Hrududu

Hey all, I have a question. I am almost finished putting my everything back together on my 280Z and I have run into a problem (go figure). I need to put the timing chain back on, but the chain has no timing marks (no silver links) at all. I have wiped it clean and have looked closely at it from all angles and see no 2 links that appear lighter in colour. I know I need 42 links from the mark on top to the mark on bottom. When counting links, do I count the pins as the links? or is it something else.

Hey, you've got the same one I do! I was quite pleased to have the original key as my car is not in very good condition, nor was it purchased from the kind of place you would expect to have the original key still with the car.

I know how mad you must be. A few weeks ago, I saw an old late 80s mustang double parked outside Target. I went ahead and double parked next to him just for the heck of it. When I came out later, I found the mustang gone and my car spit on 3 times. Needless to say I was furious. Lucky for him I was driving my Buick and not my Z, and I didn't catch him doing it. I keep an eye out for him. If he is unlucky enough for me to find him, he has a big surprise coming that is a lot worse than spit.

Good luck in your search. I was in the market for an 83 280ZXT and compromised with a 77 280Z because it was in my price range and I was desperate for a Z car. I am SOOO glad I did too, best compromise I ever made . I think I would have regretted buying a ZX. It took me 6 months to find it though, so I hope you can find the one you want. This place has a plethora of knowledge to impart on you if you ever need it.

Hooray! I finally got the front of the engine off tonight. All I have to do now is reset the timing and put the whole thing back together. As some may remember, I set out on October 31st to change out my head gasket. In the process I forget to wedge the timing chain and sprung the tensioner. I haven't any mechanical skill or workspace to speak of, so I'd say 85% of the knowledge I obtained came from you guys here at this site. The rest came from my neighbor and a Haynes manual. I'd like to take this time to thank everyone who gave me advice during this project. I could not have done it without your know how. I'll probably have some questions as I get to putting it all back, but I think I'll be okay for the most part. I have really missed driving this car and can't wait to get it back on the road. Chris

Where are they located at?

Good plan. I'm on the lookout for one now. I think I have seen a few on ebay, and will get one soon.

He's got a matching set. That 240 is pretty cool, but that muffler has got to go.

Ahh, yes. That would be me. The project was changing the head gasket, but I never changed out the vavle seals. Now, I'm getting really confused here. I am getting mixed reports as to which engine has the flat pistons and which has the dished. My N42 appears to have flat pistons http://www.cardomain.com/member_pages/show_image.pl?bg=000000&image=http://memimage.cardomain.net/member_images/9/web/705000-705999/705202_74_full.jpg and I heard the F54 had dished to reduce compression for the turbos. So which one is actually better? Dished right? BTW, I still haven't finished putting my motor back together yet. :disappoin

Well, my plan for the engine isn't really set in stone yet. I don't know if I will put this in my car unless my current engine breaks and I need a new one. My thoughts are to get an extra engine to work on and possibly rebuild so I can get experience working on these motors. I ran into some terrible trouble changing my head gasket, and think it would be worth while for me to have some practice on a motor that isn't in my daily driver. As far as making it a performance motor, i don't think I will. As nice as that would be, I don't have the $$ for that kind of project right now.

I just remembered, it doesn't have a distributer. I think that is all thats missing though. I really just want a project engine, and don't want to get ripped off. These cars arn't too easy to find around here. The guy said he sent all his old Z's to the crusher last summer. I think he may have had about 10, and the only reason this ZX motor and an l26 survived is because they had been pulled and forgotten about.

So I'm looking for a rebuilder motor for my 280Z. I found one from 79ZX for $150. The guy says it was pulled in 89 and ran fine at the time. It had 145 PSI in each cylinder. It has the exhaust and intake manifolds as well as all the fuel rails. It was kept indoors. What do you guys think? Is this engine going to be as powerful as my 77 engine. It has the same N42 head. What kind of power would this put out? I know the ZX was supposed to be weaker, but from what I found, they group the 75-80 engines together as the same motor. Thanks guys.

I got dibs on the wheels

Wow, you guys are great. Thanks for all the help, It really is needed. Luckily A neighbor of mine is pretty good with cars and said he will be able to come down on thursday or friday to give me a hand with this.

Sounds like dried antifreeze. That same kind of stuff was all around where my headgasket has been leaking antifreeze.

Thanks Jeremy, I too wish you lived near me because I have no clue what I'm doing. I began this process on October 31st and I am still nowhere near done. I just don't have the tools, space, or knowledge to do this. The simple task of changing the head gasket has turned into a total pain in the arse I would rather not have to deal with. I would seriously saving up the $$ to tow it down to some shop and pay someone to finish this for me if I knew that was even a possibility. I just can't do it anymore. I spent too much time learning computer repair skills and not enough time learning mechanical stuff. The biggest problem is, there is no one around here who knows anything about these cars. In my entire life, I have only seen 3 or 4 other 240-280Z's here, and don't know a single person who has ever owned one or worked on one. It sucks when there is no one to give you a hand or some advice when you need it. The only help I am getting is from this site and this damn Haynes manual that doesn't tell crap.

Does the oil pan have to come out to get the front engine cover off?

So It looks like I have sprung the tensioner. Do I reset it by removing the front of the engine or can I go in from the oil pan. Is one easier than the other?

Okay, so it doesn't pop over all the way then. Well, looks like I've got some work to do. thanks.

Well, after going out and taking a look, Maybe I got lucky and it didn't spring. Here is a picture. Yes, im sorry to say that's a coat hanger.

The only one I have is the 240-280Z Haynes manual. Its nice book i guess, assuming you have the engine out of the car and are doing a complete teardown, but they don't tell you anything about just changing a head gasket. By looking at the pictures SBlake01 posted, I did spring the tensioner, so it looks like I'm going to be removing the front of the engine here soon. Everything is still in the car.

Not to be a pain here, but I did read the manual I have and It isn't very clear on these things. No, I probably don't have any business working on an engine. The only reason I am is becuase It had to be done and I don't have enough money to pay anyone to do it for me. TDC is not an acronym I know, so I'm sorry about that. Just because someone doesn't know what "ROTFLAMO, IMHO, TTYL, or TRDMC" doesn't mean they shouldn't talk online. Had it been typed as "top dead center" i would have known what was meant. I'm only 18 and have never worked on engines or cars until I got this 280Z a year ago, so I don't know much of anything when it comes to mechanical stuff.

Not sure what that means. Anyways, I did keep the chain tight and never let it slip off. I did know that much.

Okay, so I've been in the process of changing my headgasket and I have it all done except the put back together part. Now I have hit a brick wall. After I had the head surfaced, they had to remove the Cam and it's not back the same it was when I dropped it off. What do I need to do to reset the timing on here before I put it all back together. If you need to know anything, I can let you know anything necessary to get this running. I have never worked on cars before this summer, so I honestly have no clue what I'm doing aside from what I have read on this site and others like it.