Not so much. People have been doing this for decades on the 300ZX and no one has ever had a problem such as this. Not only do weekend-wrenchers do it, but the big shops that I've spoken with/worked for do it to find which cylinder is down as well. I could explain why it's incredibly unlikely that this would happen, but that'd require me to go into specifics of how the crank angle sensor, ECU, and coil packs interact, and I'm simply not willing to do that right now. (If you don't trust my credibility, ask around... but you're the guy who's talking about installing a JDM VG30DETT and a front mount intercooler - both bad ideas.)

Furthermore, shutting the car off, pulling a connector, and starting it back up will make it even more difficult to find the source because you won't notice a clear shift in the rpms after starting the car back up when pulling plugs off the cylinders that aren't dead.

Trust us, pull the connectors while the engine is running - it's the easiest way to tell which cylinder is dead. The ones that are operating will clearly effect how the engine runs, while the one that is dead will make no difference at all (or significantly less of a difference than the other cylinders in the case of a nearly-dead injector).

But for the record, since we suspect the injectors anyway, test their resistance. They should be 10-14 ohms. If there's one that isn't, it's dead. If they are all within spec, then come back to us and we'll help you more.

 

phew..... i was starting to doubt my advice on this one... thinking i was in store for a flaming on tellin exra to do this.... i can sleep comfortably tonight...

 

dont worry snw, we'll flame you anyways .

 

hey.... thats why im here! every take there anger out on me... im here for yall's entertainment... and like every other day or so have something helpful to say. lol

 

mmk so I should just check the resistance on the injectors? no point in removing **** so that I can disconnect ALL the coil packs? Should I search for an idiots guide to testing the resistance of injectors? I'm assuming you just use a multimeter.

 

yeah as long as it has an OHM resistance option. you run it through the 2 leads i believe adn should read close to 14 ohms.

 

however that will just tell you if the injectors are good if you do it right. wont tell you iff all the coil packs are good or if compression is low in a cylinder. thats why i like the unplug while runing method. effective and fast to find if you even have a dead cylinder to look at. if so then you know what cylinder focus on for trouble shooting.

 

Yeah, Eric is pretty much right... just pop the connectors off the injectors (have a mechanic's magnet ready to catch the falling c-clips), and touch the probes of the multimeter to the two leads on the injector. If it reads between 10 and 14 ohms, you're fine. If you don't get a reading, try setting the multimeter to a different range - I've had injectors that tested up to 1.2 million ohms (gotta love that ethanol).

And it's most likely your injectors. I've been a Z owner for quite some time now, and I've been involved in the community even longer - coil packs rarely fail.

Low compression is a possibility, but we'll worry about compression tests once we check all the easy stuff.

Hell, it could simply be a dead or fouled spark plug... but like I said, since the injectors are a common problem, it makes most sense to start there.

If they all come back fine, I promise I will give you a comprehensive list of things to go through and you will find the problem on the list I provide.

 

Thank you. I'll try testing the resistance this weekend... it feels like i lead two lives. My stressed out school life where i eat sleep and go to class, and my stressed (a little less I admit) home life where I eat sleep work and play

 

Listen I doubt you will hurt your Z because I've unplugged stuff on my Z while it was running to. But I have also watched as people have fried injector drivers by unplugging injectors. No it wasn't on a Z but I was just being on the safe side. God your a pain Z lover

 

but he is usually right.

 

$2.77 for 91 octane out here in Orange County California and it'll only get higher as the tempurature goes up.....my gas mileage has never been shittier. It makes me mad....

 

15mpg in the z32 and loving it...

 

thats not good unless your driving it hard. or being sarcastic

 

my friend get similiar MPG in his 90' Z32. and thats average, not driving fast..

 

average mpg should be in the low 20s if your driving normally

 

not really... its been rated to recieve 17mpg compared to the Dealer 22 or w/e cuase when they test that its on either tracks or on dyno wiht no wind and they run in from full untill it no longer runs... the dealers are liars like that

 

Mine averages around 24 in city and highway, not sure what straight highway will do. I haven't done any distance driving really except to go camping. Needed AWD, maybe someone should swap the ATTESSA from a GTR into a Z, so I can rally. Just kidding

 

15 is really low on an N/A unless you're all over the throttle.....even then it's bad. In my 1st tank of gas since the rebuild on my TT, I got 16....needless to say I was on the throttle a lot. An N/A should be doing a hell of a lot better than that.

 

Well You Guys All Suck With Your Gas Prices... Its 2.40 For Regular Here And 2.79 For Premium And Still Climbing

 

Well the Z has low compression and we're more or less ****ed. great.

 

thats what i was afraid of man... happened to my 90 Z... i was able to tweak it around (and it was only on cylinder) to make it run very smooth and sold it before it was my permanent problem... i suggest you do the same, but a 91 Z32 and this time check the compression before you purchase them... low compression can be the worst of them all. what were the numbers ezra do you know? who did this test and told you so? dod they say if they suspect a valve or the rings?

 

Local mechanic told me so. Hes compression testing now but he could tell just by turning it over. He says theres a chance something has gotten lodged in one of the valves. Hes gonnah tear it apart and actually compression test it now (I asked him to call to approve all the work cause we're on a tight budget). Hes gonnah put some new plugs in it and we're gonnah attempt to sell it more than likely. Mechanic said its almost worth putting a used engine if you have to start replacing **** with the head off. I'm pretty burnt on this whole deal. The biggest most upsetting part is that this is HER car. She probably won't be able to get a second one, financially or parentally speaking. She barely even got to drive it.

 

well.. one reason you dont get a Z32 for your first car, especially at 15 years old. also.. tearing it apart? these are the easiest cars to compression test... remove all spark plugs, and tehn in the small fuse/relay box infront of the batter there is soemthing labeld with ignition i think... and you pull that fuse guy and the car wont start only turn over... so plug the compression guage in and go to town on each one... man i wish u lived close to me id help you out since i went through this **** myself. and by myself.

 

man I would give anything for a little help. I guess in retrospect not the best car for your first, but hopefully it will all work out. Maybe I should just move to chicago, lol cars are cheaper over there.