Dave WM

L28s are tough engines, that being said they can be abused. I would suggest you do a compression check at a min, decide from there. Its not hard to get them going, the EFI is simple and well documented, plus you will get a lot of help. Buying a used engine may be ok to practice on but no reason to assume its better than what you have unless you start testing stuff (like compression). you can look at the camshaft and get an idea of its condition as well. buying rebuilt may be a good idea, but I don't know how to vet out a rebuilder, perhaps others that have had good luck and point you in that direction. Get it setup so you can crank the engine over (oil change at least and if the camshaft is dry, pour some oil on it), do a comp test. next check the fuel pressure with a gauge (good chance the tank will need to be cleaned and fuel lines blown out at a min) with a clean tank and fresh gas ad a prefilter infront of the pump, put a new filter on under the hood, hookup the pressure gauge and activate the pump (FSM covers how). if you get good fuel pressure you are 1/2 way there. Biggest problem with EFI is corroded connectors and grounds this includes fuse links, battery connections, sensor connections and FI connections. If the car fails to start after supplying fuel, check for spark if there the go thru the EFI above connection detailed above. Pictures under the hood will tell a lot of the overall messed with factor...

snorkel snorkel snorkel.... it is a fun word

No prob, did not want to clutter up your thread, I moved my post to WTB.

Looking for the plastic snorkel that fits from the inlet of the stock air filter to the side duct that goes under the fender on the passenger side.

detete

replacing my 280z pan was not hard, a little fiddly maybe. One thing is to get the front crankshaft counter weight up in the block, be prepared to get a wrench on the crankshaft and turn it if need be. once that is out of the way the only other thing is getting it off (the pan maybe seriously stuck if its been a long time on) then getting it to start back. taking off is not that hard. getting it on requires a bit more patience. You need to secure the gasket to the pan as it will want to be scraped off as you slide the pan back into position. I used some floss tied into a few of the holes to keep it all in place. I don't like using sealers or gasket glues, but maybe that would work. It may even work better if you put just a little up force on the engine, maybe at the pully, to lift the motor mount rubber a hair, but I don't think that is worth it. just deal with the shifting gasket, make sure its back in place, use a torque wrench to get all the pan bolts tightened to the correct (not over tight) tightness. check it again after running for a while. Main thing is if you have any doubt about the rear mains side seals being the source of the leak, do them at the same time. You can do with engine installed and pan off pretty easy.

make very sure the muriatic acid is fully neutralized, it will corrode horribly if not. I have used muriatic acid to remove rust before on steel, the problem is it seems to get into the very pores of the metal, and stays trapped there, causing the corrosion. Keep an eye on that sending unit. See if it looks ok after a day or two. I would have recommended using a less aggressive approach (after what happened to me) but since you have already done it, maybe soaking in a baking soda bath overnight may be something to consider. I just re read your post, I don't recall the mix I used that had the problem, perhaps your 20% solution will not have the same effects I battled.

lots of pics when you get a chance, video even better!

If you like to watch videos, I have a youtube channel, its my journey with a 1975, you may find some interesting stuff that would apply to your 76. My youtube is Dave WM

click turning key may be the CSV firing. Try this, disconnect the starter solenoid, and when its cold turn to start, see if you hear the same sound.

Not sure about that, the BCDD is disabled by going under 10 mph. I cant recall if you have to turn it on or off to disable. Next time I take mine out I will pull the plug at the BCDD valve and see what happens.

well if it plugs into that little box then its the BCDD for sure.

have you gone thru all the EFI connections and grounds? that would include injectors and sensor plugs. There is a lot of connections, they often develop corrosion. Don't forget the battery cables and clamps. Don't cheap out here, get some good battery cables, I prefer the kind with the molded on lead connectors. Feel the battery post after trying to start (and get nothing) see if they are getting warm.

sure seems like an air leak somewhere, lean running mix will create low vacuum readings, misfires, all at idle, things work better above idle. make sure EGR is sealing well. Maybe its a problem that effect higher RPM, getting lost in the problem. If plugs are fouling, could be oil or gas. Did you ever post up some pics of how the plugs look? This would be a good place to use one of those clear spark plugs. I seem to recall from back in the stone age when riding dirt bikes that a fouled plug could be overcome by pulling the spark boot up just a bit to create an air gap from the term to the boot. Not sure why but something that could get you out of the woods in a pinch.

if it was mine I would swap the plug and wire and see if that pattern follows the swap. the air gap is clearly letting the plug fire, odd things can happen at high voltages. maybe a short circuit having to do with the boot. If the miss stays after swapping the wire and the plug, try a new dist cap.

nvr mind

agreed, I cant imagine headlights not seeing that until 10ft from it. If my headlights were that bad I would not take the car out.

