Connor280ZX

I have a gasket leak back there that should be fixed. Thought i'd get a better CAT while im at it to bring out the full potential of the MSA exhaust. You guys don't think this "Maximum Flow" Converter is any good? I'm not looking for a huge improvement, just a little more flow, and hopefully less heat. This CAT has the honey comb type internals, Versus the stock CAT is a bead type isnt it?

I think $1,500 is a steal for that car. I've seen rebuilt P79 heads for $300-500 all over the internet. Roughly $200 for a CA CAT, maybe $100 to get it welded on. I think you will definatley get what you are asking for. Most people who aren't Z enthusiasts should see your price as a steal. Hell, i didnt know much about the value of Z's when i bought my 82 ZX for 7K and put 3K into it just to get it to work right, hah.

Looking into a better CAT that will get me a bit more power, and maybe a nicer sound. Looking at the Direct Fit Magnaflow CAT (CA Legal), on ebay of course. I'm wondering if this CAT will do me any better than my factory one. I'm trying to squeeze every but of power out of my 82 ZX with it still being able to pass smog. The Sellers company has a money back guarentee that this thing will fit, but what do you guys think? Here's the link incase anyone's curious. http://www.ebay.com/itm/290994264987?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649 As far as the entire exhaust on my car goes, stock headers, MSA Catback 2.5 Exhaust with a Hooker Headers Muffler.

All right, thanks for clearing that up.

Doing my weekly check under the hood of my 82 ZX, and my valve cover PCV hose is splitting. I'm thinking over how the whole system works, and wondering if i'd get more performance if i removed the line completley, plugged the hole in the intake boot, and run a breather filter on the valve cover outlet port. I'm assuming i would get a bit more power since the engine will not be sucking in spent oily air, but what do you guys think?

I've seen a lot worse if you ask me. What's very important is the underside. Body rust is one thing, but if the frame is being eaten away, or the floor pans/rocker panels are going, forget it. If you plan to keep it, I'd sand down the areas where rust is popping up, and respect that area with Rustoleum paint to protect the area.

It's the factory FPR. I opened up the AFM again today, and set the gear back about three teeth counter clockwise, which i believe is enrichment. The idle acctually seems to be steadier now, but ill start it up tommorow when its cold, see how it runs. Gonna tweak the TPS a bit as well to get it to the correct voltage.

Yes yes, i've had the FSM on my desktop for a long time now, i've read all about the EMS and ECCS, however there is no troubleshooting for this problem. I'm looking into the TPS, and AFM. Popped open the AFM cover for a brief look today, and looks like the adjustment gear is maybe 6 or 7 teeth clockwise of what looks like a reference mark. I'll take a closer look tommorow.

It's an NA 1982.

My car is overall running better after the dizzy swap, but i am still getting loud pops or backfires from the intake, as well as a miss here and there. Its more frequent when cold, of course. With the car warmed up, giving it too much gas off of an idle will result in one of these "pops" followed by a stumble. I think someone has messed with the AFM since theres a zip tie holding the access panel on. Its probably running a bit lean... Timing is 10 BTDC. Using Bosch spark plugs, cap and rotor. Plug wires are NGK.

Besides the popping and stumbling, it runs great haha. However, the guy did say that my car has a rebuilt AFM, which he says are known to be "crap".

I've taken my car to the datsun guys shop to have him do a whole bunch of tests on the ECU a few weeks ago and he says that everyghing is checking out fine. What about vacuum? Maybe something like a switch, or valve isn't working right.

I originally had my timing set for 9 BTDC, however it began to idle rougher than usual, so i set it back to 5... Not sure why... And yes, the popping and stumble, thats exactly what it does! Still does it after the dizzy change, but not as much... Thats interesting becuase i replaced the CHTS about 1,500 months prior to this... Also, i am still expirencing a slight rough idle, maybe a 100-120 rpm variation (used to be 150-180 rpm). I'm starting to think that this is just the way the car was made to run... I mean the only other thing i could imagine causing this rough running is the Vacuum switch, or the ECU... Any insight on this?

