sjb15316

Here is a posting for a nice (nearly) original ZX for sale... 1980 280ZX GL

I was just wondering if anyone else was having trouble "viewing" their garage when they click the "My Garage" button. I can get to my garage from the garage list of all the vehicles on here, but that option seems to not be working. They may have taken that link out while the site was down. Anyone know anything about it? Thanks

Hey dillbill... I have an 83 NA, so I'm not sure if it's even remotely the same setup, but the one under the driver's seat is the rear defogger control and on the right, I have 3 separate units. "Looking as if you were sitting in the rear seat (2+2)", the first one is the relay for the rear defogger control and the tail/stop light sensor. The 2nd one is the cruise control unit, while the 3rd one is the relay for the cruise control. Obviously, these may be somewhere else on your car since it's a turbo and an '81, but that's the setup on an '83. Good luck.

Well, it never ceases to amaze me, but here's another prime example of how one thing can lead to another. RE: 83 N/A. About 2 or 3 weeks ago, I noticed that my car was "running rich", so while I was doing the AFM overhaul, I went ahead and drilled the cover plug out of it for future adjustment. I finally decided to try to adjust it (without a CO2 meter) and turned it counter clockwise just as the FSM showed. It immediately required adjusting the idle screw to reach the 750 rpms that is advised for normal operation. Took it out... ran like a TOP! "Happy, happy, happy!" SYMPTOMS: About a week later, old man winter decides to visit and I jumped in it just to drive and it wouldn't start. Took almost a minute to finally get it cranked and ran the battery WAY down. Drove it around, stopped to visit some friends (approx 1-2 hrs), got back in to go home and while easier, it still was hard to start. I'm thinking my Cold start valve is going out or it has to be where I adjusted the AFM mix. Got home, parked it for a few days... still cooler temps... and same thing except it DID pull the battery down. Waited a couple of minutes it had enough to turn it over and it started. "I've got to get my CSV checked". Finally decided to take it to work and check it on lunch.... Put the mix screw back where it was originally... same thing... but pulled the battery down to nothing but a "grunt". Got my jumper pack out and jumped it off, threw the pack in the back just in case! Got to work and shut it off... Immediately tried to crank it and while hard, it did crank. Lunchtime same thing but battery isn't acting like it should (1.5 y.o.). I took it back (of course, I'd just missed the free exchange date) and got a new battery and IT FIRED RIGHT UP!!! I barely hit the starter and it cranked! So for you guys that are having "Cold start" issues... make sure your battery is good and hot before you start thinking the worst. Obviously, mine was barely or not maintaining enough voltage to fire the spark. And for the "nay-Sayers", yes I did check my alternator to make sure output was correct and charging properly. It WAS the battery causing my problems all this time. Good luck guys!

If you have a volt/ohm meter, simply pull the fusible links from the box located on the passenger wheel well. BE SURE TO DISCONNECT BATTERY FIRST! Put your meter on "ohms" and test from end to end. If you have continuity replace then go to next one. That the easiest way. Be sure to change meter to DC voltage if you decide to test it "hot". Oh, be careful to pull "low" on the wire...you don't want it to "pull out" of the connector. It's not a big deal to replace, but it's just something you have to bother with...

UPDATE: Everything sounds great and for all purposes, I'm very pleased with the performance. It did take me a while to adjust all the EQ on the radio and the amp to get the sound I was wanting. The ONLY problem (other than forgetting to turn my toggle switch off prior to cranking the car) is that now I've got that "speaker noise" that is generated from my cell phone. Went to my local electronics store and told my friend about it and he said..."Good luck with trying to fix that!". It only occurs when a call is coming in or I'm dialing out, but I have to "flip the switch" to turn the amp off to hear my phone anyway... So I just chalk it up to "My car is now notifying me that I have an in-coming call. If I could only get the "lady" to say "You have a call" instead of "Your lights are on", it would be a perfect world! Later guys!

