Virto

Charles - That'd be great, I'd be more than willing to pay for your trouble. Do you think I could stand to just pull the plugs I've got now and look at those versus swapping them again? They're a month old and have maybe 7 starts/runs on them.

It's an over-rider bar. Some folks like them, some don't. They aren't particularly in demand.

I'll install an in-line filter for sure, whether I swap the pump or not. I'm anxious to look at the pump screen and see if it's all plugged up. Five bucks for a little added protection never hurt anyone. Plugs all looked the same when I replaced them prior to waking the car back up. I haven't pulled them again, but it's only run maybe 6 times since the install. Pretty sure they're BPR5ES-11, which might be a little hotter than I need but for now they'll do OK. The old plugs were pretty nasty, but they weren't oily or gas-washed, and they were all uniform in appearance and rather old. Thanks for the sizing info. I'll give it a double-check next time I'm in the garage for the high-pressure hose and then the tank to pump and pump to damper when we get it up to check on the pump and install the in-line filter. I thought the damper was intended to prevent any kind of surging flow from the pump, almost like a 2nd FPR. Looks like the only way to test the damper is to stick a fuel pressure gauge right after it and see if it bounces around, per the FSM. I've considered simply punching a slot for a flat-head screwdriver with a chisel, dremel makes more sense, but I wouldn't try that unless I can push the fuel filter out of the bracket first. The screw is very soft, it should be very easy to cut. With the bracket removed, I could probably just drill it out, worst case. Thanks for taking your time to help with this. I spend a lot of time poking through most threads on the board just to glean a little extra insight into my own issues. -Kelly

Illinois? Where about?

Very cool, glad you like it. I've always had a soft spot for the Boxster, even though I haven't liked 911s since they went to water-cooled engines. 944, 928, Boxster - I'd love to own any of them.

Disconnect the harness from the cold start valve. I doubt it's stuck open - sounds like you're running WAY rich, more than the dribble from the CSV would provide, I'd think. The cam is flinging oil around the inside of the valve cover, so I'm not surprised you have oil coming out when you take the cap off. How much oil does this car use normally? Is it visibly leaking? Sounds like blowby and oil burning, as well as some coolant, perhaps.

Honestly, I hadn't even considered that possibility. I was just following the write-up over at Z Car Tech Tips Fram G3 Filter Installation The car in the example is a 77...but maybe it's just luck that nothing has gone wrong?

OK, pulled the vac line off of the FPR and opened it up - no backfire. Reconnected the FPR - no backfire. Decided I'd better have an idea of what's going on, so I climbed into the cabin. I was able to rev it freely from idle to around 5k. I wasn't about to push it more than that parked in the garage. It did stumble again a couple of times when it was around that 5k mark. The pump is still loud and the fuel filter bracket is going to have to come off - I still can't turn that screw. The screw head is too soft and the slots are too shallow to get screwdriver to bite. So I've essentially eliminated nothing here, in my search for the issue. My budget is shot for the month, but I need to get my hands on a fuel pressure and a vac gauge, I expect.

I'll give it a shot when I get home - honestly I was kind of hoping you'd chime in. If it is in fact a lean condition, I would blame either the pump or the pump screen initially, given the pump's cry for help. I won't be able to get the pump pulled until this weekend, at the earliest. How many different sizes of fuel hose did Nissan use on these things? I was hoping the FSM or EFI bible would list hose sizes in specific locations - It'd be cheaper to buy a spool of hose and replace things as I go than to buy cuts from the parts store. I noticed my upper hose from the filter to the fuel rail is cracking - spurring my desire to replace the old rubber. I'll report back on the FPR in a few hours.

I've considered that as well. If the stupid screw was hex-head or, I don't know...maybe just a BOLT it would never have been an issue. I'll probably replace it with a bolt for ease of use in the future.

OK attached are the vids I promised earlier. The sound is...poor. And the leaking exhaust drowns out a lot of the noise you're listening for, ie - the stumble, but it should still be apparent. The in-cabin vid features my fuel pump whine - it's impossible to miss. I tried to loosen the fuel filter bracket screw again tonight but no dice. I hit it with more acetone/ATF mix and I'll try again later in the week. Thanks for the help, fellas. Z Stall in car | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Z stall enginebay | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Rain is heading in, but had plenty of time (I thought) to simply swap out the fuel filter. The screw that tightens the bracket is immovable, but very soft. I knew I'd just round the whole thing out if I wasn't careful, so I gave up, soaked the hell out of it with ATF/Acetone and I'll try again tomorrow or so. Once I get it out, I'll probably replace it with a similarly sized bolt so I don't have to worry about it being an issue again.

I snagged a new under-hood filter on lunch. I've got that whole "add a little clear Fram between the tank and pump" article bookmarked already. I'm not sure if the pump on the car is OEM, although it seems that most mechanical parts are - and not just OEM, but original. I'll look into the FPR after I get a pressure reading.

I'm positive that it's due for replacement at this point, period. O'Rileys carries both Fram and Wix replacements, I just hadn't picked one up before I did the water pump yesterday. I might be able to snag one on lunch today.

I assumed it was just an outward sign of pump failure. It would certainly be nice if the pump itself wasn't an issue. Was your obstruction past the pump or in the tank? I'll be posting two vids, one standing by the engine bay working the throttle by hand and another from the cabin. In the cabin video, you can clearly hear the pump droning.

