Phantom

I can't confirm that the pump JCI supplied you is the same one that was used on my car but I do know that I've never had a fuel flow problem. My LS1 is totally stock internally. It even has LS1 intake vs the LS6. It dyno'd at 311 rwhp on a single exhaust but is around 325 with the newer duals. At nearly 400 HP at the flywheel the LS1 is getting plenty of fuel. I'm pleased with the lack of noise from mine. I hear it bring the system up to pressure before actually starting the car but it is completely drowned out by the exhaust note - as it should be ! Oh - yes - I also used the stock fuel lines for the supply and return lines. That was part of the beauty of the installation on a 280Z - stock fuel tank, stock fuel lines, but with a new pump in the stock pump location. For further confirmation - when I was racing flat out at Texas Motor Speedway in Ft Worth my car got 10 MPG. At 120 MPH that would have worked out at 12 GPH. So if I was all the way down to 3.3 MPG a 38 GPH pump would have supplied the need. The only time I had an issue with fuel delivery was when my tank got below 1/4 full and I was accellerating out of a hard corner. That wasn't a pump problem, it was a baffling problem in the stock 280Z tank.

Ahh - you're correct - it's a combination of water and an ethylene glycol derivative or substitute that extends the effective range of the water. Oil, as well as lubricating, also acts somewhat as a coolant using it's residence time in the oil pan to dissipate the heat that it absorbs. That is not it's primary function, however, or all engines would come with thermostats and radiators on their oil systems too. Bottom line - to have thermal balance the heat in has to equal the heat out. Intitially the engine mass needs to be brought up to "operating temperature" so the initial heat in is less than the heat out. Once shut off that heat will then radiate from the engine and we're back in balance again. Does the cooling system remove all the heat - no. Is it the cooling system that we look to when we have an overheating situation - you bet. The reason for that is that it's the 800 lb gorilla in the game. The rest of them are just little badgers - and for this discussion - "we don't need no stinking badgers"!

Honolulu around 1970. Several of us midshipmen had rented a Datsun 510 to tour the Island. Part way through the day the pin that held the gearshift into the transmission fell out and we could no longer shift. Had everyone finish the popsicles they were eating, took off the boot and forsced several "broken" to length" popcicle sticks in where the pin had been. Held on for the rest of our day. Can't remember if I told the rental agency about it. Probably figured they'd charge me to repair it.

Dreco - Good to see that you have finally committed to the dark side. It's been a long time since we had our cars at that meet in Irving. It must have been 6 or 7 years ago. If you have any questions I'm available and so is my son (DarthZ) to take photos or fill in some information holes.

Have you tried going to your Nissan dealership or Motorsport Auto? If those fail, take it to a local shop that deals in auto A/c's and see if they have one from a different vehicle that will work. Nissan used similar parts in several vehicles so that filter may still be available from a different vehicle.

bjhines - You are completely correct. That's why I wrote it as a "101", Freshman level. Some of the items you discussed are at the 501, graduate level. My intent was to get the basic concepts out so folks with no knowledge would have a starting point. Once we get beyond that it gets very case specific because of the way people configure their cars. An example would be radiator sizing. A radiator needs to be sized to handle the flow volume that the water pump can deliver AND have turbulent flow within the tubes to maximize available cooling. If the tube diameter or number of tube is too large and the velocity slows enough to get laminar flow then cooling effectiveness is reduced and could end up in an overheating situation. Or - if the tubes are properly sized for turbulent flow but are too long then an overcooling situation can exist. This is not nearly as frequent an issue, however, because of the physical underhood space limitations. The simplest way to approach sizing is to determine the volume that the water pump is capable of actually pumping through the block and then size the radiator accordingly. The assumption is that the engineers that designed the pump for the engine specified one thatcan flow enough water to remove the heat from the engine. There is also the theories on fin density and size which is dependent on tube size and numbers of tubes. Then all we have to do is ensure the heat is moved from the radiator to the air flow. After the radiator is sized then ambient air temperatures have to be evaluated and we need to ensue that sufficient air can flow across the radiator to remove the heat. Remember, the fan should only be doing this in stop and go traffic, not cruising down the highway. Then we size the fans to also ensure this flow and make sure that they are properly shrouded. Remember - if the fan is not shrouded it can as easily pull it's air from behind the radiator as through it. Not a good thing when you're trying to remove heat from the radiator. Remeber, if you know your engine, and how much heat it needs to reject, you can go to a company that designs radiators, who have the engineers on staff with the formulas, and have them properly design the radiator. They do it every day. We don't. The problem is most people are trying to find the cheap way out and then wonder why it doesn't work.

