darom

That would be great. Thanks. I also started looking into getting an aluminum pan and found the one that MSA sells (made in Japan): https://www.thezstore.com/product/5261/price-drop-kameari-high-capacity-oil-pan-70-78-240z-260z-280z It is pricey, but the number of hours I spent on sealing the oil leaks in that area should justify the 1k price. I wish this pan had a groove built in with a rubber o-ring style gasket that GM cars use. My understanding is that the perfectly flat aluminum pan combined with the MSA's competition style gasket (i don't think it needs any sealant) should provide a good seal. What do you think?

I am going to resurrect this thread since sealing our oil pans never ends :-) I posted back in 2015 that I used a gasket which was sandwiched with Permatex Grey. It lasted me till 2024 (9 years) when the oil started leaking again. And boy, it was a major b$tch to remove it! Then I decided that I probably shouldn't be applying semi-permanent solutions again lol. I removed/cleaned both surfaces, made sure my oil pan was straight and applied a thin layer of Permatex Black to the oil pan to glue the cork gasket. Once it was cured, I put the oil pan back with a few dabs of Black in a few spots where the FSM is asking for. I installed the reinforcement 2 metal pieces and applied small torque to bolts per FSM. I did the same to my valve cover and it is working. It also makes it super easy to remove to do valve adjustments. Well, the oil pan gasket lasted me 6 months, the oil is leaking again. I think, it was Captain who asked if someone could manufacture a nice long thick reinforcement piece (we will probably need 2 for ease of installation)? If someone makes one, please sign me up.

Thanks, this car is a never ending story lol. Now I am hearing what sounds like my speedo cable in the front making buzzing noises which increase and decrease with RPMs :-) I must have bumped it when I was attaching the master cylinder's rod to my clutch pedal.

Thanks, Captain! This is a great tip. I learnt a pretty cool shortcut today.

Re: the strut lock nuts - if I remember right, these are the cone shaped nyloc style lock nuts. I couldn't tell if they were noticeably loose. I replaced my old 280z insulators with 240z shorter ones with the zpartsdepot's adapters. I used 60 ft lbs to torque them. I had to use my breaker bar wedged between the insulators' studs to hold them to apply the torque. I don't remember myself doing this 10 years ago lol - it is possible I didn't follow the FSM's torque specs to the letter. Now I have to tackle another project - there is some oil seepage around my oil pan/possibly rear main seal. I might have to drop the transmission, replace its seals/gasket as well. Really not looking forward to it.

Hi guys, I replaced the mustache bar bushings and re-torqued my rear strut insulator lock nuts. I didn't notice any play there when the springs were compressed. The good news is that the clunking noise is gone. Replaced the master/slave clutch cylinders/hydraulic hose. The old ones showed some internal brake fluid leakage. No more grinding while shifting into reverse. The clutch fork moves 12.5 mm (half an inch). The pedal is at 8 in, 15 mm of free travel before the slave starts pushing the rod. I searched this forum and someone mentioned that the 15 mm is a good number for a fork throw. I am guessing if mine was too short to disengage the clutch disk, I would have heard/felt it. Thanks to all who helped with the diagnostics!

Yes, I checked the rear sway bar, I replaced its bushings there too when I overhauled the suspension. Thanks for the tips! I ordered the mustache bar bushings. I will probably need to replace my clutch master/slaves - they are original. My 'freshly' (10 years ago) rebuilt 5-speed from a ZX is giving me fits while putting it into reverse. With no engine running, I can't force it into reverse. With the engine running, I can rev up and shift. I am suspecting my clutch is not fully engaging? I also noticed I am missing my upper-stop bumper for the clutch pedal. I can't find that rod with a rubber stop in my spare parts box anywhere. I think it looks like a hood bumper stop?

Hi Charles, I started a thread a while back on hybridz in their EMS/Megasquirt forum: https://forums.hybridz.org/topic/136053-76-280z-microsquirt-project/#comments It has been a journey, so far no regrets dumping the AFM/Bosch ECU etc.

