My New Z

[bratliff]

I would also read, a lot, before buying anything.  There are many threads on this forum about seal kits that don't work right.  Most of us, that are now happy with out seals, are using Kia Sportage seals, either from a wrecking yard or through the internet or Kia dealer.

 

You can waste a lot of money if you don't research what you're buying first.  Also, in that vein, there will probably be a time when your engine doesn't run quite right.  You'll be tempted to make a quick diagnosis and buy more replacement parts, like fuel pumps, AFM's, ignition modules, EFI relays, etc.  Don't do that without testing first.  One purchase you could make today, that will pay off in the long run, is a decent multimeter.  In a few months you'll be an expert in primitive EFI systems.

 

I've got a multi-meter already. I try not to shot gun troubleshoot an issue. I like to really try and isolate it if for no other reason than I know what the actual problem was. That's why I want to get the car running and driving first before I really start restoring it and replacing parts. The weather seals are shot though. I've looked at pretty much all of them and they need to be replaced especially since we get a lot of rain in GA. It'll be parked in a garage (and has been it's whole life) but it'll get wet if I drive it any. 

 

Is there any consensus on the MSA seal kit? 

[HaZmatt]

I used the msa kit and have been happy with everything but the doors. I ended up buying factory ones for the doors.

[bratliff]

Got the Z into the garage this evening, pulled the battery and had a good poke around.

 

Here's a shot of the engine bay. A little dirty but not bad really. Cleaner than my BMW's at any rate.

 

 

Here's a shot of the vehicle tag with the serial number, etc. Serial number is 303038 in case it isn't clear.

 

 

Can anyone tell me what this white thing is? Vacuum pump or something?

 

 

The top of this canister looks like it should have three hoses. The bottom one here looks missing/broken but it appears to be capped off. Should there be a connection here?

 

 

I think the little flashlight is the neatest feature on these cars. Where I can I get a replacement bulb as I think this one is burned out?

 

 

This next picture shows a hose that appears to be broken. Is this a vacuum line? There's a hose that it runs right along with...

 

 

... that's in this picture and this is where it terminates. Any idea where that first hose should be routed?

 

 

Thank you all for your help!

Edited April 17, 2015 by bratliff

[SteveJ]

The bulb for the inspection lamp is a standard BA9 bulb. I managed to fit a 9-LED bulb in mine.

 

The white bottle is a vacuum bottle for the HVAC controls.

[rossiz]

head to the auto parts store and pick up 10' of vacuum hose (bring a piece in w/you to get the right size) and spend some quality time w/the FSM and replace every vacuum hose in the engine bay in its correct routing. remember to check the pcv hose (runs from the block to under the intake manifold) as these get dried out/scorched from the exhaust manifold and disintigrate on the underside. 

 

the efi system requires the vacuum systems to be tight and correctly functioning. can't stress this enough - get all of that done before you chase your tail with trying to tune.

 

while you're at it, unplug, clean and re-plug every connector you come across - including the injectors & cold start, especially the ones that go from the sensors at the upper coolant port on the top of the head. the signals from these sensors (temp, thermotime) have significant effect on your efi.

[Captain Obvious]

Can anyone tell me what this white thing is? Vacuum pump or something?

 

The top of this canister looks like it should have three hoses. The bottom one here looks missing/broken but it appears to be capped off. Should there be a connection here?

 

This next picture shows a hose that appears to be broken. Is this a vacuum line? There's a hose that it runs right along with...

 

To expand a little on what SteveJ mentioned about the white bottle... It's a vacuum storage reservoir. It "stores and smooths" the vacuum generated in the intake manifold and that vacuum is pulled out of that reservoir and used to control the HVAC system. There's a check valve on the manifold side of that bottle so all your vacuum doesn't run back out into the manifold when you floor it.

 

The canister thing is your carbon canister. It's an emissions device who's job is to scrub the air/fuel vapors coming out of your gas tank when the engine is off and store the fumes in activated charcoal which is inside the black plastic canister. It stores the vapors in there when the engine is off and then burns them the next time you run the car. The port on top that is capped is supposed to be capped. I've not studied the system in enough detail to tell you why, but they're all like that.

 

The broken line is a vacuum line and the device it's supposed to be connected to is your FICD (Fast Idle Control Device). The purpose of the FICD is to bump the idle up a little when you turn the A/C on. That line only has vacuum in it when the A/C is on, so if you're not running the A/C it doesn't matter if it's connected or not. If you turn the A/C on however, it will cause a small vacuum leak.

