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Has anyone ever used a machine similar to this on their Z cars? My cousin told me about using a smoke machine to test for vacuum leaks in the car. I watched some videos and saw some different models on ebay/amazon of several different brands of these things. I want to find someone locally who has one. So then I could have them hook it up and show me some smoke blowing out of cracks and crevices it should not BE! They seem extremely useful to diagnose unmetered air escaping my system from wherever. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000P72HZY/ref=asc_df_B000P72HZY1409275?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=asn&creative=395093&creativeASIN=B000P72HZY Here is a youtube video about it. I think this is all real stuff. Not some made up marketing gimmic hokey video. With something like this, I would know 100% for sure where any major and minor vacuum leaks were happening on the car. Of course I am still so immature with my car, I dont even know where to attach something like this to the 1978 280z.

No, ACE didnt have it. It was a little mom and pop shop in my town. They pride themselves on carrying all kinds of crazy stuff. They even had Star Tron/Star brite which is an amazing fuel additive I have used in my z car. And the star brite site didnt even list them as a vendor. So I dont know how they got the stuff without being listed. Maybe its because they are too small??? But if you call your local Ace and tell them about Kroil, beg them to carry it. Maybe they will. We have had success with grocery stores to carry speciality foods we needed.

He is probably really glad I am doing more stuff on my own. Then I dont have to bother him much anymore. There are weeks that go by now, when I dont have to bug him about something. He is constantly on the phone dealing with everybodies crazy problems with their mercedes, BMW's, jags. He calls american cars foreign cars he heI have so many things on my todo list now. Things thanks to my research and people on this forums,have given me plenty of things to do, and check, and research.

Yeah I cant believe I caught a break on them. But I think the Kroil worked magic. It was cool watching it creep into all the cracks....of course I was a little worried it creeped into some places in the fuel injectors it shouldnt have. Hopefully that isnt the case. Although I dont know if it could even effect them or not. I mean, I suppose it could right? But no matter how careful I was with the Kroil, it had a mind of its own. And some of the screws on the injectors were impossible to stick the little plastic squirter tube onto directly. But at least they are all moving now. YEAHHHHHHHHH! This was a huge victory for me :-) and all the pain and money and time that was avoided by not breaking any of them. BIG SIGH OF RELIEF from this part of the adventure! Maybe I am being way too careful, but being a software engineering, literally, everything matters and how you do it matters too, and any little bit or byte or nibble out of place, THEN whammo big problems ensue. I have a tendancy to obsess over little details.

Well, all the other screws turned for me without any problems MAN WHAT A RELIEF THAT IS!!! First, I lightly rapped on the top of the screwdriver with the hammer after sticking the nice long hardened phillips #2 down on the screw. I used Kroil on all of the rest of the screws this morning. Let them soak for 14 hours at least, and just went out there a little while ago. And I was soooooo happy they all turned. That is so nice, now I can do the fuel injectors without worrying about causing me major problems with those screws SWEET! I will inspect the screws closely. If they look in bad shape I will replace. I just got to find out exactly what size/type to get as I mentioned earlier...I would prefer to just get or order the replacements for them, so I have them on hand when I get ready to do the job. If I dont use them, oh well I dont really care. There is nothing so frustrating to me as getting 99% of the way prepared to do the job only to find out you dont have the one thing you need to finish

Ok, well I got an innovate LM-1 with an external exhaust clamp. Since for now, I dont want to install it permanently because I want to use it on my other cars too. And see what kind of readings I get from them too. Does anyone else have any numbers they can throw at me, from their experiences, on a 1978 Z car using one of these meters. Im curious what a normal operating AFR should be at idle, accelarate, and high speed. And should other cars (like a chevy monte carlo or chevy blazer) operate with similar readings? I am just wondering if all cars should have readings that are close to each other, when idling, accelarate and top speed.

