Zed Head

Yes, I have a setup with 14mm o-ring injectors. Bosch 280 150 901. I only picked them because I was trying to solve the heat-soak problem and wanted a different nozzle style (whole other story). They work just like the originals essentially, although I think mine were a little bit richer than the stock Nissan injectors, but I'm not sure since I was between emissions test, and changed AFM's in between also. Mine are high impedance and may open quicker than the low impedance, causing more fuel at idle. Don't know for sure, just a fine detail. I had to lower the fuel pressure to pass (I have an adjustable FPR). I'm not sure the 188 and 190cc numbers are 100% accurate either. Most of the flow rate numbers come from the same web site - Stan Weiss's for example - and there seems to be some variation between spreadsheets. So, I would recommend an adustable FPR, or to be ready to get an adjustable FPR, in case you do end up on the rich side. Pallnet does good work and will probably send everything you need, or at least recommend what you need. He's sold many. Besides mounting, you have to get the seal right at the manifold. I just stacked two o-rings at the base of mine, because that gave the proper insertion of the nozzle in to the manifold and sealed well. But I built my own rail, and my own mounting system. Otherwise, it's a simple swap, just a few odds and ends that you have to take care of. I think that Pallnet is the one that found the Toyota injectors but I haven't seen that anyone's actually used them. But if the flow rate is close, it should be easy to tune them in. But it may not be a swap and go operation. Looks like they flow 177, so assuming they open and close the same, you might be fine or just need a potentiometer on the coolant circuit to tweak them in. http://users.erols.com/srweiss/tableifc.htm

There is another part to the EGR system, the BPT valve, that opens to let intake vacuum open the EGR passage. If that has no EGR valve on the end of it, it would just open to atmosphere. Seeing the remains of your EGR valve though, makes one wonder about the state of the other systems on the intake manifold. Take a good clear picture of the top of your intake manifold and post it for us to ponder. We might see something. A thought on another potential cause - A short circuit on the injector harness. The short opens the injectors full, flooding occurs immediately, backfire from red-hot liners on exhaust ports (N47 head) , shaking opens short, back to normal. It's a flyer, but who knows.

Maybe that squiggly is just a generic marking representing all of the other power sources for L. I looked at the 78 diagram and see the fuel pump control relay among several other possible "resistances" all branched with the voltmeter L wire. Wish somebody would do the saridout procedure on 1978. That diagram is hard to read. Edit - forgot about the atlanticz version. Much better - http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/wiringdiagrams/78_280Z_wiring.pdf I think I need to add a circuit to my L wire. Thanks for the warning CO. Edit 2 - I've woven a web of my own comments around your thread CO. See above. Hope they make sense in the end.

Now I'm worried, since I relocated my brake check relay power. When my bulb blows I might be running on borrowed time. Maybe, assuming. Looking forward to the solution to this mystery. Edit - The brake check relay doesn't seem to be involved, by the wiring diagram, but the other power sources at the VR do. I'll have to pull my charge bulb some day and see if the alternator still charges. I'm guessing it won't. My battery is relying on one of those old corroded bulbs in the gauge. Edit 2 - after a better look using the atlanticz site diagram it looks like the brake check warning lamp relay is involved, in 1978 anyway. Seems like it may behave in a similar fashion to the charge light also, on when engine's off (alt not charging), off when the engine is running and the alt is charging. Maybe the brake light comes on also for 1978 when the alternator has a problem.

Funny, I've never actually looked closely at the charge lamp before. I had assumed that it was some special, high-durability bulb designed for its critical function of notifying the operator of a charging malfunction. But, it's just a plain old bulb, glowing on the back of a piece of red transparent plastic. I looked at my 78 gauge, and there's no need really to measure resistance since you can see the short sections of wire directly from the bulb socket to the connector. But I did anyway to make sure one of them wasn't a magical piece of restrictive wire. Both were plain old copper strands. One was 0.1 ohm higher than the other but I think that was just poor contact from my pointy probe. I'd guess that you could measure from the L connection at the alt back to the gauge bulb socket on an intact harness, and from the gauge bulb to the power source, and learn something. I didn't keep any body harness, just the EFI harness and odds and ends, like gauges and relays. Maybe the brake check warning lamp is involved, I think that it's in parallel with the L wire. It stays on after the swap,on a 76 anyway. Has to be relocated to another power source. Seems reasonable though, that there would be a parallel circuit. Otherwise, a blown bulb leads to a dead battery. Defeats the purpose of the bulb. Back to you...

