KDMatt

JimmyZ, mine had that same problem... the hoses themselves were bulging and I knew they had to go! Funny thing about this EFI business, is that after you pull away all of the wiring it suddenly looks really easy! ... key word: looks ... '76 I'm right there with you, Silver 76 Power! The one thing I've noticed though, is that she's still running a bit rich... a far cry from what she used to do, but nonetheless there's still gray smoke. I'm thinking of popping open the AFM to see if there's been any kind of molestation there (there's a few globs of glue around the edge... maybe a sign) ... is there any kind of special glue that I should use for sealing it back up? ... JW :bandit: ... because at this point I don't think there are many components left that deal with the fuel mixture that haven't been replaced... Maaan I'm so close!

Oh no Will, trust me, I spent some time cleaning the engine. I didn't use a 'degreaser' ... I actually used a wet rag with a bit of bathroom/oven cleaner on it. You can't really see from the pics (lo res) but the difference in cleanliness on the valve cover alone is like night and day! I suppose though, since I already spent $x00 dollars on this project... what's a couple more bucks for proper degreaser, eh? :stupid:

There are three different OEM temperature settings you can get (to my best recollection), 170, 180, and 190 (roughly... I think it might be something like 165, 180, 192???) ... but the general consensus on these forums is that since most of us do the brunt of our driving in relatively hot weather (summertime, etc.) the 170 degree thermostat is the best choice.

Ditto. Mine never goes past half-way... though I seem to recall something about the later Z's having a slightly different cooling system? (bigger rad. overflow tank, etc.) ... Regardless Also, Oil pressure should be in the neighborhood between 30 and 60 as far as I know (both from experience and from talking to other owners)... at least on regular 10w-30 oil, I'd imagine it would be a bit more if you were using... say, 20w-40 or something like that. At idle my oil pressure is about 30 when the engine is warm... and around 40/45 when it is cold. On the freeway (at higher rpm and under load) the pressure stays around 55 or 60... and I'm told that this is normal.

Wondering what I did while the forums were down? No? ... Oh, okay... Well... regardless of whether or not you wondered what I've been up to, I have been working on the Z! Two restless days and nights of cussing, bleeding, bruising, and blistering (but mostly cussing). The pictures truly tell the story here, and I will narrate each one with glee! (feel free to look at them first, then scroll back up to read what I had to say) #1-3: The sea of parts I began with... I've been accumulating this stuff all summer, and one final trip to the auto parts store gave me everything I needed... in case you can't see it all, here's what I have in that picture... 1 - Chrome Accel Super-Stock Ignition Coil 1 - Niehoff Fuel-Pressure Regulator 1 - GP Sorenson Coolant Temp. Sensor 6 - Freshly Rebuilt fuel-injectors (all bench-tested and operating perfectly) 1 - Quart of Castrol (for lubricating the injector installation) 7 - New Bosch-style injector connectors 2 - Strips of new fuel-injector hose (rated to 50 psi, such is life) 8 - Fuel-injector hose clamps 1 - Spectre 45-degree air-intake elbow 1 - Spectre 60-degree air-intake elbow 1 - Spectre 3" to 2.5" air-elbow joint thing 2 - Spectre 3" elbow connectors 2 - Plastic electrical 'ducting' tubes... whatever it is... conduit? 100 - Zip-ties #4: This is a reference picture I took before I tore apart the fuel rail... just in case I got lost in reassembly... I didn't, but it never hurts to play it safe. This also serves as a good 'before' pic. #5, #8: 'After' pics. Doesn't my engine look a lot prettier now? #6: The 'custom' setup I have thanks to those universal Spectre components from Checker. I really had to cut that stuff down (like, a lot) to make it fit in between the throttle and the AFM, but it's there now, and it looks great IMHO! ... and since it's all plastic, no more awkward cracks or sealing issues hopefully! #7 A Close-up shot of that new regulator sittin' pretty in the middle of the fuel-rail. Lookin' sharp boss! After all was said and done and put back together, soldered and what have you ... all I can say is 'wow' ... A big chunk of my stumbling idle has completely disappeared. She's smoking a lot less than she used to (I was under the belief that my old injectors were leaking while the car was off, and so far from what I've seen with new ones, this suspicion is being confirmed), and really pulls hard in high RPM's ... She's so smooth at high-RPM now it's ridiculous... I didn't even notice that I was taking her past 6-grand! Two days, and several hundred dollars worth of stuff later... all I can say is... hells yeah baby!! This car!!

