new problem
 

Alright, bear with me once again, this might take a while to explain. Bought a 1979 280zx, na, manual, that had been sitting in field for around 8 years. Got it home(on trailer of course, didnt run) replaced fuel injectors, new spark plugs, new plug wires. Got it to run after alot of work, but, as I said in the other thread, it would stumble on takeoff, and lacked power. It also backfired alot, and smoked most of the time. Well, we(me and my partner in crime), tried changing timing, and what not, and still same problem.

Told you guys all that to give you an idea of the shape of the car, and to see if you guys could make any connections with the new problem below.

Well, the other day I took it out for a very short drive, like we have on several occasions, and it was acting up, lacking alot of power and what not. So pulled it in my driveway and proceeded to mess around with sensors and connections, looking for loose or damaged connections, after making sure everything was ok, and what not, gave it some gas, and I heard a loud awful noise from the engine, and it proceeded to die. Well, I searched all over for the source of the noise. Not finding nething, I proceeded to try and start the car, and nothing. Would not start. It also sounded very different while it was cranking. Well, not knowing what to do, I let it sit over night, and tonight, got home from work, and tried to start it, and by a miracle from god, it started. It ran horribly, would not handle driving up any sort of hill, or even anything above 2000rpm for that matter. It also smoked a whole lot out the tail pipe, and I mean a lot. I popped the hood to see what I could find, and heard a wonderful(NOT) clicking noise from the engine. Then it hit me. The timing chain. Now, I am nothing more than what you might call a shade tree mechanic, and I might be wrong, but it is the only thing I can think of.

So, that is the story, kinda long. But what do you guys think? Timing Chain slipped? If so, should I attempt to change the chain myself, or have the car hauled somewhere and let them charge me an arm and a leg to have them do it. I would like to try it myself, if at all possible. The car is just a project, something we bought to work on. Any suggestions? Am I right about the timing chain, or what?

Don't be quick to fault a timing chain just yet, sounds like it just backfired and died. It won't start if the timing chain was the problem. You should have done what I told you to do and she wouldn't kick back.


Check the engine with a cmpression guage or a leakdown guage if ytou have compressed air and that will fault a timing chain.



Smoke is okay for a car that's been sitting, if it's white smoke, if it is black or blue, watch out. Mine also had dark smoke, but it just turned out the mass airflow sensor was disconnected

No, this was not a backfire. It was something mechanical. I am very sure of that. And I know the smoke is usual, but we had the car running for a couple weeks before this happened, and the smoke was minimal, until after the sound. Now the smoke is absolutely horrible. And it is black smoke. I never had a chance to try your other suggestion, because it happened before I read your relpy. I will check the compression, and get back to you.

your prolly not going to want to hear this but i think your engine had it.. the smoke might be from bad valve seals but the noise could be something much worse... take the valve cover off to see if your cam is getting enough oil... the loud ticking could be a rocker arm that sliped off the spring and is jsut banging agaisnt the cam... thats what happend to me a couple of engines ago.. but it wouldnt be a bad idea to just rebuild the engine.. a car thats been sitting for years and not driven.. who know what condition that engine is in or was in when it was running...

check the spark plugs if they are oil fouled then get out your wallet. same if there is coolant in the cyl.

well, i can get the car to start now, but still the clicking sound from inside the engine and the smoke and it idles irregularly. I have not had time to tear into it much lately, but I will try what you guys have said. Thanks again for the advice