Zed Head

Cold operation is a transient phase, a region to get through as quickly as possible. That's why the thermostat stays closed and there are temperature operated choke flappers, fast idle mechanisms, AAR's, and timing advance schemes on carb'ed and EFI systems keep the engine running while it's cold. I wouldn't do any "tuning" to change a cold engine observation. Just me. You'd probably change the hot end by working on the cold end.

Looks like you got a bad set. I don't think a wide bearing can be used on a narrow journal anyway, so easy decision. Monroe shows some good stuff on page 115 of his Rebuild book. Also mentions that the shells with the holes go in the block. And the size/thickness should be marked on each one. More stuff to look for in your bad set.

It sat for a year. Does it have new fuel? Is it still fuel injected, or has it been converted to carbs? Sorry, but now it's just a car that sat for a year and runs poorly, with new "spark plugs, spark wires, cap and rotor". Still missing details. Many of the good suggestions have already been made, above. Just start back at #1, and replace "won't start" with "runs poorly".

You bring up a good point but might be thinking of the 300ZX 4-bolt CV shafts that come with the 86-89 300ZX turbo cars. grannyknot/Chris is using the 280ZX 6 bolt (3x2 pattern) CV shafts. They came on the 280ZX turbos and 2+2's. People use them on 240Z's if they change the companion flange at the wheel. Apparently the 280ZX and 240Z's used the same shaft diameter and spline count at the wheel axle. You can also use them on 280Z's if you get an adapter. But the stock length seems to be okay.

They use a hack saw in the Service Manual.

The rear window defrost power connectors are female spade type, for the 76 280Z at least.

I know it's the same size as the elbow in the back of the head that feeds the heater core. I've swapped them.

Yes, you can still drive on a bad clutch. It just limits performance. Didn't mean to add to the to-do list, it can wait.

Seems like a good spot. But I wonder how much oil could flow back through the pump. If oil makes it to the top end though, it seems safe to assume that it's also made it to the bottom end, since the system is designed to be balanced.. So a test with the valve cover off would indicate effectiveness. How do you get the extra oil back out?

Great point. Unfortunately the tachometer doesn't work to see the speed - RPM mismatch. For Jai - did engine RPM rise without car speed changing? That much slippage probably means time for a new clutch. A burnt clutch smells somewhat like rubber when it's toast (humor...).

Made a picture for you. Click inside the circle.

Kind of sounds like one or both back tires were rubbing. Maybe the steep angle loaded the body down on to the tires. Any unusual noises?

I'll bet no one has done that with the other colors either. So you don't really have a spec. for any of them.

You could extrapolate. If you have Black and Green.

I'll kick things off with an easy one. Raise the idle speed slightly. Just use your ear since the tachometer doesn't work. If idle speed is too low, the plugs can foul during warmup. At low idle speed the typical Z car alternator can not meet the demands of the electrical system. This could be causing low voltage during warmup, which can cause a variety of problems. It's easy and can't harm anything. The Z EFI system passes through two areas during warmup where idle speed will drop - once when the AAR valve closes and again when the ignition system goes off the second pickup, if it has one. If it doesn't have the second pickup then it sits in a low RPM area for longer. Modern EFI systems monitor RPM and change timing to hold a steady idle. In short - turn that screw counterclockwise a 1/2 turn or more and add some idle RPM. Worst case, your battery lasts longer.

I had a 78 parts car that had a similar problem. I'd get click-whir, click-whir until it finally grabbed and would start the engine. When I finally took it apart I found chipped starter teeth. I don't know if they were the cause or a result, but I have that engine and flywheel in my car now with a different starter and no problems. If you want to test the starter solenoid wiring, make sure the transmission is in neutral, take a screwdriver or wrench, and touch it to the main lug on the starter (where the battery cable connects) and the small male connection on the solenoid. That will provide full power directly from the battery through the tool to the solenoid. If the car is in gear it will jump forward so be careful. I also had a starter begin to fall apart. The bushing in the nose had worked its way out of its seat. That starter made a terrible noise sometimes after starting as the shaft wobbled around. I imagine that it if it had broken or came all the way out, the shaft could have got misaligned and caused worse problems. The starter has a mechanical lever and pivot action from the solenoid to the gear drive. Could be that it just broke.