Guess it's the teenager in me coming out, but I had to upgrade the sound in "Cris". As with most of these cars, the stereo is pretty "roached" and the tape deck quit working last century, so right after I bought the car, I put an aftermarket Pioneer "SuperTuner" unit in it and drove it until the restoration. After I got it back from the shop, the only thing that wouldn't work was the radio. Come to find out the 1st "Jack@ss" I hired for the restoration (he wound up taking it apart, throwing all the bolts, screws, clips, taps, washers, etc, in a bucket, then calls me up and tells me "Come get it, I'm not doing it") got liquid in the radio and fried it. Anyway, I went to "Wally-world" and bought a Pioneer DEH-15UB. I realize this is not a great radio, but I was in a hurry, and the one I really wanted was out of stock, so I settled. Anyway, it's a decent radio with CD, AUX, and USB... I thought "cool". Long story short, it was decent, but you had to turn it up to "25" on the volume to hear it if you had the window down. I thought, I'll remedy that! Years ago, during my "Jensen 6X9 CoAxial" days... the thing to have for power was an Amplifier/Equalizer... (anyone old as me remember those???). I found one (I couldn't believe it) new in the package. 40 x 40 watt Audiovox. Now for the speakers... I thought of building a box that would fit across the back of the car and buying a couple of speakers to put in it. I then remembered a buddy of mine that had a pickup in college that had installed a couple of Radio Shack "Minimus 7" speakers. I did a little research and found the "Japanese" ones were the ones to have, so once again, I found a couple with the brackets on eBay and bought them. After gathering all my purchases, I spent most of the day Saturday on the install. I wound up removing the shock tower covers and mounted my brackets on the bolts there. I can actually put the covers on, but decided not to in fear of "rubbing" them. Yes, there was bending and cutting of the brackets (took the longest time to fit those) and secured them with the 2 front shock bolts. Wired up everything and slapped in the "Doobie Brothers Greatist Hits" cd and I was back in the "70's". All is perfect... until... That evening I got in my Z to take it for a spin and listen to some tunes. As I turned the key... my amp kicked on approximately 2-4 seconds before the radio did and what a "RACKET"! Just so happens, that the Pioneer units (not sure about other units) have a built-in delay when you turn on the key (the amp doesn't), so you have all this power/harmonics/noise hitting the speakers and in addition to the sound, it can't be good for the speakers. So I wound up putting a lighted toggle switch in the filler plate to switch it off when I get out of the car. Now if I can only remember to hit the switch when I get out, but it's a easier reach than in the glove box when I forget. Additional notes: The amp was 4 channel, so I was able to wire the original rear speakers to the front of the amp and the rear to the "7's". Left the front ones alone since they're really not designed to take that kind of power. I realize it's probably not the greatest setup in the world, but I love having my old tunes blowing as I go down the road. Rear seats are still functional and I can remove the brackets and put the caps back on in about 15 minutes if I need it "original looking". Anyway, I realize this is a lengthy post, but I thought some of my fellow "bell-bottom, long-haired, 70's" brethren, might like to see my set-up.

Hey guys. Just had this system installed on my car. My buddy (who does exhaust for a living) advised me to use this system instead of the cheaper one, so this is the one I bought: Motorsport! Aluminized Performance Exhaust System, 82-83 280ZX Non Turbo - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts The install was easy enough, so I was happy with the unit. Cranked it up and loved the "throaty" sound. Only problem I had was as I accelerated (while driving) the exhaust noise was so loud, I could hardly hear the radio or passenger or phone or whatever! I finally could "outrun" the sound around 60 or so... Long story short, I had to extend the pipe off the muffler to get the chrome tip farther out (approximately to the outside edge of my bumper) to lessen the noise inside the car. I highly recommend this system but you might want to save yourself some time/aggravation and extend it while installing. Good luck.

I have searched high and low to find replacement boots for the axles on my ZX. I can find the outer boot on "Dragon", but can't locate the inner ones. Those are actually the ones I need to replace... that or I'd be interested in replacing the entire units, boots and all. So guys if anyone can hook me up with links or otherwise, I'd appreciate it.

I have never seen a fan clutch that doesn't spin (at least to some degree) whether it's working properly or not. My experience in the past has been: 1) It locks up and makes one hell of a noise (similar to a jet engine taking off), reduces efficiency, etc. 2) Starts failing and engine starts running hotter than normal till it starts overheating. Well, okay, there was one 3) that stopped completely on my mom's car (which I was driving at the time, (age 16)) only after IT and the FAN went through the radiator (VERY BAD DAY!...). RE: Rebuilding... I've not heard of it, but obviously some of them are repairable, so good luck. I'm going to do some "searching" on the site to see if I can locate the link. Good luck guys!

