NewZed

Did you add any baffles at all or a surge tank? Where did the pump end up in the tank, it looks like it's in different spots in your pictures? Isn't running lean on a turbo motor a big no-no? You could be risking engine damage accelerating out of a high G turn, with your RB25DET. The stock tanks and plumbing uncover the inlet at ~1/3 tank on a hard left, and they have at least a simple baffle inside. Should be interesting.

The blue wire is for the capacitor (aka condenser, the silver tube in the picture) which absorbs electrical noise. The engine will run without it but it's a good idea to have it connected to protect the electronics. The charge light should light up when the key is on but engine not running, and go off when the engine starts.

A dry cam wouldn't have any effect on slowing the engine down due to drag on the cam. The engine would just destroy the surface of the dry metal parts if it had run with no oil. Oil the cam up, put your fingers on it and feel the lobes for rough spots. Every lobe should feel nice and smooth. The yellow/brown material is just a buildup on the cam base that doesn't have any pressure on it in use, due to valve lash. If lash is set correctly, the base circle doesn't actually rub on anything. You can see that the lobes themselves are actually shiny from pushing on the rocker arms. That's the part that needs to be smooth and slick.

Ask your Z guy if he has checked the TPS. It might be shorting to the "wide open" full fuel enrichment position. That would dump a lot of fuel.

When does it "start to skip and pop"? Describe a typical scenario, from starting cold to driving (how long before the problem occurs, is the engine warm, etc.), then what you were typically doing (accelerating, high RPM, ???) just before it started skipping and popping. Details are good.

The coil is charging, but the circuit is not breaking to cause the coil to discharge. When you turn the key off, the circuit is broken and you get one spark. Looked at your other post and it says that you tried a new ignitor. Looks like either your ECCS is not getting the signal from the CAS or the ECCS is not sending the signal to the ignitor or HEI module, to break the circuit. Since you have all stock parts now, you should probably go to an 82 or 83 FSM and look for the diagnostics for what you have. From skittle over on zcars.com - http://www.zcar.com/70-83_tech_discussion_forum/hei_ignition_control_module_swap_info_%20turbos_only%20_876981.0.html . I think that he posts over here occasionally also It might help you with the HEI module but it seems like your problem is in front of it.

You should take an actual measurement of the fuel pressure to see if it's really abnormally high or if you just have leaking lines. Edit - I see that you put new lines on 4 years ago. Maybe you got a bad mechanic and they put the wrong lines on (regular fuel line instead of fuel injection line - the lines should not swell like that). Plus those aren't the best hose clamps for fuel injection line. p.s. Your pictures are way too big.

Pretty sure the covers are the same, except for the ID tag, for all of the AFMs of that general shape. Other car brands will probably fit also, BMW, Alfa Romeo, any of the early Bosch EFI engines. A walk through the local wrecking yard will probably find you one. They snap on, but usually have some sealant that needs to be broken free.

Are you saying that you saw sand in the pan but sealed it up anyway? Or that you got sand on the bottom end when you sand-blasted? How did it "dust" the bottom end? On most (all?) engines, the oil travels from the pickup tube to the pump to the oil filter then to the bearings. So the oil will be filtered but fine sand grit is not normally in the oil to be filtered. If you're question is about alleviating the lump in your throat, I suggest a beer or two before starting the engine.

If the plug wires are all in the right spots on the cap (check firing order and correct rotation), and you have verified spark on all six cylinders (which means the distributor is turning), then starting fluid should definitely get a pop or two, or a few seconds of running. If you can't get it to run for a few seconds with starting fluid, a carburetor won't make any difference. It's either electrical, or your valves aren't opening and closing correctly. I'm pretty sure that the stock L28 will bend some valves though if your timing chain broke so you would have heard some noise when it died. Good luck, don't forget the basics - fuel, compression, spark, fire.

You said you had good spark in Post #1. Did you check it at the plugs or plug wires, or at the main coil wire? If it won't start, or even pop once or twice, with starting fluid you probably don't have spark at the plugs, or your timing is way off. Or your plugs are very fouled.

The Engine Fuel section has good diagnostic procedures and describes how everything works - http://www.xenons30.com/reference.html Try starting fluid through one of the intake vacuum lines or at the AFM mouth to see if timing is right and you have sufficient spark. If you can get it to run with starting fluid, then focus on fuel and injector opening. The injectors open based off of the signal from the coil to the ECU.

It's not an L28ET from a 1983 ZX, it's an L28 custom built to a set of mystery specifications. If you're not an expert on the L28 (I'm not) and proficient in engine work in general, it will probably be a one long headache, unless you're looking for a project to learn on. You could probably find something that will run better and last longer than that setup, for less than $1200. It looks like someone tried an engine-building experiment, it didn't work and they're cutting their losses.