Hey folks - I've recently revived my 280Z and am working to get it back on the road. I've drained and replaced the old fuel - there was some sediment present, but I was surprised at how little. The car turns over and starts easily, and idles like a champ, hovering around 850-900 RPM (it's an automatic, just fyi). However, when throttle is applied, power drops, the car will rev to 1500-3000 RPM or thereabouts and then pop, stutter and basically drop dead back to idle. The car never dies during this time. The existing fuel pump wails like a banshee. I'm not sure if it's an OEM pump or an aftermarket junker. I do have an aftermarket pump on-hand for temporary use, as I don't have the cash for an OEM pump at this time. But trust me, I'm aware of the opinions on the aftermarket units... Obviously, it's not drivable in this state, but it's enough that I can putt it around the driveway and garage while I work on it. It's easier to see in the sun, after all. I'm compiling a list of tests and options. My tool selection is limited and I no longer have my vac or fuel pressure gauges, so I'll need to replace those at the least. Here's what I'm looking at so far: Replace fuel filter (needs to be done anyway) Perform vac test, possibly yogurt-cup option Perform fuel pressure test Some people have mentioned that the throttle valve switch has been the cause of stumbling like this. The FSM states that it can be continuity tested but you have to judge degrees of movement and it all sounds complicated. Is there a simple way to test this switch, like running the car with the harness disconnected? When the car stumbles, it voices its displeasure, and sounds like it's backfiring under the hood - I'm pretty confident than my downpipe is rusted out, and that equal parts of the exhaust end up under the hood as that shoot out the back. I've tried to capture this in a couple of videos that I'll compress and upload tonight when I'm home. They are fairly poor quality, but might be better than nothing.

I'll say it can be an interesting experience trying to wrench on a bolt when you only have intermittent feeling in your fingers. I'm going to give it the old college try when it comes to getting it back on the road. Getting that pump in was possibly the most "mechanic" like thing I'd ever done on my own. Now I just need to get it to stop leaking... I'm going to have to make a new post looking for help with the engine's lack of desire to rev. I'm trying to do what I can with limited time and even more limited tools, but I'll try to mud through. Most of my budget is already gone in the short term, after getting the car tagged again (it had been a couple of years) and insured.

Yes, there's a drain plug - I ended up finding that article after I'd already siphoned the tank, but it's good for future reference. Today's update: The water pump has been replaced, although one of the short bolts did break off right at the first thread (top, driver's side, roughly 2 o'clock position). The other bolts came out just fine, although one of the thick, long bolts was very corroded and was a major pain to get out via much wiggling and swearing. I know some folks have had good luck with one missing bolt, although it's usually the 11 o'clock bolt - so I figured we'd go ahead and try it. It does leak from that area, but it's not extreme. I think I try pulling it and using a gasket sealer and then replace it again. The new fan clutch and everything seem to work very well, and the leak at the pump is not severe. Now, I found the obvious point of failure in the old pump - the bearings failed and the impeller ground against the internal baffle. Explains why I couldn't turn it by hand. So, now the car idles well and I'll keep at the water leak issue, but I'm going to have to move ahead with the fuel pump, which sounds like a banshee, and the car's desire to stumble when it's given basically any throttle. It reacts pretty violently when given any gas, stumbling and almost making a backfiring sound. I took a couple vids but they don't sound very clear. I'm going to try cleaning them up and uploading them later.

Gotcha. There's probably 5-8 gallons of gas left in the tank. Is there some kind of treatment or additive that I should run through after I drain the tank and add fresh gas? Do we think it would be better to siphon out via the filler tube versus running the pump, on the possibility that there might be sediment that could clog the pump screen? Rather that some kind of mechanical pump that creates heat or might risk a spark, I bet I could use a fish-tank vacuum siphon with one of those little bulb starters, versus mouthing the hose...

Been sick the last few days, so very little real progress to report. I managed to break the fan loose from the clutch - I have no doubt it's original - and paid the price of very cut knuckles. The pulley is pretty crapped up, but it should clean up just fine with a little steel wool. The water pump bolts have gotten another soaking with ATF/Acetone and will get a couple more during the week - the pump is the project for the weekend.

Alright, so, today's project was a pain in the tail end, but we're on schedule. I think I found the cause of some of my front-end rattle. Turns out the radiator shroud wasn't actually bolted to the radiator. Pulled the top hose, managed to get the fan and clutch removed from the water pump after much swearing, and started soaking the hell out of the water pump bolts. The pulley shows a lot of buildup, but it should scrub clean with a little elbow grease. The pump itself looks like crap, but so does most of the stuff under the hood. I'll be soaking the bolts for the next week or so before removing the pump. I'll have a look at the shroud and see if it needs some kind of repair that might explain why it wasn't actually attached to the radiator.

Back from my little mini-vacation and I'm going to try to whip up some Acetone/ATF and soak the water pump bolts - hopefully I can get the shroud off easily. When installing the new pump, should I use some kind of silicone sealant or RTV?

Pump and fan clutch came today, thanks to ZC Source - plus, I've got a Z car magnet stuck to my PC now. That's just plain nice of them. Looks like I'll need to mix up some of that homebrew lube. Not sure if I'll get to the point where I can try the install this weekend of it it'll have to wait a few weeks while I'm out of town. Providing this goes well, I'll replace the hoses and belts and then look into bleeding the brakes and seeing what needs to be dealt with on that front.

Now that's a good idea. I'll have to make a little shopping list.

A mech gauge is your best bet, as you mentioned. What weight oil? At idle, my factory gauge reads very low with 10W30 when hot. Might need a little heavier weight oil, but I'd rule out the pressure sender first.