Zed Head

Not really clear if you're looking to go through the almost new 5 speed or the old 4 speed. Either way, this doesn't answer your question about Michigna or Michigan, but might be worth consideration considering you spent the money on a stroker. You'll have a spare front case. http://zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/240SX5spd/transmission.htm

If it was just a big-end diameter issue you'd expect the rods to bind when installed individually. Could be that there's another issue leading to binding when the pistons are in the bore. Bent rods() causing side loads, surfaces not machined perpendicular (side loads, same effect as bent rod), etc. You might pull the piston and torque the caps on with them outside of the bore to see if it's just the bearing surface.

It's described at the bottom of this page from atlanticz. It has the positive of making it easy to run the fuel pump, using just the ignition key. http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fuelpump/moreinfo.htm The Engine Fuel chapter of the 1978 FSM has a full description of how the fuel pump control works, with charts and diagrams. The ECU didn't get involved with pump control until late in the ZX models.

Apparently there is a flaw in the design of the fuel pump control system for 1978 and maybe beyond. If the oil pressure switch is disconnected it will trigger the pump control relay when the key is on. So, odds are, either your oil pressure switch is disconnected or defective. The switch is combined with the oil pressure sender, by the oil filter. You might check there first.

It's used for surface prep of stone or concrete. That type of business might carry it. It's also a component of vomit. Have a tank-cleaning party with lots of booze. Do shots.

That's some good observing. Reminds me of a problem I had with my fuel pump relay, where it would not power the pump when I tried to start it. Luckily for me I have a relay bypass switch to run the pump. I posted on it in the past and even took a picture of the solenoid coils. CO said they looked burnt. In 76 the pump relay is combined with the EFI relay. You said though, that you could hear the pump running. So, that doesn't really fit with bad power to the pump. Seems more like a floater in the tank, clogging the inlet. Didn't' know that water in the gas was part of the original problem. Maybe she does have some little vandals in the neighborhood. Might be worth time to drain the tank and check. I remember her quest for a locking cap.

Auto-ranging is convenient. And auto-"polarity" identifying. Don't know what the official name is but you you can use the leads backward and the meter will just add the appropriate negative sign if you get them switched.

Fluke 115, because it's cheap but high quality. The tachometer function of some of the other meters is nice. You can use the Hz function on the 115 though and do some math to calculate engine RPM if you need to. The Fluke 88 is designed for automotive. Fluke makes nice stuff.

I see now. Went out and looked at some of my spare parts also. I'm 99.9% sure that the rod slides through those rings. No need to bend them open, they're just there as stops/locators for the rod. There's probably corrosion underneath, just like on the exposed surface of the rod,keeping them stuck in place. If I were removing it, I'd spray it with WD-40 and shine up the rest of the rod a bit with Scotchbrite,then tap it through the standoffs and the two retaining rings. If you're restoring it for appearance sake then your dilemma is removing the corrosion without marking up the rod. You might also stick a flat bladed screwdriver in to the gap and open them up just slightly, within the elastic limits of the metal. The rod will probably slide easily through them then. I'm sure it's meant to slide through though.

It could just be me, but I can't picture what you're describing. Is it on this picture?

Should be fine. If I recall right, Redline even says on the label that it's okay to blend it with plain old "normal" diff oil. It is in their FAQs for sure. At the bottom. https://www.redlineoil.com/techinfo_faq.aspx

I wonder if they used elephant oil n the struts and that's why it smells like it does. It does smell kind of like circus.

You're saying "the" headlight upgrade but it looks like "a" headlight upgrade. In other words, it's not one of Dave Irwin's kits. Just to be clear. So you don't have a reference for how the work was done. There are lots of different ways to add relays to the system. It looks like you're not aware that the high and low beams are controlled through a switch that controls the path to ground. Without the ground through the high/low beam switch no current will flow and the lights won't light. The switch is at the base of the turn signal stalk. Could be it's just unplugged at the steering column.

I wanted to separate the "upgrade your wiring harness if you upgrade your alternator" issue out completely from the discussion. It comes up a lot and it kind of jumps in to people's thought process, and kind of makes sense. Basically confusing voltage with current/amps. The alternator is irrelevant to burning wires unless it shorts out. Even then it's the battery doing the damage. Many people probably add all of the extra loads at the same time they add a higher capacity alternator. Then when wires melt or fuses blow they blame the alternator instead of the loads. There's the whole other side discussion also about alternator idle speed supply versus maximum possible. Another important detail that gets overlooked. Kind of like peak horsepower versus usable horsepower, or power under the curve. Details. I bumped my idle speed up about 100 RPM and made things a lot better.

