Overview: This is a DIY on how to do a Z32 Brake Swap on a 240SX. Here we go.

I've tried to compile as much as I can, so you don't need to look for the information

anymore. This thread should be all you need for z32 brake swap. I'll update this

thread if I find more information in the future. I'll start with some links that'll

help you. Please go through them one by one.

Time: 8-10hrs. Longer if you don't have the propper tools

Reference Material

Importnut z32 brake swap: You better read through this page.http://www.importnut.net/300zxbrakes

wap.htm

5 Lug and Z32 Brake Conversionhttp://my240.epijunkie

.com/5_L...rsion

Brake comparison: Iron or aluminum? 30mm or 26mm? This is how you distinguish them.

Make sure to buy right ones for your project.http://www.importnut.net/300

zx...mpare

Rebuilding z32 calipers: I rebuilt calipers myself and here's how to. zerot

hread?id=211697

BMC flare fitting: If you want to install z32 Brake Master Cylinder, you have to make

sure it has 3rd fitting inside. If not, you can take it out from old s13/s14 BMC and

press it in.http://importnut.net/300zxbrakeswap.h

tm#MC

Brackets for 350z track edition front rotors: I got mine from JSK, but there are many

other companies making them like Punk racing and etc. http://www.jskinnovations.co

m/...r.htm

positron_'s z32 rear brake swap: I followed his instruction to do the rear.zerot

hread?id=277821

Anchor Bolt discussion: It's a critical part on e-brake system and you should get the

right one. If not, you can cut the spacer from z32 hub and weld.zerot

hread?id=201187

Q45 e-brake hardware: z32 and Q45 use same parts for e-brake. More info here.zer...-here

z32 FSM: Come in handy when you assemble calipers and install e-brake.http://300zx-twinturbo.com/cgi-bin

/manual.cgi

s13 FSM brake system: I used it when I bleed the lines.http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx

/91-94/BR.pdf

Courtesy Nissan: I got all my brake components from there.Ask for Jacob if you want to buy parts from Courtesy. http://www.courtesyparts.com/3....htmlh ... /3....html

s13 FSM front and rear suspension: I used them for torque specs.http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx

/91-94/FA.pdfhttp://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/240sx

/91-94/RA.pdf

z32 2+2 e-brake brackets from NICO market: These brackets made my swap much easier. I

highly recommend them.http://fo

rums.nicoclub.com/zer...19827

z32 2 seater e-brake brackets: If you use z32 2 seater e-brake cables, you can make

'L' shaped brackets like this.zerot

hread?id=369693

Procedure:

First, I started with z32 BMC installation. I just unhooked the lines, plugged the

holes with plugs that came with the z32 BMC and pulled it out fast. Brake fluid will

mess up the paint, so be careful and use lots of towels.

Paint on my brake booster was peeling off, so I spray painted it.

This is a z32 BMC that I got from eBay a while back.

You must have a fitting in the middle hole. Luckily, mine came with the 3rd fitting

already built in. I think several online shops sell this one including FRSport. Do

this if you are missing the 3rd fitting.http://importnut.net/300zxbrakeswap.h

tm#MC

Below pictures are not mine. I'm adding them for reference. Take the fitting out of

your old BMC and put it in the middle hole on z32 BMC.

Mine came in this way.

Back side. It's 17/16 BMC from Nabco.

If you have s13, you don't even have to bend the lines. It's a direct swap. If you

have s14, you will have to bend the lines slightly. Importnut did the swap on s14, so

you can find details there.

I was worried about the sensor plug, but it was a direct fit without any

modification.

I've also heard that you can swap s13 fluid container with z32 BMC container to make

the sensor plug work. As you can see, it should just pop out.

Many guys in suspension/brake forum recommended Valvoline fluid, so I got this from

Autozone. This bottle was enough for flushing the entire brake system and refill.

I filled it up and pressed the pedal several times to remove all the air in the BMC.

I heard you don't have to bench bleed z32 BMC, so I skipped it. If you want, you can

go ahead and do it like this.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VMXC2

xsy2shttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGVnS4

BetlA

BMC installation is done.

I moved to the rear brake.

Remove the wheel and take out the pin.

Cover will slide out and there's a black rubber insulator, so remove it.

Remove the huge nut and washer underneath it. I sprayed PB Blaster and used a breaker

bar.

