FastWoman

I've already invested in a lot of stainless hardware (which I realize is mechanically more problematic). I'll be sticking with that for all the non-critical items like brackets, covers, etc. However, I think I would have bought your hardware set if I hadn't already made that investment and if I lived in an inland climate. I'd be interested in your hardware sets in the future for the more critical applications where strength is required. re: Reddat: When I dealt with him, I simply negotiated shipping up front. I didn't have any problem. However, he's not the easiest person to deal with, and his hoarding practices are troubling. There's a local guy who works on Z's who does the same thing. I asked him where I might find wrecking yards with the occasional Z, and he told me there aren't any -- that if I need a used part, I should come to him (translation: I have to come to him). He's stripped down lots of them. That's nice from a convenience standpoint, but I never trust monopolies and oligopolies, and I try not to do business with them as a matter of principle. I hope to see more and more aftermarket sources like yours pop up to support our Z cars, as I think that is our only protection from the predators. I'll support your enterprise wherever possible.

Jan, Alex, the fuel pump check valve unscrews from the body of the fuel pump. The check valve is actually inside the fuel outlet nipple. If you can't find a replacement, just leave the leaky valve where it is, and install something like this in the fuel line: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/5-16-Check-Valve-Diesel-Gas-8mm-One-Way-Fuel-Flow-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3cb0e0fc82QQitemZ260665572482QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories I suppose you could also pull the nipple/check valve and remove all of the valve stuff from the inside. That should be easy enough. It might reduce the back pressure on the pump a bit.

I haven't done the fuzzies, but I've done the rubber stripping on the outside of the window, which is attached with staples. I used the old strip as a template, drilled tiny, slightly oversized holes in the new strip, inserted staples, and bent them closed by hand. It worked fine. I don't know if that approach would work for your fuzzies.

You'll have to unbolt the ignition lock from the steering column, take it in to a locksmith, and have the cylinder replaced with a new one. I believe I removed the bolts by drilling holes and removing with a bolt extractor. As Zeros said, a badly worn lock can be started with just about anything, including a house key, a screwdriver, or even a popsicle stick!

I'd almost be willing to bet money that your fuel is leaking out of your fuel rail. It might be draining back into the tank because your fuel pump check valve is bad. Or it might be dribbling out into the intake manifold through leaky/dribbly injectors. (Don't forget the cold start injector!) Anyway, the end result is approximately the same. You end up with a lot of air that has to be purged from the fuel rail when you start the engine. If your engine is like mine was, it runs very roughly when you finally start it, and then it evens out after 10 sec or so (at least if you don't rev the engine). Right? Possible cures: Check/replace your check valve. Those are becoming NLA; however, you can get an aftermarket check valve to insert inline in your fuel line. Also check/replace your injectors. If all else fails, you can install a priming switch somewhere that will run your fuel pump for several seconds before you start the engine.

Yoshi, just to be clear, you should buy a Nissan factory service manual specifically for the 1973 240Z. The L28 isn't really much different from the L24, particularly when fitted with carbs, so you'll want the manual specific to the rest of the car. You can pick up a Datsun factory service manual used on either Ebay or Amazon. It will cost you as much as $80, but I bought mine somewhat tattered and scribbled in for about $25. It's definitely worth every penny, and the scribbled-in manuals might have notes about common problems, discrepancies in the manual, clarifications, etc. (The scribblings in mine have been enormously helpful.) If you're short on money, you can also download a manual for free, but it's FAR more useful, IMO, to have an old-fashioned paper manual you can lay out in front of you -- something you can lay out on top of the engine or in the passenger seat of your car.

Well, I can suggest the obvious: (1) Start the car, and measure the voltage across the battery. It should be in the neighborhood of 13.5 - 14.5 V. If it's not, then your alternator and/or voltage regulator is bad, and you're not properly charging your battery. (2) With the ignition off, measure your current draw while pulling fuses one by one. At least identify where the current draw is coming from. A 50 mA draw isn't going to deplete a healthy and charged battery overnight. Maybe you have an intermittent short somewhere that crops up when you slam the door. You can test that with your multimeter, of course, while doing a bit of door slamming.

The IM? Weird! Anyway, congrats! I'm glad you found the problem. Your efforts weren't wasted checking the other stuff. You freshened a lot of connections and learned more about your car in the process. Just curious... Did you replace the IM with an OEM unit, or did you do a retrofit? I ended up replacing mine with a GM HEI module.

A corroded fusible link wire is another potential gremlin.

They might. I don't know. I haven't had a chance to talk to the guy again. I'll know more on Monday.

