roger.svoboda

There is a fuse on the fan motor itself which if blown won't allow the fan to blow. check that while under there. there is a post somewhere with a picture of what to look for.

You have too many abbreviatioins to make sense of what you are asking. When #1 cylinder is at TDC you need to look at the cam lobes to be sure they are both pointing upwards. Remember engine turns twice for camshaft once. You can get the #1 cylinder at tdc but on the exhaust stroke. There is a mark on the distributor showing where #1 is supposed to be but you need to be at tdc for power stroke (lobes up). If the distributor rotor is badly out of whack with the #1 cylinder mark then you need to drop the oil pump and index the distributor to the correct position. Use a timing light makes all the difference if you are close to tell what is happening. it is possible to get the distributor drive gear indexed one tooth either side of correct positiion. The engine will start but run poorly and you can't get the timing right with the light.

How is the center console lid? I could sure use that to get my 83 looking good inside. I'm up in seattle. what would you want for it? pic if you got.

Not sure the turbo cars had the cold start injector. Could be the cylinder head temp sensor is out. If the ecu doesn't know that the engine is cold it doesn't increase fuel . My turbo motor is up on engine stand so I can't look at it to see if cold start injector is there. If you see a cold start injector on your engine then test it to see if it is working. also try a new cht sensor

well they only made the turbo zx in 81, 82 & 83 so if it is from a turbo in those years it should work. The 81 used a crank angle sensor for spark but I believe that an 81 unit would work in 82, 83.. My 83 turbo has A18-603 045 on the name tag. May be you have one from a naturally aspirated car. I don't believe there is a difference in the auto tranny and 5 speed units.

unless it is a busted vacuum hose in the dash which is often the case you are pretty much stuck. Friend of mine spent 300 bucks on new sensors etc etc etc and still no go. The other common problem is the little fan in the dash stops sucking in air to the sensor. try jumping 12v direct to fan motor and see if the blower is working.

7018 makes a nice weld but you need a good clean joint. if blowing through paint and rust is an issue stick with the 6011. those low hydrogen rods can fool you. nice looking weld but no penetration.

You have omitted the energy loss out the exhaust. Any heat leaving the engine at more than ambient temp is a loss. If my memory serves from college about 30% (maybe more) goes out the exhaust. Marine Diesels actually in some of the newer designs run at more than 50%. But they capture the stack heat with waste heat boilers and use engine coolant for a variety of services requiring heat. Every bit of heat you can use before throwing it out raises your efficiency. In winter your car's efficiency goes up because instead of heating the atmosphere you heat the interior thus using waste heat for a productive use.

Most folks opinion is that the stock n/a 5 speed is a better tranny than the T5. That is what I swapped on my 81 and it worked fine. don't forget you need the clutch hydraulics. Make sure you get a driveshaft match that is what gave me the most problem.

You only need to change the stub axle. Pull one from each car and see if they match up. Friend of mine was trying something like that had a z31 rear cross member on the ground thought it would work. Probably need an impact wrench to get axle nut off.

it sounds like running rich. Could be cold start valve jammed open (can't remember if z31 has cold start I might be thinking of 280zx). Otherwise than the maf is telling the ecu that more air is going to the engine than actual flow and thus injecting too much fuel. Look for posts on how to diddle the maf. did you look for trouble codes on the ecu. there are posts on how to check codes and what they mean.

Have you checked fuel pressure? Is it boosting? Injectors could be clogged from sitting are they new? not enough info in your post to be helpful in diagnosis. Other things that make z31 not run is cylinder head temp sensor. assume you checked timing

Not saying this is the problem but I had the same symptoms. Checked timing about eighteen times. Final solution was that since she didn't fire right up I had too much fuel in the manifold. kept smelling gas from the exhaust scratching the head what up. I disconnected the fuel pump opened the throttle wide (get in plenty of air) and cranked the beast for a good while. finally she fired and ran about 10 seconds. Did this several times til I got no more pops out of it. reconnected fuel pump she started right up and ran good. Be sure your battery is up to snuff full charge no corroded batt cables. ECU are voltage sensitive and you may be able to turn over the engine but she won't fire.

The security system on the z31 will kill the battery over time. But probably not the problem if it seems to be a new thing. Easy enough to hook up an ammeter between battery post and battery cable. look for a small drain and then start pulling fuses til it goes away. If fuses don't stop the drain then really got some detective work to do. Wire insulation rubbed off somewhere and touching the frame??? Be sure the battery itself is good and there is no corrosion in the cables and connectors. Lots of auto parts places will test charging system and battery for free. The original strap type connectors on the battery cables are crap. I had one split and tho it looked to be good I was getting intermittent connection. Another common problem is that someone put one of those one size fits all battery cables with the phony clamps on cause the stock cables went south. Those things corrode and you get corrosion down inside the cable insulation. If your cables look at all bad replace with good ones. Don't blame the alternator as above batteries go bad more often than the alternator quits. Be sure your ground connections are clean. I usually run a 10 gage wire from the battery ground to the frame on both sides of the engine compartment to ensure proper grounding. This won't help the battery draining problem but might prevent future electrical issues that will entail much cussing and hair pulling.

