Zed Head

Well then, S30Driver's comment about Pin #1 is important. But here's an odd thing about the Z EFI system that I've experienced - if the tachometer is not installed, with its inline resistor, the ECU will not control the injectors. I think the tachometer may be acting as a pull-up resistor but I'm not sure. I do know that if I remove the resistor to the tach my engine will not start. I would only consider that if you've been messing around with other stuff though. Before you get in to that, check for power to both sides of the injector pugs with the key on, and check for continuity from Pin 1 to the coil. And you might as well do as many of the Bible tests as you can while you're down there. Good luck.

You didn't mention the notch and groove. I think that's the best verification, for a stock cam anyway. It takes timing chain wear in to account.

I was just making a joke, but ECU and fuel system are pretty far apart themselves in operation, add in overheat and you're spread pretty thin. If the problem now is that it won't start, you really want to begin even before the "bible" with the basic spark and fuel verification. You're at square one on the game board. Pull the small wire off of the solenoid and turn the key to Start. See if the fuel pump runs. Remove a spark plug, ground it, crank the engine and check for spark. Squirt some starter fluid in to the intake manifold. It sounds like the engine hasn't been run much for three years? It could just be bad old gas. Might even have some water in it. Eurodat found a few gallons in his tank.

S30Driver's suggestion is the way to go. You've run out of ideas it's time to do the tedious work. It's really not bad once you start, you'll find things that are not quite right and each small fix will make everything else better. Here's a link to the book known as the Bible, below. Use the 1980 Electronic Fuel Injection Guide and find the tests for your car. Or just go directly to the 1975 Guide, it's probably close enough that nothing will be missing. Yes, ohms is the test. But the problem you described may not have anything to do with the EFI system, it sounds more like a cooling system problem. Saying that a clogged fuel rail or bad ECU causes overheating is kind of like saying that 2 + 2 = a circle. But the lack of fuel in three injectors doesn't indicate a clogged rail either. The fuel can feed from both sides. Anyway.... " but now it will only run for 10 minuets at a time and need to cool down," XenonS130 - S130 Reference

Read up on the Auxiliary Air Regulator (AAR). It is a device designed to increase idle speed when the engine is cold by allowing air past the throttle blade. They get stuck often, there was actually a dealer-installed fix for them, but only if people complained. Index of /FSM/280z

Pretty sure that Nissan knew the gauges aren't very accurate. That's why the "red zone" is just a tiny sliver at the very upper end of the range and the Owner's Manual describes essentially the whole sweep as normal. We should all probably have a better aftermarket gauge somewhere in the car, considering the damage overheating causes.

Blown head gasket is looking more likely. You're probably low on fluid and the "air" is actually exhaust gases leaking from the line from the thermostat housing that supplies the AAR heating block. The fluid then gets warm and expands until it can start spewing. There are no lines that would normally hiss air, then spew coolant. The cooling system will always be pressurized when the engine gets warm. The limit is typically 13 psi, set by the radiator cap. Eurodat's suggestion in Post #25 is a good one. Take the cap off when cold, start the engine and watch. You might see bubbles and frothing. As the engine warms up though the coolant will expand and start to overflow. "Next the heating problem. Remove the radiator cap and get the engine hot again. Check for bubbles escaping from the radiator. It a sign that the head gasket is leaking or cracks in the head. Its not 100% but its a good indication."

Premium just means high octane, it only really affects knock or detonation. The running issues sound like it has a lean fuel-air mixture. That's why there's a focus on vacuum leaks. But it could also be a weak fuel pump, or a clogged filter, or a clogged tank outlet, or a bad FPR. The best starting point would be to measure fuel pressure. Otherwise, even after a new pump, you could still have the problem. And there are ways to test the pump if you have a pressure gauge. If you haven't paid for the pump and can hold off, buying or borrowing a pressure gauge might be a better idea. If you confirm that fuel pressure is right, and no vacuum leaks (including the PCV system [the crankcase]) then the coolant temperature sensor modification might be in order. Several of us have the lean problem and have modified the system to work around it. If you're using the gauge to decide it's hot, that's a bad idea. The gauges aren't very accurate. And you never did confirm that it was actually over-heating. Just trying to help you avoid the common pitfalls. Replace and hope never turns out well. Expensive too.