Werent Nissan Z transmissions designed to use a slightly thinner oil for the transmissions than standard oil today? Got my fluid changed at your everyday tranny shop, and after that, changing gears became much more difficult in terms of how easily it would go into gear. Was also very crunchy when cold. Talked to my local Datsun specialist and that's how I found out about thinner oil that was used back in the day off the assembly line. His solution was half gear oil, half ATF. Tranny shifts with ease now.

Car now starts up and will run when cold. Guess it was all due to the bad dizzy. Did a compression test while I was at it. 186-182-184-184-182-180. Very happy with those results since factory spec is 170.

I investigated the new distributor more by swapping out parts from the old one to see if it would make any difference. Sure enough, I swapped out the ICMs and now the car runs great. Faulty ICM that came with the new dizzy. As far as the cold start problem goes, well, I'll find out once I drive it again.

Ok, I guess I could do a test... How exactly do I perform this test?

It still cuts out when cold, idles smoother. TPS is brand new as of last week. Pretty much two problems now.

Vaccum lines are all intact, did a test and seems to be no leaking. When i sent the car in a few weeks ago to get new E brake cables installed, i had him check the AFM because i thought that was my problem here, but he says its fine... That would be my only logical guess. All the connectors are secure and intact, vaccum advance is connected tightly, and i re timed it. I mean unless something else just happened to go out coincedently, then my guess would be a bad Dist...

Ok so i got the new Dizzy in today. Installation went just fine, everything lined up and all, timed the ignition to 5 degrees. Went for a test drive, noticed less low end acceleration power, and as the RPMs climb, all of the sudden the thing just starts sputtering and backfiring, and will not rev past 4500-5000 RPM. Revving in neutral, it runs just fine. Checked all my connections again which seem fine. I am at a complete loss here. Completley dumbfounded on why this is happening. I've replaced practically everything in the EMS except for the ECU...

I've practically had to replace every single sensor/ ETC Unit on this car since i've bought it, in order for it to run right. Even had 31 Yr old tranny fluid when i bought it. So i had my car over at a Datsun specialist's shop today to get the Parking brake cables replaced, and i was discussing this issue with him. I mentioned that when i had to replace the Dist. cap and rotor, that i found a ball bearing and plastic debris under the rotor. He says repace it immediately because a major timing/vac advance component has broken inside of it, which is causing improper vaccum and timing when the car is cold. So, I'm going to buy a new Dist. and post the results when i replace it. I'll upload a pic of the old one so you can see how trashed it looks inside.

I'm not trying to race the engine while its cold, I'm just trying to get it to acctually drive when it's cold because I prefer not to sit in the car for 10 minutes letting it idle before its drivable. I like to hop in my car and go to work as soon as I turn the key. I would highly doubt that Nissan designed this car in a way that it would be nearly impossible to drive unless it sits and idles for 10 minutes. The point I'm trying to get across here is that there has to be a problem with something in the engine management system that is NOT allowing the engine to run right.

I've had my Z for about a year and it has always had this cold start problem. I've acctually thought it was normal for and old car, but it just doesn't seem right. Heres what it's doing. Upon cold start up, turns over just fine with no excess cranking. If i try to even give it the slightest amount of throttle while cold, the engine stumbles and backfires. It won't pick up RPM at all. Sometimes, if i give it more than 1/5 throttle when its cold, it will nearly stall for a sec (RPM drops below 500 for spit second until pedal is released) I have to wait for the cars temp to reach at least 120 before its pretty much drivable. Starts to run normal at around 140. Heres what i've replaced involving the engine management system: -CHTS -IAC -O2 Sensor Car has roughly 65,000 Miles.

In order for his car to fail SMOG Testing, his engine would have to be producing something like 4x the emissions that its producing now. Could that be really possible just due to break in? How about an F54/P79 L28 Cammed, but running normal compression with a completely stock head and block? I would assume that setup would produce even less emissions.

Wow, that's impressive. Not only that you've passed, but were so far below the thresholds... So I guess it's safe to say that a cammed L28 will pass ca smog?