NewZed

1975 still has the Ammeter so your simplest quickest check of a failed VR is to put a meter on the battery terminals and rev the engine. If you get 16 or over, that's bad. The complete, thorough test procedure is shown in the FSM. Whatever path you choose, owning a good multimeter is almost mandatory for working on these cars. You can just go to the parts store and get a 1982 280ZX alternator and you'll be fine, if you decide to do the swap.

They differ by year. It's called the Warning light switch in the FSM. Part #21. http://www.carpartsmanual.com/datsun/Z-1969-1978/brake/brake-piping/from-jul-72

Those look like CAS wires. With coil-packs, the distributor function is gone, so that's not the right word. The modules are a bit sensitive, I think. Here's a vendor. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/121493-new-crank-angle-sensors-for-8283-280zxts-in-stock/ I've dinked around with later models (Pathfinder VG30E engine) and found that some people swap newer for older. I don't know which comes on the 280ZX CAS's though, so don't know if this is relevant. Here's an example. RSB-07 replaces RSB-03. https://z31performance.com/forum/z31-basics/how-to-guides-basic/20433-rsb-07-cam-sensor If you have another car that uses that type of CAS you can plug in the questionable CAS to the good car, turn the key to On, and spin it by hand. If it's good the injectors will click. An easy way to tell if it's ECU or CAS.

Don't miss the fact that pre-ignition, caused by hot spots, can cause detonation, but it's not a necessary precursor. Detonation can happen without it. Detonation is caused by pressure and heat of the fuel-air mixture. It's an explosion of all of the remaining fuel-air mix at one time. Combustion chamber shape comes in to play because a bad design can create pockets of high pressure.

You could use one of these things.

BRAAP did some work on intakes in his EFI tips thread. I have the link in my clipboard - http://forums.hybridz.org/forum/90-l-series/

You should read all of these threads - http://forums.hybridz.org/forum/90-l-series/ You seem to be hearing what people are saying then deciding to do what you wanted to do anyway. The engine's don't like high compression ratios. And people don't just "convert to E85" on a whim, it's a whole other world. If your thinking that picking the right head gasket is the way to set a compression ratio, E85 is going to take you forever. Seriously, read the threads in that link, they're full of answers. p.s. I see that I basically copied and reworded JMortensen's comment, #10 and #7. Overlapping posting, I think, I missed his.

It's been over 5 years. OK and "slapping" don't go well together. The answer to your first question was really "leave the N47 head on". Seriously, it's got the bigger valves and good compression ration that JM mentioned as important. You'd be creating problems and ending up with a weaker motor by swapping on an E31 head.

Diseazd, I think you mean. Isn't there an old saying - "There's no replacement for displacement"? "Destroking" gives a buzzy motor but you end up with less power. Nissan lengthened the stroke to add displacement, giving more power.

Thanks RB. Didn't mean to sound so snippy. BJSZED, I think that the factory drawing in Post #4 tells the story. The thick black represents the rubber of the seal. You can see the lips pointing back, or "in". They even labeled "Front" for us, with a big arrow. It must have been confusing at the time because they wouldn't waste space on it if it was obvious.

Those pictures are from Blue, the guy who put together most of that web site. Beermanpete knows more, he's been in there. The return line might bend up inside the baffle, with the opening up high. Same problem.

I think that there's a few in the thread linked below. People talk about it all the time,they just don't make a big deal of it. Your amazement is more about finding stuff on the forum, I think. And you can turn the distributor for more advance. What is "dump tuning"? Sounds like one of those fancy California diets. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/123487-compare-your-dyno-sheets-here/?hl=dyno

You should start a new thread with a good title. 77 280Z has nothing to do with blow-through turbo carb. I'm only here because I have a 76 280Z. And guessing at things like where the timing should be set on a turbo L6 is very bad.

I was going to suggest engine fogging oil. You're right though, it's probably a good idea. The bare motor parts are exposed to air if there's no fuel so rusting can happen. You could also just fill it with light oil and seal the ports. Non-flammable, but still a petro product.

The left hand turn problem has been described before, but not so bad as yours. 1/3 - 1/4 tank is the more common level where it starts. I think it was one of the first problems I asked about on this forum. Swirl pot/surge tank was the suggested solution. Apparently there's also a pickup tube inside the tank that runs up and then back down (what gnosez is talking about, I assume) to the exit point, that sometimes gets holes rusted in it at a high point. If the holes are submerged they don'r have an effect, but when exposed they suck air. Could be why you have a worse problem. Here's some pictures of the inside of a 77 tank. You can see how the pickup tube rises up before dropping back down to the exit point. http://atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/fuel/gastank/index.htm Aren't modifications prohibited in Chump?

For the record, there had been posts from another guy from Australia in this thread. His reasoning was a bit skewed and he wanted to delete the contents of a post or two. Not a big deal and it made the thread entertaining. But now it looks like the OP and me are having some sort of weird disjointed conversation. A moderator must have granted a favor to the guy? There is no Delete button in the post box. Are we just disappearing things now? It really screws up the thread. Nothing wrong with disappearing things if they're totally disconnected. But my comments about looking at the pictures wrong were directed at the guy who's missing, not the two other guys here. If you make a mistake on a forum you're not supposed to get do-overs. It keeps people honest and focused. It's one of the great things about the internet.

I think that you're confusing inside and outside, in the pictures. Both pictures are of the inside, looking out. Through that hole, away from you, is the outside world. The lips should be pointing in, or at you. As they are in the first picture. The picture is of the front cover, not the transmission. If you're using a phone you probably can barely tell what you're looking at.

Ist photo. The early FSM's actually give better detail. Here's 1976. It's not pressurized and there's not even any oil weight on it so either way would probably work. But #1 is the right way.

92 mm stack height is the key. There are thread about it.

Can't get a decent idea of what you're actually doing. Operating, heating, drilling, in to a "mechanism". Pretty vague. And your picture is just a picture. Your best plan, I think, would be to compare the good side to the bad side. Open up the passenger door that works and see which parts move. Go back to the door that doesn't work and see which parts don't.

Street toy or track toy? You'd probably spend more if you tried to build your own. Nobody makes their money back when selling a swapped Z. You'd need to now more about the quality of the worksmanship, and consider your own skills, to know if it's worth buying. If the engine is in twisted and you don't know how to fix it, you'll have to pay someone else to do it. The guy didn't mention the use of a reputable swap kit so he might have just hung it in there and welded some mounts in place. Who knows.

I've read quite a few threads from the high horsepower drag-racing guys, Sunny Z and RebekahsZ in particular. And CV's (the joints themselves) aren't the weak link. This topic seems off-topic. Edit - forgot to say also, the 94 FSM shows the 240SX with a VLSD. There may be other years. This guy sounds authoritative - http://www.ka24development.com/vlsd.html

Those gaps are usually called lash. It could be the water pump bearing. It could also be the AC belt idler bearing. Could be that your timing chain sprocket bolt is loose. An anti-rattle spring could have broken. One of your lash pads might have popped out, that's not common, but it's not uncommon either. You might have a cam lobe wearing down also. Could be an exhaust leak, they sound like rattles sometimes.

Always best to use multiple sources if you can. Here's one example. And consider manufacturing tolerances.

You said the rattle had gotten worse Gotten worse within the year that's passed since you last had the cover off? There are people on the forum who probably have their valve covers off once a week or more.