Zed Head

Even though your engine does eventually start and, apparently, runs well once it starts, the 30+ psi is out of spec. It should be 36-38 psi when priming. That's not a huge difference but could be a factor. Or not. It could also be that you have a vacuum leak and that plus the low fuel pressure is leaning out things enough to give a no-start. A small vacuum leak will have bigger impact at low RPM because it's a larger proportion of total air flow. You've blocked the EGR but maybe you missed a port, or the seal is not good. Maybe get the engine running and use some carb cleaner or starting fluid to check for a vacuum leak. Have you adjusted the AFM spring, or installed a potentiometer in the coolant sensor circuit? That might compensate for the low fuel pressure during running but not the start problem.

I agree completely with verifying that everything's in alignment and orientation. And that there is a pretty wide range of adjustment on the distributor. But I think that picture that you posted is a product of that range of adjustability. It's not the stock setup, it's something that's been made to work. It's a variant. Better to follow the FSM for a stock setup, otherwise you could be dropping the oil pump and making adjustments for the wrong reason.

It says the care came from Arkansas but doesn't say where it is now. As far as I can see on the eBay ad.

Here's a picture of the greasy tang on my old original 1976 engine, at zero, sitting in the garage, headless. Y'alls picture is just too shiny. We've got three that show a different orientation. siteunseen's, mine and the FSM. Not sure where that shiny picture is from or why it would be different. Just saying, something's off, somewhere.

The funny thing is I posted all of this in the wrong thread. Had two open at the same time. Sorry. I'll see what I can fix.

Mistake.

Mistake. Wrong thread.

After you do some experiments you'll see why someone took the time to mold a new bushing. Even if you get the up and down part tightened up, there's still the side to side. The only problem with the urethane bushing kits is that they made the sleeve too short, allowing the nuts and washers to compress the bushings too tightly, passing more noise from the diff. If I was installing a new kit, I might just get a piece of metal pipe and make my own sleeve, of an improved length. It's a shame that once these things get in to production, mistakes and all, they never change. Most aftermarket parts are really just good starting points.

Everything looks great, assuming that the tight side (driver's side) of the timing chain is tight, and you're on zero. Can't really see the picture, it's too dark. You can put a wrench on the cam sprocket nut to tighten up the tight side, if it's off a little. The numbers don't really matter, it's the notch and groove that do. Yours look right.

I think that if the rubber compressed you did it right. Worth a test drive. Not sure what you mean by did it wrong, unless you're talking about the slight change in diff angle. A test drive will tell you if the clunk is gone, even if you have a new misalignment noise.

This is exactly what I did when I was dealing with loose diff problems. It helped with the thud/clunk. but did add a little high frequency noise from the diff, the more wahers, the worse the noise transfer. But it did give me the idea to find some washers that effectively added length to the sleeve that comes with the poly bushing. My current setup has the poly bushings in the mustache bar but the lengthened center sleeve, using washers that fit inside the urethane bushing hole, but are the same outer diameter as the sleeve material, and fit pretty tightly on the post. I think that they are called AN washers. ACE Hardware. So there's a fraction of an inch of wiggle room for the bar, but under load it gets taken up. I never had the fully compressed urethane bushings, or new stock rubber, so don't know what they sound like. But mine is much quieter than the old worn out parts.

Your bushing rubber looks in better shape than many I've seen. The washers are supposed to bottom out on that inner sleeve. It leaves the bar kind of hanging in between, with the web of rubber of the bar bushing supporting the weight. The scalloped layer of rubber on the washers is more of a final damper for any movement. That's my take on the design. I think that the idea is to minimize pathways for the high frequency vibration. The diff howl. But the rubber gets weak over time. If you've compared a new rubber transmission or diff mount to an old one you can really see the difference in rubber stiffness. I've had good luck with the urethane mounts, with 2-3 washers added to the inner sleeve to leave a small air gap between the urethane and the washers. Basically, extending the sleeve length. The same general concept of the Nissan design. A little bit of float. My diff noise is less than when I got the car and had old worn clunky stock mounts. I had clunk and howl, pretty bad for both. I also have a an RT-style front mount now. I think that most of the urethane mustache bar bushings are designed to clamp the bar tightly, race-car mentality, and transmit a lot of vibration to the body. That's why they tend to be noisy. Another opinion. Maybe try some new mounts or get a another bar for experiments. Forgot to say also, that the bar can move side to side on the mounting posts. The bushing rubber in the mustache bar ends is not solid, it's a web.

