disepyon

Thanks for the help. My brother said it could be the exhaust/intake manifold gasket. I am missing a nut and a stud on the first exhaust runner. The stud snapped off in the head and I never could get it out, so a while back I just said whatever. I dont get how it could be making a noise all of a sudden. My brother said he had a similar problem that made the same noise and it was his exhaust gasket. The gasket is only about 6 months old and i hardly drive the car. Could it be now that my valve clearance is adjusted more proper, there is more air moving out of the exhaust runner causing that noise in a leak in the exhaust gasket?

I adjusted my valves according to this: http://www.picturetrail.com/sfx/album/view/1803105 http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/valveadjust/index.html After I adjusted it I began to hear a ticking noise, very loud as if something is clinging against something else. Its constant, I hear it on idle and through the rpm range. However everything else seems ok, engine idles super smooth (better than before), revs fine, no hesitation. I did a compression check and I got starting from 1-6(165 165 170 170 165 165). I thought maybe the oil tube next to the rocker arms might be rubbing against, but all is fine and I have clearance. I found out that while the engine is running and I unplug spark plug wire to piston 1, the noise stops and of course the engine starts to idle rough like it should. So I swapped the spark plug wire and same symptom, i changed the spark plug it self and same symptom. I dont get it. Whats wrong? Did i bend a valve for piston 1? bad valve spring? I dont get how that would affect that noise if there is no spark. Shouldnt the noise still persist since the cam shaft is still spinning and the rocker and valve/valve spring would then have to move? Edit, this is for a stock l24 240z.

The fender mirrors. I havent been able to find a dealer that offers fairlady mirrors. They dont have to be oem to me, just as long as they are reproductions of them.

Finally managed to get rid of that screw. Well still waiting for my distributor cap and rotor. In the mean time ive been reading up about the 60amp 280zx alternator upgrade. Going to try and accomplish that this week. Hopefully it will eliminate the slow wiper movement and light dimming and also i heard its better on the electronic ignition system, will increase the motor running even more smoother. Can also get rid of that ugly external regulator and free up some space.

Thats pretty neat. So you just found out about this recently? That sucks if nobody told you about it. Loving the wheels by the way.

Damn looking sexy so far, giving me ideas for when i start working on mine. Where did you get the exhaust flanges and how much? if you dont mind me asking. Dont lets us miss out on the fabrication of the exhaust headers, i want to know how it turns out so i can get ideas when i do mine.

Good news fellows, my car is running like it should be now. I knew i tuned those carbs almost perfect, wasnt the problem all along. Like many have suggested it was my ignition system. Makes sense, if im not getting good spark, then all the fuel isnt being burned causing me to run rich. No more hesitation what so ever!! even during a regular rev, it is smooth. Before when i rev the motor, at first it would hesitate then run smooth. Car doesnt smeel rich anymore either, just a bit but not like it used too, a lot leaner. The things i did were replace the wires going to the optical trigger (which is used for xr700 ignition system) because the original wires had some exposed sections, readjust the optical trigger adjustment (I still need to adjust it a bit more for safety to give more clearance for the shutter), replace the female connectors for the wires hooking up to the coil and resistor because the original ones where loose and dirty looking, and lastly the spark plug and coil wires. New wires. Replaced the female connectors. The original wiring for the optical trigger. Rewired, covered with heat shrink wrap and e tape. Picture showing that i need more clearance for the shutter, way to close on the bottom side of the trigger. The reason why i cant get the trigger black box to move down to give more clearance for the shutter is because of this screw (red arrow pointing to it) closer view. Anyone know if i can get rid of it and how? Does not seem to serve an importance, just turns loosely. Well if i can get that clearance issue figured out then im set. Like Miles said, ill most likely replace the distributor cap and rotor for optimal performance. Thanks for the help everyone!!

