78 280zcar

In taking the distributor aprt I found a ball the size of a BB inside there is that suppose to be there and it was also loose

Hello ya all, I am having a problem with my 280z, it idles rough and I checked the vacuum advance unit and it isnt holding air, it looks to be the original unit. Does anyone know where to get one online. Is there anything else I should check, I wish I could send a link to let you guys know what it sounds like but I dont know how to do that, I's an idiot to the web :stupid:, but is there anything else I should check, I havent changed the fuel filter for about 2 years could this be a problem too. Any ideas would be a great help

Cool, I was leaking coolant down by the radio and did'nt want the stereo to blow, payed too much for the dang thing.

I dont know if you are talking about my car or chickenwafers, but if you are talking about my car mine is a 78 280z and has fuel injection.

Hello, I was wondering if anyone knew the intake and exhaust valve clearance for a 78 280z when the engine is cold and also do you take off the rocker springs for this adjustment. Thanks

I figured out where the plugs go but my car still idles messed up. I checked for spark on all wires and cracks in dist., it looks like I will have to go for the fuel filter next, sorry to butt in on the thread you guys. My heater core was about to go too and I bypassed it and just ran the heater hose from the water pump to the back of the block where the other hose hooks up, is this alright to do or will it do something bad :paranoid:

Help, I am having the same problem with the firing order, where does the #1 wire go to the dist. cap. Shane

I thought the dampner was inline of the fuel pump behind the gas tank

You might want to check and see if your fuel pump is turning on with the ignition on, and also check to see if there is any cracks inside the distributer cap.

I have a 78 280z, when I start it it will run like crap like it is going to die and then idles fine, when I come to the first stop or stop sign the idle will go up and down from 1000 rpms to 500 rpms and after that it will run fine . Does anyone have any idea what would cause that. I thought it was an air leak but am not sure. Thanks

Thanks for all your help guys, I am going to get a new oil pressure sender and get my radiator routed out and see if that helps with the cooling issue. Shane

It is called the water temperature sending unit and I found it for 12.95 in motorsport magazine. Sometimes I swear I am a blond airheadLOL

The part that I cant find is the water temperature thermal transmitter, it has a one wire hookup like the sender. That is what it is called in the manual I have. It says in the manual that it is part of the water temp gauge and the oil pressure gauge. If you read the other posts I have on here, I wrote how to test it and it gave a bad reading.

About the transmitter, I tested it like it said in the book and it failed the test! Also what is the oil pressure gauge suppose to do. Mine hardly does anything at all, when the car is idleing the gauge will go up just a little, and when I step on the gas peddle and get the RPM's up to about 2000 it goes all the way back down, is this normal. Thanks for the help. I just need to know if I have to go to pick and pull because I cant find this part anywhere not even in motorsport z's. I would have to order it from Nissan and that is way to expensive, seeing as I am on a tight budget

The thermal transmitter is to the right of the water temperature switch and only has one wire going to it instead of two, it is part of the water temperature gauge and the oil pressure gauge system. If I cant find anything out about the transmitter, or if anyone cant help on that, then I am going to take the radiator to a shop and have them route it out for $55.00. I guess that isnt bad, I would rather pay that much rather than having to buy a whole new engine block, ya know :classic: EDIT: I guess we posted at the same time bambiker, but I wasnt saying that you didnt know anything about what you were saying about the radiator, I was just a little more concerned about the reading I got on the transmitter. Someone told me I could check for flow that way.

after the car is warmed up you can see it flow inside of the radiator cap. Any suggestions on the thermal transmitter?

Does anyone know anything about the "water temperature thermal transmitter", it says in the book to test it disconnect the lead from it and connect the lead to a good ground and turn the ignition to "on" and if the temperature needle goes all the way to hot then the transmitter is bad. Well I did that and the needle went all the way to hot. Has anyone else tested this and what were your results, thanks.

I have a new thermal fan clutch on it and a 1 year old water pump on it so I dont think it could be those, I checked to see if the radiator was pumping water when the engine was running and it was. grayghost, what did you do did you get a new radiator. Thanks for the help guys, I am kinda stumped on this one, I've been trying to fix it for the past 9 months or so. Also should I check to see if the front of the radiator is clear of debris.

I have installed a thermostat, (180 degree thermostat), I put a new radiator cap on it. My car does not overheat when it is idling, I can let the car idle for a half an hour without it overheating ithe gauge stays right in the middle. When I take it on the freeway at around 70 MPH is when I start having problems, the gauge will go past the middle almost 1/4 of an inch before the 250 mark on the gauge. Any suggestions would be very helpful. Thanks

It might also be your ignition switch or the ground on your battery, you might want to check out the negative lead on the fuel pump too. I have kinda the same problem and traced it down to the ground on the battery. I wire brushed the leads from the wire itself and put new battery terminals on the posts. I still have to change my ignition switch though, because mine wont start sometimes and I thought it was the neutral start switch, so I tried starting it in neutral but it still didnt start, (mine is also an automatic), I have to shove the key in as hard as I can to get it to start.

Hey grunt you have a parking lot above your house:cry: . that must be rough:classic: . In your pics are all of those yours. I kinda like the way that fairlady looks except for the paint job.

Why dont you just do the procedure for changing the fuel filter in the manual. disconnect the - terminal from the battery, disconnect the black earth lead from the fuel pump, disconnect the the lead from the "S" terminal on the starter which would be the small wire. Remove the two screws which hold the cold start valve on and lift out the cold start valve and hold it in a container to catch the fuel and then reconnect the battery terminal and turn the ignition switch to start and all the fuel will be ejected from the valve thus relieving pressure and then you can do the tests and also change the filter. Shane

getrdone, did you need to get the flywheel out of the manual 78 280z or did you just use the same one, I want to do a swap on my 78 280 but am not sure about the flywheel. Also how did your automatic do when you were driving on the freeway did it sound like it needed to change gears when you are going about 65 mph, like it needed an extra gear. Shane

Hey thanks alot, I was'nt too sure about what years fit.

And also does'nt the manual tranny use the engine oil or does it have a dipstick for putting the oil in or could I be a dip stick for even asking that question.