FastWoman

Well, 106 views, and only 1 response so far. (Thanks, Walter, you're a gent!) I guess I should go for the piece of @#$%, rust-out-in-a-couple-of-years muffler, then? (I'd like to get this job done, so I can get my inspection sticker and have my transportation back.)

... So I'm reading that too large dia an exhaust system will make a car sound like a "tuner" gone bad. What is the max dia for a largely stock 280Z that would result in a mellow note, without the harshness heard in a kid's tuner? Also do people adapt larger dia mufflers to smaller dia pipes -- say from a 1 3/4 pipe to a 2 1/4 muffler? Finally, do exhaust tips necessarily make the exhaust loud and obnoxious? Is it better simply to have a straight pipe, if the objective is to keep the noise down?

I see some kits from Monza. Are these any good? I also see YouTube videos of Monza exhaust systems like this one on a Miata... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mc66SMCFnr8 Sounds like some kid's Honda tuner car. Is that approx what the 280Z Monza exhaust would sound like? I also see a Magnaflow SS muffler available from Autozone -- lifetime warranty: http://www.autozone.com/autozone/accessories/MagnaFlow-2-1-4-in-offset-outlet-dia-x-2-1-4-in-center-inlet-dia-x-14-x-5-x-8-in-body-length-satin-finish-stainless-steel-oval-muffler/_/N-25in?counter=5&filterByKeyWord=exhaust&fromString=search&itemIdentifier=888980_0_0_ The only problem is that my exhaust is 1 3/4", and the muffler is 2 1/4". Can this be adapted? If so, would it sound/perform badly?

Or this one?? http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/OBX-DRAGER-MUFFLER-2-5-INLET-300ZX-280Z-240SX-180SX-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3357cbe3efQQitemZ220516312047QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Hi all, Wow, I've been gone quite a while. We took a 4 mo long roadtrip across the US. Saw some interesting sights. Took in some good photography. I returned to my Z, which had sat up the last 4 months in the garage. Poor thing. The inspection sticker had expired, so off I went to have it inspected. It failed because of a rusted out muffler. Adding insult to injury, the gas was pretty bad, so it ran awfully. (Fresh gas now.) Talked to the muffler shop. They couldn't get me an OEM part but offered me a universal aluminized muffler. Been there and done that on my '75: In my experience, the things only last a few years before they rust out. On the other hand, my '92 Saturn's oriiginal SS exhaust and headers have held up flawlessly since the day I bought the car (new) -- in OHIO, no less! So what I'm wanting, if I can find it, is a SS exhaust system (well, with as much SS as possible) to mount up to the stock manifold. I really don't want headers, and I don't want loud. Just a nice, civilized exhaust system that doesn't break the bank and doesn't rust out every few years. Any suggestions? I did find these mufflers but have no idea whether they're total junk. The seller of course says they're not: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/200SX-240SX-280ZX-300ZX-Dual-Flat-Tip-Exhaust-Muffler-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem4149c7c8f3QQitemZ280410704115QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories I also have no idea whether they would fit under a '78 Z or adapt to the 1 3/4" exhaust I currently have in the car. ... or should I just get the piece of @#$% generic aluminized muffler that will rust out in a few years. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks, everyone! Sarah a.k.a. FastWoman

I confess I don't know what "ACV" stands for. I'll contribute this thought, though, for whatever purpose it might serve: If your cold start valve is working, but your injectors are not, then you will get that initial start, followed by the engine immediately dying. The lack of sound from your injectors is consistent with this. There (-) wire on your coil should also connect to the tach AND the #1 pin on your ECU. If there is no connection to the ECU, then the ECU won't have the trigger signal it needs to inject fuel once every three sparks (once per engine rotation). I'd do a continuity check to see that the (-) on the coil connects to the #1 pin. If not, there's your problem.

I used to have a '75 in another warm climate -- central Texas. It was very hard to start when my cold start valve wasn't operating.

Wow, that other gold 280 floating around in the Austin area.... I think that might be my beloved old Z that I bought while in college -- the same Z my ex made me sell!!! Could it be? Maybe? If so, then it's too cool for words. I've emailed the owner.

