cozye

doesn't look that bad to me. I'd grind off the rust or wire wheel, and if its not all the way through the metal treat with POR15 or some other rust treatment. Then undercoat over the top of it. If you do have some holes, then just patch them with metal and paint. You aren't going to find a 33 year old car without some rust on it. For the plate, I can't tell from the pic, but it looks like someone may have replaced the floor board. If so, just make sure they did a decent job, and its sealed or welded all the way around and all surfaces treated/painted.

and if your plugs have already been removed, i wouldn't worry about removing them hot. They won't be seized and will come out easily. I've done this dozens of times. Technically you don't even need to remove the plugs but it will make cranking the motor over easier. FWIW I don't remove them, but I'm a strong guy and can crank the motor over by hand with a ratchet.

you can check them cold if you want to get a feel for it, but I wouldn't adjust them cold. The cold adjustment spec is very rough and only meant for getting them close on a new build or valve train replacement scenario. If you adjust them cold and they are already close, you will just have to adjust it hot again.

have you gone through the FI troubleshooting procedure in the FSM ? Could be water temp sensor making it run rich. Could be a lot of things. Did you ever get a fuel pressure gauge on it ?

http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/1803105 1. Disconnect the coil high tension wire. Remove connector to fuel control relay to disable fuel pump so you aren't filling your cylinders full of fuel. 2. I use the cam nut to crank motor. i've also used the crank nut with fan removed. Fastest way to do it is just use a 1/2 drive wrench on the cam nut. Go clockwise only so you don't loosen the nut. 3. can't remember, 27mm maybe. Use 1/2 drive socket on cam and don't sweat the crank pulley. 4. Passenger 5. Tighten as hard as you can. If you want to use a torque wrench, just get some 3/8 drive crows feet. The lock nuts tighten hard and quick, so if you just muscle it, it should be good. Keep both wrenches on while tightening, because if you don't the adjustment nut will move a little and change your lash .001 6. Use link provide at top. Also, the valves line up with the intake ports and exhaust ports on the side of the head too. I just made an E-I-I-E quick reference like you mentioned and crossed them off as I checked them. 7. Just get he motor really hot before you start, and take the valve cover off quickly. Get everything organized first so you aren't wasting time figuring it out while the motor is cooling. If you can get it done in 30 minutes, you are fine. Don't worry about doing a cold adjustment first. 8. cant remember. It's easy to move once you loosen the lock nut. It will be obvious. 9. 17mm is the lock nut 10. lock nut is on bottom 11. orange adjust, green lock, red nothing. 12. Use the fit/no fit method. feeler gauges should feel like pulling a stick of gum out of the pack. No need to worry about feel though. If you are aiming for .012, then adjust it to where .012 fits, and .013 wont. If .012 will slide in like a stick of gum, but .013 wont' slide in without significant force. You are good. The job is relatively easy. Once you do it 3 times you will fly through it without a second thought. There is no harm in being a little off the first time, then rechecking it 500 miles later to perfect your technique and for piece of mind. My first time I adjusted a little, then checked it again with motor much warmer later on and adjusted a little more. It's no big.

Yeah, it helps. I'm familiar with welding sheet metal, and I'm not really worried about the other patches. I just didn't know how much extra fabrication it would take on those fenders. I'll be able to cut below the hard corner but I'll have to replace everything down from there similar to what you did. I just hadn't seen a good pic of that particular repair panel off the car, but I found one. I should be able to handle it. My biggest concern was how the fender bolted on. Thanks for the help.

Just thinking here, are you guys saying that the panels have enough extra metal on them for me to finish it out with a little bending and trimming ? I've got a 3 ft metal brake too, so I can bend some straight stuff as well. Just trying to figure out what I'm getting into here. I think if they are close and I just need to weld them in place, drill and cut out a bolt tab, and do a bit of dolly work to smooth out the curves, I'll be ok.

