Wade Nelson

I had a "little" fire in my Z car sometime last week. A solar battery charger sitting on the dash with the wire run through the windowframe to the battery... Apparently the wires got pinched. Ruined the windshield, damaged the seat, and the passenger door trim. Corner trim piece on the dash destroyed... Took me a good three hours of scrubbing the inside of the car, windows, headliner, etc of all the soot. It'll probably have a faint air of charcoal forever... I'm looking for replacement 280ZX passenger door trim, BLACK, if anyone has..... passenger seat's just gonna get some duct tape... The amazing part is the entire car didn't burn. There was a can of starter fluid on the driver's floor that could have turned it into a bomb. I had a Tyvek car cover thrown over the seats; it got melted, but didn't ignite. My bible was in the rear of the car; got some soot on the cover but that's it. I would have missed that, with 20 years of notes and highlighted passages more than losing the car itself. Today I'm going to get a new windshield. Pictures to follow.

(stolen tip from another website) I discovered a way to quickly find all closeout parts offered for a specific car without clicking every parts category. On the home page, click on the big red start button to start the "Interactive" catalog. Towards the bottom of the page, look for "Catalog display problem? Click Here for the traditional HTML version." This will take you to the older style catalog search. Search through the catalog till you find your specific car model. Your address bar should read something like "http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/x,carcode,1352720" The numbers at the end is your car's code #. Use this link, but replace the Xs after "carcode=" with your car's code. http://www.rockauto.com/RSS/vehiclefeeds.php?carcode=xxxxxxx&m=wc&l=en&... It takes longer to read this than to actually do it. Enjoy Is it just me or is Rock Auto getting RIDICULOUS with their shipping charges? $13 to ship a $7 valve cover gasket??? I bought one on Ebay instead for $8 with FREE shipping...

Any progress on this motor? I honestly think it has jumped time, the timing chain is off a tooth or three. Either that or two of the throttle butterflies are not opening, and it's attempting suck charge through a single carb. Above 4000 it has enough suck to do that.

Several people are saying "big vacuum leak". Since this was a swap, what about a brake booster with a holy diaphragm. How about plugging the vacuum line to the brake booster just to test. Take 30 seconds. And no, a "Holy Diaphragm" is NOT what Catholics use for birth control.

What about a blocked exhaust. Above 4000 it may be able to push through enough exhaust to run. Try cracking the down pipe and see if anything changes...

build it yourself using a garbage bag and expansive foam. Basically "fill" the spare tire well with assorted boxes, styrofoam, blocks of wood, whatever, in the shape of where your beer will go. bring it to within an inch of the edges of the wheelwell. Put THIS inside a garbage bag, supported by...something. Then put another garbage bag inside the wheelweel to keep the foam from sticking to it. fill the space between your "faux cooler" and the 2nd bag with expansive foam. Let sit for a day, then remove the boxes, etc and you've got a cooler!

Have you checked that all three throttle butterflys are inter-connected and operating properly? I know that probably sounds stupid, but...

Have you considered putting a vacuum gauge on it, to see if you have any valve damage, or running it on ether, to see if it's a carb problem?

Get a 280 unless you have experience AND the desire to futz with carburetors endlessly. Or are willing to pay someone to do so on your behalf.

How about dropping the oil pan, refilling the cooling system with water, then use a pressure tester to pressurize the cooling system. You may be able to see where the coolant/water is coming from.

My guess would be that you inserted a too-long bolt somewhere into the front cover area and cracked into an internal passageway.

Disconnect the fuel line and block it and/or disconnect electric fuel pump. Start the engine and when it starts to die from lack of fuel start spritzing ether into either the throat of the carbs (air filter off) , the PCV port, brake booster line, or any other vacuum line that gets it into the intake manifold (ai9r filter on) Big 2-3 second blasts. Keep spritzing to keep the engine running on ether. You can run a lawnmower or a V8 on ether, brake cleaner, Lysol, WD-40, virtually any flammable fluid out of an aerosol container no matter how SNAFU the carburetors are, water in the tank, anything. Air, fuel, spark, you're simply substituting ether for gasoline as fuel. If you can idle the engine on short blasts of ether then your problem is with your carbs. If, again, it will only run above 4K, it's a mechanical problem. I strongly suggest you acquire a $15 vacuum gauge and RULE OUT mechanical problems before you do the above or anything else. Here's a tutorial... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/open-discussion-280zx/47347-how-read-vacuum-gauge-30-secs-less.html In less then 10 minutes you can have your problem diagnosed. Get 'er done.

