linluv84

Very nice work Mack. If the money is there around tax season, maybe I'll upgrade. Will that work with a NEO as well? Anybody have performance data on the Greddy intake? BTW, I got the intercooler kit to sorta fit for now. I'd prefer to make a trip to Cali someday and have you guys look at it personally to figure out what needs to be modified...

$3k will be cutting it really close, but finding another $1k to finish it (if necessary) wouldnt be too difficult. Check over that $1500 RB with a fine tooth comb before you commit to buying it. If possible, have somebody familiar with RBs look it over. Do a DRY compression test and look under the valve covers at a minimum...

Unless the rest of the car is already built, you might consider doing all the suspension and brake upgrades and continue saving for a proper RB swap. $1500 is scary cheap for a good motor. Cutting corners will likely only end with a non-functioning Z parked in the garage for a couple years. On top of that, running a 250hp motor in a Z with stock suspension and questionable brakes is borderline wreckless...

"jdm_planet" is reselling Osaka engines. They pretend to be their own shop until you get the shipping info and the motor is shipped directly from Osaka. My engine showed up with a cut harness and no MAF, boost sensor, or boost solenoid. The engine cover was pretty messed up and the spark plug holes were filled to the top with water. Just figured out the other day that the non-functional MAF they sent me (after another $65) is actually an N62 with an E60 connector swapped onto it. The $300ish I saved by buying a cheaper swap has turned into at least $500 of headache. Remember, warranty is only as good as the seller's word. They can always make up some BS excuse to cover their a$$. "The harness is supposed to be cut there" "We always charge extra for MAF" ...

Thanks again, Z-Ya! I'm in the process of swapping tach guts...

$10k is the entire build, not just the motor swap...

Thanks for the replies. Just going over this stuff in my head as I sort out the rest of the build. Good to know I have one less thing to deal with. Hopefully now that I'm employed again and have a new ecu, I will get to drive my Z again in the near future. It gets kinda irritating when you've got over $10k of project in the garage and can't find the $500 to finish and enjoy it...

My motor (RB25det NEO) is missing the boost press sensor and boost control solenoid. Will the ecu go into limp mode without the pressure sensor? I couldn't find anything in the fsm troubleshooting charts showing what it will do without the sensor. The eventual goal is to have a functional MIL, so I'm assuming I'll need the sensor at some point. As far as the solenoid goes, I was thinking about simply getting an 8lb wastegate actuator and calling it a day, unless there is a USDM solenoid that will work...

Just curious, why the ls2 coils? I mean, unless you already had a set laying around, they seem to be about as expensive as the rb coils...

New ECU is in, but the MAF is no good. It's shorting the 12v to ground. Thankfully I installed fuses and nothing is damaged. Now I'm looking into getting an SAFC so I can use a USDM MAF rather than track down another NEO sensor. I think the lesson learned here is to not buy from jdm_planet, or any other vendor reselling motors from Osaka...

How close did you end up to the steering rack? My mckinney mounts bolted up to the engine just fine, but getting the isolators in and clearing the rack was a bit difficult...

Finally got the car (and a ridiculous amount of spare parts) moved over to my place. Now I just need the ecu and better cash flow to get going again. The ecu should be here by the end of next week and I'll find out about the job on Tuesday. In the mean time, I'll be tracing out the ecu to verify the maf wiring is what fried it...

Ecu is on the way and I have a job interview in the morning! Time to get this project rolling again...

HELLS YEAH! That one appears to be an earlier JECS model, just need to verify that it really is for an ER34 and will interchange with the Hitachi branded unit... EDIT: Part no. checks out as an RB25DET NEO MT ecu!!!

Just give Mac @ McKinney a call, he can clear up everything for you...

I swear I only dozed off for a minute...

Of course, any leads on an RB25DET NEO ECU would be greatly appreciated. I'm sure somebody out there has gone standalone on their NEO and has one to spare...

Life has been sooooo busy, this project has been on pause for over a month now. Still waiting for Jack to find an ECU. Really hard to stay motivated when the whole project is waiting on a part that seems impossible to find. Might even be moving the car over to my place so its more convenient to work on...

Already figured out that the MAF plug was backwards and corrected it. Now if I could just find an ECU...

ECU got fried. I replaced the diode that popped, but a capacitor that was right next to it crumbled to pieces when I wiped it with a q-tip. Without being able to read the value of the cap, I am giving up on this ECU and buying a replacement. I plugged it back in to see what it would do without the capacitor and it blew clouds of black smoke and flames out the exhaust. Another $300ish into the project, yay...

Ended up having to pull the pan and cut/weld, but its all bolted in now. The portion of the harness with the MAF and O2 wiring was missing from my harness, so I added the wiring back in with a junkyard connector. Bad news is I got the pinout bass ackwards and possibly fried something. I might end up having to replace the MAF or ECU. Troubleshooting continues today... Oil pan modifications:

The McKinney mounts got me a lot closer and 99% of the wiring is done (thanks to Z-Ya's beautiful schematic!). The choke lamp is living a second life as the MIL . I still have to make some slight adjustments to the oil pan to get it to clear the rack. The McKinney mounts put the engine really close to the rack even with a 200ZR pan. If I can work it right, I will be able to make the modifications without pulling the engine or pan...

The McKinney I/C kit has a very nice intercooler, 3 pc custom fit pipe set, connectors, clamps, and brackets. I would rather get the McKinney mounts than half-a$$ or chop up the I/C kit. I'll either hang on to the Wong mounts for my next project, or try to recoup my cash. Thanks for offering fab skills, Pat. I've already got the McKinney mounts on the way. Hopefully it will still be on the road by the end of next week...

So after tons of prep work, the engine and trans are sitting in the car. Moving the dipstick was exciting, lots of bending and re-bending to make it work right. Pat's pan went on with almost no problems. The issues I'm facing right now are mounts and wiring. The Rick Wong mounts with the Dodge isolators put the engine in a bad spot for the McKinney intercooler kit and clearing the steering rack. My engine harness came with all the excess wiring, but no MAF wiring and a couple damaged connectors. Even with pictures, the importer claims the MAF connector is there. I managed to find the right connector in the junkyard, but still need to make sure I have right wires before soldering it up (scratching my head over the ecu pin numbering). The boost control solenoid is broken and the boost pressure sensor is MIA. The plan (for now) is to bypass the solenoid and hope for the best. Doing more wiring research tonight and ordering a set of McKinney mounts in the morning...

Z-ya, evidently there is a minor part that is different from the KA gearbox and RB20DET gearbox. Some of the aftermarket shifters designed to work with the KA/SR version of the trans don't work properly. It also happens to be the same gearbox in certain non-turbo Z31s, hence the Z31 shifter...