daeron

I ran 87 when I first got it, but I noticed the engine making odd noises and lacking power when I tried to accelerate uphill (errr, up a bridge, no hills in south florida) so I tried some high test (93 octane) and it went away.. I mentioned it to my ASE certified brother, the previous owner of the car, and he said that he told me when I got it that it needed high test... SINCE I am out of work right now, the next time I put fuel in it I am PROBABLY gonna go for 87 just for an experiment. On the gas thing.. there is only ONE way to lower gas prices. Get a bicycle. We have a finite amount of raw petroleum left on this planet. Gas prices WILL continue to rise, simply to lower our demand, until we find a magical limitless supply of petroleum. In other words, forever. I like to say "Gas prices have hit a new low" because THAT is the plain and simple truth. Just be thankful that your car gets 25-30 MPG.

I DON'T BELIEVE IT. I just pulled four nasty-rump roast rusted spark plugs out of my datsun, the electrodes looked like BUTT, the tip that attaches to the plugwires were all loose, etc etc... ant the FERSHLUGGIN car is idling, and running better than it has in a pigs age. I knew it was going to be something, and I've thought dozens of times about ripping plugs out of the Z, but they are just as high mileage as the ones that I was using, and they looked MUCH worse.... but looks mean jack ***************. The next time I hear someone say "aww, plugs last forever if they arent physically damaged" i will laugh at them. If only I hadnt been fired for saying "hey, since youre overstaffed today anyhow, could I take the day off to try to figure out why my car isnt running right?" three months ago, BEFORE i did the headgaskets, this would have taken all of a $40 tune up (cap plugs rotor and wires) to diagnose... but since I HAD to be cheap about it... GOD i could KILL myself!! I cant say 100% that everything is fine now.... BUT the car is idling as I write this. i gotta go, anyone want to come down and shoot me for idiocy can feel free to do so.. but my hands were tied. I HAVE literally been surviving on Ramen, PBnJ, and the good grace of my landlord buying a real meal for me once a week for over three months now; the problems with the car have made getting a job a very difficult proposition. I almost want to ban myself for a month for this.

!@#$%%^&* cylinder number four is not firing. The spark plug is sparking yellow, (it hit the hell out of ME) and it is not firing at all. I do not know what this may mean (toasted ring, cracked piston, block problem??) because none of the logical potential problems could ever have been sporadically intermittent... I am going to try yanking a plug or two out of my Z engine and see if they might make a difference..... but i think i may have blown the friggin engine somehow. can you say "livid?!"

Its all gravy.. you *were* right, the other thread mentioned nothing about purchasing one, beyond [HTi]Dain's offer to fab one up... and THAT post was the one that led me astray. I got a little peeved for a moment, then read both threads side by side and realized it was water off a duck's back. An apology is more than enough.

Capital! I am unsure how I will be proceeding on this matter; since the $$ that had been earmarked for the ECU wound up being spent on an O2 sensor.... BUT now I know the situation, and am not concerned about what year to get the 'puter out of.

Good luck, nice to hear it was something "simple."

THATS because your LAAAAME!!!!! (in case it wasn't obvious, I was just taking the bait you left dangling there. SOMEone had to flame you for that :-p "Surely you're not serious!??" "No, I am not; and stop calling me Shirley.") Yah, it seems like any time anyone gets a new car, the first response is "pics?" and it doesnt matter how dingy the paint is, how rusted the wagon wheels are, how many holes it may have (okay, so my car has too many holes to get compliments, but within some reason it doesn't matter) they are ALL BEAUTIFUL to half of us. Maybe its a sign that we are a little bit devoted to our humble, bulletproof machines??? Maybe, if we weren't in love with them, we wouldn't be on this forum in the first place. So anyway, about those pics.....

It took me a couple of minutes to figure out why in the world you thought, that *I* thought, that I had points in my distributor. By "contact points inside the distributor cap" I meant the points on the underside of the distributor cap where the rotor touches the spark plug wire terminals, not the "points" If I were THAT ignorant, I would have given up on this a LONG time ago. "My points look funny, they are just this slotted disc thingy...wtf!?!?? Who put a strobe light in my distributor, is this a discotheque or something?!?"

upload them to photobucket, or something similar.. or a photo album here on the USMB.. Copy the URL of the image to the clipboard (right click on it, and select "copy image location") then, in the editor window, on the bottom row of icons above the text window, click the third icon from the right. Then, paste the URL you copied into the dialog box that pops up when you hit that button. OR type [ img]http://insert.your.url.here[/img ] without the spaces before the last ], and after the first [

