Sunbaked '76 Cali 280z

[Rob Gaskin]

Also make sure you get a brake spanner to undo the nipples, do not use a normal spanner. Think they're 10mm. You could use a socket to loosen them but the correct spanner makes the job much easier and also lowers the risk of you rounding off the bleeder nipples.

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I think some nuts may be 11mm?

 

[Robotsan]

Hey congratulations on this, and let the fun begin huh?

I'm glad to see you're getting to grips with the EFI. You definitely did the right thing by starting with the wiring and plugs. The plugs to the fuel injectors, AFM, cold start injector and TPS can all be bought as a replacement kit with 6" wire pigtails on them. You just cut and solder the new plugs on. Sometimes that's the only alternative when the terminals in the plugs are really poorly affected by corrosion.

The oil pressure gauge and temperature gauge will come and go on a whim in my experience. I think mine work in conjunction with the phase of the moon sometimes. I'd go for standalone as has been suggested. I put a low oil pressure light in the Fairlady for peace of mind.

I haven't seen any mention of you checking all the rubber fuel hoses out under the bonnet? If not, then be sure to do this. They age, crack and perish. Your pride and joy can be repaired from many things but a ball of fire generally isn't one of them. It really could ruin your mood.

Same goes for anything else rubber - especially the brake hoses!

Looking forward to watching this - and good luck!

Thank you!

Good to know about the plugs. So that's replacing the actual plugs on the wires - but what about the receiver plugs that they plug in to, what if they need replacing?

Yes I'm getting that feeling about the gauges! This weekend I'm going to try and test the temp sender with a multimeter to see if it's ok. As it was reading very high temps when I'd left the car running in the garage for 20 min:



So need to make sure it's the sender and not the actual car overheating.

How do these standalone/mechanical sensors that yourself and Mike mentioned install?

Good point on the fuel hoses - correct, I haven't checked them. I'll add that to the top of the list of jobs for the weekend!

 

[jonbills]

Leaving the car running in a garage will lead to it being hot - the fan is only recirculating hot air.

 

[Robotsan]

Leaving the car running in a garage will lead to it being hot - the fan is only recirculating hot air.

Yeah I think that probably did contribute, even though I had the side door and the garage door open. Nigh-on 250°F still seems a bit high though!

 

[MCBladeRun]

Yeah I think that probably did contribute, even though I had the side door and the garage door open. Nigh-on 250°F still seems a bit high though!

Stupid question, is there coolant?

 

[Robotsan]

Stupid question, is there coolant?

I don't think there's any stupid questions when it comes to someone new to these cars!

But yes, there is coolant thankfully. Around the Low level though. Should I top it up? What type do I need to put in? I will Google it anyway, but good to know what you guys use.

 

[Robotsan]

Have located the source of the brake fluid leak - rear left drum brake.

So we have a new entry straight in at #1 in the problems charts.

 

[MCBladeRun]

I don't think there's any stupid questions when it comes to someone new to these cars!

But yes, there is coolant thankfully. Around the Low level though. Should I top it up? What type do I need to put in? I will Google it anyway, but good to know what you guys use.

View attachment 53094

For now, just put deionised water to make sure its topped up. It might just be the temperature sensor is acting up, plus what Jon bills said.

 

[Robotsan]

For now, just put deionised water to make sure its topped up. It might just be the temperature sensor is acting up, plus what Jon bills said.

Ok done. I'll run it for 20 min again tomorrow and see if the temp reaches the same.

 

[Robotsan]

Today I took the top hose off and cleaned up the connectors for the "Thermal Transmitter" for the water temp gauge, "Thermo time Switch" and the "Water Temp Sensor" for the EFI.

They were in various states of corrosion.

Firstly the thermal transmitter .. quite crusty.



But cleaned up nicely:



Then the Water Temp Sensor.. which was extra double crusty:



So spent a while on that one before I could see clean copper again..



And finally the Thermo Time Switch. Forgot to take a before photo but this one wasn't bad anyway.



So, after all that I started the car and ran it for a while again, and nothing was any better or any worse - but as the car is running well now anyway I guess it's just going to help prevent further problems.

However the temp gauge did get back up to 250°F again. Could be the lack of coolant.. or could be a dodgy sender/sensor. Perhaps that water temp one that was super crusty should be replaced.

 

[jonbills]

get one of those IR temp gauges, point it at the head and see what temp it really is.

 

[Robotsan]

Other issues I noticed today -

1. Oil leak. Enough to drip on the garage floor. Seems to be coming from the oil filter itself? Which seems like a better place for oil to be leaking from than most?!



Although the rear of the engine is very oily looking. Perhaps it's just run backwards from the oil filter leak?



It has soaked this hose. At first I panicked and thought it might be a fuel hose leaking, but now I'm pretty sure this isn't a fuel hose is it?

 

[Robotsan]

get one of those IR temp gauges, point it at the head and see what temp it really is.

Aha, didn't think of that. I've got one too. Should the temp of the head be pretty similar to the water temp inside then?

