81s280zx

I RECENTLY BOUGHT A 81 280ZX VERY NICE CAR HAS AROUND 160k MILES BUT DOESNT SMOKE AT ALL NOT EVEN WHEN I REV IT UP WELL IT RUNS OK BUT WHEN I GIVE IT GAS AND HOLD DOWN THE PEDAL IT WONT GO PAST 5K RPMS NO MATTER HOW LONG I HOLD THE PEDAL DOWN MOVING OR STAYING STILL IT JUST WONT WIND OUT MY FREIND HAS A 79 ALL STOCK AND IT RUNS WAY BETTER SMOOTHER IDLE REVS UP FASTER GOES TO 7K RPMS LIKE IT SHOULD AND IS ALOT FASTER CHIRPS TIRES IN 2ND GEAR MINE WONT COME CLOSE TO THAT AND IT SOUNDS LIKE A DISEL TRUCK WHEN ITS IDLEING NOT SMOOTH AT ALL I REPLACED SPARK PLUGS,CAP AND ROTOR,FLUSHED ENGINE,OIL CHANGED,NEW OIL AND AIR FILTER,PUT SOME ENGINE RESTORE IN IT,ALSO PUT SOME FUEL INJECTOR CLEANER IN IT I CHECKED AND REPLACED ALOT OF THE VAC HOSES, I TWEAKED ON THE TIMMING DIDNT HELP,TWEAKED WITH THE AIR FUEL SCREW ON THE THROTTLE BODY HELPED A LITTLE BIT BUT STILL IDLES ROUGH IM THINKING IT MIGHT BE MY PLUG WIRES I HAVENT REPLACED THEM YET AND THEIR NOT VERY NEW I CHECKED MY FIRING ORDER 3 TIMES AND ITS RIGHT , OR MAYBE MY GAS TANK IS DIRTY OR SOMETHING I TOOK OFF MY FUEL FILTER AND BLEW THROUGH IT PRETTY EASILY DIDNT REALLY SEE ANY BAD GAS HAS ANYONE HAD THIS SAME PROBLEM AS I AM I MEAN IM LOSSING POWER BY THE TIME I HIT 5K RPMS ENGINE JUST GETS LOUD AND DOESNT PULL PLEASE CAN ANYONE HELP ME WITH THIS A.S.A.P I WANT TO GET HER RUNNING GOOD SO I DONT GET BEAT BY A HONDA AND RUIN THE DATSUN NAME LOL J/K ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THANKS!

Fast240Z

I could be wrong, but I think the newer 280ZX's (80 and up) have rev limiters at 5k rpms.

s/cL3.0

I have an 82 that goes well past 6500 rpm. Is there any kind of after market ignition?? Like MSD they have rev limiters on them, or you could be out of timing. Just some suggestions.

81s280zx

Can You Set The Timming By Turning The Distributor Cause I Tried That And Didnt Make A Difference It Really Acts Like Its Out Of Timing It Has Reved To 6k Rpms A Few Times But Went Back Down It Wont Even Go Over 5k When Im Driving It On The Road Trying To Get On It Its Totally Out Of Power By The Time I Hit 5k Rpms Cant Have A Rev Limiter It Wouldnt Explain The Rough Idle Too It Sounds Exactly Like A Diesel Truck And The Engine Shakes When You Give It Gas

81s280zx

Oh Yeah This Car Is All Stock No Aftermarket Ignition Or Anything

DoTheDrew888

You shouldn't be revving it over 5300rpm anyway.

Bleach

If it has lots of pinging then your ignition timing is way off. If it ticks a lot then maybe your rocker arms have way too much clearance. That would cause the valves not to be open very long, which really limits how much air gets into the engine; especially at higher rpms.

There is no revv limiter, only valve floating at 6500 rpm.
Don't rev the engine to 7K rpm

s/cL3.0

no no to 7K??? Oooops. j/k I have ridden in cars that pull all the way to 7500 without probs. Wait a minute those were not street legal , Nevermind...


ps to 81s280zx Welcome to zdriver and congrats on your purchase...

