z_ya

We have taking it around for a bit, and the after awhile the plugs were nasty. Black an ashy that's why I went and got new plugs and new plug wires. While driving it it smoked blue out of the exhaust upon acceleration, i have not yet jammed my foot into the gas pedal yet nor do i intend to until im sure what the problem is or more than likely could be. I have not had to add oil yet but ive only drove it once, i will be taking it out again today though. I had gotten new connectors for my water temp sensor and my TVS but haven't been able to see if that fixed the running rich problem yet. When i change the plugs later today i'll take a picture of them for you guys. And 5thhorsemann i will look into that thank you.

Oh, i forgot to ask. If the rings are not bad then what can be causing this problem? Like i said at idle she runs fine no smoke or nothing but when i rev it up it just smokes it's not like seafoam smoke but it's still pretty noticeable. That is why my dad said piston rings. But again any ideas that you guys have i will look into and test. Thanks again.

alright, i know today i went and got new spark plugs and plug wires. I'll be putting them on tomorrow. I will run through and look/read those links that you posted EuroDat. My car has 126,xxx that or 26,xxx but going from that looks of things im jut gonna say 126,xxx miles. A pressure test was performed but i can't exactly remember what he said it was. But I'll read through the material that was posted and run through everything, thanks again guys for the answers and help. As for the engine being scrap that kinda sucks but i know in the future there is gonna be a swap done, right now im kinda looking to get this thing running good so i can drive it around and not have to worry about anything.

It will burn oil but only when you step on the gas, I have searched the problem and talked to a few people who have diagnosed that it is the piston rings. Unless there is something that i've missed or am looking up the wrong thing. The only problems I am having with the engine is it burns oil when i step on the gas (not at idle at all) and it runs rich. But if its not the piston rings that would make me feel a lot better.

My dad does not want to change the rings as the time it will take and the garage that we do not have, and the EFI is being stubborn. I was dead set on getting rid of the EFI and doing the AZC carburator install but thats roughly $1000 for EVERYTHING I need but then that still leaves the piston ring problem. So to sum it up, my EFI is acting up and my piston rings are bad and my dad does'nt wanna change them cause of the trouble it is to do.

Well after a few months of owning my Z i am happy with my purchase she was only $900. But there have been issues with the EFI as much as I would love to keep this thing all original I think it might just be better for me to replace it with something "fresher" from the nissan engine line up. So I am wondering how much can i sell my 1978 280Z engine for with the 5 speed tranny? I would hate to just let it sit and go to waste or have it junked i dont think i could do that. The problems are that it runs rich and i believe the piston rings will need to be changed, (that is why i am thinking of just doing an engine swap) I know that the swap is a a few months away at least. I am trying to save up for the engine i would like to get but was wondering if i can get a decent price for the original one as i could use the cash to go towards the new one. Let me know what you guys think any info will be appreciated.

yeah its being done, i was checking through all of them and it happened so i was already in the process of checking them all. But new plans are taking shape and i don't think i will need them anymore.

sorry for the poor quality.

I don't know if the terms i am using are correct or not. But the clips from the harness that connect to the various sensors, some are two wire and three wire. I need to know how to pull the metal clips out of the plastic piece that pops into the sensor so i can reconnect the wires. I'll try posting a picture.

I was running through my wire harness today to check and see what connectors need to be cleaned or replaced. Well I found that my water temp sensor one of the wires was completely off of it with only one connected, after pulling it off gently to look at it closer the other wire came off. So my question is how do i pull the connector pins out so i can re connect and solder the wire back in?

Alright checked the water temp sensor and the harness clip is corroded so im gonna try and get a clip set off ebay or something and hope that does the trick. Now i seem to be burning some oil though.

Awesome thanks again everyone, when i had this thing revved up i could not help but smile. First thing tomorrow i will check the water temp sensor although when i had run through everything in the efi bible i believe it had come out as ok and working. But it will get checked out.

Well the TVS is bad or the wire harness clip is corroded to far i disconnected it and it will go till i let off. But theres still the problem of me running rich, any ideas?

Thanks again guys. Yeah i have had the TVS off and i have cleaned the contacts on the connector and the wire harness clip i think after thats when it worked so that may be my culprit. There was a test for it in the efi bible madkaw thats why i cleaned it off cause it appeared to be faulty it was a simple continuity test. Later on tonight i will disconnect it and see if that works. Is it possible to run the car fine without it being hooked up or would it be better just to fix the problem?

Yeah sorry for the punctuation. Are there any ideas that you have that would cause it to work rarely but still run very rich? Tomorrow I plan on taking the distributor apart and cleaning it. The car sat for at least four years and I think this because the sticker on the plate is from 08. But like i said plans for tomorrow include, cleaning and inspecting the distributor and possibly buying or ordering a new ignition coil. And madkaw, what should i be looking for in terms of fuel issues? I checked the filter earlier today and it's fine and i know my fuel pump is also fine. Any input will be considered and looked into I appreciate the responses.

thats what led me to believe the jump in time but would that explain why it works right once in a while then it doesnt? and the vacuum isnt present in some of the lines thats what im hoping to fix when the haynes shows up cause hopefully i can get an actual vacuum diagram for my car and not just air con or something like that. again thank you for the replies they are greatly appreciated.

no the factory manuals dont suck i said the book i have does, i have a cheaply made chilton with a haynes book on the way and i cant wait for it to arrive the chilton has nothing for my year and just shows random things that i dont have and then things i do have are not in there. We had checked the ignition coil today and it seemed weak thats why i was wondering if anyone knew the correct size of one that way i can go shop for one and order it to see if that fixes the problem while i wait for my haynes.

smackin the efi controller did nothing, i checked the fuel filter its fine, and yes i regapped the plugs to what my book had called for we have hooked the vacuum lines back to where they originally were so if they were hooked up right the first time then they still are correct, the firing order is right. like i said its burning gas and not making it above 3500rpm i floored it earlier and its like hitting a limiter it just stops dead right there. i know the book i have sucks mega arse but im thinking it might be my ignition coil can someone tell me what the correct voltage is for a direct replacement so i can try that.

sorry for the non specifics, what ive done since i first bought it is, re gapped the spark plugs and cleaned them, the injectors are good, the fuel line is good i recently replaced that and i do have gas as for the filter being clogged i will check that, the fuel pump is good so are the injectors and the fuel regulators the alternator is fine to. i posted because im new to z's and im just wanting more ideas and heads to help me on what could be causing the problem. everything appears to be in good shape except for this happening. the only things ive done are listed above and here cleaned and re gapped the spark plugs to the correct gap, replaced the fuel line and vacuum lines, then just recently we had run sea foam through the vacuum and the valves but not the gas tank.

1978 280Z Production date 10/77 VIN#HLS30-433237 Paint code 306 Silver metallic with black interior

one thing i had not mentioned the car is running rich as well, i had sea foamed it but the problems are still there.

the car is a 1978 280Z 5 speed manual and the issues are, most of the time i cant get it to rev above 3.5k rpm but then once in awhile i can get it to go till i let off but then right after that its back to the same old stuff at 3.5k rpm i have run out of ideas and would love any opinions on to why and how i can solve this problem. its not the afm or any of the electronics that i have tested through the efi bible so now the only things that i can think of are the timing chain is way out of line, the vacuum lines are hooked up wrong even though they appear to be hooked up fine but i cant find a vacuum diagram for my specific year either.... that or my distributor is angled off. any other thoughts and suggestions are welcome and will be greatly appreciated as it is killing me not having this thing running perfectly