Zed Head

7-12 miles might be something has come loose. Kind of sounds like a vaccum leak, with the high idle, the backfire and the lack of power at high RPM (fuel mix off). Maybe check all potential leak spots, like the PCV hose from the valve cover, and the valve cover gasket, etc. Check for hose splits also, the old hoses get brittle.

How soon after the valve adjustment did the problem happen? If it was immediate, then it was probably something you moved when you took the valve cover off, or you didn't get the adjustment right. As for the throttle hang, that doesn't sound like BCDD if it goes away with a tap on the throttle. More like you got a plug wire stuck in the linkage, or broke the return spring, or something. Next time it hangs, leave it idling high, open the hood and see what's stuck. You've kind of taken a shotgun approach to possible causes, with BCDD and timing. If it ran good before, then a before and after focus might be better. Look at what you touched during the valve adjustment process.

Might be stuck on the dowels, or even paint on the dust shield, or paint on the dowels. Maybe spray some PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench in the holes and around the interface. If there's any gap opening up at all anywhere you could stick a plastic wedge in it, or piece of wood (something soft), to get the leverage to work on the other areas. You might have to move it a fraction of a mm at a time. If you're handy you might also be able to work up a pulling device, from a gear-puller, to stick in a bolt hole and pull on the edge of the transmission. But that might also break the housing, so it's risky. A dead-blow hammer has a similar risk. A sledge tapping a piece of wood might shock it free. Same breakage risk, don't hit too hard.

If you're really lucky, your cam survived and you can just fix the spray bar, or get another one. If you need to change cams, and get a used one, get the rocker arms also, and keep each rocker arm with the cam lobe that it was riding on. The cams are notorious for destroying themselves if things aren't just right after they're been moved around. Sometimes they still self-destruct.

Water is a product of petroleum combustion. It's normal. Normally it would stay in vapor phase but your cold exhaust system is causing it to condense to liquid, and drip out the tail pipe.

So it does adjust, but runs out of extension? Did you replace the shoes also? Maybe you got the wrong ones. I think that the later Z's, with the two piston cylinder (1978 and on), use different shoes than the early Z's.

superlens logic looks right on the need to rescale the vane movement for a wider range of air flow. It may be that instead of, or in addition to, a stiffer spring, they also went to a bigger bore. Less vane movement for more CFM. On people using turbo AFM's in NA cars, I think that what they're doing is using the turbo AFM body and swapping in the NA AFM "guts" or circuit board. On the theory that the AFM is an air flow restriction. There are few threads out there on swapping AFM internals. The end result is probably a mixed up AFM, with different vane action on NA ECU electronics. One more wrinkle - the turbo system, ECU and AFM, is designed for 265 cc injectors, the NA for 188 cc. Three variables; ECU, AFM and injectors. Just looks messy to deal with and the odds of success are low.

That looks like a 280ZX distributor on the engine now, with an E12-XX module (XX = 80 or 92). Pretty common self-contained module and distributor swap. The old one in your hand might be a 240Z points (I haven't seen one up close myself), or 280Z electronic distributor. Take the cap off and look. Maybe it's the one the car came with. On the leaning - it could be the fuel pump, the filter, the pickup tube in the tank... With a gauge you could check pressure before the filter and after and test the pump off of the car. Without a gauge it's hit or miss. There's not much to see inside the AFM. Most say it's best not to mess with it.

Do you have two sets of adjusters or are you describing one set? If the parts are fused you wouldn't be able to turn the wheel because of the slot on the brake shoe. If you can turn the wheel but nothing happens it would be because the threads are not engaged, either because they're fully extended or they have stripped internally. A picture might help.

There are probably millions or billions of other cars that aren't affected by heavy key rings. That's how the problem would be defined, probably the same in a court of law. Cars are so common that there are a defined set of expectations. Apparently, these cars don't behave as expected. Now if they put a warning label on the dashboard and people ignore it then they could claim consumer fault. If they knew people with heavy key rings had problems and did nothing then it's the producer's fault.

Download the 1976 FSM, open the Engine Fuel chapter and make sure that your TPS is adjusted correctly. The TPS is famous for acting like a rev limiter when it gets wet. Out of adjustment may have the same effect. Datsun Service Manuals - NICOclub Take your resistance measurements from the connector at the ECU. Download the EFI Handbook to get the pin numbers. www.xenons30.com/reference And it would be much, much easier to take a fuel pressure measurement than to drop the tank. Post a picture of the distributor. The 1983 turbo distributor only works with the 1983 ECCS, I believe. It's optical, not VR. Are you sure that the ECU you took a picture of is the one that the engine is actually using? It's possible that the PO wired in the 83 ECCS but mounted it somewhere else. Follow some wires to be sure.

