Pomorza

Jimmy. The coolant level is great. Its actually a bit higher than it should. (as its above the "full" line). As for the sound. From all my snooping around with a stethoscope it is most definitely coming from the injector side of the engine. I haven't had a mechanic hear it but to be really honest to you it literally sounds like an injector "tick" but about twice the amplitude. The sound also "tends" to match the pulsating in the fuel rail. (or that is what it really seems like) I'm leaning on an exhaust leak of some kind or injector(s) problems as I'm pretty sure that a spun bearing or connecting rod problem would occur at all engine temperature wouldn't it and not after driving for nearly an hour? I just drove the car to pick up a friend (drove for about twenty minutes) and no ticking at all could be heard unless you pop the hood and get close to the injectors. I'm trying to be as descriptive as possible but its a bit hard over the net. But I hope this helps with the diagnosis. Jan

Ok thank you guys. Now to ask, other than causing the ticking noise can these leaks lead to any problem such as warping or anything? I mean I want to get it fixed but money is a bit...tight at the moment as I just fixed the drive shaft and tranny mount. Jan

Hello all So I bought a 280z (1976) back in August. Since that day I've had random ticking coming from the engine bay when driving for an hour or more. So like everyone advised I went and had my valves adjusted to the specs. Sound didn't go away. So I took it in again and they found that the exhaust manifold was loose and tightened it down. This made the sound slightly less audible but still there. So here's my concern. The best and only way I can think of describing this sound is its injector tick but really loud. By loud I mean LOUD. At 85mph with the windows open I can still make it out over the engine and other sounds. I ask this as this past Friday I drove down to Tombstone to visit. The drive took about 2.5 hours through the winding mountain roads of s. Arizona. Temp today was about 70 or so where I was. The engine temp needle never even reached the midway mark. To be exact it sat 3/4 of the way between 120 and the midway mark. (so like 170 maybe?). Anyhow about an hour into the drive the ticking begins. Its fairly constant and increases/decreases with engine RPM. So here is my question to you all. What exactly can cause this sound? I mean it sounds like very loud injectors so can the injectors just be very loud due to engine heat or something? I'm at a loss here and it very agitating to drive with this ticking noise. (as I have no radio) Any advise would be great. Jan

First off how bad is the said rust? Secondly when you say it doesn't run exactly what do you mean? Does the engine crank at all? Have you changed any of the fluids in the engine? When did it last run? I would start by probably fixing the rust. You can't really drive a car with it falling apart really. Jan

Driving ;-) So I took my Z out tonight for a bit of a drive. You know to stretch here wheels a bit as she hasn't been taken out in a while. Drove for about an hour in the hills of west Tucson. Hit 70 a couple of times in 3rd (4k on the tach) Had a blast driving on dark roads with nothing but the sound of the engine. Man do I love my Z! ::classic: Did notice two things that I would like some feed back on. 1. After about 45 minutes that annoying ticking noise returned. It isn't as loud as it was a month or two ago (when I was annoying you all about it) but its there. Oil pressure is nice, just past the midway point nearly all the time. Any ideas. For what I can tell you all its coming from the fuel injectors or that side of the engine. 2. Fifth gear is loud. Literally I put it in fifth once and the second I push the accelerator down I heard a fairly loud low pitch roaring sound. Can't tell you where it was located but I dropped down to fourth pretty soon afterwords and the noise goes away. The Z was originally a 4 speed if that helps. Any ideas? Jan

Hi all I spent the last half hour using the search feature but still cannot find what I'm looking for. My Z is missing two of the ducts (plastic tubes) that run air to the outside vents. Does anyone know where one could get these or what else can be used? It's fairly annoying only having air come out of the center vents and no on the sides. Thanks Jan

Thanks a lot mate. Yes mine Z is built 01/76. Even without the 5% off and all $40 is a boat load better than $75. Thanks again Jan

You guys are awesome! Thanks a lot now I can actually have 16 lug nuts that all match and not 12 that do and 4 that don't. Jan

Hello again So at the moment both my rear drums need to be rebuilt as the wheel cylinders are leaking fluid quite badly. For just parts at the moment I'm looking at spending roughly $300 or so. So I'm wondering one thing. I've been told by a number of Z people I know (and have seen some posts here) that rear disks off later model ZX's fit 280z. How much would converting the rear drums into ZX disk brakes run me? I'm just looking for options as $75+ for a wheel cylinder is just a tad bit high in my opinion. Any advise or information would be wonderful. Jan

Oh, well thanks for the very good information. I have what I guess you would call "spiderweb" rims.(look at picture). I cannot for the life of me find lug nuts for them and I'm attempting to get rid of them as they weight a ton. Jan

Hello all I'm attempting to find some rims for my Z. The current ones I have are just not exactly the best. Would anyone know where I could find a set? They look like these http://media.photobucket.com/image/280z%20wheels/oinojo/DSC01386.jpg. I believe these are stock rims? Jan

