NewZed

Don't know what manual you're using, or what your settings are, or how you wired your Q45 MAF, or what you're looking at when you say the MAF won't change voltage or registrate ariflow, but there's a ton of good information here that might help you out. No mention of a pull-up resistor. http://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/ms3pro_manual.pdf/ms3pro_manual-38.html Here's page 1 - http://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/ms3pro_manual.pdf/ms3pro_manual-1.html Here's a setting that needs to be changed to "MAF" - http://www.msextra.com/doc/pdf/html/ms3pro_manual.pdf/ms3pro_manual-139.html Don't have MS, of any version, but it looks like fun...

Are those Nissan rotors or aftermarket? Just looks like inconsistent coefficients of friction. Uncontrolled metallurgy. Probably averages out over a revolution though so if you can't feel it, no matter.

Acetone is a solvent for plastics also. Stay away from any solvent, even carb cleaner might mess it up. A light oil would work. Vegetable oil, olive oil, the oil in WD-40. It will soften the glue so it can be wiped off. Since WD-40's proven, that would be the way to go. Alcohol's probably safe also. Don't rub too hard, you can scratch the plastic. It's soft.

It's been documented that too much flow from the back of the head back to the pump inlet (the typical bypass that people do when they get a leak in the cabin) reduces overall cooling capacity. It reduces flow through the head and thermostat and back to the radiator. A short circuit, effectively reducing pump output. You might try clamping your heater core line closed and seeing what happens. Maybe your new core flows more than the stock system. If it has an effect, you can restrict flow through the core to improve cooling but still have heat.

The thermostat does look suspect. I had an old thermostat and it would do the same, even though it looked fine when tested in a pan of hot water on the stove. No flow there though. It allowed a wide range of temperature, about 170 to 190, and moved up and down with engine use and daily temperature. Bought a new Nissan brand 180 degree unit and it's very steady now, hits the number quickly (actually about 185) and sits there. Might rise 5 degrees on a hot day after some use. Using an inexpensive parts store Murray brand radiator. Stock NA engine.

What "blew"? Looks like you're shot-gunning "upgrade" components. A targeted approach might be better.

Don't forget the two "CV" joints (tripod-tripod or double offset-birfield, whichever, the joints in the two back driveshafts), and the splines in the diff that couple to those shafts. If you add up all of the movable joints and couplings on the way from transmission to wheel it's easy to see why everybody has some degree of clunk

How do the insides look? New bearings and seals won't fix differential wear. Maybe it's just worn out. A better gauge of "play" might be to have both wheels locked with the parking brake, and turning the propeller shaft by hand, with the transmission in neutral. Your videos show movement, but don't show that the other stuff isn't moving. When you turn the wheel, the propeller shaft could also be taking up play in the transmission, for example. This is a 300ZX right? So the typical S30 diff mount and/or loose strut mount issues won't apply.

You could be done by now if you learned how to use that meter. With a meter you don't look at the parts you look at what they're doing. Shiny new cables don't matter if the battery post is covered with a thin layer of insulating corrosion. Test resistance from the positive post to the fitting, from the post to the starter lug, from the negative post to various ground points (block, body, starter body, etc.). Just look at the numbers on the meter and fix the things that are wrong. It's very fast. If you look at old wires, and crusty old parts without testing them you'll just end up replacing a bunch of stuff that was fine and probably creating new problems. "using multimeter" will get you a bunch of tutorials on the Google.

I only watched from :30 to 1:30 but noticed that both stumbles were after you had just turned left. Typical of fuel sloshing away from the pickup tube in the poorly baffled 280Z tanks and happens to everyone below about a quarter tank. Probably worse in a 260Z tank designed for carbs. If you have a hole in the pickup tube it can happen with even more fuel in the tank . And the fuel pump noise rising and falling with the turn signals is just a voltage issue, with the low output of the alternator at idle. Mine does the same and I have pretty good output. You can make the same noise by turning your lights on and off or flicking the fan on and off.

What you wanted to do was check for power to the coil with the key on. You're not getting much value from the meter if you only checked resistance on two coils. Looking back on the complete saga, it wouldn't be a surprise to find that you just have dirty/corroded battery cable connections.