I will check the insulator nut on both sides, will compress the springs to do it. The noise has developed over the past year. There is no clunking when shifting gears, it is the annoying noise going over small/large cracks on the roads. The roads here in WI are not as good as in CA. The factory diff mount was replaced with a brand new (then, 10+ years ago) Nissan diff mount. I just checked it - the rubber is solid, there is no play. I am ordering the poly bushing kit for the mustache bar. The diff whine will probably get droned out by my MSD-2225 fuel pump :-) anyway. I insulated the FP with some nice rubber padding, and it is still loud. Appreciate your guys' ideas! It is summer here, time to enjoy our toys. Last winter I upgraded my stock Bosch L-Jetronic to the microsquirt ECU with the inj/spark control, need to start driving the car to properly tune it.

Hi guys, I am chasing a rear clunk noise which happens when going over the road cracks and potholes. Pushing the rear of the car with hands in an up/down motion doesn't reproduce it. I replaced all the bushings in the rear 10 years ago. I probably put about 1000 miles on the car. First, I thought the noise was due to my read speaker deck, I removed it. Another thought was the deck lid, there is small play in the deck struts due to the loose bushing/pin attaching the struts to the mounting location. I jacked up the car, removed the strut assemblies and checked the rear strut insulators. They are solidly attached, no play. However, I saw a hairline crack on the LH side. I checked all the rear sway bar bolts, nuts, plus the R200 hardware, rear half-shafts bolts/nuts, fuel tank/pump, mustache bar hardware. 10 years ago I installed an aftermarket RT mount, there is a 1/8 in gap between the R200 and the RT poly bushing when the car is rested on the jack stands. What are your thoughts? I went through a lot of posts about the rear end clunking (hundreds of hits lol), and I think I checked all of them on my car with the exception of that hairline crack in the insulator. I am planning to order a pair of strut insulators to begin with (240z ones with an adapter, unless someone has a pair of later 280z ones in a good condition?). Thanks!

I'd also put the multimeter leads directly on the fuel pump and watch the voltage when someone operates the throttle. Voltage drop there won't do any good to a fuel pump operation.

Thanks! I guess if the opening is 6 AN/ 0.34 in, I will need a 3/4 in countersink bit.

My protunerz fuel rail has the same shallow o-ring surface for the CSV line. @HusseinHolland what is the name of the drill bit you used on yours? It looks like a deburring bit (45 degree?). I am heading out to Home Depot, will look for one. Thanks!

I hope so too, I just ordered the same fuel rail from Protunerz. That chamfer for the o-ring will be the first thing I will be checking when I get the part.

Found this link to a pre-made timer relay to get some cheaper build ideas: http://www.okaauto.com/EFITimer.html

Thanks for looking into it! I have the same issue, I am running the MSD-2225 fuel pump, and I think it doesn't have any drain-back valve. I installed one of those Amazon special one-way valves after the fuel filter in the engine bay. After a while, it stopped working. When I took it apart, some corrosion inside created the seal/membrane gaps. What do you think about wiring the fuel pump relay + 5-10 sec timer relay into the ignition switch (ON position)? The fuel pump wires run under the carpet on the passenger side (at least in my 76), providing an easy access.

@Captain Obvious Any updates on your fuel pump-priming project? I use one of those $5 time relay boards to run a 1979 fuel rail fan blower for 10 minutes. It is manually operated. The relay board is attached to a bigger relay to handle the load of the blower motor.

With the correct AAR orientation, at the beginning the idle was at 1100 rpms, within 2.5 minutes I saw the idle speed slowly going down. Once the air regulator valve was completely closed (i could check it by pinching the AAR hose - it didn't affect the idle speed), I set the idle at 850 rpms. It is steady. I will check the car again in the morning to test, but I am positive the issue with high idle/AAR has been resolved. Also I was able to shut the engine down by screwing the idle screw in. I couldn't do it before. I still need to redo my oil pan gasket to get 1-2 in of vacuum : - ) Big thanks to everyone on this forum.

I think I figured out the AAR issue on my car. Yesterday I was bench testing one of my AARs and noticed that blowing air one way allows for more air to pass through vs the other inlet when the curtain is closed. I checked onine pictures of the AAR orientation in the engine bay of other 280z owners and realized that my AAR was/is installed backwards (the electric connector is facing the firewall). I am going to change it tonight after work and see if this improves the idle speed 🙂 If this is the case, I have had the AAR installed wrong way for at least 5 years now. And you know how it feels ...