Remove the bolts and nuts one by one and disassemble everything.

I've heard that you can still do the swap without removing the knckle/upright from

the lower ball joint, but I figured it's going to be hard to work on, so I decided to

remove the whole thing. Ball joint remover from Autozone helped a lot.

I even took out the axles, cleaned up and spray painted them.

e-brake cable is attached to the subframe by 10mm bolt, so remove it.

To disconnect e-brake cable from e-brake handle, you need to turn it 90 degrees and

push it up, so it can pop out from the slot. You don't have to remove center console.

If it got stuck there for good due to rust, you will have to remove center console

and take out the whole thing.

Rear upright/knuckle, hub, e-brake system, lower control arm and other arms have been

removed.

Next step is z32 e-brake assembly.

I used z32 2+2 cables and part numbers are here.

This is how they look on z32. Judging by the mounting point, these are 2 seater

cables.

This seahorse looking thing gets pulled by the cable and push brake shoes outward to

grab inside of rear rotor. That's how e-brake works on z32.

I got mine from junkyard, cleaned up and spray painted the dust shields. I used this

diagram to assemble it.

This is the correct anchor bolt for my hub.

There's a small bolt that holds the anchor bolt in place in the back of dust shield.

This anchor bolt must be secured like this otherwise it may make some noise.

If you have this type of anchor bolt, you can cut #1 and weld it to #2. Actually, it

all depends on what kind of hub you have. I stayed with original s13 4-lug hub, and

that's why I used thicker anchor bolts.

Now, I have to disassemble s13 knucle, dust shield and hub to install z32 e-brake

assembly.

This is the back of s13 knuckle.

I sprayed PB Blaster, put wrench like this, stepped on it and hit the wrench with a

mallet.

They just fell apart like this after I removed 4 bolts in the back. Sometimes it

won't happen due to rust and stuff, so be ready for it.

I test fitted anchor bolt and it went in with no problem. This anchor bolt is not the

right one for my project. I just used it for test fitting. You might have to use a

Dremel to remove rust inside of the hole.

I spray painted the hub with high temp aluminum paint.

I also painted knuckles too. Got the idea from positron_.

Install z32 e-brake assembly to s13 knuckle like this.

It's done.

If you want to use rear z32 upright/knuckle, you will need fork type lower mounts for

your shocks/coilovers. Here's the detail.

As you can see, lower mounting points are different. Besides these eveything's same

and rear z32 upright/knuckles are direct bolt on to s13 rear.

This is how it looks like on s13 shocks/coilovers.

You need fork type mounting brackets for rear shocks/coilovers. For example, SPL

offers fork type lower mounting brackets, so you can ask for them when you order KTS

coilovers.

Here's side by side comparison of s13 cable and z32 2+2 cable.

Subframe mounting points.

Can you see how this z32 cable bracket would work? It'll fill up the gap, so z32

cable will bolt on to the floor just like s13 cable. This bracket made my swap much

easier. You can get a set from NICO fabricator's market.http://fo

rums.nicoclub.com/zer...19827

Now it's time to install everything back to the car.

I got a set of new rear lower control arms.

I just love the look of fresh looking ball joint and bushing.

I was lucky enough to find the very last set of rear lower control arm covers from

Nissan. One is from Nissan warehouse in CA, and the other one is from a dealership in

Denton, TX.

I also bought new bolts, nuts, clips and pins from Courtesy Nissan.

A friend of mine gave me these Nismo arms for free, so I installed them too.

s13 knuckle/upright is on the car now.

To install the cables, you have to remove this mounting bracket on the cable. It

won't go through the hole on subframe.

Install rubber gromet like this.

I put the mounting bracket back and tried to bolt it on to the subframe, but there

was not enough room on the cable, so I just zip tied it to the frame. It should work

fine this way. If you don't secure the cables right, they will hit the driveshaft and

make noise while you are driving.

Mount the cables and brackets to the floor. If you are using 2 seater cables, make

'L' shaped brackets like Dammitboy did.zerot

hread?id=369693

Remeber that huge nut removed from the hub earlier? You must make e-brake work to

tighten it.

I bought a set of PowerSlot rotors front and back and took them to a machine shop to

redrill them to 4 lug.

