TomoHawk

where under the car?

I was checking the circuit for the coolant sensor on my 78 280Z, and it didn't check out right: One connector from the sensor goes to the ECU, pin 13, like it should. The other one goes to ground. The circuit diagram shows the second wire going to ground, but when I plug in the coolant sensor with the engine running, the engine stalls, and then won't start again. I checked the circuits according to the EFI 'bible', and the coolant sensor seemed to check out fine. But still the engine won't run with the sensor plugged in So I have the coolant sensor unplugged, and the engine runs extra rich (about 10 MPG). Any thoughts on what might be happening? I put in a new sensor over the winter. My next move would be to take the car to the dealer, and I bet the 'expert techie' will look at the hood and say, " You need a new AFM" ($600!!) thx

We have a gallery here for your own use, daffy. Upload some photos to your gallery. cheers

Does Datsun/Nissan and/or Mr. K approve of the aftermarket or additional filter? j/k

Probably the only one I would need to get is the one over the fuse panel.

Will- Thanks, but all I need to know what is how many panels there are supposed to be in there. A diagram would be enough. I could track down the part #s myself. thx

The problem is I wouldn't know which panels I would need. I checked both VB and MSA catalogs, and the only panels or stuff the have are for doors, headliner, sunvisor, and rear trim panels. thx

I looked through the Microfiche CD, and I didn't see any pictures of the panels under the dash, kickpanels, or whatever is under there. I know there is supposed to be a panel on the side where the fusepanel is; which is one thing I probably need to get. I only have one piece with the curved end (looks like a ski) that goes along the bottom edge of the dash. Does anybody know what it's called on the Microfiche CD, or which screen to look at, or even where one might order kick panels? thx

EvapoRust took the rust right off, returning them to shiny steel. I'm going to use plenty of anti-sieze when reattaching. I have some copper anti-sieze which doesn't wash off as easily as the aluminum. The problem I'm having is to figure out how the bolts go on. Mine look like 'T's with a flat strip across the top. They only go on the corners. AFAIK, you can put them with the strip along the long edge, the short edge or an angle across the corner, and the shallow indents are worn enough to make it difficult to tell which. thx

I managed to get the louvers off the hood on my 280Z and I found out the P.O. had the bolts attached ( and one ner directly to the hood) with RTV silicone! One bolt was missing so he just glued that! :devious: So after I got the rusty bolts off the hood and into the evapoRust, they came out clean & shiny now I need to reattach the bolts to the louvers. I was thinking of using J.B. Weld. Will that work? I would like to get a pic of what an original, unmolested louver looks like, can anybody help? thx

I located what you are talking about. The design looks fine, but the picture doesn't show much: Link: http://198.208.187.182/internet/PartImage.jsp?mfgname=ACDELCO&prodlinecd=47&acpartnbr=GF62P

I had my engine decarbonized last summer, but I might give it a go. I want to find a nice empty field out in the country to 'smoke it up.' In the 'burbs, you'll draw the P.D. and the Fire Dept. if anybody sees any smoke. BTW, no catalytic converter on my car- not a California car. thx

I took out all the spark plugs and cleaned the soot off. I also put a bottle of engine cleaner into the gas tank. Cleaning the plugs helped a little. I also noticed (once) a little black smoke coming out of the muffler when I hammered the gas pedal around a corner. thx

Oh. I thought you drove down my street & saw me with my shirt off. I get toots from the ladies sometimes. 86 & sunny in Ohio yesterday.

Thanks Gary, I was looking for the timing mark, but I didn't think about taking the plugs out. When I took the plugs out, there is a bit of oil dripping down from each spark plug hole, and they were well covered with soot. I think that last quart of oil I put in recently is blowing by the piston, interfering with the plugs, so there is an oil change coming tomorrow. I put in what is probably an extra quart because the dipstick is difficult to read, and it looked low on oil. No matter how carefully you put it in & pull it out, sometimes the oil slick goes half-way up the stick, or lower than the low mark, so I'm draining the engine, putting in exactly 5 qts, and we'll see if that helps mark the dipstick correctly. I was going to mark the timing notch on the crank pulley with paint, but the engine was hot so I'll leave it for later when I can get it up on a lift and clean off the pulley rim. I don't really question the timing, as the engine was fine last summer except for the poor gas mileage. I'm checking the timing now because I've never done it on an L28 engine and it's not as easy as a V-8 with the fancy timing tape. I want to expose myself to all the parts of the Z car & engine, as I already know domestic cars, and the Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection is new to me as well. So eventually I will know everything there is about the engine to keep it running & replace old stuff. thx

