no.never

i remember reading, i think in a link in atlantic z tech, about using a nylon rope. seemed do-able maybe even at my level, with the nicely detailed instructions on that page of course. and here, hehehe. had i thought about that i might've tried it. specially with the cover clear from the rail and waiting for parts. i'm the "whilst i'm here..." type too, there's always next time. would've taken a bit longer but would've leveled up my z level.

thanks ZH. well at this point i'm back full circle to my stupid original plan of making a 280 my DD while i fix my 260 then sell, instead of just finishing my 260. curiosity killed the what?, the budget. so if i'ma be driving this i wanna get it solid without too much work or $. i need to pass smog and the smell is telling me it's probably not ready or not right. i don't know where the timing's set. my idle starts at 8-10 then when it leans out (see i'm learning) it goes up to 15 and doesn't drop. valve adjust is out of my level, maybe i can find a z shop around me that can do that and maybe help out with the smog. looks like i got some tests to do next time off.

dirty word on the street is i need to buy a yogurt cup this weekend... -- throttle position switch = throttle valve switch (FSM, EF15)? sound similar. may be faulty as mine doesn't have a cover. -- cold start: the car had been sitting for a while and dead batter so i didn't depressurize through cold start like in FSM. when i disconnected IN/OUT lines, didn't leak much fuel. would that have damaged it? -- AFM: don't feel comfortable removing the AFM... but might try it the out-of-car tests for these things seem like it's out of my level...

i forgot i had started this thread, hehe. i forget that these z are notorious for wining on the track. having a franken-z would be awesome, just use the shell and put in a newer system specially if it's 30 MPG. having a 30yr+ car would be expensive for DD not to mention draining the restore funds. well i had decided to sell the 280, keep using the 94 accord as DD, and work on 260. the accord started having heating issues and after no luck selling and some random time off i decided to fix a fuel leak so it can be more "sellable." that turned into new injectors, hoses, clamps, filters, oil, starter, battery and cleaned up the debauchery that was the fuse box. runs really good, too good. so i'm obviously gonna be driving it around for a while, hehehe. so, for the time being... two z.

tried to sell my 78 280z 2+2. after no luck and some random time off last week decided to fix a fuel leak. what was supposed to be a $20 EFI fuel hose refresh turned into new injectors, hoses, clamps, new filters, oil, rear tires, starter, battery, and cleaned up the electric debauchery that was the fuse box. night/day difference, been driving it a lot the past two days. guess what's not for sale? for now at least... got the thumbs up on roscoe & 405 this morning. nice! the honk was loud, made me jump.

Well I'm old enough to have driven a cat-less 260z before this one, hehehe. Both are CA z's, both have exhaust that leaks into the cabin, from the shifter mostly but also a leak in the exhaust somewhere. on the 260z it was really bad because the exhaust wasn't connected at the manifold and no weatherstripping, the smell was "normal" but then again i was high on fumes so my brain cells were probably gone by then, hehe. i haven't really checked for leaks on the 280 but it seems like it's the same place, but the smell is now more of a strong carbon smell. driving it last night made my eyes water a bit, not this morning though. i honestly haven't the slightest clue. have three suspects: found plugs #2 & #4 wrong (i was excited, shh), when replacing the air filter found towels stuffed under the filter, and the pressure regulator was in all of the troubleshooting checks. once electrical was set it was like there wasn't fuel delivery even though there was, as if flooded. when cleaning the rail i didn't take the pressure regulator out but i had sprayed carb cleaner in it through the top, don't know if that messed it up but i don't remember it being this noisy, can feel it click. i cranked it with the air filter out and it struggled, gave me a small pop, then started on the next one. maybe the initial pop unclogged it? as for the connectors they were all fine, the only ones i didn't look at because of access were the AFM and the ones under the wiper tank (ECU?). maybe i used too much deoxit? maybe the AFM was stuck? mine is idling at around 12 or 10. i'm noticing once i run it the idle goes up to around 15. and i thought 15 was too high. i gotta read into checking the vacuum and properly doing a continuity check since i'm still chasing electrical gremlins. that 35 pin was pretty tough to get out, mainly from the bottom. definitely still gotta troubleshoot.

The PO took them off. The holes are there but I only found one bolt, not too fond of them but I wanna put them on. Are they just bolted on? Nut / bolt? And what's the deal with these anyway? Was it just a fancy factory option?

A z pops up every blue moon. Had seen a nice orange 240z at a stop, had big yellow lights like a dune buggy Bout a month ago on van nuys blvd. Saw a rusty 240/260 sitting on roscoe blvd a couple of weeks ago by work. When I worked in glendale I saw them just a bit more frequent cause there were two z shops around. Always makes me smile when I see a z. Motivated me to get my 2+2 going again. Won't give details, maybe ill get spied...

And that's that. Cleaned the fuse box, a terminal was loose and some rust and a sneaky fuse. got a new bat and now runs like a boss. Insert giant smile. The engine humms smooth, No backfire, sluggish, huge difference. still have gremlins I gotta catch, but for now it's been a long time coming so Ima enjoy the ride. The exhaust does have a bit of gas smell. That means it's rich?

