Ansel Marrow

I agree with a lot shown in this thread. When I got my z, all I knew how to do was change the oil. Now, I can take off/put on a waterpump, do exhaust stuff, time the engine etc. Im about to tackle the wiring of the car, which means me stripping all of the wires alltogether, and rewiring the whole car one system at a time. I have read extensively about the subject, and Im taking the project on one problem at a time. I realize through money and time that my car will never be the powerhouse i wanted, but it can still be a better car than it was.

Hola, been having a few probs with the Z I fixed, but after I added the new oil pan, I for the life of me, cant get the starter on. I have tried for hours. I am a skinny dude, so Im getting a pal with experience to come over and help me bolt it on. Any tips to get it on smoothly will be appreciated. Oh and one of the reasons its difficult to get on is a header runs right underneath it, making it difficult to position to bolt back into place.

Hey, No Im still waiting on it, hopefully shows up before I move later this week. I rewired a bunch of switches while I am waiting, to notice my windshield wipers decided not to work. So thats fun. Ill let everyone know as soon as it shows up, and I bolt it on and adjust the valves. My mechanic friend said as long as there was no REAL noise (all I heard was the valves) then the engine should be ok. Very big lesson learned here. DONT ignore oil pressure.

No oil gauge. Its on my list now. I dont know if its hydraulic or solid. Its a 84 camaro engine, 305 5.0 liter. I have literally no oil on my top end. I just got done with a hour long conversation with him, he said possible permenant damage could be a rounded off cam, and the bent in oil pan has been like this since I got the car. So ho boy, this could be why I dont get as much power as I expect from it. Updates to come, Im pulling valve covers to check for valve damage.

What Im mainly worried about is permenant damage, which I have no idea what could be wrong. It runs cool, so thats sortof a relief, but one of my pals said all my valves and springs would have to be replaced. Im just looking for long term damage, and what signs would hint at this.

Ahhh, working on cars. You spend all day fixing one thing and something else acts up. Ok like I said, this is all a big lesson for me, Im learning a LOT. So, as I got the oil pan back on a week ago, I noticed it was indented. I showed my mechanic friend, he said it looked like someone jacked the car up on the oil pan (!!!!!) and that it was VERY bad. He said the oil is drawn from a quarter inch gap at the bottom of the oil pan, and if it doesnt get any oil, the oil pressure is really bad. Stupidly, I wrote this off (till today), he told me to get a new oil pan asap. So 3 days later (today) Im cruising, car is fine, nice sunny day, when the valves go CRAZY. They start snapping and rattling like nuts, so I drive the car slowly home (20 mins). I buy a new oil pan and oil pickup from summit, 2 day shipping, and hope that I can: a)put on the new oil pan and pickup b)adjust the valves c)be happy and drive it but my mechanic friend told me there could be further damage. Im not driving it till I get the oil pan i nthe mail (also, spent 9 hours taking off the gas tank and fixing the leak, ran all new lines so thats ok). Anyways, Im open to any and all advice, references, and suggestions as to what Im doing wrong, if anything. Thanks in advance.

Thanks for the info, I feel like I know a little more about my car. Can I just buy bigger tires or should I get new wheels? Would removing 2 feet of exhaust pipe give horsepower? Or make no difference at all?

Can you tell me about royal purple? Why use it over all other oils?

I didnt drive it much after I found the gas leak, its in the garage till I fix it. I know its a HUGE issue, and I dont want to blow up the car Ive wanted since I was 6. So thats being fixed tomorrow (its a loose rubber hose, I checked). I had a mechanic realistically guess with all the stuff thats on it, and after he took it around the block he guessed that it was pushing that, maybe a little less. I have no idea what these engines are stock hp wise, I suppose I still have more reading to do. The seller also told me he estimated above 300hp, maybe 320hp. I suppose Ill need to get it dynoed before I go throwing figures around. I know its faster than a friends stock 92 camaro with a 302, and hes got his to 350hp, and I can smoke him. That doesnt tell me what my hp is, I know. Thanks deja, its got 9 different things in the mail coming to make it look even better, and then Ill update a pic of it. The thing looks like its moving when its standing still! Its such an awesome feeling to own such a cool car when you see hondas with fart pipes and stickers all over them, when the datsun doesnt have to try to look cool, it just IS. It makes me feel like a little kid when I get in it, I cant stand riding in sedans or SUVs compared to the z.

This is where I am sort of lost, on answering these technical questions. I know how a car works and all the basics, but its a learning experience. Heres what I know... gears: dont know cam: unknown (i asked seller, he said some mild cam, plans to replace it in the future) heads: dont know (cast iron) exhaust: headers with 2.25-2.5" dual all the way to the back, with glasspacks. Going to go sidepipes real soon. carb: 650 holley, i think im having issues with it, likes to backfire rear end: r200 The trans has a shift kit, with a B&M shifter that I can bump to change gears. I was considering a tremec 5 speed, because I miss manual. I was thinking also that the 3 speed was causing me bad gas mileage, it revs really high on the freeway (4-5k ish). Maybe overdrive kit (if they make them? I dont know). If Im puttering around, it does have a nice note to it, just cruising, so Ill try to drive it slowly when Im short for gas. The leak is the main culprit, Ill have to fix that before I can realistically expect to measure gas mileage.

