kickstand80

Do you have a spare distributor you could swap in? Are you running the stock distributor or upgraded to a matchbox? Is your distributor ground hooked up?

It would be interesting to see how a broken magnet vs an intact magnet affects the performance of the induction pulse. Does your 83 distributor have an unbroken magnet?

Clean the connections on the AFM and the engine temp sensor that goes to the ECU. Check all the connections, ignition, injectors ect. Make sure they are clean and tight. Check the function of the distributor advance, check to see if the bearing retainer in the breaker plate is broken. A crack in the distributor cap. A bad points condenser if you are running points. Random issues are the hardest to diagnose.

Sounds like your alternator is not charging. So either you have a bad power circuit to/from the alternator or the alternator you purchased is bad. You have an external voltage regulator that could be causing the alternator to not do its job. Check to see of the parts place you purchased the alternator has the ability to test the alternator. If its good then I would suspect the voltage regulator. Dont forget that this is a 50 year old car and any if not all of the electrical connections can be suspect or corroded. Get the FSM and go thru the testing: Free download here: http://www.xenonzcar.com/s30/fsm.html

The lobes will look like bunny ears

Have you ever used one of these? https://www.amazon.com/LEIMO-Cylinder-Compression-Leakdown-Diagnostics/dp/B07W9FXKTF Everyone can use more tools!

Interesting observation. I wonder how may blown head gasket have been replaced due to too much exhaust gas in the garage!

The OHM reading changes as the engine warms up. Cold sensor high ohm. Hot sensor low OHM. I know the Coolant temp sensor and a Cylinder head sensor are really close when it comes to the OHM values. I have a 1981 and a 1983 car so I have CHTS, not coolant sensor but the ohm value should be around 7000 if you put it in ice water and around 200 in boiling water. Tried to upload a picture of the graph but keep getting errors. If you go to this site: http://xenonzcar.com/s130/FSM/1981fsm.php Look at page 18 of the Engine Fuel section you will find the graph.

A bad connection at the AFM will do this. The car will start even with the AFM wire disconnected but will die if you give it gas. I agree cgsheen1 about DONT mess with the AFM. Nothing good can come of it. They are pretty reliable and most of the time issues with these cars have nothing to do with the AFM but people go after them. Once you have messed with it it will be very difficult to get it back to factory settings and once you have figured out what is really wrong then your AFM will be out of adjustment and then it will be the issue. Vac leaks will also cause this type of engine behavior. Check the connection for the coolant temp sensor, the one that feeds the ECU.

Cylinder 3 and 4 exhaust valves are next to each other in the head, this is a design flaw and a good place to look for cracks. Have you had the head checked by a shop for cracks? That may be your only option.

My bad, I just assumed it was a ZX. The post does not say what year.

I agree with Zed. You can get the Stoichiometric (air/fuel ratio) set by messing with the AFM but you will not see any performance increases. You can only get so much air thru these things with out using forced air induction. BTW there are actually 2 screws (air bypasses) on the meter that lets you "tune" the fuel ratio. You don't have to open the cover. I understand that you have an issue and that is a worn out bushing, get a rebuilt AFM. If this thing is that worn out it will cause issues for a long time. Best bet is a new one. The yellow box is the bypass screw that is used to CORRECTLY "tune" your air/fuel mixture.

The legend is on the carbon canister. The way it is supposed to work is ported vacuum is routed from the bottom of the throttle body to the thermo-vac switch mounted in the thermostat housing. When the engine is hot the thermo-vac switch changes and routes ported vac to the distributor and the carbon canister. The vac at the canister opens the purge valve so that fuel tank gasses that are absorbed by the carbon in the canister are sucked into the intake, this was an emissions thing, sealed tanks so that gasoline fumes are not vented to atmosphere. You can bypass the thermo-vac switch, and route ported vac straight to the distributor so you have vac advance at the distributor all the time, not just when the engine is hot. Limiting the vacuum to the vacuum advance when the engine was cold was an emission thing. You may also find a "T" at the distributor that sends vac to the EGR valve at the same time as the vacuum was sent to the carbon canister. You can delete the T so that the EGR valve never opens again(also an emissions thing)

