rayaapp2

Far from done, but Im cookin in the Sacramento Sun. I dont think I have enough piping to button it up so it'll end up back the way it was for a while. The pictures are 2 dimensions, there is a bit more room to fit intercooler pipe than it looks like between the throttle body and the radiator. Though there is much. Its going to be a tight fit. Ray

Do you guys have any opinions about this? I mocked it up and had a acquaintance lathe and weld it up. Im not sure if Im actually going to use it. It looks good and accepts the stock throttle body. I was going to use the Q45 Throttle body, but I couldnt fit a 4" tube on the manifold without serious work. I was thinking about bolting it up and strapping the car down to the dyno to see if it helps or hurts the torque. Though i cant imagine this being any better than the stock position.

Yeah I have read a few posts about the MAF being to close to the turbo inlet and getting strange disturbances. Mine is within 8" currently but will get moved when I change the intake and intercooler setup. It will let me move the filter out of the engine bay and the MAF closer to the radiator support.

The RB. I have another RB alternator, but the brushes are worn out and need replaced. The one on my car may have a rectifier problem.

Well I am running a stock setup. I was running the R33 fuel pump for a while then I switched to the Q45 as it has the same rating as the stock R33 Rb25det pump. The return line on the R33 is tiny. Its almost a returnless system. I put a restricter in the return line to make it 4mm. Then I threw it on the 5 gas analyzer and started to tune. I have a APEXi SAFC II to tune with along with Nissan Data Scan on a lap top. So I tuned the low end in at no load(I know but whatever). I pulled off the silencer on the back at this point. Then back on the Dyno today to make 13 more runs. I'll try to give you a walk through on my tune and runs. The first 2 or 3 runs were total crud. Something like 140hp. We didnt bother printing them out. We used them to start tuning the AFR in. The next few runs are here: Closer with the AFR. Not really there yet though. I did make the most power I would all day at 252hp. But the miss is still there. So I called it quites for lunch and went down to the napa store and bought cheap copper core plugs that were rated 1 step colder than stock. Its pretty warm today and my car was heat soaking during lunch so we got back on the dyno and decided against cooling it down just to stay consistant with the ONE change at a time rule. During these runs we made some fine tuning after each pull. You can see the slight changes. Here is what I put down with the next 5 runs. Very consistent if you ask me and good numbers for a mostly stock setup. There is still some power hidden in there. More tuning will have to be done.

It doesnt go there until you load the engine in the upper rpm range as you can see from the graph above. So under normal driving the AFR is verging ok and closer to 13.5:1.

My take on the RB20 is that it is a easily and CHEAPLY available option as compared to the SR20 or even the L28eT. The SR20 doesnt make the torque of an inline 6. I have never driven an SR20 powered Z, but I have driven SR powered 240sx's and 510's. I love the Torque the inline 6 offers over the 4 cylinders. I also like the way the car handles with the RB in the front. Though Im sure the SR does really well in corners when in a Z. As for the L28et. The RB20 is a little more spendy to purchase, but if done correctly your ahead of the game in making power. The RB series engines even the RB20 have a superior design as was the natural evolution of the L series into the RB series engine. Your can make the same amount of power out of the L6, but your going to have to know how to push the limits and redesigning the L series to fit your needs... not to mention parts are getting hard to find. 20vs 25&26: I own a 25. I prefer the 25 over the 26 simply because of initial costs and amount of fabrication involved in the installation of the swap. As far as 20vs25... I can get the 20's all day long. I LOVE the RB25. It has given me my fair share of problems, but I had little to no help with the install and I am not an engineer. The 20 isnt much easier of an install. If I had to do it again I would still do the 25, but I am very interested in doing a 20. You can find RB20's easier than any other RB series engine out there... at least if you are stateside. The SR series engine is also pretty available but is usually double the cost of the RB20 initially... not to mention fab costs of some of the SR installs on this site. But these were the things I weighed before I started out and built my 260z. Everyones opinion will differ slightly.

