FastWoman

I wasn't going to say it, zedrally! I have to say, though, the retrofit looks far better than the one I did when I replaced the broken tail lights on my dump trailer. If my dump trailer looked that good, I'd be the envy of the neighborhood.

Yes, you can use any sort of wire. I suggest one with an alligator clip on the end. Be certain not to short to ground, or you will make a big (yet harmless) spark. Don't touch the wire to your bare fingers, or else the kick-back could give you a bit of a shock. And YES, by all means be absolutely certain the car is out of gear, or else you could end up with a wheel ontop of your foot! Yikes! (Good catch, Kenny!) Is the clicking definitely from the starter and not a relay? If so, that's all the involvement any of your fusible links would have. If the solenoid clicks, and the supply is good to the starter via the fat battery cables (both the positive from the battery's (+) to the starter's (+) and the negative from the battery's (-) to the engine ground), then the starter should spring to life. Two possibilities are that your cables are bad or that your battery is bad. Your cables might have severe corrosion near the battery post connectors, just underneath the insulation. If so, you might see a bulge there. Also check to see that your connections are firm. If your cables are in good shape and making good contact, you can determine the integrity of your battery by turning your headlights on and turning the key to "start." If your headlights glow dimly before you turn the key and go completely out when you turn it, your battery is weak/bad. If your headlights glow pretty well whether you turn the key or not, and if your starter definitely clicks, then the starter is probably bad. FAIW, you can pull both your starter and your battery off and take them in for testing at many/most parts stores. I think I would trust a starter test, but these stores are notorious for misdiagnosing batteries, so take their results with a grain of salt.

Short of being 100% authentic in your restoration, I doubt it makes much difference where the plug is. FAIW, I've never seen the plug on the side. My '75 and my '78 both had/have the plug on the back. Maybe that's a 240 or 260 thing. However, I think there's plenty of room for the plug wherever, right???

Try unplugging one of your injector connectors and sticking the wires from a Christmas tree light bulb (one of the tiny ones) in it. Crank your engine, and see if the bulb flashes repeatedly. If it does, then your ECU is triggering your injectors. If not, then you've got further diagnosis to do.

Chris, dunno... I'm a bit skeptical these errors could make THAT much of a difference, but I don't know for certain. I mean 11 is a pretty low vacuum reading, and three of his cylinders are essentially nonfunctional. (Perhaps the last part about nonfunctional cylinders is in another thread.) FAIW, when I bought my car, two of my exhaust valves had almost no clearance at all. I'm somewhat amazed they weren't burnt. I can't say the engine was running great then, but I can say my putting the valves in proper adjustment did little more than to quiet the valve train just a bit. But Argneist, just do it! We're all rooting for you! You're our rock star! You have in your hands the collective karma of the Z universe, so nothing can go wrong!

That goes to the HVAC mode selector switch (e.g. off, vent, AC, heat, bi-level, etc.). That switch sends vacuum to the various actuators in your HVAC system, opening and closing doors, turning on and off your heater core flow, etc. It's supplied by the two magnet valves on the passenger side fender, which are connected to the milky white plastic vacuum reservoir (football shaped). You should find out all about it in the factory service manual. BTW, if your vacuum selector switch leaks, also see a thread of mine about the vacuum switch, in which I describe how to take it apart and clean it up.

Chad, I think an inline filter such as you have is a good idea. Several of us run them without any problems. I'm running a similar filter myself. I think the fact that your car runs fine for 5-10 min indicates you have no fuel flow problem, but of course we could both be wrong about that. Hypothetically you could have a pump delivering the needed pressure, but with not much flow rate. Pressure from such a pump would bottom very quickly if fuel demand picked up. You can buy a fuel pressure gauge at your local auto parts store or put together a cheap (and not too accurate one) from hardware store components. You'd need a gauge connected to a "T" fitting. Insert the "T" between the fuel filter and the fuel rail.

Quick answer to your question in red: I would think if you only have 3 working cylinders, restoring the remaining 3 would bring your vacuum up A WHOLE LOT. Whether that takes you to 17 or 18 is anyone's guess, but I bet you get close.

You might have air in your fuel rail. If you can find a way to deliver 12V to your fuel pump to run it for 30 sec or so, you'll purge (almost) all of the air and can probably get a clean start. You can jump a wire straight from the (+) battery post to the (+) on the fuel pump to do this. A remote possibility, but... If the engine still does the same thing, you MIGHT have a problem where the ECU isn't being triggered by the ignition signal. There's a wire connecting the (-) post of the ignition coil to the #1 terminal of the ECU. The signal through this wire increments the ECU, so that it injects fuel every third spark. Anyway, if you don't have signal through this wire, you'll only get a touch of fuel when you first turn the key. It will be from the cold start valve at first and then will only be from the tiny bit of fuel that dribbles past the injectors while the engine sits. The longer it sits, the more fuel will dribble, and the more energetically the engine will first fire up before dying. Anyway this happened to me once (no connection between coil and ECU), and that's how my engine responded. BTW, I used to have a big problem with air in my fuel rail before I replaced my fuel pump check valve and all my injectors. As a temporary measure, I installed a fuel pump primer switch that would deliver +12 to the fuel pump relay's coil. It made restarts SO MUCH easier, especially 20-30 min after engine shut-down (which was when I had the biggest restart problems).