Glad you found that... I know it's been bugging the hell out of you. Just installed my "cat-back" exhaust today. Blew the seam at the muffler, so I found one here: http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/PEC06/15-6312 It was a "bolt-up" system and installed nicely. Has a nice "Throaty" sound to it. The only thing I really don't like about it is the HUGE pipes it uses. It actually reduced my ground clearance by an inch or two. Haven't hit it yet, but knowing me, I'll catch a speed bump just right and put a nice crease in it.... Later dude...

I know what you mean. I can't understand why it would appear that "NO ONE" wants to make them. Looks like a great business opportunity there. It was quite time consuming to find all the seals for mine. The rear hatch glass seal was the "BEAR" of it all. Ordered one and it was expensive (over-priced if you ask me) and took about 2 months to get. The coupe seal is reasonable and appears easily attainable, but an 83 2+2???...I'd advise anyone to find it and get it in hand before they remove that glass. Good luck and be sure to post pics when you get it together.

You are absolutely correct, my 83 doesn't have an Idler Arm. I believe this is only relevant to 79-81 ZX. Again, I'm not a mechanic, so I'm limited in my knowledge. Just trying to help a fellow Zcar brother with a possible symptom he might having... I was completely "caught off-guard" when this happened to me!

Took my '80 out for a drive a couple of weeks ago and when I hit around 40-45 mph, the steering wheel nearly shook out of my hands! My initial thought was "What the hell???!!!". I immediately pulled over at the nearest safe place to get out and look. I was trying to come up with ideas as I was walking around the car... "tire balance, tire separating, knot on tire, etc"... Couldn't see a thing. Felt like the right side of the car, but couldn't be sure... Ran my hands all around and over what I could feel... Nothing. Checked the other side... Same thing. Rear tire??? Checked those. NO CLUE. Had to be a "fluke". Got back in... creeping along slowly gathering speed... smooth as ever... around 40 or so... car started shaking like crazy again. Went up to 50 and it started smoothing out??? Didn't make sense, unless it was the tire balance. Took it to the shop and while they were somewhat out of balance the guy at the garage said it must be the alignment, because the tires (while not bad) were not wearing smoothly. So I took it to the alignment shop and he said the Idler Arm Bushings were GONE! He said it would be cheaper (a lot cheaper!) if I'd take it home and do it myself. So I ordered the parts from O'Reilly's (I think they were around $20) and put them in today. While not the simplest job I've ever done, it wasn't that bad. I did it with a floor jack. It might have been simpler and quicker to have used ramps, but the car was in the back of the shop and I didn't want to move a bunch of stuff around, so I just jacked it up where it sat. I did however have some problem getting it back on and used a bottle jack also to help hold and lift while I twisted and aligned the arm to go back on. Anyway, don't know if any of you have had to replace these before, but mine had basically disintegrated to a nasty, gritty mess. I'm not sure what these are made of, but it feels like nylon or something similar. Anyway, thought I'd post this just in case someone else out there gets an uncontrollable shake in their front-end. Oh, start to finish took me about 45-60 minutes and I had no clue what I was doing. I'm "mechanical", but definitely not a "mechanic".

I just did an update on "My '83 tale"... Bottom line, a mechanic friend of mine who works on anything ("but your damn Datsun"...), told me when he pulls a motor out of the junk yard to put into a car/truck/van/etc., the last thing he does is pull the "original" fuel lines and injectors from motor he removed and use them. After time, lines (and injectors) can rust, varnish, and whatever that "white crap" is, you find after gas dries up and clog up the fuel system. So he installs the original ones on the "junkyard" motor and says it saves him hours of problems later on... so I put a set of injectors in and as much as it pains me to say it... "He was right!"... So I'm sending mine to be rebuilt/refurbished (if it can be done) to a place the next town over so I'll have a spare set. Oh, and I immediately changed the oil & filter just in case I got some gas in it as I don't want it "washing" the rings. Good luck.