Pomorza

Is there anyway to actually check if it's the tensioner without tearing the engine apart? Jan

Sblake. Wouldn't the timing chain make noise when the car is cold? I've never owned an OHC engine some I don't really know. Any explanation would be great. Jan

Update: Sadly the noise has returned. Here's what happens. When the car is dead cold and I start it there is not a peep out of the engine. Nothing, sounds like a perfectly good L28. When it reaches operating temperature the noise returns. When at idle and not hitting anything you can clearly hear it if you pay attention. It basically sounds like marbles or a rattling sound coming from the top of the motor. To me either the valve clearances are off or the cam is making noise. I've had a suggestion that the tensioner is bad and making noise. Any ideas? Jan Tucson P.S I did pull the valve cover yesterday with a friend (Ztrain). There was nothing really odd that I could tell by looking. I did notice that there is no oil spray bar in there although my FSM shows there should be one. Rather odd. N47 head.

Bit of an update. Went out this morning at 9am and started the Z. Sound is nowhere to be found. I revved it to where I did last night and nothing, no sounds, noting. To be honest the engine is a bit quieter than it was before the oil change. I'm not sure what to tell you guys. Thanks for all the help and suggestions. Jan

Yes I do mean 242,000 miles. The engine is in great shape starts and runs amazingly it just scared me a bit after the oil change. I don't drive very hard on this car. I've seen I6's engines run for 500k before they need work so I'm not all that worried. I might just get rid of the oil and go back to 10w40. I'm going to start the car tomorrow and see what it does and then pull the cover off and investigate that. I do mean 5mm...more like 10 though. I can't really explain it but it is just above the H line. Not to start another debate here but is straight old fashion Castrol GTX oil fine in these cars. I've been running VR1 since I bought it as I've been told the zinc in it is good for the engine but it's rather heavy on the wallet. I always wait a good five minutes before going anywhere in any car. Let the oil get everywhere first and then I'm off driving. I also keep it under 3k when the car is cold, usually shifting at 2.5k or less. Jan P.S I'm the third owner of this Z. I'm not sure if the engine has been rebuilt in the past or not. By all the records I got with the car when I bought it, it doesn't seem as if it was rebuilt at all.

Here's a bit of an update. I took the Z out for a ride a few hours ago. Engine temp was just to the first line (the low line) and oil pressure was just past the halfway point. Car was rather loud, as I could hear the cam moving. (rather louder than usual). When I revved the car up 3k or so and released the throttle the said rattling sound was present for about two seconds. Took the car for about a ten mile drive. It felt rather sluggish, which I guess could be explained by the far thicker oil (I used 10w30 before). Didn't really push the car, did reach 4k a few times but mostly kept it below that area. The car sounded and drove fine the entire time. As I reached home I revved the engine once more and the rattling noise was there but not as loud or long lasting as before. I parked the car and checked the oil level. By the look its just about a few cm above the H line. About 5cm or so. Could too much oil cause noise? What can cause a sound from the cam to just appear? Could the new oil just not be lubricating it enough? I'm a bit scared here to drive the Z as I may damage something important (like the cam). I'm also just lost here. I've never had this happen to me before where sounds just appeared after oil changed. Its not like I drove the car with no oil. As for your suggestion. The valves were adjusted in September when the car had 240k. Car now has 242k, but I'll give it a look tomorrow. Jan

Hello guys. This past Friday I did an oil change in my Z. Decided to give 20w50(VR1) weight oil a try as the temps here in Tucson are getting a bit warmer. Went to the local store bought six quarts of oil (one spare) and a Bosch oil filter. Put everything together added 5 quarts oil and away I went. When I rev the car up now to about 4k and let the throttle go it will make this rather annoying rattling sound from the valve cover for a few seconds. Any ideas? Is the oil just too thick to lubricate the cam at idle. The pressure is sitting exactly where it needs to. I pulled the fill plug out and the cam is most definitely covered in oil. The sound was not present this morning when I drove to school or before I did said oil change. I did figure out where all the oil I was loosing was going. To my dismay my mechanic who did the valve clearances for me didn't tighten the valve cover enough and caused leaking from the cover. Just noticed this issue this past week. Thanks Jan

