Its alive!!!..... well sort of

[mrcow]

Several months ago i bought a non running '73 Z with '72 carbs on it. i flushed the radiator and replaced all the hoses. My gas tank was filled with brown slime so i purchased a recently wrecked Zs fuel tank for $50. I replaced all the fuel lines. Compression test (all cylinders 140-150), changed the oil, rebuilt the carbs, fiber glassed a hole under the master cylinder, installed a pertronix ignitor and coil, and finally... turned the key. The car started up real easy and was running strong when i noticed a little stream of fuel running out of the fuel inlet of one carb. I was very excited since i wasnt sure what condition the engine was in. Last night i removed the fuel inlet replaced a washer and screwed it back in. I started the car but this time things got worse. The fuel leak was fixed but the engine was making a weird squeaking noise, it didnt sound like a belt squeak at all. I noticed the oil pressure was only slightly above 0, and then to top it off the head breather hose was puffing out whitish smoke. So now the car has about a total of 1 minutes worth of running time in the last 10 years. I am going to try and pick up a mechanical oil pressure gauge today to verify that the oil pump is pumping.

[mr24shoe]

gotta be a great feeling that it started though! congrats on the milestone!

[Fun_in_my_z]

Mine has a new pump and still reads low. Try the oil pick up in the bottom of the egine. Just pull the pand, take the pic up out and clean it up.

[=Enigma=]

Are you sure it was smoke coming out of the breather? Could it have been steam?

[Ed]

There might be a chance your not getting good oil pressure or it might be something else. To check your oil pressure do the mechanical guage as you mentioned and, take the spark plugs out and spray a little oil into the chamber walls. You might also want to remove the valve cover and inspect all rockers and such. Pour a little oil over the cam. Turn the engine over for about 15-20 seconds, don't let it start, keep the plugs out. If you have oil spraying out of your cam spray bar then you should be ok on oil pressure. Z's are notorious for the guage indicating low pressure at idle. You can also make sure all your valves are opening and closing as they should be.

[moonpup]

If you end up having to replace your oil pump, I'd recommend the 280ZX

Turbo pump. I saw a considerable increase in pressure in my 240 when I changed over.

[kenz240z]

There are several things that should be done to an engine that has been sitting unstarted for years before an attempt is made to get it running. Sounds like you insured good fuel delivery and took care of the cooling system. But, before attempting to start it, was the oil replaced?

I recommend pulling the plugs, spraying each cylinder with WD-40, pouring oil over the cam & lifters, and then manually turn the crank with a breaker bar & socket to make sure the crank rotates freely. With an engine that sits a long time the rings can rust in the cylinders and cause the engine to bind a bit. The rust can also contribute to debris that will score the cylinder walls, and the rings can break, causing the compression to degrade.

Once the crank can be turned manually, leave the plugs out, or at least the plug wires off, and turn the key. Let the starter turn the engine over for a few seconds and see if the oil pressure rises. Keep in mind that it takes the oil a moment to flow through the engine and fill the spaces between the bearings and rotating and moving surfaces (cam, crank, etc...). Cranking the engine with the plug wires off will help pump oil through the engine without it starting and heating up too quickly. Keeping the plugs out allows it to turn a little easier, as there is no compression being built up.

If cranking the engine allowed the oil pressure to come up, then go ahead and attempt to start the engine, but be on the look out for immediate trouble and be prepared to shut it down if necessary. If everything is OK, let it run a little bit, but change the oil again before you attempt to drive it. The WD-40 sprayed in the cylinders will thin the oil out, best not to take chances.

As Enigma says, if there was steam coming out instead of smoke, it could be due to coolant getting in to the cylinders, either from a blown head gasket, cracked block or cracked head. Only removing the cylinder head will reveal the cause.

Hopefully there is nothing majorly wrong with your engine, good luck getting your Z running again!

[mrcow]

well before i started it i did change the oil, i put a little in each cylinder and hand cranked it. A few days later (after rebuilding the carbs) i did a compression test and used the started to turn it over. All the cylinders read 140-150. So i assume that means i dont have a problem with a stuck valve. So i pretty much followed all of your steps except for pouring oil over the cam and lifters. When i did the compression test i didnt pay attention to the oil pressure gauge. When i did start the car i kept a close eye on all of the gauges and the oil pressure was low. Since i had the weird squeaking (definitly not the belts), low oil pressure, and whitish smoke (maybe steam) i shut it down quick. I picked up a mechanical oil pressure gauge today but they didnt have the BSPT adapter and i read thats what type of threads the oil sending unit is. I am a little reluctant to take the valve cover off right now because the bolts holding it down are really rusty looking. i know at some point i am going to have to bite the bullet and try and get them out but i want to hold off as long as possible. i am trying to delay the possibility of stripping or breaking a bolt off in the head.

once i get the new gauge hooked up i will hand crank or use the starter and see if it builds up oil pressure without the plugs in. When i try and start it i will pay more attention to if it was truely smoke or steam. At the time it was late and my garage is on the dark side. now that i think about it, the room didnt seem smokey afterwards.

im just real excited to have it start and run for a bit.

[mrcow]

well i hooked up the mechnical gauge and i am getting pressure but not the 14 psi listed in the FSM. while i was at it i did another compression test and the 6 hole was only getting 30 while the other 5 had 150-160. I removed the valve cover and discovered some interesting things. the front half seems to be getting oil properly but the back half of the cam looked slightly rusty and dry (no oil). Also the oil spray bar was lose and it appears there are marks on the last cam tower of where it was banging against it. So i think this solves a few problems, one being the back half of the cam not getting oiled, and finally they metal on metal scratching noise. I guess the oil spray bar could also effect my oil pressure.

i uploaded some pics but they havent been approved yet.

Is there any tricks to removing the spray bar? i see there are two screws holding on the back cover.

well i think i am going to watch the final episode of arrested development and dig into the engine tomorrow. i still need to figure out whats going on with the 6 hole.