Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 I just recently purchased a 1977 Datsun 280z 2+2. The body is perfect except for the usual rust pockets ( like the driver side floor panel being gone ). It hasn't been turned over for 11yrs when it was parked by a disabled man who was unable to continue driving it. I want to try and get the original L28 engine to fire up. All the spark plugs look good and the dirstributor and cap are new. All the fuel lines and fuel rail are in perfect condition. I'm a little frightened when it comes to the gas tank. I just looked under the rear of the car and noticed the muffler was totally rusted to heck. So I just imagine how the inside of the gas tank looks. Not to mention the fuel pump. I just bet thats full of junk and corrision. Well I tried to turn it over with a fresh battery. Not even a budge and just he normal solenoid click. How do I go about breaking this engine free thats been sitting for that long I've already preped the cylinders by shooting some oil in there. I disconnected the fuel lines at the filter to not suck up any debris. Tomarrow I'll see if I cant get a giant wrench on their somewhere and get the crankshaft to break free. Hopefully the cylinder walls dont get too F'd in the process. Wish me luck... 1977 Z 2+2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akeizm Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 You might not be drawing enough power from the battery due to a poor connection between the battery terminals and the connectors that connect to the battery. Clean those up and give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillZ260 Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 You could also try to let the drive train break it free. Get'er rollin an put it in 3rd or 4th and see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Well for one thing im not sure how I'd use the drivetrain. LOL its a automatic ( Ill change that out some time). Last night I recharged my battery and cleaned the terminals and made sure the cables had no corrision or rust on them. Still the same click from the solenoid. Im going to rip off the radiator and try to break the crankshaft free. Ill try to include some pictures of the "operation" on the old beast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 I took out all the old gas(supprisingly there was nearly a half tank, so i guess the fuel gauge doesn't work )and radiator fluid. I pulled off radiator and made sure the inlets and outlets were free from debris and the water pump had no signs of rust. SO with the radiator off I used a belt to grab onto the main pulley. With barely any force the motor turned OVER!!!!! Im so freaking happy it wasn't seized that bad. I think pre prepping the cylinders the night before really helped. Now all I have to do is put all the parts back on, Put all new fluids in the beast (coolant, oil, transmission fluid, and some new gas). Maybe tonight ill be able to hit the key and hear the fuel pump kick in. Thats my next hurdle. After that Ill check the rear end and get her ready to fire up. CANT WAIT!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 Changed out all the fluids in the car; got all new filters installed; new fuel lines; spark plugs; and tons of little maintaince to the fuel system. After nearly 5 hours of prep work and $170 worth of parts, I hit the fuel pedal a few times and ..... nothing. Turns out there was a bad inline fuse below the battery that was keeping the starter from kicking any real amps. Replaced that then the car fired right up after putting some starter fluid in it. So after all and all the Master cylinder to the brakes is full of the gunk old brake fluid or something. How hard would it be to clean out the preexisting brake lines. Im pretty sure I could just disconnect the brake lines and use a air compressor to blow out the crap? Or would it just be better but maybe a little more expensive to have a liscensed shop do the work like a new master cylinder, turbo chamber (forbrakes), all new shoes, and maybe even a drum balance????????????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 I would bet that you will replacing the master cylinder, if not now, then pretty soon. You might as well get some new flexible brake lines too, as the old ones are likely rotten. Just bleed some new fuid to all 4 corners and it should be ok. Might as well just replace the master cylindr and the 4 flex lines now, instead of redoing everything later.....brakes are kinda important..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 Well should I bleed them myself and just put on a new master and lines. Or take it to a shop and hand them the parts and be line "put this shit on the POS over there " Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 Get a new master and install it yourself...it's very easy to do. Bench bleed it first (plenty of posts in the archives on how to do that). Then just bleed new fluid to all four corners, starting with the wheel fartherest away from the master (right rear), then left rear, then right front then left front. Even for the 'rookie' it should not take more than 3 hours max..... BTW...buy a NEW master cylinder, not a rebuilt one. It's only a little more $$$, but it is well worth it.