Pomorza

Hello all The dome light in my Z recently stopped working. I checked all the fuses (all but the radio one is fine, I don't own a radio so, its not needed). I check the wire connection to the light and they're all clean and nice. I replaced the bulb and nothing, no light, nada. Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks Jan

The car runs perfectly fine when its hot, it actually richened up a bit. I took it up and down Mt. Lemon here in Tucson last night the temps up there was in the low to mid 40's car drove great. I'll pull a vac line and see if it helps. Thanks Jan

Cozye, the water temp sensor is also new, I went ahead and replaced all three sensors while I did the thermotime switch. Does the intake temp sensor have anything to do with the cold start?

Pressure at the line between the filter and the fuel rail is the same it has always been (~37psi) and if it was a fuel problem wouldn't it persist the entire time, not just when the car is started? It hasn't changed since I installed the new pump four months ago. The AAR is not even a year old. The short sounds like it might be an issue, how would one check this?

Hello guys, In the past couple of days (since it has become cold here) my Z is having a hell of a time starting, that is, it cranks for a long as hell time, (i usually do 3-5 second bursts, takes a few of these to get it done) when it finally does it runs at really low RPMs and when I try to accelerate I get a lean condition and prefiring (backfiring in the intake). Things I have done 1. New cold start valve from autoparts store (green stripped one, not sure if that tell anyone anything) 2. New Thermotime switch (along with the temp sensors) 3. Cleaned all terminals. Any ideas? Could I have a defective CSV? Does the AFM do anything in the starting procedure? I'm at a wits end here and this is killing my battery. It use to work perfectly fine in the cold, start on the second crank and rev to 1.5k until the car it temp. Now it just sits at idle (~1000) and I have to sit there for a good couple of minutes before I can drive the thing without leaning the hell out of it. All six injectors are new, along with the lines, regulator pump and really anything you can name fuel related. Thanks Jan

Hello guys, So once again the little rubber boots that connect the intake with the AFM have fallen apart. I bought new ones from Nissan about a year and a half ago but they once again have a hole in them. So does anyone know where I could buy pipe (intake) and get rid of the rubber boots? Jan

I'm not really sure how long this one lasted, it came with the car when I bought it. How hard are the full covers to install? Mine doesn't really fit right anymore and just looks rather odd. Thanks for the replies. Jan

Hello all I while back I installed the MSA exhaust on my Z. This past weekend I straightened it out a bit (the muffler was aimed down) but now the muffler is sitting on what, at least to me, looks like the rear section of the frame rails. (its basically a square shaped beam that is part of the car). Can this cause any issues? I can "easily" fix this but would like to know in advance. The muffler is in the stock location. Jan

I changed mine on my 280z earlier this year It depends my good sir, Best case scenario: All bolts and studs come out perfectly, Murphy (his three laws that is) doesn't get involved and all goes exactly as depicted in the FSM I'd say a 4 or 5 on a scale of 10. All other cases One or more studs/bolts breaks in the head. Murphy's laws somehow get involved and the FSM lies then its an 8. I had the later one occur. The finals stud closest to the thermostat housing broke off in the head. I spent a good hour and a half extracting and then tapping the new hole for a new stud. The whole experience took about 4 hours which included tightening all the bolts about six different times as I kept forgetting to attach things. From what I can tell you if you don't have extensions and swivel ends for your ratchets I'd take Mr. Palmer's advice and take it to a shop. Jan

Hello all My current full dash cover is coming apart due to the sun out here in Arizona. I'm thinking of ordering just the top section of the dashboard (upper half) instead of doing the full one. Has anyone had any experience with the one MSA sells. I know JCWhitney sells them also but those are a bit more on the pricey side (last time I looked it was 120 or something like that). Thanks all Jan P.S I know I can repair it using the methods described but I sadly have little time to do so

A friend dynoed his car when he built the engine in it. The difference between using a paper filter and a K&N was something in the single digits (3 or 4) nothing noticeable.

Run a leak down test and see what the results are. Have you run your valves before (valve lash)?

