VAPOR LOCK SOLUTIONS FOR I/C'd 280ZX

[Guest jjohart]

Hi. I've had an I/C set up with my 83 for over a month now, and quite simply, the more I drive the car, let it idle a min or 3 before shut down (turbo timer) and then come back to start it anytime in the next hour or less, the more it sputters, missfires, stalls, crank time increases, and only by forcing the revs to stutter up to a slightly more stable (but still power impaired) 2-3,000 for 30-60 secs before she stabilizes.

There are times I'm suspecting the only time the car is performing with full power is when it's cold (the engine). I am gathering that there is a high likeliehood that all of this could be VAPOR LOCK. There are not a lot of answers on this site on what to do if that's the case.

Does putting on a Bosch high pressure pump make it worse/better/the same? Am I going to have to have someone do some sort of custom shroud around the fuel rail? Additional vents? What else can be done?

Please help, I've got a local shop who will probably charge my arm off for them to add a brain cell IQ point trying to "fix" this without clear instructions!

Thanks

John

[z-ya]

John,

 

Is the injector cooling fan still intack? Its a squirrel fan that mounts on the passenger side, with ductwork that goes up over the valve cover to direct the air on the injectors. Do you hear it run after you shut the motor off?

 

Your car should have one. If it doesn't seem to be coming on, I have two of them, one of which you can have. It bolts in, with a two wire connections.

 

After saying all that, I find it hard to beleive you are having vapor lock problems with the weather we have be having in Ne England this year! It may be something else, of which I have no idea, sorry.

 

Pete

[Brad-ManQ45]

Have you cheked the cyl head temp sensor and wiring?

[Guest jjohart]

To last respondent:

If you mean spark plug wires, they were replaced last month, with no improvement in the conditions I described. I haven't had the cylinder head temp checked, but since the gasket head work (timing chain as well, which I think is loose, i.e very chattery soundiing underhood, when passing cars/walls, etc), I've noticed the digital temp indicator for water goes to four horizontal lines instead of three as before when fully warm, and the oil temp seems a little bit lower and slower to warm up than before (but same oil-synthetic-used, only changed after head work, along with coolant/thermostat).

I'm no techie, but I would like to know if there are additional tricks to making the engine run cooler, as it is bound to get hotter around here later in the year, making this problem likely to intensify (I am absolutlely convinced it is the CAR'S running temperatures that are having the greatest impact on this conndition-again, warm up, stop car after idling 2 mins, restart 20 mins later!-and NOT the ambient/outdoor temperature having much if any impact on the presence/absence of VAPOR LOCK TYPE behavior, whether it is that or some other condition!).

Thanks

John

[Lockjaw]

You should not have vaporlock issues with a fuel injected car. Chances are, you have a bad connection at one of the sensors, you have a leaking injector(s), or possibly the CAS in the dizz is going bad.

 

I don't run the injector fan, never have.

 

 

Run some STP fuel injector cleaner thru it, check, your timing to make sure it is not retarded, and clean all the connections at the ecu, and the sensors for the ecu. Then see if you still have a problem. Also make sure your head temp sensor is staying connected. Mine comes off from time to time, but JWT in their infinite wisdom fixed that so its not so bad, like a stock one.