A point of reference that could help people mentally get hold of the capacity, or supply, versus load, or draw, difference - a typical battery has 500 - 600 amps available at an instant. CCA. That's why when you connect a wire wrong, and create a low resistance path to ground, or high draw, you can vaporize a wire in a flash. In other words, we all have a 500+ amp power source sitting in the engine bay right now, that dwarfs any alternator you could find.. So it's not the supply side that matters, it's the draw side, Any discussion about wiring harness weakness should really never even mention the alternator. The battery power will do the damage.

That's often from running lean. If you wanted to get tricky you could disconnect the coolant temperature sensor, either at the sensor itself or unplug one of the bullet connectors in the harness over the manifold. That will make it super-rich but it might run right for a while until it gets warm. A clue. You can get fouled plugs from lean misfires. You're kind of in a search for cause/effect right now. If you can make something change reproducibly it will give you a direction to go in.

Are you positive that your plug wires are installed correctly? 153624 counterclockwise. The engine will start and run with them installed clockwise. Strange but true. Backfiring is usually caused by spark happening at the wrong time or lean fuel-air mixture. I've seen bad front-fires from exhaust valves staying closed due to bad cam lobes. Is it popping through the intake manifold or out the tail-pipe? Easy to get back and front mixed, description-wise.

JSM asked a good question. Can you keep the engine running at all, or are you focusing on just idling? Not clear if it's a running problem, or and idling problem. Also can't tell if it backfires just once then everything is okay, or if it backfires once every time you rev it. And is this when it's cold, or when it's hot, or both? Seems like you're making progress. Have you had it out for a drive yet? Maybe it needs a slight thrashing.

If you called MSA and asked nice you might get somebody to pull a part off the shelf and measure it. I put your intake number in MSA's search box and this came up. Even though it's not actually in the visible text. So it's in their database somewhere. They can find it, but will they measure it for you? Since it's just going to be the same numbers that are in the FSM. Good luck. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/10-5001 http://www.thezstore.com/store/merchant.mvc?Screen=SRCHM

Actually I think with good contact made the current wouldn't jump a decent-sized gap. Look at how an over-gapped plug can cause misfires. You have to leave some work for the doer, once you supply the idea. There are also solid-state switches, which don't use gaps. I know that they exist but I don't know much about them. Or the dielectric filled type, used to be PCB's, don't know what they use now, probably silicone fluid. Personally, I'd just find a different way. The question is interesting to discuss though. I had a reason to go browse around high voltage switches. http://www.behlke.com/separations/separation_b1.htm and dielectric fluids https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_dielectric How about killing the points ground or ignition module side? The negative side of the coil, instead of positive. Or the trigger circuit for electronic? No circuit breakage, no magnetic field collapsing, no spark happening. A switch on the wires (green or red) to the module from the variable reluctor maybe. That would work and the common thief would have no clue where to look. Or isolate the distributor body and use a dedicated ground wire, with a switch in it, for points. You can supply all the power you want, but if the coil current doesn't make and break, you get no spark. Just brainstorming now...

The dimensions are also in the FSM's, by car and year. Same info that site provided though. How many people are going to have some valves, out of the head and available to measure, for which they know the part numbers? Google says that they might not be 240Z valves though - https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/nissan-valve-intake~13201-a1100.html and https://www.nissanpartsdeal.com/parts/nissan-valve-exh~13202-n0401.html You might find the FSM's at http://www.nicoclub.com/datsun-service-manuals

With a solid path to ground through the switch, you'd end up with two possible low resistance paths, one to the distributor or one directly to ground. So the gap would easily be jumped only if the easy path to ground wasn't there. Right? That's where I ended up. The same thought did enter my mind though. But I kicked it out

To be clear - I went in to detail because Takhli writes like he would want to discuss these things. If you're going to describe how you finessed a a part down to 0.0005" precision you should be happy that there's someone out that can appreciate it. That's a measurement that will change if you breathe on it. It's surprising that he wouldn't appreciate the suggestion of granite surface plate. The proper responsive would have been "I wish I had one of those". The response that came instead makes one wonder. That's what these forums are for. To discuss these things and learn some new things. Alright. Moving on now.

I made a point. I'll stay out now. Always disappointing that people can't engage in a simple adult conversation though. Makes me feel alone. People are so sensitive about their reputations these days, with likes and follows and reputation scores. Happy happy joy joy only. No critical thinking allowed (as opposed to criticism - they're not the same thing). Like my opinion even matters that mcuh. We could have had a really interesting side conversation about measurement techniques and their importance to high-quality engine building,. Instead we're talking about a guy's epoxy-coated door work bench, as opposed to a solid granite work surface. The heart of this thread is about expertise and we had a chance to talk about it. But it won't happen now. Your guy will probably get your engine working just fine. Enjoy it.

I think that several guys from CZCC were out there a while ago and ran through the EFI tests at the ECU connector. That's the place to start, the ECU connector, I'd say. Then dig deeper if the numbers are off. Still, Jai said that she never changed the plugs after the ECU replacement. So the earlier suggestion of a complete tune-up before getting carried away still seems reasonable.