I recently just replace my Cali 280z's exhuast(stupid catylitic converter) with a 240z exhaust and might i ad it fit perfectly however I put on the whole entire fuel injection system, but the heat shield doesnt fit in because the exhaust manifold is slightly different. It fits perfectly without the heat shield. Since i no longer have a cat could i just get rid of the shield or should i fabricate it to fit properly. Also i cant get the damn thing running again. It smells like there might be water in the gas so i added some of the HEET water removal stuff but still nuthin. It ran alright on this gas before, but ill drain it and try again, if this doesnt work what should i look over? i check all my connections they seem fine, Im gettin gas and spark to the plugs... i just dont get it! =P maybe the gass is the problem but if not im baffled

Does it try to run? Or is your starter just cranking? Checking connections is a good idea however a good cleaning of all the electrical connections will help greatly as well. When was the last time you changed your fuel filter? Maybe thats clogged up.

Could be more than just fuel related as well. Have you inspected for any vac. leaks? Another possibility.

about the heat sheild - I'd try to fabricate it to fit. Without it, it will heat up the floor pretty good and make the car warmer inside.

good luck

The heat shield that goes between the intake and the exhaust needs to be there to keep exhaust heat from the intake. High under hood heat can be a problem. It may be the cause of your engine problems. Make the shield fit. On your suspected water in the gas problem pull the plug in the gas tank and drain some gas into a container. Water is heavier than gas so if there is water in the tank it will drain first. You can also check for water in the filter. Hope this helps.

Since you're using a 240 exh manifold, were you able to hook up the EGR valve? If not did you block the tube that connected to the 280 manifold?

I couldnt make the EGR valve fit without some fabrication so i temporarily plugged it and the egr metal tube is just kinda chillen there (should i plug that aswell?) Ill do the gas check right now and ill fabricate the heat shield to fit. As for all my connections they seem fine. Ill run through it again to make sure. Thanks for all the responses and ill keep you all posted on what happened/didnt happen =) and yes the engine is cranking.. heh i have 2 spare starter motors that work so i think im set there aswell

well i just cleansed the gas... dumped 2 new fresh gallons of gas in it and nuthin... im baffled. I just rechecked my connections and vaccum hoses. everything is fine. Could it be possible that my throttle body went? i accidently spilt coolant in the connector, but i cleaned it all out and it wasnt hooked up when i did this. If so i have a spare one but im not sure it works... .. Any way of checking? anyways any help is appreciated like i said before im baffled!

ok now this is irritating... i cant figure it out.. nuthin seems wrong!!! ahh!!

So far it seems that you are concentrating on the fuel system. Do you know if you are getting spark?

Well, it seems to me that you are experiencing something that I have seen time and time again. You're taking things apart, changing components (like putting a 240 exhaust on a 280), puting it back together and wondering why it doesn't run. Stock, untouched fuel injection is tough enough to troubleshoot. You have to be careful what you break or disconnect etc. It's really hard to troubleshoot in print. If you changed the exhaust system, how would that suddenly make the gas dirty? By 'throttle body' I think you actually mean air flow meter but I highly doubt that you killed it by spilling coolant on it. You're not sure if it's fuel or electrically related, and I can not honestly lead you in any direction based on what I read. If it ran before you did all of this, then something is improperly connected, not connected, or broken during this installation. If you have a FSM, look up the symptoms and follow the steps. Other than that, all I can do is guess, not actually being where I can see the car.