The shop had a CNC machine equipped with 4 lug drilling program, but unfortunately

holes were like 0.5-1mm off. I had to use Dremel to make the hole bigger and it

worked out just fine. This attachment worked the best.

I weighed both rear rotors. It turned out stock s13 rotor is 8lb and z32 PowerSlot

rotor is 14.5lb.

Now, it's time to fine tune the e-brake. You can use these 2 controls to fine tune

it. There's this dial thingy right below the hub and it'll move the brake shoes

outward and inward if you turn it.

There's a hole right below e-brake handle and you have to use 10mm deep socket to

reach it. I played with these 2 controls for a while to get the perfect setup. You

need 6-8 clicks to fully engage according to z32 FSM.

I bought a set of new black rubber insulators and pins for the axles from a

dealership and tightened the big nut. If you don't have insulators, you might hear

rattle noise from the axle.

Done!!!

Moving on to rear caliper installation.

I bought the hardware kit from Courtesy, Project Mu B-Force pads from ProjectNissan

and installed them on my rear calipers following FSM.[url=http://www.courtesyparts.com/44080k-har ... 00zx-z32-1

990-1996-p-41106.html?cPath=882_1062_4399]http://www.courtesyparts.com/4..._4399[/url

]&

I ran into a small problem here. I got front and rear conversion brake lines from

ProjectNissan, but it wouldn't fit without removing the bracket and small hardline

attached to the back of rear caliper.

I wanted to keep the bracket and hardline, so to do that, I needed replacement z32

stainless steel braided lines. This is stock z32 rear brake line, and I needed exact

same one but stainless steel braided.

I contacted a local shop(http://www.sportbrakes.com) and was able to get a set pretty

quick, but quality on ProjectNissan brake lines were much better than

sportbrakes.com's.

Rear caliper was a direct bolt on without any problem using stock bolts and washers.

Make sure that the bleeder valve goes to the top, not bottom and clean up the rotor

with brake cleaner. Finally rear is done!!!

I had to turn my car around in my garage to work on front brake and I only used

e-brake since I hadn't bled the lines yet. <IMG NAME="icon"

SRC="http://images.nicoclub.com/forums/image ... tongue.gif" BORDER="0">

Front is easier than the rear. I've seen people removing and bending the dust shield,

but I decided to trim it nice. I used sheet metal cutter and it's easier if you cut

it through counter clockwise.

I spray painted like this and came out very nice.

Removed stock rubber line and installed ProjectNissan conversion line.

This little fitting on the brake line moves, so you can find good spot to mount it on

the shock body.

I also weighed front rotors. I used 350z track edition rotor, so it was heavy. Stock

is 11.5lb and PowerSlot 350z track edition rotor is 20.5lb.

I also got the front hardware kit from Courtesy and Project Mu B-Force pads from

ProjectNissan. http://www.courtesyparts.com/4..._4202&

It was bit tricky to install these small clips, so follow the FSM carefully.

Front caliper is ready.

I bought brackets from JSK Innovation. I bought black annodized ones. They come with

all necessary bolts and washers.

This is how it looks like from the back when installed. #1 is stock bolt and washer.

They go to the threaded hole on the bracket. #2 is a long bolt and washer that came

with the brackets. #3 is a washer/spacer that also came with the brackets. #3 is very

important. If you don't have it, your rotor won't be centered inside of caliper.

Again, make sure that the bleeder valve goes to the top, not bottom.

As you can see, rotor is perfectly centered.

I've heard about these two issues with big brake upgrade before.

First, your pads will hang like this. It's because there's not enough space for the

bracket to move to the center.

350z track edition rotor is big, so z32 caliper won't be able to cover whole area.

Connected brake line and secured it to the strut with a new clip. I needs 4 clips for

the front and 4 clips for the rear. If you remove brackets and hardlines on rear

calipers, you would need total 6 of them.

Front is done. Now, all you need is bleeding the lines.



Start bleeding it from driver's side rear --> passenger side rear --> passenger side

front --> driver's side front.

Old fluid was in more yellowish color.

I attached a small clear hose to the bleeder and bled one by one. Luckily, all the

caps came with the calipers when I got them, so I put them on after I finished

bleeding.

Finished product.



New Brake Bed-In Process

http://www.zeckhausen.com/beddin

g_in_brakes.htm

Originally posted by 94_240SX