GrayZee

Looks great! What sort of ecu/air flow sensor are you using? I'm guessing that you have a MAP sensor and not a MAF or AFM. Figuring out where to put my MAF and air filter without cutting the rad cradle is the main reason I have been putting off getting a intercooler. I'm intriqued to hear that you feel it alot more in the top end as my power band seems to taper off at about 80 to 90mph on 9psi of hot air on the stock T3

The only relays you NEED to make the engine run are the EFI and fuel pump relay. I don't have the info of wire colors and such in front of me but I'll tell you what wires you NEED to hook up from the injection harness (note that there are several useless ones) fuel pump relay signal (fuel pump relay to ecu) start signal (start wire at ignition switch to ecu) ignition trigger (coil trigger - to ecu) air switch (+ign source to air switch mounted on manifold) two fusible link wires (one brown and one green wire I believe) Also needed is a ignition source to the coil. (ign wire at ignition switch to +coil trigger) Of course the fuel pump relay signal is just to trigger the relay, the rest of the relay has to be wired up from scratch and hooked up to the fuel pump. The two wires that are connected to the + ignition source and the main feed for the fuel pump would be wisely protected by connecting some sort of fuse or fuses.

I'll send you a PM

I assume you are talking about the 2 pronged plug that is on the coil trigger? Going simply on memory one wire goes to the ignition trigger wire on the injection harness, and the other wire goes to the "ignition" wire on the ignition switch. I wouldn't worry about the boost sensor wires as they are only for the factory boost gauge in the donor car. To get the tach working all you have to do is find the original wire that went to the (-) side of the z coil (I believe it is blue) and hook that up to the (-) of the new zx-t coil. Not the coil trigger, but the coil itself. Sorry if that sounds like a bunch of crap, it would be far easier to show you.

I think what he was trying to say is that you can use a CAS from a 300zx or Maxima, but I'm pretty sure you would still need the 82/83 280zxt distributor. (also, I'm betting a CAS from a Vg30 Pathfinder or P/U truck would work)

I'm not a expert on how a piggy back system works but the way it was explained to me is that it fools the ecu into changing the mixture by messing the the timing (not exactly a good thing) My question to you is why did you go to the trouble of going to a z31 setup if you want to use a aftermarket management system anyway? You may not realize that you have a very good setup already (you just have to get it tweaked) The z31 ecu can be altered to run any injectors (and HP) you want and the timing advance curve can be modified to give VERY good results compared to the stock ecu. I can tell you that I've seen people that use SDS and Mega-squirt systems and even though they are very expensive they are not the ultimate answer as they are VERY complex to tune properly. My buddy with a SDS still has little bit of stumble and hic-ups under certain rpm/engine loads. I'm not saying that those systems suck but considering their cost I think the modified z31 ecu is a much better choice. Even my friend with the SDS thinks so..

Up here in Canada our Z cars sit from October to April eh!

The things you suggest doing might help the car to run better but I don't think you will find any noticable difference in performance. One of the most important things you can do to increase performance on a turbo engine is to upgrade the exhaust system (which isn't exactly super cheap) Not to mention that putting a nice free flowing exhaust system will increase your boost slightly anyway. I went from the stock 7psi to 9psi with a 3" mandrel exhaust and with no intercooler I did get some detonation but the z31 ecu swap cleared that right up.

Man this is messed up, I reply to this post and the next thing I know is that my answer (the second post) Shows as being the first post!

Ok, first of all to deal with your fuel pump wiring read a post I made in the turbo/super forum called "Getting motor running" http://forums.hybridz.org/showthread.php?t=96479&page=1&pp=10 Next, the stock turbo injectors push 260cc/min and you are feeding the engine with 500cc injectors? You are putting almost twice the amount of fuel required into the engine, I doubt it will start let alone run. You need the ecu to tell the injectors to slow down the injection pulses to compensate for the larger injector volume. I am not familiar with the "greddy e-manage" but if it works anything like a apexi air/fuel controller DON'T DO IT!! Those piggy back systems don't work very well at all. I know a guy who got detonation and put a rod right through a block using a piggy-back system. My advise is to re-chip the z31 ecu. You will be much happier with the results I'm sure! To do a re-chip you need a 87+ ecu, if yours is older than 87 then get your hands on a newer one. The ecu can be turbo or n/a one, it dosn't really matter. As for your spark problem, that could be alot of things, were you successfully running a L28et ecu before you did the z31 swap? There are extra wires that have to be connected to the + and - of the coil when you do the z31 swap. Is it possible you missed that? If you need details on re-chipping your ecu then email me.

To obtain those HP numbers reliably you would definatly have to beef up the bottom end with better pistons and rods. You will also need several upgrades... bigger turbocharger 3" mandrel bend exhaust high volume fuel pump (Walboro 255lph is always a favorite) intercooler blow off valve would be recommended with that kind of HP too injectors (I would suggest 480cc, 420cc minimum) some sort of fuel/spark management computer (many are available, SDS, megasquirt, ect. (I think the best bang for the buck is the 300zx maf/ecu swap with a re-chip) With between 350-400rwph you should be able to pull 11's

On a side note, does anyone know if there is a big difference between the oil pump on a auto car vs the manual? I know the auto's came with oil coolers, so I would assume the auto was higher volume?

Are you running stock injectors? I did that swap and never messed with the MAF and had great results. Make sure your TPS is set correctly. If you want to improve your fuel management my advise is to reprogram the 300zx Ecu and not mess with the MAF. I had my Ecu retuned and it made a HUGE difference. However you need a 87+ Ecu. If you have one of that vintage, take the top cover off (4 phillips screws) On the circuit board you'll see a 28pin Eprom chip. You would have to take it to somebody that can de-solder the chip from the board and replace it with a eprom socket. (this way you can remove and replace the chip at any time) Then you can get a reprogrammed chip and have it tuned for bigger injectors, timing advance curve.. whatever.. If you are interested I can give you a email address of a guy that can send you a chip.

