Kazuya1274

Tim240Z, Thanks for your reply. One of the engines I am looking at is from a police car. I can't remember the year (a friend called about it for me) but its probably from late 80's or early 90's. If the engine has TB injection, will I be able to take that off and use a carburetor, granted I have retained all the smog components?

I know this is an old thread, but I am considering doing a SBC swap on my 81 280ZX. I will be moving to CA later this year, so it more than likely will have to be an emissions legal swap. But, seems like you can't put an engine that is older than the year of your car, correct? Is there really any way to tell what year SBC block you have? I am not interested in running F.I. (yet) or TB injection, just carbed. I do plan on running the charcoal canister, pcv, egr, and 2 catalytic converters. Surely with all this stuff it would be just as emissions compliant as the stock L28. If you cannot legally swap in an older engine into your car, could I get away with it since I "bought it this way" in Kansas?

Datsunlover, thanks for the information. I am about to do this exact install myself, except I have the Blaster 2 coil for my setup. But the directions did not mention if a tach adapter is needed. I've already bought the 8910 tach adapter. If I follow this exact install, will my stock tach work without the tach adapter? 280Zen, good luck with your install and let us know if you get that problem hunted down. You can also try calling MSD, I have had good luck talking with them before, when I asked them something about plug wires.

midnightzxt, IMO, years of Nissan research went into making the 280ZX a great car with plenty of power to move from a standstill, and a good useable powerband throughout all gears. But, when you start putting a bigger turbo on it, and wanting to go well beyond the 85 Mph speedometer reading, then a porting job can only help for this. Porting the intake and head will shift the powerband more towards the top end, but in my case I can loose some of that tire spinning low torque. Unless you are somebody like Ferrari, you have to make some compromises in the design of the car to sell to a mass market. Plus, if you look inside the intake ports, you can see the line where the casting marks were left. Taking that out right there will definately improve airflow. For me, I'm just trying to get the most hp out of what I have, and porting the intake, head and exhaust manifold will surely help some.

jmortensen, What we did is actually matched the port to the gasket on the intake manifold. Sorry I didn't clarify that. I got an old screwdriver and cut the handle off to make a longer shank for the rolls. But, #1 and #6 runners have an angle in them, so even if I could reach all the way back in there, it might not work on those 2 runners. Or, if I start at the end of the runners and move back toward the plenum, I might take off just enough to reach every angle inside?? I was also wondering if there was some sort of flexible shank I could put the rolls on, that way it could bend a little bit. (This could be a bad idea though) If I have to cut open the intake plenum, which would be the best way: plasma cutter or cutting disk? I'll have to have a machine shop grind the threads in the screwdriver handle to match the porting kit shank, as the rolls just fly off when I test it out

Speaking of porting, I have a burning question. I have my intake ported now, which we did as much as we could up the runners. We were able to get about half way up all 6. I am going to replace the head gasket, and was thinking about porting the exhaust manifold (turbo), the cylinder head (P90), and possibly cutting open the intake to port the rest of the runners. Question is, am I hurting the air flow by only porting out the runners half way? I am thinking that maybe the air is slowing down by going through a small opening inside the intake, but getting bigger right before the head. Of course, my car is running pretty good with the halfway-up porting job on it now, but I changed a lot of other things when I put it on too. Is it worth it for me to cut open the intake to get at the front of the runners, or is the porting I have on their now sufficient to support the future porting of the head and exhaust manifold?

I stripped one out at 25 ft. lbs., so be careful!

This brings back some memories! Memories of a turbo kit for a 4th gen. Z28 or Trans Am... That mounted the turbo in the rear. The claim of not needing an intercooler because of the long turbo pipe was also there. Try doing a search for Squires Turbo. It was discussed pretty thoroughly, as most controversial topics are.

My school recently got a 2000 Q45 donated, and with that came Nissan's complete version of ASIST. This is kind of like Mitchell on Demand, except with all Nissan information. I already found some cool service information regarding squeaks and rattles for my 93 240sx. Finally, I may be able to get rid of some of that sunroof squeak. Anyways, does anyone need some kind of info from this? Since I am a G.A., I have free reign to use the computer anytime. I don't have a scanner, but maybe I can save the information on .pdf and then e-mail it? Unfortunately, it does not have any information relating to the Z car prior to the 350Z. Its a bummer, but I can find all the "official" bulletins regarding the tire wear on 350Z's.

