rogerwilcos

Thank you. So if I am reading that correctly the blue should connect to the T coming off the manifold. Thanks!

I am trying to find something that shows me how the vacuum should be connected for AC/Heat and the cruise control. Page 212 of the Hayes manual gets me part of the way there but I still can't find anything (even in th FSM) that shows me where the two vacuum lines coming from the cabin (one red, one blue) would go. I looked through the FSM quite a bit and I am beyond confused. This is for a 1983 280zx non-turbo. Any help is appreciated.

I took it off and it sure appears that it is the source of the oil leak. I don't think it's necessarily a failed gasket, but more that the bolt I pointed out has come loose and isn't holding the plate down. I will clean it up and replace the gasket (and bolt) and I think we will be good to go.

Also....how much coolant should the entire system hold. When I drained the radiator and caught what came out of the hoses and power steering pump it was a little less than 2 gallons of fluid. I'll check the FSM but thought someone may know off the top of their head.

Providing an update and asking for more help. I am working on replacing the radiator and water pump as well as the hoses....just to make sure everything is good there. In the picture below you can see there is a plate circled (not sure what else to call it). It has one screw that is different than the others and I left it backed out a little. That screw doesn't seem to fit super tight and when I take it out there is oil on it and also it seemed to have oil seeping around it. I cleaned off the area as best I could but I think it may be the source of the leak. Is there a gasket for behind that piece? It's right where the pulley for the power steering belt mounts. Thanks for the help.

Has anyone ever used the aftermarket radiators that are on ebay? The all aluminum ones? I am wanting to overhaul the cooling system but the main dealers don't have radiators right now. Everything is out of stock

You don't have to get personal with me! O wait....

So far all I have noticed is a bunch of sludge around the water pump. It looks black though....like dirt.

Ok I will give that a go and let you know the result.

Ok, to be fair my estimate isn't exactly correct on my drive time. I don't drive this thing much. In the two years I have owned it, I have maybe put 500 miles on it. I have probably filled the coolant reservoir 5 times. So maybe every 100 miles? It's very possible it is running out sooner and I am not noticing it. And when I fill it, the whole reservoir is dry. The exhaust does have an odor to it .... but I couldn't say it smells like coolant. I guess I am not used to the smell of coolant so I would need to double check that. There is no white smoke coming out the exhaust, that is for certain. I replaced the spark plugs not too long and none of them looked overly clean. I need to check because what I think was the oil pan gasket leaking is right back where the transmission is as well. I need to grab a picture there as well.

Here are a few more pictures zoomed in further. What I am trying to point out is the sludge. It's in the water pump area but I would think if I was losing that much coolant there that it would show up on the ground at least a little.

My subscription to this site has been some of the best money I have spent. Thanks to everyone for always taking a look at my issues and helping me out (without making me feel like an idiot!). I have noticed that I keep adding coolant to my reservoir, but within a couple of weeks it is gone. I did some googling last night and this seems to be one of the symptoms of a blown head gasket. I looked around a little bit to see if I could see a leak anywhere. All I am seeing are the leaks below. In addition may oil pan gasket and rear differential cover gasket are both leaking, but don't think it is related. Can someone take a look at these pictures and see if they can identify where that could be coming from. The liquid appears to be oil as best as I can tell. I am colorblind so I am going off the consistency more than anything. This is a 1983 280ZX Base. Thanks!

I need help again! I am replacing inner and tie rod ends. I can get a wrench on the inner tie rod (see picture), but I can't get it to loosen up. Is there a trick to this? Is this still left to loosen and right to tighten? 1983 280zx. Thanks!

I've watched a lot of videos and read quite a bit. I purchased a tool to compress the springs and paid quite a bit. It's supposed to be much safer than the cheap ones. Attached is a picture of the Z.

Sorry....it's a 1983 280zx base. I've ordered new springs, struts, tie rods (inner and outer) and ball joints. Only thing I don't know is how do you "decompress" the old springs to dispose of them?