Argneist, you've definitely made a breakthrough! It sounds like you're running on 3 cylinders. I agree with everything everyone has said above. Here's where we get back to basics. Here's what you need for fire in your cylinders: fuel -- to be determined air -- yes compression -- confirmed spark -- to be determined You can check spark one of a few ways. Probably the easiest is to put your timing light on each spark plug wire. If the timing light flashes, you've got spark -- barring any short, of course. Those look like possibly older NGK blues. Those have a really good lifespan, but you never know. If the cups on the ends are dirty enough, your spark could be shorting to ground, which I suppose would still trigger your timing light. Here's a trick: Start your car up at night, and run the engine in the dark. If your spark is shorting anywhere, you'll see it. You can also check for spark by jumping a spark from each unplugged wire to ground. I'm actually placing my bets on your injector wiring being bad. Here are my thoughts: Your #6 cylinder seems not to be firing at all, which could be attributable to multiple causes. Your 4 and 5 cylinders, however, are extremely sooty. Ordinarily that might appear to be from really rich running, but it can also be due to such lean running that you get only partial detonations (and lots of unburnt hydrocarbons). So I'm thinking your 4 and 5 wiring might be weak and might trigger the injectors very weakly, only delivering a partial charge of fuel. So here's how you test your injectors: Are your christmas lights still close at hand? If so, pull out one of those little bulbs from the string, and straighten its wires. Plug the wires into the injector connector, and run the engine. You should see the bulb flashing once with every engine revolution. I'm betting you won't see much on 4, 5, and 6. I don't think it would be time wasted at this point to go ahead and REPLACE THOSE CRUSTY CONNECTORS! That might clear up your problem instantly. At least you won't be trying to do tests on questionable and possibly irratic electrical connectors that have long outlived their usefulness!

I know the feeling oh so well! Even so, the crusty, crumbly connectors might be part of your problem. I'd go ahead and replace them sooner, rather than later.

I think since you don't have any injector clips, just pull the injector plugs to test the cylinders. No need to pull the plug wires. Don't rap on the injectors. There's no need for it. If they're not opening, rapping on them probably won't help. If your injector connectors are really that crumbly, I'd plan on replacing them. You can grab a set off of Ebay. I've dealt with this guy, and he puts together a nice set: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/injector-connector-kit-6pc-datsun-280z-280zx-300zx-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem43a04f8954QQitemZ290452375892QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories I'd suggest ordering 5 more of these for the following: temp coolant sensor thermotime switch cold start valve air regulator 1 spare for testing purposes. (Sometimes it's great to be able to plug something into a part to do a test.) You'll need to know how to solder and work with heat shrink tubing. Instructions available on YouTube. (It's very easy.)

24oz, I feel sorry for you, having fallen for the enormous shipping charge scam. I'll feeling pretty generous today, though, and I'd be willing to take that bad deal off your hands for what it cost you. :pirate:

Sure, you can fortify with some tape or simply hold it in place with your hand. In my experience, if you wedge the cup in there pretty well, you have to blow quite hard before the thing pops out, but with a bit of lung power, you can do it. Incidentally, I save my squatty yogurt cups for mixing epoxy and other odd uses, so I always have a stack of them in the garage. That's why this test famously became my "yogurt cup" test.

Without the wire clips, your #6 injector plug might have wiggled off. I suspect you could bend some reasonably good wire clips out of paperclip wire. It would have to be a pretty small paperclip to give you a small enough wire diameter.

"Chug chug chug" indicates a nonoperative cylinder. I'm betting #6. You should be able to hear it when it's idling. Walk around to the rear of the car for a better listen. Do be careful when pulling a wire. I think it helps to hold the plug wire with a rag, but you also have to be careful to keep the rag (and your fingers) away from any moving parts. A perfectly respectable alternative is to hook up your vacuum gauge, start your engine, note the vacuum, shut it off, pull the #6, restart, note the vacuum, stop the engine, plug back in the #6 and unplug the #5, start, note vacuum, stop, etc. If you've pulled the plug on an operating cylinder, your engine vacuum will become weaker, and you'll hear a difference in the "chug chug chug," which might become "ch-chug ch-chug ch-chug." If the engine runs the same with a pulled plug, that cylinder isn't firing. Pulling the injector plugs one by one is another perfectly good approach, but you'll need to free up those little wire clips first. They can be a PITA. Also you might fail to diagnose an intermittently bad/dirty injector connector this way.