 

[SacCyclone]

Other issues I noticed today -

1. Oil leak. Enough to drip on the garage floor. Seems to be coming from the oil filter itself? Which seems like a better place for oil to be leaking from than most?!

View attachment 53113

Although the rear of the engine is very oily looking. Perhaps it's just run backwards from the oil filter leak?

View attachment 53114

It has soaked this hose. At first I panicked and thought it might be a fuel hose leaking, but now I'm pretty sure this isn't a fuel hose is it?

View attachment 53115

That hose looks like the hydraulic line to the clutch slave. Replace that line and the clutch slave at the same time, easy and pretty inexpensive.

Don't worry too much about the oil at the bottom of the engine as we had run the engine without the valve cover for a period to problem solve the ticking in the valve train....I did degrease the engine compartment afterward but did not get all of it down low obviously. The valve train ticking turned out to be the timing chain and guides which as you know were replaced.

New water pump, thermostat, hoses installed at the time of timing chain replacement. Radiator was in good shape too so cooling system should be fine. Running in garage for 20 minutes should be ok but the car will run much cooler at speed down the road. I would still install mechanical gauges for oil pressure and water temp to get an accurate reading.....factory gauges should not be trusted imo.

After you install the mechanical gauges I would flush the cooling system again with new water and antifreeze just to be safe.

With that rear brake cylinder leak, now is the time to do a complete brake job as the price is easy on the wallet if you do the work yourself. Be sure to include the rubber brake lines as well.

Mike

 

[SacCyclone]

I don't think there's any stupid questions when it comes to someone new to these cars!

But yes, there is coolant thankfully. Around the Low level though. Should I top it up? What type do I need to put in? I will Google it anyway, but good to know what you guys use.

View attachment 53094

Check coolant level in the radiator when it is cool, should be about an inch or so from the top....leave some room for water expansion. You can remove the plastic overflow tank, clean it out and reinstall it. Fill to low level and run for a bit to temp.

 

[SacCyclone]

Aha, didn't think of that. I've got one too. Should the temp of the head be pretty similar to the water temp inside then?

Get some dielectric grease for those connections once they are cleaned up.

 

[Robotsan]

That hose looks like the hydraulic line to the clutch slave. Replace that line and the clutch slave at the same time, easy and pretty inexpensive.

Don't worry too much about the oil at the bottom of the engine as we had run the engine without the valve cover for a period to problem solve the ticking in the valve train....I did degrease the engine compartment afterward but did not get all of it down low obviously. The valve train ticking turned out to be the timing chain and guides which as you know were replaced.

New water pump, thermostat, hoses installed at the time of timing chain replacement. Radiator was in good shape too so cooling system should be fine. Running in garage for 20 minutes should be ok but the car will run much cooler at speed down the road. I would still install mechanical gauges for oil pressure and water temp to get an accurate reading.....factory gauges should not be trusted imo.

After you install the mechanical gauges I would flush the cooling system again with new water and antifreeze just to be safe.

With that rear brake cylinder leak, now is the time to do a complete brake job as the price is easy on the wallet if you do the work yourself. Be sure to include the rubber brake lines as well.

Mike

Thanks as always Mike!

Out of interest, are you just suggesting I should replace that hose and clutch slave because it's a no-brainer and should be done on a car this old, or is it because of the oil on it?

Yes the coolant system all looks good. With the mechanical gauges, how do they work? E.g. where do they plug in?

The front rubber brake lines look brand new so I kind of assumed the rears were too! I'll have to check.

These are the fronts:

 

[Robotsan]

Check coolant level in the radiator when it is cool, should be about an inch or so from the top....leave some room for water expansion. You can remove the plastic overflow tank, clean it out and reinstall it. Fill to low level and run for a bit to temp.

Ah, you check the level in the radiator not the expansion tank?

I filled up the expansion tank so that the level reached the Max line. Is that too much? And should I have filled it via the radiator?

 

[SacCyclone]

Yes, check in the radiator itself. Expansion tank can be at minimum for now.
Front brake soft lines look new, so prob good to go.
Due to age and by the looks of them, clutch slave and associated line should be replaced. Look at the clutch master as well.....they are all pretty inexpensive from Rock Auto.

 

[Robotsan]

Yes, check in the radiator itself. Expansion tank can be at minimum for now.
Front brake soft lines look new, so prob good to go.
Due to age and by the looks of them, clutch slave and associated line should be replaced. Look at the clutch master as well.....they are all pretty inexpensive from Rock Auto.

Ok I'll add it to the list. Thanks.

I checked the fuel hoses I could see, just by following the fuel rail backwards and seeing what connected to it.

That seemed to be these 2 braided ones:



They look a bit dirty but didn't seem brittle when I flexed them. Do you think they might have been done by the PO too Mike?

Or maybe it's just a good precaution to change them anyway? If so, could someone tell me what to order to replace them? There's a lot of options on Rockauto for fuel hoses!