Hi All

 

Having a problem with the brakes on Z32 300zx SWB, there is a awful lot of pedal travel, I have checked the free play adjustment on the pedal and while checking brake pipes and calipers for leaks I have noticed that on this car the brake pipes from the master cylinder on the o/s front there is only one brake pipe going through the o/s wheel arch whereas on inspecting another 300zx Z32, there are two brake pipes going through to the wheel arch and they go to a small block bolted to the inner wheel arch, which is missing on my SWB can anyone tell me what this block is and what it does

 

My car appears to have the facility to fit this block as there are two mounting holes in the inner wing under the wheel arch

 

Would appreciate any help

 

Thanks in advance

If your car is an NA and not fitted with ABS then you won't have that block as it is part of the ABS pipework. For a car without ABS

you will only have one pipe coming through to the wing from the master cylinder. The diagram below shows the lines and blocks:

 

 

http://nissan4u.com/parts/300zx/er_z32/1993_3/type_1/brake/brake_piping_and_control/illustration_1/ (parts diagram for TT with ABS item 22)

 

Have you fully bleed the brakes to remove any air in the system?

Hi Andrew

 

Thanks for the swift reply, yes its NA, have bled the brakes but please excuse my ignorance how do i tell if its got ABS or not, my reason for thinking that there is a problem of some sort is that the one brake pipe that goes to the o/s front arch is a strange shape and looks as if it has been made by a 10 year old.

 

Regards

 

Marc

Take a look at the brake master cylinder - cars without ABS have three hydraulic lines and ABS cars have two hydraulic hardlines connected

to it. You can also check by looking behind the body trim behind drivers side seat - there will be an ABS actuator if the car has ABS. There

will be an "Anti-Lock" light on the dash (which comes on briefly when the car is started) and normally an ABS sticker on the brake booster

for cars with fitted with ABS.

 

Post a picture of the pipe.

Looks like its a NON ABS as there are three brake pipes coming from the master cylinder, I am trying to upload photo's of the pipe to the o/s/f wheel arch

 

 

This looks wrong to me surely the pipe should hug the chassis rail rather than nearly touching the exhaust manifold or are they all like this ?

 

Thanks again

It does look odd Marc. I would expect it to be closer to the chassis. This is your Blue convertible? If so, IanL has the

same car and could compare the routing with his. You could PM him to ask. However, provided the line is not leaking

then it wouldn't make a difference to your excessive pedal travel.

 

Has the level of brake fluid in the reservoir fallen in normal use? When you checked for leaks did you look to see that

there is no fluid leaking from the back of the master cylinder (look up inside the footwell)? This would point to a failing

master cylinder. Have you looked for brake fluid dripping onto the ground underneath the car - a damaged brake line

or joint?

 

Check that the rubber lines which run from the hardlines to each caliper are not ballooning when pedal pressure is

applied. You will need two people to do this check.

 

Check that the pistons in the calipers are free and not seized up. Pads in good condition and again free to move. The

bleed nipples for the calipers are at the top? It is not unknown for the calipers to be swapped over L to R which makes

it impossible for the calipers to be bleed free of air.

Hi Andrew

 

No this is a Blue SWB Slicktop, my obsession with these cars is becoming out of control I wish to get them all up to scratch and should really not have bought them (my Wife informs me) but having got the Yellow SWB T Top in the first place as I could not find a Slicktop I could afford, I subsequently found this Blue Slicktop, and then at the beginning of the month the Blue Convertible reared it head and I just had to buy it.

 

I know I could have bought a very tidy car for the cost of the three cars, but it just sort of happened all are manual NA but I am amazed how different each of the cars are with regard to light operation and wiring and also how they have all been wired using the twist & tape method, which I am gradually working through to get everything working.

 

I have checked underneath and can not see any leaks, I have removed all the calipers & discs and the pistons in all calipers move smoothly, cleaned all the calipers and refitted & applied copper slip the pads, replacement pins in the calipers also, unfortunately there has not been any normal use as the poor electrics have prevented road use but the brake fluid reservoir was above the Min mark and moves towards Max mark when the pistons are pushed back into the calipers, I will try and get help to check for bulging brake flexible hoses also will get in the drivers footwell and check the master cylinder.

 

Will let you know progress

 

Many Thanks

 

Marc

This would point to a faulty BMC.A caliper seizure would not cause excessisve pedal movement,quite the opposite in fact as less fluid is required if all the pistons do not move.