I suppose it depends on which brand you buy! I don't think Yoplait is large enough. Maybe Yotastic or Danon, which comes in the squattier cup. But it doesn't really have to be a yogurt cup. Just find something that will plug up the boot. Maybe a rubber ball or a juice glass? And yes, you've got it all right (in the picture). You don't have to plug the hose up. You can just leave it hanging.

Honestly the solution to getting your engine right might be the systematic correction of a whole bunch of little problems like this one. Do this: Leave your sledge hammer in the tool box, along with the crow bar, pliers, and vice grips. Pull out some fixed hand wrenches (no crescent wrenches!) of the appropriate size, as shown in the slide show. (No, you don't NEED a crow's foot wrench. A regular hand wrench will do.) Now, with the tools you have in hand, I don't think you're strong enough to break or screw up anything!

Nothing looks suspicious in your numbers. You would expect #6 to look very different from 4 and 5, which would look very different from 1-3. Nothing looks that way. Your compression numbers are a bit on the low side, but not alarmingly so. They simply reflect wear on the engine. By comparison, the old marine engine on our boat -- a Chrysler 318 -- has compression numbers more like 100 and 95, and it still somehow runs quite well. Your #6 just looks way too shiny. Maybe your #6 injector is blocked up, so that it ticks but doesn't spray. Does your exhaust make a regular chugging sound -- i.e. where the chugs are regular and evenly spaced? If so, that indicates one of your cylinders isn't firing. Also does your engine run the same if you pull your #6 plug wire?

Yeah, those exhaust valves could be part of the tapping. However, this engine will never sound as quiet as an engine with hydraulic lifters. It's going to tap very softly even when in perfect adjustment and perfect running condition. That's the nature of the beast. Nothing to worry about. Personally I'd adjust the valves while you've got your tools out. Adjust a few valves while cold, just to get the hang of it. Then put the cover back on, run the engine until warm, and do the warm/hot adjustments. You won't break anything. Trust me that you're being much too fearful of this job. But no, I don't think your valves are the source of the 10 in Hg vacuum, at least by themselves. They might make a small contribution, though. I suspect low vacuum in most engines has at least several causes.

The EGR results in cooler combustion gasses, which I think lowers NOX emissions (??). A properly functioning EGR does seem to improve running in some engines. I know this from having repaired a couple of engines blocked EGR ports (and effectively no EGR). That said, EGR is a relatively recent system ('70's?), and engines ran pretty well before its development. I don't think it's that critical. If restoring a car to run as well as possible during ordinary driving conditions, I'd use the EGR. If restoring a car either to look good under the hood or to race, I probably would ditch the EGR. I'd also keep the original engine in the car if possible, as matching serial numbers are important for the value of these cars.

The rocker cover has to be installed to do my yogurt cup test. When you do this test, you'll be testing for tightness EVERYWHERE. This will include rocker cover, oil pan, oil filler cap, dipstick, intake manifold gasket, several closed intake valves, the piston rings and exhaust valves on the other side of one or two open intake valves, etc. The test won't pinpoint where you have a leak, but it will certainly confirm whether you have a leak that you need to track down. Cold valve lash measurements aren't as reliable as hot measurements. Having said that, I suppose your exhaust gaps look a bit loose and intake gaps OK. Still needs adjusting, but nothing too far out of the ordinary. I wouldn't expect much improvement in the running condition of your engine from the adjustments. Your engine might run a tiny bit quieter -- less ticking. I doubt you'll gain much, if any, engine vacuum.

Rob, cegrover, I think the FP switch is present on '75 and '76 AFMs. I'm not sure about the '77. My '78 has a switch but doesn't connect to it. It might not be the original AFM. I also have an AFM from a N/A '81 ZX, and it doesn't have the switch at all. It is substantially similar in operation to the '78 and will work on a '78.

Well, your intake valves look a bit tight -- should be gapped to .010. The exhaust should be gapped to .012. Although the valves need a bit of adjustment, I don't see anything alarmingly out of align that would screw up your compression. You shouldn't assume that low intake vacuum indicates a leak. Remember that your biggest vacuum leak is the throttle body, and it's supposed to be there. Engine vacuum is a reflection of the running efficiency of the engine. You can test your HVAC vacuum tubing for leaks simply by removing the supply tube from the intake manifold (near the brake booster vacuum line) and sucking on it. You'll be able to feel whether it's tight. If you want to disconnect it for testing purposes, just leave the tube off, find a small piece of tubing the same size, put it on the nipple, and then plug the other end of the nipple with something like a golf tee. Did you do the yogurt cup test yet?

I don't think you can mix and match AFMs. I would think a ZX turbo AFM would have to be used with a ZX turbo ECU, injectors, fuel pump, and fuel pressure regulator (and possibly other components). A NA AFM would need to be run with NA components. I could easily be wrong, but I don't think the fact that your engine is a stroker would impact how these systems meter air and deliver fuel. If the NA system is not sufficiently large to deliver enough air to your engine, then go to the turbo setup, but use all turbo components. (Although ironically the turbocharger might not be needed.)