The bottom ring scrape the oil, the top rings seal the cylinder. You can have bad oil rings with good compression rings. When the engine stops, typically two cylinders have valves pretty far open, one the exhaust and one the intake. I think a couple more could be cracked open also, depending on where it stops. So at least two cylinders are exposed to the atmosphere and will get some rust, from what I've seen. You might have rust damage in #2. Maybe some oxidation of the aluminum piston also. No advice, just a comment. Did you see any rust in the bores when you had the head off?

They're from the internet, that's the best I've found for the Z and ZX 5 speeds. Synchros alone seem to be $50 per piece everywhere. Thanks for the name, how is the quality, how did the rebuild turn out? I've also seen varying opinions on the synchro gear quality. Thanks.

You could leave the rail connected, disconnect the electrical and attach Christmas lights. They'll flash off the same pulse, from what I've heard. Tis the season... Separate mechanical from electrical.

Pull the intake? Why not apply voltage to an injector, see if it clicks? Connect a fuel pressure gauge, see if the pressure drops.

Measure your fuel pressure. If you have a return line or FPR blockage (or connected backward) and an aftermarket pump, you could have up to 90 psi at the injectors. That will push a little extra gas through when the injectors are open.

Better make sure that the 5 speeds are identical before you start slapping parts around. There are several different types of 5 speeds out there, and I don't think that the gears are easily interchangeable. I haven't found a thread yet that described a successful gear swap, although that doesn't mean it hasn't been done. I'm interested in how things turn out for you. You'll spend $200 just on the new synchros alone. Bearings and gaskets another $150. The cheapest full rebuild kit I've seen is around $350. The FSMs all have instructions for tear down and rebuild, after you figure out what transmissions you have.

On your battery - 10.4 is essentially dead. It needs a recharge. C connected to coil (-) is correct. On the B terminal, B will need battery voltage while running and during starting. You can either look at the wiring diagram and figure out which of those wires is hot during starting and running, or use a voltmeter or test light while turning the key to On and Start (disconnect the starter solenoid if you don't want the starter to turn) to identify them. I prefer a voltmeter because then you know for sure, plus you get a voltage reading that tells you something about the quality of the wiring. Connect them both to B. Make sure that the module body is grounded to the block or body through the mounting hole with the extra metal around it (one of the two like the one in your last picture with the small nut holding it). Without that ground the module won't work. The red and green wires look correct. When all of the wires are right, the module will make and break the coil circuit based on the pulses from the pickup coil through the red and green wires. Your coil modification doesn't look like the problem either. Beware, I am not an electronics expert and you might fry your $25 module. I feel pretty good about your odds though.

Re the resistor recommendation - At the top of the first page Mallory (or Mr. Gasket) has a paragraph under the heading IMPORTANT. They even give a Mallory part number for the resistor and say that failure to use one will "eventually destroy the UNILITE ignition module." It does seem odd to design a performance ignition module that limits current to the coil. Who knows, it's probably better than the points system it was designed to replace, but not quite as tough as the electronics that came later. Maybe that's why yours took a dump? I'm no expert, I just browsed through the instructions to see what was what, and that caught my eye. Seems like Hitachi and an HEI module would do the job, if you're not swapping the weights, which I would guess the OP is probably not planning to do.

This should help, generic instructions from the internet - http://prestoliteperformance.com/Portals/0/downloads/mallory/pdf/Mallory_Instructions_unilite_distributor_wiring_diagram_test_procedure_1214M_0000.pdf Looks like the Unilite has an integral ignition module. So you should unplug the stock 1978 module one up under the passenger side dash by the fuse box, it won't be used anymore. The wires from your old distributor don't matter anymore, that connection you show just leads up to the old ignition module. Make sure to keep the blue wire from the coil (-) connected since it runs your tach and EFI system. Looks like you might need to install a resistor between the coil (+) and the power line to save the Unilite electronics, according to the instructions. The 1978 doesn't come with one. This might not be best for spark energy though, I think that it will add required dwell time. Not very clear on these generic instructions. As far as alignment of the Unilite compared to the old distributor, just make sure that the the rotor points to the same spark plug terminal in the distributor cap after the switch, then use a timing light to set timing. Why are using a Unilite? It doesn't seem to offer much over the stock 1978 distributor and ignition module.

Post some photos of the Mallory Unilite. Which "previous post" are are you referring to? What instructions did you get with it? A link to the web site describing what you're using would be helpful.

If Xnke took the time and effort to do the head tapping, cylinder 5 and 6 cooling modification, I wonder if he's also running an oil cooler. Just a thought. Xnke?

You can also pop the circuit board out of that switch by bending the four metal tabs back and clean up the contacts, without removing the switch from the steering column. Worth a shot before replacing. I took the halfway approach on the relays, and spliced one in to the red wire that feeds the fuse box. This takes the load off the headlight power contacts, which is where I found the pinhead size pit and corresponding metal deposit from years of sparking, but leaves full power through the fuse box and dimmer switch. Not as satisfying as protecting all of the old hardware but it takes one weak link out of the system. The power switch was where I was losing voltage anyway and is the part that was getting warm. Plus the wire is easy to get to and close to the battery positive terminal.