MIBPreacher Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 has anyone heard of this happening or had this happen to them? I have a 87 300zx 2+2 ttops, the gauge goes slowly down to E after driving about 180 miles, I go to fill it and it takes roughly 9 gallons to fill it. Any ideas or quick fixes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
240ZR Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 a common problem I BELIVE... You need to a) look into getting a new fuel sending unit looks liek you car sat for some time and gumed it up, Run it dry once and mark how many miles you are able to take it on a full tank, then fill up 50 mile befor that, c) try those fancy engine deguming agents, someone on z31 had a similar problem filled tank with doubble the deguming agent recomened let it sit for a week and it fixed it (might be back for engine tho?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 I just bought a '84 that sat for a while and has the same problem. The day it arrived the gauge read "E". Filled it up with only six gallons but the needle only went to half. Drove it around a little and after a couple of days it slowly went up to full. Put 100 miles on it yesterday and it's back down to half. Either I'm geting terrible fuel mileage or the problem has not remedied itself (or these Z31 have tiny tanks). Anybody know how much gas fits in the tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 z31 is a 19.5 gallon tank, I would say 75% of z31's have faulty fuel gauges. Search z31.com and you can usually find that the problem is the sending unit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted February 16, 2006 Share Posted February 16, 2006 Thanks Sparks. Did a search on Z31.com. From what I read there it is a very common problem and the culprit most times is the sending unit. New from Courtesy Nissan: Fuel Tank Gauge Assembly For Analog Gauges - 1984 - 1988 300ZX Code:25060-Z31AN Price: $82.66 19 1/2 gallons? Dang, or arg! I hope it's the sender and not the mileage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Jarvis Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Dan, I know you are new to the Z31 world, don't know about you Preacher, but are you guys aware of the Z31 dual gauge ? There are two scales, the first scale reads down to around 1/4 tank, then the second needle takes over and shows the last 1/4 of a tank over the full gauge range. There is usually a period when the main needle has vanished, but the secondary hasn't shown up yet. You are a real Z31 person when you stop being scared of the secondary gauge ! It's been a while now since I blew mine up, (you guys have changed your timing belts haven't you?), but I think the main needle is white, the secondary is orange. Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
300zxRB26 Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 i have the same problem in my 88 turbo. i get about 320 to 330 miles with it i just reset the trip meter everytime i fill up (havent had time to pull it apart). supposidly you can get a new unit at http://www.nissanparts.cc (u have to request it) for like 70 or 80 bucks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Yea i go by the secondary needle on mine and the gas light. Jason do you remember the privacy screen option I had on mine? Ya know it was in between the rear shock towers. Does anyone know the official name of that option as I broke a clip holding the piece down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Thanks guys, My new sender arrived today. I got 19 mpg on my first tank buzzing around town. That was before the tune-up. It's fun having a rag top again. This nice NorCal weather we have been having is just perfect for dropping the top. Timing belt! arg. '84 NA, doesn't this thing have one cam in the block with gears or a chain driving it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Jarvis Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Timing belt! arg. '84 NA, doesn't this thing have one cam in the block with gears or a chain driving it? Not unless you have already made some hybrid modifications there buddy, VG30 - SOHC interference engine driven by a belt. Change it, change it now.... Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Jarvis Posted February 24, 2006 Share Posted February 24, 2006 Yea i go by the secondary needle on mine and the gas light. Jason do you remember the privacy screen option I had on mine? Ya know it was in between the rear shock towers. Does anyone know the official name of that option as I broke a clip holding the piece down? Don't know, I even tried to find it in the fiche.... Yours is still the only one I have seen. Don't you want to sell me that car cheap ? My daily driver got totaled monday.... Jason Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparks280zt Posted March 2, 2006 Share Posted March 2, 2006 Mine is the first I have seen with it as well. I did see one on eBay the other week with the same option. That car on ebay was almost identical to mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted March 9, 2006 Share Posted March 9, 2006 Finally changed my sending unit today. I've been driving it around to run the fuel level down so the tank wouldn't be so heavy when I dropped it. Just before I started looking around for the tank strap bolts I thought I would pull the carpet out of the trunk and take a look. OH JOY! AN ACCESS HATCH! I had set aside about three hours to do the job. It took fifteen minutes. Most of that time was spent pulling the old sender out. Now I can see why these things fail. My new sender is a completely different design, pretty much a conventional rotory rheostat like all other fuel senders. The original is a funky linear type with the contacts right on the float. Problem solved. Thanks guys. Now to tackle that dang timing belt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIBPreacher Posted March 10, 2006 Author Share Posted March 10, 2006 Dan, what year and model did you find this on? On mine, I saw under the carpet a 8" plate, wasnt sure if that was what you were referring to... Thanks, Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Eight inch round cover held on with two screws. I have a '84 coupe/Straman convertable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted March 10, 2006 Share Posted March 10, 2006 Obviously in the Z31 world, "E" means Enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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