Jersey

Oh yeah, one more thing...my cousins '83 ZXT that he just bought that we got running great, the one i was using to diagnose my Z problems, well, 2 days ago the thing just started smoking and i mean smoking. It does it on decelleration and if you bring the r's up to like 3k rpm and hold it for a little bit, then let off...as soon as she idles for a few seconds it smokes like a mutha until it seems to burn off. Also, if you pull the valve cap off, it'll run real rough (because causing major vac leak) but, she starts smokig instantly...and billowing smoke. So, maybe this is sort of the same problem your having and i'll be working on his car shortly and will come up with the solution. I'm thinking valve seals without really digging into it but we'll see. Hey, they're only about $24 for the set of 12 and not hard at all to do. You may have mentioned that you put all new seals in when you had the head done and if i missed it, sorry. But maybe just maybe he and you are having the same problem and if i figure it out, you'll have it figured out. Just hate to see you throw the towel in man.

COME ON 525! Don't give in man. It's only a car. Step away from it, take a break and get back in there and kick its ASS. I know you've been having a rough time with it but you've invested a lot of time an effort and should enjoy the outcome. You will get it right.

The method i used before the exhaust and after is the same - threaded WGA. I didn't put the grainger valve in because i didn't get the brass 90degree elbow. I was going to order it from mcmaster but i figured it wouldn't be a problen getting it from the local grainger shop over here. They had nothing. Go figure. I have no idea why it started boosting so high immediatly after i put the exhaust on. Maybe just a coincidence but, fine with me

Bay, i swear. I had my wastegate adjusted to 10psi and was running it like that for a week or so before i took it off the road for the exhaust. After i put the 3" mandral bent to one of those 4" bullet straight through mufflers, i took it back out and she was boosting up to 18psi. I did nothing else that would make it boost like this. I still don't believe that the 2 1/2" mandral going through a super turbo muff was giving it that much back pressure but, when i cranked my WGA out a little last night, it went down from 18psi to around 13psi so nothing else is wrong with the system.

Thanks Yo and 525. Didn't hook up the Graniger device last night. Couldn't find a brass 90deg elbow for the one side of it (rather not use plastic) but i did clean up 3" exhaust, new thermastat and put the MSD in. I unscrewed the WGA a little before i went out and sure enough, it was the 2 1/2" mandral bent exhaust that was giving A LOT more back pressure than i thought. Instead of boosting to 18psi with the new 3", it went down to a safe 13psi. Never had a tach adapter with my MSD 525. When i had it hooked with my N/A L28E, I used the 280 tach, changed the face to the 240 for the redline an jumped out the internal resistor and then could use the tach output port on the MSD. Did the same last night and it works great. I didn't see any major difference with the MSD but it may hold the spark a little stronger at higher boost at the strip tomorrow night. We'll see. Thanks again guys.

Hey all. Couple of questions. 1 - Why are there 2 boost reference lines coming off of the T3, T'd together then running to the wastegate? 2- Is there any difference between the 2 ports off of the T3? 3 - What size are these lines - 5/16"? 4 - When hooking up one of those Graniger/Dawes MBC's, do you leave both lines T'd together and put the MBC after the T or is it better to cap one of the lines off and just use one of them to your MBC? Hoping to get to the track friday night. Last night - 4am, finished 3" exhaust with straight-through muffler and put on 235/60's and took it out for a run. NICE. A little loud for my taste but good for the track. As i was watching my boost gauge, which was set to 10psi before i took it off the road for the exhaust, it was hitting near 18 psi! I noticed it because it just started to ping and i know she never pinged @ 10psi. Checked both lines that are T'd together and running to the WGA, seem to be fine. Pulled on the threaded WGA, opened and closed the WG smoothly. So i'm thinking it must be a leak in one of the T3 reference lines or the WGA diaphram. Tell ya what...18psi is fun as heck! haha. Anyway, that's my battle for tonight. Also doing the MSD install which seems simple enough. Thanks in advance for any info.

