Zed Head

It's an Echelin Ignition Part. Guess I can dig around the Napa site if I really want to find out. http://m.napaonline.com/Tablet/parts/ProductFinder.aspx?k=ECH-AR269&interchange=false

Interesting. I tried something similar in the past, but on the FPR side because I had an Aeromotive adjustable FPR which didn't hold pressure (none of the Aeromotives do). I didn't really like the check valve I found though. Yours looks interesting but the part number comes up as a relay on the NAPA site.

What kind of shifter? The Z's and ZX's used a different style knob. ZX's are much harder to remove than Z's.

I'll second the opinion on Philbin. They refurbished my wiper motor for a very fair price and did good work. Worth a call.

The dashpot is designed to keep the throttle from closing fast. If it sticks or is adjusted too far down, it will hold the throttle open too lng and your RPM will rise between shifts. It's the round thing mounted on the throttle body with what looks like a vacuum fitting or a plastic game piece mounted on it. Remove the two 10 mm bolts and take the whole thing off and see if you still have the problem. If the sticking goes away, then you can either clean up the dashpot or leave it off. I like having it myself, it makes for more relaxed shifting when it works right. I've also had the inside of the throttle body get gummed up, and cause throttle sticking when the engine got hot. You can clean that up with carb cleaner, but you have to take the AFM boot off to get in there.

Sounds like a sticky throttle, which could have several causes. The throttle body could be gummed up from blowby residue. Or the dashpot could be sticking. You're still not providing much information though. How long have you had the car, did the problem just start, does it happen all the time or only when warm, etc.? Effort returned will be ~proportional to effort put out. Capitalization and punctuation make a big difference

If your starter and clutch worked well, and the flywheel and clutch looked good, then you may not need to do anything. The ring gear teeth always look a little worn just because of the beating they take when the starter gear hits them.

Might be an emissions thing. I've read that projected tip plugs have an effect similar to advancing the timing about 4 degrees, because the flame is initiated closer to the center of the combustion area. Reducing timing seems to be one of the ways that the engineers clean up the emissions gas mix. So, projected tip plugs = "advanced" timing effect = bad gases out the tail pipe. Just conjecture... They went back the projected tip with the P79/F54 combo also in 1980, to add to the puzzle.

Mine came apart like yours did when I tried to take the connector off. If you got a good one from a ZX, it should swap right in. You could have "calibrated" your broken one by clocking the piece that came out, and testing with a battery and some jumper wires until it opened and closed correctly, then using epoxy or similar to lock it in place, but it's simpler to just get a used one and clean it up. They're not really supposed to come apart.

You seem conflicted. Your first statement fits with this forum, classiczcars, your second is more along the lines of the hybridz.org thinking. MY EFI 280Z barely fits on this forum...

If you have original AC, then some of the control is vacuum. I have a 76 with original AC also, and have had the same problem. The vacuum lines to and from the white bottle in the engine bay and the two "magnet valves" (solenoids) have to be intact and the valves themselves have to work. I've had the lines split and also had the round black flow control gismo that the hoses run through (on the magnet valve bracket) clog. There are diagrams in the AC chapter of the FSM. But, I believe, defrost is controlled by both vacuum and mechanical (to close the doors to the foot area in the cabin). I have also lost Defrost because a piece of carpet got stuck in those doors by the feet. The AC/heat control system is almost as complicated as the EFI system.

Had the car been sitting for a longtime before you got it? What you really need to do is download the Factory Service Manual,if you don't have one, and start testing components as shown in the Engine Fuel chapter. Save yourself time in the long run and just go through the tests. There are many causes of running rich and each one can add a little bit of richness. You will most likely not find a single solution to the rich mixture problem. And, regarding a new engine, you'll still have the same problems with a new engine, unless you get all of the EFI parts with it, and they are all in great condition. You're on the typical path of a new owner of an old 280Z. www.xenons30.com/reference p.s. You're way ahead of many people with new Z's since yours actually runs and drives.

Should work. You'll need to extend the wires from the magnetic pickup coil in the distributor to reach the G and W terminals on the module, and figure out which one is positive and which negative. And cover the hole on the side of the distributor, where the E12 module used to be.

