ea6driver

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll definitely have to soak the inside of the hose good with some sort of degreaser/solvent before trying to ream it out with some sort of bottle brush. A lot of the crud in there is hard and caked on...I'd be surprised if anything with plastic bristles is going to hack it...but, we'll see...I'll report back once the job is completed!

Thanks Zed...so...I guess I'll repaint it silver...Hi Temp Silver probably...as for reaming it out with a screwdriver, I'll give it a try, but due to the 90 degree bends at both ends, and the relative brittleness of the 40+ year old hose (and the fact that replacement hoses from nissan are NLA) I'm not 100 percent confident that that will be effective...Hoping I can think of a way to ream it out with something more flexible than a screwdriver.

Thanks for that....then it seems that the earlier Z's may be different than mine (78). My PCV valve screws in on the bottom of the intake manifold and is connected directly to the crankcase via the hose I'm referencing...hopefully this link will show what I'm talking about... https://whiteheadperformance.com/gallery/datsun-l-series-engines/#

I know that there is supposed to be a flame arrestor inside the hose that's connected to the valve cover...but hadn't heard that there was one in the PCV valve hose....is it possible that you're confusing the two (or that I'm not describing the hose I'm talking about clearly enough)?

Was this hose originally painted from the factory? I removed this hose recently as part of an overall engine "clean up" project and noticed that it appeared to have been painted a silver color. Well, thinking that it must have been painted that way by a prior owner, I dutifully removed all the paint with a solvent. Then, while perusing numerous L28 engine photos posted online, I found several that displayed this hose seemingly painted a "silvery" color... Just wondering if it was originally painted from the factory (and why). Thoughts? Also...it appears to be somewhat "clogged up" with "gunk"....how would you recommend a thorough cleaning of it?

Mart, Check out this link. It gives the paint color codes for the the 1979 ZXs https://zcarguide.com/datsun-nissan-280zx-colors/

Just wanted to post a quick followup on the aerosol paint I purchased from the link posted above (Automotivetouchup.com). I've now had a chance to refresh a few panels in my engine bay and frame rails, and I just wanted to report that the color match was excellent. It was nearly a perfect match to the original color (#510 Sky Blue Metallic). I couldn't be happier. I'm sure that trying to match the color on an exterior panel would be considerably more challenging, but for the engine bay it was a very acceptable solution. Thank you "S30Driver" for the recommendation!

Hey Don....wow...Woodinville....just down the road from Oak Harbor. Thanks for the offer...I'll keep you in mind. I have a whole yard shed filled with Z car spare parts (much to my wife's chagrin) and I believe I'll be able to find what I need among them. But I do look forward to meeting a fellow local classic z car enthusiast one day soon. Perhaps during the warm summertime (and after I get my car put back together!)

Thank you for that info....I suspected as much, just didn't know with certainty. I searched this site (and other sites as well) for photos showing this heater hose/clamps and didn't see any pics posted with this particular type clamp. Although possible, I'm guessing it is highly unlikely that this clamp was used only on the 78 year model and only on that one hose. Unless someone else chimes in with more info, I will just plan on replacing the hose with the clamps grannyknot mentioned in his post.

Today I removed the two heater hoses as part of my ongoing effort to restore/refresh the engine compartment. The shorter heater hose that connects from the aft cylinder head elbow fitting up into the firewall was secured with two clamps that are different than any other clamps on my car. I've attached a photo of one of them (the other one is identical to this). I was wondering if these are original or aftermarket/replacements. If they aren't original to this application, then which ones are? The longer heater hose was attached with the standard datsun phillips head screw-on clamps that are found elsewhere all over the car. 1978 280Z. Thanks!

I appreciate those helpful responses...for the most part, AC is a luxury up here in the Pac NW. But it would certainly be nice to get this fixed if reasonably possible. I'll let you know what I discover.

I had just removed my AFM a few days ago (to facilitate other maintenance) and there weren't any rubber grommets installed on the mounting bracket screws. According to the diagram in the Car Parts Manual, there should be 6 total grommets (3 for the screws that screw in a downward direction, and another 3 that are for the screws that screw in from the bottom of the bracket upward). My car is a 78, and from the diagram it looks like all Zs had this configuration from 02/76 through the end of the 78s. The rubber grommet part numbers are: 22683-N4201 (3) 22684-N4201 (3) And, of course, these parts are NLA for purchase (according to courtesy nissan). Would one of you be willing to post a photo of one or both of these grommets (removed from the bracket) showing enough detail that would allow me find a suitable substitute grommet(s)? BTW, there was a ground wire attached to 2 of the screws on the bracket, but with the grommets absent, I don't see how it served any useful purpose.