81 Black L28E

ok there a little black box on the front of your intake right on the front side that little box is the rev limiter mine got wet... one i cleaned my motor... it wouldnt rev past 4800rpm it would just stick there no matter what i did ...change that box or blow it out with air.... make sure that you dont have any leaks in the fuel and intake set up change your fuel fliter and check your fuel presser it should run at 30psi to 36psi when reved up hope this helps do you know if this car has had the cam gear taken off is so you mite be on the wrong tooth. zx cam gear is tricky and is made for diff power ranges i put mite on wrong and it ran just like you stated shity and wrong and wouldnt rev up right or past a certain rpm ..... welcome to the z car crew

have fun

81s280zx

it sounds like more of a ticking sound kinda but what would cause it also is that black box on the throttle body your talking about is that the tps if mines no good can i buy a new one are they pricey also i dont know if the cam gear has been taken off how can i set the timing do you think it could be the plug wires

Bleach

....what about the cam gear? Did you mess with the timing chain?

You need to set your valve clearance if the engine has too much ticking. Get a Hayes book. They are cheap and a decent book on eBay. Should be $5-10.

79-83 Book

Skully

ticking could be a bad plug wire and the spark is jumping out of the cable....
yes that be the TPS, im not sure if you can buy them new or what not..but it also could be that...making the injectors come on or turn off at the wrong time...try cleaning it?...timing light?? to set the timing....

assimilated420

my suggesttion would take an electrical parts cleaner and clean out the TPS...replace spark plug wires... ticking could be a ticking injector...i got mine done with WitchHunter Performance (www.witchhunter.com) and they only do it at 12$ apiece with 10$ shipping (includes 100$ insurance)... it could be the valve clearance so get a feeler guage and check your valves.. also.. if you already have the cam cover off... take a large ratchet and turn the crank over to TDC and then look at the timing gear and it should have on the engine side of the wheel are lil marks and if you take a flash light there will be a tiny notch on the cam sprocket... make sure those are lined up.. even one tooth off will seriously affect your performance.. also replace the fuel filter anyway..if you dont know how old it is replace it anyway... only a 10$ investment.. also check your fuel pressure.. check for any leaks on the intake and exhaust.. the exhaust pushes the turbine which spins the compessor that pushes the air.. these cars do not have a rev limiter, i hit 7000 easily and if i chose to, could push it more but i dont run above 5500 most of the time anywayz.. your low idle could be result to the idle screw needing adjustment it should idle 1000-1100 in neutral or ~750 in gear

hope this helps in any way...
Is your turbo or non turbo? mine is a Blue n Silver 1981 280zx turbo with T tops
it sounds like your car has alot fewer miles than most of us... fairly common to see 200k+..
mine has 314k and still running strong i just rebuiltt it down to the heads as some gaskets were getting weak and beginning to leak.. but these engines are built to last and they seem to last alot more than you new age high tech engines...

anywayz.. Welcome to the Z club... Zs are the best

81 Black L28E

hahahaha 111245K dam i love my zx

s/cL3.0

I have a friend that bought a 81 turbo ZX with only are you ready??? 27865 ORIGINAL miles . Plus the guy that sold it to him just dropped a nissan reman. engine int it 500 miles ago. The thing is ridiculous looks brand New.. Of course mine has 235,000

Dorifto

Welcome to the boards, 81s280ZX.

My Zed has a nasty habit of running like **** as well. In the past, she hasn't been willing to rev over 6k, and had actually declined to 4600revs max. Found out two nights ago my plug wires, distributor, and rotor were pretty nasty (carbon tracking and corrosion). Tell ya what though, even on 5 cylinders, she sounds pissed as hell (straight-piped anyway ), though she idled like a diesel and shot flames out the pipe (wait, that's good in my book, hah).

My advice is to check your wires and ignition module. Could also be the TPS, though. Let us know how it turns out.

