NewZed

Is the tight side of the chain tight, and the timing mark on zero? The tight side is the driver's side (left). Put the timing mark on zero and use a 17 mm wrench to turn the cam sprocket back to make the tight side tight. There is a lot of slack in an old chain and the v notch can off even though the timing mark is at zero, Also, I think the number 3 that you're looking at might be for alignment with a bright link, which is only used when installing a chain from scratch. The hole, with number, that you want to see is under the big washer on the end of the camshaft. If you look closely you might the edge of a stamped number peeking out from under the washer. Could be wrong on the hole number, I'm going from examination of my own random parts. The description with pictures that you want to follow is in the Engine Mechanical chapter of the FSM.

265 psi is very very high pressure. With a good gauge, 170-180 psi is where most stock engines seem to come in. The simplest "fix" might be to install a head with a bigger combustion chamber. You can do that in the driveway. Otherwise your car's range is limited to where the right fuel is available. Sounds cool though.

This Hybridz member might still have them available - http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/98295-steel-brace-for-r200-clsd-finned-cover-in-s30-new-list-and-design/

The internet copy makes it seem like they have stock, since they have a core charge, and the part ships in 3-5 days. The core charge would be forfeited if you don't send yours in. Remove Surefire/Cylinder Head Part Number: 2321 Availability: Ships within 3-5 business days. Warranty: 1 YR Do you need related items? if so, they would have a few cores available. But I went through the checkout process and find that it's just a dream, probably just a rebuild service. Send your core in and they probably just farm it out to a local machine shop. My "requested quantity" was one. For Your 1978 Nissan/Datsun 280Z 2.8L FI 6cyl Remove Surefire/Cylinder Head Part Number: 2321 Availability: Ships within 3-5 business days. Warranty: 1 YR Sorry, the requested quantity for this special order item is not available. Please adjust the quantity. Do you need related items? Would have been nice to know that someone else out there was hoarding parts.

Somebody must have seen a need and contacted all of the big parts houses. Autozone sells heads also, but under the name Surefire, plus another brand, Moore. The Surefire pictures are the same as the OReilly PowerTorque. Same part number and price too. http://www.autozone.com/autozone/parts/1978-Nissan-Datsun-280Z/Cylinder-Head/_/N-ivfvlZ8znuv?filterByKeyWord=cylinder+head&fromString=search Hopefully these rebuild shops are collecting cores from the wrecking yards and at least keeping the parts from hitting the smelter. I know the local yards in the Portland area have companies that come in and strip certain parts from cars and just dump them all in a big crate to be shipped out to rebuild houses.

I'm no electrical expert but somewhere along the line I've learned or suspected that current draw increases with load in a DC motor. I Googled around and found what looks like a reputable source that illustrates it. It's at the bottom of the page linked below. So the fact that your fuel pump's DC motor is drawing so much current that it's killing 30 amp relays is a sign that your pump is working very hard. Harder than it seems like it should be if you have a typical return-style 280Z fuel system regulated to about 36 psi. You might examine the flow path for the fuel and see if you have obstructions, like a blocked filter or maybe you're using a 240Z return line and it's too small for the pump volume. In short, your pump might be drawing too much current because it's working too hard. I would focus on the fuel flow path first, not the electrical draw. http://www.me.umn.edu/courses/me2011/arduino/technotes/dcmotors/motor-tutorial/

I was looking around the OReilly site trying to figure out who "PowerTorque" is and find that they supply complete rebuilt cylinder heads. The picture shows a head with exhaust liners, and a camshaft included, but the Compatibility is all the way back to 1976 so there's an issue already. Interesting though that a chain like OReilly Auto is selling big parts like this. http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/detail/PTQ0/2321/02257.oap?year=1976&make=Nissan&model=280Z&vi=1209226&ck=Search_02257_PTQ_1209226_2513&mn=PowerTorque%28R%29&mc=PTQ&pt=02257&ppt=C0332 They sell long-blocks too - http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/search/Engine+Block-Long/02239/C0332.oap?year=1976&make=Nissan&model=280Z&vi=1209226&mn=PowerTorque%28R%29&mc=PTQ

This might provide some insight on the issue above - http://www.msdignition.com/page.aspx?id=15713 The instructions might help also. There's a troubleshooting section included, testing for spark, etc. You have to use part number 7222, it doesn't recognize 7AL2 (goofy!) - http://www.msdignition.com/instructiondownload.aspx Apparently MSD has filed bankruptcy so it wouldn't be surprising to me (natural born cynic) if they were just returning everything as "in-spec." until the company dies. No guarantees that your unit is actually good.

In looking at the picture the rocker arm wear surface was worn completely off of the edge, As the lobe wears down the wear surface will move to the middle, away from the edge. How can that one be dead-on if the edge of the rocker arm surface is degraded? Something was rubbing on it. Foreign object, mouse trap spring or something? Just saying...

