trouble at an idle
 

hay everyone. I have a 77' 280Z that i just started using as a daily driver. I noticed yesterday that the previous owner had bypassed the fuel filter. I didn't think that was a good idea, so i got a new filter installed and got all the connections tight. After i got the new filter in, i noticed the car idles a lot rougher now and sometimes dies. i guess this is why the filter had been bypassed. What can i do to fix this problem. I had head something about something called maybe a PVC valve? could that need replaced? I'll also add that the car seems to take a lot longer to get up to speed. it's just feeling a lot weeker now. Please help me.

Have the fuel pressure checked by competent mechanic!!!

Did you install a new filter or a used filter?
If you installed a new one, did you make sure to get one for a fuel injected system? The smaller fuel filters you get for $5 are usually plastic and made for low psi carburetor systems. I assume your '77 still has the factory injection.

I got a new filter. Its the right one. The larger metal one. I adjusted the idle, cleaned the corrosion electric plugs on the injectors, and put fuel line cleaner in the gas and it seems to be running better now. One more question. There looks to be a vaccum hook up near the front, driver side of the engine. Is this supposed to connect to something? if so where. I'll put in a pic later if i can.

vacuum leaks SUCK..
 

sorry, had to take the opportunity for the joke..

to be honest, i do not understand how my car runs, because i look at the vacuum lines, and see so many reasons it shouldn't....
BUT.. i found a .pdf file on this website
http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/index.html
its called the EFI bible, it appears to be a factory service manual on the fuel injection for the 280Z.. its dated 1975, i don't know how applicable it will be to your car, but there are some detailed diagrams of vacuum lines in there. this manual is also much more helpful than the FSM for amateur Zers such as myself.. its much more intuitive, so even if the diagrams arent a 100% match to your car, yit should give you the intellectual ammunition you need to puzzle the problem out yourself.

there's also a fuel pressure regulator on the fuel rail, and a fuel damper (which acts to turn the pft-pft-pft coming out of the fuel pump into a steady flow) which could potentially be a problem, but thats just hypothesis....

good luck, the FI Zs are alot easier to own than the carb'ed ones.