New to the forum, and to the Z... Va

[imthestig]

Don't have much to compare them too, but they seem decent

[CG240Z]

I had a 2+2 280z that somewhere along the line had a sunroof installed. Doesn't seem to be a terribly uncommon add on people do. I'm not a fan of them, but that's just personal preference.

[imthestig]

I'm not a fan either, especially now that I know it's not original.. I'd like to end up welding another roof on down the road.

[Pharaohabq]

Pretty Nifty, I love Red Z's. Yours looks pretty good. Go after those floor pans with a screw drivers and tap around especially in the front corners and see if they're sound, or if they're rusted thin. It looks like they did a decent job with the paint on that, but unfortunately a nice paint job doesn't tell you what's under the paint. So you might get a magnet and some felt and look for bondo spots.

That roof is unfortunate, but no really that big a deal. The big issues people have with sunroofs are A. They break up the smooth lines of the Z roof. and B. Most importantly, they compromise the Unibody construction. The roof and all like that is fine for daily use and might even be nice to keep for function. But if you were going to do any racing, then you may want to replace the roof. For now, so long as it's not leaking (I would guess it does looking at the floors) You could keep it. Replacing the roof is not a small job. Not to mention it'll muss your paint. Reds are notoriously hard to match too.

So Yes you can go through all those steps to "wake the dead" That would help a lot. Some of those seem overkill to me though. I've used WD-40 many times to wake an engine. I don't usually pull the valve cover, Usually I pull the plugs, load up the cyl with WD-40, liberally spray in the oil filler hole with WD-40 and let it sit a couple days. Then I get a breaker bar and If I remember correctly it's a 19mm socket and I manually turn over the engine, rocking it lightly at first, then once it turns, I load up the valve cover again with WD, and manually turn the engine a few turns, listening for and grinding noises. That being done, it's time to change the Oil. WD and oil aren't very friendly, so don't skip this part. Once the Oil is changed, put in the plugs. 153624. You'll need to assess the fuel system, drain the ancient gas, and put in a gallon or two of new. Disconnect the fuel line before the filter in the engine compartment, and put it into an empty gas can. Then connect the battery and cycle the fuel pump. This will let you know if the pump and lines are good. You should be able to pump a little gas through before the thermotime turns it off. If that's all good, then reconnect the fuel line and try to start it. I assume you'd check the rest of the fluid levels. I wouldn't drain the water or anything at this point, since if you have to pull the engine, you'd waste. The Engine should turn over, likely it won't start. But Cranking should cycle some oil around the engine.

Next it's time to see about the 3 things the engine needs to run. Fuel, Air and spark. You've tested the pump so likely you have fuel unless the injectors are gummed. Pull a plug and clamp it to the frame and crank, watching the plug for spark. If you have spark, then it's just air. you should smell gas from the cylinder you pulled the plug from. Pull the filter and inspect the air passage. Pull the hose from the from of the AFM and using your hand or a dowel push the flapper in the AFM to see that it moves. Try to start it again... No luck? Try some starting fluid. If it starts and runs on that, then it's likely a fuel issue.

Don't go willy nilly adjusting things. Mostly you should be sticking to visually inspecting things. look for cracks or broken hoses. loose wires etc. The #1 thing that happens with these cars is the $20 temp sensor goes out, and throws off the mix bad enough that the car won't run. Often cranking over runs the thermotime and floods the engine.

There's lot of things that could be wrong, but this is a good starting place, and read up. The EFI Bible and EFI addendum to the FSM are very good resources. Along with the FSM, all are available free on line. Xenons30...

[imthestig]

Thanks pharaoh, very informative post!

[Bonzi Lon]

The crank shaft bolt is 27mm not 19.

Bonzi Lon

[imthestig]

Between work and getting wedding stuff ready, I haven't had to much time to make any progress. But today I made some time to take care of some little things. Dropped the gas tank, removed the front and rear big ugly bumpers (got a slimmer 240z front bumper on the way), and installed fender mirrors.

Next I'm hoping to clear up some time and replace the vacuum and fuel lines. Then hopefully see if it will crank over!

And while I was poking around under there I found this bad boy!

[madkaw]

Good find-!

[imthestig]

Well it's been forever since I've gotten to mess with the Z, wedding/honeymoon/relax a bit... But I finally got some time today and knocked out afew things.

Finally started replacing all the vacuum hoses, but in the process I found a mystery wire, ideas anyone?

Finally got my new air dam installed. (240z bumper in process of getting mounts made)

Removed the stock mirror. These worth anything?

And I decided I need to replace the air filter...

[rossiz]

looks like Chip 'n Dale have been enjoying themselves in your intake - or maybe mickey & minnie...

check for the stash of food and bedding that may be further up in there!

instead of replacing the hoses that leak, i'd literally replace every piece of rubber in the engine bay - just go through methodically and do one system at a time: cooling, fuel, vacuum. over the course of a month i wound up doing this on my car (which had been driven vs. sitting) and it would have been much more efficient to just do it all at once. i think there's a fairly recent post about replacement hoses...

also might be a good idea to get a full set of replacement injector plugs (plus the one for the csv and sensor @ the front of the thermostat housing) - they are pretty cheap and better off to put in new ones than try and fiddle with corroded old ones. as others have said, take the time to remove/disconnect every single electrical connection - including all the grounds to the engine, manifold, firewall, etc. and sand them shiny, (including the fasteners) clean w/deoxit, reconnect and protect w/a little dielectric grease. this will save you many headaches down the road w/the efi system.

nice car - will be a very fun resto project!

[imthestig]

Already made the decision the change out all rubber, there all pretty much done. I am not looking forward to going through all the connections though. But I will go ahead and just buy new ones if there cheap, thanks for the advice.

[FastWoman]

There aren't really THAT many connectors. IMO, replacing all the rubber and connectors is a wise move. It will save you a ton of time/effort in the long run.