Thank you all, for your advice. I am soaking it all in!!!! I will be very careful when trying to turn the screws. I will soak all of them with the Kroil or PB buster. I have both products on hand. I have soaked two of the sets of screws with each product. And will see if one works better than the other. ALso, thanks for the URL. I am going to order those things (or see if I can find them locally first) just in case I really did ruin a head. Which I will not do, because I wont let myself get that far anyway. If its not coming loose after soaking and **tapping** it with a hammer as you mentioned above....then I will regroup. I am glad to hear my 1978 has an easier to deal with fuel rail. And I will use some anti-sieze goop on them (before putting back in), assuming I do in fact get them all out. And I will also look into getting a different style of screws as you mentioned above. I dont like the idea of putting them old ones back in. Not at all. SO I better get those ordered. I just need to know for sure I am getting the exact kind that I need. Can anyone tell me exatly what kind/type/brand/size I need to get to replace those old screws? One thing, would it be better if the engine was warm when trying to remove the screws. I have mixed feelings about that. Part of me says that if its warmer the metal will have expanded and make it tighter, but then maybe if its warmer, it will make things like the lubricant penetrate better and make it easier to remove???? EDIT: Well I went out there today to see if the Kroil worked!!!!!!!!!!!! And yes, I was able to turn all 6 screws on the first three fuel injectors 6 5 and 4. So that is really good news for me. I just avoided a lot of potential problems. Now I am pretty sure the other ones will turn out just fine. I will let the Kroil soak over night and try the other 6 screws tomorrow. Then I can work on fuel injectors without worrying about any of this crazy stuff happening.

I totally hear ya, about being slow, careful, and thoughtful. I am in no rush at all. I found all 3 penetrants locally, the 3 in 1 snake oil, the PB buster, and the Kroil(all at the same store on the same shelf - he he). So I put some of the Kroil on one set of screws and PB Buster on the next set of screws. Will leave it soak for a few days. I also bought a good quality, extra long, hardened phillips #2 screwdriver. We shall see if they will turn after soaking. I really hope they will. >>>because mistakes can cost you -- money, time, frustration, emotional drain Yeahhhh I hear you. I havent gotten myself into any trouble **YET**, but starting to mess with stuff like this....could get me into hot water fast. I will be careful. Want to avoid stress, and money out the window. And having the car towed back to my relatives shop. He will just smirk and say, I was expecting you. My relative who worked on the car, also replaced the exhaust monifold gasket. He said he was all messed up. I was glad he fixed that, because that could have been the source of some engine running problems. And after he did it, I really do think the engine sounded and felt stronger. So at least we know that part of the car has been taken off within about 1 year ago. I have seen shiny new headers that I want to have installed. But since I still dont have car running close to specs its pointless. But someday I would like to do that.

thanks for tips. will definately get the liquid wrench stuff or PB Blaster or Kroil. Whatever they have at Ace. And I will get the #2 phillips....I big honkin one too. That I can tork on. But carefully of course. And I will have to warm up the engine as you said, and then spray #6 on both screws. I will also spray #5....just to see if I can turn any of the four screws. If not...then I have a whole other problem to think about.

So can anyone tell me what kind of average gas mileage they get on their 1978 280z car? Because of the multiple issues my car is currently having, its only getting 11 to 12 mpg when the plugs are fouled up. Once I realize plugs were that bad (and am now acutely aware of that situation), I changed them. And then I got about 17 or 18 mpg on higher speed interstate driving. I am curious what the top 3 most common causes would be, for a 1978 z car to be sucking down gas like this? Is it just really thirsty If one of my mechanics friends hypothesis is correct, he is saying that fuel injector #6 basically isnt working. And therefor I am driving around on 5 cylinders. Which is not efficent and would cause the car to use more gas to push it around. And if the gas in # 6 cylinder isnt even burning, it might explain why I think I have a rich gas smell coming out of the tailpipe when the windows were down in the summer/fall....

Dumb question but here goes....is it possible to change out any of the fuel injectors without removing the fuel rail? Because I am convinced after talking to z mechanics and showing them my plugs, that the #6 fuel injector is definately not working correctly, and I may be running on only 5 cylinders because of it. That is what a very experience mechanic told me 30 seconds after driving the car. That I was only running on 5 not 6 cylinders. Then I showed him how fouled up spark plug #6 was.

Now I am really nervous, but you know what, whether I do it, or a real mechanic...whats the difference right. I am strong, I can turn a screwdriver as good as the next mechanic. I will use a big long screwdriver, and use some of that liquid magic you mentioned. And just try one at a time. If someone is gonna strip it anyway or break the darn thing off, I might as well be the lucky guy to do it. And BTW, what is involved in taking off the intake manifold? How long does something like that take? I am somewhat familar now, with the general amount of parts in that area of the car. Seems like it would take a while and I would end up really messing that job up. Sigh....all for just removing 12 dumb screws.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Whats the difference? I am sure I have seen them before, but dont know exactly what they look like. I mean I couldnt pick them out of a lineup right now. But I want to replace those old screws (assuming I have a millions years worth of good luck and even get them out in the first place that is)

