Barefootdan

I recall reading that you could measure the amount needed to cut off the car if you pulled the diff. I'll try to find that thread.

I forgot to post an update to my Z since the head fiasco! I was able to get the new gasket installed and torqued all studs/nuts appropriately. I chased my threads and a few had some gunk so it was a worth while job. Zero smoking since! I was so relieved. I did some more research on other platforms and it seems like it is a common issue on the ARP head studs. I assume it is a combination of user error with some dirty threads and what not. Regardless, times are good and I have been able to finally take the car out for a spin longer than 1 minute! I was having some high temp readings with my radiator setup. Nothing too crazy, but sitting towards the M on my TEMP gauge. Since I am running no shroud, I did a quick DIY with some left over aluminum and foam to get a seal. I am now always running right in the middle temp. I also grabbed a generic overflow container and just waiting for the line to show up in the mail. Other than that I have been busy working on some new bumper plates and other misc. fill plates. I originally used a snap in design but the tolerances were so tight that I would occasionally run into broken clips or a loose fit. I switched up the design to be a two piece clamp style. This will give me room for any variances in peoples bumpers while still providing a nice solid mount. My goal for this design was to provide a bolt in solution. I know many people don't have access to a welder or don't want to sand their paint, weld, repaint. While this doesn't provide as flush and clean of a look, it is still better than a gapping hole in my opinion. These are sandable, paintable, and wont warp due to heat. Here is an example for the small bumper holes, but I have created plates for all the rear bumper ones, even the awkward side bumper mount holes, as well as for the side indicators. I hope to start selling these soon! Up next is tackling the bushings and suspension. I am looking to see what people think of my setup: Koni Yellows from MSA with Eibach Springs. I am hoping I will have a level look when running no bumpers, I read alot about this issue but it is hard to find an exact replication. All of my isolators are shot so now is a good time to run 240z style all around if it will help with leveling the car. I am also considering Vogtland springs. Wheels I am torn on 15x7 with 225/50r15 or to run a 205/50r15. Smaller tire will be lighter and easier steering but I do like the meatier look of the 225's. Full Energy Poly Bushings. But I will run the softer TC rod bushings on the backside. TechnoVersions Diff mount as well.

Making progress! So we know at least there is an issue electrically. On the page 64 of the EFI bible, you can see that if the test failed, which it did, that you can do a few tests next using the FSM. http://www.xenonzcar.com/s30/fsm.html here’s a list of all the years and their FSM, start from the first recommendation on EF-42 then go down the list. Possible your dropping resistor or relay is bad Edit: @Zed Headbeat me to it! 😂

Looks sweet. What color are you hoping to see?

Sorry, what are you referring to?

S16 E324 of Roadkill Extra shows them installing a head in their "How-To" guide. No secret sauce yet...they did say they will use the spray copper gasket maker for the composite style gaskets.

Ooooo not to throw a wrench in the process but I’ve done the gasket dry with no sealant and haven’t had issues yet. But @heyitsramahas an EXCELLENT point about taking it off easily. Mine is a PITA to align everytime I did the valves….might need to RTV next time 🙂 edit: just to clarify, not saying RTV is bad. But you shouldn’t have issues if you dont use RTV too!

Hmmm I haven’t! But I just started watching their roadkill garage too, so maybe it’ll pop up soon!

The slant six is a great episode! I watched it when I got my Z as it’s was the closest thing to our engines 😅 Compression ratio is an obvious result but a great episode. Cam duration and overlap is an interesting episode too. I also liked the velocity stack one. Funny how a mix match of sizes gave the smoothest curve but I never see anyone using that!

wow thats crazy! I wonder if that was the main source of the sound. Any tips on taking the diff out? I think my plan of attack will be to drop the whole rear end as one piece if there's no downside.

Based on that and: Disconnected both #1 and #2 injectors while car was running. RPM dropped Swapped #2 injector plug to #1 injector. No change in rpm. It seems like a fuel issue first. I know its a pain, but maybe swap injector #2 with #1 to see if the issue follows? This can rule out the injector itself. Also, check continuity between injector #1 and your ECM, Pin 15. See Pg. 64: https://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/efisystem/280zfuelinjectionbook.pdf

Was your spark plug wet? At least to know if the fuel is getting into the chamber.

One of my favorite shows as well! Some of the concept results surprised me.

Beautiful work!

Looks like those are Rota Shakotan wheels. id guess 15”. Usually 15x8 with a 0 offset is the 280z fitment but this looks a bit more aggressive. Maybe a 9” wide and different offset?

Thanks Zed. I’m going to chase the threads today and feel them out like you suggested.

