PapaSmurf
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Posts posted by PapaSmurf
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It took me and my grand dad 7 hours to get my U joints changed out! We had to cut them out with a grinder and torch the caps to get them off it was hell on my knees and I am dead tired. the good news is it doesnt clunk any more, it still clicks just barely while accelerating you coulnt tell unless you knew when it should happen and were listening for it but its there, probably from the bushings on the mustache bar or maybe that loose differential strap but any how it's done it works I'm taking a nap
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sorry guys the camera was out of commision I got a new one and will try to start writing the guide today after I get my U joints replaced. I"m drilling out the anti theft screws on the ignition housing today too so I wont have to worry about the wheel lock anymore yay so much to do today I cant wait for my u joints to be done with it's been driving me insane for a month now
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well I finally got around to pulling off those fugly bumpers from my 280z I think I hurt my back trying to carry them both to the garage tho eek those things weigh a ton and those mounts too I love the way the front looks bumperless but the back needs something to cover up the gas tank... any suggestions?
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had a bit of trouble with the stock ignition housing I gotta dremel out the theft proof screws and take it off so the wheel will stop locking up. gonna have to include that in the guide me thinks
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found the locking mechanism just had to slide it into the right position and bingo it was all betta
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I'll post them soon as I get the camera back from a friend
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haha somebody tries stealing my baby and I shall rip them a new hole. Ok is the lock mechanical or electrical? I just switched to a push button ignition...
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woot just wired up my push button ignition it works great, I've got a switch in the consol that gives the interior power for the stereo and stuff so the engine doesnt have to be on for that and then a push button that is hidden that starts the engine and I wired up a red light to go in the ignition hole that is on when the car has power so I dont forget and end up with a dead battery. This was a really easy mod guys if anyone has any questions I'd be glad to answer them. I might have to make a guide cuz I've seen a lot of questions about this
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figured out how to get off the damned steering wheel still cant figure out why the damned thing is locked... is there a lock on these things? I dont know because I"ve never had a working ignition can someone tell me? I've been using the back end of the ignition to start the car with the plastic slot that fits into the key lock. I found a nice button and switch tho that I"m replacing tonight and I'm painting that rusty old steering wheel right now.
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wierdness the locking part of my ignition has been broken ever since I got my car, the key does not fit in the lock so today I figured I'd take it out and have a look see and when I put everything back together the steering wheel was locked up. it wont turn! any ideas? What did I break this time? lol also I need some help with getting this wheel off to paint, it's lookin pretty fugly right now I took off the alen screws a few weeks ago and it didnt come off so I just put them back and gave up but it would be nice to figure it out.
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hey I just got my z a few weeks ago and I'm in about the same situation as you are, I'm going to college and this is my only mode of transportation. Let me tell you it's difficult finding the time that I can do real work to this thing and money is scarce. You gotta learn to streatch your pennies and make the best use of your time. My car is generally at my friends shop on the weekends and I'm currently working on getting this stock l28 into good shape. These cars dont seem to age well and there are a million little things that need attention. I'd reccomend just making this motor go until you can save up the funds for a turbo swap and then in the summer when you dont need the car so much to get to school you can swap out that tired old thing for a nice sound turbo engine that's been rebulit the right way, you dont want to put something in that's gonna sieze up and die after a few weeks you cant be in a hurry, you gotta do it right, ballance everything, machine the head for warpage and a little extra compression port it etc have some fun with it! This hobby isn't for people who need fast results you gotta be willing to wait you gotta put some time and work into it and in the end I'm sure you will appreciate the results much more.
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Hey all, I took my car in to a shop the other day for a free diagnosis and aparently I have a lot of back pressure or else they just wanna sell an exhaust system I'm not entirely sure haha but it would make sense since this thing has burnt quite a bit of oil in its day and the catalytic converter is likely plugged up pretty good. So my question is, until I can afford a new exhaust system, would it be workable to take off my catalytic converter, and just leave the system open with the muffler on there to make it look legal... I gotta drive this thing around town and I wanna know the loudness. I hear a turbo quiets things down nicely but an N/A .. that would probably attract some unwanted attention wouldnt it? does anyone have any ideas? cheap alternative to a new exhaust? any way to clean out this poor old thing?
