NewZed

They serve a purpose so it's not a bad idea. An alternator condenser would probably do the job just as well as the stock one. Or just fix the old one.

That is a capacitor, aka condenser, not a resistor. The 1978s don't use a ballast resistor.

That would be another mystery drive shaft then. I just went out and bolted my ~28 1/4" (actually 28 3/8") 1971 240Z drive shaft that gives 1.5" more room for the transmission on to a 1983 R200 and it fit perfectly, including the raised center portion in to the recess on the diff flange. Weird. I also found that mine is not 744 mm, it's 720. Edited my other post. As I said, adding to the confusion. Looks to me like the desirable short ones are 720 mm (28 3/8") tip-to-tip and give an extra 1.5" of room. Fit perfectly on an R200. The 700 mm is probably just a rough tape measure eyeball or ball-park conversion.

I have a 76 4 speed, 78 5 speed, and 80 and 83 5 speeds and they all have the fill plug on the right. The exhaust hanger ears and the speedo hold down screw are the easiest indicators and what Leon said fits all of mine. If you really want to get detailed you can measure the ratio of 5th gear, it was different for 80 versus 81-83.

Transmission, differential, half-shafts. The fuel rail will swap over and is a better design, one piece instead of three. Injectors and AAR. Exhaust manifold if the 77 has the N47 head. Intake manifold with throttle body, I think, but the ZX will have a lot of extra things on it. Distributor with ignition module.

If I had your parts, I would confirm that they were 1982, then would use the 1982 FSM, EF&EC chapter, ECCS specs. They integrated the turbo stuff in to the FSM in 1982 from what i see, so the 1981 supplement isn't necessary, and may be the wrong document for your setup.

The coil has to have current flow to make a spark. You can have 12 volts available to push the current but if the circuit isn't completed to ground the coil never energizes. Spark is made by making and breaking the circuit through the coil. That's what Megasquirt is supposed to be doing, using the signal from the CAS.

They are spendy. Some people have been bale to clean up the carbon trace and contact switch and get them back in order. Still not sure where you're getting pins 33-36 as an AFM test. By the AFM diagram, there is no pin 36 used on the 1982 turbo AFM, from what I get out of the FSM. Only 33, 26, 31 and 30. Are you using a turbo AFM or NA? They're different. And you measured different pins for your "test 2 partially open" than you did for the first test. 33 and 26 first, then 33 and 31 for "test 2". Hard to tell what you're doing. Are you using the 1982 FSM or one of the Chiltons/Haynes manuals? Page EFEC-96 has the diagram and EFEC-98 has the AFM test and specs. Looks like you might be on the right track, if you can get the right numbers in the right places.

If you were measuring at the ECU connector, then the next step is to measure directly at the AFM. The pin numbers are probably molded right in to the plastic at the connection point onthe AFM, unless they changed things from the 70s Z cars. Take the AFM out and measure directly.

The CHTS thing might just be distracting you from and AFM or AFM harness problems. 33-26 and 33-31 are the two sides of the potentiometer that tell the ECU how much air is entering the injection so that it can adjust fuel. Your one measured number is way off. 33-26 should be 280-400 ohms, 33-31 should be anything but zero or infinite. According to the FSM. You got 33-26 = 2.06, should be 280-400. 33-36 - typo? that's not an AFM measurement. Does it pop and backfire through the intake with the CHTS connected if you try to rev it or drive it? That would be lean, and a common sign of a bad AFM.

Megasquirt might be better, but I'm not sure it's easier. Seems like you might be overlooking something important that seems insignificant. You're not really reporting details, just general descriptions of what's going on, plus even your detailed stuff isn't quite right. Like fuel pressure - it's very easy to find out from the FSM or hundreds of posts on the forums, that fuel pressure should be 36.3 psi. But you have set yours to 31 psi for some reason. You said that all of your measurements are "in range" but don't tell what they are. And "runs terrible" means different things to different people. Watch what is happening while it runs then dies, does the fuel pressure drop? With fuel injection, it's all about the numbers. Even with Megasquirt you'll have to be methodical,take good measurements and take notes. If you can't get the stock ECU to work, Megasquirt's probably not a solution. Here's a thought - is the gas in the tank new or old? I've spent a lot of time on various engines of different machines (lawnmowers, chippers...) only to find that the gas was over a year old and no good anymore. Changed gas, everything back to normal. Hate to see a give-up. At least get that thing to idle right.

I think that I also found that the 240Z shaft had a deeper hole for the output shaft. Assuming that the output shaft end is the critical point on the transmission, then that gives an effectively shorter drive shaft than the external dimension, for the transmission swap purpose. Still wondering about the 700 mm shaft. Edit - Went out and measured what matters in the swap, how much extra room the 240Z shaft gives you. I stuck both shafts on to a spare 4 speed ( I can't use them on the 71C trans. because they still have the dust shields attached) let them bottom out and measured from the diff flange surface to the same point on the transmission for both. The 240Z shaft, ~28 1/4" long, gives an extra 1.5" of room for the longer 71C transmission, assuming that it bottoms out in the same place as the 4 speed. So you lose 1/2" of safety margin, over having the original shaft shortened by 2".

