BLOZ UP

Alternator output OK at <1500 RPMS? O2 Sensor calibrated? Timing verified with a light? You can lock the timing to a specified value to hammer down the other idle variables.

Yeah, I know. Everything I've read, Corky Bell, Swain Tech, Vizard, etc. etc. say 2000 degree at least for a turbocharged application. I've witnessed 1300 degrees back on my old VG30ET after running it hard--and if IIRC, that was right at the turbine outlet, rather than the manifold itself. The guy does come off as a sort of blowhard, but I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. You know, age and all that.

Ok, ok, I got it. I'll take my ceramic coating work elsewhere. He didn't do it in shop, but sent it out somewhere. This is after he bad-mouthed swain tech and said I didn't need 2,000 degree coating--the 1,500 degree one would be enough, even for a turbo car. There's a local place near my house that does coatings, he also said didn't do a great job. Sounds like he just wants his buddy to get work more than give out any useful advice. I'll give them a try.

Yeah, I thought I was being trolled as well, since the more I didn't believe him the more he tried to convince me.

Got it. Need to relocate speakers to the engine bay. Drag racing. Lots of local articles and tidbits about him. Not that that means he's right, but he at least has some idea.

I took my stainless, tubular exhaust manifolds to my local speed shop/machine shop. I was talking with the head honcho about ceramic coating. He said in no uncertain terms that I should not coat them, as I will loose some or most of the "sonic scavenging effect". I didn't believe him, so he showed me an exhaust flange, dangled it and tapped it with some metal to make it ring. Then he said if you ceramic coat that it will lose the property that makes it ring, or something to that effect. After I said I didn't think that was a valid comparison he stated his race engine experience and such and such. It's true, he's made lots of power. He also said NASCAR, et al would be using ceramic coatings on their stainless if it helped. Don't know about that either. So, is that true? Can ceramic coating stainless manifolds--he specified it was only stainless that was going to lose power, not mild, can it really have that effect? I thought the scavenging effect was due to pressure waves (so sure, sound waves) of the gas itself. I would think the "sonic properties" of the material will have an effect, but not to the degree he's implying.

Any standalone is going to require hacking up your harness, wiring, troubleshooting, etc. It's just that with SDS and Haltech and whatnot there's a tech. support line if you need it. With MS you have forums. But for me, it's all about the features/price point. I hate calling support lines, and it's always been easier figuring out the problem on my own rather than trying to describe it to someone else.

Your exhaust is almost identical to the one I had. Flex pipe, resonator, and muffler. My Summit resonator was not straight-through like the Summit description said, however. I'm guessing you meant aluminized steel. I'm tempted to replace the rear section of my exhaust with aluminum pipe. I'd need to measure temps after the turbo to be sure.

What transmission does the NA S130 use? Is it a FS5W71B? From my 10 second research it looks like you can put the 71C on it just by swapping bell housings. Then you can use any 240SX shifter.

Circuit Sports 240SX shifter, it's $120 bucks or so, and actually really nice. I'd attach an image but I'm looking for/working on a new image host.

I've also heard only good things about the CXRacing charge coolers. The other stuff, not so much.

Reordered some main bearings so I can replace the one I fucked up. Ordered some other stuff to relocate battery and fused links and get rid of my nasty fused link tray, as well as a short shifter to match my new shift knob I got for Xmas.

Cool.

Yeah I'm not sure how I want to do that. I have way too many websites. EDIT: Made it redirect.

I tried my hand at polishing the crank. Good god I was nervous about screwing up the surfaces. I used 400 grit just briefly, since I really just wanted to get some month old surface rust off. Ended up working really well--looks spiffy again. Honed the cylinders. My hone is apparently a little on the rough side. Cross hatching is, uh--a bit pronounced. I used a shitload of oil but oh well, there ain't no glaze anymore. Cleaned the bores. It's the god damned Exxon Valdez on the garage floor now. Installed main bearings and crankshaft on the VG33. I did manage to dent the #1 top bearing--just a tad. I dropped another bearing which hit it with the corner. Ugh. Don't think it's a big deal, but now I'm paranoid. Well, not paranoid enough to order another bearing. I figure if this engine spins a bearing--any bearing--I'll blame it on that. Maybe I should refrain from rebuilding motors when it's butt **** freezing in the garage.

You get what you pay for. I've heard that there are Chinese turbos that have increased in quality and do actually last--but I'm not sure how you tell if you got one. However, the thing all the eBay stuff has in common is it's all based of reverse-engineering the specs of decent manufacturers and then attempting to copy that. So, the company that spent the R&D doesn't get a penny while the company that basically stole their products rakes it in. That said, some people have luck with them. Also, I've heard nothing but misery when people seek warranty replacement. And I tried that eBay catch can that's listed there, it's a total piece. I cut it open--no baffling or filter of any sort.

That sounds really nice.

I did a final compression check before dissassembly: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 (PSI): 161, 185, 161, 185, 80, 185 So, not horrendous, but the passenger side bank is pretty weak. Could be a headgasket, although the coolant and oil stay clean. It does eat oil quite fast, and there's coolant on one of the plugs, oil on another. The driver's side is also suspiciously high. Regardless, the motor is coming out.

I'm going to get started on the motor swap soon. I will see if I can pull the old motor this weekend. Only thing I know of is an exhaust leak on the driver's side. I've had this before--it might be the flange has warped. I can get that resurfaced and it's not something I'm worried about. I'm using silicone gasket so that's the main problem. It only leaks when cold, suggesting that there may be some warping as temperatures change. I will split the flange in between the primaries and remachine if necessary. I'm replacing the VG30 with a VG33 and will be taking them off, checking them out, and getting them coated. Also, the free picture hosting I used went under, surprise surprise, so I'd have to find the photos from this thread again.

A follow up for my headers. They've been on the car for 2 years now, driving rarely only in the summer--mostly for autocrosses. A couple 1/4 mile track runs too. No big issues that I know of. I added a brace from the turbo to my radiator, and less importantly plumbed the wastegate back into the down pipe. There is a slight exhaust leak, but I'll look into it more when I swap the motor out.

Sorry, I was referring to the older 3.8L Essex crap.

McMaster-Carr has plenty of sizes, they're still a bit pricy. Can't cost that much to make those damned things. In TX I used to frequent a Hydraulic Supply place that had all sorts of goodies for 1/10 the price of parts stores, online stores, etc. (Actually, the car parts stores bought them all from them, they told me.) I'll probably end up doing McMaster if I can't find a cheaper place. Edit: Ha, here's their (crappy) website: http://www.hydraulicsupply.com/home_a.html

New mustang V6 is supposed to have the EcoBoost as well, IIRC. Should annihilate the previous V6 mustangs...

Synapse engineering seems to sell kits for push lock/quick connect/boost connect. A little pricy, but I can't find anyone cheaper. Also, they have high temp 500 degree lines and low temp (140 degree). http://synapseengineering.pinnaclecart.com/index.php?p=catalog&parent=5&pg=1 Found a few other place that sell these. They are called "push-to-connect" fittings.

Started it and warmed it up. Missing on one or two cylinders until warmed. Next autox is in early April, so it's time to finish my VG33 rebuild.