Okay, I removed my injector today and inspected it; blew it out to the best of my abilities with the equipment nature gave me, and re installed it. No change. Unplugged the MAF.. No change. Unplugged the TPS.. No change. Unplugged the IAC (I am reaching here...) No change. All of these were done independently.. IE, unplug, no change, plug back in, on to next component. I am sorely tempted to loosen up the dizzy and see if adjusting the initial timing changes anything.. but I dont think it will. I cannot understand why trying to clear the memory sent me to a poorer running condition than I have experienced yet. Thus far, the car has done one of three things.. 1. Runs OK- this is essentially normal running, *maybe* a little down on power 2. Runs poorly- this involves alot of misfiring, very low power, sounds a bit like fuel starvation, but more like incorrect timing than anything else I can use to analogize. or 3. Runs like CRAP. This resembles nothing more than total fuel starvation, ie, taking a turn at 40 with 1/2 a gallon left in the tank, at WOT. Sometimes this also involves backfiring and/or occasional fairly loud predetonation. Before I did anything, with used O2 sensor #1, it alternated between "runs OK" and "runs poorly." I could fiddle with the pedal back and forth, and get it to come around eventually. WOT made no intrinsic difference. Used O2 sensor #1 produced little to no voltage under any circumstances. When I put used O2 sensor #2 in, I had to chase the threads.. afterwards, the car ran OK MUCH more often than it had been.. BUT when it relapsed, it ran like CRAP. Didnt make much sense. O2 sensor #2 put out minimal voltage when I forced it rich by taking a spark plug off, but voltage was anything but consistent. Then, when I tried to clear memory mode, it began a new episode.. Now it runs "poorly" no matter what I do. I put a brand new bosch O2 sensor in it last night. still runs poorly. Stumble, misfire, occasional detonation (moresoe if I put my foot into it) Left the battery cable off overnight; get in today, still runs poorly. I *think* and this is a big MAYBE here but I think the fuel mileage improved when it ran OK/CRAP... and I believe it is back to as bad or worse than it ever was now. I DO now get proper O2 sensor voltage from the sensor when it is warmed up; I can watch My O2 monitor LED and see what is going on.. and the LED is NOT on all the time. So my problem is (apparently?) NOT that I am running RICH. I am so fed up with it all. The pisser is, at this point I have developed the pessimistic view that its GOT to be something in my ignition consumables.. but I no longer have the $$ to go buy plugs cap wires and rotor. I am going to borrow a hook sharpener tool from a buddy tonight and file down the contact points inside my distributor cap. AND, I am going to my oldest brothers house this weekend to work with him painting, etc, to earn the $100 he gave me that funded this weeks food (i actually ate something other than ramen and PBnJ this week, :applause:) and the O2 sensor. so, no USMB, no workie on car. (brother lives ~70 miles away, just too far to be worth "commuting") I plan on getting his compression checker from him to confirm that I didnt mess up doing the headgaskets somehow.... but I cannot imagine that is the case. I had no opportunity to contact Other Brother about using HIS fuel pressure gauge, and vacuum gauge, and I doubt that I will have such an opportunity until monday at the earliest. Anyone still reading this thread, I heartily appreciate it.. it was NOT my intention to let all discussion of my problem move over here from the last thread but thats just kinda how it happened. Gloyale mentioned an idea to me via PM.. with the major rust on my car, what are the odds that there is something afoul with the fuel tank vent canister and its associated plumbing?? I tried pinching my fuel return line as well, and that made no difference... Again, all I am left with is the methodology utilized in Garfield Goes to Paradise.. bang on the fender and chant, "check-a-buh-MOO. guh-Moo-kah!!" repeatedly. :banghead: :banghead:

deja who? I hate to complain, but jonas.. as of my posting here, if you click on page 2 of this forum, and look at the third thread from the top, you will see a post less than a week old dealing with this exact same issue. It took me a moment to figure out why, when I clicked the link to take me to new posts in this thread, it started me out at the beginning... I hate to yell "search" but that thread was last posted in ~24 hours ago.

yours does, but did ALL automatics? the statement was, "stock," it did not in any way exclude automatics from the possibility of having one.

tenth letter of VIN is H, manufacture date 03/87. I have never doubted the year just based on the date of manufacture. The more opinions and responses I get on this, the better. thanks everyone!