Hey guys I have a bit of a question that I'm wondering if you guys can help me with. For what I understand the fuel injection system on my 76' 280z is basically a Bosch L Jetronic system that was bought from Germany in the 70's. That being said a lot of the parts on the Z look "similar" to the parts that are on many BMW's from that era. With that in mind I was wondering if any parts are actually interchangeable between the cars. (BMW and Z's). This is a purely hypothetical question and I'm only asking it as I'm curious. Thanks Jan

Hey guys For the past couple of months I've had a problem with the car idling very poorly when warm after restarting. Upon investigation I found that leaky injectors could be the culprit. This afternoon I installed an inline fuel pressure gauge right past the fuel filter (see pic). I got everything nice and tight and started the car. To my dismay the gauge read 30. When I revved it it goes up to about 33 or so but when I release the throttle it drops to ~27 and then goes back up to 30. When the car is off the pressure will drop to 25 and then slowly creep back up to 35. I understand that this readings isn't exactly what the injectors are seeing but unless there is an increase of 5psi from the gauge to the injectors there seems to be a problem to me. Any ideas? Pump, regulator? Jan

That's awesome. I would love to have one of those in the back of my Z. Jan

The large on above the defogger switch is the defogger indicator. The space next to it is blank and just has an empty insert. ( I suppose you could add a switch there). The big hole is also empty on mine. Check the picture and see if that helps. Jan

Thanks Jan

Hey guys This past weekend I had the Z in the air to check the brakes. While there I noticed that the right tire has a bit of play in it. When I pull it the tie rod seems to have play in it also. Have noticed when driving that the steering wheel will shake at speeds above 45 mph. I do need new tires as the ones I have are not really round anymore (I swear they look oval) but should there be any play in the front wheels? Where would one go about getting a new tie rod if it is necessary? Jan

I actually didn't do an oil change at the tune up. Just did plugs and air gap. The oil change was done well before. I'm thinking the thinner oil is getting past the oil pan gasket or something. The driver's side of the engine about a foot or two in has a fairly large amount of sludge sitting on it. I'm going to take a lot of a closer look at it this weekend. ajmcforester you are more than likely right that I'm burning some of it on heavy acceleration. I can see smoke coming out upon heavy acceleration in second. I thought due to its gray/black appearance that it was carbon build up. IT could possibly be oil burning. Guys the car has 240k+ on it from all the investigation I've done on it. So it doesn't really amaze me that there is some oil loss. Jan

Thanks guys for the idea. Idahokid. I did a tune up about three weeks ago. All plugs looked good and showed no sign of oil burning but I'll look at em again. DeesZ before this I used 10w-40 but as its been fairly cold here (30's in the morning) I switched to a lower weight. I'm really timid about using 20w50 oil. To me it seems to thick. Has anyone have any problems with using such a thick oil. Note there is a fairly descent amount of oil on the underside of the car. Thanks guys Jan

None. Radiator fluid looks, smells and tastes normal;). There's no oil in the radiator and no rad fluid in the oil. I checked this past weekend as its part of my inspection. I check all fluids every Saturday morning. Jan

Hey guys. About three months ago I did an oil change and poured in some 10w-30 VR1 into my 280z. Two weeks ago I noticed the oil pressure is a bit low for my liking. (it sat about halfway up at acceleration, usually it sits just under 3/4). Anyhow I pulled the dipstick and to my dismay it was VERY low. Went to the local NAPA and bought two quarts. Poured on in one and was on me way. (oil registered great). Today I checked the oil once again and it was again getting to the L on the dipstick. I've driven about 300-350 miles since the last fill up. I have don't have any white/blue or any other colored smoke coming from the exhaust. The exhaust doesn't smell like oil at all. What could be up? I know the oil pan is leaking moderately but 1 quart for 350 miles? Could the oil just be too thin and be getting through other areas. Thanks Jan