Hey all, Turns out it was a timing issue, with my previous thread. So finally I have all 300 ish horses under the hood of the datsun. It peels out in every gear, and its a 3 speed auto! Such an awesome car to drive, its louder than most of the rice burners I drive past. I have to thank this site, reading every night and constantly learning about how to work on these engines and the difficulties and challenges of dealing with these hybrids. On a side note, I was getting roughly 3-5mpg. I was just cruising in the z, watching my gas meter drop like crazy. I told myself "these cars are astoundingly cool, but if people actually got 3mpg from them, I doubt half the people on the board would have them". So this morning, after having my car back for 3 days, I noticed the gas leak this morning. So, if I can get this car to 12-15mpg, Ill keep it till I die. I dont think thats impossible for a 305? Any reccomendations as to how to treat it will be appreciated (I did a search already, didnt find much). A pal reccomended a spread bore carburetor. Does that help gas mileage a lot?

1) gonna have to check on this one, i dont know. 2) done 3) need to check that 4) i got a OHM meter and all new wires 5) ill test that, need to check the gas tank aswell 6) 350 auto, 3 speed with a shift kit. yeah, I know throwing money at a car doesnt fix problems, but (and i know some of you will argue) but the idea of a new part in my mind alleviates if that part is the culprit, sort of a process of elimination. Thanks for the help guys. I get together with the mechanic tomorrow, this time with a CORRECT battery (was using a tiny one and the engine woudlent turn over).

Its a 650 Holley. It was backfiring like crazy until the new cap + rotor, and the valves being adjusted, so now it feels like its decent. Should a 700cfm edelbrock (the one with the nice chrome finish) be used? I got a little cash to play with next month.

The way you guys are reacting is making me feel like this is a small problem. Ill read the TDC article. I think Ill have it towed to my place and work on it myself for a few days.

...and take my Z to a shop. I got a pal working on it, but hes busy, and I dont know enough to tackle the problem. Basically the cars timing is off, lots of low-end power, mid is decent but the top end bogs like crazy. Compression test revealed low pressure in 2 cyl, but he fixed it by tightening down the valves. So we figured it had to be one of three things: 1)blown head gasket 2)burnt piston 3)cracked cyl head Its this car... http://classifieds.hybridz.org/showproduct.php?product=2143&cat=8 He ruled out all of those, and says its down to bad timing, so we pull the timing chain cover. Lo and behold, its a double roller to my surprise and its not stretched, and the dots are lined right up. Before the damper was mis-alligned we think, there was a painted line on it for some reason. So we go to start it with the timing chain cover off, ignition doesnt want to work. I have no idea what to do here. He says this is small stuff, but its hard to hear that when all my loved ones call it a peice of crap. So yeah, Ill probabaly pay a shop a grand to fix it, but man, I bought this car a month ago and it is so dissapointing to know that a stock 84 camaro can beat me. So I need this thing re-assembled, timed, and adjusted. I am growing impatient, so thats why Im consdiering a shop instead of working on this car once a week for another 3 months to get it running. I make enough now to pay for repairs. And yeah James, if you are reading this, I just want to to work.

IF I got my car painted for 14k, it should be BETTER than perfect. Even if you dont like the color, I would follow up on these guys, and do what I could to get it how I want it. This isnt a $500 dollar paintjob.

This sounds like some similar problems Ive been having with my 305. A pal of mine thought the head gasket was blown, or worse yet, a cracked cylinder head. Making about half the power since I got it, very dissapointing first drive. Whats a good coolant/water mixture to use in high-temp environments? Ive been leaning towards 70/30.

Thanks for all of your help guys, especially you warren. Im off to go peel out in the z.

Allright, there is nothing wrong with the steering column. I took off the plastic covers, and removed the ignition assembly alltogether. I just dis-assembled 90% of it on my desk right now, sure enough there is a part broken, and the lock wont turn. Im gonna buy a whole new set on ebay, in a little bit. Can someone tell me how to hotwire this car? Red to black should make the electricity work?

No he has worked on it, he had 2 zs (280zx and a 84 300zx) and he has been working on the timing on my chevy 305. He knows a lot about it, but I did wake him up last night, he maybe have mis-interpreted or I mis heard it.

I may have mis-typed what he said. Basically, the fact of the matter is my steering wheel can only turn 3 degrees left or right, and there is a klunk sound when I try to turn it further. I went out and messed with it this morning, and still its acting up, key just doesnt turn the cylinder. Its saturday, and I worked all week now Im stranded at home. Any ideas at all will help me. I am also amazed to find 6 replies when I woke up. This really is an enthusiast community, so thank you all. Ill mess with it a little more, but basically Im stuck here till I either figure this out, or call a mechanic.

Hello, I bought this car. http://classifieds.hybridz.org/showproduct.php?product=2143&cat=8 Its not bad, few mirnor things wrong with it, but this evening after driving around for a few hours (Running just fine) I come home, and park it. No big deal. So I get in it 20 mins later, and the ignition wont turn. Its like im inserting the wrong key. So I try to turn the wheels....no go. They are locked. I call my mechanic friend, he says the transmission is locking the front wheels, the car doesnt know its in gear, so the linkages arent working. He cant come over till 2 days from now, so Im wondering if this is true, and if it is, how can I fix it.

What I did, was take apart the door (without removing the glass which can be a huge pain) and I adjusted everything myself. I had a problem with my drivers side door too, and it turns out the handle was broken, where the hinge was to push down a rod to open the door. Just take it apart and see how you can fix it.

Im akin to the space and the aerodynamics, but DAMN does that hatch look smooth.

Doesnt that make your car less rigid with all the holes in the frame?