mn91

Thanks for all of the help guys! I played with the car again on my free time and i started it with the distributor like how it was on m last pic and i hard a weird metal to metal clapping noise... I think my cam is so advanced that there is piston to valve interference. so i stopped it and turn my cylinder by hand and couldn't hear/feel anything.. maybe i wasn't turning it fast enough? I need to fix my cam timing and i hope i did not do to much damage to the valves.. can my valves be badly damage even if im just advanced a tooth? Crossing my finger it's just the timing chain tensioner making that noise! To jeff G: yes i did make sure that it was at TDC before i pulled the head. And no i did the head gasket and the timing chain so that's a brand new chain. I also got my head shaved and new valve seals since the head was already off.. and i'll pull the distributor and take a picture this weekend. With work and school, All i have is the weekend to play with her. :/ And I want to thank everybody for the help! I really appreciate it.

^^^^This is what my timing is at. Can anyone verify if it's correct? ^^^^ This is where my my distributor timing was at when it wouldn't start. ^^^^ This is what I had to turn my distributor to for my car to actually start! so how bad is my ignition timing? Am i off a teeth? and what do you guys think about my mechanical timing? thanks

Thank you for all the replies. I'll troubleshoot it some more this weekend and report back to this thread.

Also I got a new battery. What's the Recommended cranking amp? I Feel like she's a little slow on the cranking when I try to start her up

No loud clanking sound here. Just a car that will not start!

http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/timing/mechtime.html The cam marked was centered like in the pictures. Both lobes were facing like that in the pictures also. Timing mark was at zero and piston at TDC like the picture. The only thing that looked different was my distributor. I looked on my cap to see where my #1 spark plug was suppose to be at and that's how i set it. Before putting in the oil pump i made sure that the wedge shape mark was aligned with the dot. Putting it while trying to keep it align still without moving it was a bit difficult so i might have moved it in the process, but since the distributor was pointing at 1 where my #1 spark plug was on the cap i didn't think i made a mistake there. After doing all that i was wondering if i had to use a timing light to retime everything again, even though it was already time before i pulled the head. Also i forgot when installing the timing chain to make sure all of the light links were lined up with the mark on the cam sprocket and the crank. But i didn't think that was an issue because i assumed that was only there to help line up the timing mark on the sprocket and the plate easier. Is that going to be an issue?

No back fires. It will keep cranking but no start. sometimes it will barely want to start but that would only last for like a second. I'm getting spark at #1 spark plug. and I'm getting fuel from my cold start also.

Replaced my head gasket with a friend that has done it before on his 240z. I have a 76 280z. after everything was put back together it would not start. My question is do I have to redo the ignition timing? I already timed it with the oil pump and the rotor was facing the #1 on the cap. And my engine was also at tdc. Do I have to use a timing light and retime the distributor even though it was already timed before I pulled everything out? thank you

Thanks zed head, the antenna with the magnet at the end is an excellent idea and iill look for one. and i'll try again with the sprocket and get back with you guys. but i'm pretty sure i lost my tension so i guess i just have to take off the entire front cover..

I was doing the head gasket on my 76 280z. I had wedge the timing tensioner with a wooden block i made and when I popped off the cam sprocket i realized that my wedge was to long so the sprocket would just sit on the wedge I made and I could not take it off. so i decided to put the sprocket back on to trim the wedge some more and it wouldn't go back on. I used a screw driver to pry it up some but it just would not go up no matter how much force i put into it! so i thought damn i think I lost the tension.. I asked my cousin to help me put it back on and he dropped the washer down the timing area and into the block.. Now what? how can i get it out and what is my next step to tackle this headache of a head gasket job? is there a link to a similar problem because i've tried searching and came up with nothing! Any help is greatly appreciated. thank you

nice guide! i've been following it step by step but i'm stuck on what the head bolt sequence should be when i put the head back on?

Ok I checked the cold start valve for leakage and it doesn't seem to be leaking. I even squeezed the fuel line to it trying to force it to leak out gas but it did not. So i took off my afm boot connected to the throttle body and tried reaching under there to see if it's wet with fuel. It was wet but it was almost like a mixture of oil and fuel. My plugs were wet again after sitting for 20 hrs. I disconnected the pcv valve to see if i could find any form of fuel and it was the same substance that was in the throttle body.. Now i am really stumped because if my cold start valve isn't leaking then what is? Anybody had similar symptoms it would be much appreciated. thank you

Well I already checked all the sensors from the pin down by the ecu by the efi bible standards and it all checked out. I also cleaned all the sensors connection that affects the efi. that's why I want to blame the cold start or injectors since my plugs wreaked of them but only if I leave it sitting for some time. Thanks for the response grantf. I have family living in Seattle. It's a beautiful place to live even though it was raining half the time I was up there .

