Zed Head

Since the temperature for failure is so low, apparently, you might try the opposite of the typical ignition module over-heat test. Instead of cooling the module, heat it up. Start the car, let it run, and blow hot air on the module with a heat gun or hair dryer. If it is the module, the engine should start running poorly or die pretty quickly. Looks like you're almost there. If it's not the module, and you're still getting spark when it dies, then that leaves the injection circuit. Maybe the ECU. Probably best to hope it's the module.

The site's acting weird and won't let me add to my last post so...I was going to add that the reason you don't get a spark is because the current through the coil is never shut off. That's also why the coil gets hot. Current flow is stuck on for some reason. Disconnecting the module will be informative. It does look a lot like a bad module.

The coil got hot just because the key was On? That would be short circuit somewhere after the negative post of the coil. The module could very well be shorted internally. That would heat up the coil and kill the spark, with the key On. Try disconnecting the blue and brown wire from the module and see if the coil still gets hot. If the coil only gets hot when the key is on and the module is connected but not when the module is disconnected that's a sign the the module is shorted/bad. Make sure though, that the blue wire is not shorted to ground anywhere on the way between the module and coil. That would cause the same symptoms.

I almost mentioned the GM HEI also. But I think that 1983 used the E12-92 module, as opposed to E12-80, which has a timing advance circuit, for emission purposes. Kind of like the dual point/pickup Z engines, controlled by a "thermo switch". It's doable, but he'd lose the advance circuit. Probably not a big deal but something to consider. Might be worth the $20 and time though, to just wire in an HEI module to confirm that the stock module is bad, then decide whether or not to spend the $100+ to get the replacement. If it's not the module, he's only out the $20.

Looks like Rockauto has one for ~$85. But with the ZX distributors there are other things that tend to break, like the stator magnet, or the pickup coil, or the bushings in the distributor (which can break the magnet). You might be wasting your money assuming it's the module. Have you checked the distributor for damage? Might be better off to just get a complete distributor. Also on Rockauto for not much more. In Post 30 you didn't mention if the key was on. With the remote starter you can turn the motor but not get spark if the key isn't on. Do the test with the wire first, that will tell you if the the parts after the module are working. Tapping the wire, you will be doing essentially what the module does.

You can connect a jumper wire to the negative post of the coil. Leave the other end hanging in air. Disconnect the center wire of the coil from the distributor cap and place it very close, about a spark plug gap distance, from a ground path, like the intake manifold or the car body. Turn the key to On/Run. Then tap the end of the wire to a ground path, like the engine block or intake manifold. Don't hold it there, just tap it quickly. Each tap should generate a spark at the center coil wire. Every third spark should cause the injectors to all click. If you get spark this way, that means the coil is working correctly, and if you get injector clicking, the ECU and its wiring.

Is the offset the same? Might be better off to use an adapter/spacer if the Bimmer wheels are set in compared to Nissan. If they're set out, then the wheels won't fit right anyway even with the new hubs. Just a consideration before you get too far in to it.

This web page does a good job, in my opinion, of explaining cyclic loading based fatigue, and how it is different from yield strength. You only get so many cycles. Cracking or other stress-risers play a part also. Metal Fatigue and The Factors Which Influence Fatigue, by EPI Inc.

I've removed a couple of those gears. As Darrel says, a small drift or punch is needed to get the pin started out. I had to use pliers to finish pulling it. It's pretty tight. You kind of skipped the step of removing the pinion gear assembly/housing from the transmission. They can get stuck also. A big flat bladed screwdriver in the slot will break it loose but large pliers or vice-grips might be needed to completely remove it. Pad the plier jaws, there are many gear housings out there with ugly teeth marks on them. The metal is soft.

Not much detail, can't even tell if it has an engine. But looks kind of interesting GTO Project Car - Awesome Project

To the basics of the original post - I like the find on the alternative AAR. I've seen the newer designs and pondered if they could be adapted. I'd probably get one from a wrecking yard if I went that way, but the one I have works fine, and I have two more that I've cleaned up and are ready for use if needed. Nissan changed the PCV hose routing in 1977, because of AAR and throttle blade fouling. The newer AAR could have the same problem if the 76 hose configuration is still in place. rcb, the OP is in Canada. In Oregon, I only have to pass idle emissions. All of my AAR's are stock 70's time-frame.

