My first modification!

Ok, so to be completely fair, I did this modification in order to fix something, so I guess it is technically a repair, but I'm calling it a modification because it makes me feel better.

What I did was change the Ignition Control Module to a more modern, more efficient one from an early nineties Nissan Altima. Interestingly enough, the plug on the new module is the same as the one on the old unit, but there is one little problem... Two of the wires were swapped with the redesign of the part. To solve this, I cut the connector off my old ICM and connected it to a connector from the Altima to make an adapter. Best part? IT WORKS! The only problem is that the design of the new ICM is very different than the old one, so it doesn't actually mount up where the old one did. To solve this problem, I used a little Southern Ingenuity and zip tied it to the car. I know it is ghetto, but it is only temporary until I can get someone to fabricate a proper mount for it. Also, I plan on getting the wires for my adapter soldered properly rather than have the quick connectors that I used to make it, but for now, it is fine.

I MENDED SOMTHING! (again)

I know that it has been a while since I have last updated the blog, but I have a good reason why. I was too infuriated by the car to put into writing what was going on. I would think I had it fixed only to have it start having the same problems all over again. On top of that, the junkyard MAF that "fixed" my earlier problem crapped out and I had to replace it again. Luckily Smith's Auto Parts does exchanges, so it didn't cost me anything to get a different one.

Well, with the "new" MAF the car was back on the road with only one problem, it would stutter under very light acceleration (like when going down a hill and trying to maintain speed). After some research, I decided that my Throttle Position sensor had gone bad, but I figured I could live with the minor inconvenience until I could replace it. Then one day I was headed home from church and lost all power and had to pull over. What did I find?

You are not supposed to be able to see all of those metal bits, it is supposed to be completely covered with black plastic. (To be completely fair, it wasn't broken quite this bad but after I got angry and hit it with a hammer, it became this bad, you will see why I got angry in just a second.) It was officially time to buy a new TPS, so I ordered one off of Amazon.com and waited patiently on it to arrive. When it arrived, I received a text message from UPS saying that it had been delivered and I couldn't wait to get home and fix my car with this part that I was fully convinced was the root of my car's problems. When I got home, I ran inside, ripped apart the envelope the TPS came in and ran outside, grabbing a screwdriver in mid step. I put the new (yes, a brand new part!) TPS on and fired up the car and it idled for 30 seconds and then the poor idling returned and then the car stalled. I then proceeded to go ape on the old TPS and finish breaking it. It felt good. However, now I had to figure out what this problem was.

I started reading every forum post I could find about idling problems and had started to fear that my engine computer was fried, not a cheap fix as even a used one costs upwards of $200! Not wanting to spend that much money I decided to see if there was anything else that could cause these problems and did research on basically every sensor on the 300zx and couldn't really decide on one thing that could be causing my poor idle until one day, on my way home, it hit me, I should check my distributor cap. So I did and it looked like this:

CORROSION!!!!!!!!! At last I had finally found something that I knew how to fix that could be causing my car to not want to start sometimes as well as the poor idle. I went to Autozone, walked confidently up to the counter and said "I need a distributor cap for a 1984 Nissan 300zx Turbo." and the guy at the counter replied with "We can have one in tomorrow.". So I left and went to O'Reilly's because I was bound and determined to fix this tonight! The had one in stock and I paid the lady $23 and hurried home. I installed the new distributor cap and fired up the car and it idled very poorly for 2 seconds, then leveled out and idled beautifully! VICTORY!!! I took the car out for a test drive and it drove better than it ever has. Tomorrow I am going to check the spark plugs just to make sure that I have that entire system up to spec and I am also going to adjust my TPS because it is idling a little higher than it should (not a big deal, but something to fix).

Onwards to the next problem that will inevitably arise in my 29 year old sports car... hopefully none do so I can start restoring/modifying my car!

MAF Sensor

Well, inevitably, my 300zx broke down... It started stalling at idle and being hard to crank, so I set out upon a quest to find the culprit. My first idea was the Crank Angle Sensor (which is part of the distributor on this particular car) so I replaced the distributor with one from a junkyard and (after three attempts to install it properly), it changed nothing. I was baffled so I went to the best source of advice when it comes to DIY repairs on cars: THE INTERNET! The guys over at Z31performance.com had a plethora of ideas as to what could be going wrong, but the most prevalent one was the Mass Air Flow sensor. This little guy tells the engine computer how much air is entering the engine and adjusts the amount of fuel sent to the engine to maintain the correct stoichiometric ratio (yes, I just want to sound smart). With it broken, the engine is just confused and doesn't run properly. I tried cleaning it and its connectors to no avail, so another trip to the junkyard was warranted. These guys at my local junkyard are becoming my new friends, to the point that I end up just chatting with them about all sorts of randomness while I'm at their shop and I'm pretty sure they think they are going to make a lot of money off of me and my 300zx, and they are probably right... Well anyways, I handed them $50, they handed me a MAF sensor, and I headed on home praying the whole time that this would get my car back on the road. I installed it and cranked up the car. It didn't stall right away, so I waited for it to warm up (it had been stalling just when the engine reached normal operating temperature) and waited for it to stall. It never did!

 

Excited, I took the car on a short 'test drive' and by test drive, I mean I turned my quiet little neighborhood into a makeshift racetrack... sorta... mostly responsibly. She performed excellently, and by excellently, of course I mean, I had it back to where it was before the MAF sensor went out! To be completely honest, I'm just happy I didn't make it worse! Maybe this is a first in a long line of things I actually manage to fix... maybe by the time I finish getting this car mechanically restored, I will know what I'm doing... Here's to hoping! :)

Introduction

Here she is, my 1984 Nissan 300zx Turbo two seater, AKA my new money-pit. I bought this fine specimen of an 80's sports car for $1000 in running condition. There are all the usual problems associated with a mid-eighties car present; rust, small mechanical faults, body damage, etc, but nothing too awful. I have dubbed this car my "Daily Driver Project" (which is just a fancy way of saying, I may have to borrow my mom's Jetta to get to work in the morning, but when it works, I get to ride in style!) and I am looking forward to getting it restored. I haven't yet decided whether I want to keep it stock and do a true restoration or modify it and make it more modern (and by modern, I mean fast).

Specs:

• Engine: VG30ET (Turbocharged 3.0 liter V6 with 200 hp)
• Weight: ~3000 lbs
• Wheel Base: 91.3 in
• Length: 173.7 in
• MPG: ~23 mpg

(source)