Zed Head

They definitely look rich. I've mentioned this before, but on my 1976 engine my FPR showed good pressure when cold but when the engine got hot it caused high fuel pressure. Have you checked fuel pressure when the engine is nice and hot and have you confirmed that the FPR reacts to intake vacuum? You should get ~36 psi with the FPR vacuum hose disconnected and ~28 - 30 psi at idle with ti connected. The low pressure at idle will also be there at cruise, lowering gas usage. The best way to check your sensors is at the ECU plug, using the numbers from the FSM Engine Fuel section.

It might not be your specific problem but those are some of the signs of an ignition module going bad. Especially the last symptom. What year is your car and is it stock or modified? Does it happen more after high RPM activity?

From this forum, but I don't think he's doing any more - http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?36463-R-T-diff-mount-Group-Buy&highlight=zsondabrain+mount And from the Hybridz site - http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/topic/61675-rt-mount-ordering-info/page__pid__940145__st__140#entry940145

Sounds like you might have got an internally regulated alternator by mistake. I just read an account from the past, and a recent one on this forum, about "run-on" when an internally regulated alternator is connected to an external regulator. E just stands for Earth. earth = ground

Oops. Didn't put enough effort in to my reading.

Brake booster and hose. FastWoman's test will tell you though, whether or not you have a problem. Might save you some time or give you some direction.

I have found that the wedge shape of a cold chisel, placed between the carrier and the back of the stub axle will work to pop it out. Slide it between the two with some oil or WD40 and pop it with a hammer. It will lever right out.

You were probably trying to start a new thread in the FAQ section. It's locked so that people don't clutter it up with off-topic questions. If you tried in the regular forum section and signed in, it shouldn't be a problem. I would not start your query by telling everyone how F'ed up the site is though. Have you tried calling MSA and asking if they'll sell you the parts you want without the "crap"? You probably know already from your extensive research that many people believe that the 280Z drum brakes are more than sufficient for everything but racing, if they are in proper working condition. Edit - Was just at the Hybridz site. Saw your post. You're in the FAQ section.

The video looks like the engine is running on fewer than 6 cylinders. If it was ignition and your injectors were firing, your plugs should show rich. But if you're sure that you're running lean, then it might be injector related, or it might be a lean misifre. The test light on an injector plug is a good idea. The engine will run on less than 6 cylinders so you might be able to see an intermittent loss of grounding. FastWoman has mentioned the Christmas tree bulb across the connector pins in previous posts (maybe this topic also). I would get the engine running, pull the injector plugs one at a time, stick the light across the pins and see what you can learn. You might find that it's isolated to just a few cylinders. You might be able to see a variation in the flashing light. At 600 RPM, one injector should flash at 600 RPM. Might be hard to see. That's many mights but intermittent electrical problems are hard to find. The light test might not show everything though. If your injector plugs are corroded or loose you might not be getting good current through to open the injectors, even though the test light shows current. So make sure that you have good connection to the injectors. The test light or Christmas light might not show a bad connection at the injector. Last thought - I just saw a post on another forum with a picture of the PCV hose. It was cracked. The PCV hose is difficult to see because it's buried under the manifold but if it has a hole it will create a vacuum leak. The intake/crankcase leak down test will help find that if it's the case. Sorry FastWoman, I went generic on your test name. I haven't had yogurt in quite a while.

It might be that your injectors aren't firing on every revolution like they're supposed to. That could be an ECU problem. Make sure that injectors have a 12.6 volts at the connector pins with the key On. Ideally, you would also measure voltage when running to verify current flow but that would take some ingenuity. It should drop to ~9 volts due to the dropping resistors and the injector load when running from what I've read. Edit - I just looked back at your post and see that you've already been in the ECU. For what it's worth I had a bad ECU but could find no visible signs that it was bad. I'm pretty sure that the FSM says if you've checked everything and still have a problem, it must be the ECU. Not a very satisfying way to solve a problem though. I've seen several stories about people kicking or bumping their ECUs to fix a problem. Usually they were fixing a rich condition though. Edit 2 - Did you find water in the area of the ECU after the car wash? Has it been getting the occasional watering over the years? You might check the ground circuit to the ECU also. The ECU has to have a good ground to fire the injectors. You might have rusty ground points.

Thought this might be interesting to some as far as gauging the 240Z's current popularity. I had thought about going to this auction to see if I could "steal" a 240Z for under $1,000. The car and auction were on Craigslist for about 5 days before it sold. It was correctly identified as a 240Z, not an SX, on CL. The link should last, they have all of their old auctions up. https://speedstowingauction.auctionserver.net/view-auctions/catalog/id/28/lot/5806/

I installed my plug wires in backward rotation once (clockwise instead of counter) and the engine started and ran, very poorly. Confusing and it took me a short while to figure it out.