As an update, I installed a new clutch master cylinder, and this seemed to fix the problem. Although I did not take the car on a test drive yet, (too cold!) I did let it warm up and drive repeatedly back and forth, and maneuvered it back into the shop where I was doing a lot of clutch grabs in first gear. Also held the clutch down for about a minute with the transmission in reverse and first gear. I did notice that with the new master cylinder, the pedal was easier to press down.

Thanks for the tip. I called a local parts store and they had a master cylinder in stock for $17.99, I couldn't resist. I didn't want to get into the habit of replacing a bunch of parts, but it still sounds more and more like a hydraulic issue. Why else would the clutch work fine, only to start acting up again when my drive was over? I always thought that if the master cylinder was leaking, that fluid would run down the backside and down the firewall, but I guess it doesn't have to be that way. The seals may just be letting fluid go past them, keeping it all inside, because there are no leaks whatsoever, and the clutch fluid remains full. I'll give an update if the master cylinder change does the trick.

I recently installed another CF DF clutch. I had the flywheel resurfaced. The machine shop told me that last time it was not resurfaced properly, that the outer area was suppossed to be 6 thousanths higher that the clutch surface area, and it was only 2 thousanths higher. So I had him resurface the flywheel. I also installed a steel braided clutch slave cylinder line from MSA. After installing the clutch, the TO bearing makes a noise when I depress the clutch, and the car won't go into gear (still does this, although not as bad). I concluded that the slave cylinder was leaking a little bit, and got a new OEM one from MSA. The new slave cyl. seemed to work great, so I took the car on a test drive. By the time I got back, the darn thing would grind when I tried to put it in reverse, and had trouble getting it back into 1st and 2nd. I did not replace the TO bearing this time, but it has been changed before. The last clutch install had none of these ill effects. This time, it seems like a hydraulic problem, but maybe not after putting on a new slave cylinder. Possible problems: Flywheel was resurfaced wrong, or the surface is worn down too much? I put the flywheel on wrong (since resurfacing the outer part caused me to loose my mark of where it was originally, but does it matter)? Steel braided line is doing something to inhibit clutch release? TO bearing is bad? Or, I somehow installed the clutch wrong? If I remove the transmission again, I will probably go with a Fidanza flywheel and a much stronger clutch. I wanted to do that anyways before but was trying to save money.

Z-Gad, isn't the copper gasket spray for copper gaskets only? Clifton, thanks for introducing me to the Cometic MLS gasket. Unfortunately, I haven't found anyone on the web who actually sells the gasket for the L28 (Maybe Arizonazcar could start selling it???), just this website, http://www.freewebs.com/1971datsun240zt/ who had contacted Cometic about making a gasket for the L28. It hasn't been updated in a while whether they got the headgasket done, so I'm going to give Cometic a call Monday.

Thanks guys. I think I am going to double check for any internal leakage and then try and retorque the head studs. I did follow proper procedure and torqued the studs to the proper specs, but never followed up on them. I believe it may be loose because when the car warms up, it seems to stop leaking coolant. If this doesn't work, I'm going to give the HKS a try.

I was replacing the suspension on my car, came back to my friends shop to find a small puddle of coolant on the floor in the middle of the engine. Start it up, and notice coolant leaking out the side b/t the head and block. I have been using the felpro gasket. I noticed the coolant level had went down, but I figured I just didn't fill it up enough the first time, and that the block had sucked up a little more coolant. The last one blew at the track, b/t the 4 and 5 cylinder, where the 2 ex. valves are close to each other. When putting the new gasket on, I also installed ARP head studs. Tapped all the threads with alcohol, and cleaned out the head bolt holes prior to installing the ARP's. Filled the radiator with fluid, let the engine warm up with the cap off. I think I'm going to go with the HKS gasket this time. After putting the latest felpro gasket on, I never took the car to the track, and only put about 500 miles on it! I had a machine shop check the head, and it was flat. My theories are that the residue left on the block after the 1st gasket blew could have caused a leak, or the head and/or block got warped. Finally, should the ARP studs be re-torqued after running the engine? Pretty sure the gasket was lined up properly with the ARP studs on too... Just looking for any suggestions to installation I may have overlooked. Is there any difference between the turbo and non-turbo HG, because maybe I received the wrong part (I did check it against the last one, and they were identical). Perhaps I didn't get all the air bubbles out of the coolant system? Maybe the head studs loosened because I didn't re-torque them? Or do I just need to put the HKS gasket on....

