DevilZ

New Problem!
I have a new problem now, an old one, but one im wanting to know about now. I leak maybe a drop or 2 every day from the oil lines connecting to the turbo, and after driving it in boost, it smokes when i come to a stop through the hood. This is my first turbo car so im a newbie! Is this extremely bad, or just something i need to fix on payday?

Problem Fixed!
Just bought this car a week ago, ran fine when i test drove it 2 days in a row, and the whole ride home, other than minor overheating. Now randomly after taking it to a shop to do plugs, valve cover gasket, and redo alot of the shady wiring/vacuum lines it has trouble starting. If i let it sit for awhile it fires right up, sometimes it drives fine, other times i cant get down the street. It has new plugs, ignition wires, accell starter, fuel filter, intake filter. Its a 280zx turbo motor. Ill post pics of the car/motor bay tomorrow. Any advice, or questions that lead to advice on how to fix are appreciated.

NismoPick

Welcome to ZDriver!

Start w/ the basics... when it dies, is it due to lack of spark, or fuel? Or is it flooding?

DevilZ

Thanks! Ive been a member for sometime, have an 83 280zx N/A just made a new account for this car =P All of my spark plugs are getting spark, and i had the motor compression tested and its all perfect. I can barely get it to start, I have to give it a little gas to get it going, but when i go to drive it, sometimes it drives perfect! Other times I cant get down the street before it dies. The times it drives perfect, if i turn it off, it wont start again lol. Im at a loss.

DevilZ

Sorry for double post, I went out and took off all the plug wires, and put them in the correct order from the Repair Manual. Fired right up, Idled perfect, I let it sit for a few mins, then took it for a spin, drove Beautifully! Parked it, went to start it 5 minutes later, and im back at square one = [ It will not start. After cranking it a few times, it smells like fuel really bad, but im not leaking anything.

theramz

Sounds like your thermotime switch or other sensor is assuming an "engine cold condition".

DevilZ

I replaced the thermostat, did a radiator flush, heater core bypass, the works. I replaced the ignition coil tonight, it started perfectly every time, so i drove it about 6 miles away to Taco bell, no problems, while sitting still in the drivethrough for about a minute the car died and wouldnt start. I let it sit for a few minutes, it started and drove it home with 0 problems. I dont know what I have overlooked...

theramz

It could be the fuel pump is going. I think it's time for you to download the FSM for the '82.

DevilZ

Fsm? Full service manual? I have a haynes book i purchased from oreily's. Have used it to diagnose and fix alot of problems, not sure if thats the same book. From what i can tell, it has to be either fuel, or i heard it may be my Iat sensor? Something about the idle control sensor. Going to look into that now. If not i was thinking fuel pump or injectors.

theramz

FSM= factory service manual. Free download from carfiche.com There is another site but I used this one. After that you can use the Haynes for tp.

DevilZ

Alright im downloading it right now, hopefully i can figure something out. I changed my mind from fuel to faulty grounding wires. Since it only dies at times, and when it dies, it dies smooth. Never thought id say that haha

snwbrderphat540

my car did this alot, next time it dies and is having trouble starting, unplug the CHTS (the square plug shaped sensor on the passengers side of the head) and then blow it out or use some electric cleaner on it, plug it back in and start it again. it is typically that sensor that causes these motors to run that rich.

as for the smoking, you have an oil leak near the turbo and under boost when the oil pressure jumps it leaks just a bit more and is leaking on some exhaust section causing it to burn and make that noticeable smoke, even a little leak will cause a lot of smoke and you won't even notice a change in the oil level.