Melted chocolate ice cream=bad head gasket oil leaking into coolant. There are 2 pressurized oil ports from the block to the head and they have restriction orifice in each. I have circled them in red. Whenever I do a head gasket I use Locktite 515 light coating on the metal reinforced holes I have circled. 515 is Anaerobic (only dried when no oxygen is present). https://www.grainger.com/product/5E226?ef_id=CjwKCAjwwo-WBhAMEiwAV4dybTZyPbY-H5icKkwUzaiPmBp0NjntWAzyiw674kgkAxdh8noJCgWmJBoCWD4QAvD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!2966!3!496359974779!!!g!1635640739665!&gucid=N:N:PS:Paid:GGL:CSM-2295:4P7A1P:20501231&gclid=CjwKCAjwwo-WBhAMEiwAV4dybTZyPbY-H5icKkwUzaiPmBp0NjntWAzyiw674kgkAxdh8noJCgWmJBoCWD4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds There are lots of arguments about using gasket sealant on head gaskets for the L28 engine. That's a decision that is up to you. I grew up using aircraft sealant (Permatex Aviation Form-A-Gasket on my head gaskets but most of the engines I did in my early years were cast iron blocks and cast iron heads. https://www.westmarine.com/permatex-aviation-form-a-gasket-sealant-4oz-13630512.html ) I chose not use sealant (except the red circles) on my 81 N/A and my 83 N/A in the last 2 years. That was my choice. I did go back and re-torque the head bolts when the engine was warm after taking the car on a couple of break-in runs.

Aux Air Regularor.....Aux Air Valve same thing. It sitson a plate that is bolted to the intake manifold and antifreeze flows thru to help it heat up and close sooner. Look for the small hoses below the AAR.

Check the intake manifold to head bolts/nuts, the end ones have a tendency to break off and the EGR valve flange.

It is just a heating coil inside. 12v one side and ground on the other. Here is what it looks like inside on the electrical side. I put mine in the freezer and looked inside to see how far open the port was then I heated it up in a shallow pan of water to see how far closed it went. I did an OHM check on the functioning one on my 81 and it shows 40 OHMS. The one in the picture has an open circuit so it is dead.

IDK problematic wife / problematic Z? You can always sell the Z and get your money back!

Power on with key

The cylinder head temp sensor signal only leans the fuel as the engine warms, it does not change the idle. The only way your car idle changes is if more air gets in. Look for vacuum leaks. Did you purchase a new secondary air valve or find a used one? It may be incorrectly adjusted or sticky. I had to adjust mine.

Is this a test? How about a year?

