NISSAN 240SX STEP-BY-STEP 300ZX REAR BRAKE CONVERSION

 

This article is a follow up to the video we made about upgrading the brakes on our Project GripS14 (http://youtu.be/G9I06pjuCRg). If you’ve watched it then you’ll have a good idea as to how to tackle the job but we figured why not include a full step-by-step story as well to really make it easy on you.

What you see here is essentially everything you’ll need for the conversion. I picked all of it up complete from Z1 Motorsports. Make sure you’re getting everything needed for the parking brake setup because if pieces are missing, odds are you’ll need to buy them new from Nissan and that won’t be cheap. I’ve heard that older generations of the Infiniti Q45 also have a near identical parking brake layout so you may be able to use parts from that vehicle.

Also, the hubs aren’t necessary because you can re-use the S14 units but you’ll need the backplates and most places don’t like to sell these items individually so it’s easier to buy the whole shebang and sell off the hubs. There are plenty of 4-lug 240 owners that’ll scoop them up.

These are the bits and pieces needed for a working parking brake. Even if one spring is missing the system won’t work correctly so double, no triple check that you have everything.

For rotors, I went with Disc Brakes Australia 4000 Series one-piece slotted rotors. They’re a great rotor for motorsports use since the rotor is cast from a high carbon iron that resists warping and has increased thermal capacity over standard rotors.

The last piece of the 300ZX rear brake conversion puzzle are the parking brake cables. You’re going to need R33 Skyline cables because they’re the only cable that’s long enough and will work in an S14 (’95-’97). S13 (’89-’94) owners are in luck because the 300ZX cables work but I’ve heard they’re an extremely tight fit so if you have the extra loot buy the R33 cables. They’re about $90 from thenismoshop.com However, they’re usually out of stock so finding them on a 240SX forum (like I did) may be the better solution.

Alright, let’s get down to business and remove the stock brake setup.

Start by removing the cotter pin that keeps the axle nut from backing off and then remove the axle nut. Usually a good impact gun will do the trick here. If not, bust out the BFB (Big F*cking Bar). If I recall correctly, the nut size is 27MM.

Before removing the caliper, you’ll need to disconnect the parking brake cable. It can come off two ways. One, you remove it with the bracket in place (as shown above). Two, the clip holding it on the bracket is popped off and the cable slides out. I used the first method because the damn cable was seized into the bracket. Salt ridden roads during Canadian winters will do that.

Crack the brake hard line loose but don’t remove it until you’ve got the caliper off. That way you’ll minimize the amount of fluid lost from the system.

Now you can pull the caliper off.

Next, comes the rotor. It’ll most likely be rusted onto the hub so a rubber mallet or a BFH can be quite persuasive.

This is what we’re left with. If only we could slide the hub out right now then the 300ZX parts would bolt right in without taking anything else off. Sadly, the hub is held in by 4-bolts that are tucked behind the drive axle.

That means disconnecting all the arms and coilover that hold the hub assembly in place.

Once everything is disconnected the drive axle needs to be pushed out of the hub and the 4-bolts reveal themselves.

Here’s where having a hot climate only car can make your job easier than mine. If you remove the 4 bolts odds are the hub can be tapped out. This one, not so much.

So for the rest of us that means removing the entire LCA and hub assembly. You can separate the ball joint from the hub assembly but it’s easier to remove two bolts than it is to risk damaging the dust boot on the ball joint during the removal process.

A press comes in handy at this point. This job can also be done with common hand tools like a hammer and a very large socket but there’s alway risk of damaging the hub when you’re hammering on it so my advice is to use a press or find someone who has one capable of this job.

With the hub pressed from the assembly, we can start putting the 300ZX components on.

But first, ask yourself if you’ll be tracking your car frequently. If the answer is yes then cut the dust shield off as it tra

With the 300ZX backing plate in place, bolt everything back up, including the large nut and bolt that will eventually hold the 300ZX parking brake assembly in place.

Before re-installing the hub assembly, you’ll want to remove and replace the stock parking brake cables. The driveshaft has to be dropped in order to get at the cables.

If this isn’t a sorry sight I don’t know what is! Quite the battle ensued here, it took a lot of patience and swearing to extract the cables from the lever mechanism.

Once they’re freed, pull them through the back side of the subframe and out.

Here’s a good look at the difference in length.

The R33 cables will have brackets mounted to them that aren’t inline with the 240 mounting spots. You can bend the brackets off the 240 cables and line them up on the R33 cables but mine were coated in rust so I gave up on them completely and just removed the R33 brackets so they wouldn’t get in the way.

Now you can re-install the hub and LCA assembly back onto the car.

Much like the 240 cables came out, the R33 lines will slide back in and follow the same route. The only installation difference will be at the hub where the cable is bolted directly to it.

Lay out the parking brake setup that will be attached to the hub. This photo shows the orientation of the pieces and how they’ll mount up.

The brake pad shoes will install easily, the other parts will take a bit more finesse. There’s very little room between the hub and pads so fitting the retainers and spring clips can take a few tries. Don’t get too flustered, you’ll get it eventually.

When you’ve got everything in place the rotor can finally be installed. Now is a good time to set the e-brake. You don’t want the shoes too loose otherwise they wont make contact with the rotor and the parking brake will never work but you also don’t want them so tight that the rotor and hub won’t spin freely. Play with the adjuster (2nd photo above) until the rotor slides on snug but the hub still rotates freely.

Install the 300ZX rear brake caliper, doesn’t it already look so much beefier then the stock 240SX setup? That’s a hell yeah!

There are conversion hard lines available from PDM Racing that eliminate the need to re-use the stock 300ZX lines but like most things I realized I should have bought them BEFORE I started the installed not during. Therefore, the stock 300ZX lines were used. I’ve heard a few conflicting stories that they don’t bolt up but as you can tell from the photo above that mine worked with adequate clearance.

And that, my dear Speed Academy fans is a wrap! Of course, you’ll still need to bleed the brakes and make sure you’ve torqued down all the nuts and bolts but all the hard work is done. The 300ZX rear brake conversion looks right at home doesn’t it?

Paired with a proper front big brake upgrade and upsized brake master cylinder, this setup should be more than capable for heavy track use.

Check out the video for this install HERE ps heat and can reduce your brakes efficiency.

http://speed.academy/nissan-240sx-step-by-step-300zx-rear-brake-conversion/