Cybidium

I have a 76 280z with an L28 and am having some strange issues. 1/2 the time when I start my car, doesn't matter if it's cold or hot it runs really bad while the other 1/2 it runs just fine. By running bad I mean the idle drops to around 500 and black smoke that smells like gas comes out of the exhaust. Because my brakes don't work very well I started to think that it might have something to do with my brake power booster. I went to autozone and got a vacuum tester. While my car is running poorly, with the tester hooked up to the brake booster vacuum line it reads around 5psi. When I rev the engine it goes up to about 10-15 psi and drops right back down to 5 and tries to stall. If I cover the vacuum line with my thumb as it's running and slightly take it off, the cars RPMS increase and the black smell goes away and if I totally remove my thumb the RPMs increase exponentially. I've searched both the hybridz forums and these but haven't found anything that exactly touches this problem. Any help would be great -Tim

Last night at 9:50ish the car started and the engine sounds pretty good too. I got 6 new fuel injectors and re-did all the connectors on the FI harness. Anyways, after I got the fuel rail back on I couldn't figure out how to wires went from the distributor to the plugs and this forum was down all yesterday! Lucky for me my buddy who works on plane engines for a living was helping me out. I guess all straight 6 engines have the same firing order and on the cap there's a little bump that indicates where the first plug goes so, it's all down hill from there. The thing is running rich as hell and my victory drive was described as the car disappearing into a thick cloud of smoke . I just thought i'd update you guys and thank everyone for their input it is greatly appreciated.

No, the plugs aren't wet, this is what makes it so weird. Gas in the oil means the injectors would have to let gas through them but it doesn't even look like the injectors are opening (don't know how to test this theory). I havent checked the oil after the first change I did when I got the car so, this might be a mute point. I just wanted to make sure i'm giving as much information as I can.

I checked the PSI and after I crank the engine a couple of times it gets to the mid 30's, takes about 5 seconds. I was thinking about replacing all six fuel injectors but it doesn't really seem realistic for all six to fail at the same time, granted they're pretty dirty (i'll post a picture later) and might just need a good cleaning. I will check the Injector forums for tips on how to clean the injectors. I think an important factor that I didn't metion earler is that my oil had gas in it.

Thanks for the tip Blake but It seems like the fuel pump is working fine and I should be getting enough PSI to at least get the car started. I unhooked the line after the filter in the engine and it’s easily pushing fuel into my container. I’m thinking it’s an injector issue and might see if the damn things are clogged or ever opening.

Ok, I got a can of starter fluid and sprayed aprox 3 seconds of it into the manafold and the car starts really roughly for about 1.5 seconds and dies. I guess this tells me it's either a plug problem or a fuel problem right ? Next thing i'll do is check to see if i'm getting good flow after the second filter, before it enters the fuel rod. I'll keep you updated.

It's been a while. I finished my tank so now it's like new. I installed the new tank and put some fresh gas in it. When I turned the key it still wouldn't start I just hear the engine cranking but nothing else. I check the fuel pump and it's definitely pushing the gas the the injectors. Any help from here would be great.

The only Thing I have to say you've said already. 'Women, you would prefer to be Z's if you knew how do we treat them'

I'm in the process of getting my tank repaired. I found a great article on this site about Por-15. So, I think i'll go that way with my tank. I also had one hell of a time finding my fuel filter in the engine comartment. After following the fuel line to the bracket mounted on the right hand side I notice something strange, a tube, and it's not connected to anything!!! it just goes straight into the fuel pipes. Is there any testing you guys might recommend while i'm refurbishing my tank or should I just wait 'till I have that done ?

I just had to jump at the chance. 10w-30 is what I use out here in Cali, i'm also a fan of the synthetics.

So, I took your guys advice. Drained the oil, put a new filter on and took it out for a spin. I don't know what happend but the engine won't turn over anymore. when I turn the key I just hear clicking.

I wouldn't doubt it. After I blow the engine i'll check the injectors and let you know.

So, if I do this that should get the crap out of the engine right ? I just take the spark plugs out, disable the distributer (by disconnecting it ?) and turn the key for a couple of seconds, right ?

I also did an oil change and the oil had the consistency of black water, I didn’t smell any antifreeze but do you think this might indicate a breach in the engine block?

Here is what the gas looks like Now, in theory, if I cleaned the lines up into the engine, changed the fuel filter and put some clean gas in the tank the car should turn over. I’d have problems later down the line but I can at least see if it was just a gas thing right ? Anyways, I guess it looks like I’ll have to get a new tank installed.