 

Welcome to Z ownership. Buy stock in the companies that make rubber tubing.

[bratliff]

Did some work on the Z today. Cleaned out the interior. No rear carpeting, but the rear deck is very clean. Also found the original tool kit plus two yellow metal wheel choks with "Nissan" on them. Were these part of the tool kit too? I took the old battery to get tested and it was dead dead. Bought a new one. I decided to hook it up so I could test the electrics, etc. As soon as I did, smoke started coming out of the alternator. Obviously I disconnected the battery. All the connections on the alternator appeared to be in place and there were no obvious bare wires or anything. I decided to pull the alternator so I can test it. Since the bottom bolt would be easier to reach from under the car I jacked it up and put it on jack stands. Undid the connectors and loosened the tensioning bolt for the alternator and then went under the car.

 

First thing I noticed is that a lot of the under body rust protection is peeling off. This isn't so bad as it revealed that the primered metal underneath is in good shape except for one spot. It looks like at some point the car went over a curb or something and came down on the passenger side frame rail. It's kinda crushed/bent and the rust protection is scraped off and it's rusted out. The bottom section about 18 inches in length plus a spot towards the front on the inner side. I've never done any welding. Is this something that can be done in place, or will the car need to be up in the air to do? Also with all the under side rust coating coming off, I'm guessing I need to do something about that as well or I'm just asking for trouble in the future right?

 

The other thing I noticed was oil. The entire bottom of the engine back to the transmission is covered in oily gunk. It's obvious the oil pan gasket is completely failed. It looks like you have to remove the suspension cross member to drop the oil pan, am I right?

 

So now I'd like some advice from you guys who have been through all this. I was hoping to just do a rolling restoration as the body is for the most part very sound and I thought rust free. I did not intend to rebuild the engine (at least in the near future) but, going through the electrical system I can see a lot of wiring that's looking pretty sketchy (brittle sheathing, etc) and with an alternator that starts smoking just by having a battery hooked up I'm beginning to wonder if I need to go through all of that as well. It looks like my dad did his own installation of the alarm and stereo and I don't really like how he tapped into the wiring for power, etc. Do I just say screw it and strip the car down completely and do a full restoration knowing it'll be several years before it's back on the road or am I making too much of this stuff?

 

I appreciate your advice.

[Zed Head]

Odds are good(bad) that you connected the battery backward.  Nissan did not use red and black like everyone else did.  Follow the cables to be sure which is ground and which is positive.

 

The cross member is actually what the engine is mounted on.  Can't be removed without removng the engine too.  You can get the oil pan off with everything in place though, it might take a couple of tricks.

 

There are tons of parts for sale from people who decided to just tear the car apart and rebuild it from scratch.  One year of looking at boxes of parts and you won't even remember it used to be a car.

[grannyknot]

If your alternator is smoking then you better start with electrical system. Start at one end of the car and clean every single plug, connector and ground down to bare metal and see if that helps, if not I would pull the entire harness, remove the tape and examine every wire for breaks and fraying. You will probably run into many bad splices and tapping points were POs have had their way and screwed things up.

Chris

 

Or as Zed Head says, it might be just be your polarity but you are going to have to tear into that harness at some point. I'm firmly in the "rip it apart and build it back up"

camp.

Edited April 18, 2015 by grannyknot

[bratliff]

Odds are good(bad) that you connected the battery backward.  Nissan did not use red and black like everyone else did.  Follow the cables to be sure which is ground and which is positive.

 

The cross member is actually what the engine is mounted on.  Can't be removed without removng the engine too.  You can get the oil pan off with everything in place though, it might take a couple of tricks.

 

There are tons of parts for sale from people who decided to just tear the car apart and rebuild it from scratch.  One year of looking at boxes of parts and you won't even remember it used to be a car.

 

You Sir, win all of the internets for today. Thank you for pointing out how much of an idiot I was. Just went to the garage swapped the battery form end to end and the car fired right up and idled nicely. Since you were so right on this first point, I'm going to order an oil pan gasket and try and change that out in place.

 

If I can fix the passenger rail rust without stripping the car down, then I can go on with my original plan of a rolling restoration. I agree, I do not wanna look at boxes of old car parts for the next couple of years.

[siteunseen]

My '72 240s have the yellow 1 piece wheel chocks.  '77 280 has orange collapsible ones. 

 

[bratliff]

My '72 240s have the yellow 1 piece wheel chocks.  '77 280 has orange collapsible ones.

Yep! That's them.