I've been going back and forth on my Z car on what should be down before something else. The car needs rust removal and paint. The car also needs rubber seals and such replaced. The interior also needs work, dash is cracked up and I have one of those carpet covers that I don't really like. The drive seat is torn and the foam inside it seems torn.

I noticed the radio doing funny things like randomly turning off, or not turning on unless I hold the button down, the scan buttom randomly working when I didn't press it, etc. In another thread I mentioned problems I had with my antenna switch not working and after pulling the radio out and simply looking at it and then putting everything back together the antenna started working again. The weird thing is before when the antenna didn't work the radio worked flawlessly and now it's back and forth. Long story short, I think this may be due to water seepage into that area.

I was telling my wife that I think we should send it to a shop to paint and replace all the seals. She said she thinks we should take care of the interior first and then send to to the shop right after. My concern is making the inside nice before fixing the water leaking problem throughout the car. Her concern is making the outside nice and then scratching it up when we go to replace the seats for example.

Well, I'm supposed to make a list of things that needs to be done. The question is, what to put on that list. There are some obvious things like the weatherstripping, but I was talking to a neighbor of mine and I had mentioned how my dash was cracked up and he was like "oh, that's okay because it's original, people prefer original parts, blah blah blah." My question to you guys, and those of you who are more into restoring a car to original state and not decking it out with updated performance parts or aftermarket accessories, is it important to keep original parts? In otherwords, my seat is torn a little bit, will I be reducing its value if I replace the seats? My dash is cracked up, if I replace it will I be reducing its value? The carpet has tears in some places, will replacing it reduce the value? How about stains, if I can't get stains out, will replacing stuff reduce the value?

This is my car:


jmw_man

 

Driver side door open:


Passenger side door open:

 

Here's some rust issues:

Bottom of windshield, you can see bubbling:


Top of windshield, more rust:


Hidden rust:

 

Some seal issues:

PO's weatherstripping job:


Another of PO's weatherstripping job, a "doityourselfer":


Area's where the rubber just plain rotted off or something:


Same place, different door:

 

Cracked dash:


Another area of cracked dash:

 

Torn seat cover, the foam is also deteriorated, you can actually see metal through the torn hole. The fabric is somewhat dirty. Also, the center console is looking a bit rough:

 

This panel is nearly falling off. Driver side:

 

How do you attach thumbnails like in Twiggs thread?

 

When you post or reply, scroll down past the text box to "Additional Options" and click "Manage Attachments". You can attach / insert 10 pics per post.

 

Things done to it since I freed it from captivity for 2.5 years in my garage:

Solved electrical drain problem; yanked out previous owner's aftermarket alarm system.
new battery
new alternator
oil and filter change
K&N air filter
new tires
new PCV valve
new spark plugs (NGK OEM, though they have the little grooves, not sure if that's good or bad)
new distributor cap and rotor
adjusted idle from approx. 900 to approx 700
new fuel filter
new spark plug wires (NGK wires)


Next up on my list:
new tension rod and sway bar bushings
new front shocks (learned they sqeak a bit, also they seem to bounce more than twice, though, the 3rd, 4th, and 5th bounces are super small, I'm pretty sure they are bad.)
apparently my rear differential is leaking.... not sure how I'm going to approach this. Shop told me it's a difficult job.

I need your help. Since I'm going to be replacing the front tension rod and sway bar bushings and since I think my front shocks are bad, can you guys suggest anything else on the front end that I really need to consider replacing? Are there any other bushings I need to know about or are there any other things that these cars are notorious for wearing out in the front suspension?

Also, on the front shocks, what good quality OEM shocks do you guys suggest? Autozone has Gabriel Ultra, KYB GR-2/Excel-G, and Sachs. Are any of these any good?

 

I guess I'm probably going to put in the KYB GR-2 shocks. So that, along with the tension rod bushings and the sway bar bushings.

The only thing I need help with now is a list of other components that I might as well replace if they are most likely bad. Maybe some of you have experience with doing some suspension work and finding out during or afterwards that you should have also installed some other component.

In another thread someone said to use brake cleaner to search for a vacuum leak. I didn't understand why and learned today from a mechanic that it needs to be the flammable kind (the non-flammable will harm the engine) and the reason this works is because when you spray it near the vacuum leak you'll hear the engine rev. I tried this but nothing. I no longer believe I have a vacuum leak anyhow. I hooked a vacuum gauge up to the hose that connects to the fuel pressure regulator and it read 18-19 inHg of pressure. It's supposed to be somewhere between 15-22 inHg. The only thing I wonder about now is whether or not the needle on the gauge is supposed to be bouncing back and forth really fast or if it's supposed to be sitting still.

I also tested the EGR valve. I applied a vacuum source to the EGR valve and it actuated. I also read in the FSM that the EGR valve is supposed to actuate once the water temperature gets from about 150 to 200 F. Well, I can't tell if it actuated or not, but I used the vacuum gauge on the hose that goes to the EGR valve to see if a vacuum was registered once the water temperature did get in that range. I read a vacuum of 1.5 inHg when I revved the engine at 3000 RPM. I'm not exactly sure if that's supposed to be enough vacuum to actuate the EGR valve. It doesn't seem like much. In the manual of my vacuum gauge they mention that it should be closer to 5 inHg so it makes me wonder if I have a vacuum leak in that area.

One last thing. This doesn't happen very often, it really only has happened a handful of times but a couple of times when the car was cold (haven't driven it since yesterday), i'll get in, start it up, go into 1st gear and start driving and for just a little bit it acts as if it's struggling to get gas. In fact, the more I press the gas pedal, the more it seems to act like it's being strangled. I'm wondering what could cause that. It's fine after the car is warm though.