Hey guys Last night it rained out here in Tucson. I took the Z over to a friends house and while driving I noticed that there was a nice steady drip coming from the rear of the car. After some examination I'm pretty positive that the water is coming from the rear glass gasket on the rear right corner. Secondly this morning when I turned on the rear defogger only about two of the lines work. (its been like this since I bought the car). So what exactly should I do here? What are my options window wise and what should be done about the rear defogger? Jan

The headlights I got from autopartswarehouse. They're made by a company called RAMPAGE. They're basically plug and play H4 conversions. They work great I'm really happy with them. Jan

Those are actually aftermarket mirrors. I received them with the car when I bought them. They were bought at NAPA or another parts store, I'm not positive which one but I've seen them at checker's (O'Reily's) in the past. Jan

So this past weekend I finally got around to installing the mirrors that I bought for the Z. I must say the install was fairly straight forward and really didn't take more than half an hour. I spent more time taking the old mirror out then putting the two new mirrors on. I must say it is really strange to look over to the passenger's side and see a mirror there now. It helps to see if there's anyone thee but it is still strange. Here are some pics of the mirrors. Jan

Hello all About two weeks ago I upgraded my headlights to H4 replacement bulb type with a high end 55W bulb. Today I took my Z out for a nice long ride. About forty five minutes into the drive the driver's side headlight went out. About two or three minutes later it came back on. A couple minutes later it again went out and stayed off for about two minutes. Then came back on once again. Anyone know what this can be? I've read someplace that I should update the relay or something electrical as the old wiring can't take the load? Any help would be great. Jan

The white smoke could be condensation that was in the exhaust. I've personally had this happen to me and I'm positive its not coolant. But just in case keep a nice keen eye on the fluid level. As for the starting problem. Did your fuel pump turn on and pump fuel? Did you guys inspect the TPS or the CSV? I'm thinking there are two possibilities. One, your engine is getting flooded with fuel when you try to restart. It is possible that you have a broken CSV (cold start valve) or one(or more) of your injectors is not sealed properly and is leaking. Second, your car is leaned out too much to start. I have the same problem with my Z at the moment. It is possible your water temp sensor is bad. Testing them is fairly easy if you have a FSM. If your don't download one and get with the trouble shooting. That's an idea Jan

Zedyone_kenobi is right on the money on this one. As nice as a twin turbo setup sounds its way out of your league. I don't mean to sound rude or ruin your dreams, but as stated above a twin turbo set up is a purely custom job. Everything, and I do mean everything needs to be rebuilt on the engine so that it can handle the boost those turbos will provide. And "everything" on an engine is fairly expensive. I'm 22, and a junior in college. When I first bought my Z in August I too had huge inspirations to make it into an arse kicking, tire burning, muscle car killing, turboed machine. But then I started looking at what would be involved in such a build. After a good month of investigation I've reached the realization that I can't afford dropping that much money into the car at the moment. So I'm going to give you some advise. Slow down and take a nice deep breath. Start with the simple stuff on the car first. Make sure the electrical on the car is nice and working properly. Make sure the fuel lines, vacuum lines and any other rubber piece on the car are in good condition. Make sure there is no rust on the car. While all this sounds completely unattractive and not what your looking for, a well maintained 35+ year old Z is much better then a turboed Z that is falling apart and doesn't run. Jan

ehx37. First off where in Tucson do you live? Before you do what I did and buy the car without really inspecting it thoroughly take a nice slow walk around the car. Check for rust in the passenger's side wheel well. Check for rust under and around the battery tray. Check all the fluid levels and ensure they look the way they should. (don't want oil in the coolant or vise-versa). Take the car for a ride and see what it does. Note the oil pressure, water temp volt, anything and everything about the drive should be noted. Thirdly I would, like everyone says, take it someplace and have it inspected. Your favorite mechanic should work but if you don't feel confident in them you could take it to a specialist, there's a few in Tucson. (Primarily Japanese, or Micro Import Service are two I can think of at the moment) Jan