NEED HELP BADLY...car is toast :(

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Jul 24, 2003 | 05:53 PM

ratedZ

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NEED HELP BADLY...car is toast :(

Hey guys, I'm really bummin right now. I was driving my 83 turbo home when I felt the car stumble about five minutes away from my house. After the stumble, the car back fired and it's all downhill from there. It won't idle and when I give it any gas it will back fire like hell with a little smoke. Had to tow the car home

. There's plenty of gas in the car and I double checked for vacuum leaks (still have to check again) but from first glance of the engine, everything looks to be in order. I can hear the fuel pump humm when I turn the ignition on...it just feels like there's either a huge vacuum leak or it's not getting any gas. I've never faced anything like this before so I'm totally clueless as the car has been running like a raped monkey for over four years now. Just to give you a background, the head needs to be replaced as the hydrolic head developed a rather loud ticking at idle. I have the parts but just wanted to wing it until it cooled down here in Vegas before I tore into the engine. The clutch is gone also...I'm not sure if any of these things are relavent to the problem I'm having now but it might help. This car is my daily driver to and from work so I'm stressing out big time. Any help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

Jul 24, 2003 | 06:08 PM

lifegrddude

Externally Wastegated

Joined: Oct 2001

Posts: 1,220

From: San Diego

Hey RatedZ, man that sucks. Check the hose for the PCV valve, it kinked on me before and it choked off my engine and then it developed a tear and was a massive vacuum leak for my car. Reset the ECU too, as it may have an error code. Are all your plugs okay and the wires aren't fried? Hopefully no detonation or anything. If the clutch is fried, I don't know if that's the problem, but my friend in Arizona with a 510 had a fried clutch disk and throwout bearing, and after a while it got to the point where the car would just sit there and sputter and barely move. I hope you get it fixed fast.

Jul 25, 2003 | 05:30 AM

TX_zx

Registered User

Joined: Aug 2002

Posts: 53

From: Austin Tx

sounds like timeing jumped to me

Jul 25, 2003 | 05:55 AM

280zx Fever

Guest

Posts: n/a

Well the clutch wont have anything to do with it.

Check the fuel regulator on the fuel rail also check if the injectors are not cracked and are inserted all the way in.

Vaccum hoses wont play a major part in it..just make it idle a little higher..

pray to god you havent stripped a cog and timing chain has spun around a tooth. or worse still the head gasket is blown but by the sounds of things it wont be.

I doubt it was detonation you would hear a loud metallic sound if there was...

Jul 25, 2003 | 07:59 AM

Bleach

The Evil Twin

Joined: Mar 2001

Posts: 9,296

From: Seattle, WA

I was going to say the same thing, sounds like maybe the timing chain jumped a tooth. That is super rare on these L-series engines, but I have purchased a truck with the 4-cyl L20b. The owner said a mechanic told him the timing chain had jumped and the head gasket was blown. I tore it apart and verified the chain was off a bit, but the gasket was ok. Oh,and all the valves were fine. The clearances allow for a small margin of error.

You can get Japan made timing chain kit for about $60! Includes cogs, guides, tensioner, and chain with front cover gasket.

http://www.importedcarparts.com look under 240Z. Its the same chain as the blocks are all the same height.

Jul 25, 2003 | 10:10 AM

ratedZ

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Thanks guys for all the advice...let's say that the chain jumped a tooth, will it hurt if I tried to re-start it to see if I have any spark. Also, like I said, the clutch is bad...I've been having to feather the gas a lot to keep it from slipping and once and a while it would slip and would jump into higher RPM's. Would these conditions make the chain jump a tooth? I know I need to fix these other problems but tried to make the car last until it got cooler (114 degrees lately). I'll be tearing things down this weekend so I wanted to be prepared. Thanks again guys.

ps. forgot to mention that I spoke to one of my friends who is a Nissan tech and owns a 240z about my problem. He thinks it has something to do with fuel delivery or bad connection with the ECU. He adviced me to re-set the computer and make sure that the injectors are all good....looks like I have my hands full

Jul 25, 2003 | 11:32 AM

veyenyl

Registered User

Joined: Mar 2003

Posts: 373

From: WA

Start with the little things. I had major backfire when my rotor came loose.

Jul 25, 2003 | 12:01 PM

icice9

Super Siver & Black Stud

Joined: Apr 2003

Posts: 1,526

From: Hayward Ca

the liklyhood of your chain skipping a tooth is pretty extreem.. like veyenyl said.. id check the rotor first.. if the adjustment screw comes loose on you.. your timing will get all jacked up and can asuse it to backfire like crazy..

good luck mike you gotta get her back on the road..

Jul 25, 2003 | 05:42 PM

hellzbellz83t

Registered User

Joined: Mar 2002

Posts: 116

From: Tennessee

Yeah, check your rotor first. Last summer I didn't work on my '83t for 2 months because I thought it was something major. Turned out to be the rotor. It was doing the same thing yours is doing.
Good luck!!
-Kel

Jul 26, 2003 | 11:38 AM

#10

ratedZ

Guest

Posts: n/a

Hey guys, first off let me just say...thank you jesus! I took a looksy and found the screw that holds the rotor in place laying on it's side. Needless to say, the screw unscrewed it's self and the rotor was not secured to the shaft. I haven't put it back on yet to see if it starts back up. I'm going to replace the cap and the rotor tomorrow. I'm willing to bet that that is the problem though...thanks for all the help. I was really worried...