It all depends on the fuel you want to buy for the rest of the time you own the vehicle. Do you really want to constantly have to add octane booster, etc? Go no higher than what the locally available premium will support.

Disconnect the fuel line and start it on ether. If you can get it to idle on ether it's a carb problem. If it still only runs above 4000 rpms its either a timing or a mechanical problem. First thing I would do is put a vacuum gauge on it to rule in/out vacuum leaks, mechanical problems, etc. Sounds to me like it may have jumped time, distributor stabbed wrong, etc...

I had an E-type, 1967, 4.2 motor, covered headlamps. WHEN it ran, it was fantastic. Smooth, powerful, tons of torque out of that big six. The E's as a breed had lots of problems. Overheating was probably #1. I eventually diagnosed what caused probably 85% of all E-type overheating, a very funky original thermostat with unique features that NONE of the available or aftermarket replacements had --- namely a second plate which shut off the bypass. And a too-small coolant overflow tank. Along with 22 hoses, one of which was almost ALWAYS leaking or ready for replacement. The problems with that car were almost NEVER in the bottom of the engine, clutch, or transmission. They lay elsewhere -- electrical, cooling, hydraulic... The electrical system was not robust in any manner; and the OEM 2-blade cooling fan downright pathetic. And the parts were horribly, horribly expensive, even 25 years ago. It's a beautiful car to look at. A treat for the eyes. As a weekender, maybe. A daily driver, no way. The two best days of a Jaguar owner's life are the day they purchase it, and the day they sell it. Not necessarily in that order.

Years of being in the business taught me that everyone has a "blind spot," even the very best mechanics. They get so focused on where they think the problem lies they overlook the basics, or have incorrectly ruled something out based on false evidence. The answer is almost ALWAYS to get someone else to look at it, starting with the basics, and NOT "contaminate" them by telling them what you have or haven't already checked, ruled out, etc. Just tell them the symptom and walk away. On rare occasions there are two overlapping problems and you can't find the second until you diagnose and repair the first. Those are the problems that sometimes make customers sue the shop since a shop seldom re-tests the vehicle after finding a clear and unmistakeable primary cause. As for your erratic miss, have you posted about it here?

No more than normal. I blew it out into a paper towel and didn't see anything of concern.

I really appreciate all the suggestions given. Several are excellent. I'm gonna give you a big AMEN on that. And the deeper and darker the problem the greater the feeling after finally diagnosing it. Seeing if the injectors ARE somehow getting grounded seems very worthwhile. Other possibilities I've thought of: 1) Sugar in the gas tank, causing a carbon'd up injector 2) An ECM with green crud on the connector holding an injector open 3) Having the fuel filter connected to the return line by mistake so fuel's flowing the wrong way?

Two years ago I had a fairly decent running car, but it occasionally had hot restart problems. Assuming it was due to injector leakdown and loss of fuel pressure when parked, I replaced the injectors. That's when the problems began. I purchased a set of new injectors from eBay. I immediately experienced driveability problems including a loping idle, horrible gas mileage, etc. A mechanic friend pulled plug #1 and it was fouled suggesting injector #1 was stuck open. Listening with a stethoscope it wasn't ticking like the others. The vendor sent me a replacement injector and I thought I was good. Just to be sure, I installed a new fuel filter. If crud had clogged my new injector, I sure didn't want it to clog a replacement. Drove the car almost daily till November, when it seemed to develop a problem starting in bitter cold weather. Thought I had diagnosed it down to an electrical problem, but perhaps I'm wrong. It sat parked over the winter until a few days ago. I've been driving it all week, despite some cold morning starting problems that were usually resolved with a blast of starting fluid. Been through a tank and a half of fresh gasoline. This morning it turned into a complete no-start. I've got spark, I've got fuel, the fuel IS gasoline (my first thought....diesel? water?). It seems to be flooding BADLY. So bad it won't start. I disconnected the fuel line entirely and started it on ether (after drying out all the cylinders with compressed air) and it actually ran for 30 seconds or so -- I assume on gas fumes being sucked out of the crankcase by the PCV system. I reconnected the fuel line, re-cranked, and it wouldn't start. It appears it can't build sufficient fuel pressure because of a stuck open injector. I seem to have traced it down to the #5 injector, and possibly #2 as well stuck open. I can hear the #5 pissing down fuel pressure after I quit cranking, and the cylinder is full of fuel. So is the oil. What I'd like to know is where I screwed up? Buying cheap injectors? Not flushing and perhaps brushing my metal fuel lines before installing new injectors? Not installing a fresh filter the FIRST time around? Leaving stale fuel in over the winter? How can I have so many failing injectors? The fuel filter ought to have caught any rust in the tank, no? I simply don't have time to work on this car endlessly. I may have to sell or give it away and just go buy something reliable. I have a busy life outside of a Z-car hobby. But I'd like to know what YOU think I might have done wrong, if anything. I'm so frustrated I could scream. I love driving this machine but it's just one thing after another! I already shot the hood full of holes just as a warning to it not to mess with me, but it hasn't helped...