I can't even remember what the problem is. Probably getting carried away. The car runs but dies randomly? Is that it?

Considering what you're considering doing, Patcon has many good parts. The extra FPR is for the 78+ fuel rail, and one piece the rail itself is a much better item than the three piece that RedWing is using now. It's a direct swap, everything lines up, except for maybe the cold start valve. They changed that with the ZX I believe. The three piece rail can leak at the hose junctions. They're probably all old and about to split. Be careful, once you start removing parts, the rabbit hole gets deeper. Edit - the FPR design changed with the rail design. Nissan went from two inlet ports to one, as site noted above somewhere.

Don't the windings in the alternator play a part also? My 76 doesn't do that,it just goes directly to lamp off. The alternator is an old 1981 junk yard unit that came with a motor I bought. Best one I've had so far. Maybe your alternator is not up to par. Is it a reman? Of course, that's not why you posted, it's the other mystery. I have a 78 voltmeter in the garage. I can measure resistance, for comparison, but someone else will have to do the other gauge. My parts have been working well together and can't be disturbed. I should see lower on the 78, assuming the lamp is the same, if the resistor is in the gauge.

I've seen them but it's not been clear which went where or where they came from. Care to share? By nose, you mean the lever at the bottom, with the ball on the end, correct?

It's right in the middle of the rail. The fuel enters from one side, travels through two loops then exits n the middle at the FPR. Rigging up a non-stock FPR would take a little ingenuity but it's doable. On a 76 you can replace the stock FPR with a T fitting, and mount the non-stock FPR remotely on the return line.

That was my point. I don't know. All I know is that they were too big. Didn't make sense unless they were for drums that had been turned to a much larger size. But there's not that much meat there. Just something to check. My parts store stuff may have been of low quality, poor specs. Easy to see just by setting the show in the drum.

Here's the OReilly 76 option. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search.oap?year=1976&make=Nissan&model=280Z&vi=1209226&keyword=fuel+pressure+regulator You can make almost any 70-80's era FPR work with some hose and clamps.

Here's a VW option that could be used. Still spendy, but it's available at OReilly Auto. 1979 Super Beetle. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search.oap?year=1979&make=Volkswagen&model=Super%2BBeetle&vi=1423189&keyword=fuel+pressure+regulator

One universal FPR might be a pair of locking pliers on the return line. If you have a gauge you can probably get it dialed in enough to make the engine run. Many of the inexpensive adjustable regulators will leak down rapidly with no pump pressure. Creating a whole new issue. I would stick with an OEM supplier since they're designed to hold pressure. The aftermarket FPR's are for adjustability and bling. Unfortunately for us, in general,, the 2.5 bar spec. has been superceded by 3.0 bar. So there aren't many options to make work. You might find an old BMW, or VW, or other Euro brand that would work. 1970's to 1980's would be the range. There is an adjustable Bosch FPR that I've seen on eBay but it doesn't have the vacuum adjustment. Has to be modified. Bought mine for $34.

One thing I remember from installing new shoes was that the shoes were shaped for a larger diameter drum. So only the leading and trailing edges made contact. It took quite a while for them to wear in to where they gave good stopping power. Quite a few click cycles on the parking brake. If I was looking for quick wear-in to the proper diameter I'd have them cut down on a lathe. They were surprisingly far off. Would have been big even for a turned drum.

I have a downloaded version too, but I found that the drop down menus at the upper right will get you there. There's a sub-topic called Other Guides under the Reference sub-topic. S30 > Reference > Other Guides, for example. Still weird though, the S30 and S130 links have different formats.

I was just on their site, looking for a guide and found that the site pages are full of bad links. So here's the home page link, and the best way to get to the good stuff is to use the drop down menus at the upper right. The links from the individual pages don't work. http://www.xenonzcar.com/

Ya know, we have't given blackpearls the boilerplate advice on the 280Z EFI. He'll probably have to dig in and learn some auto to get it fixed. It would have been nice to get a quick resolution but odds are it's time to go through the rigor of testing the system with a meter and gauges. There aren't many mechanics out there today who know how to work on these old cars. Say you were a mechanic who knew how 20 years ago, when these cars were 15 years old. 15 years is already old technology. Now, 20 years later, those guys have retired, replaced by code readers and sub-system replacers. It's just how the industry has gone. Anyway, the Engine Fuel, and Engine Electrical, chapters are the place to start. There's also the Fuel Injection Guide, very useful Many have started from this very point. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/280z/ http://www.xenonzcar.com/s130/other.php