You can start the engine on a stand, or the ground pretty easily, especially with a carb'ed engine. Hoses to a gas can, the fuel pump which is probably in a box, a battery, and some wires. Might be easier than installing the engine only to find out it needs to be removed. Plus it leaves you room to work until the engine has to go in. You only need to attach the transmission for the starter, no clutch parts are needed. I have my spare engine with a transmission attached sitting on one of those 1000 lb Harbor Freight dollys. I had to reinforce the center boards because the sag screwed up the casters but it's been on there for a year or two. I've had it running with a spare EFI harness and spare radiator.

You need to get new or reground rocker arms with a new cam. You'll probably need new lash pads also. Delta cams will regrind your rocker arms for about $4 each apparently. They also regrind cams. Many people seem to like the cam from Isky and reground rocker arms from Delta. If you're going to keep your cam until you get another, and you want to go back to the stock grind, then you might consider just buying a used cylinder head and swapping over the cam and its rocker arms and lash pads as a matched set. Each rocker arm needs to stay with its cam lobe. That seems to work. If you get bad rockers (apparently some of the new ones out there aren't very good) or try to re-use used rocker arms, that seems to be a formula for wiping out a cam lobe or more.

I have a sticker on mine also. Probably the elusive serial number. It would make more sense to use a sticker, stamp or engraving than to cast it in to the housing. Number applied when the unit is complete and passes inspection.

This ad is just fun to read. Has anyone ever heard of the rare 5-speed short-shifter? He's lowered the price because he needs to pay off some artists. It has a racing history. Kids are welcome but it's a two-seater. It's listed in Portland but tagged in CA. He must have run out of camera storage before he could take pictures of anything besides the right rear of the exterior. With the gray primer spots all over. I don't understand... Datsun '78 280z rare options car $$$invested **SALE this week only $8400 steal this at less than half of what I've put into it** Reposting RARE options 1978 280Z L28E with short shift 5spd and factory A/C both work great as does all the NEW parts I have replaced since purchasing this fun, reliable, safe car. Good milage very sporty driving. Over $16.4K invested the first real offer that is not a low ball offer takes it. It does need cosmetic work. $5k+ in new parts alone. I'm taking a MASSIVE loss on this rare classic sports car with racing history (again why systems had to be replaced) ... Found a few cars i want that are more fuel efficient and need money to pay off artists had listed originally @ $9960. Many collectors have tried to pry it from me for 1/3 of what I've put into it and for some reason people want visually appealing and questionable parts. No realistic offer refused and the rare options are 5speed short shifter which is a more comfortable position to shift from and the factory A/C (less than 1500 short shift 5speeds were built or so a long term Z collector had informed me) along with the impossible to find original alloy wheels thanks in advance Matt ... call or email for questions and happy to give a test ride with cash in hand kids welcome NO you can't have it for nothing- NO I will not ship it for you. SALE $9345 more than a $1000 in work since original post-- needs nothing until next oil change @2000miles from now **NO leaks of any fluid VERY reliable solid daily or high collector model with rare options. ***VIN available upon request - huge stack of reciepts and some history of the car available never wrecked CLEAN OR title in hand reg expires 11/14 passed DEQ and CA smog every time

Here's my 1985 300ZX (so I was told) bellhousing. Notice the fill plug below. It's the left hand side, and you can see how the case flares (like a bell). Are you sure that all of your pictures are bellhousing and not the back half? Hard to ell since they're all close-up. I have my transmission in the garage but didn't drag it out to see the other side.

The mystery bidder could be someone who's seen the car in person and liked what they saw. Surprising that the eBay seller would leave out a detail like shortened struts with adjustable spring perches (aka "coilovers"). That could be worth thousands. Or could subtract thousands for a collector.

The 1980 Fuel Injection Guide from xenons130.com will help also. You'll need a multimeter. XenonS130 - S130 Reference Looks like you're working from a tiny phone screen though so life might be difficult. Thanks for the periods, they eased the pain of reading your post.