Bryan, you might be able to find/modify something from this company: http://www.smallparts.com/ Here's the category that might be most interesting: http://www.smallparts.com/b/16310181?searchRank=salesrank Then there are subcategories at the top. This is the control cables link: http://www.smallparts.com/b/16411711?refinementHistory=subjectbin%2Cmaterial_browse%2Cmanufacturer%2Citem_package_quantity%2Cbrandtextbin%2Cenc-merchantbin%2Cavailability%2Creview-rating%2Cdate%2Cis_prime&searchNodeID=16411711&searchRank=relevancerank&searchSize=20&searchBinNameList=subjectbin%2Cmaterial_browse%2Cmanufacturer%2Citem_package_quantity%2Cbrandtextbin%2Cenc-merchantbin%2Cavailability%2Creview-rating%2Cdate%2Cis_prime You'll find numerous interesting ball joints there. I know that's not what you're looking for, but just saying... I don't know what bushings you need, but you're sure to find SOMETHING at Small Parts.

Thanks, Adrian! The idea behind putting the cap on the battery side of the relay would be to avoid a current surge through the relay as the cap charges. That would be kinder to the contacts. ;-) Even with this arrangement, there wouldn't be more than 6" of wire between the cap and the HEI module.

I'm going to run a 12 ga (or maybe just 14ga) wire from a maxifuse/fusible-link (essentially from the battery) around the engine compartment to the vicinity of the HEI unit (near the coil). I'll remove the small +12 ignition wire from the (+) post of the coil and connect it to the coil of the relay. Then I'll connect the beefy +12 wire from the battery/maxifuse/fusible-link to one NO terminal of the relay. The other NO terminal will connect to the HEI. I'm told that the HEI is very power-hungry, but mine barely gets warm, so I am doubtful of this claim. That said, I can certainly see the benefit of heavier wiring to stabilize the supply voltage to the HEI. I'll also probably add a big capacitor on the battery side of the relay to quiet voltage transients and provide a bit smoother power to the HEI.

What everyone else has said. In addition... It's not the fuel pump check valve. A failed CV can result in hard starting when the car sits any time, but the engine should still fire up with a bit of cranking. Furthermore, the car won't magically start after 20 or 30 min after refusing to start previously. The fuel pump still has to clear out the air in the lines.

Did you confirm that you have +12 to the (+) terminal of the coil when the ignition is turned on? To test your coil, remove the wires from the (-) terminal. Pull loose the distributor end of the high tension cable running from the coil to the distributor. Position the free end very close (1/4" or closer, but not touching) to a ground point somewhere (e.g. a shock tower bolt). Connect one end of a wire to ground, and tap the other end on the (-) post of the coil. (Don't touch the bare wire!) You should see a spark jumping between the high tension wire and ground. If you have +12 to a good coil and no spark, then your distributor isn't grounding the coil. Either that, or your points might be stuck closed. You'll have to trace it from there. (I'm assuming the 260Z has a points ignition -- don't know for sure.)

Hi Adrian, Thanks! Your post leads me to feel that I ultimately took the right direction: I retrofitted my car with a GM HEI-type ignition module to replace my factory IM. It worked great and took care of much of my misfiring and tach twitch problem. I think the remaining issues probably relate to fuel injection. That's been on my "to-do" list for way too long now. It's hard to get excited about working on my car in this horrible weather! Very soon now.... I hope.... ;-) Peace, Sarah

John, you can get rebuilt distributors pretty cheaply from Autozone. Mine was less than $100 (not including the core, of course). The problem with used parts is that the breaker plate assemblies reliably go bad and stick/jam. There's a lifetime warranty on the rebuilt part, so when that weak link fails, the remedy is free and relatively quick. FAIW, electronic ignitions were used prior to the ZX lineage. My '78 is electronic, and so was my '75. I ultimately converted my ignition to a GM HEI module, which is still working great. It's a very inexpensive solution. If you were to go this route, an electronic retrofit (distributor and ignition module) would cost you less than $125. I have it on good authority that I should beef up the + supply to my HEI unit, so that will be one of my next projects when the weather turns better. I'll be powering it with a relay (another $5).