But your 625-000 AFM number is designated for NA. The 624-600 number is for turbo. Motorsport! Air Flow Meter, 75-83 Z/ZX Non Turbo - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts Motorsport! Air Flow Meter, 81-83 280ZX Turbo - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts So what would the difference be then between the turbo/ECCS and NA AFM's? Maybe it's the ECCS system versus the NA's EFI ECU. Different computers, different voltages, different internal resistances? I don't know, but Nissan had two different AFM's used for the ECCS and NA EFI systems. The AFM is on the low pressure side of the intake tract so it shouldn't be a pressure issue. Just saying, Nissan used different AFM's for the same model year. The reason is unclear. Maybe superlen will figure something out.

That AFM and ECU is a matched set, they're designed to work together. Since you've discovered all of this strangeness though, you might take some time and put a full plan of action together. Obviously you know how to get around the interweb and are finding lots of information, and know what to do with it. But you have a collection of odd parts and could take many different paths from here. You could get the wiring harness, distributor and ECU from a turbocharged engine and have a very powerful turbo L28 240Z. Get the NA head for your dished piston short-block, and an NA AFM (if needed, still unknown), and NA exhaust and have a standard L28 NA EFI engine. Get the NA AFM and headers and have a low compression ratio L28 (which might sill be as powerful as the original L24). Put carbs on it. Or tweak and tune what you have to make it work. But there are still questions. It's been assumed that you have a dished piston turbo motor, but maybe the PO just put the P90A turbo head on an NA L28 block. Look down below the motor mount on the driver's side and make sure it says F54. Then pull a spark plug or two and locate a piston that's at the top of its stroke. With a good light you may be able to see if it's flat or dished. Did you get any extra parts with it? The turbo engines use a special distributor so the ECU (also special) can control timing. Could help determine your path or make sourcing parts cheaper. Barter for parts.

I would think that a timing light and some time would shed some light on the problem.

That's a turbo AFM. Here's a link showing the part number - Motorsport! Air Flow Meter, 81-83 280ZX Turbo - The Z Store! Nissan-Datsun 240Z-260Z-280Z-280ZX-300ZX(Z31/Z32)-350Z-370Z Parts I don't know that it will work right with the NA ECU. Nissan changed the way the AFM's are wired with the ZX's. Look in the Engine Fuel chapters of a 280Z FSM vs. a 280ZX FSM and you'll see (1976 versus 1982 for example). The NA AFM uses 4 wires for the potentiometer, the ZX only has 3. But the 4th wire might just be the altitude switch circuit in the NA system (discussed in other threads). Anyway, it's unclear that the turbo AFM will work right for you. You might want to get an NA AFM. Those injectors look like aftermarket. They have numbers on them that will tell you what they are. Probably NA since I don't think the turbo injectors are available aftermarket.

Made in America too. No guarantees of quality anywhere. SATURN Ion Sedan models Just saying, it always comes down to someone's decision. Usually some executive whose bonus is tied to short-term profits. There's probably a spreadsheet somewhere at GM showing how much each death or injury will cost the company versus the cost of fixing the problem(s). Like Ford and their Pinto.

The gear assembly should be just deep enough that the metal lock-plate fits in to the slot. It's piece #63, in the upper right corner of this drawing. The slot should determine how deep the assembly sits. Notice piece #65 also. It's the drive gear inside the transmission. I think that it might be plastic also and can get damaged. Datsun 280Z Transmission Gears, Speedometer Pinion (5 Speed-FS5W71B) (From Aug.-'76)

The ECU has already determined your wiring harness. You'll want the up-to 1976 square port headers, the engine bolt patterns and spacings are all the same, it's the body style that was different with the ZX's P90 head. Might be cheaper, easier and quieter to get a square port 280Z exhaust manifold. With your low compression ratio engine, in stock form, the header won't really add any performance. Apparently the stock manifolds flow pretty well. And where is the AFM now? There aren't many non-stock places for it to be. One problem you might find is that the PO left the turbo injectors in the engine. They will cause it to run rich, with the 280Z ECU, becuase they flow much more fuel thanthe NA injectors. They're a dark purple-brown color, whereas the NA injectors are a light-green or tan color. Somebody out there would probably trade a complete 240Z or 280Z engine, or two, for that turbo engine. Maybe even for just the turbo and turbo exhaust manifold. They're popular items.