Can you tell me specifically where to get those socket head screws and what side etc? I would like to do the same thing. After reading your answers so far, I have a bad feeling about trying to remove those screws!!!!!!!! And I dont know how to take off my intake manifold. That sounds like a HUGE project....which I am not counting on. ughghghghghghghg

I have 6 new injectors I want to install in my 1978 280z. And I also have some new quick disconnects for them too. But I planned on installing the quick disconnects later, as a second step. Can anyone give me any pointers, tips, tricks, traps to look out for when doing this job? I have read over the procedure in the FSM, and been studying the fuel injection system in the car. It seems fairly straightforward. I will take my time, am in no rush, I just dont want to mess anything up that costs me a LOT of money or heartaches. I am NOT a mechanic. Never done anything like this before. But I bought the car to also help me learn how to work on things like this and feel rewarded for doing it once and doing it right :-) In general, I am good with hardware electronics, computers, gadgets. And I have just completed the cleansing of all the main electrical connections and grounds in the car, and cleaning the fuse box and replacing all fuses, and I have completely disassembled and reassebled all the plastic pieces inside the car. So I could look for rust problems (didnt find much problems at all thankfully) and also install some new speakers and a custom speaker box in back that looks like it was made for the car. :-) I have also replaced the air flow meter, and a few other things on the car. Sooooooooo I have done a few things on it so far this winter. On another post on this forum I have described various problems with the car, and also a few Z mechanics have said it would not be a bad idea to change them. As long as I had the money. So I am hoping for some advice here before I dig into the job. I have the new injectors and new o-rings. PS I did try to turn one of the screws holding in the #6 fuel injector, and it did not budge. So right there I see a big problem. The screws holding in the fuel injectors seem kind of soft to me. As compared to other screws I have seen. Dont know if that is just because they are 33 years old and never changed or what. I suppose I need to squirt some anti lock/antifreez oil stuff (is it called lock tight?) on the screw heads and maybe a few other places along the way....there to help loosen them up? And leave it sit overnight I suppose or maybe longer. And even though I have a bunch of screw drivers, I need a longer version, so I can apply some good pressure to the screw with both hands on it.

Its *supposed* to be 510 blue. But I bought a new air dam for it, and had the air dam painted 510 blue. Well guess what??? The car aint no 510 blue Its a custom color that is darker than 510 blue. So at least I know that. Someday, once the engine is purring and I have taken car of some other comparably minor issues, I will plan on getting a new showroom paint job. My relative who restores car, also has state of the art painting shop. But one baby step at a time. Who knows how long this is going to take to get it running close to specs. If it will take a partial engine rebuild (like new rings, seals, etc) then that will really put a wrench in the works. I got a lot of connections in the engine area, all pulled apart and cleaned up as of tonight. And all the grounds too in the engine area. That included cleaning the fuel injector connections. And in the process, I found a few clamps msising and one split hose on the input side of the air regulator. So I replaced that and put new clamps on it. So after all that I had to see if she still started up. Yup No problem. I am going to clean a few connections inside the car that have been pointed out to me, as potential problems. Oh yeah, I also got the fuse box cleaned up, and all new fuses put in there. I will be on here asking for help once I am ready to remove/install the new ones. Just to see if there are any tricks tips or traps to look out for. Because, I have decided I will replace the fuel injectors myself. But the screws holding them in are really locked in there. I put a very little wd40 on one of them, and will get some of that other stuff (cant remember name) to unfreeze them I hope. I am going to be very very careful because I dont want to strip them. The screws seem like kind of soft metal. Not like some of the hardened ones on the car. So got to work on one at a time to get all the screws looose. Once that is done, then I can begin removing fuel rail, and then do the rest of the job. I am also going to buy a much larger screw driver so I can get some serious leverage on those screws. I have lots of big screw drivers now, but they wont fit the screws. But first I am going to try to fix the light problems in the car. Side markers dont work and I know at least one of them or both did. The hazards dont come on. Sometimes the headlights come on and most the time they dont. Sometimes the passenger side brake lights comes on and sometimes not. So that is going to be a real challenge for me to try to read all the wiring diagrams and trace down the problems and FIX THEM!!!!! I hope! Oh man that could take me weeks or months to figure out. I have never done that before in a car. Oh boy.... I think all electrical type problems only showed up when it got cold here. In summer and fall I swear all this stuff worked. And I know it worked when I bought it 2 years ago. But anything can happen in 2 years, with all the work that has been done on it. So whooooooooooo knows. In fact the headlights came on tonight after I hooked up the battery again before I started her up. But a little while after starting and stopping it. I decided to flick on the lights. NOPE, they didnt work. And I checked them a few other times this week. And they always worked. But before I idled it last time, they didnt work. And after warming it up, then they worked. This is NUTS! I know, seems stupid to keep testing it like that....but those are games I like to play with the car.