Zed, I removed and inspected the inside of the AAR after a few test runs. Before the installation, I did the bench testing of it with a 12V and adjusted the curtain to be closed when the coil warms up. Since it can't block air 100 percent, there is still some residual air flow which contributes to 900-950 rpm idle. If I pinch the rubber hose for the AAR, the idle immediately drops to 800 rpm, and it remains steady. In both of my tests so far the idle RPM was the same.

Thanks for the ideas! I might be building a simple on/off solenoid with a cheap time relay board set for 2-3 minutes: https://www.amazon.com/Position-Normally-Pneumatic-U-S-Solid/dp/B06WGRLX58/ref=sr_1_13?crid=5V29CNB41DD4&keywords=12v+solenoid+1%2F4+in&qid=1700523538&sprefix=12v+solenoid+1%2F4+in%2Caps%2C86&sr=8-13

Some ideas for an AAR 🙂 Manually operating heater valve: https://www.amazon.com/Universal-Conditioner-HV-2211C-Control/dp/B003R31YVQ/ref=m_crc_dp_lf_d_t1_sccl_3_3/138-5872620-2836123?pd_rd_w=UzJvp&content-id=amzn1.sym.76a0b561-a7b4-41dc-9467-a85a2fa27c1c&pf_rd_p=76a0b561-a7b4-41dc-9467-a85a2fa27c1c&pf_rd_r=34220AX20P78YFH9FKCE&pd_rd_wg=aMQD8&pd_rd_r=2ead7de1-3b51-42e0-b3bf-74fcaef91ae1&pd_rd_i=B003R31YVQ&psc=1 or this with the timer relay (I use a cheap timer relay for my injector rail blower/fan from a later model): https://www.amazon.com/4inch-Normally-Closed-Electric-Solenoid/dp/B074Z5SDG3/ref=sr_1_31?crid=3G17GRQMH50IC&keywords=solenoid+valve+1%2F2in+12V&qid=1700513498&sprefix=solenoid+valve+1%2F2in+12v%2Caps%2C84&sr=8-31

Hi guys, I ran the smoke tests, found a few areas: 1. valve cover gasket, firewall side - big leak. 2. electric EGR solenoid (leaks inside, not vacuum hose), EGR valve (inside again, not the vacuum line). little leak. 3. oil pan gasket - medium leak here. 4. oil dipstick - little leak. I replaced the valve cover gasket with a cork one, it still leaked. The valve cover/cylinder head appear to be flat. I ordered a silicone one from Milkfab Engineering ($28), the new gasket sealed all the leaks. I made a delete metal plate for the EGR. Replaced all the old spark plugs with new NGKs, replaced the fuel filter. The aux air regulator was replaced with a 300zx unit, which was adjusted to shut. It takes about 6 minutes. The valves were adjusted. The car's ignition timing is set at 15 bdtc, idles at about 900 rpm. The vacuum is at 17. The car has a strong pull, no hesitation while accelerating. Observations: 1. I think once I replace the oil pan gasket, I might get another 1-2 of vacuum. This is a spring project (it is too cold in the garage). 2. The resistance pod is at 2k Ohms. I still can't kill the engine maxing it out at 5k. 3. The 'new' AAR is unpredictable. If I leave it alone, it will close (not completely) after 6 minutes. Two different days while testing - one day the idle is at 900-950 rpms, today it was at 800 rpms after warm-up. I feel the AAR shutter 'curtain' doesn't guarantee the same closure. I would like to replace it with a similar mechanical device (like the 240z choke inside). Does anyone know of a part that might work? This way I will open it up when the engine is cold, and close it when it warms up. Once closed, I can set the ideal 850 rpm at idle. 4. When the engine is cold, within those 5-6 minutes of warm-up period, if at idle once rev'ed up, the engine will pop through intake. 5. I still can't kill the engine with the idle adjustment screw. Hopefully, it is the oil pan gasket leak that causes it.

Thanks Yarb, for looking it up. Just in case I ordered a gasket, Mahle MS16717 (composite) from rockauto. I found a forum chat in the Help Me section where a 280z owner compared it to the OEM from Nissan, they looked identical (with the exception of the price). The plan is to do a valve adjustment as well.

Thanks for the resource! Found the part number, 14035-N3500, gasket manifold, looks like it is available. Will order/replace it once I confirm the leaks in that area.