Hrududu

Sounds like dried antifreeze. That same kind of stuff was all around where my headgasket has been leaking antifreeze.

Thanks Jeremy, I too wish you lived near me because I have no clue what I'm doing. I began this process on October 31st and I am still nowhere near done. I just don't have the tools, space, or knowledge to do this. The simple task of changing the head gasket has turned into a total pain in the arse I would rather not have to deal with. I would seriously saving up the $$ to tow it down to some shop and pay someone to finish this for me if I knew that was even a possibility. I just can't do it anymore. I spent too much time learning computer repair skills and not enough time learning mechanical stuff. The biggest problem is, there is no one around here who knows anything about these cars. In my entire life, I have only seen 3 or 4 other 240-280Z's here, and don't know a single person who has ever owned one or worked on one. It sucks when there is no one to give you a hand or some advice when you need it. The only help I am getting is from this site and this damn Haynes manual that doesn't tell crap.

Does the oil pan have to come out to get the front engine cover off?

So It looks like I have sprung the tensioner. Do I reset it by removing the front of the engine or can I go in from the oil pan. Is one easier than the other?

Okay, so it doesn't pop over all the way then. Well, looks like I've got some work to do. thanks.

Well, after going out and taking a look, Maybe I got lucky and it didn't spring. Here is a picture. Yes, im sorry to say that's a coat hanger.

The only one I have is the 240-280Z Haynes manual. Its nice book i guess, assuming you have the engine out of the car and are doing a complete teardown, but they don't tell you anything about just changing a head gasket. By looking at the pictures SBlake01 posted, I did spring the tensioner, so it looks like I'm going to be removing the front of the engine here soon. Everything is still in the car.

Not to be a pain here, but I did read the manual I have and It isn't very clear on these things. No, I probably don't have any business working on an engine. The only reason I am is becuase It had to be done and I don't have enough money to pay anyone to do it for me. TDC is not an acronym I know, so I'm sorry about that. Just because someone doesn't know what "ROTFLAMO, IMHO, TTYL, or TRDMC" doesn't mean they shouldn't talk online. Had it been typed as "top dead center" i would have known what was meant. I'm only 18 and have never worked on engines or cars until I got this 280Z a year ago, so I don't know much of anything when it comes to mechanical stuff.

Not sure what that means. Anyways, I did keep the chain tight and never let it slip off. I did know that much.

Okay, so I've been in the process of changing my headgasket and I have it all done except the put back together part. Now I have hit a brick wall. After I had the head surfaced, they had to remove the Cam and it's not back the same it was when I dropped it off. What do I need to do to reset the timing on here before I put it all back together. If you need to know anything, I can let you know anything necessary to get this running. I have never worked on cars before this summer, so I honestly have no clue what I'm doing aside from what I have read on this site and others like it.

I have finished my tear down and have had my head surfaced. I am looking at the pistons and block here below the head, and it is nasty. all black with peices of the old head and a few deposits in some spots. What is safe to use to clean all this off? I don't want to get anything in the cylinders that mey damage them. This crap is on here tight, so I need to get it off with something before I get the head on. What should I use?

There is a link to the pic in my original post... sblake01, that one you have pictured is the same pipe, only mine came disconnected. Is yours connected in there pretty solid? Mine just came off when I pulled the intake manifold back away from the head. I don't believe I broke anything, but It's not easy to see how it should be connected.

While in the process of removing the intake manifold to change my headgasket, I noticed this little pipe became disconnected. What is it, and does it look broken? I never "disconnected" it, it just came off. Is it for heating up the intake manifold or something like that? Picture HERE

make tiny circles or zig zags as you move along. Don't go too fast, but if you go too slowly, you will make a giant puddle.

The ones on mine are the same color as the car. as far as i know, they are original.

This morning I'm leaving my house to go to school. Everything is fine for about 5 minutes, then I started hearing this loud vibrating sound coming from the rear of my car (not in the very back, just in what sounds like the cargo space). I was driving at 55mph in 5th when it started and it happens as long as I am in gear. It goes away when i push in the clutch, as as I accelerate. Once I reach a steady speed, the noise grows louder. I swear I didn't do anything. I was driving very easily, and this just started happening. The only thing I can think of, is when I had traveled about 2 blocks from my house, i heard what sounded like something falling onto the passenger floor. I disreguareded it at the time becuase I just assumed my brother had dropped something, but he said he didn't. Please help me. My car is falling apart more so every day, and I'm out of $$.

alright, good. I tried the search, but didn't find anything about bypassing it. I guess I'll just cancel my order from MSA and try for the one on ebay.

So my heater valve blew this past summer, and I ordered a new one from MSA at the beginning of August. Needless to say, It hasn't been shipped yet. Now it is late october and its getting really cold in the mornings. It is still on backorder and they have no clue when it will be shipped. Until then, what can I do for heat? Can i just bypass the valve with hoses and have it on all the time? I'm pretty pissed about this whole thing. I wish they would have told me it was on backorder when i ordered it, but I didn't find this out until I called about it much later.