Hey Dave. What harness did you use - your 76 or the 83? What's your timing set at? Is the green LED on the ECCS flashing after holding steady on the pedal for a bit @ 2k rpm? If it running cold, the Head Temp sensor is adjusting fuel pulse for this temp and could very well be the cause of your richness.

Glad to hear you got out of the jam without causing too much damage. I bet your son was just loving it! haha. Dad out in the rain, working on the car again That's one of the reasons i got rid of those damn fusible links when i did the cut over...PITA.

sz - Looks nice. Getting ready to do mine. Just received 2-4 foot length's of 3" pipe from summit today. Sorry i'm continuing a post that may not be in the right forum according to rules but, i'm glad you did post it here because i rarely look at the other topics and would have missed this one. Nice information to know about slowing and quieting down the spool. Strange why they said the couldn't weld with the cast. I welded my SS downpipe to the cast flange i cut off of the stock DP, and i dont really weld. haha. O'well. Looks great and congrats. If you get any sound clips of the Magnaflow with the 3", send 'em if you would. Appreciate it.

Oh, i didn't give up on the N/A L28. She's just on hold. I was thinking of selling it because it is a great runner with about 10:1 but, i think i'll just keep it and build it slowly until i need it. i'm sure i'll be blowing the L28ET someday the way i've been pushing it I wonder if just some kind of interference happened with your radio? For the servo's to jerk around like that, i could only think of 2 things - low battery power and interference. Sure someone at the field wasn't messing with ya? j/k. Sorry to hear about all your recent misfortune. It'll all work out. Your girl's still hanging in, right? That's a positive! ha. szlash, funny thing...i don't think it's rained here in NJ for the 3 weeks i had her in the garage, troubleshooting this problem. Today, adn for the next 5 days, it looks as if it's going to rain, no pour out. Go figure. i just had it out tonight and i can't get a good feel for it. Runs good but at the slightest touch of the throttle, the wheels break loose. Guess i'll have to wait. The track is going to tell the story.

Very, very nice szlash. Looks sweet. Alright, now you've really got me driven to get rid of my stock ugly rail. Send me a parts list on what i need to build one if you would. I've seen that rail...bruce's or the marine place? Time to dust of the welder and tap set i guess! Look real clean. Nice work.

The SS 2 1/2" DP i made just fits between the T5 and tranny tunnel. I could have probably made it out of 3" if i had made the bends a little sharper and figure out a way to get to the flange bolts once the 3" pipe is welded to it (possibly a custom flange adapter) but i wanted the smoothest flow i could. I used 2-45deg bends. Brad, your pipe looks great. Maybe i'll get up off my lazy butt and make a few for the T5 users. Very nice work man.

Which plug running to the dizzy Len? There's only 2 things running to the dizzy on my '82 L28ET - the 4 prong plug that sends/recieves signals from the ECCS and the ground that runs to the capacitor....and of couse the coil wire.

Thanks Sleeper and thanks, it WAS menatally tough You guys helped a bunch. Appreciate it.

Thanks Tim. Yes, i learned a lot more now that i had this problem. I thought i knew a bunch before by doing the T swap, now i know even more. Always room to learn i guess. My wife doesn't understand me sometimes...i never like to give up on anything, no matter how long it takes or how hard it is or gets. It bugs me until i find the reason/solution. I guess it's my stubborness (Italianess? ) Basically why i will never take any of my vehicles to a so called "mechanic" My son will learn the same way He just doesn't know it yet at age 3 Thanks again. Quick question, do you or anyone else know, if i'm suppose to disconnect the TPS when setting initial timing to 20btdc after reaching normal operating temp? In the POS chilton manual, it tells me i should but i don't see that info in the FSM? Thanks.

8.314 @ 88.75mph..man i'm slow compared to you big guns!!! Great times.

