HybridS130

I have to admit it, owning a Z is a simply complicated love/hate relationship. I absolutely love the cars all around, the looks, feel, handling, even the lower power output feels nice, the reliability and the list goes on but, owning one of these cars almost guarantees that you will have to deal with rust. Today is the first time it rained since I've been driving the Z and I found out that the small rust hole in the hatch allows water to flood in and pool up inside. I also found that one way or another water gushes out and down my A pillar interior piece through the hole left by the missing top screw. Driving this car in the rain scares me to death because the blow motor can't keep up with the fogging windows, the brakes lock up incredibly easy and we don't even have to get into how the rear slides around in the rain. I went through a puddle that was very shallow at maybe 35-40mph and the car felt like it almost went out of control.

Keep in mind that Im driving a very well kept '79 2+2 5-speed with low miles so everything is in great working condition. I feel at this point the best investment I could possibly make is a mig welder to take care of all these little holes, Im fortunate though, my floor pans and frame rails are in great condition.

I love my car to death and I have no problem taking care of the little problems in order to continue driving a Z. After all what could you expect from a 27 y/o car, Im greatful that it starts up in the morning and gets me where I need to go. I do find it funny though that I see people with other cars whether it be import or domestic, the car is a decade old or maybe less and it runs like ****, lights don't work, you can hear the brake squeal from a mile away, I mean all kinds of little issues and here I am in my old datsun comfy as could be. Oh and by the way, my car takes the speed bumps in the neighborhood better than my girlfriend's 2001 dodge stratus, I know that's not a good thing for a sportscar but oh well, Im not planning to be on any SCCA track anytime soon.

Oh, and one more final thing. I love hearing you guys talk about your 200,000 + mile Z and how it still runs great and how great of condition it is in, just reminds me that I have great things to look forward to. Thank god I didn't invest my money into a mitsubishi!

3XAZOWNER

Yes, I love mine when it runs good and hate it when it runs bad, so it is definitely a love hate relationship, but one i have enjoyed off and on for years.

HybridS130

Yay my car developed a new problem today. Coming back from Wendy's it starting hesitating real bad, I applied the throttle more and the car still didn't go anywhere, dipped the clutch and revved and yet again it didn't rev properly if at all. Then it went away, came back, went away, it seems to have done it at several different rpms.

I had a similar problem before that turned out to be an AFM issue but, even then it only hesitated while under load, at 3500rpm, and it always did it. This time it's erratic. I pulled the spark plugs and all were fine, seems like Im running a little bit lean though. I checked all electrical connections and all seemed fine so Im kind of stumped.

I did find out something interesting, I've been having a small amount of oil in the intake manifold lately so I pulled the PCV hose off and was looking at it when I saw something odd, I grabbed some needle nose pliers and pulled out a broken piece of a brass wire brush. Apparently the previous owner had tried to clean the hose when the brush broke off.

nismo619

You know thats kinda funny it rained for the past few days hear in clovis new mexico and my love/hate realitonship with my 82 turbo 2+2 5 speed is wearing very thin.. see she starts up good after a good rain but when i take off in her after shes warmed up.. she bogs down and then dies fuel pump cut off ? then i stop and turn her over and she starts right back up get down about 5 miles then she does it agian but during the summer time i dont have there problems...

Bleach

They're nice to look at, fun to ride, you can show her off to your friends, but sometimes they can be a bit bitchy and high maintenance huh?

You just can't be afraid to get your hands dirty now and then

duowing

The fact that your motor for the defogger can't keep up just means it is prolly starting to go out. My motor on the blower works fine, but then again mine are 83's. I understand exactly what you mean. I hate having problems here and there, but it's so great when you fix your problems. As for your problems it almost sounds like the AFM yet again. Did you just do the AFM adjustment?

HybridS130

this one is rebuilt but, how would it just start messing up out of the blue one day when nothing has changed. . . oh wait that's how all the **** on these cars are.

SHADY280

mine does stuff like that all the time, just one day and something will go wonky, just part of owning an older sports car. once you get everything done to them, you can start all over again!!

Bob79280zx

Oooohhhh, the love/hate relationship. I know of this one well, in fact, i am dealing with a very strong leaning toward the hate right now. Apparently the good ol' 79 thought it would be funny to die on me, in traffic, on Interstate 15, doing seventy miles an hour, and during rush hour. Those fellow So Cal z owners can appreciate this. Oh, did i mention i was in the fast lane. Yeah, it was awesome. So, now, i am sitting with a 2800 lb paper weight in my dads driveway. Its either a thrown rod, smoked bearing, or, a cracked valve. Who knows? I am supposedly getting a donor motor soon, so that should be interesting. I am right there with you guys, sometimes, you just want to take a sledgehammer to it, just for being a pain in the ***.

bob

HybridS130

Oh man that sucks, friend of mine has an AWD Talon TSi that showed every sign of having a blown motor but it turned out that his lean mixture just caused one of the valves to blow a chunk off, hang in there man. At least you guys on the west coast have plenty of Z pickins, out here on the east coast it's RARE to even see any older z, plenty of Z31's but anything earlier is an exotic.

SHADY280

try your ignition, or fuel pump bob, should be the prob. for the iggy, try the module on the side of the dizzy

RodMoyes

It's none of those... OIl pressure went to ZERO before it died. Now it starts and KNOCKS like a ****... Bob managed to successfully smoke an L28 motor. I give him mad props on the accomplishment

Rod.

SHADY280

oh crap, sorry, he didnt say that part in the description, nice work on blowing the l28!! that takes talent. guess it helps to know the behind the scenes story.

Bob79280zx

Yeah, sorry i didnt go into full detail. Still a little bitter. Oh, well. My car seems to be a rare beast. I am the only person i have ever heard of who's had to replace a timing chain on my l28 after only a 115,000 miles cuz it was slipping off the sproket and wore a grove into my valve cover. AWESOME!

Anyway, it now now knocks, really, really bad, and it has this really gnarly squeal, like a belt, only worse. i told my dad after it happend what it sounded like, this is a guy whos has been working on motors longer than im sure most of us have been on this planet, and he told me what he thought it was. Then i fired it up for him, and after about ten seconds, his opion did not change. He said it was a possible smoked bearing in the crank, requiring to pull it out, and have a complete rebuild job done on it. I tend to trust him when it comes to motor stuff.

But yes, the oil pressure fell to zero, car died, and the noises began after that. So the pump may have froze, or something, and the domino effect of issues began shortly after that.


Thanks for the props guys, i like to think that if your going to do something, do it right. So, for the time being, its back to rolling my '89 Yoda cressida, you know, the four door Supra.

bob

HybridS130

I'll give you my 79,000 mile L28E if you can find me and ship a L28ET . . . . damn east coast has nothing!

duowing

We have stuff. You just have to look...hard. Try sites like www.carsoup.com that's how I came across my Turbo.