maalsa

Hey all! I'm the proud owner of a new (to me) '82 280ZX Turbo. It's been acting up as of late with some rattling/ticking engine noise whenever I accelerate, as well as poor acceleration overall. I'm not even sure if the turbo is working!

I took a video of me starting the engine and idling/revving so you could hear the sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug-Wt99j-nY

Any ideas?? I've wanted to get a Z forever, not only cause of their stylish looks, but I wanted to learn how to work on a car myself (I really only have oil changing experience),

Thanks in advance for any tips/suggestions!

NismoPick

Welcome to ZDriver! and glad ya made it.

Sounds like the turbo to me. You can take off the AFM to turbocharger boot and check. I had this happen to me once. Jumped on the throttle really hard and heard a ssssssssssssshhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhccccccccccccccccrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaassssssssssssshhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

then every time I stepped on the accel it made that noise. Turns out my freshly rebuilt turbo had a loose nut on the compressor wheel... so the wheel whacked up the side of the housing.


Take off the boot & check the turbo propellers. Then you'll know.

maalsa

Hey NismoPick! Thanks for the quick response!

I hate to sound like one of those "newbies", but I really am one! I have no idea how to "take off the boot" or "check the turbo propellers". Is this something I can do using the Factory Service Manual I downloaded? I know what the turbo looks like when I open the hood. Any simple steps for me to do the above?

NismoPick

Yeah, it's pretty simple. Just gotta move (and remove) some stuff. If you've downloaded the FSM, check out the sections on Air Flow Meter removal, or Turbocharger removal. You need to remove the AFM (several 10mm / 12mm nuts and bolts), and the vacuum lines going to the boot.

It's pretty easy to see. The boot is a "wiggley" accordion looking black tube about a foot and a half long. Once it's removed you can see into the front of the turbo and look at the compressor fins. If any are cracked, chipped, or broken, you'll need to pull the turbo.

Damaged (not actual 280zx turbocharger):



Good:

lifegrddude

Welcome to the forums, you can check the play on the turbo as well. The blades should not move side-to-side when you push on them any more than maybe a 1mm. You can do the same to the exhaust side of the turbo by removing the 4 bolts that hold the downpipe to the turbo. If your turbo is working, you'll at least see the middle gauge go positive towards the "+7" when you floor the gas. Good luck and let us know what you find.