--- Black 81'zxt --- (In progress)

[MicroMachinery]

Good progress. It's the little things that often get overlooked. You can tell a good owner by their attention to the details. This car is in good hands B)

Keep up the good work bro.

[bananahamuck]

You name it,, it becomes needy.

[I'm BLUE]

Good progress. It's the little things that often get overlooked. You can tell a good owner by their attention to the details. This car is in good hands B)

Keep up the good work bro.

 

Thanks Micro and I appreciate that !

I will try to do good sir :cool:

It is indeed the little things that get overlooked !!

 

There's definetly quite a few things in those pictures I'd either like to replace or maintenance just for that fact :thumbup:

The car doesn't deserve to suffer because I didn't care enough to get off my arse and do something about it ya know :w00t:

[I'm BLUE]

You name it,, it becomes needy.

 

:rofl: ....

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Skib told me a while back that a GM alternator from a suburban/tahoe is a easy upgrade. Shouldn't cost no more that $30-40 buckaroos something I still want to do on the 810.

[MurphyEF]

I still have to admit, I hate the crowded engine bay on a stock 280zx, which is why I removed almost all of that stuff.

[JonU]

Nice find! Look forward to seeing how this progresses!

[I'm BLUE]

Skib told me a while back that a GM alternator from a suburban/tahoe is a easy upgrade. Shouldn't cost no more that $30-40 buckaroos something I still want to do on the 810.

 

Thanks for the reminder ArchetypeDatsun !

I read a bit more on that today , and one guy writing an article said the 10si alternator (lower amps and smaller case I believe ?) was more flexible to high-rpms than it's bigger brother the 12si (higher amps and bigger case I believe..). Something of the rationale that the larger unit was not designed for higher rpm's.

I really don't know though , but seems like a good option :thumbup:

 

I still have to admit, I hate the crowded engine bay on a stock 280zx, which is why I removed almost all of that stuff.

 

:lol: .. yeah it seems to get a touch old doesn't it ? haha !

 

Nice find! Look forward to seeing how this progresses!

 

Thanks JonU :thumbup: I was happy to have found it.

You and me both are looking forward to the progression for sure :cool:

[I'm BLUE]

------- More Vacuum Line + Fuel Vapor/PCV Line hose replacement ------

 

Boring update for some , and answer's for a few.

Boring for me as well ollz , but it all has to be done !

 

Well. Had some extra time to stop by my local NAPA.

Purchased probably 24ft of (4-5) different kinds of fuel vapor/PCV and vacuum hose sizes.

For the following

*Cruise control vacuum lines

*EGR vacuum line

*Idle Air Control vacuum line

*(4) Charcoal canister Fuel vapor lines

*Fuel pressure regulator vacuum line

* a couple of other various ones that escape me at the moment.

TOTAL = $24.49

 

(2-4) fuel vapor lines pictured that need replacing ( actually there are 4 are being replaced total and 1 not pictured in this oic ) coming from the charcoal canister to/from various places on the engine/intake/TB area's.

 

(1) goes to an intake bung

 

I then take samples of what I need off the engine .. to snag from NAPA and tape them to index cards so there is no mistaking !

 

Zooming back from NAPA with my bounty !

 

New cruise control size line

 

New Fuel Vapor/PCV line for charcoal canister area's.

 

Various EGR , IACV , FPR , Routing vacuum line lengths , and (1) towards the charcoal canister area.

 

For a misc. routing line

 

Just a charcoal canister routing line picture... no significance really.

 

Bad charcoal canister line

 

New line on charcoal canister to lower throttle-body area (top in picture) fits perfect ! need to slide on the hose clamp..

 

2 new very small (long) cruise control vacuum lines ( just to the right of the center of the picture by the vertical dashpot looking thing .. leading towards slight bottom left of the pic)

^^^ Two above mentioned cruise control lines end up on the far right of the picture below (black canisters)

Cruise control lines intake side tap (3-way "T" off one intake port)

Bad cruise control line

another bad cruise control line off intake..

 

New EGR Vacuum line

New vacuum line tap for EGR vacuum routing (I think off my head right now could be wrong)

 

New Fuel pressure regulator vacuum hose

 

New Idle air control valve vacuum hose (looks like an EGR , but is fed by the air bypass valve I believe ?)

New versus old of above ^^^

 

 

 

 

 

End result is = this is ALL OLD HOES... pictured below.