O2 located in the downpipe, right after the T3. If it's NG, it wont send the correct signal to the ECM which in turn, wont adjust injector pulse and probably keep the system in the open loop mode. szlash, you may not have knew exactly what the problem was but, you confirmed more in my head that it had to be in the harness somewhere which made me troubleshoot in that direction again. It all helped. Not sure what mudge did to solve his problem, but i know he was having one heck of a time as i recently was. Pin 5 should be the O2 lead, if i remember correctly. Man, i bet can rattle off exactly what each wire goes to just by naming pin #'s, now that i've been through them all 10 times each! haha.

umm....you ask what the green light is and then say it never flashes? The green LED i've referred to is on the ECM circuit board that you can view through an access hole in the ECM cover. It responds to the voltage sent from the O2 sensor and adjusts injector pulse to keep it as close to 14.7:1 air/fuel mixture. I'd put a meter on your O2 and see if it's dead. Good luck.

Bay - Thanks. I'm hoping the extra late night troubleshootong is over for a while also. I can't understand how it ran so well with this yellow receiving 12v in the run position also....and then just start giving me problems? One to the wind. As long as i solved it. I'm just hoping it didn't screw anything else up that was holding on for so long then finally gave up...partially. Thanks again. szlash - Thanks man. Just had to go pin by pin. Funny thing is, is that i noticed 4.5ohms resistance on the b/w leads and then start tracing that blck/white all over the car..then i noticed i had tied the yellow to it and just for the heck of it, re-checked the FSM and then checked my cousins '83zxt's yellow and sure enough, it was wired incorrectly. I still haven't found why there's 4.5ohms resistance on the blck/wht but, i will continue to check it out. I can't wait to get it back to the track. Just need to make sure it's running correctly, then put on my homemade 3" exhaust and grainger valve and i'll be good to go. Thanks again. Afshin - Thanks. This was a tough one for sure but all the help and motivation i received here got me to find it. Thanks for all the info. I just wish i knew more of the logic of the ECCS system and exactly how it works. I read the FSM over and over but at some point you reach the end of what it has to offer and states something like "need ECCS analyzer" or "take to a dealer" Your info is well appreciated. Holiday weekend is almost over and stayed away from the NJ cops. They're getting worse by the day. Good thing you got out of here Thanks again. 525 - Thanks. I've worked on cars/trucks since i was 5....alright..i held the light for dad at that age but you know what i mean ....and this one really had me. The L28 w/SU's sitting along side my Z was looking better and better. haha. Then i thought about 15.123 vs 12.88. I was going to find the problem Hey, hope you have some good luck coming your way as well. Best way to learn sometimes is to dig into it yourself if you can find the time. Good luck. Thanks Len. And thanks to everyone else that didn't reply to this but gave thought and suggestions throughout my "experience" Hope i'll be able to help you out as you helped me. - Jersey

Guys, thanks so much. I, actually WE figured it out. See my post HERE Thanks for all the time and knowledge.

Hey all. First off, thanks to everyone that gave advice and suggested everything they could. Well, it's 3am here in NJ and i located the source of why no timing advance, no Green LED flash and rich at idle. Pin #9 - yellow - is suppose to be tied to cranking 12v ONLY. Well, i had it tied together with the Black/White leads that supplies power in the crank AND run position! For some reason, i read the FSM incorrectly 5 months ago when i did the T-swap and hooked this yellow in with the Black/White lead. This yellow is in the same plug as the CAS and TPS wires. I have no idea why it only needs crank only 12v, but it does and when i re-wired it correctly...LED started flashing - adjusting injectors and timing advance started working. What is strange and why this was so hard to find was because this just started to happen. Honestly, i never checked timing advance or looked at the green LED after i did the swap so i have no idea if either ever worked. I wouldn't think it would but who knows. It just ran so nice after the install that i didn't need to mess with it. Anyway, i'm wooped and will post more tomorrow. Again, thanks to all that kept throwing ideas at me. This is exactly why a forum like HybridZ is so valuable (plug, plug ) But it really is. Hope to pay you all back one day.