-Dave-O

81 Black L28E

dam thats low hes loveing his zx forever lucky ..............sob.. hahahahahah


yes please let us know what the deal was, with your car. its like a tv show in here and if i dont get to see how it turns out then i get pissy
post us some picks of your ride !

Bleach

shocks.... pegs.... 27,000 miles....

LUCKY

s/cL3.0

I cant figure out how to add to gallery... Or should I just start a post?? I know how to add thumb nails.. ha ha

Bleach

If you guys have any questions about how to post pics or add/start a Gallery just send a Private Message to the Moderator. That BleachZee guy is the 280ZX Mod.

jfairladyz

My moms got a 2+2 '83 NA automatic she's selling in Temecula Ca. I think that things only got like 63,000 or it could've been 36K, I can't remember, it's been parked awhile. She was asking like $3800 for it. She's got someone looking at it this weekend, but if anyones interested, I can get more info.

81s280zx

i cleaned out the tps took it apart looks good inside works fine nothing broken sprayed it out with electrical cleaner also cleaned all the conections to the injectors and cleaned them out but it still acts the same way i ordered some plug wires because they didnt have any in stock picking them up and putting them on tommorrow to see what it does also getting a fuel filter just to be shure i also got to thinking could it be the fuel pump going week and not pushing enough fuel at high rpms or could it be my distributor itself let me know what you guys think ill also post some pics of the car soon i only paid $600 for it its a 81 silver 5spd ttop 280zx no rust anywhere few dents in fender ttops dont leak at all everything works in the car including power locks,power mirrors,power windows,cruise control,ac blows cold,heater,voice system,all the gauges i mean everything i picked the car up and drove it 1hr and 20mins home going about 85 almost the whole time didnt have a problem with it at all ran fine no overheating stalling etc only problem im having with it is the performance issue no rapping out like it should still pretty quick but i know how these should run but anyway let me know what you guys think any help would greatly be appreciated thanks

nuzxowner

i've had the same exact problem with my 83 280zx turbo, and had the same advice from about everyone, including checking the catalytic converter to see if it is plugged???? i'll keep trying till i get it fixed though cause now im totally hooked on these z cars! my car will be running great, then feel like someone threw out a 2 ton anchor. hope we can get them fixed, good luck!

81s280zx

i think i found the problem i changed out the fuel filter and put new plug wires on it and didnt change at all so i got online and looked for a firing order diagram and found one i hooked the wires up how its shown in the diagram from the manual and it wouldnt start at all then i moved every wire over 1 space counter clockwise on the distributor and it started up but it runs badly still so im thinking i need to set my cam timming let me know what you guys think do i need to take the distributor out and turn it or set my cam gear etc let me know a.s.a.p i want to get her running like she should thanks

assimilated420

ok to adjust your cam timing.. take off the cam/valve cover.. then take a long 3/8" ratchet and a 19 mm socket and turn the cam clockwise until you get to TDC on cylinder 1.. then on the engine side of the timing gear on the cam are notches in the gear and if you take a flashlight there will be a tiny notch in the cam sprocket.. the marks should align perfectly.. if they dont... DO NOT take off the gear and chain... get a wooden wedge and wedge it between the chains inside the block...otherwise you must take off the entire front cover and reset the timing guide... then, with the help of a 1/2" ext. bar, take off the gear and slip the chain off then put the gear back on and turn the bolt til fingersnug(do not tighten down the bolt. or you will have fun gettin it off) and then turn the gear(along with the cam) until the marks line up then take it off and put the chain back on along with the gear and tighten the gear down back to spec..

if the timing is on mark.. then while the crank is at TDC.. check your distributor.. it should be at cylinder 1.. if not then your rod is off..

to adjust the distributor rod you need to take off the oil pump and distributor and pull out the distributor rod(MAKE sure you note the position) and turn the rod just enough to have the dizzy facing at 1. replace the pump and dizzy and check to make sure the dizzy at cyl 1.. readjust if necessary