Thats nice to hear, im glad that worked out for you. I cant spend that kind of money right now, so i may just have to put up with it if my carbs are the problem. Well i took some pics of my ignition components for you guys to view. Are my distributor cap and rotor ok? The xr700 is what came with the car when i bought it so i figure i would go through the instruction manual as if i am installing this for the first time. Ill be checking the wiring for bad connections as i go. Also is that wire that plugs into the coil bad? could that be a cause of my problem or not? Just that one side is all messed up looking.

thanks guys, looks like ill be inspecting my ignition system. That spark plug chart helped a lot and listed the symptoms i am having. I have the su carb video from z therapy, I guess ill just mess with the floats a bit more and check the ignition components.

Took off the sparks and took a picture for you guys to view. Im no master mechanic, so what does this mean that all of them are black? to rich? The order is 1 on the very left and 6 on the very right.

Yes the pistons move freely and smooth and both have the same return rate. Choke feels good and isnt getting caught up on anything.

Makes sense but ive never had this issue in the past. I notice that while im turning, lets say im in second gear, the car will hesitate a bit. Could be. I forgot to mention that who ever had this car before me mix matched the float bowl lids. So the front float bowl lid has the longer ears where as the second float bowl lid has the shorter ears. I have tried to get the two floats matched as best i can but its hard because the lids are different. This could be my problem. I guess ill try and find a lid with the shorter ears like the second lid i have. Just seems like it doesnt matter how lean i make the carbs, it still smells really rich. But there is no fuel spewing out from the jet needle, just feels a little damp/wet when i stick my finger in there while the car is on.

I just checked the timing and carb adjustment, i also played with it too. It seems like it doesnt matter if i lean it out or richin it, still have the symptom. About a month and half ago it ran fine until i had to readjust the floats. Instead i just replaced the fuel needle and seat and readjusted the floats again just yesterday. I took the chokes off and readjusted it. About a month and half ago i took everything apart to readjust and clean things up. It ran fine for a week and then i didnt drive it for about half a week and thats when it acted up on me and i decided that the floats needed to be readjusted and thats when i replaced the fuel needle and seats yesterday. Should be good but ill check again. However when i readjusted the jet needle i did slightly bend them, i straighten them out as best i could. That was when i worked on it a month and half ago and it ran fine for the week before i let it set a half a week. I now just advanced the timing a bit and it seem to run a little better but not much. Could there be something wrong with my distributor? It does look really old. i noticed that every now and then the timing light would go blank for for like half a second as if something is skipping.

I just replaced my slave and master clutch cylinders. My problem is that when cruising through the neighborhood at around 30mph in 4 gear the car hesitates, when i try to give it some gas it doesnt feel smooth, it has a hard time accelerating. This can be in 2nd or 3rd gear at low speeds. like if i am cruising at 20 to 25mph in 2nd or 3rd and then give it some gas to get up to higher speeds it will hesitate. But the car feels fine when i accelerate through all the gears getting up to high speeds as if im racing it or just want to drive fast off the line. The engine revs fine, running a bit rich though. Does any of this make sense? do i need to explain it better? I have a stock 240z with the adjustable slave cylinder. does this sound like a clutch problem or a carb problem? I spent hours trying out different adjustments with the slave and master cylinder and as it is now feels the best. Im also certain that the clutch system is bled good.

Im sure you thought about this, but wouldnt a rb26dett awd be a better choice? the axles would bolt up to the oil pan which is right in the middle of the motor underneath rather than at the tranny like the subaru. I just dont like the fact that the motor sets at the front end of the bay, wouldnt this through the balance of the car way off? I know i shouldnt judge you until your done but im just wondering. I dont know what the suspension looks like on the gtr's, im just looking at the pictures on google of the oilpan and trans, so maybe it wouldnt work out.

you should post some pics up when you get those grids mounted. I am planning on buying those same wheels in bronze but cant decide if i want the 16x8 or 15x8. also quick question, do they come with an offset or are they all 0 offset?

I too as well have the same noise coming form the hatch. I think its the latch like some have already said. I tried readjusting it and didnt help, also lubed it and that didnt help either. My latch has to much free play when closed, its like the latch thingy does not grab around the round tab tight enough.

