A&Q about 350Z
Q:
Good grief, I'm really off to a good start drag racing this year.
Having never broken either a diff mount or a rear end in 11 years of drag racing I have now in the short span of 3 weeks managed to break a 3.7 rear end and a 3.9 rear end as well as totally shear off a brand new Nissan rear end diff mount(I suspect it was faulty from the factory)
And I'm just running my regular crappy street tires.
Also today while adjusting my cam I allowed the wedge to come free when I pulled up on the chain and allowed the tensioner to pop out! Talk about being PO'd.
Miracles of miracles I was able to get it back in it's hole!
I will use my curved plastic motorsport wedge instead of the wooden one my buddy gave me from now on. Still can't believe I got it back in without removing the timing cover!
Anyway so then at the track tonight I am way off on power so obviously I got my cam gear on th wrong setting somehow during all the commotion,but even being way down on power I still managed to break my 2nd rear end in three weeks.
I have no explanation except that I normally run my rear Tokicos on 3 and last week I ran it on 5 and tonight I ran it on 4. Seems hard to believe that could in anyway contribute to the rear end failures but it's the only thing I chnged on my normal drag setup.
The failures in the rear end have both involved the little steel set pin having sheared and thus allowed the spider gears to jam togther.
I also forgot to mention that tonight I went to Farmington Dragway and got one stinking run and it started to rain and they closed the track, so I drove on over to Wilkesboro Dragway about 45 minutes away and then it started raining there about 40 minutes after I got there! ARRGGHH!!
Oh yeah did also mention that I burnt the living crap out of my left hand when I inadvertently touched the hot exhaust pipe???
So far this certainly is shaping up to perhaps be the year I might decide to retire from drag racing!! LOL
Later,Norm
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12.804 @ 107.26 mph on crappy street tires with Dual SU Powered 2.9L Stroker!
ZCAR.COM member since Aug 1998
Post Edited (May 18, 11:41pm)
A:
Dang thats a terrible chain of bad luck... go buy a lottery ticket as you are owed some good luck in a hard way
Interesting thought about the shock dampening. It does not seem like that little change in power "smearing over time" would be the cause as one would think the wheels would break loose first. Maybe a differential mount was failing or loose (or something in a 1/2shaft or drive shaft) and that left enough slop for a sudden impulse to happen at start?
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A:
Could have had a blowout from debris on the track under power and the torque put you into the armco.....
Or have the second and fifth gear synchros engage simultaneously due to countershaft deflection from torque, locking the transmission at over 140mph causing you to blow it up, and lift the car into the air with resulting wild ride...
I mean, I COULD be worse.
You should go enter one of the Land Speed Events at Maxton/Laurinburgh---remember you will get ONE run before you get banned! LOL
It's much less damaging on components, you got a whole mile to get up to speed... It's shorter than you may think!
Try it, you'll like it!
People Are Idiots, Just look around here and you will see!
Tony D: "Knowledgeable but Caustic"... rationull
My brother from another mother calls himself "Willie D"
A:
Drag Racing breaks parts.....but it's soooo damn fun!
Think of it this way, you've already had all the bad luck, nothing but smooth sailing now.
Ken
'82ZX n/a 2+2
'02 Sportster XL1200C
A:
welcome to my world although my 2 rear diff blows were about 6 weeks apart : \
70 yay!
77 parts
81 compressed parts
86 compressed it handles
00 mercury cougar omg wtf : \ girl has to have something to drive
- owned
74.5 why did i sell you
81 1st car $425 found out s130s dont handle stock
82 good
84 BMW 325e omg never again
A:
I've gone thru 3 new Nissan diff mounts with my setup, which has the urethane mustache bushings. I don't know how much tq those mounts are designed to hold but it's not twice the stock output!
I feel your pain Norm, I'm on my 2nd 3.90 this year. I get the same spider gear pin failure. The last one happened as I was coming out of a turn, full on the gas and boom all the sudden gone.
Matt
A:
If your running a OPEN diff, I would bet that you were doing a one wheel burnout, and you put ALL the load on the center pin, and spiders, therefore, there was lack of lube going to that center pin, and it then seized up. Dont ask me how I know this :).
Lots of Z cars, 1970's-1983's.
1977, Megasquirt, 12.8@ 105, 1.70 60 Foot, 2940 LBS. Blake Machine Co, Phx, AZ http://bandmzcars.com http://blakemachineprojects.com http://www.zselect.com
A:
Norm were you running a R-180 or a 200?
Dave
12/70 240Z, L-28, flat-tops, N-42 head, N-33 intake, MSA 10-2002 cam, ZX ignition, early 5-speed, R-180,4:11 gears, 903 Blue paint.
A:
Yeah it's crazy though cuz I've done one wheel 2nd gear 50 mph burnouts for over 11 years with no problems!!! And now POOF all of sudden everything is going Kaput!~!
I don't think I am making more power as thus far my times are no better although I am spinning 2nd gear about 50 ft before it hooks up which I wasn't doing before this latest rebuild and new clutch.
Maybe it's just some bad luck all at once!!
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12.804 @ 107.26 mph on crappy street tires with Dual SU Powered 2.9L Stroker!
ZCAR.COM member since Aug 1998