Have you ever done a flush of the block and or the heater core? I had the same kind of issue with my friends ford. The previous owner used "something" to fix the radiator and it got stuck in the block. Took us literally hours to get it out and get it back working. Anyhow from what your saying the coolant hose from the top of the thermostat is cold. I'm nearly positive it should be at least warm to the touch. I don't see how the waterpump or something can cause water to bypass the thermostat. From every image of the cooling system on Z's that I've seen water goes from the thermostat to the top of the radiator down to the opening around block and back up after going through the coolant lines.(I'm sure this is right...right?). So I just don't see that happening that your coolant goes around your thermostat unless there are so voids or something there. Where did you get your thermostats from? It is possible that both are bad and stuck open I would test them in hot water. I'm with fastwoman on this one as I'm running out of ideas. Unless your 280z is completely different than my 76' I can't see how it runs this cold. Do you have a working temp sensor(s)? It is possible that they are telling the computer that it warm when its not causing it to lean out the mixture. (just throwing ideas out there now). Hope this at least gives you some ideas. Jan

Update This past week I replaced the driveshaft and the transmission mount. Both were in pretty pitiful shape really. I plan on taking the car out for a nice drive this weekend in the south of Tucson. Will post some pictures. Jan

These are the things I was planning on doing. 1. Disconnect battery. (I might remove it all together) 2. Remove the plug wire that goes to the coil. (I may remove the coil all together) I'm parking it at a friend house who has a gate and a fenced in lot. My car will be under the watchful eyes of his family so I think it'll be safe there. Jan

Hello all Two weeks from now I'm going on vacation down to Florida. As I am not yet convinced that my 76' 280z can make the journey I'm leaving it here in Tucson while I spend three weeks with the family. So I'm wondering are there any things I should do before I go and leave my Z for three weeks? The car will most just sit in a friends yard while I am away. Any ideas will be great. Jan

As mentioned above make sure that your cables are in good shape and that your battery is, in fact, "good". Secondly check your car for things that could drain your battery with the car off. I've had this same issue on my Z where one of the lights would stay on even with the door closed. (The light was hidden so it took me a while to find it). It drained the battery to the point where I could not get the starter to turn at all. Jan

For future reference, if the engine is original (never rebuilt) I won't recommend that you don't red line it. The engine is old and the tolerances that it can handle have probably gone down a bit in that time. Not to sound over cautious here but it may lead to some pretty unwanted damage. That being said, take your car for a drive with someone driving behind you. Try to drive as normally as possible and have person behind you observe your exhaust. Color, smell and the amount (density) is what your looking for. Secondly I would look at the fuel and carbs. Make sure that your getting enough fuel to the carbs and enough fuel into the engine. When you say the oil looks dirty does it look anything like a milkshake in color? Jan

(*I'm assuming we're talking about the 240z if not please let me know) Now when you said you pushed your car exactly what did you do? I mean were you going 55 in first gear? Did you red-line the motor? Now were the plugs oily or were they wet? If they are wet and smell of gasoline then your car is running fairly rich. When was the last time the carb was adjusted? Fuel pressure checked? When you did the plugs did you also change the cap and wires? Check both your oil and the coolant and see what they look like. Make sure all the vac lines are connected to where they're supposed to go. Could you be a bit more specific on how your car struggles? What exactly does it do when you give it gas? Does it just plain die, not want to go over a certain RPM, miss fires, back fires? Jan

I would have to join Frank here and say that I'm a car enthusiast. Not just Z's really but any car. I owned a Jeep before I decided to buy the Z I own now. The car has 270K on it now and its a 1996. I ended up giving it to my brother as he needed it more than I did. It was by far one of the hardest things I've ever done. But then I bought the car of my dreams you can say. Its not in perfect shape, which means I can get my hands dirty once in a while fixing this and tinkering with that. She drives like a champ which is exactly what I wanted. I try to keep cars as stock as possible. I updated the lights as the ones that come with Z's are just not powerful enough for my liking. Other than lights I haven't touched anything. I like it the way it is. 150 horse power is plenty for me to have fun on the hills here in Arizona. I'm a bit nuts about cars as my Z has no radio. I see no reasoning to get one. I rather listen to the roar of the engine at 5k climbing a banked turn in the mountains than listen to music. As for body kits. Yes I have a front dam and rear spoiler and a wing and some side skirts. But those are just there to replace the heavy bumpers and to add to the already sexy lines that old Z's have. The added air resistance and down force is just added tidbit. Jan

I didn't think of that. Yes check the catalytic converter. I had one on my Jeep get clogged and that refused to run at all. It would start and idle for all of about two minutes and then caput. Jan

Make sure that the timing is on and that everything, EVERYTHING, in that used dizzy is in good shape. Don't just assume that because it looks better that it IS better. Looks can fool even the best mechanically inclined person. Jan

Sadly Leonard someone claimed them this morning. I'll have another set available pretty soon as I want to get rid of the ones I have in my car and replace them with something better

www.xenons30.com is where you get it for free. Download and place somewhere. Print off the pages you need and tada. Jan

work This past weekend I went to the local junkyard and found, to my amazement, a 76 280z 2+2. Wasn't at all in very good shape but it did have a rear "Datsun" badge that I desperately needed. I pulled that off along with a number of other odds and ends. Brought the badge home and mounted it on my rear "wing". I think it looks pretty awesome. Jan

If its the one that came with the car its 3.90