Sometimes people put late model heads, like the P79, on dished pistons - like here:http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/engine-drivetrain-s30/49184-1978-280z-2-2-cylinder-head-removal.html Or swap in low compression turbo engines, but run them NA. That would give a low pressure reading. Or you might not have the pressure check test right. If you use the adapter tube that comes with many pressure testers, you'll get a low reading. The adapter is a big hollow tube, that lowers the compression ratio for the test. If you are using a typical pressure tester it will have a valve on it to hold pressure inside so you can see the gauge reading. If you don't release the pressure between each test you'll get a bad reading. Your readings might be going up when oil is added because you're not spinning the engine quickly enough. You should re-run the test, with all plugs out, a fully charged battery, throttle blocked open, no adapter, and the gauge reset before each cylinder's reading. You might be worrying about nothing. You're planning to take apart an engine that runs great. The engines don't have much below 2000 RPM in general, so that's not abnormal. Edit - forgot to add the usual advice about adjusting valves. Valve lash can affect pressure. And it's always good to check valve timing on an unknown engine anyway. It's easy to do, and it will also verify that your ignition timing mark is correct (damper rubber good), since the notch, groove and zero mark should all line up if everything is right.

I doubt that Tony D's going to have my back, we're not "cronies". And I don't troll for newbies, I just troll for interesting conversations. You are right though, I read too much in to your posts. You had a stock L28ET, probably swapped straight over from a ZX,maybe by a PO, that ran good. Now it doesn't, maybe because you've deviated from stock. The OP is starting from "not stock" with an N42 head and a mystery ECU. So really, we're all off-topic here, the OP is not working with a stock 280ZX turbo setup. Sorry for the harsh word, "dud". I got carried away with criticizing your over-simplification of the OP's project. The threads are full of people saying "it's easy" then confessing that they still have problems and things are not as they implied. Good luck with your modifications. It's still unclear what happened between good-running and Post #31. Why are you dinking with the CTS if it ran good? A coolant leak?

Nine days later, after Tony D called you on it. It's a 280Z. Not a good sign if you have to go to my profile to dig for something to use. You're on a bad path, best to focus on getting your engine running right. I gave you some good advice, but you're getting distracted.

You exaggerated and got caught. Just live with it, don't try to defend it. If your car ran perfectly like you said, you wouldn't be messing with it. Forgot to say - the reason your post is worth poking fun at is because there are people out there who read posts like yours and think that things like swapping in the Z31 ECU are easy. Then they waste a lot of money and time, like you're doing now, until they realize that the advice they believed was BS. The worst part is that you're passing on the same bad advice that probably got you started. Stop the madness, tell the truth.

From stud to dud in 9 days. Test temperature sensors by measuring resistance at the connection to the ECU to see what the ECU is using. Compare results to the temperature - resistance chart. You don't need to think about tape, or sealant, or anything else if the numbers are what they should be.

There's not enough here to even guess. You're just asking for a wild goose chase. The part about the clutch slave shows that you have very little idea of what might cause "rolling resistance". Be careful with any advice you choose to follow. You're set to waste a lot of time.

I think I heard a camshaft lobe dying at the end of the video. Check his other video too. He's multi-talented.

Start by not thinking like this....

Edit - I might have mis-read the "momentary power at startup". Maybe Pharaohbq meant when Starting. The "momentary" part got me since the power stays on if the engine starts and runs. As for having power with the key On but engine not running, that's not factory. There's probably some funky PO wiring you'll have to figure out. EF-15 describes well what the factory designed it to do. Good luck.

Read EF-15 (not 14) and look at EF-7. The pump never gets momentary power, that's a 280ZX feature, not 280Z. The wires in the tunnel could also be left over from the vacuum advance solenoid power switch that the original 4 speed had. Emissions chapter. Check them for power with the key On to be sure you don't have a short circuit waiting to develop. Note that there aren't many shortcuts or tricks to get the EFI working right. The emissions system from the PCV to the charcoal canister need to be connected and working properly, with no vacuum leaks, for the ECU to meter fuel correctly. All air must pass through the AFM. Even the dipstick needs to be sealed.

The spot where the water runs down the block may not be where the leak is, depending on gravity and flow path. I had a water leak at the back of an N42 head, only from the coolant system outward, no internal leakage. A tube of Bar's Stop Leak fixed it for while, until the material eventually extruded out of the gap. If the gaps are small enough, it might work for you.

Maybe the problem is not the EGR sytem at all. Since you've had the intake manifold off, several other important hoses must have been removed. One that's not obvious but people forget sometimes, is the PCV hose connection underneath the manifold. I would check all other possible intake leak sources, including the injector seals and manifold gaskets. And since the engine runs, you can test for leaks using a flammable fluid like carburetor cleaner or gas like propane at the possible leak areas. Listen for a change in idle speed. Don't start a fire.

if u. have read the fsm you would know that is not right. Unfortunately, learning about your car via the internet is going to be difficult because you are from the new phone-based generation. The diagrams and drawings are just very difficult to see and understand from the tiny phone screen, not to mention the difficulty in communicating via tiny word replacements like "u" for "you". Plus, the general weakening of thought processes that seems to occur from thinking in text-speak. Kidding, but serious. You could look at one page and read another in the FSM on a full-size screen, and understand exactly how the fuel pump circuit operates. The operation of the fuel pump is described and illustrated in the Engine Fuel chapter. Key words and acronyms are AFM, EFI relay, fuel pump relay, and fuel pump contact points. Good luck.

I'm going to guess 75-77 280Z with a 5 speed swap., based on the problems and pictures. Six posts and the writing style suggest that you may not know how the 75-77 fuel pumps get power, possibly believing that the pump should be powered when the key is on. That's not correct. Just guessing. How close am I?

Is it possible to run the diesel L6 front cover on a gas L6 engine? Aside from the area behind the water pump, what else would be different? Maybe you have a diesel L6 cover.

I wonder if some marketing guys have been reading the forums.