Cooling 101 In order to properly troubleshoot engine cooling problems we must first identify each of the components in the cooling system. They include: The coolant The engine cooling jacket The water pump The radiator The thermostat The cooling fan and shroud Each of these plays an important role in ensuring that an engine warms up properly and doesn’t either freeze or overheat. I’m going to take them one at a time and address specific features/functions of each. The coolant: Most vehicles run a blend of ethylene glycol and water for coolant. There are other anti-freezes on the market but they function in much the same way as “the green stuffâ€. Depending on location, the mixture would range from 25% to 75% ethylene glycol with the balance water. The most common blend is 50/50 which is probably the best except where it is exceptionally warm or exceptionally cold. Although ethylene glycol is mostly thought of as an antifreeze it also extends the boiling temperature and provides additional boil-over protection for engines. “Antifreeze†products also contain corrosion inhibitors and lubricants to keep the cooling system in good operating order. Thus it is important that the coolant be periodically replaced to ensure the mix is fresh and still effective. The engine cooling jacket: This is the collection of channels and cavities cast into an engine block that allows the coolant to circulate around the cylinder walls and then out to the radiator and back. They are designed for a water flow (GPM) that ensures turbulent flow in the channels when maximum cooling is required. The capacity of the cooling channels, water pump and radiator must all be matched. Turbulent flow of a coolant results in more effective cooling than laminar flow which occurs when the velocity of the coolant drops below a certain level in any tube/cavity. The water pump: It is what it says it is. It is a centrifugal pump that pumps water. It has a maximum pressure that it can develop at a given RPM but it’s flow is determined by the pressure drop (resistance to flow) in the system. The lower the pressure drop the higher the flow. The radiator: This is a tube and fin heat exchanger. The fins are there to increase surface area for heat to radiate into the air stream passing through them. If they are badly bent or plugged the efficiency of the unit is significantly reduced. The tubes are carefully selected to handle the maximum flow that can pass through the coolant jacket of the engine and have a velocity high enough for turbulent flow (most efficient heat transfer). If there are too many tubes or they are too large the velocity drops and the radiator actually loses ability to remove heat from the coolant. The Thermostat: This device is essentially a water flow control valve that opens and closes in response to temperature changes in the coolant. The valve opens as a result of water pressure developed by the water pump and heat in the coolant that affects the wax in the center cylinder of the thermostat. As the wax heats it expands which works with the water pressure to overcome the spring and open the thermostat. The wax is specifically selected to have the thermostat open to a specific point at a specific temperature that has been determined to be the optimal operating temperature of the engine. It can open wider when coolant temperature starts to rise and close as it becomes cooler. A thermostat also usually has a small diameter hole in it that allows a bit of water flow at all times. This provides a small amount of water flow through the water pump at all times to ensure it’s lubricated and cooled. The cooling fan and shroud: The cooling fans purpose in life is to ensure adequate air flow through the radiator when the car is moving slower than the optimal air flow for cooling. The fan then provides additional airflow to make up the deficiency. The shroud encloses the fan and seals to the radiator to ensure air is pulled across the entire face of the radiator rather than just where the fan blades are. If the shroud is removed from a fan/radiator combination it is possible that the engine will overheat. If the fan does not come on or operates mores slowly than it should the engine may overheat. Troubleshooting: Please note that the guide below assumes a properly set up cooling system to start with. Incorrectly sized components add another level of complexity. Overheats always: If the engine comes up to temperature normally but then overheats whether it’s idling or running at a steady speed check the following: 1) Is it full of coolant? If not, fill it and then check for leaks. That fluid went somewhere and hopefully it didn’t go past a blown head gasket or cracked block. Steam in the exhaust and/or a rough running condition would indicate these problems. 2) Look inside the radiator, check the condition of the coolant. Do either or both look fouled? If so, drain the coolant and backflush the system. It may require chemical cleaning or even having the radiator “rodded†out if it’s really bad. 3) Check the thermostat. It may not be opening. The quickest way is to put it in a bowl of water and bring it to a boil. If it doesn’t open before the water boils, it’s bad and needs to be replaced. 4) Check the water pump. If there is coolant running out of the drain hole in its bottom – it’s bad. Start the engine when it’s cold with the radiator cap off and watch to see what the water does when it reaches operating temperature. If you see good movement, it’s probably not the water pump. If you see little to no water movement, you probably have a bad water pump. Overheats at idle (in stop and go traffic): This generally can be attributed to the cooling fan and/or shroud not providing enough air flow when the car is not moving. This could be due to: 1) A failed clutch in a centrifugal clutch fan 2) A failed control relay or burned out motor on an electric fan 3) A failed coolant temperature sensor on an electric fan system. 4) A problem in the ECU on the electric fan system 5) A missing, improperly sized, or badly damaged fan shroud that is allowing the fan to pull air from behind the radiator instead of through it. Runs Cold: There is really only one thing that could cause an engine to run cold all the time – besides living in Antarctica in winter. 1) The thermostat is frozen in the fully open position or there is no thermostat. The engine will be very slow to warm up at all and probably will not ever come to full operating temperature unless operating in extremely hot conditions or running hard at the track. Slow to warm up but then tends to run hot: This is most likely caused by a thermostat that is frozen in a partly open position. Thus it initially allows too much water flow and then engine warms up to slowly. Then, because it is only partly open, it doesn’t allow enough water flow and the engine overheats. This can be masked a bit if running at a constant speed around 50-55 when the motor load is low yet plenty of air is going through the radiator. It would then tend to overheat at either higher or lower speeds.