There's something not quite right with that picture, or there's three different drive shaft options. I have what I think is an early 240Z drive shaft, from an early 71 with the diff mounted 35 mm forward and a 4 speed, and it measures 21 1/8" from cap center to cap center. But total length of mine, as shown in your picture, is 744 mm not 700. [Edit - I screwed up on a conversion here. Mine is really 720 mm (28 3/8"). Still not 700. I also have a spare 1976 280Z shaft that measures 22 1/4" cap center to cap center and 755 mm total length. At the time I got the 240Z shaft I was sure I knew what I was doing, but maybe there's an even shorter shaft out there on the early 240Zs. My two shafts look just like those in the picture, (notice the neck down on the dust shield on the later shaft), but my short shaft is not 700 mm long. I did the math on the 240Z shaft that I have and it should work with the 240SX bell housing swap, although you lose a little safety margin from bottoming out the output shaft. Just adding to the confusion... Just found this post from another site. At least one other person thinks that ~28 1/4" (from his picture) is the short 240Z shaft. 700 mm is ~27 1/2". http://community.ratsun.net/topic/40872-71-240z-drivelinedriveshaft-original/ Maybe 700 mm is a really rough rounding down.

Describing everything you've seen as BS is a sign that you're not trying very hard to understand what you're reading.

Somehow, I listened to all 10 minutes of your video. www.xenons30.com/reference will have the Factory Service Manual. Does your mechanic know Zs or is he learning on the job? Weird that you have an R180. All of the 280Zs were supposed to come with R200s. That is an R180 though, small and square and missing a molding mark under the drain plug. Maybe someone swapped it for the ratio. Maybe it's a CLSD. You should check before swapping. You might want to match your 5 speed first gear to your diff ratio, if you do decide to go with an R200. The 5 speeds gears changed over the years. Get an RT-style diff mount to stop the clunking. I think that it will fit the R180, the front mount points are the same, I believe. It makes a big difference. There are a ton of posts on the forums about trying to use the stock ECU with a hot cam and flat tops. Takes a lot of work to tune things back in. The Haltech will probably help you out. Will eat a lot of your $3,000 budget. If your mechanic swapped in an internally regulated alternator, your brake warning lamp check relay might be on all the time, draining your battery. If the horrible squealing is coming from your front brakes you're probably missing the ant-squeal shims.

As I understand it, the only significant difference between the P90 and the P79 is the exhaust liners. And the cam. Your ECU won't be able to tell the difference if you swap the P90 cam over. The downside is that there is a possibility of a liner breaking free and ending up in your turbo. If you use one of the other heads, you'll need to do more tuning. Notice that Tony D used Megasquirt on his flat-top turbo setup. No actual experience from me, just knowledge picked up from the forums. The water jacket corrosion is fairly common on cars run with straight water. Anti-freeze is loaded with corrosion inhibitors.

So the battery had a direct short to ground through Pin 2 and blew the fuse? Doesn't the smoke mean that there is a damaged component? I found this quote on the msextra.com site - "If you have any smoke then its likely you’ve put a diode in the wrong way round, this will mean finding it and fitting a new component. Once any component smokes it is no longer any use!" Just trying to add a little to more to a my own limited Megasquirt knowledge. I don't know the pins so don't know what was on Pin 2 in MS1.

2+2s and turbos are 240 mm. NA coupes are 225.

With the CHTS unplugged, infinite resistance on the circuit, the ECU calculates the lowest possible temperature and adds fuel. Super-rich. Plugging it in should make the mixture lean. So it's probably not "loading up" with extra fuel, it's probably leaning out. You might have a giant vacuum leak somewhere. Don't forget that the PCV system is connected to the intake manifold so any PCV system leaks are also intake vacuum leaks.

I just found something on the internet called eMS-Pro, with a connection to Megasquirt, so passed the information on. To give you a better idea of what you might be working with. You could post a picture of the circuit board and someone might recognize it as an MS board. Plus it would add some color to your thread.

Google led me here - http://www.diyautotune.com/catalog/emspro-engine-management-system-p-157.html therefore this site should help - http://www.msextra.com/doc/ms1extra/MS_Extra_Ignition_Hardware_Manual.htm

If you're planning to drag your frame rails you don't need a sway bar anyway. Just take if off. Don't worry about bump-steer either, you won't be able to go fast enough to where it matters.

So all of your other "checking" was just of the eyeball variety? It almost always comes around to breaking out the meter and the FSM and taking some measurements. When I said check at the connector to the ECU, I meant take measurements at the connector, with your meter. You can check resistance on your CHTS, the injectors, the TPS, etc. at the ECU to see what the ECU sees, which is what matters. It's actually easier than trying to disconnect each component and check individually. Your new fuel pressure gauge will give you a good idea of if your injectors are not leaking. How long does the rail hold pressure? If it holds overnight, they're probably not leaking. If pressure doesn't hold though, it could be your new FPR or the pump. It will only tell you that you don't have a leak, not where a leak is. Good luck.

Is it running rich again or is it a new problem? "crap" covers a lot of ground. It's usually best to check your circuits at the ECU connector, then you'll know that the connections, the component, and the wiring is all good, from and to the ECU.

Could be worn hardware. I had a similar problem. Take the switch apart and bend/twist the rod inside the switch that transfers the twist of the key to a twist of the electrical switch. Use two pair of pliers. Bend/twist it in the direction of starting and it will then start the car before it runs out of travel. If that's the problem. Once you have the switch apart, turn the electrical portion with a screwdriver to see if it starts correctly. If so, the fix above should work. If not, you might need a new electrical switch.