^^^ I still have breather hoses and a couple of EFI High Pressure Fuel Injection hose(s).. to replace as soon as higher priority items are addressed .. :ninja: (more of a maintenance item really than a need).

 

I also have to purchase a couple of small hose/line clamps.

 

Thanks for reading the boring update Ratsun

 

DTP

[Guest 510kamikazifreak]

Better keep this one DTP!!! :sneaky:

[I'm BLUE]

--- Video of it Running ----

 

In the video below..

I have (2) GOOD (newer) Fuel Injector connectors on the engine harness.. temporarily twist-wired to move the car around until my new ones are delivered. (#5 connector finally dumped from age today... :rolleyes: )

I dumped a bit of coolant around the top of the radiator as well .. opps.

 

Hard to believe I was revving a bit higher than 3,000-ish rpm's in the video :blink: (don't know exactly as I'm not a human tachometer lolz) ... good noise was cancelled out though in this vid and the un-appealing noise's were soaked in like a sponge.. :hmm:

 

 

^^^ It actually sounds pretty cool in person , and spools up much faster than you think it would even not under-load.

 

I need to get rid of the Bosch Spark Plugs as well. They were a bit worn around the electrodes and wider gap then I'm use to seeing.

[I'm BLUE]

Better keep this one DTP!!! :sneaky:

 

:sneaky: :ninja:

[MicroMachinery]

So many vacuum lines and hoses to keep track of.. not for the faint of heart.

[I'm BLUE]

Yup It's easy to get lost for sure.

 

I remember tugging on the cruise control vacuum hose stuff thinking "ahhh this will be quick pop-bam replacement.. :D "

then... "errrmmm which one was which again... *tug tug*.... *tug tug*... :unsure: "

:lol:

[Guest 510kamikazifreak]

So many vacuum lines and hoses to keep track of.. not for the faint of heart.

 

 

Suck it up...buttercup :rofl: :rofl:

[I'm BLUE]

------- Back to the Alternator charging war and more small stuff ! ------

 

Popped in some bushings for the alternator's ear's today , so it would help distribute more stress on the ears/casing then the bolts themselves. ( duh right ? haha ) Looks kinda halfway cocked , but it works !

( "good" tested alternator top , and bad alternator on the bottom )

Pulled out bad alternator #2 lulz

I then carefully (dry) wiped off all oil/grease that was loose and popped in tested "appears to be good" alternator #3 (exact words from the older gentlement that tested it...)

Got this reading off #3 alternator after initial start-up ( high cold idle reading as well .. )

 

Everything seemed fine , and this alternator was charging fine for about 8-10 minutes.

irregardless I was watching it , and I was suspicious as well as thinking of (3) things when installing this alternator today.

*It was re-manufactured already..

*had been covered in oil over-time (entire case.. externally..)

*Older Gentlement that new his stuff said it "appears to be good.." (with a stearn stare on his face).

 

So after the 8-10 minute mark ... the charging readings just wen't to :poop: ^^^ best example is reading the Mult-Meter in the above pic.

I tested off the back of the alternator and it was a no go..

Then deciding to let the engine run 2-more minutes and slightly raising the rpm's...

..... and guess what ? ... she started charging again , but at a deviation of .4-.7 volts lower than it was before ... hmmmm interesting.

It crapped out after 2-minutes again... and stopped charging completely.

 

^^^ Will be in pile to be re-built/repaired/cleaned out/checked etc.

At this point I have (3) bad zx-alternators pictured below ... lol

 

I have a 4th known working good zx alternator (100% for sure !)

Installing that one is next on the list , and hopefully that'll solve this little charging system drama of mine.. :lol:

Knowing the battery's used in this little war of mine are all in fact good and/or new.

The alternator connections and grounds look "average-fair-good" and I'll likely solder in some new Regulator , B (+) , and E connections to make sure I'm not being stupid about this entire process.

I accept the possibility there could be a short in the wiring , but I don't believe it to be the case on this car.

I'll be sure to watch out for any signs as well :)

 

^^^ I'm also looking hard at alternator upgrades as an option. (thanks ArchetypeDatsun !)

 

 

 

On an ending note ... this car ... is fun to drive ... also puts around/runs pretty dang good if I say so myself :cool: hehe :lol:

Funny thing is you don't have to press the gas pedal much at all , and it just glides !

