NewZed

I had a dry u-joint in a half-shaft and it caused a clanky, metallic type of clunk. Loose u-joints are hard to diagnose though, without prying on them with a screwdriver or taking the half-shaft off so that you can get a really good look at them. I've also found that old, worn Nissan u-joints that haven't gone bad yet seem to be tighter than new, ~$20 auto store u-joints. My limited experience with an old 280Z.

Your wiring looks fairly normal. Looks like someone removed your AC and heater system (just called AC in the FSM), the solenoids and vacuum bottle are gone. Unless you took them out to work on the wiring. Most of your pictures are too close to tell anything. What matters with wires is what they're connected to, not what they look like. The numbers on the trans don't mean much, there's a ton of information around the various forums about identifying transmissions. Just search "280Z transmission" on Google. Fuel problems are also common and there are some very basic things to do to figure out what's happening. Confirm fuel pressure and injectors firing are probably the two most important, since you've determined that it will run on starting fluid. Also, the 77 doesn't have a "priming" system for the fuel lines. The pump should only run when the engine is running or key at Start. Someone may have hot-wired your fuel pump or buggered up your AFM contact switch. Or you're hearing the antenna motor. Downloading the FSM and reading the Engine Fuel section will tell you a lot. Actually, you could just search "280Z won't start" or similar on Google and probably find over 50 threads describing exactly your issue. They all "ran when parked" and they all "start but won't stay running" when people come back to them. Pretty fascinating.

This calculator, which seems to be pretty good (I haven't seen a bad word about it)- http://www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/enginedesign/ - might help you out. You can even put negative numbers in the head gasket thickness box to simulate a significant head shaving. It will tell you if you have piston-valve contact but doesn't say if you'll have piston "pop-up." And, no expert, but that piston-valve contact divot in your picture doesn't look slight, does it? Looks like it hit pretty hard and moved some aluminum. You can run carbs on an N42 or N47 head from an L28 (the common head for that block), they still have the threaded carb manifold holes. That would get your CR down from the >10 the E31 gives, if you want to avoid those potential problems. Not sure about the P79 or P90 heads and carbs, the threaded holes might not be there any more, like they are in the N42 and N47. Looks like a fun puzzle to piece together.

Why were you looking at your alternator? 3.0 = V6? New wiring harness with swap? Use the FSM for the harness you're using.

280Zs usually came with 3.54 R200s. Most 280ZX 5 speeds came with 3.9. 1979 ZX and the 300ZXs manuals came with 3.7. 300ZX autos came with 3.54s but might have a different pinion flange. Just random recollections from browsing the FSMs to see what's out there. If you find a car, the FSM will tell you what it came with. Of course, someone may have swapped in the past.

Something here might work - http://www.mcmaster.com/#o-rings/=e9emj8

1974 just had an oil pressure sensor. The turbo unit is a sensor and a switch. If you want to use the switch, you would need to determine which terminal is the switch terminal (it will be all or nothing on resistance) and run new wire to whatever it is you want to switch (fuel pump, warning light, etc.). The other terminal would connect to your existing harness single wire. They started using the dual function sender in 77 or 78. The FSMs for those years do a better job of describing function (Body Electrical - 1978). This question seems like it should be in a separate thread...

I've used both on my stock 76 L28. But the FPR is different between 76 and 78 so you'll need the proper year FPR, or aftermarket FPR, and/or to do some fuel line plumbing modification. 76 had two inlets to the FPR, 78 has one. The cold start valve line is a hard line on 78 and rubber hose on 76 also, but they go to the same spot. The mounting brackets, and inlet/outlet lines start/end at the same spot.

You might be able to fake your way along with lower fuel pressure. Of course,there could be unintended consequences. The linked calculator below shows that you'd have to run about 12 psi fuel pressure to get close to the 265 cc turbo injector flow rate, so that the ECU can work with it, from a 450 CC injector (450 cc at 36 psi). Just an example, plug your own numbers in and see what comes out. I've never tried it but, in simple theory, it should work. I assume that the flow rate specs are at wide open, so injector solenoid electrical factors like opening time aren't considered (described in the FSM's Engine Fuel section). http://www.rceng.com/technical.aspx

The stock 78 distributor should work fine with an HEI module. $25, two extra wires from the coil, two wires from the pickup coil to the module and some mount fabricating and you should be running, with no questions about when the spark should happen. The stock 78 coil works fine with HEI also. Don't forget to leave the blue wire from the harness connected to coil negative so your tach works and the ECU gets its pulse. If you want more spark, get the performance module from Accel or similar and a coil to match. You probably know all this, but it's quick and easy if you're in a hurry. Probably the "best" for a low budget, not near Electromotive level though. p.s. "Best" in the title is a forum rule-breaker...

