Zed Head

There should be more numbers stamped on to the ring gear, I believe. Like 39/11 or 39/10. You could also count the teeth on the ring gear and the pinion gear and divide the big by the little to get the ratio. The 77 should be a 3.54.

Those all sound like the right things to do. I used Redline MT-90 myself to solve a grinding issue at high RPM from 2nd to 3rd. It also helped the cold notchiness. I don't know much about Royal Purple in Z transmissions. I've read a few good accounts about the Redline MT-90 though, and it definitely helped my transmission, a 1978 5 speed that I transplanted in to my 76 car.

You heard air before? This is with the engine running, when you press the brake pedal? You might have a bad brake booster.

There is some weirdness here. Shouldn't #6 be on the exhaust stroke, but in the same relative position as #1, when #1 is on the compression (spark) stroke? That wouldn't be 7 1/2 degrees off from where he is now. Seems like someone might have the plug wires in the wrong holes. That might be why he has limited adjustment at the distributor. You'll probably find that with the timing light on #1 you can't find the timing mark. The other possibility is that you've been looking at the wrong mark on the damper pulley. Might be best to start from scratch, put the pulley mark at 0 on the pulley, confirm that #1 is on the compression stroke, take the cap off of the distributor, find where the rotor is pointing to establish #1, and get all of the plug wires in the right holes. Then set timing off of #1 plug wire. p.s. Or, since it is running well, referring back to one of my original comments about making things wrong work right, just drive it and see where things are at before getting back in to it. Someone probably installed the oil pump a tooth off in the past and "made it work".

The N42 head on the F54 block with the dished pistons will give you an L28 like the 1975 to early 1979 engines. ~8.3 compression ratio. OR, some people will pay good money for the F54 turbo block. Someone, either here or on Hybridz, was looking for one recently. You might consider selling it and pickup a used L28 engine. Rebuilds are kind of expensive, compared to the extra miles you can get out of a used L28. You'll still need carbs or EFI to get it running.

7 degrees is probably from the 1976 specs (my car and FSM). It's more likely that your pulley is fine and your timing is really at 7 degrees. Your distributor might be a little off. There are many common ways to install them incorrectly but also many ways to make it work, with no damage. 12 degrees will probably be just fine until you start tuning for performance. As you've found, 7 degrees runs well, as it should. You're just not getting the absolute most performance out of your engine. You could bump it to the 1977 spec. of 10 right away or even 12 if you're running premium, with no problems likely. It would probably be a little peppier and maybe get a little better mileage.

He's planning for a turbo - L28t - so needs a turbo EFI harness. The L28ETs have their own harness, ECU, distributor, exhaust system, intake, etc. Most people buy a broken down turbo ZX and transplant everything they need over as esmit208 suggested. The alternative is to piece together the mechanical parts and use an aftermarket engine management system like Megasquirt. Here's a good link for options - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/forum/92-turbosupercharger/ The third one down is good for the transplant method. Look around the other sub-forums there for alternate EMS.

This car will probably require substantial work before it's a daily driver. The FSM, Haynes and Chilton manuals will be of limited use because the engine is customized, the brakes are not stock, and it has coilovers. Since it's not running and has been sitting, you'll be spending a lot of time and more money (possibly a lot more money) rebuilding or replacing things like the hydraulics and carburetors. That's not even considering any body damage that might need repairing. I would look at this more as a project that might sit in your garage or shop for quite a while, than something that you'll be driving. Any car can be a daily driver if you know how to work on it every day to keep it moving. I see lots of extra time and money necessary to get this one back to street-worthy. Forget about the winking, just find a level-headed friend who knows cars and take them to see this one. A flashy looking red sports car and an automotive newby are a recipe for an expensive mistake.

Sounds lean. Have you measured the fuel pressure yet?

It's probably running rich. Without the AFM, the ECU only adds idle enrichment fuel. When the AFM is attached the extra fuel from the flap movement probably makes it extra rich. Your shop should check the coolant temperature sensor for function and make sure that they didn't accidentally connect the sensor plug to the thermotime switch by accident or leave it disconnected. Two plugs on the thermostat housing that look the same but have different functions.