Thanks to everyone who replied. I have a better understanding of things now. I only speak of the aftermarket ecu so much because it seems the best or easiest way to operate the 390cc injectors I have in an efficient manner. I've just heard some crazy stuff from others in relation to passing the tests. Goodbye camshafts, thats for sure. My friend said that he used to be a member of the San Diego Z car club, and a guy failed emissions just by putting a lighter flywheel on. I don't even want to think about that one... Tony D, thanks a lot, I would love to relieve you of some of your ZX junk! I'll know more of where I'll stay if I get the job offer, but probably around the S. Bay/Torrance area, starting in July.

Ok, what about the B.C.D.D (Boost controlled decelleration device) and the TVV? These are located on the intake manifold. I've seen most people with aftermarket ECU's remove these components. Will this be acceptable, or is this something they are looking for as well? Part of the B.C.D.D.'s operation is to control idle, but an aftermarket ecu will take care of that. Maybe I am only seeing pictures of cars from other states when I looked on the internet... Afshin's car in the new Sport Z is a good example of an emissions compliant ZXT, but he used the Z31 ecu. Is there any difference in using that compared to a MS or similar? I have the stock turbo manifold that I could just put on. The problem is, it has a few more components that I don't think were on the NA model. I don't know how I'm going to explain at the emissions station that its an 81 NA car, with an 83 turbo block, and an 82 head, and its still running the NA computer. What a mouthful. I'm actually up to the challenge of putting everything back on. I know it can be done, I just don't want to go through all the effort and get failed in the visual because it doesn't look "stock" and somebody thinks I "messed" with the equipment. Are ASE certified techs doing these inspections, or someone with little knowledge of cars? Knowing who I'm dealing with would help. BTW, one of the reasons I cling to this car is that it has a solid roof, where as all the turbo models have T-top roofs. I hate T-tops! And non power sunroofs! Also, in case anyone was wondering, I'm not a promoter of pollution, or removing emissions equipment. I would never do this to my daily driver. Just in my mind the car is really too old to worry about anyways. I bet its acceptable passing numbers are muck compared with a newer car...

I may be moving to the Los Angeles area next year, if everything goes well in this job interview thing. Got the chance to go out there for my last interview. And I saw all the emissions testing stations there while driving around. In the quest for simplicity and ease of taking it apart, I opted to remove some of the emissions equipment from my ZX. Here in KS its not that big of a deal. The charcoal canister, PCV, and EGR have been removed. The first two are easy to put back on, but the EGR will require me to either use another manifold altogether, or cut the EGR off of one manifold and re-weld it back on to my ported out, webless runner one. We all know most of this emissions equipment is a band-aid for the lack of good ECU processing power. I will be upgrading to a MS or SDS in the near future. New cars do not even have an EGR valve, because modern ecu's can adjust the fuel curve to render them useless. An aftermarket ecu surely has this power, right? The only problem is, I've heard you need a visual inspection before the actual emissions test. Even if my car is capable of passing the emissions test, it won't even get past step one, since they will notice it doesn't have this or that on it. Even if I do put all the stuff back on, the awkwardness of the install might set off alarms just by looking at it. My question is, should I go through all this trouble just to "hopefully" pass the test? Or will they let me slide on the visual inspection as long as the car passes the sniffer test in the end? All my info on this is picked up by word of mouth, so all of my facts may not be straight on this. I know I could get a 240Z and swap my engine over and not have to worry about emissions, but I don't have the money to purchase one right now, won't have much time to swap the engine over there while I'm working, don't know anywhere to go for help, and I put a lot of time and effort to get my ZX to where its at, and hate to gut it and junk it. What I am looking for is for the ones who live there, maybe they could share some of their knowledge on the testing procedures, and kinda point me in the right direction of what I should do.

Definately work on getting at least a 3" downpipe. Its a tight squeeze but well worth it. You can make one yourself by having a machine shop trace the outline of your mating surface in whatever material you like, then getting a 3" 90 deg. bend, and welding that to your new flange. It shouldn't be too hard. I noticed one heck of an improvement in boost response. At 1/4 to 1/2 throttle if 5th gear, I can open the wastegate

Bastaad, If it makes any difference, I did run my lower PCV hole from the block back into the intake before the turbo, and left the top one on the valve cover open. It ran fine like this for quite a while. I think you can get away with routing one back into the intake, but I had bad luck routing BOTH back into the intake. Now I'm running both open, and plan to use a catch can. Do you know how it would run if I put both the block PCV and the valve cover PCV hoses into the same catch can? Or should I just run the block hose into the catch can?