Ahh! I'll bet your right! I'll bet the Kent-Moore tester, which plugs into the ECM connector, is thereby able to check those items!

I recently did a cross country from Alabama to Colorado. I spied 4 Z's en route. I'll post pictures when I have cellphone coverage. The latest is a raspberry or purple 280Z in Bayfield Colorado. I drove it on a test drive years ago but couldn't live with the color, despite the nice condition body. The saddest Z I've ever seen lies in a field next to a volunteer firestation somewhere south of Corinth Mississippi. Photos to follow. There was absolutely not ONE useable part swipeable off this junker, even the t-tops were cracked.

Isn't your post rather like Einstein asking the guys he rode the bus with about relativity? You're the expert, man! Have you drawn any schematics? My goal is STILL to see why the ECM is tied into the cold start valve, whether to monitor it, or to "cheat" and use it for additional enrichment under acceleration or something. Gonna put a data logger on it or a dash light to watch that signal under a variety of conditions. Help me here, I'm away from my FSM and blown-up schematics, one side of each injector goes to the ECM for grounding (to squirt) , does the other side go to the relay behind an access panel (near the battery) to provide 12V when the relay is energized? I'm still having a (bitter cold) cold start problem where the injectors are not firing. I suspect dirty contacts on that relay. Cheers!

Trevor almost sounds to me like you're vapor locking. That's rare when the engine is actually running, but not impossible. What i would do is seek out ethanol-free gasoline, and run a few tankfuls. See if the problem is reduced. I know all sorts of classic car owners, carburetor cars, that have trouble with "oxygenated" fuels containing ethanol. Corvettes, MGB's, you name it. Altitude makes it worse. Higher fuel pressure will prevent vapor locking in the lines, but will NOT prevent boiling of fuel in the float bowls. Good luck and let everyone know what works/didn't work for you.

The electronics you guys are looking for is a "turbo timer" which lets the ignition on for a few minutes after you turn the key off to allow the engine to (continue to) run and a turbo to spool/cool down. HKS makes 'em, among others - Ebay, $20. You could easily use it to time a fan rather than the ignition itself after shutdown. You cuold go one step further and run it through a thermoswitch of some sort (the one in the ZX is set too high at the factory, never cuts the blower in,) so that it only ran for X minutes ONLY if engine was above a certain temp. An even better solution is to use such a turbo timer to run a massive electric radiator fan capable of clearing ALL the heat out of the engine bay. That's what I did on my Jaguar XKE years ago which had serious heat soak problems after shutdown, often spitting out several pints of coolant on a hot day. Be warned you need a good strong battery if you're going to run errands and run that shutdown cycle multiple times per day....

You're on the right track. Probably faster to check the coil functionally. Remove 12V or ground and see if it produces a spark. A test light connected to the coil OR the module should flash as the engine was cranked, indicating the coil was being charged/discharged, points were opening / closing, etc. In this case there was no 12V to the ignitor module. An ignition relay upstream had worn out, dirty contacts. That's why it worked one final time and then no more. Hopefully this vehicle was "similar enough" to a 280Z / ZX to provide a useful lesson the next time someone has a crank, no start situation that is NOT rectified by adding faux fuel. THANKS FOR PLAYING! GAME OVER!