1982 280ZX Turbo
 

I have 82 280ZX turbo and i am having a problem with it i just got it my problem is when i start taking off from a light and i try to give it full throttle its like i lose power it just falls to its face all i can do is take off really slow and eas up to 3100 RPM's then it stars picking up go it only runs good when its over 3100 RPS's Give me some ideas to test and check out.

is your distributor vacuum advance? i forget....i never keep the L28 motor in there very long. as soon as it gives me a reason to pull it out...i do lol.

it could be your tip in throttle... do you have any kind of adjustability with the tune? if it is vacuum advance, that initial drop in manifold pressure may cause it to knock or not have enough timing.

it could be as easy as a bad tps, or the ignition timing being off. i'd probably start by checking those 2 things. it could be stuck/rusted up weights in the distributor, you could pop the cap off and clean it. make sure everything can move freely.

it could also be the maf adjustment. it's a 30 year old car, those springs get weak. i've had to tighten up the last 2 z's i worked on. obviously before you move it mark where you started, then try two or 3 teeth in one direction, see if that helps, if not , go back to your mark and try 2 or 3 teeth in the other direction, but DO NOT let the spring unwind because you will NEVER get it back adjusted properly i've been told. that warning scared me straight so i've never had that problem cause i'm extra careful, but it's not uncommon to pop the maf cover off and have to adjust the cog on the maf for those cars. i'd check the other things i suggested before you mess with the maf tho.

other things you probably wanna check are boost leaks, hopefully you've already done that tho.

anyways, i saw nobody offering any help, so hope that helps.

Dave

Unhook your battery. Unplug the computer (by your left foot in the drivers side panel.). Plug computer back in, then battery. Start. Let it ide for about 10 mins or so.


Drive it like you stole it. My Z has the same problem now and again, I need to go back through the electrical this next winter.

unplug the TPS when setting 280zxt ignition timing
 

because the haynes manual says "see dealer" and the FSM does not mention it, most of us set our base timing on a hot engine (which is good) but with the TPS plugged in (which is not good). according to the FSM, which i pored over in some detail looking for similar problems on my car, the idle switch on the TPS, or a low temperature (high resistance) from the CHTS, will cause timing to advance about 10 degrees. so, when you set your timing to 24btc, you're really setting your idle timing to 24btc, and as soon as you come off idle your timing is going to jump back to 14btc and then start advancing from there. this will put you far off your advance curve at lower rpm's. try setting your base timing with the TPS unplugged. also, buy some deoxit gold and use it on your ECU harness as well as your TPS, AFM, CHTS, knock sensor, distributor, and ignition harnesses. corrosion there will look like high resistance and will muck everything up.

does this apply to ka24de as well?