Av8ferg

Looking for the Z Oracles to help enlighten us neophytes on the 280z ECUs. I have acquired several ECUs at junkyards, EBay and CL. I thought it might be a good to have a couple extras and would sell the others I don’t need. I got them all at great prices...couldn’t pass them up. Here’s my situation. My car is a manual tranny, it had a AT ECU (A11-601-000) in it. The wasn’t running and I thought I had isolated it to the fuel pump relay because the pump wouldn’t work when I turned the key on. I replaced the ignition switch, pump relay and ECU all at the same time and the car was able to start so I never isolated it to any single part. Bench checking the old Fuel Pump Relay, I discovered it tested good. So it led me to think I was the ECU. The one I replaced it with was from a 1978 (A11-600-00) that I bought with a bunch of extra parts from a guy who converted his car to carbs. Okay so my car currently idles like crap, and current consensus is it’s a vacuum leak but unverified. I was reading through many previous forums about ECUs and found conflicting info. Some say the 78 is unique to the 78. One guy said his wouldn’t idle right when he had a 1978 ECU in his 1976 car. Other forums state they’re interchangeable. Looking at all my ECUs I can see a difference but they all have the same part number (see pics). Looks like the the 78 has more pins than the others. To make maters more confusing is my car is a CA car, so it has that altitude sensor, not sure how that plays in here. So I’m bringing all these ECUs with me to test in the car. I also have a replacement AFM I’m gonna test on the car too. Got it for $20 and I bench checked it today, readings were spot on with the FSM. What is the community consensus on the 280z ECU compatibility?

Great, thanks guys. Once I do that I’ll report back my findings.

Okay, good plan. Should I pull and plug all and the same time or one at a time? Seems like it would be easier to do all and then add one at a time back to isolate to bad line. Thoughts? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks ZH. This pic of the engine compartment is a older than the current status but it can still help me find the spots. Of note: currently the clamp on the hose to valve cover is now on and tight and the hose to the TVV is also connected. The attached photo doesn’t have those corrections made. This is the only pic I have right now. I’m not near the car tonight but will return in a few days. Doing my research now so when I get there I can turn to making the fixes. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ZH, thanks. Idle screw as zero affect on the idle speed. It does nothing. When I put the valve cover on I didn’t use any RTV just a gasket. I also have one broken bolt. Broke it trying to tighten the valve cover thinking this is where the leak might be from. I checked the PCV hose and it seems good. Here’s where the needle hits at idle on my vacuum gauge.

I was hoping someone on here can help me resolve my idling problem. So this engine was recently brought back to life (sat for many years) and now I’m trying to get it running properly. Here is what has been done up to this point, 1. New plugs and wires 2. Valve adjustment 3. New thermal vacuum valve 4. New AFM boot 5. New PCV 6. New Oil Pump 7. New fuel injectors 8, new fuel filter 9. Cleaned and resealed fuel tank 10. Replaced ECU and fuel pump relay So here is how the engine runs. It starts up easily and right away with no hesitation. Once stated and foot off throttle it idles very roughly at about 500 RPM. Sometimes it dies unless it’s warm then it might hold the idle without me intervening. Adjusting the idle screw has not affect of the idle. I tried adjusting the timing by moving the dizzy. Moving it counter clockwise kills the engine and moving it clockwise all the way helps the idle very very slightly. Thinking I had a bad vacuum leak, I hooked my tester to the intake manifold where the brake booster connects and while holding the idle at 800-900 using my hand on the throttle linkage I was getting about 6 psi on the vacuum. So I don’t know where to start this problem. To add more suffering to my problem I also noticed I have coolant leaking from one of my freeze plugs. Not sure how difficult this will be to fix. ? Another odd thing I’ve noticed is sometimes when I rev up the engine I’ll hear a “ting” sound from the engine as it revs back down. My initial thought it was then timing chain rapping off the cover or side. I say that because when I adjusted the timing chain it recall that a similar sound as I was working in there. I don’t know where to even start so any advice would be appreciated.

That’s what mine is. Check the sticker in the engine bay next to the radiator

Dustin, This is a labor of love as you probably experienced with your Ghia. (I like those car BTW). I have 2 VW Bugs. A 1965 and 1968. 65 has been stripped and painted but has no engine or steering column. Long story there...the 68 is stock and just needs some love and a battery tray. The EFI on the Z is very simple. I had to educate myself and was very frustrated at first to the point of almost switching to carbs. I was advised by guys here that might be more painful and costly. So I stuck with it, download the EFI manual for the car. It teaches you about the entire system and then has a detailed troubleshooting section. I discovered I needed a new ignition switch, fuel relay and ECU which I bought all on EBay for a total of about $100. Bottom line is I’m glad I kept the EFI. Yours runs so, you might just need to wire ends for the injectors (they usually need replacing). I bought a kit for $54 on eBay that has all the harness connections. Here is he EFI guide: http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/efisystem/280zfuelinjectionbook.pdf Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dustin, Welcome....I’ve been semi-restoring a 77 also. I paid about 2k less than your guy is asking. Mine didn’t run at sale (guy wasn’t mechanically inclined) and the interior had been completely stripped out (parts in boxes, except it had no seats). I got it running after lots of help on this forum (thanks Capt Obvious, Cliff, DaveM and Zedhead to name a few great dudes on his forum) and about $400 in parts and some bloody knuckles. My body was in better shape than yours and needed no rust repairs at all. It looks like the front of your car needs some parts and work, so I’d take that into consideration also. You’ll find some replacement parts for Z’s are very inexpensive and others silly expensive. Overall, they’ve very affordable to restore and parts readily available. The good news is they are fun cars to work on and fairy straight forward but sometimes you’ll need small hands to get to things. You’ll also get lots of help on this forum. I’d go in with a 4K offer and negotiate from there. These car are only getting more valuable and I expect to see prices continue to climb over the coming years. Rust has put many of them into a final resting place and there is a lot of interest in them in general. Here is a pic of mine at time of sale on a Trailer and the pics in the garage are recent.