Well i figure i should update this thread for any future folks having similar problems like me. Turns out that the floats needed to be readjusted again. The front carb float was off quite a bit, causing me to run rich on the first 3 cylinders. The fuel needles and seats are ok, but i went ahead and ordered new ones. Waiting for the new parts to come in but i went ahead and readjusted the floats and now everything works great. No smoking, smooth idle, revs smoothly through all the rmps ranges. Cant drive it yet though, need to replace the clutch slave cylinder, worn out bad, not disengaging. I adjusted it before a while back and now its off again. Guess ill change that tomorrow.

Damn i like your rb26 swap. Swaps like yours reminds me that the 26 motor feels like it belongs in that car. Wish i could do one right now but instead im doing a ls1 swap. Maybe later down in the future ill get me a rb26.

Honestly im not sure about that. I would assume you would not need to prime the lines the way i said too (not even sure the way i said is correct, but a method of doing it that works). The electrical pump should prime the lines for you like a modern car. Just turn the key in the on position or until you hear the electrical fuel pump turn on and wait 30 seconds or so to allow it to prime the lines, then start the car. It may take a bit to start the engine since the electrical fuel pump may not completely prime the mechanical pump and the fuel rail lines too (but im not sure on that, ive never had both, is your datsun the 260z that came with both?)A good and quick way to test it is to hook it up to a battery, or some source of power and listen (that is if its off the car, if its already on the car just listen to it underneath the car). If you can hear the electrical fuel pump making a winding noise, chances are that it may be ok. if you really want to know it works, take it off the car and hook it up to a bucket of gasoline and power it up to see if it pumps any fuel out the other way. Or take a voltage reading using a voltmeter (this is actually the best way to test any electrical part). Also depends how long your car has been down for and if you did not drain the gas tank or lines. The gas in both pumps (mechanical for sure) i would assume to eat away at the seals over a long period of time, but that depends on how long you left your car undriven for.

No i have not. You may be right. Valves where never replaced, i assume from the previous owner. I really want to order the ones from ztherapy (ball design) but never got around to do it. I guess i should go ahead and order new rubber floats too and jet needles.

Do not take this personally, but i am having a hard time understanding you. try to type with better grammar. So you have a new fuel filter and pump? You do or you do not have fuel in your lines? and you want to know how to prime the fuel lines? To prime, just kink one of the rubber hoses going to one of the carbs and then suck the other rubber hose until you suck fuel (do not swallow it of course). Once that hose is filled with fuel, do the same to the other fuel line. It wont fill up completely with fuel, but you should see your filter fill up with fuel slowly. It takes a while to suck the fuel. When the filter is filled up, keep priming it for a little while so the fuel can get into the pump. Then reconnect everything and crank the engine over a little bit so the lines can completely fill up and the bowls as well. If this doesnt work then your problem might be somewhere in the hard lines. Maybe they might be clogged up.

Maybe your fuel lines are not primed. I had a little fuel in my bowls, but the fuel lines didnt have any fuel in them, so i had to suck the fuel through the lines by mouth. Or your filter maybe clogged, i had that issue to, i just took it off and sprayed compress are through it. do you carb pistons move up and down smoothly when you compress them up by finger and let them drop down?

Cant really smell anything. its been a little over a week since i drove the car.

Results for the compress test: 1(170) 2(160) 3(155) 4(165) 5(160) 6 (165) Pictures of spark plug for cylinder 1. All the other spark plugs look similar. The plugs do contain wet oil, just in case you cant see in pictures. How do the spark plugs look and what can be inferred by looking at the condition of them? What do you guys think? Worn piston rings allowing oil to pass through and making spark plugs and top of pistons wet? I do get a slight coolant leak in some areas of the head gasket out side of the motor when the car has not been driven for days and been sitting. Its not major leaks, just more like droplet leaks. But for some reason when i drive the car for lets say 4 days in a row, i have no leaks, but then if the car sits for lets say 4 days, these leaks occur.