Yes, I have been on the internet from the beginning almost. And this place is heaven for a Z owner like me, who wants to learn some things and do some things. Im glad there are patient and nice people willing to help I am so glad I found it. And yes, I am slowly working my way through everything that has an electrical connector in it. Especially everything in that diagram. And a few other things maybe...Im trying to use as little force as possible with everything that I do, but still make a difference. Worse case I just use dexoit if I dont feel comfortable with anything else. a 30+ year Z guy told me about two connectors inside the car to clean also with deoxit. So I will be doing those once I get all the stuff under the hood done. Who has time to work, when you got a Z in the garage to work on he he

I cant wait until spring time again. I will have finished some things to the car by then, and ready to run tests and drive the car. "Reading the spark plugs" is going to be a big hit for me. I will run at full load for a little while on the highway, pull over where its safe...and pull them out and read them. I also think maybe the piston rings are worn enough (182,000 miles on her now)....to be leaking oil into cylinders. At least some of them. We shall see....:-))) Oh well lots to do lots to do until spring time.

Ok now that does make sense to me, thanks! So that means if my temp sensor in the AFM is giving a colder reading than it should be all the time, its never going to stop enriching the system? right? I mean its wintertime here and generally below freezing for months and months. So that makes me think it will always be making the mix richer??? How or when does it know to stop making it richer? I am not clear on that. But it seems like it should have some other logic to tell it, once the car engine warms up, to stop doing that? sigh.... That picture/diagram is crazy looking on EF 11. Its cool but confusing a little bit.

And I thought I had found any/all cracked hoses :-) I am glad I found this one. Sneaky little devil. I have been inspecting them all as good as I can. Thanks for the tip once again. We have a farm and fleet here, and I am sure they will have those kind of hoses. PS Do you think a lean running engine, can foul up plugs the way I mentioned them in my very long engine running description that I posted here....http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40957 In my mind, it seems like fouled up, black, goopy plugs would be because of too much fuel not to little????

Yeah, but I type fast, so its not a big deal. I totally understand what you are saying. And that is why I am collecting tools, and slowly but surely going to learn how to test everything that I can do myself. I am cleaning things, taking things apart, putting/exchanging a few things on the car...etc Its not that I dont believe them, but both the mechanics are running/owning very busy shops...and they of course cannot spend nearly the amount of time that I can ...to inspect things. I already know 5x more than I did before winter started about my Z baby. Because I have been on these forums, and reading over the FSM and EFI bible, etc...and been tinkering on the car for several months now. PS There are some pics I just added. I still have original tires and rims, but all the rims were a little bent, and all tires had flat spots. So needless to say when i got upto 55 to 70mph the steering wheel was shaking a lot. Also, I found out I had bad bearings in the front left side. So once the bearings were fixed, and the new Eagle GT tires and rims...it rides smooth. I like both the old rims and new rims though. But favor the new ones more.

I found the throttle chamber to air regulator hose had a 1" long crack in it. It was very sneaky. I noticed it when I remove the hose to clean a sensor located under it. Where is a good place to get a replacement hose for this? And that leads to another question, in general where can I get all the hoses I need to replace fuel lines, vaccum hoses etc...basically all the rubbers under the hood that might need replacement. Thanks!

hmmmm I read that over, and its very interesting. But I am not sure I yet comprehend what it is really telling me. Not in laymans terms.

PS. I was asking some other questions in the forum, ....and someone asked me to post what I know about my engine/car. So here is a long list of what I can think of, off the top of my head http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?p=350544&posted=1#post350544

Yes, that is true. And I think that is what my relative the mechanic was telling me. That it was reading 20 or 30 degrees colder than it should be. Which is why I reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaly want to understand how to do this myself and see what its doing right now. The problem is that its cold out, and I dont understand how it would even NOT be enriching the fuel mixture...because its going to be cold for three more months before we even think about hitting the 60's again. So help me understand this if you dont mind. When its cold out, its always going to be below 68 degrees. So wouldnt it always be telling car/computer to enrich the air/fuel ratio?