Sick 240?

[FastbackBoi]

ok ladies and gentlemen, i beleive i may have a sickly 240 on my hands <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('> unfortunately, due to my lack of experience with cars (17yrs old here, never was interested in cars till i got my sexy lil' 240) &nbsp;i have no real clue what the problem may be.

so i guess it would be best to start off with the symptoms i beleive i am sensing.

1) today while driving around i noticed on a few occasions the smell of pure, unburned gasoline while driving. not sure what to make of this one

2) when accellerating, i sometimes notice that my car feels a bit hesitant to go, like it will start off accelerating like normal, then it will slow down to a constant speed for oh, maybe less than a second, then continue accelerating... &nbsp;it happens unpredictably, and i cant seem to induce this to happen. some days it happens, some it doesnt.

3) on the engine itself, i see oil seeping slowly out the sides where the top cover dealy (sorry i dont know the actual names yet <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/sad.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':('> ) meets the rest of the engine, and on the sides where (i think) the fuel injectors are, it looks liek there are gas stains, and i cant really tell if it looks liek they are leaking out of the spark plug covers or if its being sprayed up onto that area. &nbsp;dang this sounds real vague, i hope everyone understands what i mean lol. &nbsp;today i wiped up the stains a bit so i could see a little better jsut where everything is coming from, and i will check it all again in a few days.

other than that, a freind of mine told me while driving behind me one day, that when i accelerated real fast, he could smell somethign really bad or strong or something from my exhaust...

once again i apologize for being vague, i cant really think of/rememebr the actual terms for what im talking about, so i hope my odd descriptions at least point you in the right direction as to what i mean lol.

any help diagnosing my problems is appreciated, thanks in advance <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>

[Aze85]

hi.
I just got a 240 also and i know alot about cars, i mean it is sick how much i know about cars and i'm only 16. anyways...........

you might being running a little too rich (too much gass, too little air, the result you either shoot flames out your exhaust or un burned gas goes through). and if oil seeps out the valve cover get a new gasket b/c the one on there is prbabaly old. &nbsp;When you accelerate and you lose power that might be because of of the idle sensor. sumthing is wrong with my idle sensor and my car's idle goes up and down and when i accelerate my car kind of loses power in these little spurts.

well i hope you have good luck with your car.

[sykikchimp]

What year do you have? &nbsp;If it's an 89-90, you probably have the ever so common leaking injectors. &nbsp;Also you probably have a valve cover ("top cover dealy") leak. &nbsp;Look and see if it's oil, or gas that is staining things, and see if there is "Gunk" built up around the seam b/w the valve cover gasket and the Head (Thingy under the Top cover Dealy). &nbsp;If it's oil, then you should replace the valve cover gasket. &nbsp;This is Very easy and is a good thing for a guy with no experience to get experience with. &nbsp;After you get your injectors checked/replaced buy some new plugs & wires. &nbsp;Replace the air filter for good measure as well. &nbsp;oh, and the fuel filter. &nbsp;And clean the Throttle body (where the black plastic doohiky that is connected to the air filter box (intake) connects to the big metal curvey thing on the left side of the engine (intake manifold))

Just messin with ya man.. &nbsp;sorry so thick with the sarcasm. &nbsp; <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'> &nbsp;<img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/hehe.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':hehe:'>

[bbp]

I kinda like the descriptions <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':p'> &nbsp;chimp! &nbsp;I agree, sounds like you got a funky mixure going on, pull a plug out and see what it looks like.

[sykikchimp]

reference for what the plugs mean:

http://www.pdm-racing.com/features/plugs.html

[FastbackBoi]

*slaps forhead in disgust*
HOW could i be so stupid? lol... how could i have forgotton to include WHICH 240 i got lol...

anyways, to amend that problem, i have a 91 fastback. bought it with 73000 miles on it, has 78000 now.

and yeah, valve cover... god i knew the term it just wouldnt come to me when i was writing this. (i wrote it 5 min before i had to goto work lol)

thank you all for the feedback, it is much appreciated.

oh and lol @ sykikchimp, your sarcasm is much appreciated <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>


as for the stains, there were two different kinds. one was, of course, the oil i mentioned, as its stain was a dark, solid color and kinda gunky the whole way thru the stains, whereas the otehr stains i mentioned that looked like the kinda were coming out of the sparkplug covers look like they were made from a much more thin liquid, which would be gas as far as i know.

and after i got home from work tonight i took another look, and i can see oil seeping through the seam between the valve cover and the head, mostly by those two semi-circle things on the front.


i would check the spark plugs, but i have a hunch it would be of little to no use, my dad replaced them a few weeks ago after we changed the oil.

about the idle sensor, my idle is nice and smooth, with little variance (stays in the 700 +-50 range like it should)

a question about the fuel filter: i read a post on here about getting a 300zx filter instead. what would this benefit? and should i go ahead and get one myself?

air filter's good as well, a brand new one was put in just before i bought it. i also have a K&N cone filter sitting here in my room (freind gave it to me, he didnt need it) but i just need to get the adapter deal so i can hook up the O2 sensor to it...

anyways, from your suggestions, i should probably get a new valve covor gasket, check and maybe replace fuel injectors, get a new fuel filter('93 300zx one possibly?), check the idle sensor, and clean the throttle body?

perhaps i should check the O2 sensor as well? Aze mentioned i might be running too rich, perhaps that could be from a malfunctioning O2 sensor?


again, thank you all for your help, i really appreciate it <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':D'>
and i'll try learn as much as i can as quickly as possible to refrain from further embarassment on here lol. i look forward to futher conversations with you all <img src="http://www.zilvia.net/f/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif" border="0" valign="absmiddle" alt=':)'>