One year ago I bought my 1983 ZX. I haven't done much to it yet but now I am thinking of pulling the engine out, replacing the oil pump and maybe some other things. I got this car to learn how to work on cars. This is not my daily driver so I can spend even a whole year working on it. I was just wondering if this is a good idea to figure out myself how to take this car a part. I have a contact at the local Z club just in case I can't understand something. I was just wondering if this is a good idea or not.

 

We can always help, but the FSM, Factory Service Manual is full of almost everything needed to fix these cars, here is a link to a down loadable PDF version. It is helpful to make a binder to put some often used pages in. I have a binder full of clear insert pages, I have all the pages of sections I have worked on. XenonS130 - S130 Reference

 

Sounds like a great idea to me. Wish I had taken the time to do that. I would have a lot more understanding of my Zs and how they work. As it is, I have to rely a lot on others. But I'm getting it, little by little.

Your FSM is a very big deal. Full of inspection and troubleshooting pages that are easy to follow and really let you do it all yourself. The FSM is your key to knowing your Z forward and backward. That is a great goal.

You are always welcome to drop by here and ask your questions. When you do that, make your question simple and clear - and ALWAYS give us the info: your Z year, model, turbo or no, transmission, mileage, etc. Remember to say that you are a 'beginner' and don't know a lot about cars or your Z yet - but that you are learning. That way, guys who think everybody should know as much as they do won't see a reason to beat up on you. It's still ok NOT to know the answer to the Q you came here to ask. So just ask it. Then stop back the next day and check the responses, ask more Qs, etc. Don't abandon your own threads.

Welcome! and we all look forward to your work on that cool '83!

Hope you will post some pics of your Z for us!

Thanks.

 

good idea. best way to learn is by doing. Why do you think you need an oil pump? least likely thing to wear out. before you start disassembling get some data. Fuel pressure, vacuum, ignition timing. Then as you get it back together you have a baseline to compare in case there is an error somewhere along the line. You should also make list of things you want to either correct or improve. if you pull the engine you want to do oil seals and a new clutch for instance. Maybe a water pump altho that isn't much of a weakness for the L28 engine. the good part is it is a pretty bulletproof setup so you should have not much trouble working on it. here is the general advice I give everyone:

Get your battery load tested. Be sure you have clean, tight corrosion free terminals on both ends of your battery cables. Be sure the ground (negative) cable goes to a bolt into the frame before going to the starter. grounding through the starter is not a reliable connection. Z's don't like low voltage. causes the electronics to act funny. it is possible to have enough amps to crank but not enough voltage to run the electronics. If you have one size fit all cheapo clamp on terminals they are a problem waiting to happen. Usually on a rainy night around Oh Dark Thirty.

Clean the connectors for the maf or afm, ecu and tps. Deoxit by CAIG is probably the best connector cleaner on the market. spray with CorrosionX after cleaning and before putting together this will help prevent any further corrosion. DON'T USE DIELECTRIC GREASE.

Replace outer tie rod ends, and ball joints. replace the bushings with poly (don't forget to lube them as directed unless you like squeaky things). New shocks. Get new boots for power steering. all those things will make you think you are driving a different car. doing them piece meal is a waste you won't see a great improvement until you do the complete job. You need to get the car realigned after messing with the front. Have your tires in good shape and rebalance. Rear bushings nice too but more work and you won't notice as great an improvement. Rear shocks also because if the fronts are gone so are the rears. if car squats when you jump on the gas the rears are gone. If you have the electro adjustable shocks they are DEFINITELY GONE.

definitely do the suspension part if you don't want the car to wander the road like a drunk pig. Remember to have the car realigned if you do touch the suspension. Good luck on it you seem to have a good start by asking for advice

 

Thank you for the replies, I am gonna organize my garage and get started on Friday. I will keep you guys posted. The reason why I am gonna change my oil pump is that I have low oil pressure and that is worrying me. Thanks for helping out. Also, where do you guys get most of your car parts, I know the ZStore but I was wondering about some other stores

 

you should get in touch with northwest Z
NorthwestZ Home

good bunch of guys you will probably find someone willing to give you some pointers and maybe even a little wrench help.

if you are depending on the factory oil pressure gage to determine your oil pressure you are depending on a very iffy piece of equipment. if you really think your pressure is low use a real pressure gage. Harbor freight actually sells a pretty nifty remote read unit for use to be twenty bucks. used one to show my fuel pressure on my 86T. you can get parts (usually) on line. Amazon.com has an amazing amount of car parts. NAPA, O'Reilly, Black Dragon (but they may have only earlier parts. Junkyards. Google is your friend.

 

Oh yeah check with Courtesy Nissan and even your local dealer for parts