That is some different kind of logic there. Which hose did you remove? What do you mean by "no longer run well"? Did it run well before you replaced the intake gasket?

There's plenty of thread left for the double-nuts. You can't beat that method if it's possible, you'll get enough grip to break the rest of the bolt right off. Try all of the methods, none of them should make the broken piece more stuck. Put the nuts on before you tap on the top of the it though, before you damage the threads. Heat and cool the area around the stud several times while soaking it with PB Blaster. Try to twist it out but don't over-do it. You might find that it comes out pretty easy, the top probably broke off because the bolt was stuck in the thermostat housing, not the head.

One for sale on hybridz.org - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/104039-r200-diff-sale-336-390-lsd-378/page__pid__972945#entry972945 Shipping could cost you though. The R180 should work fine if you don't beat on it. Datsun used it on a lot of models even though the R200 was available. Who knows maybe it's inherently quieter.

It's odd that a factory turbo car would have an R180. I don't believe that that is the standard diff. It's fairly easy to swap between the two, from my understanding. Something needs to be turned upside down and you might need a new rear diff mount, from what I've read. But the necessary bolt holes are on the car already. Might be easier overall to get an R200 from a wrecking yard though.

I think he might be talking about the large rubber piece that fills in between the bumper ends and the body. They are all saggy, cracked and chipped up after years of sun, heat and abuse. I've been pondering mine recently also. I haven't seen a reproduction piece anywhere either. I'll probably take them off and see if some later model trim from another car can be customized to look good, but with the plastic bumper fascias everywhere it will probably be difficult. One option might be to remove them, then push the 5 mph bumper shocks in to tighten up the gap. You could probably retrofit on the 77 or 78 pieces also, but then you'd have the accordion piece look on the wrong year car. It's a dilemma.

The 20 minutes at 2000 RPM seems to be the standard procedure for breaking a in a new cam shaft. As far as breaking in the rest of the engine, I believe that the focus is on getting the rings to set to the cylinder walls properly and that will be more dependent on the type of rings and the cylinder wall finish, which should be specific to the type of ring used. I would look for the ring manufacturer's recommendations. There are a ton of custom "this is what I do" break-in procedures out there, like your friends lugging procedure. Many of them are based on odd, incomplete ideas about how an engine works, and what happens during break-in. You might have answered this in a previous post (I can't remember for sure), but why are using the E-88 head on your L28? Did you modify it with the the bigger valves? An N42 or N47 will give you the same CR but with bigger valves, for more power. Just wondering. Good luck.

Have you checked both sides? Maybe the side you're looking at is broken. They seal at the bottom, so the top could be broken off and it would still hold pressure. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/Brake/RearBrake/ToJul76/tabid/1735/Default.aspx

The heads are also drilled for carburetors as an alternative. Place the intake/exhaust gasket on the face of the head and you'll see where the studs go. The carb holes will be blocked. There are good drawings in the FSM also - http://www.xenons30.com/reference.html

WZ, I edited your original post for brevity. I have a couple of questions and some comments, if you don't mind. What brand of pump are you using? I'm no expert on brands, just wondering for the record. If you look back at my post, I mentioned that I tried two different 1978 FPRs. One leaked down to about 15 psi right away, the other held pressure at >30 psi, consistently. So there's no guarantee that a used factory FPR will hold pressure. Also, who knows about Beck Arnley quality? They're mid-level quality, I believe. I mentioned a check valve that I was using. I had my check valve on the return line, because it was the FPR that was leaking down. Sounds like you had yours placed on the assumption that the fuel pump was leaking down, stopping fuel from flowing backward. Mine was spring-loaded and designed to hold one psi ( I was just trying to keep the line full). I'm not familiar with yours, if it's an inertia or gravity type valve, it might not work on the return side. As far as results for me, after going back to the 1978 FPR that actually holds pressure, I've only had one very small hot start symptom after a long drive and short visit to a supermarket, a typical scenario for the problem in the recent past. It only stumbled for about 3 seconds, as opposed to a few times before going to the stock FPR, where it felt like 30-40 seconds of waiting (praying) for it to stop. I've also made several trips where it normally would have exhibited some hot start symptoms but got nothing. And the FPR I'm using holds pressure overnight. The engine actually started on one revolution this morning, No more fuel pump priming, which is great, because the novelty had worn off completely.

