brake check, then rwc and registration.

 

I have a feeling all this will take a while.

[JP240z]

yeh I would definately try to do something other than killing ur new brake pads..

sounds like a terrible but terribly effective solution.

[HELLFIRE!]

Could you source a longer cable?

[Zeddophile]

I'd be looking at modifying the little brackets which are bolted to the calipers to hold the cable (at least, it looks like they just bolt on!).  Either bend them in a bit, or slot the hole where the bolt goes through.  Either that or make up a small link to go between the end of the cable and the lever on the caliper, effectively extending your cable a touch.  :-\

[ZD44TT]

what did Kim quote you for the spray and body work?

[fufu]

I've done a bit of research into it.

 

We can actually buy adapters from a company in the US. It's basically a small plate with 2 holes, it's used to extend the cable by about 3cms each side, really used for the hookup from the cable through the cable hangar and to the parking brake handle. It comes with accessories to hook everything up as well. I think this is also what Zeddophile is talking about as well.

 

This would probably be a good option in fixing the handbrake issue, as I'm only pulling the parking brake handle a little bit probably not more than... 20 degrees. So this would definitely solve the problem with the tightness and the hard complexity in installing this rear brake conversion.

 

Kim has not quoted me yet, his going to inspect it on Monday and see what the verdict will be. I don't expect it to be expensive. I'll be doing other stuff to the car at his workshop. E.g. bonnet cable replace, Customising cowl drain pipes, rust bulleting small areas, etc...

[fufu]

OK just came back from Kim's.

 

I have 2 x Z's there at the moment.

 

My friends 260Z 2 seater, quoted $1800 as is, for respray of same colour with minimal strip and sand back to metal. Also quoted $2800 for total strip in and out and rub back to metal and a different colour in and out. But this is Asian to Asian price. Please be advised i don't think anyone can get a match price on that.

 

His taking the second option, and getting it painted white. It's a rare colour i believe and looks fantastic.

 

As for my Z, he didn't get time to have a look as it was already closing time when he returned back. But I'm looking at a long-long time before i get it back. Anyways I'm heading back there tomorrow to drop off other panels (doors, hatch, crappy old donor fenders and etc...).

 

 

[fufu]

OK some news on the Z,

 

They've started sanding the whole car down, I'd say its about 30% sanded, the roof, the front section pretty much done. Get this, every time i go there the quoter is never there so, they've already started it and i don't know how much I'm going to pay for it. Weird ey? But they know they're the cheapest in town and any price i won't refuse them.

 

Some more news,

 

My brothers Trueno arrived today. looks pretty neat apart from requiring a wash as there is a lot of bird droppings. I guess parking at the docks is a bad thing. I managed to start her up once today... revved it for about 20 minutes assuming that might give it a good charge... but... it didn't and now it won't start. I have a feeling the batteries pretty much dead. The tire's are bold as, the previous owner i think did a drifting spree for his finale, theres absolutely no line/grooves in the tyres and the fuel light is on.

 

16V 4Age engine in pretty clean condition except for the oil filter area. Don't see much rust apart from surface rust around the bolts here and there. Got new TRD ignition leads for it, gonna install those tonight when i get a chance to jump start her again and move her into the garage. Don't feel safe leaving her out there. Don't want someone to steal her and use her as a weekend drift machine.

 

The interior i would say is quite immac given the years and comparing to the other Trueno's on the market. Momo steering wheel, soon to be nardi.

 

Thats all i can think off now. More updates shortly.

[Toecutter]

Hey Fufu,

 

I would be keen to drop by next time you down with the car. If you're going to be there at some point on the weekend give me a call. I would'nt mind having a look if your going to be around!?

 

Cheers,

Sulio

0413 188 024