Yes, a 77 hood should fit a 76 car with no problems. If my memory serves me right that's an update people do as later hoods came with vents while the older ones (like your 76, and mine for that matter) did not. It should bolt right up. Jan

6k isn't a bad price at all. I personally would take it if it is in as good shape as you report it is in. But it's all up to you mate. Jan

Fast woman, I too have have seen this test, actually a number of times on different sites and programs. Its actually a rather good test. That being said, I use mobile 5000 in my Z (10W40) with Lucas oil stabilizer as I was told to by an engine guy I know. From what I can tell by taking the valve cover off it makes oil sticky (in a good way) and "should" reduce dry starts. The stuff works from my experience and I don't see a reason to stop. Also, not to highjack the thread, I've always wondered if diesal oil isn't a good way to go for Z. Thanks Jan

Z train, The only advantage I found with the MSA kit, is that all the parts are easily put on and one could accomplish doing it themselves. It took me a while but then again I was taking my time. It came out to something like $300 with new studs and a new gasket so I chose this path over the local exhaust shop. I'm sure there are a number of good place in Tucson that do exhausts, I'm just paranoid and enjoy doing everything on the car myself. ThreeHZ, If you're going to go with the MSA kit might I suggest that when you get it put it all together (pipes) and then put it on the car. I did it this way and it took about an hour to get it all place. The exhaust WILL fit almost perfectly if you use the given exhaust hangers. (the shortest one goes right before the muffler). The sound is also really nice from this kit. Jan

Update #3 So my problem has become worse. Over that past two or three days it would run fine one day and horrible the next. Today I was driving a friend down to see some things in south tucson and the car began to buck, power loss would come and go at 2500-4k rpm. No matter where the pedal was it would not accelerate. I looked under the hood and found that the coil wire would zap (shock) me when I touched it with the car running. Replaced the wires and it did this bucking once more and hasn't all day. Does anyone have any ideas? Jan

Update #2 Took nearly all the major connectors off and cleaned once again with cleaner. The TPS was rather dirty and I'm pretty sure needed the cleaning. Drives like new for now. As for connector updates. I plan on upgrading my fuel injection in August so that will be included. Thanks for the help Jan

Found something interesting. Was going through all the wires to make sure that they were all connected. All is good except for the BCDD, which for some reason was unplugged. After some time I found that, not only is it not plugged in but the wire that goes to it is ripped out of the said housing. Could this cause any symptoms? "Same connectors for the CTS, cold start valve, air regulator, and thermotime switch. Have the f0rrest put together a 10-connector set for you, or order another set for a 4 cyl Jeep. I'd also suggest getting an extra connector to use for testing/debugging. " When you say ten connector set for you what exactly are we talking about here? Jan

Update Turned out the #3 injector and a few of the plug wires were not correctly connected to where they should be, the previous problem has been fixed. New problem, was driving a friend home and as I turned and went to accelerate the car did nothing. Pedal was nearly 75% depressed and it didn't respond to the acceleration. Did it once more and then seemed to clear up. Ideas? Jan

Hello all This past weekend I installed my new exhaust on the Z. I used the stock header and MSA premium exhaust. The install went well, took forever but well. When I got the Z back and running it feels like it looses a lot of power between 2500-3500 rpm. It has for-firing occasionally (ignition in the intake). From all this I want to say that the car is running lean? Has anyone had this issue when installing new exhaust? Would the fix be as easy as riching the mixture up a tad or is there more behind this that I don't know about? Thanks all Jan

Hello guys I know this question has been asked hundreds (if not thousands of time) but. I at the current moment my 280's exhaust is old, and well pretty much getting clogged. Atop this I have a leak at the manifold gasket (which I'm thinking is cause by not only age but by the clogged state of things.) So I'm planning on replacing my exhaust system. I'm debating getting a header and running 2.5" exhaust all the way back. But here's the $1M question. Which header to go with. I know a bunch of Z people here in Arizona and keep getting different views on which one to get. One side says the 6-1 headers are the way to go. The other end says the 3-2 ones are the ones to go with. They both make valid points but I'm getting lost. So would someone please advise which one to get and why? Thanks Jan

If your going to replace the pump do your self a big favor and get the studs also. They have a nasty tendency to break either when you're unscrewing them or when you're tightening them down. Also, take your time when you do it. Make sure everything is nice and flat when you reinstall it, don't want any leaking.

Sorry for the thread jack. Does anyone here run diesel oil in their Z's? I'm thinking about doing it as the old Z is about to roll over the 250k mark. Any reasons not to run it? Jan

Here's a bit of an odd question (not to hijack the post). But can this all be removed?