Hey ya'll i just bought a 78 280z with a 6 cyl. overhead cam. i was able to drive it home but when i got it there it won't start. i have no idea why all of a sudden. i dumped the old fuel and put about 4 gallon in the tank but still no start any ideas??? maybe possible fuel pump? its bugging me really bad (anybody know how big of gas tank would be in that)

If you put 4 gal in then it has enough to start. Try fuel filter, fuel pump.

Maybe its your injectors. Im not to great with fuel injection.

I would look at your timeing as well.

I unhooked the filters and changed them but no diffrence i just got done taking off the fuel pump and i hooked it up to a trickle charger to see if it would pump and it did but i think it might be in the wiring because when i took it off i checked if it was pumping gas and it wasent i couldnt hear if the pump was running over the engine turning so i'll put the pump back on and see if that does the trick how would i go about checking timing? i have also thought about that route. thanks!!

It was running untill you parked it . Why would you suspect timing all of a sudden ? How was the engine running prior to this ? Was it running smooth ? Missing , running rough , pinging , knocking , what ? Was the car setting for a long time before you bought it? How did you dump the old fuel ? Did you pump it out with the fuel pump that supplies the injectors ? What did you see in the fuel you dumped , rust , dirt , water , what ?? You are not giving us much to go on . I could tell you to replace the ignition , all the injecters , and all the censers , new filters , and spark plugs. And the car may still not run . Come up with more info and someone here will be of help. gary

If you put 4 gal in then it has enough to start. Try fuel filter, fuel pump.

Maybe its your injectors. Im not to great with fuel injection.

I would look at your timeing as well.

This advice needs to be tempered with the fact that that IS what Bill did. His car is now a garage-queen.

So as Beandip says, before you go removing the engine, changing out the cam, balancing the spark-plugs or some other esoteric 'only happens once in your lifetime' type of repair; remember the car WAS running recently. If nothing was experienced when it STOPPED running (loud bang, sudden stall, engine died suddenly, etc.) then it should NOT require a major re-build .... UNLESS ... your engine blew up (literally).

So look at the simple stuff: clogged fuel line, battery lost charge (or not enough), but check the BASICS first.

FWIW

Enrique

Hey my car isnt a garage queen its sitting under a canopy.

And it still runs!

Bill:

I thought I remembered your saying it was parked for repairs. Ok, my bad....

Enrique

Bill:

I thought I remembered your saying it was parked for repairs. Ok, my bad....

Enrique

Maybe after hearing some of Bill's stories about the car, it should be parked. But seriously, check you ignition relay and if it's okay check the fuel pump relays since any of the three can stop the fuel pump from working. You could have just checked the current at the fuel pump rather than removing it. You should follow the correct troubleshooting procedure rather than just throwing parts at the problem. Could get expensive. There is a troubleshooting checklist in the FSM.

well i checked and replaced fuel filters and some bad fuel line i dont think its getting gas because i put some gas in a cyl. and it fires but wont stay running. nothing happened unnormally when it stopped running. all i did was shut it off and tried to start it after about 1 hour i dumped the gas by taking out the drain plug in the gas tank. it didnt look dirty just really old and varnishy. i checked the fuel pump and it dosent pump very good so im looking at replacing it with just a in-line plastic electric fuel pump. unless you have any better ideas. how do you clean the injectors? i can clean a carb in about 20 mins but injectors im stumped with. hey beandip i work at a local marina so just remmber im not totally dumb about troubleshooting engines but this early of injectors have me wondering

I don't think Gary (or I) were trying to incinuate that you were dumb. It's just that I knew quite a bit about engines when I got my Z with EFI. Hell, I've owned 45 cars and a few motorcycles in my lifetime. But the Z is a different story. You really have to get to know the system and I have been working towards that for the last seven years! Prior knowledge is definately a plus, but this system is somewhat unique with its relays, swithches, resistors, etc.

It is parked for repair...but it still starts and runs great!

i would try some basic stuff to... possibly blow compressed air back in the lines? something could be clogging it ( happened to me). If i were you i would just research this topic because its been brought up many times here.

I think what Gary (Beandip) and I were both saying is this: Don't dive into the "repair" so deep and so suddenly that you later find out it was a very minor fix. This is something that unfortunately has happened time and time again.

Bill's comments are correct....in a very general way. But since you've only posted 3 times, and all of them here in this topic, it's IMPOSSIBLE for us to know and remember that you work in a marina, and therefore tailor our advise to your background.

Lastly if in fact you "work at a local marina so just remmber im not totally dumb about troubleshooting engines", how is it you don't know how to check timing? Or that a trickle charger may not provide enough CURRENT to power your fuel pump?

I think you'll find that this site has some of the best mechanics around, and more than likely one of them will get you going again. However, mind-reading isn't one of our specialties, so don't get mad when we don't know your background.

2¢

Enrique