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Hot damn I added it through the shifter and it worked brilliantly damn it needed that so bad! I only added a little bit to make sure nothing leaked or went wrong but I'll add the rest of it tomarrow I can actually shift now yay
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I found the problem, the wire that attaches to the positive terminal on the starter that goes to the inside was bad. it had a short in it, and by a short I mean it melted right in half. So I replaced that and she starts right up. Damn this starter makes a differance!
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ok I tried replacing the new starter with the original again and it didnt work either. Then I got a bright idea, I turned on the headlights so that if anything I did restored power to the car I'd know it. When I jumped the starter by bridging the power and the black cable I discovered that the headlights turned on. What could this mean? I've been through all the wires inside the car, I had to redo a few connectors that were pretty much dead from long ago when a heater core probably went wrong and leaked over them. But that did not fix my problem. I'm lost here.
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awesome thanks for the info guys
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Ok guys I have a 78 Z with a 5 speed and Icant get the filler bolt off the transmission, I've tried everything and it's just gonna stay there, so my question is, can I put the gear oil into the place the shifter goes? will it work it's way to where it's supposed to go? Or is that a bad idea
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Ok I've taken my entire car apart. Literally. There is not a single piece in the interior that was bolted on, it is gone, as long as this thing isn't starting I figured I might as well start the cleanup. I found 9 dollars in change a bullet and 4 cans of primer (in the storage compartments that somebody carpeted over) I'm redoing this interior. Now that everything is out I can get to the wiring and start trouble shooting!
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oh they are supposed to be wires? I thought that was somebodies cheap jerry rig. Yeah I checked them and one was melted, I spliced the wires together and still have no power. This is a manual not an automatic. so heres a question what is the yellow wire that plugs into the starter on the second post, theres the positive from the battery a ground from the battery a black spade connector and a yellow wire on the second post. whats the yellow for? I assume the black spade is for the ignition as when you bridge the power and spade it turns over whats the yellow one for?
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I tried the ignition, it was one of the first things I thought of, I bridged every one of the wires int that cable in every combination and got no response the voltmeter on the dash stayed at zero. I would love to have a parts car but I just dont have the money, or a place to park it for that matter lol, I checked the spade wire that I believe you were referring to, the black and yellow wire that goes into the starter near the posts? it's on there good and tight. I tried running a jumper cable from the negative battery post to bare metal on the car to make sure it was grounded right that did nothing... anybody got any more ideas?
*edit* I also cleaned all the connections with rubbing alcahol and sand paper, and the battery posts too. My fear is something went snap crackle pop from the jerry rigged fusable links
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I stripped the wires on the fusable link gizmo and spliced them together to make sure there was no resistance due to the melting, still no power. does anyone have any ideas? I'm at a loss here
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and for the smart asses out there... YES I tried jump starting it lol the battery is not dead ...
When I bridge the power and the little ground wire the starter turns the engine but it does not stay on. damn this is pissing me off I just want my Z to run
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Ok guys, I just replaced my starter in my 1978 280z, I hooked up the power and ground wires to it and tried to start it up... nothing. The voltage meter is at zero and the little red light does not come on... I've tried everything cant seem to find the cause of my trouble. I looked under the little white fuse covers and lo and behold there were no fuses some dumb bastard decided to go cheap and just bridge the connectors and one of the wires was melted... is this likely my problem? or maybe that one wire was just not thick enough, the other is ok... what do I gotta do I need this car running it's my daily driver. any suggestions?
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Did you ever solve this problem? I found a coolant leak in exactly the same place on my 78 280z with the n42 head. I just replaced the gasket on the thermostat housing that leads to the radiator hose today, I believe it was causing the problem as whoever replaced the gasket last time did so with a gasket that did not fit at all. it was entirely the wrong shape. I had coolant leaking out of that and through my valve covers bad gasket and also through my intake manifolds bad gasket... this made for a rather unhappy engine. anyways good luck
newbie engine rebuild
in 6 Cylinder Z Forums
Posted
k guys I have a 1978 280z and I'm burning oil. I'm buying rings and a headset and I'm gonna be changing those out but I need to know if theres anything else I should do while I"ve got everything apart. I've been told the valve seals and the crank bearings and rod bearings should be replaced by a friend but ... I dont know anything about that I"m not a mechanic my grandpa is and I'm trying to learn as I go here so what I need is a list of things I should replace while shes apart and things I should do. I'm on a very limited budget so no I'm not taking it to a machine shop to be ported balanced or anything.