Adam 83

Accident. cant delete this message

I just called the auto parts store, they couldnt find a 'thermo time switch.' Is it called something else?

Where is the thermotime switch located?

I will set my trip meter to zero and pust a couple gallons in and get you a better answer. If I were to guess right now Id say right about 10mpg if I baby it and drive slow. The whole inside of the car smells of gas, especially when i step on it. I've been driving slow.

The carbon build up makes sense. When I took them out most were wet with gas and coated a with black suit. After i cleaned them the car ran better than usual at start up. So, is there an easy way like this to test valve adjustment? Since I am attacking this piece by piece, my next chunk of change will either be for a new distributor or to get the injectors cleaned. Which one sounds like the bigger contributor to my problems and horrid gas mileage?

Yes, I understand about the grease now. So I did my compression test. each cylinder was a little different. I have no idea what these number mean, or what I am supposed to compare them to. Anyways, I started with the cylinder closest to the firewall, and just went one by one down the line until I got to the cylinder closest to the air cleaner. In the same order I tested the cylinders, here is the results: 170psi, 170psi, 178psi, 175psi, 169psi, 174psi Is a difference of 9psi a big deal? I wonder what the psi of a L28 is suppossed to be at.

Like I said, I am not looking for daytona, I just want the car to run like it did when it rolled out of the factory. Oh, the car doesnt need to pass emissions, its an 83 and in WA if yr car is 25yrs or older you dont have to pass emmisions. So, when it comes to HC, the emissions are not what Im worried about, its fuel economy and performance. The cat was gone when I got the car. Does the cat do much more than clean the exhaust gas and rob the engine of power? Why would it being gone affect anything? The only sensor in the exhaust that I can find is the O2 sensor, and that is located way before the cat. And to clear up any confusion, we unplugged the O2 wire connector. I didnt actually rmove the sensor from its hole. So, would a new O2 sensor possibly clear up this mess? So far, this is what Im replacing to fix my problems: MAF sensor (done) Fuel Pressure Regulator (done), EGR valve distributor Water temperature sensor fuel injector cleaning and testing, from this place called Dr. Injector I bought some Dielectric grease today. I pulled of the connector to the Water temp sensor, cleaned it, and applied some grease. Then I looked at the engine and saw the many many connectors, so, of course, I begin pulling them all apart and appling the grease. I called my mechanic to tell him and he sternly says NO, get that stuff off. He says it is not good on low voltage connectors. Tells me about a transmission line cleaner that I need to get to clean the connectors with. So, I go to schucks. I ask for the stuff, then the freaking schucks guy starts getting stern and pushy with me and says he works on electric systems every day and he uses dielectric grease all the time, and that my mechanic is full of it. Who is right and why?

Im on my way out the door to borrow my friends compression tester. I wonder what I shall find. Will generice vaccum tubing be fine if I replace the vaccuum tubes on the engine? Oh, what did you guys think about my O2 sensor problem? Is it bad or dangerous to just leave it out like that?

Alright, I forgot to mention, when the O2 sensor is unplugged the emissions tester (the one you stick into the tail pipe) read around 400 hydrocarbons ( I forget the exact units of measurment). When the O2 sensor is put back into the exhaust manifold, the hydrocarbons jump back up to around 2000. So as of now, I am running the car with the O2 unplugged. I understand I will not get a race engine out of my L28. I just want to know how to make it perform as close or better than when it rolled out of the factory. I want to do this but I am pretty low income right now, so I thought Id ask those who have experiance, and accomplish what I want in the most cost effective manor. The problems I have listed here are my main challenges, and being only a beginer at auto mechanics I am not always what approach or perspective to take, so I really appreciate the help. So, when I check the water temperature sensor connections, or any connections for that matter, is corrosion always visible?

The engine is stock with 178,000 miles on it. My biggest problems are fuel efficiency and back fire and sluggish performance. I replaced the mass airflow sensor, and that seemed to greatly improve the performance. The car doesn’t run as ruff at lower RPM's and when you step on the gas the car doesn’t stutter as much when climbing from low to high RPM's. It was recommended to me to replace the fuel pressure regulator because it is old and is most likely leaking. The spark plugs are getting fouled because of to much fuel. My mechanic hooked the car up to a machine (scope maybe?) that looked like a heart monitor. The signals from all the cylinders were in synch and lined up when the car was idling, but when the engine revved up they all fell out of synch. He believes the distributor is wobbling, so will have to replace that to. The spark plugs must be taken out and cleaned. The EGR valve is also suspect and old, so I will replace that to. I researched a bit, and some people say they just blocked it off with a plate. Is that the better route to take? I don’t know the advantages/disadvantages of doing that. If backfire is detonation of unburnt hydrocarbons in the exhaust, then most likely fixing my fuel problems will help with my back fire problems I think. (It likes to back fire on deceleration when in gear and after the car gets warm). The cat is gone, and replaced by all new pipe to the muffler (same diameter as the stock pipe). These are my problems that I will be fixing over the next few paychecks. Advice? Even after these new parts are put on, the only way I think I will significantly improve performance is to have the engine rebuilt. So, my next question is what is the cheapest/ performance-effective route to take on this matter? Getting a rebuild, buying a crate engine (do they even make a crate L28?) or following Mr. Carls advise: "1. have a good engine shop do a fresh valve job, check the cam/followers to assure they are fine, relieve the valves, port match the intake/exhaust ports to the intake/exhaust manifolds.. do a mild milling on the head to raise the compression slightly...and reinstall. A good Z shop will know how much they can mill the head without going to far. Check the cam timing and made sure it is to spec.(might have to replace the timing chain and gears to get it near perfect)." -Carl Beck (forgive me, I havnt quite figured out the qoute option). Thank you guys for all your help

Every pay check I put a little more into my 1983 280zx. It has the same engine in it that it rolled out of the factory with. What I am looking for is advise on little things here and there that I can do to increase engine performance. I looked in the archives, but I could not find specifics for my question. Does anyone have a story or instruction on something they did to their engine that worked for them? I know this is a broad question, but its a start. I mean anything, from aftermarket O2 sensors to custom enhancements you came up with yourself. Any advise is appreciated.

thanks again

I dont know if this is the right forum, but I want to buy a rear wing and a rear window louver for my 1983 280zx. Anyone have these or seen them for sale somewhere?

My zx is an 83. The previous owner had taken the original TB off and replaced it with this one. It does have the nissan stamp on it, but I dont know what year the part is, or if it is even for a z car. Can anyone tell me? <a href="http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/adamcghee/?action=view&current=Mea016.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/adamcghee/Mea016.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a> <a href="http://s203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/adamcghee/?action=view&current=Mea016.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i203.photobucket.com/albums/aa79/adamcghee/Mea016.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>