Dave WM

well the seem fine to me at least the bottom, did not do the backs yet. On thing is they are thicker, as afterward I had less head room (hair on top of head brushes against the top now). I know if you get new covering material the old foam will not be thick enough, I tried and ended up with too much left over to fit correctly.

IF the plugs confirm the rich condition which I think they will, then you need to move on to the EFI check list AT the ecu, starting with a reading of the temp sensor AT the ecu. I keep saying AT the ecu so you will be checking all the wiring from the sensors and the harness as well. the temp sensor and leaking CSV are all suspects that need to be looked at if rich condition exist. For the temp sensor you will need to check the water temp and compare it to the resistance chart in the EFI.

agree with ZH, several things going on, sounds like a miss and prob super rich, which may account for a miss fire if you have a fouled plug. Install new correct plugs, try again and get a reading of them. Also I found very handy a mech stethoscope put the end to the injector body and listen for ticking sounds. ZH method works too, I just find it quicker to use the stethoscope to id a non functional injector.

trying to understand why the ign module by the fuse box is running hot. Maybe that's normal, I never checked mine.

pretty long thread, do you have the correct coil and ballast resistor installed?

the fuel pressure is maintained by having a pressure regulator that monitors the engine vacuum to maintain a constant pressure relative to that. 36psi is where it should be with the pump running but the engine NOT running (no vacuum in the intake manifold). at idle you are more likely to see 30psi assuming all things are working as they should. The pressure will rise and fall based on engine vacuum. A massive air leak would therefore effect not only unmetered air but the fuel pressure regulator as well. You may want to get a vacuum gage hooked up as well. Vacuum leaks can create havoc. check all hoses and don't forget the PCV hose on the crank case AND the PCV valve. This assume you have a vacuum leak issue of course. the excess fuel provided by the pump will be returned to the tank via the return line. I suppose you will be ok with a non standard pump but again you are introducing a variable into the system. Its hard to know how to proceed unless you start by baseline the pump (pressure and volume AT the fuel rail). I started with a factory pump just to be sure I did not have an issue. What was in the car was one of the high pressure skinny long pumps that was good for 90psi. Are there any other non stock modification to the various systems (PCV as an example). things like loose fitting valve covers including the oil cap, can cause air leaks, as can leaky injector o rings, even a non secured oil dip stick. Also all the hoses that flow air from the AFM to the throttle body should be inspected for crack that would allow air to go unmetered.

pretty sure the factory pump is rated at 55psi, most aftermarket pumps are 90psi. I went factory since you can still get them. I pretty much use that logic on all parts (if factory is available use that). That being said the fuel damper was part of the orig design so I see no reason to assume its ok to delete it. Maybe it will be fine but you just keep adding variable when deleting or re engineering stuff. The stock setup works very well, that includes all the EFI, EGR and PCV systems. You need to get a fuel pressure gauge hooked up and then go thru the entire EFI section of the FSM in a methodical way. Things not generally covered in the FSM directly will be rust in the tank and the fuel lines. It does cover it indirectly by spec of the PSI and volume of fuel that is being pumped. Old school diagnostics start with a check of the plugs, how do they look? you can get a lot of insight into the condition of an engine by checking there. Also a good cylinder compression check is one of the 1st things to go to for overall health of an engine. But again all this is covered in the FSM,

if it runs with the breather disconnected then you must be running super rich. Have you gone thru the EFI check list esp regarding the temp sensor for the EFI, and have you confirmed the cold start injector is working properly. No need to rip out the EFI, it works VERY well, you just need to systematically check the parts of correct operation.

maybe a DIY using the old sleeve and inner tube? I tried to find something, could only find people making PU stuff for stiffer bushing. Perhaps a softer rubber compound could be cast into the void?

yes but that is between the vapor tank and the hard line. I have disconnected the hard line on both ends.

going to have to give the plastic trimmer stuff a try, I tried my own idea (lube) did not help a bit.

did you try lube on the wire, may help.

btw, how does the texture of the plastic compare to OE?

I have a spare dash, maybe send it to them, then make a road trip to pickup.

I have some pretty stiff wire used for tying rebar. I tried it on the evap line but it was too tight could not make the bends. the fuel line is bigger might work there, come and get it, I got a huge roll.

I decided to pass on the press and trying to remove the outers, they really seemed fine (used a spindle pin and compared how much give compare to the new ones, I measured the amount of deflection under a load and could not see any diff). Yes I made sure I loaded the suspension before tightening the inners (clamp style) and outers (spindle pins). I am glad I had good hardware, new nuts on the pins, OE stuff with the crimped in self locking style. I was able to tighten up the 24mm with a big spanner without even having to use ramps. I have not been able to take it out any more aggressive than a ride around the hood, but I can tell a big diff in the bounce test. both the front and the back have much better damping in both compression and rebound, and they seem matched with how they react now. I had some cartridge types that I was going to use for the back but I have to fab up a spacer if I go that route in the future. The top nut on the strut does not locate the care, looks like I need about 1/8" wide by 1/4" deep ring. Every time I tried the cart it shifted off center. I got the carts with out the top strut mount nut, but I did get some off a junker, but I must have missed the spacer (or it was not on the junker). No big, I hope I don't have to go back into the strut in my life time anyway. hopefully this weekend I will get it out on the highway. I think there is a local Z gathering here in Orlando 7/22 that I will try to make. Most of the clubs seem to be on face book, which I do not have, so will have to check that out again.

Done, took for a test drive, all good. finally got my Z back on the road.

good movie scene is the only story, "goodfellas"

finally got the right part, so reinstalled the control arms and struts. Just have to bleed the brakes, then I can put the tires back on and get some weight on the suspension before tightening up the various bush bolts. Hope to get back on the road tomorrow, need to get back on my hood watch circuit. I am glad I got the new spindle pins/rubber washer/ and esp the spindle pin nuts. did not like the idea of reusing that old stuff.

while on the topic the polarity issue at hand is regarding only the FI, other places like switches are a different matter, specifically the thermotime, I think Blue mentions this in the write up. On that one there is a heater and a switch, don't think you would want to mix those two up.

Should be interesting to hear what others think. Its just a coil, but reversing the polarity will of course reverse the direction of the magnetic poles created when energized. That being said I assume the moving part of the injector is NOT a perm magnet but rather just an iron plunger, therefore reversed poles should not matter. I think the real issue is prob just to avoid confusion anytime someone is trying to diagnose an electrical issue. So if you are using the FSM to check connections it would be nice to have them wired consistent with the diagram.

nuts stuck, don't know if the bolt would then be the next issue, I am sure its frozen as well. I don't have to hold it so it clearly is in there stuck too (or it just so tight it does not need to be held from the bottom). For now I am just going to leave it be, insulator looks ok, I had a new one but not worth the effort at this time. Diff has had a recent drain and refill.

The front diff mount, as seen in Capt O pics. Spindle pins were easy on mine. Figured while I have the struts out I would have good access to it.

argh, so I ordered the wrong bushings AGAIN, I think I have cornered the market on outer CA bushings, so waiting again for the INNER FRONT bushings. I will NOT be replacing any of those and now I have 6 of them. More on the diff mount, I can get at the nuts on the top pretty easy with the struts out, got a breaker bar on it but that has limited throw, so I went with my 1/2 ratchet. I put what feels like an insane amount of pull (don't want to pull the car off the jack stands) and nothing, tried PB plaster and penetrating stuff to no avail. this is when I really wish I had that induction heater tool. Anyway since I have to wait for the bushings I will try one more thing, the freeze spray stuff. If that does not do it I will just leave as is. This has got to be the longest my Z has not been started since I have owed it.