Here is a picture of the strut on the other side. Looks completely different.

I took my car in for an inspection today and they failed me. The culprits where passenger front "strut mount" and driver front "tire rod inner". I am trying to figure out if these are things I could fix myself. I have a jack, and jack stands, but in the chilton manual it makes it look like they have the care overhead to work on the struts. I am also confused as to what they mean by "strut mount". As far as the tire rod inner I am super confused on the terminology because when you look for parts there is "tie rod end" "tie rod inner" and "inner tie rod end". Any help would be appreciated. Is this maybe the tie rod they are referring to : https://www.moog-suspension-parts.com/moog-es2085r?gclid=CjwKCAjwjuqDBhAGEiwAdX2cj45CuP8RnIH63azCddqCbxooc1gJGs7UaK3R1I6YEyBap5acLQRO5hoC-OIQAvD_BwE

I guess it's time to tackle this. It has been unusually cold here. Right now we are -5 degrees and it's been around 0 for over a week. I suspect that gurgling sound from the master cylinder that I hear after shutting the car off is air escaping? Thanks everyone for the help.

I just tried pumping the brakes with the cap unscrewed on the master cylinder. It didn't make a difference. When I turned the car off I could hear air bubbling right around the master cylinder area. I also noticed some sludge between it and the master vac. Does this mean anything to anyone?

Since it is the winter in Missouri I decided to work on a couple of things with my 1983 280zx while the car is in the garage. I replaced all the fuel injectors and the fuel injector wiring. I also removed the valve cover and cleaned it up, and replaced the gasket. Finally, I ordered one of those silicone hose kit and replaced a bunch of the vacuum tubes that were old and crumbling. I put a new fuel filter in while I was messing with the fuel system. I went to test drive it yesterday and it started up just fine and runs well. I backed it out in to the driveway and the brake pedal dropped down to the floor. I think the brakes work, but just barely. I checked the brake fluid and it wasn't even up to the minimum line so I added some dot 3. I tried starting the car and pumping the brakes and the pedal still wants to sink to the floor. I checked the vac hoses to the master vac unit by the master cylinder and they are on there tight. What is blowing my mind is that when I pulled the car in the garage back in November, the brakes worked great. I can't find brake fluid anywhere that would indicate there is a leak. Is there anything I could of touched in the above process that could be causing this issue? I read through my chilton and I don't see anything. Other forums talk about bleeding the brakes, bad master cylinder, etc....but I find it hard to believe it would suddenly just fail. I could be wrong and it could be completely unrelated to what I did - but I am hoping someone reads this and has a solid idea of what I could have changed that caused the issue. Thanks!

Thanks all. I think you are right. I may need to take the wheel off and see if I can attach it. I can see daylight up there when I look at the attached picture. Nevermind....I can't upload either!

I took my car apart to paint it and have it mostly back together. I have a couple of parts and can't for the life of me figure out where they go. I think it's somewhere near the front fenders but not entirely sure. Could someone point me in the right direction (see attached). Thanks!

@S30Grit - When you took the CSV out, did you have to do anything special? I was looking in the Chilton manual and it said you might have to jump some electrical connections to get it to depressurize? I just don't want to take it off and have fuel spurting everywhere! ?

Thanks everyone!

I am hoping someone who has done this can save me some trouble. My climate control is having the issue where the blower only turns on when in the defrost position and cold air shoots out the floor vents. No heat. I have found several posts saying that this is more than likely one of the two main vacuum lines that runs through the firewall up to the AC vacuum tank. In the engine compartment the lines look fine to the naked eye. What I don't know is how they look inside the cab. I have the dash fully removed, but I can't see how they come through the firewall. Is it literally just a long vacuum hose that runs through the firewall, or is there a plug on the other side to connect in to? I am afraid I will have to remove the heater core and AC unit to get to it which looks like quite the undertaking. Thanks for the help!