My Z still had the lock code on a sticker inside the glove box door. I gave the code to a locksmith and they cut me a new key.

I'm using a custom exhaust manifold with the turbo mounted up front so there will not be any clearance issues. As far as I know it's been done but never finished, a member on here did it but it isn't running yet. If you know of any that have been done please let me know. As for how to remove and install the engine I had a look at a service manual. It says to leave the tranny in place and drop the front diff out the way.

I'm taking out the Vg30 from my 87 Pathfinder and replacing it with a Vg30et from a 84zxt. I didn't get far before running into my first problem (minor one but would like some advise anyway) I decided to pull the engine without the tranny because I didn't want to have to disconnect the driveshafts and manuver everything out. Here's the problem.. In order for the engine to separate from the trans the engine has to move forward far enough to clear the input shaft from the clutch assembly. However there is no room because the oil pan hits the front diff right away! I did manage to get the engine out by gaining enough clearance to remove the pressure-plate bolts. and let the clutch assembly fall back. That was fine for removing the engine, but that will never work for installing it. What is considered the proper way to accomplish this? I'm thinking I'll have to drop the front diff.. Anyone have any better ideas?

Obviously the bolt is metric and I don't know off hand what the size is, but I have a standard sized offset box end wrench that works well for that. I think it's about a 1-1/16" or 1-1/8" If I had to guess, it would be the first one. Hope that helps.

I'm not exactly sure what you are asking, I'm assuming you have a 280zx. You want to do away with the AFM or the boot? Why? are you running a MAF? or maybe a MAP with a SDS or something? I dunno if this will help you or not but I have a L28et in a 76z and I'm running the stock boot at the turbo then I have a plastic air intake tube from a 85 300zx N/A (it fits right in the stock turbo boot and reaches through the rad cradle in front of the rad with a 90 degree mandrel bend on the other end) Then I have the AFM/MAF up front with a K&N filter. The 300zx air intake tube looks like it was made for that application just like OEM. (and why woudn't it? it's a Nissan part after-all! ) I'm not sure if it would work on a zx, but I imagine it would.

The L28et that you have, did it come from a manual or auto car? If it came from a auto it would have come with a engine oil cooler from the factory. I had to get some oil cooler lines custom made as the zx ones did not work in my Z. Did you by any chance just plug those holes off thinking that it would oil normally? I thought of doing that to avoid all the trouble with the oil lines (I'm in a cold climate anyway) but I wasn't sure how the oil direction/flow worked so I decided not to mess with it and make sure I had the cooler hooked up. Just a thought.. As for the oil pump failing Bastaad is right, I never heard of a failure on a L engine either. In fact L engines are VERY tough!! Could it be that the grinding was the starter or something else? It is possible that you won't get any noticeable oil pressure until the engine actually starts and turns at 1000 rpms or so.. Especially if the engine has been sitting a long time. As for starting, does it fire or buck/kick at all? or is it simply turning over like a log on a river. Do you still have spark? Get one of those little injector test lights and see if you are getting a injector pulse. Was your engine in unknown condition? maybe even a compression test would be in order.

It's possible I guess, but don't think all that likely that it would smoke the ECU. If he has any questions he can always email me. Do you have the car running with the L28 ecu already, or are you just going straight from nothing to the z31 ecu? I highly recomend the z31 ecu, better in every way. Plus if you have a 87-89 ecu it can be reprogrammed for way better performance.

I've done it, but I'm nowhere near Socal. I can't imagine any mechanic wanting to take on that job unless they happen to know and love Z cars like we all do at HybridZ. You'll have to hope someone here chimes in with a offer to help or you'll have to figure it out for yourself. If you have any questions I can answer online I'd be happy to help though. Or I could always do it for you free of charge, but you'll have to buy the plane ticket Good luck!

I suppose it is possible that your fuel pump relay is "locked" up in the on position but I doubt it, more likely that it is wired up wrong. There are many ways to wire up a fuel pump relay on a L28et, it depends on your setup... A: are you using the module to reduce voltage to the fuel pump at idle? B: are you using a L28et ECU or the Z31/MAF upgrade? Using the module is a little more complicated and seeing that I never did get the module from my donor car I decided to do without it (my pump isn't so loud that it was ever a issue for me anyway) Nissan relays generally have 5 terminals but you only need to use 4 for the FPR. Two terminals control the coil or "triggering" part of the relay. one of these pins goes to the ECU (the "LR" wire on the 6 terminal plug of the injection harness near the knock sensor) and the other "trigger terminal" goes to ground when using a L28et ECU (+power source on a Z31 ECU) NOTE: If you hook up power (+ and -) to these two terminals you will hear a definate "click" from the relay. Now the other two terminals are the power circuit of the fuel pump and will only have continuity when the there is a signal coming from the ECU One terminal should be connected to 12v+ (best choice is directly to the battery, but make sure to use a fuse) The other terminal goes to the + terminal of the fuel pump. The - terminal of the fuel pump is best hooked up directly to the - battery terminal

Most likely your fuel pump relay is not hooked up correctly. It is a good idea to get it working properly as it is a safety issue. You see, if your fuel pump is allowed to run forever even if the engine is not running then imagine what could happen in a a car accident and the fuel line is broken an you've hit your head and don't realize that gas is being pumped all over the road. I'm sure a car would fail a government safety inspection and be taken off the road for reason like that.

Ok this may be a stupid question but if you bought injectors from a guy off the board, what cc's are the injectors? Unless you are running some sort of modified ECU or AFM anything but the stock 260cc injectors will flood the engine for sure!