So this is the view of the rear side of my AC condenser I saw after removing my radiator. In case you can't see it clearly in the attached photo, a significant area of the rear surface of the condenser (mainly lower/left side) looks darker/stained/wetter than the rest of the condenser. The system has leaked out almost all of the r12 refrigerant. What would you guess the problem is, and, more importantly, what is the fix/repair?

Just ordered a couple aerosol cans of the #510 "Sky Blue Metallic" from them. Thanks for the link!

I'm currently doing a refresh of my engine compartment. The original paint code number of the car is 510. And the engine compartment has never been repainted (still has this original color #510). There are areas inside the engine compartment that need some touching up/light rust repair, and I'm wondering what would be the best/easiest way to match this light blue color. It would be nice if I could find a current rattle can brand that comes close to this original color. Does anyone have any ideas/advice on how I might do this?

So I just thought I'd report back on how it all worked out. As suggested, I removed the valve cover and poured fresh oil all over the cam shaft/rockers. Replaced the cover and topped off the oil/installed new oil filter. Next, I filled up the tank with 15 gallons of fresh ethanol-free gas. Even with a full fuel tank the fuel level still wasn't high enough to allow fuel to flow to the electric fuel pump inlet. So I removed the supply line from the fuel pump inlet and, using a cheap siphon pump, pumped the siphon bulb until fuel flowed to the inlet. Reattached fuel inlet hose to pump. Next I removed the fuel hose from the fuel manifold inlet pipe (just downstream from the fuel filter) and stuck the hose end into a plastic bottle, disconnected the spade connector mentioned above from the starter solenoid and turned the ignition key to start to run the fuel pump long enough to nearly fill the plastic bottle with fresh fuel. Reconnected fuel hose to fuel manifold pipe. Reconnected starter solenoid spade connector. Turned the ignition key to start and engine cranked for about 5-10 seconds before starting up. What a great feeling. Took her down from the jack stands today and drove her down the island for the first time in over a year! Thanks again for all the good advice.

Thanks for the clarification and the photo. All great tips. My comment about that being "the large negative wire from the battery" makes me feel like Homer Simpson...DOH!! Anyway, I think I've got it now. Again, appreciate the advice.

Thanks for that tip about running the fuel pump without cranking the engine in the '78Z. Just to be clear...when you say "remove the spade terminal from the starter"....do you mean removing the spade connector from the larger/fatter wire in the photo above? Isn't that the large negative wire from the battery?

Thanks....I'll do all that. Your response leads me to believe that pumping fuel from the tank through empty lines/fuel pump to the engine isn't an issue. That was my initial concern. The car ran fine before I started the restoration work so I don't have any reason to believe there will be any problems.

My 78Z has spent the last year on jack stands while I restored the suspension. I've now got it all put back together and am finally ready to get it running. I drained the fuel tank before starting the project. My question is what, if anything, do I need to do to get it running again? Specifically, I was wondering if just refilling the fuel tank with fresh gas and cranking the engine until it starts is OK. I am assuming that there is currently no fuel in any of the fuel supply lines running from the tank all the way up to the engine. Is priming of the fuel pump necessary?

OK...I got the pin installed. I think the key to this task is first to get the cog housing solidly fixed so that it doesn't move any at all when you're trying to drive in the roll pin. I built a "jig" from a couple scraps of wood and this worked nicely. I also figured out a way to get the housing solidly fixed into a vice so that it wouldn't move while driving in the roll pin. Also, to get the roll pin started, I filed one end of it down enough so that the pin started into the hole enough to make the first few taps with the hammer easy. Thanks again for the advice....now on to the next problem!

Thanks for all the good advice. Time to get to work on it. I'll let you know how it went/what worked for me when I'm done.

I would like some advice on how to install the new roll pin into the speedometer cog housing. I pulled the old pin out with pliers and vice grips, but that method "boogerd up" the pin pretty badly. The new roll pin (which is the correct Nissan replacement part) seems slightly larger in diameter than the hole in the housing. I'm guessing this is the way it is designed to be. Because the housing is oddly shaped and made from soft metal (aluminum?) I'm hesitant to clamp it too tightly in a vice. So, practically speaking, what is the easiest way to drive this new pin into the housing without damaging the pin or the housing?

I appreciate the suggestion. I think I'm going to just have to keep this rubber grommet piece in mind as I continue the restoration/reassembly process. Apparently it's not really a very important part. Hopefully one day in the not too distant future I'll run across the perfect substitute part while looking through an auto parts or hardware store. Sometimes you just have to use a little ingenuity/creativity when looking for replacement parts on a 40+ year old car.

Excellent advice! I disconnected the linkage from the cable up in the transmission tunnel and the cable easily slid into the "jackets" at the wheel ends after that. Tomorrow I'll try to get it all adjusted properly. Thank you all for the help.