I already have it on order -- $66 delivered, off of Ebay. The photo shows a Nissan label with the correct part number, per E-FAST. I'm just disappointed that it's $66 I shouldn't have had to spend.

Yeah, the tube that runs from the backside of the exhaust manifold to the rear underside of the intake manifold beneath the EGR valve. I should have just said, "leave it." I thought it was adequate simply to say not to risk breaking it, but to break it loose if it could be done. Those tubes don't rust on the inside do they? As far as I could tell, the tube was in great shape.

Drat! I had taken both manifolds to the radiator guy to remove broken bolts/studs, helicoil, etc. He asked, "So do you want me to break loose this EGR tube for you?" Remember how I had managed to break it loose from the intake safely, thus saving the part for re-use? I said, "Sure, if you can do it safely. Just don't get heroic about it, because I don't know if I can find a replacement." Well, one of his employees got heroic about it and busted the tube. (I don't know how he would have busted it. They shouldn't have put any tools on the tube itself. I think they only should have broken loose the nut, right? Anyway, $75 from MSA. Grrrrr... (Update: Found one on Ebay -- genuine Nissan w/correct part number for $66 shipped -- a bit better.) There wasn't any rust on the outside of it. It honestly looked pretty good. Would it have been weakened on the inside? Shouldn't I have been able to re-use the tube? I'm asking only because I want to know the situation when talking with the guy next time.

Ztrain, I did get the PBlaster! Yes, it's very good stuff. And I did have a look at that one threaded hole. Sort of a "got'cha" waiting to happen!

Thanks, guys! You all have me smiling proudly. On a "girl" sort of note, I may have broken some bolts and studs, but I only got one tiny cut and one tiny burn on my hand and didn't break a single nail. I'm sort of amazed about that. @Ztrain, I wish I could have helped you, but our hay was "city hay" -- somewhat overgrown grass, helped along by the relentless rain. My mowing deck had been in the shop for a while. Antique parts and such. (You know the drill.) @Bart, yes it is! @Gary: Thanks! However I'm not being a purist about my car. I'd be more of a purist if it were an early 240 or something. I was mostly interested in whether my engine might have been rebuilt. The shade of blue does seem to be the one you linked to (as far as I can determine), so I guess I really do have an un-rebuilt engine. Other aspects of the engine certainly suggest so -- lots of corrosion/rust, lots of sludge and varnish internally, lots of apparently original hardware. (I'm slowly getting it cleaned up.) @olzed: Thanks! Yeah, I really felt as though I was getting in over my head. I was scared to death of that last stud. I thought this engine couldn't be much harder than the 1977 salt-water cooled 315 in our powerboat, but I was clearly wrong. The combination of steel and aluminum is lethal! @Dave: You're being superstitious! My old '75 was a very reliable car, once I worked through all the PO's left-over problems. There's no reason an antique car can't be reliable. My neighbor across the street is always tooling around town in his '68 Camaro with 500k original miles on it. He just keeps on top of the repairs. BTW, while at the radiator shop, I saw a front-wheel-drive Honda in the service bay. They had pulled the head. Looking at the thing, with the intake manifold still in place (sitting atop the engine near the firewall), I couldn't imagine how they even got to the manifold bolts. Yikes! Even though I was dealing with horrible corrosion on my Z, I realized the job could have been much worse. I could have been dealing with one of those crammed together Honda things. Even my RWD inline-6 BMW was rather crammed together. All things considered, I think I prefer the crust and rust to lack of access. @Andrew: Are you talking about the complete screw/bolt set? As far as I can tell, you can't buy that anymore. I thought about making some SS exhaust/intake studs from threaded rod stock but decided against it. I just got MSA's regular bolt/nut/stud kit, as SS tends to be a bit softer. I use SS studs on our boat, but only because the exhaust temp is much lower, and corrosion is so huge a problem. I did find the nickel anti-sieze, BTW, at my local bolt shop. Anyway, thanks again, everyone, for helping me to get to this point. I know I'll have more questions after I get back my intake manifold and am ready for reassembly. But at least the miserable part is behind me. Woohoo!