After the fuel filter, before the fuel rail, is the right spot. Pull the small wire from the starter, and turn the key to Start to run the fuel pump, after you've charged the battery.

Changing rings to fix a smoking engine is a typical American engine fix from days of old, on the small block chevys or straight sixes or basically any domestic engine from the 50s, 60s and 70s. That's probably why your dad says "needs rings", because that was a common fix-all for old smoking engines. The L engines though rarely waste the rings and/or cylinders. They last for hundreds of thousands of miles. As Leon suggests, measure cylinder pressure and/or do a leak-down test. You might be jumping to expensive conclusions.

I've read of people using Redi-sleeve on the crankshaft rear seal area. I'll bet that you get opinions on both sides though, Redi-sleeve it or just replace the damper/pulley unit. Should be easy to sleeve though since it's off the engine. Good luck, I've not fixed that problem. You probably have it already but here's a link to the Redi-sleeve page - http://www.timken.com/en-us/products/seals/industrial/products/Pages/redisleeves.aspx

Your words are kind of confusing. Don't you have to remove the damper to replace the seal? The pulley is attached to the damper. Where would the grooves be that you're describing? Can't help on the oil slinger, although it's probably described in Engine Mechancial n the FSM.

Could be a vacuum leak. Is the oil fill cap on? Check all of the vacuum hoses on the intake manifold for splits or breaks. Any vacuum leak on an EFI engine will cause problems. No engine needs back pressure on the exhaust system. Urban legend.

Here's another option, but it's in Michigan - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/109125-79-280zx-drivetrain-part-out-n47-head/page__pid__1021043#entry1021043

Based on data supplied I would say it needs a tuneup. Plugs, distributor cap, rotor, and confirm timing. If problem persists, take further action. Seriously, there are many things that could be causing your problem. Ran good, now has 10" of vacuum and a miss could be running rich, running lean, timing is off, valve lash needs adjustment, vacuum leak, fuel pressure low, fuel pressure high, bad plug wires, bad spark plugs, timing is off, etc. With EFI, in the long run, you're almost always best off to go to the Engine Fuel section of the FSM and start testing and confirming that things are right, if you know that you have good basics, like tuneup parts. Fuel pressure is probably the most critical spec. and is the foundation for supplying the proper amount of fuel to the engine. Fuel pressure needs to be right, and no vacuum leaks. All air must pass through the AFM.

How long have you had it and what is it's history? Vacuum leaks are the first thing that comes to mind. It's not uncommon for the various hoses that run throughout the engine bay and even in to the cabin to be the original 36 year old hoses. The miss could be due to a leak leaning out the mixture.

Look for marks where the backing plate rides close to the drum. It's pretty easy to ding the bottom of the plate up to where it contacts the drum, or, as you suggested, there could be a piece of gravel stuck in there somewhere. You'll see light colored rub marks on the backing plate of the edge of the drum. If so, a pair of pliers or a small hammer will easily fix it.

Actually, the reason for the T is that both the vacuum advance and the valve on the carbon canister are operated by "ported" vacuum. So the line that runs to the TB is to the same ported vacuum source for both. It opens the valve in the carbon canister and applies vacuum to the distributor's advance module as soon as the throttle is opened. The carbon canister has a pretty big vacuum hose of its own that they must want to stay closed at idle, hence the small ported line to operate the valve.

Looks like you might have found one, although it's not really clear what Diseazd is referring to. For the record, most people who seem to be in the know say that there's no problem running a round-port head in to square-port headers. The complete opening of the round-port head fits inside the square port,so there's no flow disruption. The problem seems to be when running square-port heads in to round-port exhaust. The round port covers the corners of the square port, hindering flow.

An N47 head will work also, and will definitely have the newer valve seats. Although, I would guess that Datsun Spirit will install new seats when they rebuild it, so that may not matter. The range, in years, for cars that have that type of head is 1975 280Z to 1979 280ZX. Either N42 or N47. Might help your search. Also, if you know how much you're willing to pay, it might break a spare head free. I have a spare N42 head sitting in the garage but I'm not really in to the parts selling game. I'm still a collector, but might consider something if it was interesting and easy (shipping and all that). Good luck.