Sorry if my response came off rude, I appreciate all insight! Their instructions are very vague I agree. I did use lube, but mistakenly on both ends of the stud. I read mixed opinions on this, but looking back again at ARP they don’t say to lube with their moly on the block side, just motor oil or some loctite.

My thought was they are loosening causing the head to lift. The nuts weren’t finger loose but say they were able to reduce their torque spec to a lower value? In my head the harsh vibrations of running on 4 cylinders shook them loose a bit. But I could totally be wrong. Maybe it was a coincidence the front studs were loose and that’s where my leak was. Both the head and block were resurfaced.

I bet you didn't expect to see that! Strange times are going on. I have been battling a smoking issue the past couple of days and believe I finally found what happened. But some background on how we got here. I was wrapping up my carburetor settings with new jets, timing, and fuel pressure. Everything was going well when my carb #1 (feeding Cyl 1 and 2) flooded. And I mean FLOODED, as gas was pouring out the throats of the carb. I was lucky the car was cold and no fire started from the header. Some diagnosis lead me to my needle valve intermittently getting stuck. I swapped in a new valve of the same spec and reinstalled the carb. In a rush, I forgot to attach the linkage to this carb. Started the car and it ran rough, I gave it some throttle to see if it would clear with no luck. It was obviously running only on 4 cylinders when above idle looking back. Less than a minute later, I turned it off and inspected. I saw my issue and the Z started fine, drove in to the garage, but was smoking white smoke now. This time I thought I set my float level too high and was flooding enough for the cylinder to just get soaked. Inspecting my plugs, #2 was wet enough that it was no longer sparking. I was worried it was the head gasket, so I threw on a compression test. All cylinders were 190-200. Hmmm, I also did a block test with the blue fluid with no reaction. Double Hmmm. I kept going back to flooding at this point or faulty ignition. I was getting spark and swapping wires and plugs showed no effect. I then swapped carb 1 and 3 to see if the wet plug followed. To my dismay, it did not follow. #2 was still soaked, still smoking, and #6 was dry as a bone. Between all of these tests, I started to notice the car would stop smoking once warm. So, I my feeling is that the gasket was leaking just enough to allow it to seal back up due to thermal expansion. Lucky to us, the L series is a friendly motor and an hour later the head was off. I believe I found my culprit as well. When taking the ARP head studs off, the nuts were torqued correctly (None were loose), but once cracked loose, I could tell a handful near the front of my block were loose. They could rock in their seats and I could get a couple turns in by hand. My first thought was breaking the nut loose will obviously loosen the stud a bit, but from the middle block to the back, all were still seated nicely and required the aid of an allen wrench to loosen. Note, they were not torqued in at all, but I could not finger loosen. So in the end I blame myself for faulty install of the ARP studs! Reading into it, it seems air can get trapped down there and waiting a bit, reseating, then proceeding with the head, is the preferred method. My gasket was not blown out in any obvious spot, but there was water (I am not running coolant yet) between the surfaces and in cylinder #2...cant you tell how clean that one is 🙂 New gaskets are on order and I will chase my threads again for safety. I will add some coolant this time for easier diagnosis in the future...well I hope I dont need to diagnosis it! But it will also help with the oxidation of the water too, I know you spotted those orange water jackets! Oh and the car has been stripped of most of its paint in preparation for future body work and paint. I am digging the look of it too! I want to hit it with some 320 grit to see how it cleans up 🙂

Shot in the dark, is that where the electric fuel pump and bracket is mounted usually? I dont see mounting holes but the pump is in that area, no?

I get excited when I see yellow springs. KW makes my favorite suspension. I don’t recognize yellow springs other than racecomp. Total toss in the dark but can you tell if they were painted perhaps? Maybe scratch near the end to see? I’ve seen it done before 😅

Same boat. I’ll be tearing mine apart to do bushings and joints over the summer. Looking forward to seeing how it goes for you 🙂 I am dreading the spindles! Mine also has clunking and I landed on the technoversions mount instead of the strap. Haven’t seen any bad issues with it other than getting the correct amount to cut the bushing is sometimes a pain. But if the diff is off the car it’s cake.

@Av8fergone of the two black/yellow wires should be hot at all times for your brake lights. Can you see if you are getting power there? Perhaps it only gets power when your combination switch is on (we can trace backwards if this is the case). edit: oops I was using 75 colors. 77 will be green/red. Check to see if your defroster works too. Seems it shares the same circuit. Fuse could be blown?

Funny, my oil pump leaked too using that kit. Luckily I was able to snug it up a bit more and the leak stopped.

Definitely a good idea, I’ll test one to see how it looks.