HOORAY!!!! I'VE WON!!!! I went shopping for more tools. If in doubt, buy tools. I knew I needed a new, much sharper pair of vice grips. Examining my various choices, it appeared my best bet was a pair about 6" long that was radiused just right to chomp into the stud in the back of its jaws. I figured I'd close the thing with a pair of channel locks and then turn the short handle with another tool (which turned out to be the same channel locks. I lubed up again, chomped the stud, applied moderate torque, tapped, tapped, tapped, tapped. (The tapping seemed to do absolutely no good.) Then I nervously turned a bit harder and a bit harder, and it budged. I gave it another good soaking, waited a while, and then worked it the rest of the way out. Anyone know where I can get a chewed up stud bronzed and framed? Also on my trip out, I traded my intake and exhaust manifolds for the newly rebuilt mowing deck on my beloved 1972 Deere 212 tractor. (This is the radiator guy who does all this work for me.) He'll extract the remaining frozen studs/bolts/screws for me (helicoiling that one injector screw hole). I got home, mounted up the mowing deck, and cut down all my "hay." And the stock market is up 2% today. WOOHOO! It's been a good day. Thanks for all your help and moral support, guys! BTW, did Datsun paint the engine blocks in their new cars? As I was doing some cleaning on the engine, underneath the manifolds, I could see traces of blue paint through the rust. The PO said it's the original (never rebuilt) engine, but could it have been rebuilt at one time?

Geeesh! Seriously, I like your idea of the SS studs. Very nice. I should also get a powder coater. The LH drill bits sound like a promising approach if all else fails. Does anybody make a tool like vice grips except with less destructive jaws that screw/bolt/clamp closed? I'm thinking of a toothed clamp with a hex head.

I tried the vice grips, Jonathan, but I can't get a good enough grip. Maybe if I use a newer pair with sharper jaws. Wow, thanks for the tip about the thermo housing threads! Fortunately I haven't chased out any of my threads yet! Whew!

Thanks, Andrew. It's actually the forward-most #1 cyl exhaust stud, right underneath the thermo housing. I had already read your chisel technique and tried it. I did quite a bit of tapping, but unfortunately I ended up chiseling out a nick on the side of the stud. I even made a special chisel for the job with a very blunt edge, so as to avoid gouging the metal more than necessary. It's possible the metal is annealed, as I did use a torch to heat it. (That worked beautifully with the other studs.) Anyway, I'm afraid to apply that technique any longer. I don't want to lose too much metal. Maybe 5/8" of the stud is sticking out (from memory). The threads are all but rusted away, but the unthreaded portion of the base is still intact. The stud has gotten lots of WD-40 and PBlaster over the past couple of weeks. One approach I'm considering is to use the jaws of a pipe flaring tool to clamp the stud. The jaws should bite nicely. I suppose that's tomorrow's project. Today's weather has been miserable, but the sun will come out tomorrow.

Well, the rain gave me a bit of a break, so I was able to do a bit more work. I removed the thermostat housing. The righthand bolt was a glob of rust. The shank jammed in the thermo housing hole, and the head very easily snapped off. The long bolt came out just fine, and I was able to pull the thermo housing. Then I could unscrew what remained of the thermo housing bolt with only my fingers! I think I must have had a slow leak there that had soaked the various manifold bolts below it over many years. (However coolant water shouldn't be corrosive, should it? Maybe it's just that those bolts get more water exposure on the front of the engine.) Anyway I finally had better access to the frozen studs in the cyl head. With quite a bit of cycling between blow torch and freeze fracturing spray, I was able to remove all but the one that had rung off -- the very front exhaust manifold bolt. The threads were rusted away on that bolt, so there's nothing for a nut to grip. So I thought maybe this is the time to blow a bit of money on a cheap welder, so that I could weld a nut to the stud and (hopefully) crank it out. Maybe you get what you pay for, but I spent $100 on a light-weight 50/70A stick welder and gave it a go. I find it very difficult to strike an arc with the thing. I presume it's for lack of technique, as I'm a rank beginner. Anyway I did manage to weld the nut on a few times, but my weld was not strong enough to hold up to any torque. Very frustrating! Any tips on welding nuts?

