Somewhat, but not completely.

Yeah, true, he should know all of that, but by saying (or implying) "If he really is an ASE certified Tech, he should know all of this already" you are basically saying that every good mechanic does not have at least 1 partner or mind thinking about possibilities, which everyone should know is never true, that is why we have automotive shops and service centers instead of a lone mechanic tinkering with a car, sure we could waste days trying every little thing it COULD be, but if we get input from other informed sources we can speed things up a little by focusing on known issues. It's not like ASE certification and more experience in the field than many of your guys have been alive means that he can fix anything, at anytime, in an hour. 2 heads > 1

 

Check the vaccume advance pod on the distributor and make sure it's working. Out of 3 ZX's I have in the driveway ('79,'80,'82) only one vaccume advance pod was working correctly. Remove the distributor cap, and connect a vaccume hose to the pod and suck on the end of it real hard and you should see it move, then put your tongue over the hose to keep it in position (if your dad has a hand held type vaccume pump that would be easier). IF it either doesn't move, or moves then slides back again when you've blocked the hose, it's bad. That not only messes up your timing under part throttle when there's vaccume, but also causes a vaccume leak which is never good, and almost impossible to find any other way (since you can't spray starting fluid inside the distributor cap when it's running). I had a slight hesitation on my '82, then I swapped the dizzy with the one that had the working pod and the hesitation went away. If it's bad you should disconnect it and plug the vac line that goes to it to eliminate the leak until you can get a new pod. It only affects part throttle timing (no vac once the throttle body opens), so other than the slight hesitation going from part throttle to wide open it should run fine once you get rid of the vac leak.

 

That sounds very plausible, I'll relay the message asap, as far as sucking on hoses connected to cars... Well, we'll just find a hand operated pump, thanks for the advice.

 

"Throttle lag" can also be from timing being retarded, or the TPS could be a factor as well. What is your timing set at? What condition are your connectors in? Are they good as in no corrosion with green crap on the metal tabs?

Do you have any vacuum leaks? With the miles and miles of vacuum lines under the hood of a 280zx, it's easy to miss a line. Check each one from end to end. Also, what shape is your O2 sensor in? Does your Z run better with it unplugged? Check your grounds too. Hopefully this will be enough to keep you busy over the weekend and also help narrow the potential problem for you.

 

Thanks a million everyone, the above will be sufficient. We had to shop for my girlfriend's brothers for their birthday that we forgot about today so we didn't get a chance to work on the car... it's ok though, my dad was talking about the problem on the way to the mall and he told me he is willing to bet his life on the TPS being the source of the evil. So he wants to replace ours, or is there a rebuild? Anyway, I hear there's a good (but expensive) Z junkyard near Sacramento, anyone know where that is?

 

Never heard of it, but if you find it, post their address and phone number on here. I live about 5 hours north of Sac, so if I really got in a bind, I could drive down there for parts if I had to.

 

Or you could just go to a local junk yard, and pay half as much for parts. California j=yards have tons of Z cars, so don't go sayin "but there aren't any Z's in the junk yards!"

 

In most cases yes that would be true, but my search at the local junk yard last week produced only 2 280ZX's, and no S30's.lol

 

the only thing of interest at the local u-pull it is a Renault Encore....its kinda a neato car, i cant belive some one scavanged it for parts already though. i swear it was the only one in the valley. no 300's but lots of VG motors last time i was there.

i may have to go to grants pass and check their yards

 

www.car-parts.com

 

Has the O2 sensor been replaced? Or does it at least work? The O2 sensor at least on my turbo car, caused me a fair amount of low RPM hesitation and just seemed really slow, until it got past about 2000 RPM or so. One of the easiest ways to check is drive the car around til warm make sure you get it going a good bit or what not, then with the car idling, check on the bottom of the ECU. There is a little LED that flashes, if it doesn't flash, isn't on, or staying completely on then the O2 is dead or not working correctly.

 

Nissan Only Wreckers in Rancho Cordova.

http://www.usednissanparts.com/index.asp

And they are EXTREMELY proud of their inventory.

Good luck.

 

thats a cool site, interesting to see all the wrecks they have not to mension whta some people do to their cars

 

Back everyone! Had a good snowboarding trip, anyway, the effin paint is still in New Jersey at a Fedex location 1 week later.... So my dad says that the rocker arms keep coming off on the number 5 valve (exhaust) and the 6 valve (intake) Or is it the other way around.... Anyway, whatever the 5 and 6 roker arms keep coming off. We have the timing adjusted to spec at 25 intake and 30 ehaust. Why are the damn rocker arms coming off?

 

not adjusted up tight enough, that honestly should happen if you have your clearences set right.

 

Should happen if adjusted right? I'm assuming you meant shouldn't. My dad says their now adjusted to 16 intake 20 exhaust and they still come off.

 

I've seen that happen a couple times... it's usually either weak valve springs, or loose retainer clips. Were the adjustments done on a hot / warm engine? What do the valve spring / retainers / clips look like?

 

yeah.... i meant shouldnt, if they are loose the arms can rock around and fly off. and when you say 16 and 20 are you talking about 100th's ? cause it should be .008 and .010 last time i checked on the feeler guages. forget which is intake and which is exhaust though.

 

Intake
-hot: .010in (.25mm)
-cold: .007in (.17mm)

Exhaust:
-hot: .012in (.30mm)
-cold: .009in (.24mm)

 

Yeah, that's what we have specified in our Chilton.... We set it and moved it around subtly several times with the same result. Valve springs and retaining clips? I'll relay the message. thanks.

 

Lfiter noise taken care of.

Guess what came in the mail today?

 

Care to explain more? Like... what was done?

Plastic bags!!! My fav! Jus' playin. I like paint too.

 

The lifter noise was taken care of by itself it seems, warmed up the car, adjusted the valves, restarted it, lifter noise for about half hour, then it just went away. re-opened valve cover and they were still in spec! So, whatever, it runs well. Just got done shooting the front half of the car with primer. Ran into a problem though, how the hell do I take off the mirrors? It feels like it is being held on by 1 nut on a long threaded bolt from within the mirror housing, I can't angle pliers or ratchets into position to take the nut off from within the door card, any suggestions?

 

what kinda Z do you have? S130 right? cause if you have an S30 and paint your car the same as mine, ima commin after you! i just finished my paint job. lol. i was gonna be original-ish!!!

 

I have no idea what chassis codes I have, but I assure you, mine will be more original-ish!

But seriously, I need to get these mirrors off.