DevilZX

Oh how I would love to work for or own/operate a business that follows this model. One question about it though. Although they make a point to show that they charge actual time and compare it to flat-rate when performed quicker, do they then charge the guest more if the job takes longer than book time?

Currently working as a Ford dealer tech. A lot of this is true. I work in a smaller area so there isn't a lot of crookedness at all but people do fire the "parts cannon" (as we call it) a lot. They usually aren't around for long. That second article shows some promise. My shop will allow us to flag time for a lot of non-repair tasks but we generally don't do that because we would rather be working on a guest vehicle. Keeping fingers crossed for some good news down the road for flat-rate techs...

Figured it out. I will post a picture or two of my solution. I didn't have a lot of room for two external gates and really didn't want to spend $500+ for them either. I ended up cutting a hole in the exhaust downpipe flange for the wastegate flapper to open all the way instead of the 1/4" or so it was opening. I opened up the gate hole larger and welded a washer on. After I routed the wastegate exhaust to come out then back into the main exhaust stream I tested it out. I was able to reduce overboost to ~10psi while running the stock wastegate actuator. I feel like 10 psi is just good enough for the $ involved. I did, however, run into an issue. The gate was able to fully open and allow most of the excess pressure out but when the throttle was let off after a boost condition, the flapper stayed stuck open. This was because the flapper moves in an arc and the actuator couldn't pull it back around a curve. ( when I was able to build boost at 5k RPM again it would sometimes return to its home position but this was not very good) To correct this issue I built a bell crank device to operate the flapper with the actuator in the only spot I could fit it all. This worked out wonderfully but there still remained a small problem. Since there are now 4 pivot points for the actuator, the tension to keep the flapper seated was so low that at idle the exhaust pressure would push the gate open and boost would spool SLOWLY! A trip to the auto parts store yielded a 5 pack of various springs. Found one that was just right to keep the gate seated but not hold too much to cause another overboost condition. I was able to re-install my MBC and now spool hard and fast to ~15psi at ~ 3300-3400 RPM.

Got some tuning time in and was able to push it pretty hard. Short story here, wastegate is not sufficient. With factory 280zx wastegate and NO MBC used I am still seeing 15+ psi. Comes on quick at 3200-3500 from what I could tell before the T5 let go and locked itself into first gear... Lesson learned twice: Don't push the T5 hard in 5th gear... They like to fall apart and lock into first gear with gear selector in neutral. Once this transmission issue is sorted, I feel the head gasket is the next thing to go unless I can better control this boost. I would really like to avoid trying to fit two externals in there (space is very limited now) so I will open up the divider hole and make the flapper hole larger and modify it to open further. I think it only opens ~1/2" at the most. Time will tell.

Hold your horses guy. Make your own parts wanted post...

Killed my 2nd T5 today. Would like to get a replacement quick, like a bunny. This has got to be relatively cheap or else I will just go z32 swap route. Thanks!

bump

Still looking

I have a Turbo fuel pump I just pulled off my running '82 turbo. Went with Walbro and Megasquirt so I don't need it anymore.

Haha! Quite alright. PM'd you Roger

Too bad they aren't a good fit on the ZX. Not quite what I am looking for.

I noticed MSA no longer sells the Type 1 side skirts for the Coupe. They only have them for the 2+2. I COULD get those and cut them to fit but would rather get some from a member here. Let me know if you are looking to sell and what you would like to get! Thanks!

Still looking!

Well here we have a first video! Sound quality is atrocious... Video obviously taken in-car but this was with drivers window down, indoors and on my phone. 3" turbo-back, open exhaust. This had been idling for 1 minute prior so it is still cold (rich).

I was cleaning up the old factory turbo today and I decided to remove the exhaust outlet/wastegate flap housing. In the process I managed to snap off two of the bolts. I was a little upset but what I found underneath there made the bolts less of an issue. I now have a nice chunk of Datsun history for decoration!