My engine started running so crappy since I put on the new fuel rail. I thought it was because I 'cleaned' the AFM, and the resistance strip is damaged. I just got a used AFM off eBay, and it didn't help, so I started reading everything. I read that if the timing is off, it'll run rich. So I got a timing light and put it on there. Problem was I didn't see any marks. On U.S. engines the TDC mark is kind of deep so it's really easy to see it. When I put the light on MY car, I didn't see any marks within the timing pointers(the one bolted on the timing chain cover.) So I pulled the coil wire and cranked the engine in little bits to find the mark. After about 15 minutes I gave up. I will have to take it to a service place to have some pros set the timing. Maybe they can clean up the crank pulley so I can check it myself later. Then I will see if the Nissan dealer has a guy that knows Zs, and can do something with it. The last time I drove my 280Z, the engine just about stalled when you floor it (when the TPS kicks in to richen the fuelmixture.) Otherwise, there's no power, no accelleration. I didn't get check the spark plugs yet. thx

I was referring to the filter unit ZRush was telling about.

That's 'the good oil' mate. The heavy cardboard gives a large surface area and has the strength to apply pressure evenly. I think it saves time (works efficiently) and you can get into the corners, if you cut corners into the card (Cut the card to the shape you need.) As long as you use a glass cleaner before the polishing, you can just keep adding more Brasso to the card, because it won't be getting dirty. thx

Can you give us the part # for the unit you were talking about, Vicky? thx

thanks, Will I haven't had much time to look at or fool with a pocket PC because I gotta keep up with all the other PC languages to keep up my status in the college faculty. If I get a pocket PC, I will definitely start reading books on programming. thx

Steven mention a screw-on filter like an oil filter. That would be nice. The only problem is that if you don't change the filter quick or plug the line(s), you'll get some gas flowing out of the hose.

Have you had any experience in programming them? I have some tools for VB .Net to interface to a GPS receiver, but since I don't have access to a real Pocket PC, I haven't had a chance to write code for the PPC. Just wondering what the general procedure is on that (PM mer if you want about that). I thought it would be easy to write a simple program to monitor the average speed on sections of a rally, just tap the screen to reset for the next section. Oh- I forgot. You can't use a computer in the beginner's class! Well maybe it'll just be in there for pictures or music then....

SJGREEN71- I tried some NevrDull on the bumper and it didn't do diddly. the AL polish did some cleaning, but the underlying chrome is still (old). I concluded that the Nevr Dull is for maintenence or light polishing only, being just a soft cloth soaked with a petroleum product for lubrication. I'd take the can of NevrDull to a show to touch up or a quick shine. Just pull off a bit & rub. No second rag needed. If you have something with a heavy layer of (patina), then you'll need something like a paste or a chemical. I used Eagle One Aluminum paste polish on the 280ZX wheels, and it shined those up really fast. I just gotta get into the nooks by the air valve to get it clean too. thx

Rick- Your mention of cardboard to polish gave me an idea. I used some heavy corrugated cardboard as a sanding pad, applied some Brasso to it, and polished the windscreen (after cleaning the glass with water & then glass cleaner.) I went up & down- across the scratches, like you would with sandpaper. I only did one side with a little overlap for ease. I cleaned with a glass cleaner afterward (Eagle One 20/20) to get any polish off & make it sparkle. It took several applications, but I believe I got the driver's side polished to be very clear. A drive in the dark had MUCH less glare & the headlights seemed brighter too. I think I can still see a trace of the wiper scratches from the outside, but I think it'll come out with the next polish, if I do one. I used the same piece of carboard for the whole process. I think the accumulation of dried-on ( or embedded) polish helped. I should probably polish the other side to match, and the rest of the windows to make it consistent. thanks, mate. Good on yer cheers

Rob, webdawg1 is talking about an extra filter between the gas tank and the fuel pump. I don't understand why everybody keeps saying the filter is under the hood- we all know that! If the filter inside the fuel pump isn't fine enough you'll get dirt ( or rust) in your injectors, or if too fine, the pump will get blocked, so on these older cars I think it would be a good idea to put on that rextra filter. Especially if it's easy to change out. The filter under the hood is easy to change, but takes time with all the clamps, & hoses. If there was a twist-on filter mounted by the gas tank, you could conceiveably change it in a minute. thx