OOooOOOoooOO!! dark grey metallic?? Look into battleship style camo, they use dark greys and blues all the time (well, they DID back when battleships were the "in" thing) Crash bars, lights, tires!! I can help you with some details on that alternator swap if you are interested, and I did a through write up on relays thats now in the USMB that should help if you install megawatts of light on the thing. Give the kid some tunes, too.. and get him on here! what this thread needs is some links and photos of what others have done, and lets see what he wants his car to be. this is FUN, I wish my car were worthy of modding at all!

okay, i dont want to discuss any of the car's pertinent issues here.. I've already dragged THAT out over three or four LONG threads. All I need to know is this: would an SPFI 90 Loyale ECU plug into my 87 SPFI NA GL-10 and function correctly without having to move any pins around? I thought the answer was a resounding NO; the fragmentary 89 FSM doesnt seem to be the exact same pinout as my ECU but I cannot be certain of that. I PMed GeneralDisorder and asked him, anticipating a response full of information on why it would NOT be a plug and play operation, and instead got the answer that yes, it should... While I am at it, IF I do need to change the pinout, has ANYONE here ever investigated the possibility of finding the "locking tab" on the individual pins so that it would be a simple matter to remove and reconfigure any pins that may be different between the two years? It should just be a matter of using an eyeglass screwdriver to bend the tab back, then sliding the wire in question out the back of the plastic plug body... but I could not see any obvious locking tabs when I took a cursory look at it yesterday. Of course, if anyone has the pinouts for the two years handy (i think you know who you are, you have been working with me on this the whole time) it goes without saying that I would appreciate a copy of the two relevant pinout diagrams Okay, so it wasn't very short; this IS my idea of "brief."

well, i am off to unhook the battery cable to ensure that the memory of the ECU is completely cleared from the Bad O2 sensor juju.. tomorrow I plan on calling my ASE certified brother, and having him bring his fuel pressure gauge, and i suppose a vacuum gauge home so that I can check these things. I havent checked fuel pressure; but I HAVE swapped in a junkyard pump and pressure regulator with absolutely no difference. Judging from the way the car was running tonight, and the behavior of the O2 monitor LED, and the voltage that the O2 sensor was outputting once it warmed up (~0.25-0.35 volts) I am not getting adequate fuel. (OR am somehow experiencing a vacuum leak beyond detection of my ears.. I will verify this by flowing propane through the engine bay WITH CARE to see if i hear any change) Based on those results, friday I will go to the junkyard and get possibly: A: fuel injector (even though the last time I checked mine the resistance was proper and to the best of my ability to tell, it was spraying fine) B: ECU C: ignition coil apparatus and failing that, its spend cash i do not have on new cap, rotor, plugs, and wires... to replace the relatively new cap, rotor, and wires, and the ~40K mile plugs that were pictured above. If all that fails then I may have to take my buddy up on the offer to borrow his bloody camaro... I dont WANT to, because that would involve taking the tag off of my already un insured car and illegally putting on that until such time as I can figure something better out... but I guess it would help him sell it if nothing else. The system is well grounded, the O2 sensor is well grounded.... I am not so well grounded at this point but... I am lost. I am at wit's end. Maybe it needs an exorcism... "I've got it Odie!! Maybe theres Evil Spirits in the Distributor Cap!!" "The volcano, he no want de swahili, he want de 8-7!! he no get is soon he gonna make EVERYBODY die!!!"

I just did the headgaskets; they were half blown (bubbling out of the radiator) for about six or eight months. I re used the old timing belts, and made sure that they were properly tensioned and installed. I have already had practice in installing the timing belts properly; I have no reason to suspect that they are off at all. The only thing left for me to be 100% positive that your points are irrelevant* is to do a compression or leakdown check on the engine as it stands, now. If the timing had somehow skipped a tooth, the problem would have NO sort of intermittent nature; it couldn't go "on/off" with my fidgeting on the gas pedal. *PLEASE don't get the wrong impression; I GREATLY value your input. The last thing I want is for anyone to take offense to me saying something like "your points are irrelevant." I am just being brutally frank, thats all. I hope you understand this The reason I did the headgaskets when I did was that between them (low PSI on one cylinder) and this issue that I still have (had before and have now) the car was undrivable. After the gasket job, it got MUCH better, but half of my problem was still there; that half being the issue that has since deteriorated, and that I am dealing with now. I DID mill the heads flat, IIRC the one bad one needed about .004 taken off, maybe .006. The timing was set with a light afterwards. IF, somehow, I failed to mention something that would make your point still applicable, PLEASE let me know; I am tearing my hair out and spitting teeth over this and I do not have enough of EITHER left to be doing so.

On the back, driver's side of the throttle body; secured by two bolts. It has one fuel line connected to it, and one vacuum line. You have an idea what a FPR looks like, right?