Thanks for the info. I'll need to get my confidence up to attempt this I reckon. I can weld, and I can make bodywork look straight, but hammering out sheet metal beyond straightening parts isn't an area I have had experience in.

Anyone use those fender patch panels from Black Dragon on a 280z? Are they complete ? What I mean is do they come all the way down and have the lip, plus the mounting hole for the bolt that goes up into the chassis? Both my fenders have the usual hidden rot, and I'll need to either replace the fender or cut just above or below the bend and replace the bottom. I'm thinking about giving these a shot.

very nice

AC vacuum connnection is a small fitting right by the EGR valve on the intake. It's the smallest diameter fitting. I would run the NGK/Nissan OEM plugs. MSA has them cheap. The fuel enrichment test seems to confirm you are running lean, but probably not by much if your car was running bad at mid to upper rpm's. I can tell you that when I jumpered my TPS, it was running too rich at upper rpm and had a loss of pickup, but it was still very smooth. I'm wondering if you have multiple issues going on here. Sounds like you have a miss or something that needs to be addressed before you mess around with fuel. On the brake line fittings, a good flare nut wrench and a soaking of PB blaster should take care of it. Take your time and don't stress about it. It will be fine. As far as replacing the distributor, put the motor at TDC and the rotor should be pointing to #1. That way you will be able to orient it correctly when putting back in. To test mechanical advance, disconnect vacuum advance, rev motor up to 3-4000 rpm with timing light. You should see the timing mark advance. If not, your mechanical advance isn't working. Advancing timing to 12-13 is probably a good idea, but it's not going to solve your problems. Don't add the resistor to water temp sensor yet. Have you not adjusted your valves? Do that hot, and pronto!! timing chain stretch,, how many miles on car? I put my cam gear on #2 as my chain was stretched a little, but still within spec. It didn't help my situation. I would suspect that unless you have 200k miles, it's not it. Did you thoroughly test AFM per FSM? Did you do the voltage output test by applying 12v power and measuring voltage output as the flap is moved? hissing sound from thottle body is likely air flowing through the idle speed screw bypass. When you get your car running better, your idle screw will be turned down more and that will quieten up a bit. valve cover gasket is reusable if its a newer one. I clean the oil off of it carefully, and clean the oil off the mating serfaces and reuse. The one I got from MSA has a rubbery feel to it and is holding up good after taking mine off a dozen times. dipstick seal leak is a vacuum leak. make sure the oring is there. stuck vavle? have you done a compression test? This would show up. fuel injectors leaking, do you hold fuel pressure on the rail overnight? They could be clogged or dirty. If you are suspect, you can pull them off and send them for cleaning and flow testing. It's about $20 per injector. Not a bad idea but probably won't fix your issue. Have you done a balance test by pulling off each injector pig tail? When you richened up the car was it idling smooth then? The AFM connector is easy to get off. Unbolt the three bolts on the bottom of the AFM, loosen the boots, lift the AFM about 4 inches to gain access to the connector, then take a small screwdriver to pop the retainer clip off. Trust me, when you have done this 30 times you will be able to pull that AFM off in 2 minutes. I doubt your exhaust is clogged, but that test will show it. vacuum readings and idle behavoir cold, ignore this for now. It's just going to throw you off. Do all test and troubleshooting with car at operating temp. low cold idle is probably air bypass not opening all the way, but thats low priority. Fix other issues first. Just to confirm, have you put new plugs, wires, distributor cap, rotor, and checked your air gap on the pickup coil? Have you done the balance test by pulling a plug wire to each cylinder breifly while running ? dont shock yourself To give yourself peace of mind on vacuum leak sources, disconnect all external vacuum from manifold including brake booster, leave the FPR hooked up, and plug all the holes with a short piece of hose with a screw in it. Personally I think you may be trying to do too many tests at once and running in circles. Do one thing at a time, thoroughly, and double check, twice, then move on to the next. Rule it out and don't look back at it. Save the resistor in the water temp circuit for last. This may fix the car, but if it's not the problem then you will only be covering up the real issue. You have to rule everything else out positively.