Yes, that is an early L28 ECU, for an NA car. Stock turbos did not show up until the 81 280ZX. Oxygen sensors did not show up until 1980 in the 280ZX's. The number for the AFM should be on the black cover or on a sticker on the AFM body. The most noticeable difference is that the pin-out (where the electrcial connections go) is different. The connectors are similar but the wiring is totally changed. So if that L28 ECU is plugged in and running the engine, the car never had a turbo ECU. It would require the turbo EFI harness. Some people do use the NA ECU and a rising rate fuel pressure regulator to allow a turbocharger to work without blowing up the engine. Which raises the question - is there actually a turbocharger? No offense, but it's not clear what you know and you did not mention one. The L28 NA ECU would probably run a turbocharged engine but it would not have any power under boost. Which kind of sounds like what you're describing. I think that you would have to remove the turbocharger to get the engine to run more close to normal. But it will still be down a bit on power because the compression ratio is low, for the turbo. It could be done but it would be Z blasphemy. In short, it sounds the guy might have swapped in a turbo engine like he said, got it to run using the NA electronics, but never installed the turbo electronics to make it run right. Which is about what he told you.

Does the gear inside the transmission turn with the wheels? You could probably see in there with a mirror. I don't think much oil will drain out of the hole. Jack the back end of the car up to be sure it's higher than the fill hole. That's all I got.

When you installed the pinion gear did you use the complete aluminum assembly or did you remove the little pin and swap gears? The gear is actually offset to one side in the assembly and when Nissan changed the location of the hold-down screw they moved the hold-down slot to the other side. The two assemblies look the same but if you use a later assembly in an early transmission the gear will be too far away to be driven. People either cut a new slot or swap just the plastic gear. Found a picture on the inter-web. Post #3. Matching Speedo Gears after Rear End Swap - 620 - Ratsun Forums

The AAR gets its power from the same circuit as the fuel pump. Has your fuel pump relay been messed with at all? Is the pump still on the relay. I've found also that the AAR hose interferes with the AAR plug. It's not really a very good design. You might find that the plug is just not seated correctly. Of course a meter would tell if the plug has power, but it will only have power when the fuel pump relay is active (engine running or AFM open and key on). Glad it was the easy fix (so far). Good luck.

I hit 62 degrees at my house today. Sun, light breeze, garage door open, birds singing. Don't give up hope.

In your other thread you gave the impression that the play was around the dowel pin, not the center bolt, or camshaft center. Now it looks like the problem is centering the sprocket itself on the camshaft. Is that it? You shouldn't have any orbit of the timing chain gear around the camshaft center, elliptical or not. Could you have the wrong side of the sprocket to the camshaft? Will it flip around? It might also be that the washer under the bolt does some centering. Is the washer there? I have a head, camshaft, and sprocket in the garage. Someone may already know the answer before I get a chance to look at it. Edit - Went out and pulled those spare parts out. My sprocket is an interference or maybe a zero clearance fit on the nose of the camshaft. There's a locating ring on the sprocket and a stepped "nose" on the camshaft. I would get perfect centering even without the dowel pin. I had to use the washer and bolt to pull the sprocket back on to the camshaft nose. It seems possible to think that the recession in the sprocket is for the bolt head to sit in but that's not the case. Maybe you're installing the sprocket backwards? I also checked my spray bar, and it has two trapezoidal shaped gaskets under the mounting points. Pretty sure it's factory stock. Edit 2 - Found a link to a thread that shows what the sprocket should look like before the bolt and washers are placed. You can see that the locating ring/recession is on the other side. http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/engine-drivetrain-s30/35670-timing-chain-install-pics.html

Search "bspt adapter" on McMaster Carr and you'll find some options. You'll have to click through some parts to get details though and do some work to figure out what the gauge needs. I have some out in the garage, I'll get the part number if I get a chance. I found the number from my old internet order. It's little bit long so raises the risk of being broken off if banged. But it has the right threads. Another option is the 3/4" close nipple, 5832T111. 5832T121 BSPT-to-NPT Threaded Brass Pipe Nipple, 1/8" Pipe Size, 1-1/2" L, Threaded Both Ends, Schedule 40