Burn Mine along side of it.. I am getting seriously pissed off at this bloody car. If I had a few more bucks I would just start throwing parts at it... but as it is I want to just get my Zcar running, and dammit.. my Z needs more attention than "just get it running"

Living in Florida is enough to rust a car. Do you think we salt the roads down here? My car has lived its entire life in Florida. click for more pics Note the date stamp, and the condition of the lawn and trees... If rust is the price I pay to live in paradise, so be it. As for it being our duty as east coasters to bring those cars over here where the will be "appeciated"..... wont they be DEpreciated?

Well, I just put a brand new O2 sensor in. Bosch brand. I left the battery cable unplugged for about 30 minutes or more (as long as it took me to change O2 sensors, plus about ten minutes) and fired it up... no dice. Ever since I tried to clear the memory earlier today it has been running worse than it has yet. I try giving it pedal as its stumbling at idle, and it labors excessively to get up to RPM.. so now I am having a few new thoughts. I started analyzing it as if it were a carburetor problem, and tried anaologizing situations to the FI system.. SO, i want to try to disable the computers ability to enrich or lean out the mixture to a degree and see what data i can derive from that experimentation. if I were to try running with the TPS disconnected, the ECU would fail to properly enrich the misture as the throttle opened, correct? in other words, if the car is for some reason giving it too much fuel, then disconnecting the TPS should help it not be bogged down, because it would fail to deliver so much fuel? Similar questions arise regarding the MAF; if I am experiencing too LITTLE fuel, then disconnecting the MAF should improve my run condition somewhat, right? As I type the car is roughly idling in the driveway, and im letting it come up to temp and then I am gonna give it a good spirited drive, I want to heat this O2 sensor up good and plenty and see FIRST if a brand new O2 sensor will behave as it should. I also want to see what the car does when it gets input from a good, hot, new O2 sensor. Other than that; and POSSIBLY the analog ohmmeter on the TPS, I am now left with nothing BUT the ECU. at least I made a decision to act positively... but now I appear to be out $20. :-\

starter issue? go to the USMB, under the electrical section, and read about how I put a starter relay on mine. If you can reliably get it to start by using a screwdriver to touch the + batt cable end to the solenoid terminal, it is likely a problem with high resistance in the ignition switch circuit; I fixed an AGES old *click*click*USUALLY start problem with mine by installing a relay. Its more than just a band aid fix; its a GOOD re engineering. and I figured you were probably making more progress on him, since you hadn't been posting much in the last two or three days... congrats!! he is Beee-autiful (har har, HAD to say it!)

Actually, that sounds REALLY good, and it isnt as much of a ripoff of the cheee wedge as it could be, since youve still got an abundance of black elsewhere (rocker panels and trim strip on the sides, underside of mirrors, etc...) somehow I doubt that ANY of our suggestion will be taken up though; after all, the lady HAS already painted it the way she initially wanted it. Don't take any suggestions like this as criticism, everyone has different thoughts with what they would do on their own cars.

This may be true using jackstands; but I have none of those wonderful things here at my house. I just broke the adjuster wheel on my table saw trying to see if i could make a 45* cut on some lumber, and if i COULD have i would have made some ramps to drive up on to... but I am going to be stuck using my jack to hold the car up over my head. NOT something I relish; the other night I had it resting on a cinderblock with a section of 2x8 on top of the cinder block.. NOT a good idea either, but I have to improvise in some way. I guess if nothing else I will make some wood blocks to stick under the wheels once I jack it up... okay, i just had to think that one out! thirty seconds ago I was stumped and resigned to just do it resting on the jack, now I know what to do. BBIAB

its about the size of a small audio amp, and I have seen some amps that were shaped vaguely like that. Its honestly pretty hard to miss; its a largish box, about 8-10" roughly square, with three bright yellow plugs that have between them, about forty wires going into it. i wasnt gonna say anything about comapring it to the size of a laserdisc player; its just that the first-gen discmans and laser disc players go hand-in-hand in my memory; i couldnt find any reasonable way of working that in there, though. I *really* have to work on this "off-topic" problem I've developed lately.. I interview for a job with the school board tomorrow, and my brother has given me the impression that I should be a shoo-in, so soon I will have MUCH less time to waste on the USMB. Not only have I been out of work, but my TV fried about three weeks ago, too.. i've been desperate for entertainment daeron == loser, (recently at least) but at least im not sitting at the PC eating cheetos and padding my behind. Aint got the grocery $$ for all THAT...