This web site is getting addictive - http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsunS30/DatsunZIndex/Brake/FrontBrake/tabid/1733/Default.aspx - it's worth a few million words at least. Someone on this forum pointed it out, I can't remember who, but thanks for that.

Some say that certain brake pads squeal more than others, without the shims. But the shims are pretty much guaranteed to remove the noise. I had the same problem, the low speed, embarrassing "just as you stop at the light surrounded by all of the other cars" squeal. I tried all of the fix-it goos, high temperature grease on the back of the pads, shaping the front edges of the pads, etc. Nothing worked except the shims. I got my shims from a parts car that I had picked up in the meantime. You might find a set in the wrecking yards, if you're in a hurry or want to save a few dollars. They sit right behind the pads. $20 to MSA to remove the aggravation is worth it though.

In Post #29, n your first picture, that white thing with all of the wires attached is your ballast resistor. The blue wire is attached at the post on the far right. I think that you've already tested it though, but it wouldn't hurt to check again. In the second picture, off of the positive post of the battery there is a second small wire with a green wire spliced in. That green wire is where the green fusible link would be, but it looks like someone may have replaced it with plain old wire. The connections get rotten so someone may have "fixed" it in the past. You should put a fuse or link back in that spot to save your EFI components. It would still be worth your time to pull an injector connector and measure voltage, or use your noid light to connect one side to ground. If you have voltage, the noid light will light. No power at the plug, no injector opening. The early ZXes have a similar relay that will work also. The only difference is an extra, separate ground terminal, the plug and the internals are the same. The Z relays like yours ground through the case.

Pull an injector plug and check for 12 volts there. Both sides will have 12 volts. Current flows when the ECU lets it, causing the injector solenoid to move.

The ECU opens the injectors after it sees three sparks, from the coil (the ECU has to see the "fire" to know when to give the "fuel"). You can have spark, but no gas from the injectors, if the ECU does not get the signal from the coil, to open the injectors. The cold start valve will supply enough gas to start the engine but stops supplying gas when the key is not at the Start position. The details of how the EFI system works are explained in full in the Engine Fuel section of the FSM. Edit - forgot one important thing: the ECU opens the injectors by grounding the circuit. If you don't have 12 volts at the injector plug with the key at Run or On, the injectors will never open. That's why I asked if you have 12 volts at the injector plug with the key On.

I've never had to use the ignition lead wire for anything so can't really say. But you can check for power at other places, like at the coil, to see if things are working right. I saw in your first post that Pin 10 is getting power. That should mean that one of the the green fusible links is intact, at least. I think that the other supplies the dropping resistors and injectors. Have you checked for power at the injector plugs with the key On? The ECU won't fire the injectors if the circuit to the tachometer, with its inline resistor, is not in place. I've had the resistor fall out and my engine wouldn't run until I put it back in. It looks like a small (about 1/2" wide by 1 1/2 " long) black piece of plastic with a male and female plug on the same end. It should be taped up in the harness by the relays and fuse box. Or you might just have a bad connection at the tachometer. I have also confirmed that the engine won't start if the tachometer is removed. I'm not clear on why, maybe it's a pull-down line for the ECU circuit (I barely know what that means). Are you using the stock ignition module? It uses the same blue wire from the coil (-). The wire branches out after leaving the coil. Edit - just saw your last post. You could be getting sputter from the cold start valve. Injectors could still be dead. Pretty easy to make the injectors fire, with a jumper from the coil (-). It will tell you a lot.