New to me, 280Z...

[dar5052]

@siteunseen good call on the FPR! When I took it off, the return line was completely dry so I knew right away something was amiss. Anyway, swapped it out and rigged my old one in place and it runs. Granted, doesn't idle on its own but I can hear there is a misfire so it's probably just an injector, plug, or wire. Ill diagnose that once I get coolant in the car and be able to have it run for more than a few seconds. Once I get the rpms over 2k it sounds good albeit a small blip here and there. The other bad thing is I just have the headers on it so it's loud as all hell. I might try to rig the old exhaust up for the time being so I can at least listen for leaks, etc while I fine tune it. I'll swap out the FPR with a proper set up once I get everything back together. 

But thank you so much for that small piece of input! So invaluable. I was ready to tear the head apart again to check that my timing and valve lash was on point! And thanks to everyone else for providing all the input to get me where i am, I appreciate it a lot! 

Edited August 5 by dar5052

[Yarb]

Good call @siteunseen. Easier than the gas can trick but the same result!!

[Zed Head]

If swapping regulators worked I'd say you had a bad gauge and/or the adjustable regulator was plumbed incorrectly.  40 psi should have worked "okay", maybe even just right.  Many people measure 40 psi on their stock regulators.  It's higher than spec. but the old EFI systems tend to run lean.

Sorry to be a buzzkill.  It worked, apparently, but it's not clear why.

[dar5052]

@Yarb I was going to try your method but when I whenthe return was dry, I moved on. 

@Zed Head I agree.. im banking on it being a bad FPR but I'll mess around with it to see if I did something wrong or have a faulty gauge. There is really only one way to connect it and the ports are labeled in/return. I hooked the stock one up exactly the same way... I'll mess with it more and try to find the root cause once I get coolant in and can run it for a while. 

Thank you both for your input 

[dar5052]

I pulled off the valve cover to check the timing and it seems to be on. The bottom pulley is at TDC, and at the top, the Notch and groove are basically aligned. However, when I start the car and turn the distributor and advance the timing well past what the bolt/slot allows, the car runs much better. 

Sorry if it's an amatuer question, but just wondering if I need to adjust my camshaft sprocket or whatever else it might be. Perhaps the answer is to just finish the assembly and then deal with the fine tuning but I just want to make sure before I proceed. Thanks for your patience. 

The first two photos show the alignment of my crank and camshaft and the last photo is the distributor position. 

[Yarb]

Finish putting the engine back together where you have the chance to monitor each phase.

[dar5052]

Got everything basically back together and still runs like crap....

@siteunseen can you tell me what this condensor connector goes to? Is it whats in the photo? I can't find anything else in my parts bin that would remotely go there. 

If you have a Pic that would be 👍 

[Zed Head]

On 8/5/2024 at 4:23 PM, dar5052 said:

good call on the FPR! When I took it off, the return line was completely dry so I knew right away something was amiss.

 

On 8/5/2024 at 7:02 PM, dar5052 said:

when I start the car and turn the distributor and advance the timing well past what the bolt/slot allows, the car runs much better.

 

1 hour ago, dar5052 said:

Got everything basically back together and still runs like crap....

 

Pulled a few things out of the recent posts. 

I misread the statement about the return line being dry.  My brain converted it to vacuum reference line, I never imagined the return line to the tank being dry.  Weird.  If the gauge said 40 psi and you have the orignal factory pump installed then you might have had the system set up in "deadhead" mode.  Doesn't matter now since you have the factory FPR installed again.

If your timing light shows correct timng then the position of the distributor isn't critical.  Common for the oil pump gear to be off a tooth.  It only affects distributor body position.  You are using a timing light to check timing, right?

You're backsliding a little bit.  Where are the details?  Runs like crap is not very informative.  At least you're making progress.  It pays to be methodical.  

 

 

[dar5052]

@Zed Head I am using my timing light.

My description was pretty bad but that’s probably because I was in the middle of throwing wrenches across the garage… it still seems like a bad misfire. The car won’t start without throttle being all the way down. In the low end it misfires bad but when the rpm’s get above about 2k, it seems okay for the most part. I’ll say that the smell of running rich is not as bad from when I had the aftermarket FPR…. It’s a step in the right direction. I pulled the plugs again and cylinder 3 is inconsistent with the rest, it’s been like that all along. The other plugs have some carbon buildup on them but #3 is pretty clean and no moisture from excess fuel…

im going back to the basics and am just going to keep reading my manuals. I have a feeling it’s something dumb… I just need to find it. I’m leaving overseas for work on Saturday until September so I really want to get this sorted before I leave. Appreciate the advice. 

Edited August 9 by dar5052

[Zed Head]

Firing order off maybe?  Swapped wires?  1-5-3-6-2-4 counterclockwise.

[siteunseen]

The coolant temp sensor wires aren't crossed up are they? The TPS could be out of adjustment too. When I deleted my EGR I remember there was a vacuum line on the bottom of the BCDD that had to connect with the hose coming off the thermal vacuum switch above the warming plate. It was a few odd things I had to figure out before mine ran normal. You mention the 2K rpm. That very easily could be the TPS not coming off idle contact side. I can't post any pics until Saturday sometime. Sorry 

You can find some good stuff googling "blue's tech tips" look under sub category "efi and fuel"

[Zed Head]

13 hours ago, dar5052 said:

The car won’t start without throttle being all the way down.

If you describe the complete sequnce of events, from starting to idling, it might give some clues.  Wide open throttle adds 27% extra fuel over what the AFM indicates is needed, but it also adds a ton of air.

And, even though you said that you used a timing light you didn't say what you measured, what the actual timing is in degrees advance.  I would also watch timing while it's running.  Maybe you have full time vacuum on the distributor when it should be ported.

The numbers will have the clues.  We need numbers.