... and you don't have to. It only applies to the non-EFI cars. We have electric fuel pumps standard. Well... the obvious thing to check is if there's anything in the way. I had to deal with wires for the various things plugged into the thermostat 'loitering' in this region of my Z's engine. Can you push the gas pedal all the way down? i.e. make contact with the floor? Maybe the spring is too tight, who knows? I'll shoot some close-ups of my linkage and send them to you, maybe that will help.

At least he gets a job out of it though, as a 'paid consultant' whatever that means. I'm with him though, 350z

Clearly! :classic:

Yes there is. Have you had your fuel tank cleaned lately? (Or rather, have you had its cleanliness examined?) What it sounds like to me is that there is sediment or other crud at the bottom of the tank that's getting sucked up into the screen at the input of the fuel pump and this is causing blockage... blockage that goes away after the car's been shut off and the junk is no longer subject to suction from the pump. If this is truly what it is, and you can only go about 40 miles before it dies, I would imagine it's pretty serious but this seems to be a relatively common issue.

Ahh yes, alternative fuels will play a role... Hopefully we'll have teleporters/transporters and people will drive purely for entertainment which means that any car that's remotely fun to drive will be a 'classic' ... well... maybe...

*drool* partssssss.............

Oh man... in the Z I love to drive to anything electronic... My favorites include Chromeo (nu-school vintage hip-hop/funk sort of sound) VNV Nation (Industrial/Goth Techno) and of course... Depeche Mode ... I could drive to Violator forever!

Not before I get one!! :devious:

Hrm, interesting... but you've left a few out ... NA Z32/Z31 300zx, Z31 300ZXT and, of course, the 280ZXT

EDIT: Quickly going back to the topic about the Top Gear show and the obvious bias against american vehicles... I watched the video of the Ford GT test drive that guy did... he loved it so much he took it home... well the GT-X anyway. He said, "This car is like the American Navy, created by the British, and then improved on" or something to that effect... I'll have to go find it. Oops... looks like I clicked quote instead of edit... sorry folks!!

Ahh, interesting daddz ... I had always assumed that the weight on the door-jamb plate was, the weight of the car. My bad sir, thank you for catching this oversight!

I seem to remember the NA 280ZX weighing in at around 3100 lbs... checked the VIN plate of one guy's car at a show not too long ago. ... similarly I also seem to remember the S30 280z fitting in at around 3000 lbs ...

Wait a second... the 350z should be MUCH faster then... I thought that the 240z has a gross weight somewhere around 2500 lbs... and the 280z was up near 3000 ...? That be the case, the 350z should have a much awesomer power-to-weight ratio. I think Darbji said that her 280z was 'trounced' by a 350z now that I think about it.

I think he's talking about the gas pump, how when it senses liquid or 'foam' it turns itself off to keep you from overfilling.

ahhh... Arne or Zs-ondabrain I think are the ones you need to get in touch with for specifics on this issue. As far as I know, depending on what swap you do, it isn't hugely advantageous. The early 240's have a 45 amp alt. I believe... later on it became 50 ... on the last 280z's and early ZX's it became 60 and then on the turbos I think it was 70. Not 100% sure of those numbers... but anything after the older 50 amp alternators was internally regulated, so to do the swap it requires bypassing/removing the external regulator and installing a diode of some sort. There is information about this here... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19898&highlight=alternator+upgrade+harness and here... http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=23449&highlight=alternator+upgrade

Wait a second, isn't it possible that the starter or solenoid could be going bad? In my mind, if he's hearing the relay clicking that would mean the the ignition switch is holding up its end of the bargain, but something is getting lost past the relay itself. Is it possible that the solenoid is a bit sticky? ... or that maybe the 'click' IS the solenoid and that the starter motor is going south?

I believe that's properly pluralized as Dominatrices

I'm 20, never stole before. Hey, I don't know what you're talking about, that song is AMAZING!

Yep, that pretty much sums it up. Congrats on the score, even though you said you didn't pay for some of it. :tapemouth

Haha, I didn't know if anybody else would get it if I referenced it.