Here's another one - DSC04293JPGThumbnail1jpg id 266482 | Motortopia That bearing is difficult to remove. I had to rig up a cheap two prong gear puller with a clamp to get in to the small space available. Don't forget to put the transmission in to gear when assembling. It's possible to get it stuck in two gears at the same time when the bellhousing/fron case is pushed over the shift rods.

Don't forget head gasket and bad gauge as potential causes. Stuck thermostat is a good possibility. If you've been using modern antifreeze formulations with clean water it would be odd for the radiator to get fouled.

Here's a good link for u-joints, with dimensions. https://www.powertrainindustries.com/catalogs_type.htm?type=UJoints&PHPSESSID=1i4gudsrcok13lt4mf660vloa3 How are you going to retain the new u-joint, since the old one was staked in? If it's not centered perfectly you'll have vibration and without proper retention it could move. Here's a thread, with info on a shop up here in the Portland area. I think that they shorten also. 280z (datsun / nissan) non replaceable ujoint replacement where to go to fix for just $103 in 30 minuets - S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z - HybridZ Don't forget that the early 1970 drive shaft is the correct length and will swap right in. Jon Mortensen had one for sale, he might still have it. It's already rebuilt and he wasn't asking much.

One thing that people have done to isolate a problem is to convert one of the fittings in to a plug. For example, take an old fitting with a piece of metal brake line, cut the line short, then bend it and crimp it so it won't leak. Then take that plug and block off various parts of the system. Block the fronts and see if the rears are solid, and vice-versa. Block one caliper, block the other, see if there's a difference. Block the proportioning valves, etc. You can even build two plugs and block the ports from the master cylinder to see if the MC is the problem. Have to say though that you haven't really given a good description of what the pedal is doing. Is it high or low, will it pump up, does it drop if you just hold constant pressure on it... etc. Al I see is soft pedal (what does that mean?), air bubbles in the reservoir, and the rear brakes "work great" (no details on what "great" means). Plus you said the rears work great, but you're reporting bubbles in the rear reservoir. The solution is in the details, but you have to provide those. Good luck.

I've never heard of Historic J or this event. The picture of a very high stack of containers doesn't tell much at all. Are you a freight handling company?

Welcome to the club and thanks for adding. Fuel quality has been discussed here and there. Unfortunately, most of us have to live with whatever is in the local station's tanks. So far, people with Standard FJ707T injectors, aluminum fuel rails and headers, Standard FJ3 injectors with headers (Post #84), and me with Bosch 0280 150 901 injectors, aluminum fuel rail, and stock manifolds, seem to have eliminated our hot start problems. Although it's not clear if rcb's issue will come back in the winter-time. Here's a really interesting presentation from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory showing how ethanol affects vapor pressure, but also showing that gasoline can be different in different areas of the country. That's one more thing that gets the discussions messed up, one guy says I have these parts and no problem, another says I have the same parts and have the issue every day. But they're talking about different petroleum distillations, and different ethanol percentages. It's worse now than in the past because modern cars are designed to adjust for the variation. http://www-erd.llnl.gov/ethanol/proceed/autoupd.pdf

Glad you made it back Wing. The things being reported didn't fit. I figured something out of control was going on. Good luck.

Here's a trick I learned from a machinist I used to work for, a way to keep swarf out of critical areas. Turn the part upside down.

Assuming the same settings and drill speed, maybe the modified reluctor gives a higher voltage at low RPM. Four divisions for the Z, five and a half for the ZX. Can't tell what the settings are on your scope. Thanks for doing that and posting the results. No clear answer though on why the guy from Hybridz had problems with the HEI module on a ZX distributor. Maybe he had a bad module or had it wired backward. I found a four pin Bosch module that apparently passes 7 amps. But you can get that with an Accel high performance module. Also found that many of the Toyota people are using the GM module when theirs break, 'cause it's cheaper and works just as well.

Found an alternative to Pertronix for the points guys - Electronic Ignition Module Kit K2543