I'm using a Rhinopac OEM-style clutch. Easy engagement, light pedal, no problems with holding power (stock engine and 205 tires). A very smooth replacement part. I would buy another. My old Zoom Perfection OEM-style clutch had a stiff engagement and chattered when it got hot. I will avoid in the future. I bought both new, and used them on non-resurfaced flywheels (cheap, not recommended practice).

Is there play in the mustache bar bushings? Can't tell if you're using urethane or stock rubber. When you hit the gas the front of the diff lifts up and the back, with the mustache bar, gets pressed down. Pivoting around the axles. Maybe you're hearing the mustache bar bottom out on the washer and bolt at the end of the mounting shaft. You could probably tell by grabbing the bar and checking play, from underneath..

You have the same setup as siteunseen. Header and FJ707T injectors. That's two wins for that combination, but still leaves the question of header or injector. Here's something generally interesting on injectors. BWD and Standard are made by the same organization, and the high end BWD's have the FJ type of output (see links below). When I bought my first set of new injectors, I went for the cheaper ones,with the single pin pintle design, like Nissan stock. A few more dollars and I might never have had the problem, assuming injectors alone are the solution. The price difference seemed higher back then. List: Fuel Injector - 1978 Nissan 280Z | O'Reilly Auto Parts BWD 57519P - Fuel Injector | O'Reilly Auto Parts Edit - I shouldn't leave out FastWoman's Standard FJ3 injectors either, with stock manifold and heat shields (but a wrapped/insulated fuel rail). Reported to have occasional hot start issues, but not significant, if I recall correctly. That's three FJ injector winners, no FJ losers yet.

I wonder if there's something odd going on with your fuel pump control relays, that gets corrected when you disconnect the starter solenoid. Maybe the voltage drop from turning the engine is screwing up the fuel control system. It might be worthwhile to connect a fuel pressure gauge, then pop it out to where you can see it while you have the no-start condition. The symptoms seem more like no fuel pressure at all. The priming step might just be building up pressure, which allows the engine to start, then fuel pump control returns when you're off the starter. You're not conforming.

I should have said "switches", in that range. I was thinking in one direction, warming. In the other direction, cooling, it would close in that range. How hard is hard to start? Maybe you're asking too much of an old car.

It seems to be open then. Now you have to consider temperature. It opens at 57 - 72 degrees F. Down in CA, it should probably be open by now. Google says you're at 70 F. Might have to wait until it's cold, or pull it and put in the refrigerator. In the meantime, are you sure that your fuel pressure is holding? A dry fuel rail will cause a similar problem.

I've only had two meters, one with a needle and another that has auto-ranging. Touch the probes together on your meter and see if you get a "1".

That's the heater side of the switch. You want to measure the other pin to ground to see if the switch is closed when it's cold, like it should be. You should see a closed circuit, very low to zero resistance, on the other pin, to ground, when cold. That lets power flow through the CSV to supply fuel when cold.

See #5. In case you missed it...

Actually, it's just a switch. It's either open or closed to let juice flow through the CSV. And you don't measure across the terminals, you measure from each terminal to ground. One side is the internal heater, the other side is the ground for the CSV. 4 and 21 are at the ECU connection.

TT means thermotime? I think you might be blending the coolant sensor with the thermotime switch. Hate to ruin a good walk through the wrecking yard...

I tend to stick with stock parts on the highly engineered systems that contain multiple pieces, so I probably would have went to RockAuto and got a decent brand stock coil. Although in this case, I might use an E-core 300ZX ignition coil instead. ~1.0 ohms, so the module sees no difference, but with the newer, more robust E-core coil design technology. Although the oil-filled coils seem to last just fine, so who knows. But, with your finding of a BB, you're kind of at a crossroad(s?). You can fix or replace the distributor breaker plate so that you can use the ZX distributor and module, or you could get a 280Z electronic distributor (like on your 77) and go with the GM HEI module, and an external HEI coil. More stuff to think about. Maybe you'll get lucky and the BB came out with no other damage.

On the Portland area CL. Actually over in Washington. Some people still think low miles equals high value. Like brand new. 1979 280ZX