Looks like some quality work there. I appreciate the info. I read somewhere that the holes were not the same every year. I guess if they don’t fit I’ll send them back .

Gents, Making progress on my 280z. I am replacing the carpet now but need to prep the floor. A few questions for the experts, I’ve looked over historical threads and see conflicting into. 1. My floor pan are solid with only mild surface rust just around drain holes. I’ve read people removing the sound proofing before installing new sound proofing matting and carpet to make sure there is no rust under the old stuff. Is this necessary? With not visible rust anywhere seems like a lot of extra work. I haven’t found any rust on the car anywhere so far even in the most likely areas. 2, I was going to clean the drain holes with some naval jelly to stop the rust and then prime and paint the drain holes. I’m looking for new drain plugs but I cannot figure out the exact sizes I need. On this forum and at stores that sell the plugs (MSA, Z car Dept and Z car Source) all the sizes seem different. Anywhere from 25mm to 46mm? So what size to I need? I need all the holes plugged in the floor area and under the seats. Does anyone know what the actual sizes are? If I were at the car I’d go and measure but I’m in another state right now and want to order them the be there when I arrive. Any advice on either of the above questions would be awesome.

Gents, got the Z on the road today. She runs and drives a little rough but what can I expect after she was abandoned 18 years ago and no competent mechanic ever fixed back her up. I installed a new brake master and clutch master today and bleed the system, It doesn’t idle well and hovers around 500 rpm while coughing a bit there, I tried to adjust the idle screw and it had no effect. I also think 2nd gear has a problem because when I accelerate in 2nd it starts okay and then around 3,000 rpm and makes this loud whine and the acceleration stops. Not sure what that means. Well, she run well enough to drive on and off trailer so I can get her to NC. Check out the video of the first drive.

Bought mine at MSA. http://www.thezstore.com/page/TZS/PROD/15-6173 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Check Lowe’s they may have a brass hose barb that goes from 5/16 the 7/16. If not you can definitely build one from the items they have in the same plumbing section Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dave next time I’m at the junkyard that has three S30 Z’s I’ll see if I can grab you one. I go about once a month or so. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Cliff, See link for the best fuel preservative on the market (Called Pri-G) I’ve used this with great success. I’ve been putting it in my Dodge Viper for several years and it preserves the gas better and longer than sta-bil. One bottle is good for 256 gallons. $28 on Amazon. PRI-G Fuel Stabilizer PRI-G-16-A, 16 oz https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000AXY97/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_qjdjBbHMBXCTQ. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Headed to the junk yard to pull parts off those Z’s. Send your requests. I’ll be there in 1hr.

Bruce, much appreciated amd thanks again for the tips along the way. I won’t be back to Memphis until next Sunday and then begins brake, and cooling system work. She might be able to take a trip around the block by Memorial Day weekend.

CO...Brakes are next! That was the first start. I had pulled the starter wire and cranked the engine several times fpr about 15 sec each until I got 35 psi on my fuel pressure gauge. Put the starter wire back on cranked it once and could tell it was going to start, so I then grabbed my buddy to take a video. BTW, the 1978 TVV I ordered from RockAuto doesn’t fit. The sensor on the end is too long and it impeads proper threading, only catches about 2 threads. It will definitely leak with this one. Right now the radiator it completely dry. Once I get the new TVV, I’ll fill and flush the whole system. I imagine there is a lot of mineral deposits with all the white power that came out of the thermostat and water pump housings.

Well, it finally happened. After much patience, frustration, and personal injury and many days of defeat the 280z finally started. I installed the fuel tank today and that was a royal PITA. No jack and doing it alone was painful. Somehow the stars aligned and it it worked. Still can’t believe all the crap that I had to do to get this car started. No way it could have happened without great dudes on this forum. You guys led me the whole way so thank you. Check out the link the a successful start.

I’ll check. Only one had an engine, just the block with a valve cover covering the pistons. Someone took the head already. You want the metal mounting points right? BTW one of these cars (1975) had the original radio. Is that worth grabbing.

This place didn’t charge to enter, just showed me on a map where they put them all. I love junk yards too. It’s sad to see these cars abandoned and each one has a story to tell. People really don’t appreciate old cars like these, new cars are too damn expensive these days and you can’t do any work on them yourself and that’s by design. When I head back I’ll post so you can submit your requests, Capt O, got it on the brake booster, they all had the master still attached and minor exterior rust near the master mount point, mine looks the same on my car but was perfectly clean and dry on the hole where the master mounts.

Download it from here: ? http://www.xenonzcar.com/s30/fsm.html

I think that may be the fuel return line . I believe all the evap lines go to the evap tank on the right rear of the car by filler tube. My opinion would be to replace the line. You are inviting future problem and it will be easy to do it now than later. Download the 1978 FSM and it will tell you everything you need to know.

No, I didn’t grab the booster. I really wasn’t prepared to go to the yard and was just checking it out. Was in semi-nice clothes and borrowed tools from a stranger to pull the few items I got. To get the booster I need to lay down near the pedals. So I’ll be prepared next time. Putting an old flight suit in my car (the best car working outfit BTW), some PB blaster and a good set of wrenched and drivers. I’ll be ready and grab it for you as well as the other requested items