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typical overhaul


FairLadyz280

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Ok so i am a newbie here, but i have a 82 280zx Stock L6, not these upgraded moded ones like i have seen on here for a while. My z runs cherry, but she is very very tempermental. And from what i am gathering and i have read and felt in my z, and heard from other z owners, that z's are very picky cars. I am seriously thinking about just doing a complete over haul. I have changed the spark plugs and the wires in the past year, the o rings and the injectors, oxygen sensor and a few other things over time, I am mainly writing this topic to ask how hard is it to do a complete Overhaul on my kind of z? i know silly question, but i am coming from a family that owned nothing but small block chevy's. I don't want to drop any other engine in her at this point. I like my stock L6 but how hard is the overhaul going to be that i'm looking at doing?

Thanks

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Are you talking about overhauling the car or the engine? I assume the engine. What all so you include it overhaul?

 

How is it tempermental? If it runs great some of the time and bad at some times your likely looking at support system problems. Fuel, spark etc. You might wasting your time "overhauling" it.

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Ok so i am a newbie here, but i have a 82 280zx Stock L6, not these upgraded moded ones like i have seen on here for a while. My z runs cherry, but she is very very tempermental. And from what i am gathering and i have read and felt in my z, and heard from other z owners, that z's are very picky cars. I am seriously thinking about just doing a complete over haul. I have changed the spark plugs and the wires in the past year, the o rings and the injectors, oxygen sensor and a few other things over time, I am mainly writing this topic to ask how hard is it to do a complete Overhaul on my kind of z? i know silly question, but i am coming from a family that owned nothing but small block chevy's. I don't want to drop any other engine in her at this point. I like my stock L6 but how hard is the overhaul going to be that i'm looking at doing?

Thanks

 

The issues you mention above are typical for any car (Nissan, Chevy, BMW, etc.) that's getting close to 30 years old. The 280ZX is not temperamental at all and is generally far more reliable then anything else build in the 1980s as long as basic maintenance is performed per the factory service manual.

 

Normal wear items (plugs, wires, filters, fluids) need to be inspected and changed regularly. The basic engine will easily go 250,000 miles with proper care.

 

I suggest that you do the following before considering an overhaul:

 

1. Download the factory service manual.

2. Properly adjust the valves (of your particular engine requires it).

3. Perform a compression test and/or a leak down test to determine the basic condition of the engine.

4. Perform a complete test of the fuel injection and ignition systems per the FSM to make sure its up to specs.

5. Perform all the maintenance items appropriate for the mileage on your car.

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Ok gotcha, what i mean by picky is some things she likes some she doesn't, I am still figuring it all out so forgive me if i don't know all the jargin. I just ment take the whole engine apart and clean everything. In my dad's garage at least that is what he called a over haul. I know i probably sound stupid. But that is what the plan is. I just didn't know what the down time would be if it's done, It's my daily. it has been compression tested, down and all, perfect no issues. When i say picky, sertain oil's she doesn't like. I have used the bosh oil filter and GTX high milage 10-40 And it seems to burn through it like water. The other fluids she does like is the red line tranny fluid. thinking of running the royal purple oil through her next but i don't know what all and why sertain oil's its burning through it like water.

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If it's burning oil - pull your plugs and have a looksee. Are they black and caked with moisture? If so, then oil is getting in to the combustion chamber somehow, either via rings or valve stem seals. Valve stem seals are easier to do than rings and you don't have to pull the motor to do it. Just need a few special tools.

 

When you said temperamental - I immediately assumed electronics (support systems as Challenger duly noted). The plugs (not spark plugs - the actual plug connectors) on these things like to corrode and connections tend to fail - which causes other things to fail. It would behoove you to go through every single connection in the car - clean the connections with an abrasive of some sort until you knock off any and all corrosion and see shiny metal on the connectors. Then use dielectric grease all over the connections when you go back together with them. I can't tell you how many cars have suffered at the hands of corroded connections. The dielectric grease will keep moisture out and prevent them from corroding again for a good long time.

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More harm than good has been done by well-intentioned people being convinced that taking something apart is 'good for it and needs to be done'.

 

Given the quality of parts available today, including (and specifically)rings, the chances are good you will end up worse off after fiddling with the interior of the engine than had you left well enough alone and simply followed John C's advice.

 

Also, as for jargon, please understand vague terms don't do anything towards helping get an understanding of your real situation. You say the car 'burns through oil like water'...

 

From that statement, I'm now making the assumption that you have a massive fog of oil smoke billowing blue-white out the exhaust pipe and have to put in a quart each day to get back and forth to school 10 minutes up the road.

 

Is that correct? Then maybe you do need to do some work.

 

Or is it a quart every 500 miles? 1000? The WAY you drive will GREATLY determine how much oil it consumes. I have an 80ZX engine that has well over 225,000 miles on it now. I can go through a quart of oil in an afternoon of autocrossing, but normally will go 1500+ miles before needing a top up. To me, a proper overhaul will cost FAR more than simply putting oil into it. Oil is cheap, GOOD engine parts are not. Cost justification for an overhaul will likely NEVER be achieved on the cost of oil consumption alone. Something else will have to go bad unless it's really burning it 'like water'...

 

The driving style will dictate consumption. A quart in 1000 miles, or not even 1/2 a quart in 3300 miles (my 260Z). Neither indicates a need for overhaul.

 

Be specific, not vague, and you will get better advice. Be vague and you will get bad advice. To many people excessive oil consumption will always mean 'overhaul it, change the rings' and this has been drummed in their heads from years of urban legend and poor practice without regard for actually looking at the financials involved. Sure, you say it's going through it like water (whatever that means) and you will get the advice "change the rings, overhaul it"---as you make it sound extreme. An overhaul is an EXTREME measure for fixing ANYTHING (especially one item in particular when all else seems to be fine...)

 

Like John said, there are plenty of us out here with 200 and 300+ thousand mile cars running just fine on the stock bottom end. Hell, I still have 185psig compression in all six! Why on earth mess with an engine just coming into peak efficiency and minimal friction just because it's consuming a little oil (key italics).

 

Meaning, how do you know it's burning it, do you really have that constant plume of smoke behind you all the time? These cars consume oil to some extent, it's unavoidable.

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Tony you are forgetting my white turd:

 

-It did not smoke.

-From the general condition it was in when we found it .. maintaince stopped ... long ago (though it had recent dizzy)

-It had plenty of power ( i came 4th at the autox with sticky tires)

-It doesnt use any oil noticable

 

 

AND IT HAS A WHOPPING 370K miles

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Tony you are forgetting my white turd:

 

-It did not smoke.

-From the general condition it was in when we found it .. maintaince stopped ... long ago (though it had recent dizzy)

-It had plenty of power ( i came 4th at the autox with sticky tires)

-It doesnt use any oil noticable

 

 

AND IT HAS A WHOPPING 370K miles

 

From my prior post:

"Like John said, there are plenty of us out here with 200 and 300+ thousand mile cars running just fine on the stock bottom end. "

 

Forget? Methinks not! Specifically mentioned, not till you hit 400K.

 

And to add to Frank's point, that car was 5th fastest of the day at the MSA Auto X that year, behind 4 purpose-built Auto-X cars! The last three of which were within .75 of a second of each other's times!

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who here or on zcar.com had a 500K plus car still on stock everything? I know in Utrecht when i used to study there was 2400 laurel cab that had 750K miles on the stock bottom end, he had to replace his cylinderhead somewhere along the road due to cracking when he blew a gasket.. but that was it ...

Edited by frank280zx
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