Pomorza

I seafoamed it Z before I replaced the timing chain as I did the oil pan gasket at the same time. I'm going to check the clearances as soon as I can. I did them already about two week before I did the timing chain with no luck. Thanks for the ideas Jan

Hello guys. I did an oil change in my Z. Decided to give 20w50(VR1) weight oil a try as the temps here in Tucson are getting a bit warmer. Went to the local store bought six quarts of oil (one spare) and a Bosch oil filter. Put everything together added 5 quarts oil and away I went. When I rev the car up now to about 4k and let the throttle go it will make this rather annoying rattling sound from the valve cover for a few seconds. Any ideas? Is the oil just too thick to lubricate the cam at idle. The pressure is sitting exactly where it needs to. I pulled the fill plug out and the cam is most definitely covered in oil. The sound was not present this morning when I drove to school or before I did said oil change. So I thought it was the timing chain. Spent last week taking the car apart and replacing the cam gears chain, tensioner, spring, and guides. Well sadly replacing the timing chain did not fix said sound. I'm not saying it wasn't needed as the old chain was about an inch longer than the new one and the tensioner spring was roughly a third of the size of the new one, so it wasn't all a waste. Atop that the cam was off time and there was about an inch of sludge in the oil pan, so it was most definitely needed. Anyhow the sound has now become more localized from when it first appeared. For what I can determine (and my mechanic I go to) the sound appears to be coming from the mid to rear section of the valve cover. Before I go further this is what occurs. The sound only appears between 1 and 2K on the tachometer. Only does it on deceleration (not on acceleration) it doesn't really vary with pitch or frequency even if I go up to 5k and release the throttle, it seems to be rather constant and only occurs at said specified ranges. It also only occurs when the engine is hot. When it is bone cold it sounds prefect. My mechanic suggested that maybe one of the rocker arms in the motor is wobbling or moving when decelerating (that is load being taken off). Any ideas guys? This is rather annoying. Thanks Jan

I cannot help you on the running issue but it sounds to me it is running rich. The temp gauge is high for my standards. In my Z (280) the gauge usually sits under the midway point even on the hottest days here in Arizona. It looks as if you car is running hot for some reason. Jan

Hey guys I was up in Phoenix this weekend at a swap meet. On the way there and back I noticed that my 5th gear is fairly loud. What I mean is there is a like a "roar" almost but only in 5th gear. If I down shift to 4th and hit the same speed it does not make same noise. It also has a very loud vibration in the stick that can be heard. Secondly on the way back while passing someone on the freeway I reached about 95MPH, when I released the throttle the car popped out of fifth. It went back in with no trouble but it freaked me out a bit. So I'm wondering has anyone ever had these issue or know anything about them. I'm going to check the fluid level tomorrow but I wouldn't see it being low. The transmission is a 5 speed out of 78 280z (supposedly) but the car originally had 4 speed. Thanks Jan

Hi all I'm having an issue with my 1976 280z. Since about early November that car has a bit of an issue when idling once it warms. Best example would be I drove to the store earlier today. Parked outside went in for about twenty minutes. Came out and started the car. Car had a hard time idling and the tach jumped between 600-1000 RPM. I revved the motor and held it at 2k for about a minute or two and it evened out and drove fine the rest of the day. Any ideas as what this could be? I've replaced the temp sensor (for the ECU). Haven't done a tune up but the plugs look good (although they're champions). Jan

Hey guys Just stumbled upon this last night. I own a 1976 Datsun 280z, thus I have no vents at all on my hood. I would like one of these but I have a question. Do you just basically cut out a hole in the hood and plop these in or are there some modifications that you must make? From the pictures it seems as if there is a lip on the hood where vents go. Does anyone have an pictures of their Z with these vents? Thanks Jan

Ok guys thanks for the advise. As I said above I'm new to Z's so the noises they make are not yet in my mind. I sent my mechanic and email explaining my concern and will more than likely bring it back to them next week or so. I'm nearly positive its coming from the injector side of the engine bay. I'm going to work on it this weekend again, mainly cleaning the underside and checking for rust so I will take pictures and maybe a video of the noise. (sound I mean) Thanks guys for all the help. Jan