Yeah - but I have two LS1 powered s30's in the garage.

I've been around this subject so many times. Personally I don't care what a person does with their own car as long as they don't drive it in a manner that endangers someone (like me!). The old saying is that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and I've seen enough art to verify that statement. Our cars are an extension of our personalities and I think we all work to create something that we are proud of. I made a lot of "compromises" with my car as it was being built because it was my daily driver and I couldn't afford to have it down for any length of time. I also had to ensure that any suspension decisions I made kept the car suitable for driving to work which meant handling curbs, speed bumps, and RR tracks and enough travel to not bruise my but on the way to work and home. If my car was strictly a toy to take to the track or a car show it would look much different. If I had a goal of getting sponsors for all the stuff I did to the car - it would look much different. Would I like to do my car over - you bet! Will I? - probably not.

You can try your local Nissan dealership or go to www.zcarparts.com. MSA generally has OEM components so the quality will be good.

Nope, Generally you pull the front valance off and mount the air dam in its place.

There is a guy called "zman" who has a Z car shop in the Seattle area. He has been on Zcar.com a lot in the past. I', sure he could point you in the right direction.

Ran dual 2.5" through an X pipe to the rear/ Drivers side ran through the stock cut-out in the rear frame support. Passenger side used a round to oval to round adapter to clear the member on that side. Then both pipes cross over tot he stock location on the drivers side to enter into a Magnaflow Muffler that has dual 2.5" inlets and a single 3" outlet. Pretty quiet with low restriction. I had thought about trying to come out in front of the rear tires but couldn't get the mufflers I wanted to fit in the space available with the torque tube setup I have between my T56 and R200. See link for photo. My link

SPOT!!! Good to see you back buddy and glad to hear things are looking up. A two Z car household now. At least now you can enjoy driving a Z while the '74 continues as a project car. Life up here has gotten interesting. My son moved up from Bedford last August and brought his LS1 240Z with him. Now we have the Z32 convertible and two LS1 powered S30's in the garage. Mines pretty much like you saw it last and his is a wide-body project car.

4.0 Watt bulbs are sold by Motorsport Auto in Orange, CA. www.zcarparts.com

XNKE - sorry about being a bit "fresh". I've been round & round on engine temp issues many times and sometimes it gets to me. Slow warmup and then marginal overheating when driven harder is normally a sign of a thermostat that is stuck partially open. I had a similar problem with my LS1 except fot the "got too hot" part. It turned out that the radiator shop that had repaired my radiator had left some solder in the radiator and it ended up in my thermostat causing it to not close fully. The beast ran so cold that I was getting condensate in my oil.