 

I took the Z to the shop to have them inspect the suspension to make suggestions.

They suggested:
1. All sway bar bushings, front and rear.
2. The rear shock bushings are dry rotted so they suggested new rear shocks since the bushings come on them and you might as well replace the shocks anyways.
3. New front shocks because they suggest front and rear should be replaced together.
4. The control arm bushing in the front and the ball joint is making a bunch of noise. They suggested a new control arm since they come with the ball joint and bushing already. I looked around and it looks like I can't buy this assembly anywhere so I'm going to have to just get the ball joint and bushing to be mounted on the existing control arm.
5. They suggested new spring seats for the front. They said that when you take that stuff apart the spring seat in most cases will fall apart. Also, I need help finding this, zcarparts.com shows it as unavailable. Anybody know where I can get this?

There's also another bushing in the rear that he said was a pain in the *** to replace. He's concerned with it because my differential is leaking and everything is covered with gunk including that bushing. He suggested getting some ramps for the parts store and heading to the car wash to spray the green soap (degreaser) and then washing it off so we can get a better look at it. Hopefully the bushing is okay.

 

Any input on where I can find a spring seat?

 

Well, I did some tests on my fuel system... I'm not sure how to interpret them...

I hooked up the fuel pressure gauge above the fuel filter, and I hooked up a variable vacuum gauge/source to the fuel pressure regulator and plugged the hose that goes to the pressure regulator. My readings are as follows:
At idle,
40 psi fuel pressure, 0 inHg vacuum
38 psi fuel pressure, when I added 5 inHg vacuum
36 psi fuel pressure, when I added 10 inHg vacuum
33 psi fuel pressure, when I added 15 inHg vacuum
31 psi fuel pressure, when I added 20 inHg vacuum

I re-installed the hose that goes to the pressure regulator (removed vacuum gauge/source) and the fuel pressure started out around 30.5 psi but moments later it was at 30 psi and stayed around there. The moment accelerator pedal was fully depressed the fuel pressure reading hit 40 psi each time.

Then the next thing I did was install the vacuum gauge "between" the hose that goes to the regulator and the regulator itself.
Idle:
30 psi fuel pressure, 20.75 inHg vacuum
moment when accelerator pedal is fully depressed:
40 psi fuel pressure, 0 inHg vacuum.

According to the FSM, the pressure differential between vacuum and fuel pressure is supposed to stay a constant 36.3 psi. According to my readings above, it doesn't appear to be correct. IE, the fuel pressure above was 36 psi when I added a vacuum of 10 inHg. The fuel pressure regulator actually seems to be keeping the pressure differential constant at closer to 40 psi. According to the FSM, it's telling me that the fuel pressure regulator should be replaced. My thoughts are, is it so bad that I have a little bit more pressure?

 

Good thread - you seem to be going the same route as I am with my restore.

As for the seats, a good upholsterer will be able to match the carpets, velour and vinyl and do a factory restore that will do wonders for the car's value and no one will know, if you keep the original style intact.

Fixing the dash and getting replacement weatherstrip are the other main cosmetic things.

On my car (125k miles) the bushings and power steering rack are worn. The wheel bearings are also stiff and in need of replacing. Need new shocks and springs.
You are focusing on the basic mechanical reliability and safety of the car first, and that gets my vote.

As for fuel pressure, make double sure you don't have any vacuum leaks, since that will increase fuel pressure.

That said, it doesn't sound serious to be honest. The regulator responds to vacuum and you can always tweak the afm to adjust mixture.

 

PS unless your vac gauge has an internal damper then it is normal for it to 'vibrate' between induction pulses.

It should however be a regular jump with fairly constan min and max. If it is all over the place then your valve seats may be worn.

 

Well, I replaced the fuel pressure regulator and checked the fuel pressure again. Once again, I'm not sure how to take the results, ie better or worse...

At idle, fuel pressure is 28 psi, instead of 30 psi.
At moment pedal is pushed to floor, fuel pressure is 38 psi, instead of 40 psi. Also, the needle is shaky so it could be 37-38, etc.

I wonder if I have excessive vacuum. That would explain why my fuel pressure is a little low (28 instead of 30). I also wonder if it's because of the charcoal canister. I pulled the hose that goes to the purge port on the canister and there's tons of vacuum there but there isn't any air flow anywhere else on the canister. I believe something is clogged. I need to replace my canister or disassemble it somehow because one of the tubes that comes out of it is broken and I need to reglue it or something. I also think it's clogged. Does anybody know how to remove the top valve to the charcoal/carbon canister?

 

Is there supposed to be a vacuum in the fuel tank, or pressure?

I had a catastrophe today when I changed out my fuel pressure regulator. I depressurized the system before doing it, but that only relieves the pressure in the line from the tank to the regulator, but when I disconnected, gas just kept pouring out and I kept adding rags. It didn't stop until 15 minutes later when I had the bright idea to remove the gas cap and relieve the pressure in the tank. The Haynes manual says something about a vacuum in the fuel tank in the EEC section where. This doesn't make sense. The Haynes manual also says that when the engine is off, fuel vapor is supposed to go from the tank to the EEC canister. There's supposed to be a check valve in between the two... I wonder if that line is clogged or something....

 

I tried taking the purge valve off of the charcoal canister. The Haynes manual says to just "pry off the top". The problem is there is a metal ring that's holding the two together and it doesn't look like it was ever designed with the intention of someone coming along to pry it off. To take it apart, I pretty much have to damage that metal ring. Can you guys take a look at your 280ZX's and see if it looks like this thing can just pry off or if it's the same way as mine?

 

Ah, to heck with it. I found one on Ebay. Ordered...