NewZed

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.

1978 used a switch, not a sensor. Idle, mid-range, and full (or close to it), but only those three conditions. I'm not familiar with all of the possibilities of Megasquirt, but what you have wouldn't be considered a "sensor". Here's something from the Megamanual - " http://www.megamanual.com/v22manual/mwire.htm "Throttle Position Sensor The MegaSquirt® controller uses the throttle position sensor (TPS) to determine when the engine is at or near full throttle (to shut off feedback from the O2 sensor), when the engine throttle is opening or closing rapidly (and needing an accel/decel enrichment), and when the engine is flooded and needs to be cleared. Some people have managed to make their engines function reasonably well without a TPS. This is not recommended with the standard code, however. You will need a TPS that is really a potentiometer and not a switch. Many older cars had idle or WOT position switches instead of a real TPS. A real TPS gives a continuously varying signal with changing throttle. There are two wires on the external wiring schematic that go from MegaSquirt® into the TPS sensor. These two MegaSquirt® wires are +5 Vref signal and a sense line. There is a third wire going to ground. Assuming that you have a proper potentiometer TPS, then +5 Vref goes to one side of the pot, the other side goes to ground and the sensor line is hooked to the wip

Running rich. The converter "burns" hydrocarbons that didn't get consumed during normal combustion. Heat is produced.

Search around the interweb using words like "resurrecting old 240Z" or similar and you might find some write-ups about it. They are out there. There are other considerations besides just stuck cylinders too, like a dry valve train, sticking valves, gummed up carburetor innards, etc. If it has carbs then you'll need to determine the quality of the old fuel, it tneds to evaporate and leave tarry material behind. People often get the old engines running then have a lash pad pop free because a valve stuck open. And, much of the advice you'll find is for getting an engine to start after sitting for a long time but the advice might not actually be the best for getting the engine to start without causing long-term damage. If you really want it to come back to life and last another 100,000 miles you'll want to examine things closely before even trying to crank it. For example, that rust in the cylinders has to go somewhere after the pistons break free. Just some thoughts. I'm always surprised at how people will throw a battery in try to crank an engine over without considering what's happening to all of the age residue.

Many people say that you have to get new rocker arms to use with a new or regorund cam. But some of the engine boulders say that you'll be fine with used rocker arms if they don't have significant wear. Either way, if you get a used head with cam and rocker arms you'll have the cores for a reground cam profile. If you buy a used bare head, you'll have to buy all of the rocker arms and a camshaft separately, along with valves and lash pads and other missing parts. Seems like buying a used complete head would be the most economical way to go. Another option might be to just buy a complete engine or a whole car. Often, one person's junk car is another person's trove of useful parts. You'll want to choose between the various head options though, to start. N42, N47, P79 or P90, assuming you want the bigger ports to start the porting work. But, actually, if you're having Lonewolf port your head, what you should really do is work directly with them. They'll probably have specific expert instructions on what to buy, and what to look for to make sure the head is worth buying. Read their Stage II and III comments. http://www.lonewolfperformance.com/services.htm

Get the Rebuild and Modify books by Monroe and Honsowetz. Define what you're expecting from the engine. "Hot street" isn't enough. Make a list of technical details, like expected RPM range, desired power level, type of power, compression ratio, cam specs. expected lifetime, engine management system, etc. You should be able to write it all up on paper then go find the parts and get the work done. You're not really ready to buy a head yet.

I seem to recall that the locks develop play where the lever attaches. So they don't move the rod far enough to do anything at the latch. Another reason to disconnect it and move the lock rod by hand.

Disconnect the lock from the latching mechanism so that the lock is not part of the problem anymore. Sounds like you're trying to work on everything at the same time while it's all connected, without really knowing where the problem is. The rods usually just pop out of the nylon bushings. Disconnect the lock and move the locking rod by hand. Isolate the sub-systems: the inner handle, the outer handle, the lock, and the latch. The latch doesn't need any of those to function. That spring your friend messed up is important I think. It moves the latch. Without it you might have to figure a way to move it manually.

Here's the one I remember. Stony seems to know what he's doing and he had problems. But it is doable. http://forums.hybridz.org/topic/113280-rb-cas-drive-gear-replacement-info/

I've seen some discussions about it on this forum. Sounded like a difficult fix, if I recall right.