I would focus on the circuit from the negative side of the coils. For some reason it's grounded when it shouldn't be. Even if your sensor was stuck in the "trigger" position, modern ECUs and/or ignition modules won't keep the circuit grounded. It sounds like you have a short or the coil negatives' connected directly to ground.

Just realized that 77 might be the year of the change. I checked an auto store site and that seems to be the case. So 76 was the last year of the floating cylinder. 77 should have the duals.

The shoes are different. They changed from a single piston floating wheel cylinder to the dual piston type in 78, so the contact points on the shoes are different, if I recall. Maybe you don't have a 77 setup. I put a 78 rear suspension on my 76 (because I had it and it was in better condition than what I had on the 76), so have seen both. One possibility, in your case. Also, I noticed when I put new shoes in mine that the shoes seemed to be manufactured for a larger diameter drum. Only the forward and trailing edges were actually contacting the drum. Brake pedal travel varied for a few thousand miles until they wore in (when the pedal travel got high I would crank on the parking brake to shorten it. Did that quite a few times). Maybe the manufacturers expanded the shoe diameter to match the average drum size after turning? Just a couple of thoughts...

Have you searched on this site, Hybridz, using terms like "surge tank" and "sump"? There're quite a few threads on the site with diagrams and pictures.

It would probably help your quest if you identified what the relay is for. Ignition, fuel, ???

Sounds like you're already done.

I haven't had the problem but your description sounds like a misplaced reaction disc. Search the words reaction, disc and/or disk and you'll find lots to read.

You're Mitsubishi, if it is a 50 amp, is missing 10 amps from the stock alternator. Probably just an amp or two at idle but still short of stock. If everything worked and your only problem was brownout at idle, and you're sure the rewire to internal regulation is right, you could just put a ZX alternator on and be back to stock. Add an extra 100 to 200 engine RPM at idle. It helps if you don't mind losing the cool factor of a low lopy idle.

What's your starting point? Car, year, engine, EMS, etc. Can't really tell a thing from your two posts except that you probably have a ZX with a turbo.

Pretty sure that's a ZX, not a Z. They're different in many ways. It'll help you in any future questions to add year and model. Was it built or being built for drag-racing or just whatever happens?

These two links might help - http://www.xenonz31.com/reference.html http://www.cartalk.com/ Make sure you post back if you get on the show, I want to hear what Tom and Ray have to say.

The FSM should have that information and it's free for download. Look in the EL - Electrical section. http://www.xenons130.com/reference.html

This calculator might give you some ideas - http://www.ozdat.com/ozdatonline/enginedesign/ Flat tops are shown as "Late L28" in the Pistons category. You can use negative numbers for head gasket thickness to simulate a shaved head (subtract amount shaved from head gasket thickness planned). You'll get a warning message about piston height if you "shave" off more than HG thickness but it will still give you a CR. An N42 head on a stock F54 block with flat tops and stock thickness HG would give 9.75:1 CR. Your 1983 engine should be at 8.8. The N42 head with dished pistons is at 8.3. I'm only writing from what I've read. People who've actually done this kind of modification will probably have more valuable comments. Also, I'm not sure if Europe uses the same octane numbering system as the States so that needs to be considered. Considering Tony D's remark, and what's been written out there on the internet and on this forum, it seems like it might be a lot of effort and money for a small increase in performance, with an increase in the potential for future problems. Good luck.

I believe that you can get essentially the same effect for less money (in the States anyway, not sure about Europe) and effort by using an N42 or N47 head. I haven't done it myself so can't speak to degree of difficulty but I think that the heads are interchangeable, as long as you get the right head gasket (match the block seems to be the right way) and make sure the oiling system is right (spray vs. through-the-cam). Search "N42 head on F54 block" and you'll find lots to read, and you should be able to confirm how hard it would be. If you decide that you really need the higher CR. You said that you were cutting the head to achieve a higher CR but now you say you only plan to shave a little. Don't you have a target CR in mind? The discussion (argument) on the benefits of running a high CR in the L motor using pump gas has, from what I've seen, been going on since gas quality dropped when they took the lead out (you'll see it if you use the search term above). Maybe German gas is of higher octane rating than US and you'll be okay.

This is why your first thread got Tool Shed'ed. The whole thing is good for a laugh though.