roger.svoboda

I'd check your battery cables and battery before working on the gas. get battery load tested free most places. Z's don't like low voltage. sounds a lot more like an electrical cut out than fuel. put a fuel pressure gage on the rail to find out what is up with the fuel system.

get hold of the guys at the portland z club. probably someone there can help you.

if you tap the pump and it runs what do you think? you didn't hit the relay. wiring check with a vom.

yeah the fuel damper has given people problems. forgot about that cause mine is long gone. Just remove you won't miss it.

why would you think a pump rated at 15 psi would put out 35 to 40 psi?

look at his site on dashboard removal. there is a picture of taking out the power supply as part of dash removal. one or two bolts comes out pretty easy. do a google search there are some other pics around the web on ps repair for z31. Check on xenon might be there. you basically just have to resolder the wires to the board. That seems to be the most often reported problem.

WITH NO/little vacuum the fpr raises the pressure on the fuel rail thinking that you are at full throttle. put a pressure gage on the system and find out what is happening cheaper than throwing parts at it using the wild a** guess method. Perhaps your problem is a simple fuel filter partly plugged.

check zbum site on how to resolder the power supplly wires. That is the usual problem.

might have flooded it. Disconnect fuel pump. Try starting it while holding the gas pedal to the floor - keep the pedal to the metal and let it crank a good while. if it cranks and runs a few seconds a couple three times and then doesn't. Reconnect fuel pump and see if it starts and runs then.

turbo z31 do have a speed limiter. I don't believe the s130 had that.

anything is possible ask Apollo 13. go with the most likely not the twilight zone solution. Ask around if you got a local z club might find someone wiling to loan or sell you one that works. I don't like to just replace parts either but sometimes you have to gather data and then make the educated guess and go with the most likely.

you don't want a maf they are used on the z31. you want an air flow meter which is what they used on s130

loosing boost won't make it run bad just slooooow. you got a afm problem or a fuel pressure probllem. need to get the data to decide which it is. Timning and fuel pressure.

smoking black sure sounds like rich. From what you have done the afm is what is left. It is apparently telling the ecu that far more air is going to the engine than is therefore getting fuel for air that isn't there. Do search on that you can turn it slightly and change the signal to the ecu to make it seem like more or less air. Search posts on changing the afm there are plenty. Just heed all the words of caution. If you let it unwind you may never get it back together. If you got a junkyard near by might find a used one to use for a comparison.

buy or borrow a timing light. some auto parts store will rent or let you use one. A little pricey but if you are going to be doing car stuff you will use it more than once. another possibility is the chts but long shot from what you describe. compression check might be in order. kinda shooting in the dark here need more data. if in fact the po had bad gas and didn't bother to put a fuel filter in line then you could have some blitzed injectors - but again twilight zone thinking. maybe a better description of sputtering and dying would tell us more. when you cleaned the tank did you clean the screen inside. again you need to get the fuel pressure

next question then is how do you know it is running rich? You would need some sort of justification to state that it is running rich. The obvious stuff you've done so that leaves the afm. Do a search there are many posts on diddling it.

there is no cold start injector on turbo cars. Find a test for the O2 sensor if you can otherwise just replace it. Bad one will cause rich running. Pull off the connector see if you notice any diffference in running. rig you can use to check fuel pressure under $15. i'd start there then go to the O2 sensor.

water temp sensor only affects the gage reading no input to the ecu. you can check chts with vom see manual. most likely in my mind - Leaking injector or fuel pressure too high. Chts problems usually manifest some degree of change as the engine warms up. O2 Sensor bad can also make it run rich.

Check out the afm per the manual or FI bible. CHTS might also cause that issue. Continuously leaking or stuck open injector would do it. Put a fuel pressure gage in the circuit to the rail watch the pressure after you turn off the engine. If it falls off rapidly could be a stuck injector. If the fuel pressure is abnormally high the fpr might be at fault. the injectors are designed to deliver a metered quantity of fuel but the pressure on the fuel rail must be correct. Too high Too much fuel. Too low not enough fuel.

$300 take a 12 gage down there and tell them you are going to rob them first. BAd battery no start yes. Bad battery cables no start yes. Bad alternator sure if the battery is discharged or just bad. Change the alternator like $70 retail price. Hour labor $75. Doesn't come to $300 the way I add. Find a new mechanic or do it yourself. Not a real high tech operation. pain in the butt yes. Have battery load tested and if your battery cables have those one size fit all clampon type terminals get some new battery cables. Yes they are trying to hose you.

after rereading I take back the broke dizzy part. If you had no crank angle sensor input to the ecu you would never get a spark. (but still check the dizzy). have you done a timing light check on the ignition. it is quite likely the previous owner was a moron and put the oil pump in and then didn't check the timing. If pump is one tooth off she no run so good. Since you a newbie I might also suggest new plug wires, plugs, dizzy cap, dizzy rotor, fuel and air filter. Have the battery load tested and the charging circuit - FREE most places. If you have those one size fit all clamp on battery cable terminals scrap them NOW and get real cables. The ground strap should go first to a bolt in the body thence to the starter. Lazy PO just cut em off. Low battery voltage will cause a zx to do odd things. Bad battery cables and bad battery caused me a few days grief on an s130 and a z31. Wife still not happy about the trip we took and needed help getting off the ferry. Check your fuel pressure very important. It will tell you if fuel filter ok and fpr ok. If you are going to keep the car awhile the above money spent will not be in vain. picture is a rig you can use to check fuel pressure for under $15

The 81 turbo had a crank angle sensor on the front of the engine. The 82T-83T got that information from inside the dizzy. Look in your dizzy for broken parts. Several posts from people with broken insides on dizzy.

sticky bendix

i bought one from radio shack. I think it was 20 feet. worked fine the connectors on the ends are standard.

might check with roger at zbarn he is in tennessee. Other wise local junkyard. Don't think dealer have it any more. Maybe courtesy nissan.