So I pulled my plugs today after my car has been sitting for about 4 days and my spark plugs were all wet and smelled like fuel. About a week ago, after a drive, I inspected all 6 injectors (even though I didn't know what I was looking for) and to me they all looked good and I couldn't tell if it was leaking or not. It did not seem like it was to me atleast, but what would I know. I understand that it's most likely the cold start valve then all 6 injectors are leaking, but when I unplugged the connection to the cold start valve it caused hard starting in the mornings.. If it's leaking shouldn't it be easy start anyway's? And spark plugs 3-6 are fouled out.. but if every single plug is wet with oil why wouldn't 1 and 2 get fouled..? I'm very confused on this, my car is a 1976 280z with efi and it has been getting about 10-13 mpg. I checked all the pins on the ecu with fsm and it all checked out good.

Thank you blue I checked by bringing up the atlanticz tech tips and it all looks good. So the high resistance is not a problem since the wiper is returning like it should? or is it still something abnormal...

Hi guys and girls I've been trying to figure out my running rich problem. I went down to the ecu with the efi bible and fsm and tested things and everything looks good besides a couple I have questions about. The afm resistance #1 test calls for about 180 ohms. I get 184. Resistance #3 calls for 100 an I get around there. Resistance #2 test calls for small resistance and continuity. I get 700 the first time I did it after a drive and the car was still warm. Thinking back that 700 is pretty high I went back to test it again a couple days later when the car has been sitting for a day and now I get around 500. Is that to High of a resistance since the test calls for a SMALL resistance? Also where is the starter solenoid lead wire so I can disconnect it to test my air regulator circuit? Thank you in advance

ok thanks blue but whats the point of it? it's not really connected to anything so i dont get what it's grounding exactly? its already connected to the metal plate the afm is on, and i figure that's the end of ground...

Uploaded with ImageShack.us Where does this ground go to? I was messing with my afm and found this just dangling. Is this to the afm and would this ground not connecting. Cause me to run rich? Ive looked on fsm and. cant find anything on this ground

Ok so i finally had time to trouble shoot my z some more. After reading the efi bible and the some of fsm i checked resistance at cts.. it looks good. Looked a tps settings.. it leaves idle contact almost immediately and made contact with second thing about half throttle more or less. Then i checked timing and it was at 5 degrees so i advanced it to 7 as accurately as i could.. pumped some gas went for a drive and i feel like im still getting bad mpg but then again my gas gauge goes up and down so i wont be sure till im low. And i also need to pull plugs and clean them to bc they are still foul pretty badly. How do i go about checking if its a leaking cold start valve bc my oil still has a hint of gasoline smell...

Also would a little leak cause a slightly low compression on all cylinders

I just replacded my plugs today bc my other plugs were foul.. but when i pulled the foul plugs today it was wet. Every single one of them. And it wasnt like that 3 days ago. I thought it was oil but it ddnt really feel like oil... My car doesnt overheat.. i drove the car probably 30 miles today after i changed the plugs so ill pull them to see what they look like and if they are wet.

76 280z. at start up no smoke... then after a minute white smoke start coming out for 3-5 mins or so. then no smoke.. what could it be? im not sure if the smoke is oil burning or water burning.... it's hard for me to tell the difference

ok so when i was checking my sensors and taking things apart my and the ground wire on my temp switch (the sensor with 2 wires coming out of it one is ground) broke off.. the car runs and drives fine without it but is it crucial? and when taking things apart i noticed that there were a wall of oil in my throttle body so i ran seafoam through it and now it does not hesistate or stumble anymore! but im sure it will come back soon.. just a guy feeling. and also should i run the seafoam through my oil? the only thing is i dont want it to unstick things that shouldnt be unstick and it might mess up the motor.. just stories ive read online.. also my afm the black cover will not come off! there isnt a screw or anything to take it off. it looks like someone glued it on. and it also looks really really new.. what you guys think?

Mine is a 76 efi 280 i dont have carbs? Im reffering to the temp switch. Its only on the 75 76 model...

Sarcasm or I can really drive it? And if I do what would be different about how it performs?