81 ZXT

I will try that. That would make a lot of sense because the car sat for 4 years and now I have been driving it regularly. Brand new muffler, less than 2 months old.

Last night I jacked it up and tightened every bolt and clamp I could find. Nothing was very loose. Test drove and no improvement. It is for sure speed related and is really loud decelerating right at 2900rpm. It vibrates at other speeds but 2900 is the majic number.

Thanks for replying guys. 280ZX with Automatice Transmission. It happens when I take my foot of the gas. It sounds a lot like a guard on the exhaust is rattling. It is not a clunk, its more of a brdddddddddd. I am still not ruling out exhaust due to the fact that it disappears after full warmup. Just wondered if a u-joint can make that kind of a sound.

81 280ZX w/A/T - I drive about 22 miles to work. In the first 5 or 6 miles when i decelerate I get a loud noise. At first I thought it was something loose in the exhaust but now I am wondering if it could be u-joints or something. After I drive it more than 6 miles the noise is gone. Could something be warming up and only makes noise when cold? It sounds kinda like a semi useing jake brakes. Any suggestions?

Thanks guys. I ordered the 41140-P6525 this morning. I should be back on the road in a week or so.

I gaulded the threads on the bottom caliper pin (sub pin) on the left side front brakes. This is the lower of the two pins. I can't seem to find that pin anywhere. I don't even think it comes with a whole replacement caliper. Any suggestions on where to look?

Since the easiest check was to suck on the gas cap to check the checkvalve, that was the 1st thing I did. It seemed to work just fine. Then my son wanted to drive it so I said it's not running right but go ahead. He came back and said he did not see anything wrong with it. So I drove it and low and behold, it ran just fine. I have to assume that the checkvalve in the gas cap was stuck and I unstuck it. Life is good.

Thanks, Stephen. I have read through the FSM and will perform these checks this weekend. I'll let you know what I find. Thanks again for your help.

1981 Turbo ZX - 21 gallon fuel tank. I have the car running pretty good (no missing) but at 3500rpm it hesitates like lacking fuel. I was really bad yesterday with less than 1/4 tank. I filled her up this morning and even though it still bogs down, it is 200% better than with 1/8 tank of gas. Question is: Is the fuel tank supposed to be vented? When I take the cap off after driving it goes psshhhhh. If it is vented, is it through the cap or somewhere else?

Well, I used a big pipe wrench on the pulley to loosen the bolt without turning over the engine. Now I am trying various pullers to get the pulley off. Does the small flywheel looking thing stay on? You know, the crank angle sensor thing.

Is there a trick to loosening the bolt on the crankshaft pulley? When I try, the engine turns over. It is an automatic trans. Maybe a belt wrench on the pulley itself?

Thanks again Stephen. I saw a used one on e-bay for about $20.00 I will try it out. One other thing, I have a miss at low rpm's but it goes away once you get above about 2400. It's either going away or I just don't notice it because of the higher rpm's. Could this be a timing issue or an injector issue. I have one injector (#1 cyl) that has has a pink connector instead of brown. Could it be for a non-turbo L28? Could that be my problem? Thanks again, you've really helped me with this car.

Where are you Stephen?

I have 3 pulleys on the car. Inside goes to fan/pump - Middle to A/C - outer to P/S pump. The A/C (middle) spins freely when car is shut off. Is this an assembly or is it one unit. Is each pully dependent of the others (keyed?)

When you get it make sure you do the adjustment as per the FSM (pg EF-33) and that should solve your problem. Well, I installed the new "TVS" last night and all I can say is WOW!!! I finished about 9:30 and started it and then went for a test drive. It far exceeded my expectations. It was so quick it almost scared me...........almost! I want to thank all of the people on this site that have helped me. Not just the ones who replied to my questions, but for all of the posts I have read that have helped me. Thanks.

Well I took the TPS (not TPM) off last night. Not only was the contact stuck on idle, but the little grey wheel is supposed to have two tabs for the arm of the throttle to push it one way or the other. Both of these were broken off. I have ordered a new one. It should be in be the end of the week. Not only do I not have enough time to work on the car, anytime I order parts it takes at least 2 or 3 days to arrive. Life is good.

Thanks guys, I'll look for that tonight. I am having trouble reving past about 1500 rpm and I thought that might be my trouble. I think my TPM is stuck on the idle side. I discovered it yesterday and it did not have a cover on it. It was really gunked up. I will try to clean it tonight and see if I can unstick it. Would the TPM being stuck on the idle side make it not want to rev? Acts like it is not getting enough gas but the pressure check was spot on. Thanks again for the replys.

I have a wire that is broken at the end. I comes from behind the coil, goes into a condenser as a blue wire, comes out as a black wire runs for about a foot and is broken. (looks like it has broken from some type of connector). BTW, this is on a 1981 280ZX Turbo.

Should I check the ECU? Is it just a bunch of pins with wires connected to it. Could some of the wires/connectors have corrosion on them?

Thanks, zbane. If the pump gets louder as it nears the end then mine is drawing it's last breath. I will check the screen in the pump for gunk and then check the timing. Oh wait, I think I will check the timing first. The tank and fuel filter were clean when I got it home (replaced filter, looked for gunk in old filter), but the gas was about 3 years old. I siphoned the old out but after adding 5 gallons from a can I drove to the station and it only held 6 more. I have a 21 gallon tank so that means there is still 10 gallons of old still in there. The old gas was clean but did not smell like gas. It did'nt smell like anything. Could that be my problem?

I have a 1981 280ZX Turbo. When I bought the car the PO had clamped the return fuel line and said the car "screamed" aka ran very well. I replaced the fuel pressure regulator and also had to replace rack, ball joints, & bushings under the front end. When I started the car, it missed and I could'nt give it much gas. I have corrected the miss and the car starts but idles a little rough. I can't get her to rev very well and this is compounded if put under load (like driving in gear). My fuel pump makes a heck of a racket and I get lurching and backfiring if I try to push the throttle past about 1/4. Do fuel pumps make more noise as they weaken? Or do I have some problem with sensors letting air in. The car seems to run a little better after it warms up but if it does at all it is hard to tell. I was planning for my next step to be putting a fuel pressure gauge on it to see if pump is putting out 36-38 psi? Does anyone know anything about this?

Would the steering rack bushings for an 81 280ZX be the same bushings as a 74 thru 78 280Z?? I have looked at some online catalogs (Black Dragon Auto) and they list bushings for the 74-78 Z but not the 81 ZX. Does anyone know about this stuff??

I have an 81 ZXT with that exact wheel. Was wondering what the stock tire size is for it. I don't have an owners manual and have looked all over the car for the info. Can't find. It has P235/60S/15R's on it now. I think they are too tall. Does anyone know the original size for this car?

The PO of my newly aquired Z said the rack & pinion was out on this car. He has taken out some of the bolts and says I must lift the motor off the mounts to finish taking rack out. Is this true? He says it shimmys so bad it slings the PS fluid out. Can anyone help with the removal of rack and pinion. Are there things I should watch out for? Any help would be appreciated.

ZAK's Z, No I did not buy this car from e-bay. Bought it locally from an old man.