I'm quite pleased with the automatic ... it's my first datsun auto-matic trans anything ! ... datsun did a great job !

[I'm BLUE]

---- Idle system ---- (more small stuff updates.. I know I know ..)

 

AAC valve crapped out literally a couple key *starts of the car* after replacing MANY vacuum lines on the engine

( AAC = Idle Air Control equilvalent to those not famaliar with ACC).

I tested the diaphram quickly by applying vacuum , and wouldn't ya know the thing would *barely* rise up then fall immediately back down on it's face .. :lol:

 

Bad AAC valve still mounted. (12mm nuts if anyone is curious)

Popped bad AAC off (looks like and operates like an EGR valve doesn't it ? ha !)

I then shopped Rock-auto.com quickly as I remember seeing one there earlier.

The sticker price of $99.79 was not something to write home about lol , but would be glad to have one at all !

 

Then it I realized I had one on my spare engine ... :lol:

Tested that baby and it passed with flying colors !

Good one picture below.

 

On the left is the bad unit.

On the right is the good unit.

 

Slapped that ^^^ sucker on the engine and all is well for that department.

[ArchetypeDatsun]

Nice man wish I had more time to do all that maintance it's the little things that count.

[I'm BLUE]

---- Alternator ... yeah ... again ... lol -------

 

Pulled the 4th alternator (3rd replacement) off the donor rig pictured below (will get or repair/rebuild another alternator for it in between).

 

Dropped it into black zx turbo.

 

Started it up and got between this reading and 13.8v @ cold idle no load.

"good enough" for the moment , but will test and watch more.

Not 100% happy with it , but it will do for the moment while I work on other aspects of the car.

[I'm BLUE]

------ Accessory Belts -------

 

I was glancing at my belts as I was replacing many other things around the engine.

I decided why not replace the belts while I'm slowly obsessing on other things.

NAPA was closed .. so I had to trek on over to O'reily's (bische slaps self...)

I'm normally a proponent to buy Goodyear belts and hoses hands down , but for $5 a pop for (3) belts ( ALT , PS , and AIR CON ) Who wouldn't just for the heck of it on a budget minded basis ?

 

"Master-Pro" brand ... :lol:

 

 

In case anyone wants numbers #

 

 

 

After taking off each of the belts ... VERY GLAD I decided to spring the extra tiny peanuts for new belts ! ( I typically always replace on a "new to me" rig ).

 

Old PS belt

Old ALT belt

 

Each belt was ripped at least 50% the way through (hard to see that) around the entire loop  ! :blink:

 

New belts cheapo cog look , and quite thin.

But hey for $15 ....That'll do donkey ... that'll do ... !

 

 

 

 

 

[I'm BLUE]

Replaced soft fuel feed and return lines in the compartment with "Gates" (lol) 5/16" High Pressure something something 225psi max EFI Fuel Line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes yes.. the fuel hose is pushed to far onto the fuel-rail. Leaves more for when wear and tear occurs I guess hehe.

 

If anyone is curious the current price of high-pressure Fuel Injection hose = $4.29 per foot.

I bought 4ft.

I'm not a big-fan of Gates , but they do the job !

[I'm BLUE]

----- ECU , Engine Harness , misc connections in bay ------

 

Decided to clean some connections with a wire-brush on a drill and portable "bigger" dremel type tool.

Used CRC brand electrical contact cleaner as well.

 

ECM grounding connections on center of intake towards drivers side.

 

 

Main harness ground connection to Fuel Injector cooling-fan bracket on passengers side.

 

Cleaned up Battery (-) cable to body-to-engine junction connection(s).

----

Negative cable to starter bolt.

 

 

 

Positive (+) battery cable starter lug end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[I'm BLUE]

----- even more vacuum line :rolleyes: -----

 

off air-intake boot to VCM (Vacuum Control Module)

 

VCM to vacuum routing hard line.

 

 

 

VCM to another vacuum hardline

 

 

VCM to check-valve to vacuum routing hard-line.

 

 

Other-side of the same hose mentioned above.

 

[Eagle_Adam]

im liking this thread! lots of pics to follow along with and great descriptions! your attention to detail is almost dizzying to me :D 

 

keep it up yo  :thumbup:

[dat280z]

That gates fuel line is rated for E85 as well. Just a little fact (I work at O'Reilly) Great job on changing all the vacuum lines! It's going to run like a brand new car!