With the engine having only 36K miles on it I certainly hope it's not a spun/damaged bearing. Also, the problem came on rather suddenly which made me initially think it was a sender or gauge problem until I realized that it is not random but totally repeatable at specific RPM's. I am keeping that in the back of my mind, though. I think I'll do an oil and filter change to see if it's the filter and save some of the oil to get it analyzed for metal. That could verify or rule out the bearing issue. I also have a spare gauge from my son's 240Z that now has Autometer gauges that I could swap out and test the gauge itself. The sender will be fun as I don't remember where it's installed and I'll have to hunt it down.

1 Tuff Z - That is a really cool looking dipstick handle. Good idea and execution. i r teh noobz - Please see photo below. Sometimes having the "neon yellow handle a foot above the motor" works out. In this case it puts the handle dead center of the lightening hole in my strut tower brace and has created a feature that gets commented onnearly every time a new person sees my car. My link

Did a search and all I found was a short thread on low oil pressure in an LS2. I have an LS1 out of a '98 Camaro Z28 with only 36,000 miles on it. It has been in the car 7 years now and has had what I consider excellent oil pressure. The oil pressure gauge needle generally runs straight up to just right of straight up at all RPM's from idle up. I am running 5W-30 Mobil 1 and have since i put the engine in the car. Just before I put the car up for the winter I got a real shock. I was running down the highway in 6th so the engine was turning 1,500 RPM at 60 MPH and my oil pressure gauge read '0'. Yikes! After much experimenting I've found that my oil pressure gauge reads in the "normal" range as long as the engine is turning 1,900 RPM or higher. If it drops below that it starts dropping off quickly to 0 at anything 1,500 RPM or below. Any ideas of what could be causing this? Is it possible that there is an issue with the oil pickup in the sump that is overcome with slightly higher oil pump speeds? Any one who has experienced this please weigh in. Thanks. Hmm - now that I think about it - I suppose my oil filter could be mostly plugged which a higher RPM pump speed would also over come - either by pushing more oil through the filter or through its bypass. Any other possibilites?

Yeah - I had thought about LED's but I'm a KISS kind of guy. My goal was just to improve my gauge visibility and the higher wattage bulbs are available through MSA so I'm getting a set for Christmas - along with the white face gauge conversion. I'll probably find a few bulbs that have burned out too. The car is 34 years old and I've had it for the last 19 years and never replaced a gauge illumination bulb. My car has an original dash with no cracks so I don't have to deal with a dash cover. A cover pretty much guaranties that you'll have to pull the dash to pull the gauges.

I fully understand your dilemma. I also have a 280Z that my wife won't ride in. It also can't be driven in the winter here because of the corrosive chemicals used to deice the roads whenver it snows. When I only had it and one other car I was fortunate to live in the south where I could use it as a daily driver year round. Here it is another story, though. I have one major advantage, however. I bought an Audi A8L after getting up here so I have the AWD performance sedan for the winter and the toy for the summer. Sell the Z parts you don't need, lower your sights a bit and get a less expensive Audi quattro and keep the Ztoy and just move more slowly on it.

I have a factory service manual and intend to follow it as closely as possible. I know with the center gauges that, if you undo the screws that hold them to the backing brackets, they will come out the front of the dash. I'm hoping the speedo & tach will be similar. I hoped that someone had already done this and could advise on any particular cautions I should take based on their experience. Otherwise, I'll proceed per the FSM. Yes, you can also access them through the glovebox - especially the clock. The other two are more easily accessed through the climate control module in the center stack. I had also hoped someone who has done the white-faced gauge modification would weighin with some practical do's or don't on applying them.

I know that the three center gauges can be removed without pulling the dash. Isn't it possible to pull the tach & speedo also? I would think that, once the gauges were out, changing the bulbs would be a snap. Am I missing something?

All, there are two Z car clubs in the DFW area. There is Z Club of Texas in the north Dallas area and Cowtown Z Club in the Arlington/Fort Worth area. I know personally there are guys who have done this swap in both clubs. Attend one of their meetings or get on their websites and see what you can find out.

This thread is absolutely hilarious. The original problem is so obviously a malfunctioning thermostat it almost has me in tears. Thanks guys. I needed a good chuckle before I went to bed.