Pretty sure that was regarding another "member" who spammed, and bumped your thread just to make himself seem legitimate. not directed at you at all I'm sure.

I'm still jealous.. one day.. sigh.

Doesn't the 2009 have the larger brakes ,etc,, since it's a Touring + Sport pkg? My understanding was that the Touring added the nicer interior, but if purchased with the sport package you got the best of both?

You haven't been on the right roads then. I go down to NC about 3 or 4 times a year on the bike. I can ride 500 miles in one day on nothing but super curvy roads, all double yellow. Some roads are 50+ miles long before you even hit a stop sign. More than enough to wear anyone out and never hit the same road twice. That doesn't even include Northern GA

Invoice on a 2010 370z touring with sport package is $35k, thats what you can buy a new left over 2010 for, maybe a bit less. Personally I prefer leather. And I'd HAVE to have that syncro shift!!! So that would make it a touring/sport package for me. I'm envious. My next daily driver will be a 370. I've still got some miles to wear out on my FJ first though.

Cool. Thanks for the additional info. I've got the same springs, but I think they lower the 280 more than the 240. I should have measured. I'm ok with the sway. Car is riding plenty stiff now with the tokico struts, eibach springs and urethane bushings. Having the taller sidewalls is ok with me. I'm not out tearing up the twisty roads with it. Really just hoping to stay with the stock tire size since I have a brand new set of michelins and the car rides good with them. Also it appears there are still plenty of brands in that size. Judging from Chris's pic, I think they will be ok.

Covered in snow? Sinner! Thanks for the input. It may work out. Your tires are the same width as mine, all thought the sidewall is 20mm shorter. FWIW, tire size calculator says your speedometer reads about 3mph faster than the stock tire, so you can do 82mph instead of 79.. Also, I have to be a bit careful. The car is about 1" lower now that I put the eibach springs on. Definitely don't want to be rubbing anywhere. I think I'll just end up getting the 14x7 wheels and try to reuse my 195/70 tires. If it doesn't work, I'll try something else

You don't like them ? clearance issues ? Does it have lowering springs on it ?

I'm still researching. I like the look of the smaller 14x7 wheel, it looks a bit more period correct to me and gives the illusion of a deaper wheel. Plus the tires are a bit taller. the profiles of tires back in the 70's weren't as short as they are today. Anyone else have any input? Chris, not sure if you saw my reply. Any chance of a photo from more of a low angle to show the width of the tire on the rim ?

maybe like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIjvqx7sxb0

Yeah, don't get too discouraged. I'm wondering if you didn't have a simple problem at first, like the ignition module or something. Then in the process of replacing stuff, maybe you got the distributor in backwards, I believe you said you had the coil wired wrong, so you might have created additional problems when attempting to fix the first problem. That would make it more difficult to troubleshoot and might mislead you because you think "i've already replaced that" etc.. Just get back to basics. check for good spark. Then go to timing. I'd check for TDC on #1, and make sure rotor is pointing to plug #1. Check firing order. Then check and set rough timing as suggested above. Don't foul out a new set of plugs just cranking on it forever. Do the basic tests, then go through and make sure the orientation of everything is correct. Bottom line is if you have spark, and you've got fuel, and the distributor orientation/firing order is correct, it will at least stumble and fire some. Might not idle, but it will turn over.

Yes, but I'm wondering how much starter fluid he sprayed in. Also I'm wondering about the firing order, distributor orientation, and timing, since the distributor was replaced. And you should definitely do the spark test again as Fastwoman suggested

And when you replaced the distributor, has it run since ?

I'm thinking he does have spark, and it did fire. He did get a backfire, which wouldn't have happened without a spark? how much starter fluid did you spray in there?