I think Ima see if I can turn a door bell into a check, might scare me now and again. Hehehe. Maybe one of those fart machines. My fuel gauge doesn't work. Sad face... But everything else does! So far. After checking some of the 35 pin tests and not finding anything I cleared all the sound stuff and cleared the fuse box, pulled it out, cleaned. one terminal was loose, no current. The fuse was also shot, looked intact but burnt. After that still wouldnt start. The suspects were narrowed down to the bat, alt, time, or fuel delivery. Found plug 2 & 4 were wrong. Also the red-white wire to alt was shorting from a hidden crimp mess that was loose. Still no start. Jumped... She's aliiive!! At first it backfired then I noticed the pressure reg wasn't putting as loud. Sounded great. My pops came over and also thought it's narrowed down to bat or alt. Well AZ narrowed it down to the bat. New bat was bigger. Engine humms. Really nice. Found 3 shop towels stashed with the air filter. Next is to see about the mixture, exhaust smells some strong. Although it's not 100%, runs 100% better.

Brilliant!

Yep right there with ya. I was looking at the continuity check for the EFI and got an old notebook out. I was gonna read the diagram but drawing it sounds good. Also found a color diagram, but it doesn't pop up in adobe. Booo, I'll try later. FSM says to use a fuse to check a relay as to not damage it. ??? When cleaning I did notice a loose one and one relay only had half of the contacts connected. So I wanna check those.

Note to self: harbor freight sells helping hands. Thats what I plan on doing to the 260. I just need to get this 280 mechanicaly solid so I can go back to finishing the 260, don't remember that being hacked. Soldering and shrink does sound pretty pro.

Thanks FW. I'll shall consult the FSM. Plus Ima do some electrical testing this weekend try and figure what's going on. You know, I wouldnt be surprised if my AFM is gone or if there's leaks. That first backfire was pretty loud and forced It's way out of the AFM. Might have to change the alt and now maybe the AFM, yikes. The plugs were cleaned and gap, they were pretty fouled. had changed them when I got the car.

Yea I saw those tests on there, don't really want to do electrical troubleshooting. Mainly cavuse I've never Hehehe. But this is probably a good time to get my feet wet. Time to buy a multimeter, gonna try it this weekend. Atleast when I get around to my 260 the electrical won't seem as bad.

Oh and happy thanksgiving everybody! Or happy Thursday everybody!

Oh and happy thanksgiving everybody! Or happy Thursday everybody!

This is probably another thread, but may be related. She's aliiiiiiive!! Insert a clenched fist and a "that's what I'm talking about." New starter and injectors make it like a dream. but driving it it's very sluggish. I also get back fires, pops, around the AFM. battery dies out so maybe the alternator has to go too, lack of power explains the sluggish. Otherwise would something I did cause this? Plugged a connector upside-down? All injectors click, dead cylinder? Electrical? Moved it a couple of weeks without a problem, except that fuel leak.

Ok so I took out the radio and the amp. That cleared up the fuse box minus two wires that turn the pump on/off. Replaced starter and battery terminals and still wouldnt start. Got a jump and it struggled to start but eventually it did. Turned it on/off and it started up like a dream but after a couple of minutes off, dead with clicks. Jumped it again, drove around for a while, turned the car off, dead with no clicks nothing. The bat shows up around 16 volts so it should be the alternator right? Started car, unplugged the battery, and I heard the alternator make noise then the car shut off. Gonna go to AZ to get the alt checked. Or is there a short that's causing this? I can smell burnt wire smell or an acid smell coming from where the radio was. There weren't problems before it sat a couple months ago, nor when I moved it a couple of weeks ago, just fine. Very weird.

Hey all So I had an instance a while ago where the car wouldnt start, fuel pump wasn't getting power. That's when I saw the fuse box with wires in fuses. Touched a wire, heard a short, and the pump came on. Gotta check that. I replaced the injectors to fix a fuel leak and yesterday didn't start. Battery was low (being charged). Well today I got around to looking at the fuse box and followed the cables. All of them run to the radio and an amp in the back, courtesy of the PO. I don't care for these things right now I just everything ok. There's also a cable from the battery to the amp and another may be going to the fuse box. Would taking all these things out fix it? Let me know what you think. Don't know squat about electrical. But I guess thats gonna change

First off, big ups to everybody that chimed in. Appreciate it. You guys weren't kidding about it being a PITA to install. Never thought I'd ever do this, not bad. I didn't cut the hoses the right length or pushed them in all the way because a manifold bolt didn't make it, passable. Installed the battery and it was low. Turns but may be too low to start. Even with a jump. So I didn't get a chance to hear her roar, but it was enough to turn on the fuel pump, saw that I forgot to tighten a clamp. What a newb. Did hear a hissing sound coming from the pressure regulator, don't remember if that was there before. hopefully it's the bat. Charging the bat tonight. Looks like tomorrow I dive into the electric abyss. my pops might come check it out. The fuse box has wires everywhere. Read someone had similar issues with a hacked fuse box. Well, it's threading time! Fuel leak at the injectors? No. Never!

Parts are here and the rain is gone. Ready to install tomorrow. probably gonna do injectors then the rail. Is there an orientation or as long as the connectors are accessible? Get this: 4/6 of the old injectors didn't have filters and the o rings were half the size of the new ones. Yikes.

so that's what those metal things were. when i was cleaning i saw a couple of those in the manifold. maybe from the injectors? cause they don't have them. seem like they might be a pain to reinstall with restricted space. should have everything in within the week. been sitting for a couple of months so i'll probably do fuel filter and oil change, had done it when i got it. gonna be driving a z again pretty soon... "'exciting' is hardly the word i'm looking for."

You know that group of 3 connectors around thermotime, I need to take the metal clip out, right? I'm pretty sure I saw a thread on it before but I forgot. slightly chipped one trying to wiggle it...

Looky what I found: http://www.ebay.com/itm/230878204656 One step closer...