Curious, what is the current shift lever not doing? Is it just an odd angle? Here's one thing that people do to the stock levers, apparently. Seems like a lot of money for a cut, a weld, and some grindng, but it's there. Not recommending, just showing. http://www.datsunstore.com/shifters-shortened-throw-p-1790.html

The propeller shafts aren't serviceable but the drive (half) shafts are. Actually, many of them come with a cap in the Zerk hole already, as you saw. Greased once, then capped. So, it shouldn't be a problem. If you decided to put a new Zerk fitting in, check that it's not too long. I think that Nissan used short ones. Long might break off again. You must have good eyes if you noticed a halfshaft Zerk while working on the tie rod ends.

You might send a message to borini63. He parts a lot of cars. Dangerdan88 (?) does also.

I had the stock 4 speed in my 76 when I got it, then installed a 78 5 speed, then an 83 5 speed, and finally an 80 5 speed, and I used the same shift lever in all of them. The 76 and 78 levers were the same shape and throw (length of the little knobbed arm at the bottom). If by "Maxima bushings" you mean the spring loaded contraption that allows the lever to move up and down, those were used on the 280ZX cars also. I think I posted something about the Maxima in the past, but most people know those from the ZX. It seems to change the throw during the shifting motion, but doesn't seem to be necessary. You should be able to install the simple 4 speed lever and be fine. Probably late 74 to 1978 would be like the stock 78 lever. Maybe 71 to 78. I don't know that Nissan would have needed to make any changes over the years, besides very minor ones, since the bodies are essentially the same shape. Edit - here's the page site was referring to (you'll have to blow it up. Tiny pictures). Looks like 72-78 are the years. http://www.zhome.com/ZCMnL/tech/69-83TrannyShifterDrawing.jpg

I had a similar thought to Patcon's that's why I asked about a tuneup. You need coil discharge for the ECU to tell the injectors to spray fuel so I thought maybe you were losing spark somewhere between the coil and the plugs, but the coil was still discharging. Maybe a short from the main coil wire to ground. Could also be that the coil is bad and doing enough to trigger the ECU but not enough to spark the plugs. I hate to throw suggestions out though, because you can spend a lot of money replacing parts trying to find the right one. That's why we were suggesting the module cooling, it's a good test. So, it seems like you are losing spark, but maintaining fuel. That's the odd thing. You might just closely check all of the wiring at the coil, and the distributor cap, to make sure you don't have a wobbly wire. Don't let the wires lean on or touch anything, keep them well-separated. Pull the main wire out of the coil and cap and reseat it to make sure it has a good connection. They've been known to seat poorly, causing problems.

You'll probably feel like I'm overdoing this point, but "in the heat" is too vague. One person's heat is another person's fine day. You're also not telling us how hot the the engine is, is it fully warmed up, or is this right after starting out? It's the engine heat that matters, and how hot the other components are. Heat builds up everywhere as the engine runs. Fuel pumps can fail when they get warm, but you can also have crud in the tank clogging the pump inlet. Since your problem is repeatable and the car is driveable, it's a great candidate for installing a gauge and letting it hang out of the hood where you can see it. Looks bad but it will tell you a lot. The car might be taking off like a rocket because you're pressing the throttle hard to try and make it run. No offense, but people who aren't in tune with how engines work will do things like that. There are other simple tests that you can try but fuel pressure is very important and should be verified before looking elsewhere. You can get side-tracked.

That's a bummer. Does it pop back through the intake manifold (under the hood), or does the bang come from the exhaust pipe? It's really best to be methodical and meticulous when you get one of these types of problems. Lots of detail in descriptions, even on the small things. Even the stuff that seems completely unrelated like the tachometer needle behavior, noises from the radio, lights that flicker, the voltmeter needle, etc. Descriptions like "I have run a fuel pressure test on it and everything was alright." aren't enough. Numbers are best. Some people think that loosening a hose clamp and seeing fuel come out means pressure is okay. When was the last time it had a tune-up? Plugs, cap, wires, etc. Some of use have spent lots of time just find that the plugs were worn out.