View Advert 1974 to 1978 Datsun 260z 280z distributor breaker plate repair kit Greeting all. After several inquiries about using my current breaker plate rebuild kit for 1979 to 1983 cars on pre-1979 cars, I reassembled my design team and have come up with a better design for the plastic bearing retainer that is found in the Datsun 260z and 280z distributors from 1974 to 1978. The earliest distributor I have is a 1974 and it is an electronic pickup distributor. I do not own a pre-1979 Datsun car or truck but I have picked up extra distributors as I find them in my local scrap yard. I DO NOT know when Datsun changed from points to electronic pickup in their distributors but since I have a 1974 Datsun 260z distributor, I assume that all 1974 260z cars are electronic pickup, but I may be wrong. So, what I do know is that my bearing retainer will fit ELECTRONIC pickup Datsun 260z and 280z distributors from 1974 to 1978. As I find out more, I will update the post. With the new updated design of the bearing retainer, a small modification will have to be made on one or two of the breaker plate screws. Once you have taken the breaker plate apart to verify that you need a new bearing retainer take a look at the bottom of the top half of the plate. Any screw that extends below the surface will have to be ground down. You can see in my pictures the one screw that I did grind down. If you don’t want to do any grinding you can always source out a new shorter screw or two, your choice. I do have a 1978 dual electronic pickup distributor that has 2 screws that extend below the bottom of the top plate. Other than that, just pay attention to how the plate is assembled when you take it apart. One thing that I have learned is that the snap ring that holds the two halves together can be a real pain in the fingers to get back in the correct place. After trying to get one back together for an hour, a question came into my head. Why am I making this so hard? Why am I fighting to put this back together with the ball bearing in the lower (spring metal) retainer? Why not reassemble the plate with the ball bearings out and install the balls after the spring clip is back in place! So that is what I did and it works great. No more fighting that snap ring for me. The lower bearing retainer is spring metal and will flex enough to get the bearing into the correct place. SOOOOOOO much easier. If you need a new retainer and bearings you can just email or text me. chaug@bis.midco.net or seven zero one-471-fifteen thirtyfour. The price will be 30.00 for a new retainer and 6 new correct size bearings. Price includes shipping to the lower 48 USA. Part is located in North Dakota and my name is Craig. If you are not in the US, I can get a shipping quote for you if you send me your full shipping address. I have sent several overseas and the longest it has taken is 6 weeks. This is mainly due to US customs, so plan ahead before the Zcar driving season. Craig Haug chaug@bis.midco.net seven-zero-one 471-fifteen, thirtyfour Parts are located in North Dakota The screw that had to be modified or replace. There may be more than one After grinding off the protruding screw. Nothing can extend below the plate otherwise there will be interference with the new retainer. Advertiser kickstand80 Date 04/30/2022 Price $30 Category Parts for Sale

View Advert Datsun 280zx, A series, L series, 510, 1200 Matchbox distributor breaker plate repair kit. 79-83 280zx distributor breaker plate repair kit. 22136-H9501 22158-S6700 Greeting everyone. I rebuilt my distributor from my 1981 280zx. When I took it I took it apart guess what I found, yep the plastic bearing holder had broken and the bearing were in the bottom of the distributor. I sourced a good distributor and removed the plastic bearing holder and sent it to an engineering firm that specializes is plastic molding/printing and had them redesign/reinforce the weak spots in the bearing holder and I have had a small batch of them produced. I have sourced proper size replacement bearings. The breaker plate comes apart pretty easy, but pay attention and take pictures. I still have 30-40 of these left from first production run. I will make more when I run low so Yes I still have them. I will look into international shipping and get a quote if you send me an address. FYI it has taken as long as 6 weeks for parts to get to Australia due to US Customs. So keep that in mind when ordering from overseas. This will fit the A series, L series Matchbox distributors. 4 cylinder or 6 cylinder. Will not fit Pre-1979. See my other ad for 1974 to 1978 bearing retainers. $30.00 for the bearing retainer and 6 new bearings. The price includes shipping to the lower 48. Here is a video of a youtuber using my breaker plate to repair his distributor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0bseYm0tHI&t=76s My contact information Craig Haug chaug@bis.midco.net seven-zero-one 471-fifteen, thirtyfour Parts are located in North Dakota Advertiser kickstand80 Date 04/30/2022 Price $30 Category Parts for Sale

As your engine heats up the coolant expands and some of it is released into the reservoir so if you have too much in the reservoir, it will overfill. When the engine cools off, it creates a vacuum and draws coolant back into the engine. So when the engine is HOT you should be between the two marks, usually near the MAX. After the engine cools and draws coolant back into the radiator you should be above the MIN mark. Add coolant when the engine is cold to just above the MIN mark

Leave room for expansion. Your coolant system breaths as it heats up and cools down. When cold the level should be at or just above the MIN mark. When hot it should be between the MIN and MAX marks but not above the MAX. If you overfill it you will end up with coolant on the ground with you wondering where your leak is.