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>

What kind of connections do you mean? Would a positive cable off an 82zx in the junk yard work just as well?

Hey thanks for the info, you guys are great. I will take a picture tonight.

On the highway, and my electronic dash begins to cut in and out. The car dies. Then, sparks and smoke fly from the hood scoop. I pull over and pop the hood and rush outside. I pull the hood up, and the positive battery cable connection, and part of the positive post on the battery, are melted like a pancake on top of the battery. I couldnt figure it out. Then, I notice the hood of the car. There is a dime size hole burnt out of it.....and it just happens to line up with the melted positive battery post. Then I remember that when I bought the car, it was missing the platform and the metal pieces that hold the battery in place. The battery must have slid and touched the hood. I repositioned it, and the car started up and ran just fine, but the volt meter in the car is in the red, around 16-17. So, my question is, do I need a whole new posotive battery cable or can I just cut the connection off a good cable from a junk yard z, and then wire it onto my cable?

Wow, I feel stupid. I guess I learned something though. If you run out of gas, put at least 4 gallons in before you try to restart. She fired right up. I dont understand though. Ive driven that car close to empty, and she runs, drives and starts just fine. But after I replaced the fuel pump, she wouldnt start with out at least 4 gallons in her. What gives?

Ok, Im going to put a couple of gallons in her. I

Alright, I just unscrewed the circular cap under the hatchback. I disconnected the 3 fuel hoses, unplugged the connector, and lifted the unti out of the gas tank. The tank looked clean (I could see it well cause there was only about a half gallon of gas in it), and the sceen was in good shape with no sludge. I took the screen off, and one by one I blew into the tops of each line and my breathe came out just fine on the opposite ends. Visually, the insides of the metal lines looked great and clean. I just hooked everything back up and still.....it just turns and turns when turn the key. I think Ill go and get a fuel pressure gauge. What else could it be?

What tool do I need to check fuel pressure?

I just added a lot of information and details about my car to my original thread in the help me section. and I am going to try to use the search function.

Ok. I just bought the car a month ago. It had been sitting a long time in some one's back yard. It had the wrong throttle body on it, and the spark plugs/wires were all different ages and types. I found an 82 throttle body, and replaced the one that was on the car. My zx is an 83, and the 82 throttle body I put on seemed to match up perfectly. Anyways, the car was still running off of 5 cylinders until I replaced all spark plugs/wires. That fixed the dead cylinder. It still ran like crap, died when floored it, and had an exhaust manifold gasket leak (a bolt was broken off inside the block). I ran a fuel system cleaner through it, and almost imeadiatly it began to run better. I had a mechanic take the top of the engine apart and fix the manifold, TPS sensor, and timing. The car still backfired a bit, so I set up an appointment to replace the exhaust, and after that was put on we were going to re-diagnose the car. So, the day of the appointment, I start my car and hear the fuel pump turn on like usual, but the sound slowed down and cut out within a couple seconds. Within a minute of being on the road, the engine started shuddering, died when I touched the gas pedal, and eventually stopped running. I replaced the in line pump, and when I turned the car on it started crappy, but soon started to idle normally. I turned it off, replaced the fuel filter, and when I turned it back on it was running crappy again. Idles at 400 rpm (put......put......put....put), dies if I give it gas, and now wont start at all. Just keeps turning and turning. By the way, every time I disconnect the fuel hose from the Fuel filter (on the engine side) it sprays out fuel, and fuel runs out of the line, so I think that means the fuel is making it to the engine, but maybe not enough?