DevilZ

I found out today, almost 100% that it is my ignition control module. After putting all the new parts in it, the battery is reading 12 volts, the ignition coil is reading 10. on the positive part, and on the inside. Meaning my Ignition control module. Or so i think. Ive read on forums, when they start to go bad, when the car gets warm it will die. Once it cools it will start fine, which is the problems im having. But its 130 bucks to replace. I wanna make sure thats the problem before dropping a buck 30 on it.

snwbrderphat540

next time it dies and wont start, pull a spark plug boot and check for spark. then you will know it's either the IC module or the coil. if it is still sparking, then it is fuel and is prob just getting flooded out. especially if it has a gas smell. if it doesn't have spark, then check the ECU and see if the LED inside it is still turning on when you turn the car ignition from off to on (not start just on) because that is another problem i would have with my swap the first time i wired it. the wires would get hot in the engine bay, expand a bit and my connections i made would start to loose contact and the ECU wouldn't get the power it needed to run the car. if there is still no spark and the ECU's LED is on, then start looking at the IC module and the wiring to it.

stick to the simple things first instead of jumping around. now i gave you all the scenarios i dealt with on my 260Z turbo that match EVERYTHING you have described with your issue, and explained the smoking issue. try that stuff out first. it's free and simple. and report back

DevilZ

Will do. I appreciat it greatly. Sadly I have 2 jobs to pay for this thing, and work doubles the next 3 days, so hopefully this weekend i can figure out whats going on. Now with the ignition coil reading low when the car is cold, or hot wouldnt that mean the IC module? Even after this problem is fixed I have alot of vacuum lines, and electrical lines I need to clean up/hook up. Found out today my knock sensor for the block temp is completely disconnected >.< Guys i bought this from did a real number on it. Honestly dont know how it runs haha!

DevilZ

Problem Fixed!!! I found out the efi unit that plugs into the block between the number 5 and 6 cylinder, that reads the head tempature, had the wires cut at some point. So i read more into it, and disconnected my cold start plug. Car runs like a dream! No problems at all. With the head temp sensor gone, the cold start was staying wide open, and flooding the engine. Its a temp fix, but its about to be summer in texas, so I have some time to get it fixed properly. Thanks for everybody who helped and gave advice

snwbrderphat540

that's the sensor i said was probably the problem, the cylinder head temp sensor. so you're welcome. get it fixed dont ghetto fix it like you did. lol

told ya it was flooding.

as for the knock sensor, it won't effect how the car runs, just retards the timing if it reads knock

DevilZ

Oh lol Thank You! I didn't fully understand what you meant. =P Now i have to figure out this temp problem. I flushed the radiator, new coolant, cooler additive, the works, it sits at 190 while driving but if i hit boost a little bit it jumps to 210, and at idle it sits at 210. Dunno what the problem could be.

snwbrderphat540

new thermostat? and do you have the shrouding on your fan?

DevilZ

Yea just put a 160 temp OeM thermo in, and i bought it with 2 electric fans. Both in the shrouds. However they are too big, one is solidly mounted on the radiator, the other is halfway on the radiator, and the other half is not touching the radiator, could that be my problem? My temp gauge sits at 160 for awhile and at idle, as soon as i start driving it goes slowly up to 190 and sits, but anytime i hit boost, when my BoV goes off the temp gauge jumps like 5-10 degrees, then goes back down. Its wierd.

snwbrderphat540

hmmm... know the CFM rating on the fans? tho the temp shouldn't rise under boost if you are moving. is the radiator in good condition? and what's the fluid mix? otherwise i'd say, idk what to say! lol, what kinda temp gauge is it?

DevilZ

Its an OeM Temp gauge, hooked straight up the housing of the thermostat. Its 50/50 coolant water mix from autozone, with royal purple ice additive. The radiator is in good shape, I flushed it a few days ago, and replaced the belts. It doesnt overheat, just runs at 210 temp sometimes which is too hot for my liking. Maybe a faulty thermo, or the radiator cap is bad?

NismoPick

Use an infrared thermometer to check the ACTUAL temp at the thermostat housing, then the out port on the radiator (hose going to water pump). That way you can see what the temp really is, and if there is a temp drop through your radiator.

snwbrderphat540

second^^^

when you were throwing these specific numbers and saying you could see the gauge move i expected something aftermarket and more sensitive. but knowing that i agree with nismo. get a thermo gun and get a real reading.

DevilZ

Um, could i take it to autozone, and just drive it around til it get hot and have them do a reading? o.O I dont wanna drop a pretty penny on a thermo gun if i dont have too haha.

NismoPick

ooohhh!! $2 is WAY too much these days... http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-Infrared-IR-...item27b17dfd26

I guess if Autozone has one... do that...