sideshowbob

The only good EGR valve is a missing egr valve.

Two bad injectors.

Good to hear it! Now if mine will just co-operate.....

Possible leaky fuel injectors or CS valve. Glowing headers can be a symptom of seriously rich mixture and/or bad valve timing. The chain may have jumped a tooth. Is it smoking? Funny smell? Plug wires connected correctly? Coil check out? Replacing the ECU is expensive and probably a last resort.

I wonder if I'm infringing on something or other.....

It's Tony. You're welcome.

No. I disagree. I shall now embark upon a trek that will end with my eventual arrival at the Great Z Mountain. After performing sufficient homage to the Great Gods of the Z (and maybe the Great Gods of Avacadoes, they're great too) I will join the great Google Moon Project as a network engineer. From this loft position in the skies, I will be able to implement my GREAT-TAKE-OVER-THE-WORLD™ plan. After that I might have lunch. With an avacado liberally doused in cheap, generic soy sauce. That would be great.

I stand corrected.

Oh, Lance: You're correct there. In other motors I understand that a competition cam REQUIRES heavier springs to drain the lifter. Perhaps your valve springs have had it?

It's a wild guess, but... The conversion to an internally oiled cam may have caused an increase in pressure if the oiling holes are considerably smaller to the cam. While this doesn't affect the mechanical setup, it could conceivably cause this problem. More so if the conversion was done incorrectly (if that's the case, you'll quickly lose your cam, hydraulic or not). I don't have the engine oiling diagram in front of me and can't verify the direction of flow. Anyone know more?

They're lighter, the body differences are striking when compared side by side and just general preference. If you prefer the ZX, then it's better. For you.

Errr. my fault there. It's fiberglass resin solvent that = acetone, I use it to remove lacquer overspray and, well, dissolve resin. The fumes are overpowering :sleep:

They're the same thing.

Your only option may be acetone. If all else fails rub a cloth soaked in in on the spray and quickly remove it with a clean rag. Use sparingly, it can tear up the vinyl.

Let's start a betting pool!

Ummm, look. Calm down. Just connect one wire at a time. If something wierd happens (engine gets worse than before, after warm up), unplug the cold start valve. If this fixes it, you have the wires backwards. Don't be afraid, it won't explode! (unless you're me and prone to doing shady modifications in a parking lot with cheap or scrounged parts, in that case I take no responsibility for my errrr.... I mean: your actions). Though blake is probably correct, the injectors also don't really care which wire is where.

So have I. I used a 10$ Olds 88 underhood box cut in half Nice silver contacts, btw.

This is from a 77. Despite the reputation the japanese have today for electronics, these cars had crap wiring. Check the wires running from the alternator all the way to your fusebox. Odds are you'll find something like the pic below. Once the tape came off, the splice crumbled into dust. Oddly enough, everything still worked (most of the time).

Nevermind, it seems this gasket is called for from 75 to ZX according to the supplier. Odd.

Ummm, no. The engine has been redone, but quite some time ago. Hasn't seen nearly as much driving as sitting in a driveway with the hood vents off (created some serious dirt buildup! Not to mention leaves!) The head is an N42 the block an f57 and the car came to me in this odd patchwork condition. The gasket isn't shown in the picture, but it IS for a 77 and has diamond shaped ports. It had the MSA gasket before. Didn't do the trick and fell apart on removal, so I thought I'd try the fel. Not much of a risk at 10$. Maybe I'll just bolt it up and see what happens?

This is rather embarrasing, I picked up a manifold gasket the other day for my '77 and it turns out the n42 head I have and the head I SHOULD have are rather different. I have diamond exhaust ports on the gasket and rectangles on the head.... Ouch. This isn't the worst part. I put them on before realizing the error. Anyhow, with luck the parts store will take them back as a gesture of goodwill My problem here, though, is that the headers don't seem to align very well. I believe they're MSA (They have a thick bar running along the bottom that flares on the ports) hell, here's some pics. Anyone else have this problem? How do you fix it? Grind the tops of the flanges to fit under the thermostat housing, or not?

While I'm at it, the manifold torque... How do you get the torque wrench in there? a couple of those I had to remove with an open end wrench and I don't see how this is going to work out. Do I need a set of crow's feet, maybe?

I'm trying to do exactly what you've just described having done. There are no deposits on the top of the cylinder head (valve spring/cam area), only on the valve stems/tops (visible through the port). As I mentioned before... two seals are leaky, the rest is from BRAKE FLUID. Yes, BRAKE FLUID. I'll change the seals later with the head in place once the neccesary tools are available. I'm getting rid of the BCDD because I want to. There is no rational explanation for this, other than the simplification of the underhood workings. If it's a problem, I'll replace it later. I have inexplicable air leaks. I'm still playing with the intake/TB while it's sitting indoors. It's ok. Calm down guys. I promise I won't break her. Well, if I do I'll fix it. Yes. I am insane. I've done worse in a parking lot, wish I had the pictures for you. The victim of that operation runs quite well, for an Olds with copper pipe and JB weld holding it's plastic intake together.

I'm a moderately insane white guy with curly hair, a severe case of megalomania and an annoyingly large vocabulary.. Oh, don't forget the big nose. Never forget the nose...... The moniker is also available at most sites (As is my name, but I'd rather not toss it to every member of every forum I visit. This is due largely to the fact that megalomania and paranoia are but two sides of the same twisted coin.)

Raw fuel in the cylinders and odd fuel problems have been the bane of my Z. Let's go through the list! The hoses connecting the various components crack and leak with age. They can be replaced with inexpensive FUEL INJECTION HOSE from your local autozone (Yes, yes, enough autozone hate already, they're cheap and carry GOODYEAR hose, damn you). Take care the hose you purchase has FUEL INJECTION printed in white on its side and get the closest you can the size in your car. I've completelty forgotten the size I purchased, though I remember it runs about 3.50 per foot. If the electrical connection to an injector is bad, that cylinder will recieve LESS fuel than it should, causing a rough engine. The injectors themselves may be clogged/bad. To test: With the engine running, place the blade of a long screwdriver (I prefer a stethoscope) against the body of each injector with the handle against your ear and verify that they all do, indeed, work. You will hear a sharp, repetitive CLICK if all is well. USUAL SAFETY DISCLAIMER GOES HERE. Remove all 'clips' from the injector connectors (Skip this if you've already installed the bosch connectors the clips are spring loaded for easy unplugging on those), leaving the connectors connected. While the engine is running: Pull a clip and note the change/lack of change in the motors performance. Replace the clip and repeat for the remaining 5. If an injector causes no change in engine sound it is either clogged or leaking(carbon on the spark plug can help to verify this). This is very much like the power balance test done by pulling spark plug wires. Low vacuum (the usual culprits) can cause high fuel pressure, in addition to a faulty regulator. In a vintage car, such as your own, the vacuum hoses must be checked (prefferably replaced, they are fairly inexpensive) as they are prone to the same difficulties the fuel hoses are. Your cold start valve may be leaking INTO the intake, as well. Verify this by unplugging it's connector(to prevent it's normal operation), removing the two screws holding it down, putting it in a jar (with it's hose still attached) and cranking the motor a few times. You may want to prevent it from starting by leaving the injectors disconnected or disabling your ignition. Doing this will create pressure in the lines and any leakage will be visible in the jar (In my opinion ANY leakage is too much). What condition are the spark plugs in? Do you have a Haynes manual (There are color pictures on the back cover depicting various engine conditions and their effects on the plugs). My apologies if I've duplicated anything in the thread. Didn't bother to go back through the pages.