Bought my first S30 three weeks ago. Proud owner of a 1976 Datsun 280z. Things done: R&R of cooling system, brake master cylinder, transmission flush (MTL-90), A/C removal (partial), and some basic TLC. Things to do: Change the springs and struts, strut bars (f&r), exhaust, gas leak, rust repair, rear end flush, tune up, replace the rims, ect. Jan

OK a bit of an update for you guys. First off my brake master cylinder was leaking horribly. Bought a new PRB one and had my mechanic install it. Secondly, found out that my fuel leak is actually more of a cracked tank. The little nipple that the hose is attached to is cracked and the tank is in need of some welding. Thirdly. Did finally get a chance to hear that blasted ticking with the hood up. It is most definitely coming from the injector side of the engine. Not sure if it's the injectors themselves being loud but its from that side for sure. I walked across to the other side and place my head very close to the valve cover. All I hear from in there is the wonderful sound of a cam rolling and opening valves. No ticking, tacking or anything else. Walked back to the other side and long and behold...TICK TICK:twisted:... I'm very new to Z's so I'm not exactly sure if LOUD injectors are normal. But to put it simple I can hear them when I first start moving and even under heavy acceleration the noise will come through. (but faintly.) What can cause them to be so loud? I'm running FI cleaner in the tank at the moment to see if this helps. Any ideas? To answer some questions from above. 1. This condition is not road only. I've heard it under my hood before but this was the first time it was loud. 2. The exhaust system, while fairly rusty and covered in welded on mud (I had to scrape it with a screwdriver to get it off) it doesn't seem to have any leaks that I can see. 3. Did take a look at the manifold while trimming the front bumper this past Saturday. I didn't see any cracks or visible damage. Will take anther look Sunday. 4. Promised pictures of rusty exhaust will be posted Sunday. I forgot the blasted camera. Thanks all Jan P.S A bit off topic but when the turn signals are on (or lights in that sense) I can hear the fuel pump pumping stronger and weaker with the turn signal. Electrical problem?

Hello All I purchased a 1976 280z about three weeks ago from a guy up in Phoenix Az. Car is in great shape as of now but does have a couple of issues that I have to fix, nothing that keeps it from driving just some TLC. According to a the guy I bought the car from the car has been in Arizona all its life. First off were the VIN numbers for Z cars in California different then the ones for other states? I've read someplace that in CA they were HLS and other places it was GLS. Secondly did all Z cars (280's) come with floor temp lights? Mine has it and I'm not really sure what this really does. (emisisons or something). Thirdly, is there really any difference in the Z's for CA as compared to other ones? Thanks Jan

That looks really nice. The valve cover especially, the two tone black and red looks killer. What did you use to sand the block with? Jan

Looking at the compressions numbers it looks that lack of compression could definitely be one of the issues. What made you get the new head off the internet two years ago? When you drive the car how does it drive? Does it miss a lot, stumble ect? As for mechanics. Talk with the local dealer (Nissan of course) or Z Club in your area. I've learned a lot from the Z club in Arizona. Where to go and such.

I'm going to take a look (and take pictures so y'all can see) of my entire exhaust this weekend. What confuses me is this. Would lifter noise be constant once the engine heated up, not coming and going and coming and going? Jan

I'm not really positive where its coming from, I'll try to get it to happen and see where the noise comes from. Secondly. The noise comes and goes. What I mean is this. Last Saturday I was taking it for a ride up to the local store. On the way there it started about 20 minutes into the ride. Stopped about two three minutes later and then started back up a few minutes after that. It continues to do this along the way to the store. On the way back, nothing, no noise at all. It's really frustrating. Jan

So I took the Z out tonight for a ride, short really maybe two three miles. At the end of the run, oh say 1/4 a mile the ticking returned. It lasted up til I stopped the car in my driveway. Wondering three things. 1. I found that my car has a minor leak in one of the rubber lines going to the tank. Could lack of fuel cause this ticking? 2. The exhaust on my car is...to be dead honest probably the one that came from the factory in 76. Is has rust from all the way back from the manifold. (the manifold does look good though, will inspect more this weekend). Could an exhaust leak cause ticking. 3. I took my car to the local mechanic that I've taken all my cars to. He said they did the adjustment to specs and put on a new gasket. A valve adjustment isn't rocket science is it? Jan