Good to hear that you got a reasonable adjuster. Sounds like you're back on track. I thought of another possibility last night. This actually happened to me over the summer, I wrote about it on the site. The EFI relay could be failing. This last summer, several times over the course of a week my engine would crank endlessly and not start after a short shopping trip. I would wait, while thinking and hoping, then try again and it would start. In my case, I also had a switch for the fuel pump and used it to make sure the pump was running, as a test, because I thought that maybe the AFM switch was stuck (it's happened before). Even with the pump running, it wouldn't start and I could see the tachometer needle moving, indicating spark. So that led me to the EFI relay, which was actually an extra one that came with the car. I had always wondered why the PO had an extra relay, and after the no-start I realized it was actually the left-over bad one,which I had swapped back in to test if it was good or not. Anyway, just wanted to add that in there for the record. After it was out I took it apart and found that the solenoid coil was crispy and brown. CO said that was a classic sign of an overheated solenoid. Apparently, a wire in the coil can break and open the circuit occasionally giving random failures. The relay is hard to get to, but it can be unplugged and a replacement plugged in and left hanging, for a test. It's above the hood release lever in the cabin.

Have you used the solid mount before? They're known for fatiguing the mounting points and failing, plus transmitting much noise. A better option maybe - http://www.technoversions.com/DiffMountHome.html

Actually, the fusible link to the EFI system could allow cranking but no starting. And there are other no spark conditions like bad pickup coils in the distributor. If we could get it down to either fuel supply, spark, or injection, that would help a lot. All we have now are dying, then cranking but no starting. Followed by starting again for no apparent reason. Maybe trade cars with someone who can do a little detective work?

rcb, it's a hard problem to diagnose because some of the clues are missing or just haven't been examined yet. If it was the ignition module that would mean it's a no-spark problem when it doesn't start and that would show up on the tachometer. No tachometer needle movement. But her tachometer doesn't work. If it's the fuel pump, the fuel pressure gauge would show it. But it has to be examined while the car is not starting. If the gauge is under the hood she'll have to get out, open the hood, try to start it, then go look at the gauge and see what pressure is left. Difficult. If it's the ECU, it would be a no-injection problem. That could probably be seen with some Christmas tree lights stuck in to the injector clips. Leave them there, confirm that they flash when the engine is running. Then open the hood and watch the lights during the no-start problem. But somebody will have to rig the lights up. An LED circuit could probably be rigged up with some lengths of wire and placed where it's visible. Some ingenuity and handiness required though. Since these things are all somewhat difficult and need quickness to be effective (examine before the problem disappears), we're kind of stuck with replacing parts and seeing if the problem goes away. It's just the way things are for the Red Bird. To the fusible link point - just to be clear, and it may have been mentioned already, but when it doesn't start are we talking about endless cranking but no starting? Or turning the key and nothing happens at all?

The P.A.P. is interesting. The thick ink is typical of the salvage yards paint pen. I wouldn't be surprised if the car has had the dying problem for years, causing it to get moved on to owner after owner. The problem is almost like a module problem but not quite, as EuroDat says. Easy to get misdirected. Based on the whole story and all of the work that was done to get it tuned right, and the fact that it does run well when it runs, but it still dies randomly, if it was my car and I had a spare ECU to try that's what I'd do next. The problem-solving path followed isn't exactly the factory path but that is Nissan's last resort - replace ECU. Next time it dies, if your left leg is flexible enough, kick the kick panel that the ECU is hiding behind and see if that gets it going again. People have said that whatever loses connection in the ECU can be be "fixed" by beating/tapping/kicking the ECU. Won't hurt it, the electronics inside are not today's super-tiny sensitive type, they're big clunky pieces.

Forgot about the Download site. Oops. Never mind. Good luck.

No it isn't. I know cuz "cuz" isn't a word in any language. Anyway, it's your time to waste. There is a chapter in the FSM called "Engine Removal" that covers everything you need to know.

Step #1 - get off of the LGLS770 and communicate normally. Tapatalk won't cut it.

It's been noted before that the 225 mm stock flywheels aren't available. I know a local shop that had a few in inventory a while back. Somebody on eBay might have one. But apparently nobody is casting them anymore. One more NLA part. I have a small collection of used ones that I think will last me. You might try the wrecking yards for used.