I had somewhat the opposite experience. Before my Z, I owned a BMW Z3 Roadster 3.0i. That was an amazing little car. When you hit WOT, the little car would take off like a rocket, and it cornered like it was glued to the road. Ah, but then I saw my Z. Yeahhhhh.... It's beautiful lines, it's familiarity, the engine that you can actually see. It didn't hold a candle to the Z3 in performance, still doesn't, and probably never will. However, the Z3 will never have the coolness and nostalgia factor of the 280Z. For me, it's not the quickness of the ride, so much as the quality of the ride that counts. I sort of miss the Z3, just a little, to be perfectly honest. However I don't miss it very much.

Anthony, in the 1978 models, all the relays are inside that box the fusible links are mounted to. In previous years many of these relays were located inside the cabin. I think the starter wire should run from the key switch to the solenoid, but it might run through a couple of connectors to get there. Do you have a factory service manual to help you with this job? Someone posted a '78 wiring diagram not long ago. See if you can find it. If you can't, perhaps I can email it to you.

Hi Jenny, When you take off the oil filler cap, you're introducing unmetered air, causing your engine to run leaner. If it runs better that way, it means the engine ordinarily runs too richly. You can probably smell raw fuel in the exhaust, right? As to vacuum line sizes, you'll need to go by ID. Measure the pipe/tube the line fits onto. Do that by tightening a crescent wrench across the pipe, and measuring the gap between the jaws. You can then use approximate imperial equivalents, for the most part: mm -- in 3 -- 1/8 4 -- 5/32 6 -- 1/4 8 -- 5/16 10 -- 3/8 12 -- 1/2

Depending on how long you need to wait, you could use your two heater hoses to run a bypass. Use one to connect the two ports together from your engine. Use the other to connect between the two heater nipples on the firewall (to keep the heater core clean). Use zip ties to hold them out of harm's way.

That's probably a very good approach, Jenny! There are a lot of old, brittle parts that are easy to break, even if you're tugging/prying/twisting on them the CORRECT way! ;-)

Compared to modern computer connectors, there's nothing at all delicate about the ECU connector. Just pull down the wiring harness as you rotate the connector around the bottom hinge point. Then unhook it from the bottom. That's how it's meant to be done.

First the Toyotas, and now the Datsuns... :-(

I just reused my O-ring gasket, with the same apprehensions you cite. As far as I can tell, that's what others do too. No leaking so far. I figure the oil has kept the gasket pretty pliable over the years.

Does the clutch spin, or is it locked up? If it still spins, you can rebuild it yourself. It's easy. Just unbolt and separate the two shell halves. Clean out what's left of the sticky silicone oil with brake cleaner. Let it dry. Fill the deeper half with 90 wt gear oil, and reassemble. I did mine (160,000 mi original), and it works great now. It used to spin too aggressively (gooey oil) and make the engine sound like a hovercraft. Now it's just right.

The missing with the second startup might relate to burning oil. Maybe the valve guides are worn? The smoke with initial startup might foul the plugs for a short while until all the cylinders start firing again. You can test for a vacuum leak with the power booster by pulling a vacuum on it and seeing if the vacuum holds. It's quite possible for this component to leak. I had a '75 with an asthmatic, semi-leaky power booster at 15 years of age. Ignore any rebuilding instructions in your FSM, as parts weren't even available back then. The best thing you can do with your EFI system is to pull the big harness off of the ECU (just beneath the driver kick panel), and work through it with a multimeter and the FSM. You can measure just about everything on the entire system at that one connector. In general, the most common problems with EFI systems are stray vacuum leaks, resulting in unmetered air (and improper fuel/air ratio). Does the exhaust smell lean? Do the plugs look lean? If the vacuum spaghetti is old, it's good to replace it for good measure. You'll probably find several leaks. Don't forget to check for cracks in the big rubber boot between the airflow meter and the throttle body. Check that the airflow meter vane moves smoothly. Lubricate it for good measure. I'm like Jan: I still have a few issues, including missing at idle and a sometimes-rough re-start. I'd love to hear what you find. I've decided my next step is new injectors, but I just haven't gotten enough free time or good weather to do that. Peace, Sarah