Draz, the fuel pump relay would have no way of "knowing" whether you were stepping on the accelerator. I would be amazed if that's your problem. I believe the '77 Z does cut off the fuel pump via a switch in the AFM. (I might be wrong about this, so check an online FSM.) If so, that's quite likely your problem. You can pop the black cover on the side of the AFM to see what the fuel pump kill switch is doing when you hit the accelerator. Maybe it's out of position somehow? The only other thing I can think of is that you have a bad connection somewhere, and when the engine rocks, or when something flexes or vibrates the wrong way, the connection is lost. I haven't forgotten that this problem is temperature related, and that draws attention somewhat away from the AFM and more towards the wiring (thinking of thermal expansion). Maybe move around your engine bay wiring harnesses gently (and carefully) with the engine running, to see if you can kill the engine somehow. FAIW, Datsun's fuel pump wiring and electrical connections are marginally inadequate. I finally had to abandon the firewall connector in my fuel pump circuit because it kept arcing and melting. I snipped that wire and connected it through a bullet connector instead. You may need to do some fault tracing at various points in the wiring to see what happens when you replicate the problem. Let's get a bit creative in our methods here. Try this to see where your problem lies: First, disconnect the (+) wire to your fuel pump, and attach another long wire. Connect the other end of that wire to your battery. Your fuel pump will then run, irregardless of the state of anything else in your car. Now start up your engine and see if you can replicate the problem by hitting the accelerator. If you can, then it's definitely the fuel pump (for some weird reason). If not, then you know it's something in the electrical supply. The next step, if it's electrical, is to fault trace. Check numerous points in your wiring to see where the power drops out when you hit the gas: -- Fuel pump wire at the connector that would be connected to the fuel pump terminal. -- Fuel pump wire at both sides of the big firewall connector. You should be able to poke your mutimeter probe into the backside of the connector. -- Fuel pump relay coil wire. -- The signal from the AFM's fuel pump kill switch -- Other points I don't know on the '77. (Check a '77 FSM.) If you keep tracing, you should turn up the fault somewhere.

Draztik, I doubt an auto parts store can check your Datsun ignition module. However, you can test your ignition by putting a timing light on the coil wire. Step on the gas to see whether the flashes stop before your engine dies. If everything is working right, you should get sparks/flashes up until the moment the engine stops rotating. If you lose sparks/flashes before the engine stops, then it could be an ignition problem. I say "could" be, because you might also be fouling your plugs with an excessive fuel/air ratio and might be killing your spark that way. That said, if your fuel pressure drops all the way down when you step on the gas, then you're losing your fuel pump power for some reason. I think that's your problem, not the ignition. Can you step on the gas very briefly to make the engine hesitate, but then back off and get the engine to continue running? If so, what happens to the fuel pressure? Does it drop and then return to normal? Remember that the output of the fuel pump doesn't increase when the engine is under load, contrary to what people might want to believe. Fuel is constantly circulated under pressure, and the engine load simply affects the return volume. If there were any fuel flow bottlenecks (e.g. a clogged filter), you'd see them equally under any conditions. The peak load on the pump would be at peak fuel pressure, when the manifold vacuum is zero. If it can hold steady at 36 psi with the vacuum line removed (not pinched), then it can meet any demands placed on it. I suspect your problem might be electrical. You might put a mechanical multimeter on your fuel pump line to see what it does. (Mechanical meters show voltage fluctuations faster than digital ones.) Is the power interrupted when you step on the gas? Does the power flutter for any reason?

Thanks, guys! Those will be on today's shopping list. I haven't been able to do more work and won't for a while. Rain! Lots of it! I can't even paint because the place is dripping in humidity. I'm glad I shot some fogging oil in the intake ports after pulling the intake. Maybe I'll work on the little parts -- throttle body, AFM, etc. My radiator shop guy says he can extract (and possibly helicoil) my frozen/broken screws/bolts. He's starting to be my one-stop resource.

... but the fuel rail is the same! Something isn't quite right, between your fuel pump, your fuel pressure regulator, and your fuel pressure gauge. You could test your fuel pump by hooking the pressure gauge directly to the output of the pump (i.e. disconnecting the fuel supply to the fuel rail). You should get a much higher reading, perhaps 40 psi. Assuming the pump is good... Your fuel pump should produce a constant output, regardless of engine load (because the excess fuel is recirculated). However, the fuel pressure will be regulated in relation to intake manifold vacuum, so that the pressure difference between the fuel rail and the intake manifold is held constant. As a result, the fuel pressure as measured in relation to atmospheric pressure will fluctuate with engine vacuum. That said, when you pull the vacuum line off of the FPR, it should regulate at a constant 36 psi, not a constant 30 psi. Either the pressure is wrong, or the gauge is inaccurate. (Either is a possibility.)

Your fuel pressure will drop when you kill the engine if your fuel pump check valve is bad, your cold start injector is stuck or dribbles, or your main injectors dribble. It's normal to lose some pressure when you kill the engine, but it's supposed to be a rather slow process, and it should continue until your pressure is 0. Just a thought: I don't know whether your '77 is wired like my '78, as there was an evolution of fuel pump control mechanisms with each year. With mine ('78), the fuel pump is energized when you're cranking the engine and stays running if there is either output from the alternator or oil pressure. If the fuel pump CONTROL relay (different from the fuel pump relay) were bad on my '78, or if the connections to it were bad, I think I would have fuel pressure only when cranking the engine, and then the engine would die immediately after starting (like yours). Do you have a FSM for your '77 Z?