I was taught to not over drive your head lights, meaning anything you can see you should be able to stop for. If something jumps out from behind a wall or vegetation, then there is not much you can do, but then again you can assess the possibility of that happening and adjust for it (something right next to a road that blocks view, slow down). I do this a lot when I see animals or humans along side streets, I assume they will jump out into traffic, and make adjustments for that. Pretty much the only thing that gets me is when someone cuts abruptly in front and slams on brakes. That can happen, but generally they just cut in front too close. this happens a lot on freeways, too much strict interpretation of abiding by not driving in the passing lane. When I pass I pass quickly AND far enough so when I pull back into the right lane I have not vilolated the 3 second rule. Most of the time on Hiways this is not the case when I am being passed. A solution is to find a truck that is going the speed limit and stay behind him at a safe distance. Most of the wannabe race car drivers will not want to loose there spot in the passing line by getting between me and the truck. so they just stay in their neat tailgating passing lane going 90 mph with a fraction of a second distance from the next guy. I don't follow so close as to make passing difficult, just the threat of being behind a truck going the speed limit seems enough of a deterrent. In the dash cam the cyclist seem well into the crossing and not going very fast. Seem to me not overdriving headlights would have worked. You can also go high beams momentary if you are in a situation that looks difficult to read, don't blind the oncoming but a quick flash to evaluate comes in handy.

that was a great episode, so glad they are back. kudo's to hitch's the birds scene (drones).

removed heat shield I had transferred over from the OE muffler. I was no able to fit the new one inside all the rest of the shield but for some reason left one bit on. It would vibrate and make odd sounds. Thought I had something loose back there, but that was it. I kept all the OE stuff including the bad muffler just in case I can find one that is thin enough to go inside the OE shield. pipe is good, just had some holes along the bottom of the original.

I drove a motorcycle at the age of 15 (could do that before driving a car), so for a year I took the gladiator training of staying alive (this was in Ft. laud, very rough traffic crowd). Nothing will teach you how to defensively drive like a year on a bike. Good driving is way more than obeying traffic laws, its about predicting the unpredictable. This is why concentration is so important (not to mention training and thinking ahead). I have made it clear why I think the push is on for driverless cars, while I don't think much of most of the human drivers on the road due to the distractions of the cellular age (just makes my job as a defensive driver that much harder), I don't think there is a substitute for GOOD undistracted drivers.

things besides leaks that can lead to low vacuum, timing/A/F mix, cold engine. Vacuum is a good indicator of optimum running conditions, hot rod mods excluded. I seriously doubt the AFM is going to be a problem unless someone has opened up and messed with it. Your resistance reading show the board is working, I can only see one failure mode, that would be an open circuit. Still the voltage check will give you a better look at it, and you can compare now to a working model (the video) since I have confirmed that one as good in the car.

make sure you measure vacuum after allowing the engine to warm up as well.

oh and yea the resistance check of the AFM is typical, jumps like crazy. The voltage test will be a nice smooth increase in voltage. You may even see 0 volts flash by, as long as it just flashes to 0 and you are unable to maintain it then don't worry about it. I don't know why the digital meter does this, I don't know if its really zero or just some digital logic freaking out as you make changes. Analog has its place and checks like this is one of them. You can use the digital I just prefer analog.

BTW, I finally got around to installing the AFM shown in the video (wanted to test it in the car) actually works a bit better in the idle circuit, no diff in the normal driving (flap) circuit than the one that was in the car. Going to leave it in for now. So if your test like this one, then you can rule out the AFM as the issue. Still need to make sure all the contacts and wiring to the ECU is good. In case I am not clear on the video, the pins to hook up to are 6 and 8 for the batter and 6 and 7 for the meter. I know the FSM show 6 and 9, that just adds a fixed resistor in the mix.