NewZed

The condenser/capacitor does not allow current flow through it. It absorbs and releases electrical pulses, but is still insulates positive from negative. When you connected the two wires you created a direct short, that's why the wire started smoking. You may have gotten away with it, but won't know unless you measure voltage on that wire or use a test light on it. You'll be way ahead if you just measure voltage and resistance on the ignition components to make sure that they are right. If everything's right, but it still won't start then you can look elsewhere for the source of the no-start problem. The capacitor shouldn't be necessary for the engine to run, but it does serve a purpose in the long term. If you don't have a meter, at least do the basic tests of confirming spark and fuel (injectors working).

Yes, that's what I was leading to. Just pointing out that there might still be a problem.

Thanks! One good story and no bad ones is enough for me. Next rain-break.

I stopped watching your video when I saw that it was six minutes long and you started talking about your house. Words are good. Did your fuel pump stop working? Don't forget the FSM. It's more specific to your car than the EFI bible.

Don't get fooled thinking that red is positive and black is negative. Make sure. And find out why it melted, first.

Still unclear how your rev needle can jump about with a manual transmission without the car's speed jumping about also. May be an unrelated symptom of some other problem. Good luck with it.

I have some Tokico 5022 springs I'd like to install but don't have a full set of Tokico struts to go with (HPs, 3012 and 3013, not Illuminas). In the meantime, I have KYB GR-2/Excel-G struts. Will the higher spring rates overpower the KYBs or will they work "OK" until I get the rest of the Tokicos? I've read that KYB recommends against using them with lowering springs, but not really sure why. Any comments, from experience or theory, appreciated. It's for street driving, lots of country roads, not much city.

Did you remove the calipers during the repaint?

Wrote this while Xnke posted, still relevant I think: Here's a few links for those wondering - http://www.sdsefi.com/ http://www.racinggreed.com/index.php?section=profile For nomenclature consistency - I think that high AFR means lean, does it not? Low AFR means rich. Your AFRs are low, not high, by your charts, which should be a problem at cruising, not WOT. Air to Fuel Ratio, more air = lean, and vice versa. Maybe by "setup" the Racing Greed guy meant that your injectors are too big to control. Still seems like there would be a middle ground to get good cruising and good open throttle perfromance. Not clear why Racing Greed can't help, their web site implies that they can. But their web site doesn't really show a lot of experience either, just a dyno and some tools. I'm no expert and could be totally off-base, just trying to help with communications. Here's a Wikipedia link just to add a little more - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Air%E2%80%93fuel_ratio

The problem with reverse, and 1st, sounds like a slave and/or master cylinder problem, maybe nothing to do with the transmission or clutch at all. I would replace those two first and see how the shifting and clutch performance is, before buying and replacing the clutch. Pull back the rubber boot on the slave cylinder and see if it's leaking fluid. That's a sure sign that it needs replacement. Changing the clutch requires removing the transmission. It's not difficult on the Zs, compared to many cars, but could be difficult if you're not using to working on cars, in general.

Thanks. I changed the title of the thread to what I should have asked, from drop to final resting spot. If you've seen that range then it sounds like they might end up in the ball park of the original 76 springs. The 78 springs gave that really high rear that a lot of 280Zs have, mostly 77 and 78s from what I've seen. I have 205/70-14s for tires. It's tempting to just buy the shiny red lowering springs but hard to tell if they'll offer much over cut stock springs. $100 to find out.

I've found a set of 5022 front and rear Tokico springs and am trying to determine how low the car will sit after installation. It's a 1976 280Z. The word on the net seems to be a 1" drop but the problem I have is that I've had two car here, a 1976 and a 1978, and the 1978 sat much higher than the 1976. They both appeared to be stock. My 76 sat just fine but I installed the 78 rear suspension because it was in better condition, then cut the springs. The old 76 suspension went to the wrecking yard. I should have kept the springs but didn't know better. Is anyone with a 280Z using the Tokico 5022 springs? A picture or a link would help. I would be using them with KYB Excel-Gs if anyone has comments on that combination. Street only. Thanks. Edit - changed title from "drop" to "where does it end up"

The S30 EFI cars have a fuel damper that absorbs high frequency pressure variations. S130s probably do also. They are adjustable. Maybe yours needs a tweak to match the non-OEM pump. It's in the same vicinity as the pump and looks kind of like an FPR, with a bolt on the top.

