NewZed

1978 is internally regulated from the factory. "Voltage all over the place" doesn't mean much. Did you get any numbers? Shorts usually burn wires or blow fuses. If there was short it would be there with the engine not running also. "Replaced alternator". With a new know-good one, or just a different one? Have the alternator tested, the rebuilt ones have been known to be bad from the start.

Don't forget to vent the cubby hole the battery will be sitting in to let the hydrogen out.

froble? Put the phone down.

You circled the PCV system tube. It's described in the Emissions chapter. Important. http://www.nicoclub.com/FSM/ Actually the picture in the FSM isn't very good. The tube connects to a hose that runs to the PCV valve, which is screwed in to the bottom of the intake manifold.

Here's the link to a DriveShaft shop group buy. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/112204-order-for-shorter-z31-turbo-axles-from-the-driveshaft-shop/page-2?do=findComment&comment=1064279 Interesting that the axles broke at the expected stress riser point. I don't think they're designed correctly.

Still needs an oil change. Leon was right. Forgot to say that I don't think that any fluid - oil, oil/coolant blend or whatever - should be propelled out of the PCV tube hole if the level is correct. Otherwise the PCV system would suck the crankcase dry as oil got thrown up there. You probably have a crankcase full of foam.

Looks like you have coolant leaking in to the crankcase. A leak can happen at the front cover from what I understand. Doesn't have to be the headgasket. You're going to destroy the wear surfaces in the engine that depend on oil if you keep driving it with coolant mixed with your oil. Bearings, pistons, valve guides, etc.

The goal is to get the number shown in MegaSquirt to match the number shown by your timing light. Assuming that the number shown by your light is correct (damper pulley mark and TDC correct). Pretty sure those two links I posted give detailed instructions. Try any number and see what you get, then adjust accordingly. I've never actually set a trigger angle, don't have Megasquirt. Good luck.

Saw this comment and remembered being surprised about the holes in my factory "F" cam. Nissan cams have their holes in a wide range of locations. Looks like "anywhere but a wear surface" was the Nissan spec. They might have been cutting it close for manufacturing savings too, some seem to be on the start of the ramp. Appears to be sets of three holes on the drilling machine for the ends, and ones and twos for the remaining six in the middle. Just one of those interesting realities.

Here's an option. Not show quality but it might get you by. It's a variation on a T5 mount modification by a Hybridz member (sorry, no credits given, can't remember who). Cut with a chop saw and a composite metal-cutting blade. Lots of sparks and burning rubber smoke. The offset is about 1 1/16" if you split the middle with a 1/8" blade. I haven't tried it yet, I'm waiting for something to break.

Center (of strut tower) to center for the two S30 models is - 240Z - 853 mm (33.58 ") 280Z - 836.4 mm (32.93") 16.6 mm difference (~ 5/8") Dimensions in the Body chapters.

Don't forget that there should be an opposing cylinder that is on its compression stroke (#6 maybe?). Make those lobes look right with the mark at zero and you should be safe to put the chain back on and rotate the crankshaft one turn so you can start over. If you get lost on where things were when you took it apart.

You set to TDC on the exhaust stroke, not the compression stroke. Your first picture shows your exahust valve open. The crankshaft turns twice for one turn of the camshaft. The timing mark will hit zero twice for each camshaft turn. The piston will hit TDC twice for each four cycles. If you can put the camshaft back to where it was when you took it apart you might be okay to turn the engine by hand slowly and carefully to get on the compression stroke and get everything correctly lined up.

You should have set everything before you took the old chain off. Looks like you removed the old chain without doing that. If you had set the engine at TDC on the compression stroke, your pictures would probably match the FSM pictures. Hopefully you haven't turned the engine over without the chain attached. If you did take the chain off without presetting everything to TDC on compression stroke, and you haven't moved either the cam shaft or the crankshaft, you should be able to put the chain nd sprocket on, with the marks in the wrong place, then slowly turn the engine over by hand until you're at TDC on the compression stroke. Then you'll be able to tell if you're off a tooth or two, or not, or then take the chain off and reset it..

I've noticed the same about the sprocket on my F54/P79 engine. The V notch described in the early FSM's (visible on my N42/N42 engine) isn't visible. But if you look through one of those holes and down at the back of the sprocket I think you'll find a square cut notch that should line up with the mark on the retaining plate. It did on my engine. Seems like Nissan went to a different sprocket design and stopped recommending the V-notch check for timing chain stretch with the F54/P79/P90 engines (can't find it described in the ZX FSM's). I don't think the position of the shiny link matters once you spin the engine a few times.

You might mean spark from the coil. If so, follow the path. Through the wire from the coil to the distributor cap, down across the contact to the rotor, through the rotor and across the gap to the spark plug wire electrode, etc. There's no screwdriver mentioned here, but it looks like the test you're talking about. Might help - http://www.msdignition.com/page.aspx?id=3206 Buy a multimeter. Edit - Just watched the MSD video. I guess there is a screwdriver. Still, follow the electrons. Edit 2 - I'm not sure that MSD's test for magnetic pickup is right. The reluctor generates the voltage so that test shouldn't work unless the MSD is so sensitive that it triggers from ground loops or static. It might be the test for an optical trigger. Good luck.

I got curious and looked around. You might have ordered half-shaft u-joints. Good old atlanticz.ca has a big old list of both. Can't say if it's correct but the site is generally a good starting point. The Moog number is a Falcon number in the list. Your GMB number shows as half-shaft. It also has dimensions at the bottom. http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/ujoint/index.html

Don't forget the option of using an early 1970 240Z driveshaft. If you can find one. If you're using an early Z driveshaft with replaceable u-joints, why is it so hard to find u-joints? They seem to be a stock item. The ones that are hard to find are the ones to replace the staked-in, not-meant-to-be-replaced u-joints. RockAuto shows the replaceable propeller shaft joints as Moog/Precision Part #391 for the 240Z's. $11.76. http://www.rockauto.com/

The common name is stud, not bolt. Put this in to Google - site:hybridz.org wheel stud removal

Have you compared lengths? I'm fairly certain that one of the 240SX VLSD shafts is longer than the 280ZXT shafts. The shorter 280ZXT shaft (or 280Z stub axles) will fit but won't engage with the VLSD unit. It will be an open diff, not locking. Edit - actually I already said this in post #2.....

Did he use the ZX distributor mount? See 6th picture down - http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/distributor/index.html

Probably need to set your trigger angle. http://www.diyautotune.com/tech_articles/base_timing_how_to.htm http://msextra.com/doc/ms3/checktiming.html

Maybe it is an L26. The stamp is on the passenger side of the block, back by 5 and 6. More info. Looks like they had flat top and dished pistons in the 260Z. The CR's in the link below don't match the FSM, but who knows. The 260Z used the P30 block, but had several different head and piston combinations, apparently. http://www.xenons30.com/Engine.html

According to the Techncial Bulletin in Humble's "How To Restore..." book, page 196, Nissan stopped using the noise-reducing washer in 1974, after RLS30-32966 (I'm just repeating what he wrote, I thought the S30's were HLS. Might be a typo.). The Bulletin is apparently dated 8-3-74. Is there a reason that you don't want to use the factory specification, or does the wiggle just make you uncomfortable? You never said what you measured with the indicator.

Some circlips stay inside the diff (the early ones), some ride on the shaft (the later ones). Maybe you're trying to use both at the same time.