There's good stuff here - http://www.wolfems.com/downloads.html It looks like the 3D has its own ignition drivers (ignitors). There are instructions on using a locked distributor also, as input for the ECU, but they're not the clearest. There might be more details, I only looked at page 14. http://www.wolfems.com/downloads/installation-manuals.html Ron Tyler used to be a distributor for Wolf I believe. You might send him a PM. But I'd read through the 3D instruction manual first, just for a solid point of reference. Doesn't seem like you've been in there yet. The Megasquirt stuff will probably help with understanding the concepts but the details for Wolf will be different. I get the impression that Wolf products are not really user-friendly.

Looks early to be having any real discussion. There's potential. The wheels seem a bit big.

Pretty sure everything is short-nose by 1991. Your 260Z has a long-nose. You'd need to fabricate mounts or buy a kit. It's not a bolt-in.

Post some pictures here so people don't have to sign up for another forum they'll only visit once.

What you described initially is also somewhat typical of having ignition timing too advanced. Have you checked timing? Could be that your breaker plate is stuck advanced, or sticking occasionally. It starts when it frees up, doesn't when it's stuck. The breaker plate moves for vacuum advance. On the dead engine after the coil swap - where's the meter? Super simple to check for coil power, solenoid power, starter cable power, etc. You're not doing the basics of problem solving. You can even do the meter checks with a beer in hand.

Indeed, it looks like someone is getting their words and procedures mixed up.

Not a Wolf expert, or even Magasquirt but the concepts shown in your diagram from mobythevan look right. The bottom HEI unit would be the "ignitor" controlling the ground circuit for the coil, and the top HEI unit would be for "processing" the signal from the variable reluctor in to a from that the ECU can use. Note though, that the 280ZX distributor's "match box" has essentially the same function as the GM HEI module. So if your distributor has the match box intact, it already has what you need. It's possible also the Wolf ecu can handle a variable reluctor signal directly so you may not even need that HEI module to process the reluctor signal. The Wolf products are pretty high end. It might even have its own internal ignitor. Who told you that you need an ignitor?

This wiring diagram is pretty good. http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/wiringdiagrams/F77ZCAR-WIRING1.pdf Shift your focus to the module under the dash, by the fusebox, and things will make more sense. You could even mount the Crane box there, since the wires you need are all in place. Replace the 77 module with the Crane box, and the single pickup with the optical unit. Use the meter to confirm connections. Use the red and green wires to connect the optical pickup to the Crane box. Leave the blue wire attached to the coil negative, it branches on the way to the ECU and tach so it needs to be there.

This has come up before. I actually called the company and talked to a guy who explained that they assumed all Z cars used the CV. Said they were going to fix the database but looks like they didn't. Or maybe they got halfway, I think it listed all the way back to 70 before. Or maybe they fixed their side, but the database is still wrong. Pretty sure I talked to GSP but it could have been a different supplier, working from the same bad database. These bad databases seem to live on forever, like the ones that show 71C transmissions for the 240Z's and 280Z's. Anyway, the fact that the ZX's use 6 bolt wheel flanges, and the Z's use 4 should be enough to see it won't work. Same part number, different flanges.

You might have one of the two pickup models of distributor and ignition module. What's under the distributor cap? If you have two pickups, try the 1976 wiring diagrams. Don't forget to disconnect the original ignition module under the dash. And the blue wire also feeds the ECU and the tach, it's not just the coil ground. Did the engine ever run with what you have? Adding new parts to non-running parts can make an undecipherable mess. This won't make you feel better, but it's not sticky-worthy because it's not really that hard. You're just replacing one electronic ignition module and trigger system with another. You could do the same with a GM HEI module. The GM module might actually be more robust than the optical pickup of the Crane. These links might help - http://www.cranecams.com/uploads/instructions/9000-0700_.pdf http://www.triumphspitfire.com/images/cranemanual.pdf

It's been over six years since the post you're replying to was posted. Truth be told...the source of your "bog" was an almost empty tank? The weak baffling of the 280Z tanks is known. Most recommend refilling at 1/4 tank or higher if any hard cornering or acceleration is planned.

Similar to this "My car was slowly running worse and worse,.... it idled fine... when I tried to drive the thing, it still felt like crap." That's almost too much detail.

How far not? That would be a clue about where it's hanging. Where's the picture of the inside of the diff? Through the hole where the circlip is.

Don't roller rocker arms use a different cam profile formula? Since the contact point between cam and roller moves up and down as well as back and forth. So you need a cam grinder that does roller cams also. Maybe it's common and there's a simple conversion formula.