Look in the hole it came from and put the transmission in reverse. See if something moves. If not, try neutral. If nothing there, try top gear. Nothing? Try fourth. Or look at the drawing in the FSM. They're all labeled.

You're welcome, and good luck with it. After looking at the drawing again myself, I would vote for a weak reverse return check spring. "Return check spring" must mean something. I have the 78 5 speed out now and will probably take that plug out tonight and see how it looks. Edit - I was looking at the 4 speed drawing (1978 FSM has both). On the 5 speed it's just called the return spring plug. But they're in the same spot, so probably have a similar function. Edit 2 - the return spring plunger just re-centers the striking assembly. The plunger rides in a groove on the striking rod, the plunger is pushed out of the groove against the spring when the striking rod is rotated as the lever is pushed left or right. No direct effect on reverse, except that with a light touch it will pull the lever back to the center. No lockout effect though. Out of ideas.

The early/late 5 speed pictures are at the bottom of this link - http://www.geocities.com/inlinestroker/ratio.html You might be able to figure something out from the FSM deawings.

What year car is the 5 speed from? I had a 78 5 speed transmission with a similar problem. I posted a question about it on the forum, about 2 years ago, but got no responses. An 83 I had and the 80 transmission I'm using now both have firm reverse lockouts. The 78 had essentially no resistance from 5th to reverse, just dropped straight down if I wasn't careful. I've seen some comments around the various forums about improvement in the lockout in the later 5 speeds, but don't know the details of the improvements.

What's the fuel pressure? When was the last time it ran right? What's the history of the engine and parts? Several possible causes, some simple and some expensive, but confirming the basics is a good idea before getting carried away.

Find a thin piece of flexible plastic (coffee can or margarine lid), cut it in to strips about 2" wide and use them as ramps to get the gauge edge past the lip of the dash cap. Lubricate things with some soapy water and you might be able to get them out. Once the edge of the gauge is past the lip it will slide out pretty easily.

A followup on the 25:75 ATF:Swepco 201 blend in my wrecking yard 1980 5 speed - the transmission must have had some minor rust, corrosion or "varnish" on the synchros or bearings. After a few thousand miles with the ATF/Swepco blend, it works like a normal transmission. The synchros work fine now, no more grinding or notchiness, even at high RPM. Just using all it would give, it slowly got better and better. The bearings aren't dying either, still quiet. I never took it apart and don't know the usage or maintenance history so can only guess at what the original problem was. It might even have been freshly rebuilt and the synchros needed to wear in. The clutch released fine. Maybe the pilot bushing was tight on the input shaft? Didn't seem so when I installed the transmission. Maybe the Swepco blend has magic healing powers. On the Synchromesh variants: I found this onthe Swepco web site - http://www.swepcolube.com/products/swepco-717-synchromesh-transmission-fluid - it's been around for a while, apparently, but I've never seen a report of anyone trying it. The links on the web site are screwed up so you can't really see any technical data.

If the head is missing the injector notches, won't it also be missing the EFI manifold bolt holes? The four big ones across the top?

http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/forum/30-v8-z-forums/ http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/forum/74-gen-iii-iv-chevy-v8z-tech-board/ http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php/forum/81-powertrain/

Not me!, I just saw this on Portland CL - A rare opportunity (but, unfortunately, probably becoming more common) to trade up(?), if they have a welder, a wrench, a jack and some jack stands (safety!) - http://portland.craigslist.org/clc/cto/2919057472.html Text - "I would like to trade my 82 280zx for a rwd w/welded diff i thought about welding this one but just dont want to because once i start with that then i will just keep adding things to it lol it is a stock t-top car and runs great also my daily thats why i want to trade but if you throw me the right cash then i might just sell it. hit me up text only for now please or reply to this ad thanks for looking "

Rev needle jumping about, along with getting better after a cool-down, sounds like ignition module, especially the 74-78 type. From what I've read the ZX E12-80 modules usually just die, but maybe they have a slow-fail mode also.

Maybe you're developing a speed tolerance.