Your symptoms pop up occasionally and there are varying opinions on how to confirm the solution before replacing parts. It's a dilemma. In my own personal case, my engine had the same sort of symptoms as yours and I too tested everything and ended up replacing the AFM, which showed as out-of-spec. The rebuilt AFM was the solution for me, but not quite so for others, see here (http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?40392-76-280Z-Question-on-dist-manifold-vacuum-dist-timing-fuel-pressure-brake-booster&highlight=jennys280z) Cozye and FW have had success with modifying the water temperature circuit, but their problems were minor compared to what I think you're describing. When my AFM was bad, the car was barely drivable, and very embarrassing to be in on the road. The AFMs for 1975 - 1978 are essentially the same except for the fuel pump cutoff switch, which 1978 does not use. If you could borrow one, you might be able to get a cheap diagnosis, beyond measuring resistance on the AFM circuits.

How much have you actually driven the car since Post #1? How much driving after all of the changes, but before the ZX fuel rail? I read through the thread and it looks like all of the work has been in the garage. It may be that you've been focusing on the wrong thing, or that you had two problems and now you just have one.

Have you checked the condenser/capacitor for proper function? Maybe it is wearing out, has turned in to a resistor and is hindering your coil charging. As I understand things they usually die completely but if the dielectric material started to break down it might leak current slowly. Many multimeters have a capacitance measurement function, but at the least the condenser should show infinite resistance. FWIW, I have a condenser on my negative post but only for noise reduction to the tachomoter. I installed a Z31 coil and my tachometer stopped reading correctly, until I added the capacitor. I put it on the negative side because that's the side the tachometer sees. But that's another story, my point is that I have a condenser on my coil (-) post and everything works fine. This is a 280Z with the stock ECU , GM HEI module and a Z31 coil.

The old u-joint bearing cup should not have fallen out when the retaining clip was removed. It should be a very tight press fit and should have been difficult to remove. Your driveshaft yoke may have been messed with or is just worn out. A salvage yard replacement driveshaft might be in order.

This is one of those frustrating reports where you don't know if the added performance equipment is very good, or the replaced equipment was very bad. No offense oz, I've enjoyed reading your comments over the time I've been around this forum. But is there any way to compare the Cedric's 2.8 L engine exhaust components to a 1978 280Z's, for example, for the Z crowd? Without knowing what you started with, there's no way to measure the benefits for the rest of us. Do you still have them, and could take a look and a measurement or two? Since 1978, who knows what previous owners have done to the exhaust system. My exhaust pipe was smashed to half-diameter from a misplaced floor jack. Your report goes against the bulk of what I've read, so it's some interesting stuff, considering the ease of getting it done. edit - To be clear - 23% from an exhaust system modification is an enormous gain! That's why I'd really like to know more. I have never heard that the stock Z exhaust was that bad.

I mis-wrote in my previous post. A 280Z distributor would give the VR, that would work with the GM HEI module, and more stock appearance without the big box of the ZX on the side. My 280Z has an inline capacitor that runs back to ground at the distributor. I don't know where the other end goes. Otherwise the coil does not have one attached to either post, and nothing is shown in the wiring diagram for the ignition circuit. I think that for EMF noise reduction the capacitor just needs to be attached to the line that's being protected from the noise. But I don't think that the electronic ignition coil uses one because the "dwell" and coil charging is controlled by the ignition module. And I just took a quick look at the ignition circuit in the Engine Electrical section for 1972 (because I need to know now) and it shows the condenser connected to coil (-) along with the points.

Clutch problems definitely. Have you popped the rubber cap off of the slave cylinder to see if it's leaking? It will hold quite a bit of fluid. It sounds like it or your master cylinder might be going bad. The clutch line will almost bleed itself through gravity when the bleeder on the slave cylinder is opened.

I have seen where people have attached the HEI module to the bottom of the distributor. Maybe this is an option for retaining the stock appearance, but getting the advantages of electronic ignition. It would require a ZX distributor with a VR, but might be worth the effort. The more I read of the HEI module's design and function, the more impressed I am. They really packed a lot of function and durability in to a small, simple package.

Thanks, I re-read the post and extracted the same. I don't mean to wee in the punch bowl but, having some background in the scientific method, I have to wonder if it is the headers or the bigger exhaust. All that I have read implies that the stock cast steel exhaust manifold of the 280Z L28 flows very well. Still, the results support that the stock exhaust system of this unknown Datsun is restrictive. What kind and year of Datsun is it?

The bleed valves should be at the top. If not, swap them, you'll never get the air out otherwise, no matter how many times you try. I would do this first, if they are on the bottom, and then bleed just the fronts. You might already have all of the air bled out except for the two air pockets in the calipers.

Are the bleed valves at the top of the calipers? It is possible (and easy) to install the calipers on the wrong sides of the car. This puts the bleed valve at the bottom, leaving a big air bubble that can not be removed by normal bleeding procedures. I've also seen similar symptoms from people who had the reaction disc in the brake booster fall out, but I don't know much about that problem.

I read both of your posts and can't figure out the conditions for the three pulls. You mentioned a single carb, a four-barrel, a ZXT distributor and headers but didn't really identify the combinations used. Could you describe the setup for each pull?

What car? Have you checked the FSM, the ignition system wiring is well-illustrated and described.