Guest comeandzpa Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 I am looking for a new Z, and recently found one I am interested in. It's a 1983 280ZX 2+2, 5 speed w/ only 69,000 miles. It has very minimal surface rust and, much to my delight, the frame rails are in really good shape! Since I am in college, my dad went to check it out one day. The guy hadn't started it for about 3 months, but it started right up. The next weekend I went home and checked it out for myself. When we tried to start it, however, it started, choked a few times, and shut off. The car also only had about 1/16th of a tank of gas in it. Does this sound like a case of fouled-up injectors? And, if so, can they be cleaned without having to be replaced? I want this thing to run at least well enough for me to drive it without the guy selling it to have to spend a lot of time/money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Put a few gallons of fresh gas in it and see how it runs. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Tp clean the injectors, you really have to take them out, hook up to an electric gizmo to open the valve, and backflush. Otherwise, you are just pushing more junk into the tip to clog it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 If the tank is that low, and it's been sitting for a while, a lot of crud probably settled out in the bottom of the tank. When you guys fired it up you probably sucked up some gunk pretty quick. Tomohawk is right, especially in cases like that, there's a good chance they'll have to be removed and cleaned. However, a few people have said to me that they have had great results using Techron to help clean injectors w/o removing them. This is probably more as a maintenance thing to keep them clean to really fix them if their clogged, but, it's worth a try. So before you do anything, I'd dump in like 3 gallons of fresh gas, and a bottle of that techron stuff. Also, be sure and change the fuel filter. Theres more of a chance that the filter is what clogged up rather than the injectors. Honestly, I've never really had a problem, out of three EFI Z's that I've had, with clogged injectors... those types of symptoms have always been caused by something else. Keep in mind that if it does end up being gunk in the fuel system you'll want to flush out the lines as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomoHawk Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 Hang onto the old fuel filter and cut it open, then dry it out to see what as in there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 14, 2004 Share Posted April 14, 2004 yeah it's always worth a look. That's one thing I miss about my SU carbs and the nice see thru plastic filter, being able to see how much crud was in there. Was very nice after I cleaned and recoated my fuel tank and months would go by w/o a single speck of crap in my filter By the way, dropping and cleaning the fuel tank wouldn't be a bad idea in your case comeandzpa. There are some cheap methods to do it yourself at home, or you can pay a shop to do it. Otherwise even after cleaning the injectors and changing the filter you may have more problems in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhadman Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 If you want them professionally cleaned I would seriously consider RC Engineering. They have a very fast turn around time and believe me, when you get them back they will look brand new! I sent them the injectors on my (now gone) Turbo II RX-7 and I was very, very impressed with the service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest comeandzpa Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 Zhadman...if you don't mind my asking, how much did that cost you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 16, 2004 Share Posted April 16, 2004 I'd like to know that as well. Last time I looked into cleaning and flow balancing services was something like $200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest comeandzpa Posted April 17, 2004 Share Posted April 17, 2004 Hey, $200 doesn't sound too bad considering it'd be well over $300 plus shipping time to get new ones from MSA. Although chances are I could find some on the board somewhere for cheaper.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhadman Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 It came out to just over $25 an injector. WELL worth the money. I couldn't believe the injectors I got back were the ones I sent in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
z-ya Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 http://www.cruzinperformance.com I've had him do 3 sets of L6 injectors for me. Does gre work. About $100 per set with new seals and hoses. I'm running a set in my turbo car now, and it purs like a kitten. Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted April 20, 2004 Share Posted April 20, 2004 http://www.witchhunter.com/injectorserv1.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Wow thanks for those links guys!!! I think this is the final link in the puzzle of getting my car running 100%... as I've done just about everything else!!!! I'm glad to see it's quite a bit less than I thought it was. $12 per at the link Tim gave.... $72!!!! Not bad at all for getting back a set of like-new injectors!! From the day you ship them out, what's the usual turnaround time before you get them back? That's the only other catch for me... really hate being w/o a running car for long periods of time (anything over a day is a long period of time!) I'm wondering if I can't find something local to me (SoCal valley area). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Still want to try some of that Techron as well... see if it helps at all. The guy at the local tuner shop (Upgrade Motoring) recommended Neo Sythetic Fuel Injection cleaner http://www.upgrademotoring.com/performance/neo_gasadd.htm Said he's had really good results with the stuff... as he should as the stuff is kinda pricey!! That link is pretty interesting, lists all kinds of testing that has supposedly been done showing just how well it cleans things out. I may try that as a last ditch attempt before parking the car for a week and shipping the injectors out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zhadman Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 RC Engineering ( http://www.rceng.com) is here in Torrance if you're looking for a local shop. Turn around time, especially if you're local, would be very short. It took 3 days for mine, but I had to have them shipped from the IE (I work in Torrance now). Glenn Kowta at Upgrade Motoring is a great guy and a big Z-car nut. I ordered a set of GramLights from him a month back and would definately do business with him again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bastaad525 Posted April 23, 2004 Share Posted April 23, 2004 yeah Glen is a great guy... think he's got 2 or 3 Z's (I know one of them is a turbo running a Tec system, but it's been outta comission for a while). I've been going to his shop for like 6 years. He's also got a pretty nice Datsun Roadster. I talked to him today and he said the Neo Fuel Injection Cleaner works REALLY well. Said he's had customers come in with all kinds of problems, stumbling and stuttering and misfires, and that this stuff usually clears it up pretty quick. He also recommended the Neo Keep Cool to help with my not-quite-overheating-but-still-running-too-warm problem. I've heard good stuff about the Neo stuff before from guys who are at the track a lot so I'm gonna give this stuff a try. Last time I visited Glen's shop he had a TON of radio controlled Z's of different sizes. It's funny... his customer base that I've seen is mostly the rice crowd, and when I asked if he drove a honda he cracked up laughing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lilj Posted June 26, 2004 Share Posted June 26, 2004 I'm thinkin about sending my old injectors in to the cruizin performance place, 72$ it says. if i pulled the injectors straight off of the rail and out of the hole, it would have all of the stuff on it right? ie. seals and o-rings (i noticed it says to include when sending). thanks, jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BADAZZ240GN Posted June 29, 2004 Share Posted June 29, 2004 I KNOW YOU'VE SPENT THE MONEY ALREADY BUT SEAFOAM WORKS WONDERS.... IT IS TRUELLY THE ONLY INJECTOR CLEANER THAT REALLY WORKS BESIDES TECHRON AND IT IS BETTER THAN THAT TOO.. MY BEATER WORK HONDA SAT FOR 3 YEARS AND THE INJECTORS WERE REALLY FOULED AND SEAFOAM AND A COUPLE GALLONS OF GAS AND.. BACK TO 100% DO THE VALVE TREATMENT ON THE BACK OF THE CAN... IT GIVES YOU A SEAT OF YOUR PANTS INCREASE IN PERFORMANCE. PLUS IT WILL IDLE BETTER. JUST DON'T PUT IT IN YOUR OIL LIKE IT SAYS.. YOUR ENGINE WILL LEAK LIKE A STRAINER I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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