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 Well I found a new master cylinder in stock Im not sure if I'll be able to flush out the old stuff because its so old and real thick. How would I be able to tell if the calipers are bad. I hear if you have old fluid in there long enough rust forms and eventually the callipers are no longer good. What about if I took off the old master and took it down to midas. Would they be able to flush the brake lines with the master off? ALso what kind of brake bleeding is the best ? (gravity, force fed, "bench") not sure of any others... thanks for the help guys it really makes it easier to work on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 OK...take off the brake lines at the calipers/drums. Undo the lines at the master. Wrap a rag at each corner (so that when you blow it out the old brake fluid doesn't get on the body---brake fluid eats paint). Get some carb cleaner, or brake cleaner aerosol and spray into the lines at the master cylinder side. If you don't have a compressor, get a couple of compressed air can (like for blowing off keyboards etc) and blow air throught the brake lines. Reconnect the lines at the wheels. Bench bleed the master cylinder (new one) before putting it in the car (again use the search function here). Then bolt the master into the car and bleed as I mentioned above. If you don't have a brake bleeding kit, then just a piece of vacuum line that is the right size to slip over the bleeder nipple will work. About two feet of it. Put the open side into an old can with a little brake fluid in it. Get a Chiltons manual from the parts store next time you are there....sounds like you will need it..... This is all very basic stuff that you should learn how to do, and the Chiltons will tell you how..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 thanks for the help, I took off the master and throughly cleaned it with carb cleaner then reasembled it. I put half a pint of fresh fluid in, pumped the brake twice, then added another pint. I know this didnt flush out the old fluid but atleast the brakes grab now. How long would it take if I didnt use any air compressor but just let the lines "gravity bleed"? My only problem now is that I dont hear the wine of the fuel pump so the car wont start Luckily `Auto zone had a replacement one for $100. I did ark the old pump to see if it was working well but without a pressure gauge Im pretty lost in the dark. So ill go put on the new fuel pump and see if I cant get her started again. I've got the new master cylinder but I dont want to put it on just yet. If the brakes lock up fine would It be ok to drive it a few times? Or would that just be a dumb A idea since some of the Dot4 fluid in there is like 10yrs old. I think the filters that are in the old master cylinder caught most of the debris. Where the lines feed into the master and where it feeds to the booster were free from crud. Before when I pushed on the pedal it would just go to the floor. Now it goes half way down and it feels like regular Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 12, 2004 Share Posted September 12, 2004 So it has enough fuel pressure to keep a constant idle and the brakes grab well. SO i fire it up and drive it down to the gas station (going 5mph the whole way). When I get back home the car slowly looses idle til it stalls. I listen for the fuel pump but it made no noise as i cranked it over. SO I replace all the rear fuel lines and wire in a new fuel pump. Now Im not getting any fuel pressure at the engine, WTF happened the car wont idle and Im pretty sure its a fuel problem because the thing will spark like carzy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 SO it turns out the reason why my fuel gauge didnt work is the same reason why the car doesnt run. I took off the tank and looked inside that old coffin. Of course its full of rush and the fuel sensor is a rusted staff. Any Know where I can get a gas tank that doesnt have a Internal pump?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 Just take that tank to a radiator shop that does fuel tank jobs. They can clean and reseal for a good price. Or you could do it yourself: http://www.eastwood.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=382&itemType=PRODUCT&RS=1&keyword=fuel+tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 Whats a "good price". I think I'll just buy the stuff and do it myself. The inside of the tank doesnt look rusted much. The only problem is trying to free all the gunk out of the outlet nipple on the underside of the gas tank. The tube feed all the way to the center of the tank like 10 inches, and i can only get a wire to go about 4 Thanx for the help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 15, 2004 Share Posted September 15, 2004 Turns out the outlet nipple on the gas tank was junk full of rust. No wonder the old pump went out SHouldnt there be some sort of filter before the pump or is the filter in the pump good enough? We'll the "new relined" old gas tank should be here by this weekend. Hopefully thats the only reason it wouldnt fire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 1977Datsun Posted September 26, 2004 Share Posted September 26, 2004 OK so all new fuel lines installed. ALl of the suspension bushing replaced. How do i go about priming the fuel pump. On the side it says in big letters not to dry run it. So far I put 4 gallons in the tank and tried to let the pump prime itself. I blew out the lines from the tank and they were clear. Does the tank need to be pressurized "seeing as how its fuel injected" in order to leak? I pulled off the main fuel line from the tank and nothing came out. MAybe i need more fuel? This is the same thing the other tank was doing except when I filled the old one full of air it barely leaked out the main fuel nipple Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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