Typical new Z owner, needing help.

[Brux]

Well, since I'm new here, let me give you some backstory before I start hammering you all with questions: (and if you're not interested, skip on down! I won't be offended.)

 

I just sold off my first car in January for $500 ('96 Mustang, more than 300k miles, rough but reliable) and went hunting for a new one. When I went up to Oklahoma for a couple weeks, I found it sitting outside my dad's body shop: an '83 280zx NA, 207k miles, 4 flat tires, and sitting in the mud. I got ahold of the owner, and after hounding him about it for a few days, we talked him down to $500 and pulled it into the shop.

 

It was pretty rough at first; it had a good backfire going, the clutch was out, the engine had shells all in it because SQUIRRELS had been living in it (right after winter, you know), some serious power steering leaks, and something I thought was weird: ONE scissor door, on the passenger side. It obviously hadn't been put on right, considering it rubbed every time you opened the door... But either way, I took that thing off right away.

 

I did some things right away: new distributor cap, spark plugs, thermostat, air filter (it has an aftermarket intake), a new injector to replace a cracked one, a couple new used tires, and a new left inner tie rod after it tried to throw me off a road. After that, it ran a little rich, but it was solid enough to get me back to the DFW area.

 

So, my problem. It's real rough when you cold start it up to 2500-3000 RPMs, and then it clears up. It'll do that till it warms up, and then run fine, still rich. I got into the AFM today and adjusted it so it wouldn't run so rich, and it fixed THAT problem... But it still sputters when cold-started, even worse now that it's leaner. Also, I think it smells a little rich still until it warms up, then it's fine again.

 

Through some real basic searching, I think I've found that the AFM being out of whack could have killed my cat (considering it's probably the original), but I'm not sure I'm getting the "rotten egg smell" that I hear described. Could it be what's killing my cold starts? How can I test it?

 

Also, as a new Z owner, and as a new owner with a rougher car, is there anything else I should be checking? I did a lot of looking for rust, and it's actually pretty solid. The only thing that really concerns me other than the possibility of a bad cat is the power steering leak, but I'm not really sure what I'll have to replace to fix it yet.

 

Anyways, sorry for such a long post. Thank you in advance for your help!

 

Edit: I figure I should mention I've recently replaced the fuel filter (within the past week) thinking it could have been causing the problem. It didn't help TOO much, but better safe than sorry.

Edited April 18, 2012 by Brux

[calvin280zxt]

the first place to rust is the spare tire well. look under all carpets, the original undercoating only hides rust not prevent it. also all spot welded seams and the area at the bottom of the windshield

[Brux]

the first place to rust is the spare tire well. look under all carpets, the original undercoating only hides rust not prevent it. also all spot welded seams and the area at the bottom of the windshield

 

Yeah, we all gave it a good look before I bought it. My family has been doing body work for a long time, and they cleared it, so I'm not too worried about rust. Mainly just the mechanical stuff that I need to learn.