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Perhaps a BIIIGG problem with the car, HELP!


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ok, here is the setup

 

72' 240z

82' L28et

stock inj

Megasquirt fuel only

crane cams xr-700 ignition

old ass battery

starter from old motor

 

driving down the road in 4th, doing 35 so that means like 1400 rpm at maybe 1/10 throttle, car dies so i hit the starter, i hear it crank over once then the starter fizzles, so i think battery.

 

i try to jump her with a ford explorer, couldnt get more then one rotation from the engine

 

next i grab the battery from my DD car, honda accord, hit the starter, doesnt even turn over once but the selinoid engages, and it tries to turn over

 

then we tried to pop start it, no dice, but that coulda been cause we were not moving fast enough

 

i checked the ground and it is in although has some white marks on it, the positive side is in, so i have no idea

 

HELLLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

 

thanks,

matt

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So is this a starting/starter issue or a seized engine issue?

 

The front crank pulley bolt takes a 27 mm socket. Get a ½” drive 27mm socket, a 3”long ½’ drive extension, and a ½” breaker bar and try to rotate the engine over by hand. By absolutely SURE the ignition switch is off, or at least remove the coil wire for safety. If the engine turns over as normal, i.e. it takes a little bit of force to rotate it, then try swapping out your starter.

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:lol:

Ok, well first find out where your clutch fluid went, (leaky master cylinder, cracked flex hose at the tranny or leaky slave cylinder), then when you get the clutch operational, try swapping out the starter.

 

I just had a thought. When you were cranking the engine with starter, during this eissue, was the car in Neutral? This is only relevant due to your lack of clutch fluid…,

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Im not sure if these years had a neutral safety switch but if you have no fluid for your clutch then when you press in the clutch nothing happens and the car thinks your trying to start it without the clutch which equalls a no start condition. Find where your fluid is going, fill it up and try again. I think thats where BRAAP might be going with this aswell......

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I see a few things here. Braap is addressing the clutch which will definitely need to be addressed. What I am getting from this is a poor electrical connection somewhere which could also be the cause of the car shutting down. Car shuts down, starter doesn't turn motor, jumping doesn't turn motor, different battery doesn't turn motor. Do you have decent battery cables? I don't have a Megasquirt but I do have an aftermarket engine management system and with mine proper grounds and voltage is a must.

 

Also, where in NJ? There area few of us here that might be able to help you out if we knew what part of NJ you were from.

 

Joe

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Put the battery on a charger for at least a few hours, clean the battery posts, take the car out of gear, block the wheels then try starting it again.

 

Did I mention clean the battery posts? With wire brush? Whether they look clean or not?

 

If none of that works, pull the battery and take it to Autozone to be checked. Bring the alternator with you while you are at it.

 

If you could get some voltage readings with the engine off and once again once it is started we can give you more information.

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As far as the starting issue I think that your cables are history. They may look fine by a visual examination but they are probably very corroded under the insulation. If you have a multimeter you can check them but it may just be easier to replace them, both positive and negative cables.

 

Dragonfly

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Whew… phew.gif Thanks guys for jumping in on this one. Too many unknown left out details for one guy to diagnose. I think he is relatively new to automotive and Z car mechanics and I was beginning to think I was all alone in helping him. A couple more of these chasing our tails posts and I was considering tool shedding this thread and just sending him a Haynes manual. wink.gif

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mannnnnn, u guys are rough, haha, just kidding, i am new to this

 

anyway, yeah the posts are clean as are the points where they connect, and it can't be the battery because as the first post said, i tried 2 different working batteries

 

the car was outa gear when i tried to start her, and the car doesn't have a neutral safety, not to mention if it did, i would have gotten no response from the starter at all

 

the cables could be a viable option, the only reason i am doubting it is anything with the starter is the starter moves, AND the somewhat coincidental big leak whenever i hit the clutch

 

on the other hand i appreciate all of the suggestions, and im gonna start working through them when i get outa work in an hour

 

and joe, i am in Ocean City, so i am most likely waaayyy south of the rest of you jersey guys

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ok, i switched out the cables, and that got the motor turning again, although i am led to believe that the problem is the rear main seal.

When i cranked it (by hand and with the starter) oil came out of the spot between the motor, that steel plate, and the trans

 

i am thinking the leaking clutch might be a different problem alltogether, i am pulling the motor on thursday, so we shall see

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  • 2 weeks later...

ok, i pulled all of the extraneous stuff off the car in preparation for pulling the motor. I pulled out the intercooler and about 2 cups of gas fell out. To see if i had hydrolocked the car i pulled the plugs and cranked the motor over by hand, nothing came out. Now i have no idea what happened.

 

any thoughts?

 

thanks all,

matt

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I'll be heading down to my summer house for the next two weeks. I'll see if I can break away from the family for a day to help you out since I'll only be about an hour away. One question haunts me. Why are you pulling the motor??

 

Joe

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