Z Update

[al_itzah2luv]

So,

today was another grueling job at the auto shop.

We fixed the clutch, new brake fluid, tightened all vaccum lines and put new transmission oil in.

And took off the stupid front bumper,

(thinking about putting a grill on it instead)

My auto shop teacher took it for a spin in the parking lot and said that its not getting enough air and that it needs a Mass Air Flow Sensor.

So I was wondering if anyone has one that I can buy or have to let me know.

It would be optimum to have it by Thursday...but not absolutely necessary.

Anyways, just wanted to give a shout.

Thanks.

[bigoak]

Haven't been watching, but is the "With All Due Respect" new? :ogre:

On a '75 you are probably talking about an Air Flow Meter. Motorsport Auto sells them for $170 or so if you can't find one on the sites.

Cheers.

[al_itzah2luv]

thanks a lot.

the with all due respect has been there for a while since it caused drama, i took the old one off.

[Mr Camouflage]

Wow, he could tel that just by driving it? No electrical tests on the AFM or engine management comp? no O2 % test?

I'd download the L series efi book and do the air flow meter tests before shelling out $170 on a new one based on a seat of the pants diagnosis.

[sblake01]

I was going to say that. I don't know how familiar your auto shop teacher is with the Datsun EFI system but it's fairly common for people not familiar with these cars to mis-diagnose these cars and throw parts at them in attempt to solve problems. I'd make sure all of the vacuum hoses are hooked up correctly and all of the electrical connections are good and then run the functional tests on all of the EFI components before changing out parts.

[al_itzah2luv]

well, he owns an 82 280z

and we already tightened all the vacuum lines.

and today we also did an oil change.

and also changed the oil filter, seems to be that it hasnt been changed since the 27th of april of last year!

poor Z kept in horrible conditions by the previous owner.

[conedodger]

Basically the difference between a MAF and AFM is that the MAF uses heated wires to measure the mass of the air flowing by them. The AFM uses the position of the flapper to tell the ECU the flow of air. The MAF is far more accurate but the AFM can work just fine. I am curious too. How does a drive in the lot come back with a faulty AFM?

You can leak a ton of vacuum in the folds of the bellows for the AFM.

A dirty little secret few people know is that Motorsport Auto has their AFM's rebuilt by a local company called Brett Industries in Orange. You can walk right up to the door and have yours done. Not sure it will get you anything off but you might get it faster...

[al_itzah2luv]

problem is,

Im a minor and I dont have the resources to drive all the way to OC.

My parents wont do it, they dont really want me to have the Z in the first place.

And i dont know how he was able to tell with just driving around in the parking lot.

I mean I was sitting in the passenger seat and I asked what do you think is wrong, (because it still idles by itself and it wont stop revving by itself)

and all he said is that it sounds like theres not enough air getting into the engine and that i should find a MAF...

[Danglybanger]

Rule #1:

A car with EFI is nice for power, smoothness, and efficiency...

But if you're a novice, lacking in skill, knowhow, and equipment, attempting to repair a car with some fault in the EFI is downright antisocial I have rudimentary knowledge of how the system and its components work, and in fact have two cars with Bosch L-jetronic (what your car has, or maybe L-jetronic lambda depending on the year) myself (and another with mechanical K-jetronic, a whole different nightmare), and I'm still wary of working on the system unsupervised. Experts like SBlake probably feel differently

The hick way out, is to pull the EFI for carbs (which may or may not be legal, my Z is a 75 and thus smog exempt). I won't suggest that though, because IMO the fuel injection is part of what makes 280s special... And it's also neither the easiest or cheapest way out, IF you diagnose the problem PROPERLY, yourself. It'd probably going to be cheaper and easier to fix your EFI than to initiate a carb conversion.

I'd suggest picking up a book... damn I forgot what it's called, but it's something like Bosch Fuel injection, search that on Amazon.

Good luck, that car needs to be sorted out, 280Zs are the best

[MEZZZ]

You can download the Service manual at carfiche.com (or another site, Stephen, cant remember the link you posted a little while back). You can also download what is referred to as the Fuel Injection Bible(do a search on here for the link). It is written for the '75 model year and is very well written and fairly easy to understand. It has all the tests layed out to troubleshoot and refers back the the factory service manual as well.

Between those 2 books and Stephens advice on here, I was able to do alot to my car and didnt know the 1st thing about F.I.

[sblake01]

Here's links to the EFI Bible and the 1975 FSM. Like others have basically said, I wouldn't be so quick to yank the AFM and replace it just yet before doing some further and proper testing. You say your shop teacher owns a 82 280ZX. I'm not knocking his knowlege; I don't know him. But his reference to the AFM as a MAFS would make me a bit leary that he really knows these cars. I know of quite a few good mechanics that stumble a bit when it comes to Nissan's JECS system which is an adaptation of the Bosch L-Jetronic EFI built by the Japan Electronic Control System Co., Ltd. which was a joint venture between Robert Bosch GmbH, Nissan Motor Co. and Diesel Kiki Co., Ltd. So it's really not the same as the German system though similar. It has Nissans modifications so the book that Danglybanger mentions, which I have somewhere, can be somewhat useful but not nearly as much as Nissan's publications.

[Danglybanger]

...I honestly had no clue it wasn't the system as manufactured by Bosch, but then again I have very little under the hood time with mine...