Zed Head

Seems like there's been some effort put in to building a nice turbo long-block. You could probably sell it for good money and pick up a complete NA F54/P79 engine, refresh it and come out money ahead. The NA engine will already have the flat-top pistons and the correct cam for NA. Or you could swap the head for an N42 or N47, keep the pistons and new rings, get the CR you want with the smaller N42/N47 combustion chamber, probably along with the right cam, and sell the rebuilt turbo head or keep it as an option for later use.

I linked to this thread in another one but didn't reply. bgm is right, that if you have the 81 distributor with the "matchbox", the matchbox is the what produces the spark. They're very expensive to replace. Why did you swap the ZX distributor for the stock 76 electronic setup? There are actually three main things that "produce" the spark - the pickup coil and iron rotor in the distributor, the ignition module, and the coil. They can all go bad, but the module is the most sensitive. You could wire in a GM HEI module. It's popular because it's cheap and does the same thing the original ignition module does. It takes some wiring modification though.

78 still has the ignition module in the cabin. E12-80s came in 79. But, of course, the symptoms still fit a bad module. A GM HEI module could be wired in if it keeps happening. Edit - another "of course", as soon as I point out that 78 doesn't have an E12-80, someone else shows that it might have a transplanted one. Funny... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/thread47563.html I had a similar thing happen on my 76 though when I was testing out a spare ECU. Plugged it in, took off for a test, and about a mile away it coughed once, then died completely. It restarted, let me turn around and get about half-way back then died again. One more restart got me within jogging distance of the good ECU in the garage. The engine smelled of gas while I was trying to restart it the last time.

You can't see anything unless you have a Facebook account and log-in. This excludes people who haven't bought in to the modern "always connected to the rest of the world" mentality. You should open the page up to anyone who is interested.

Looks in good shape. Don't know if the seller is a member here or not. http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/3335428641.html

I've worked a little bit with Teflon and learned a few things. "Teflon" is actually a Dupont trademark for a wide variety of PTFE-based materials. So "Teflon" can have a wide range of properties. But, in general, PTFE doesn't actually melt, it is just formable at a certain high temperature. The PTFE plumbing tape you're talking about is probably fine on the fuel rail at engine temperatures. I've used it there and had no problems and it was intact when I took the piece off later. The biggest problem that people report with using PTFE tape on fuel fittings is the little threads and pieces that tend to break off as it's used. They get in to the fuel system, don't dissolve or break down, and can clog things up, or jam things open. But if you're careful it shouldn't be a problem.

Yeah, sorry about that. I actually had an e-mail exchange with one of the technical guys down there to confirm that it was normal and followed up by suggesting that they add some text to the web page or the instructions about it, to save people time trying to diagnose a "problem" that's actually caused by their product. He said they had some stuff in the works but it never happened. That was about a year and a half ago. I assume the marketing department (or marketing person, who knows how big they are) realized that they were better off to leave it unsaid. Caveat emptor...

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.