Have a gauge setup between fuel filter and fuel rail. Pressure is about 36psi at idle (a litle high because of high flow pump) I used a vac pump on the FPR to bring it down to 30psi and it made no difference. Rich an no timing advance. Fuel pressure stays steady until i hit the throttle, which increases it to 42psi or so then levels back down a bit. Last night, i pulled the complete fuel rail off with injectors attached to make sure i didn't have a leaky or bad injector. Turned an extra valve cover over and cranked it to watch them fire and they all shot a nice continuous spray pattern. One thing to note if anyone tries this - be smarter than i was and unplug the 2 prong connector from the coil transistor. Yup, you got it...i was cranking it for a little bit, watching the spray patterns and the vapor was greater than i thought and it ignited. YES, a large flash fire that ignited the fuel laying in the valve cover from the injector spray. Lots of flame. I was careless, it was late and it could have been bad. Funny now, not so funny at the moment! Anyway, haven't checked the injector voltage. They seen to all be firing good and clean. No cold start injector on the '82 L28ET's. Thanks. Any other thoughts, run 'em by me.

Hey Bernarrd. Just got your post, ran out to the garage and triple checked TPS - not grounded to each other, insulation test is good and it does work properly because i can hear injector pulse slow down after she warms up at idle. Injector pulse increases as soon as the R's are bumped up a little, like you say 900rpm. I also swapped out the coil and transistor which didn't help. I did not swap out the cap because i would think that it would have no efect on timing advance but, i'm all out of ideas so i will go out and try it now. What the heck, can't hurt to try...i'm all out of logic! Thanks.

I've checked/ohmed and even swapped the Head Temp Sensor out today which made no change. Afshin, this has been unreal. I'm now thinking exactly how you are that it HAS TO BE in the harness somewhere, even though i checked all grounds, powers, sensor inputs....basically everything. I will check for shorts to ground at the ECM side of the harness on every pin. Great idea. I haven't tried that one yet. I think i'm really in need of the ECCS Analyzer as you mentioned. I've been through every sensor and just about replaced (substituted with known good sensors) every one including the ECM and i still am having the problem. I will check for shorts. O2 sensor is good. I replaced it anyway, because i wasn't getting a flashing green LED on the ECM like it's suppose to but, still no LED flashing, still rich, still no timing advance. What bugs me is, if the O2 is sending the correct signal and climbs when running her @ 2k rpm, say starting around .4v and continues to climb, the ECM LED never flashes and the O2 voltage just continues to climb. It gets to a bit above .9v and then fluctuates there. I watched the other '83ZXT's LED and right around .630v, the LED flashes, the voltage drops to around .3v then jumps around between .3 - .6volts, all the while the LED flashes as it adjusts injector pulse. I understand that this is the correct function on the O2 and ECM but, i just cant understand why with either ECM plugged into my Z, they dont adjust for the O2 value? BTW, i put my ECM in the known working '83ZXT and it flashes away when the O2 reaches a certain voltage so, i know my ECM is good. Doesn't the ECM LED react solely on the voltage reading from the O2 or does something else effect this LED? Guys thanks. Any further ideas/suggestions...please. Near wits end with it.

Hooked up light to different wires, all firing consistantly, timing doesn't change. Swapped out the dizzy with internal CAS, no advance Ohmd just about every single wire in the harness, end to end, all tested good. Also checked the values of all the sensors, at the sensor and then back at the ECM, all good. Swapped out AFM last night, no change. Eliminated I.C. and all pipe, including BOV, by re-installing stock J-pipe last night, no help. Also, all the parts that i'm swapping out are known good because i have another ZXT side by side with my Z and it runs perfect. I just keep taking parts off of it, installing them on my Z, watching it fail, then swapping them back. Keep shooting ideas at me guys, it's got to be here somewhere!!! THANKS.