After putting my Turbo back together with a 240sx TB, ported intake, and bigger injectors, I started noticing my 6 month old centerforce DF slipping. Keep in mind that in those 6 months, my Z has been down at least 1 month. Flywheel was resurfaced prior to clutch install. It is still grabbing, but starts to slip under boost in 5th gear. I recently came back from some grueling dragstrip runs, so that probably started the beginning of the end for the clutch. I only broke in the clutch for about 100 miles. My question is, is the 500 mile break-in period for the DF extremely important? I have two options on this: Install the spare CDF I have (don't ask!) and break it in for a full 500 miles, or sell the spare DF and get a much more expensive clutch. The car definately has a lot more power after the upgrades, and I've already busted a U-joint on the left halfshaft. Car needs to run more than sit. 81 280ZX Turbo- 13 PSI, TO4B/T3, NA computer, Eclipse 390CC, JSK fuel rail, 240sx TB, ported intake, custom intercooler, aluminum intake piping, aluminum radiator, 3" SS downpipe, 3" exhaust, BEGI FPR, Autometer boost, oil, and volt.

z boi, I cannot see where to mount the extra spring from the stock TB. If you could e-mail me a picture of your setup, I would greatly appreciate it. I took the car out today, and noticed that the pedal travel is Sticky at the onset. This is why I have a little trouble moving from a stoplight smoothly. I end up giving it a little more gas than is needed. I did not get a threaded link that connects the car's throttle linkage to the TB. I am not sure where to get the parts to make one of those, so if anybody has one, I would gladly pay you for it if you can send one to me. I think I need one of these because the car's throttle linkage is almost all the way up, and the angle may be causing the throttle to stick a little bit at the top of the travel.

Searched around for this but couldn't find any info. I recently installed a 60MM 240SX TB. It is using the stock linkage and a spacer. The pressure required to push down the accelerator is quite lower compared to the old 50MM stocker. I noticed while looking at the stock one that it has a return spring on it that is mounted with a bracket on the TB. This is what gives the stock unit its pedal pressure. I am looking for some options to increase the pedal pressure on my new throttle body. Or, should I just get used to the lighter pressure? Its been raining lately, and the car is awaiting its new exhaust, so I have only driven it a few times since getting it back together, so I was not used to the lower spring pressure. Any ideas or pictures of other 60MM TB setups?

Check your fuel tank and fuel pickup! This happened when I left my ZX sitting for a while. The fuel pickup tube was clogged, and when I would drive the car, it would not go over 3K and die when I floored it. It was OK after I cleaned out the fuel pickup real good and replaced the fuel pump. You can still get a new factory fuel pickup/sender unit from Nissan.

I have owned my 93 240SX for the last 6 years, (my first car!) and it has been driven every day for those six years, until I got my 280ZX done, then it takes a break I am not into the 240SX scene much anymore, and the last time I was on the 240sx.org mailing list there were about 2 people who had done an SR20 swap. However, having so much experience in the car, I can tell you this: It needs more power! IMO, Nissan was and still is stupid for not bringing a turbo engine or silvia here. I pay too high of insurance on what I consider a slow car to only have 155 HP. I cannot even outrun a Maxima with this car. A Camaro Z28 costs the same on insurance!! That being said, a Japanese friend of mine has a 240SX, and purchased used SR20 turbo parts on yahoo.jp auctions to turbocharge his KA24DE engine. Using mostly stock Silvia parts, he had it put together in about 2 weeks. After riding in the car, I felt that even at 7 psi an excellent balance of power had been attained. It was a lot quicker than my 240SX, yet still retaining the same powerband of the NA engine. To me, the car would be perfect with about 250HP as a reliable daily driver. I concentrate all my resources into my 280ZX, but someday I would like to do a CA or SR swap. Whether your car has either of these engines, you need to ask yourself what you want the car to be? Do you need it to be a reliable daily driver? Then you should consider my ideal 250 mark and go with an SR20. Getting 250HP shouldn't deteriorate the reliability too much. If the car is a go-fast toy, then by all means try a 6 cylinder swap, or even a SBC swap! The KA engine could also be turbo'd, I just question its overall design sometimes as far as increasing power. But, you have the displacement advantage of 2.4 L, and a lot of low-end to spool the turbo up. I couldn't have lasted 6 years with the car if I didn't think it was a great car and enjoyable to drive. Sometimes I want another car, but I don't think I could let go of the 240SX. It is a great handling car, especially if you lower it and put wider wheels on it. Keep in mind that you could upset its 55/45 F/R weight ratio by installing an I6 engine.