I didn't say the gases weren't checked. I'm just wondering what you meant when you said that it's still too rich. It doesn't matter how many modifications you make if you keep tuning those modifications to the gas analyzer, and the gas analyzer specs. are too rich for your nose. You can tune to the analyzer, or tune to your nose. And, no offense intended, but you should have seen the questions coming about the bypassing the AFM, with all of your experience. "All air must pass through the AFM" is one of the fundamentals of the EFI system.

The stock EFI system is a collection of parts that were all designed to work together. So, with the cam, you're out of spec. anyway. I can't help but point out the contradiction in the above statements though. What you're really saying is that the gas analyzer specifications are too rich. For your nose, I assume. Good luck with the tuning. Not sure why you want to remove the PCV anyway, since it actually cleans combustion byproducts from the crankcase, leading to a cleaner engine. Unless you're looking for that little bit extra of clean air and power that the PCV gases are taking up in the intake air supply at full throttle.

Have you tried the tapping/beating on the ECU trick yet? I've seen it described as working for several people. I also had the transistors in an ECU go bad and they are usually heat sensitive. The final step in the FSM trouble-shooting is usually "replace ECU". Maybe you can find a used one to try.

Shine some light on the damper pulley and its timing marks.

How about a link?

The first gassy problem sounds like the typical hot injector hot start problem. The stall right before you got home could be several things - ignition module, ECU, fuel supply. Did you try to start it right after it stalled? Did it smell like gas, did it restart, if it did did it run well or poorly? Did the tachometer act oddly right be fore it stalled? When you tried to restart, what did the tachometer do? Your mechanic will be stuck with no clues when you take it back to him. You might be to the point of trying replacement parts, like ECU or ignition module, or just leaving a fuel pressure gauge where you can see it when you try to restart. You need to generate more information, and the best information is right when the problem happens. Hopefully you tried to restart it when you landed in the driveway, otherwise the opportunity was lost. Or, if you're lucky, the engine won't restart and the part, whatever it is, stayed broken. You should put a camera in the car with streaming video so we can ride along...

Isn't actual measured clearance what matters? Actually I missed a zero and you might be too loose. 10 thousandths versus 1 - 1.8 thousandths spec. My mistake. (3.410" - 3.390") /2 = 0.010" The ring gap looks okay though.

Never been that far in to an engine myself, but all of those numbers are in the Engine Mechanical chapter. Nissan was very thorough, they even have the .50 and 1.0 mm oversize numbers. Bores, pistons, ring gaps, the works. No 0.750 though, you'll have to split the difference. Looks pretty good from a words and numbers perspective.

And don't forget the green ones. There's still something weird about the "squeezing and taping" that made things work again, in your first post. The blue ones might be fine. After seeing the wire nut, it could be that there's nothing wrong with those links at all, the problem is somewhere else. Maybe that wire nut just needs another twist. You should still make them better, but don't be surprised if they're not the problem. At least you know more about your car now.

You can't damage things by going smaller. Did you find one that was bad? Sometimes you can tell by feel. Or use the meter and measure resistance.

Your dilemma now is to figure out how much downtime you can take with the car, and if you decide on a temporary fix to get by, how to do it. I would disconnect the battery and drag all of those wires up high and dry. Then, for a temporary fix, replace that wire nut with a large crimped connection and some heat shrink or solder and heat shrink. Figure out which circuit is broken among the blue wires and wire in an inline fuse, or a fusible link of the correct gauge. If that blue wire is plain old wire, best to replace them all with fuses or fusible links of the correct capacity. Here's a typical fusible link replacement - http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fusiblelinks/index.html

Just saw the wire nut in #15. The PO has made a mess. You have some work ahead of you.

Sorry, my mistake, I didn't really look at those blue wires. I thought they were just wires to the pressure sender and other things. Disconnect your battery before you start moving things. No need to melt new wires trying to fix problems. The PO probably though he was cleaning up the engine bay when he did that. But they're down in the dirty wet area of the engine bay. Plus it looks like he either used plain wire or links of the same gauge. You might consider pulling those wires up to a clean safe area, and replacing the blue with the correct links, or wiring in a Maxifuse block. Looks like a pretty good cause for your problem. Check your voltages there.

I can see the white wire that you want to follow, in your first picture. There has to be something at the end of that wire. If your main fuse or fusible link is blown, or the Ignition link, then the EFI relay won't work and you won't have power at the ECU. You have to find out what happened to those links, they are the key. Maybe the whole block came unbolted and is hanging down below the oil filter.