Best Z ever made. Looks good fast corners. A 240 with a turbo motor and some weight reduction would be the other choice. Just smoked some moke with a bummer off the light without even trying he looked chagrined and the guy behind him gave me a wave.

what part of wa you in wet side or dry side. I could use some z31 parts. email me at krs@whidbey.com

Too bad you are in the dry part of the state. If you were over here where it is wet all the time I could show you the difference. email me at krs@whidbey.com if you have questioins. i did this swap so pretty much remember what I had to do.

It isn't the diffy it is the input flange on the diffy and or the output spline of the transmission. A friend of mine had an input flange to an r200 that would fit the n/a 5 speed but didn't find that out until I changed everythign out. Only thing different on the diffy is if you have u joint half shaft or cv joint half shaft. Either one will work with diffy BUT r180 half shafts are different length right and left due to smaller width on r180. I believe but am not certain that r200 half shafts are the same length.

Use the z31 turbo in your 280. The water cooled ones last mo bettah than the the stock zx. MY son took mine to the hardware store and came back saying it was making noise. Turbo shaft just shattered and the bucket wheels were rattling around in the housing. I now have a z31 to put back in it.

Just hot wire the motor straight to the battery. If it goes up and down normaly then you can start trying to trouble shoot the wiring issue and or switch issue. Also check for grounding issues. Battery cables in good condition clean not corroded. Where the ground strap bolts to the frame and then down to the starter is bad area for corrosion. Check the ground cables for the window motors themselves - everyone forgets that the ground is the second wire you need to run anything electrical on an auto.

I did the same thing. Took a 5 speed out of an 81 n/a. Take everything you can find at the junk yard. I took everything from the flywheel back to the diffy. It is easier in the long run to take out the whole cage that holds the clutch and brake pedals. remove the four bolts holding the brake vacuum booster out and there are two bolts over towards door that you can get at if you pull the speedo console. It won't seem that it wants to come out but if you wiggle and cuss and then wiggle some more it will just come out as a unit. Need to disconect clutch master cylinder and brake rod. hydraulic line for the clutch. the brackets are there with three holes ready to install but you need it. there is no bracket welded to the frame for the hose for the clutch slave but that didn't seem to be a problem. You need to do some rewiring because of the auto tranny safety provisions. I wound up putting a r180 diffy in to solve the driveshaft problem. You can't use the driveshaft as the output spline of the auto is larger than the five speed output spline. Or one thought I had was to have a driveline place cut the two drive shafts and then match the ends that way. I was quoted $100 for this and was able to get the diffy cheaper so I went that way. I think the tranny mounts just worked as is but I may have grabbed the ones off the 5 speed. Get a good tranny jack makes the job much easier. Take out the front seats before you start also makes things easier. Pressure wash the underside and the fenders unless you enjoy having crud fall in your eyes on a regular basis. You will need the center console and boot for the 5 speed as the auto won't work. it was not that hard to do but had to go back a few times for things I forgot. If you can't get the slave cylinder new ones go for $18 bucks - I'd go that way probably get new master also. Make sure to get the hydraulic line however that can be a killer.

Has anyone done this? I saw some posts when i searched saying should be possible but no one said it has been done. The reason I post this is I know a little old lady (really) who has a 78 280Z she has owned since it was new but she can no longer cope with the steering. (hey we are all going to get old). She hates to give up the car. I've got a steering unit complete off a 83 turbo car and some guys in the club would help if it is doable. Any help would be appreciated.

My n/a 83 had a wheel bearing seize and machined the rear axle down about 1/32 of an inch before it got bad enough to notice. Never heard a squeal or anything til the wheel started thumping and I hear that. Anyway the question is??? I've got an 83 turbo parts car does anyone know for a certainty if the rear axle is the same. Just the rear axle I know that the cv joint vs u joint adapter plate are different but are splines the same to mate them to the rear axle. Thanks for any knowledte you have.

Got it from original owner. guy took good care of it in really nice shape. found an 83 turbo with blown headgasket for parts car. put the turbo power plant in when my wife gives me some time off from fixing the new house we just bought. Nothing fancy at the moment just cold air intake.

brake lights are supposed to only come on when you brake. Are you confusing them with tail lights. check for power to the bulb then make sure your grounds are good. Driver door can be an adjustment in the door. Happened to me. You need to take off the door panel and observe the lock mechanism there is an adjusting screw to make sure the unlock works. If you can't get the door open you probably need to take out the driver seat to get at the door panel