Vegas or Bust

[Lephosto]

Anyone know a good trustable shop that would do a restoration for me? Perferably in the Las Vegas area.

Also, My car has been a shop for a few months now, and the problem still hasn't been fixed. It is choking out. The Mass Air Flow meter was replaced, and I've replaced air filters, fuel filters, most questionable hoses, PVC valve, Distributor, and more that I can't remember at the time. I'm thinking that the CPU might be bad, but would it at least run? Its a '77 280z. The fuel injectors were all replaced a while back so I don't think its them either. I'm running out of ideas and things to replace! Could low oil preasure cause this?

[Lephosto]

Well, I found a few shops but right now I was wondering if anyone knew if there was a newer computer that is compatible with the Z? I think my computer is bad, and if I have to replace it, I'd like to replace with something a bit newer. Anyone try this? Or is it even possible?

[sblake01]

First of all, a 77 280Z has no 'mass air flow meter' or 'CPU'. They weren't that sophisticated or modern. Air flow meter and ECU. Beyond that, unless you want to do some major modification/fabrication followed by the troubleshooting that goes with it since your car isn't presently runing properly, a more modern ECU is probably out of the question. What makes you think that your ECU is bad? You've thrown a lot of parts at that car which makes it hard to diagnose. Obviously the shop your car is at doesn't have a clue so there is no level of certainty that those parts were installed correctly which can lead to more uncertainty when trying to figure it out. You have to get back to basics and start the troubleshooting from square one. If you are unable to troubleshoot it yourself by reading and understanding the 1977 280Z FSM you need to find a shop that actually knows these cars. If you were in So Cal, I'd suggest Z Car Specialty in Upland, CA. Maybe someone in the Las Vegas area knows a good shop and will chime in. Where you have yor car they are guessing instead of troubleshooting and charging you for a lot of unnecessary parts. None of your description leads me in any real direction as to what can be wrong. It's just too vague. I know this is kind of harsh but that's the reality of it.

[Lephosto]

Okay, I'm sorry for calling them by different names. The shop I took it too didn't claim to know everything about my car but offered to help and try. They only knew the parts as "Mass Air Flow Meter and CPU" and I don't feel like trying to correct the people who are going to be working on my car. Oh, and they ordered parts and attached them, but when it didn't fix the issue, they sent them back and didn't charge me for them. After all is said and done I got charged $209 for 2 hours of labor, a new tire, a fuel pump and new spark plugs. I think it was a fair price for all the work the attempted. Oh, And I'd love to work on my car, only thing is I am currently deployed and so I am unable to.

When I was in the states though it was haveing trouble with power. When I would first start it up in the morning, it would run great but about ten minuets later it would slow down. Bad ECU would run basic programed settings first before it takes information from the Air Flow meter right? Gas Pump has just been replaced but had been working before, no visible fuel leaks, all new fuel filters (I added one into the fuel line because the gas tank was old and I was worried about it throwing crap into the engine) and fuel injectors were just repalced so SHOULD be good. I never messed with the EGR valve but I didn't think that would have affected it like that. I also replaced the air filter, and tried to replace all the vaccum lines I could get around too. Maybe low oil preasure?? Anyways, currently the car is just having a problem trying to idle.

Hopefully this will help clear things up. I replaced other things too like the water pump but I didn't think it was important to mention...

[sblake01]

The ECU doesn't run programmed settings as, like I said, it is not a computer. All it does is complete or not complete circuits based on what it gets or doesn't get from the different sensors, switches, etc. It make no adjustments, computations, etc. What you describe could be caused by a bad water temperature sensor or bad connection at the water temp sensor. It's function is to allow the fuel mixture to be richer when the engine is cold. As the temperature rises the resistence in the sensor gradually changes, leaning the mixture and changing the duration of the fuel injection pulse until the engine reaches operating temperature. If that sensor is bad or the connection to it is bad, the fuel mixture will stay rich when the engine is warm and that will cause idling and performance problems. There are other parts of the system that can cause that type of problem but the water temp sensor circuit is the most common. And the reason I asked why you think that your ECU is bad is that it's such a simple device that they seldom go bad. I've seen many people go through the hassle of finding the correct replacement for their particular vehicle, which is not always easy since there were several different ECUs used, only to find out that it wasn't the cause of the problem they were having. I personally have never had a problem with an ECU and I've been around these cars a long time. The same thing goes for the air flow meter. More often than not, ECU and AFM meter problems are cause by people opening them up and tinkering with them based something they read on Atlantic Z or some such site without knowing what they were doing. To me, those are both items that you can leave out of the loop as far as trouble shooting goes as long as they both have clean connections and they are the proper ECU or AFM for the particular car.

[Lephosto]

I'll have to look into that. I appreciate the help. Out of all the reading and advice I have gotten, I 've never heard of that sensor. Thanks again. Ummm... just one last question... is it possible for it to run without that sensor?

[sblake01]

I've never tried it altough I know they run badly when it's disconnected. I've haven't tried jumpering the connector but I imagine that would about the same as the sensor being cold and would make it run too rich once its warmed up.

[Lephosto]

I'm trying hard to remember, but I think it has always ran rich (since I got it) and I remember the Thermostat housing had started to leak and I had to fix it... but if what I read was right and the water temp sensor is connected to the housing, I cant recall seeing it (or them?). If I'm thinking of the wrong thing or area, please let me know.

[sblake01]

It's the smaller of the two sensors on the front of the thermostat housing, the one farthest from the engine.

[Lephosto]

Alright. The vehicle is getting moved tomorrow. It will hopefully do a short stay at my parents house and then be put into the next shop who hopefully will be more knowledgeable about the car and its problems. Currently trying to get some pictures of the cars engine. And still no word on the sensor.