Two problems have come to my attention about my RB Z. -First problem is the Alternator. At least I believe. I have tested the alternator with a micro VAT. I have 42AMPs max output. I have some AC ripple that has concerned me, but I am un-sure the total allowable amount. If I remember correctly I have about 3 volts AC ripple in the system. That doesnt seem to be my issue however. Any time that a load is placed on electrical system it drastically affects the rest of the system. Turn signals for instance can be heard affecting the fuel pump pitch. That cant be correct. I have removed the 74 voltage regulator and connected the signal wire from the RB alternator to the battery with an inline resistor that keeps my max voltage below 13.8V. Without the resistor the voltage will spike 15.6V at times and Ive seen it get really close to 16V. I thought I may have had a ground issue but I bought a new battery ground cable and made several other ground straps for the engine. Why is my electrical system being loaded so heavily? Isnt the alternator suppose to regulate spikes and draws on the system? -Second Problem Fuel. As you can see by my other recent post with my Dyno results I have a fuel starvation issue. I have been through 90% of my fuel system. So Im at a loss for an explanation. So let me explain what Ive done. I was using the original R33 pump for my car at first. I placed the pump in the tank with the pickup sock in the center of the tank. 1/4 tank left and any heavy accel/turning and the pickup would go dry. I still have this problem. However I dyno'd the car with a FULL tank. About 3-4 weeks ago I replaced the R33 pump with a used, but known good, Infiniti Q45 pump. These pumps have a tendency to go out and become loud (often referred to as "Angry Bees")and chances are if you pull one at a wrecking yard you will get a bad one. I pulled mine from a driving parts car I had a few years back. My logic was that the VH45DE is rated at 279ft/Lbs and about the same HP, the RB has a very similar rating so the pump should be a very qualified replacement part. Im using a brand new fuel filter for the R33. Ive checked the FPR and the fuel rail for problems. My fuel lines have been checked as well and they are both flowing fine. I have a APEXi SAFC II installed and it isnt having much of an effect on the AFR at high load. My guess is that the Q45 pump has gone bad while it sat on my self at home and that it may be time to upgrade the pump and tank. Id like to verify the problem before I go and spend money on new parts that may not fix my problem. Anyone have input for testing the situation with-out an O-scope. EDIT: Also I noted that the R33 Sending unit/fuel pump carrier as a very small orfice for the return line. approx 1/8" or so. Its really small. Ive been researching info about the fuel pump modulator and pin 104. Currently I am running a 5/16" return line. Ray

Its been around 4-5 months since I said I was going to do it. I finally got the car on and made two runs at it with little to no tune. The engine is RB25DET from a 94 R33. I built my own 3" mandrel bent exhaust system with a Gredy straight through tip muffler. The only other non-stock/OE part is the intercooler. I have a million miles of pipe with multiple, excessive bends to fit a NPR Isuzu box truck intercooler. So after 5 cars cut in line and pulled up on the Dyno I finally got in at the last minute and made my two runs. Both runs ran far to lean and started to pop at about 6400 rpm. I actually walked away from this with a smile on my face because I realized that I made more power than I had expected to. Also I know there is much more power waiting to be unlocked in a tune session. So that's exciting to me. Now Im off to find out why Im so lean still.

I have been wanting to run the AFE brand filters, but I have some modifications to make to the intake before I know what size I will be able to run. Im temped to make an OE style intake box to keep it covered as well. I have a CHEAP $30 Kragen cone on the car now. Its a paper non-oil type. It has been on the car for less than 5000 miles and is due for its change as it is clogged from road debris. Its in the same location as the one in the picture above. The last K&N that was on the car was sucked inside out and was stopped when the rubber inlet on the turbo collapsed around it saving my compressor wheel. I refuse to believe you gain ANY ponies from any filter out there. Its just not physics. I believe you can reduce ponies by restricting your intake though. Here is where people will argue because there are MANY factors at play here, but when it comes down to it the filter is a restriction on the intake end of story no matter how free flowing it is. Then lets add a cotton filter and oil it up so it catches or how about a better word 'attracts' all the dust and road grime and wont let it go ever. Its nice to have a "cleanable" filter though. AFE is similar to the K&N. It uses a different type of oil and the filter element itself has some advanced features over a plain old cotton filter. Ive personally seen both the K&N and AFE as well as some of the Air Aid filters support up to 800 HP and 1300FT/LB range and survive. The AFE in my opinion looked to hold up the best over time. IF I had the choice to put on a OE filter box and setup on my car with my engine swap... I would. It flowed and filtered enough for my engine from the factory. My 2CENTS that's all.

Well Ive worked out most of my issues. The car is running pretty good. I still have a hickup hiding up past 75% throttle and over 5500rpm. I have to get the ignition and fuel systems on a oscope to determine what is going on as it doesnt show up on the A:F meter. Ive been using the BlaZt Nissan Data Scan software. Its pretty cool. So to add to the ignition timing setting, I used the Nissan Data Scan software to put make put the ignition into an active test so I could set it. Basically you need to use this or the Nissan Consult to set the timing CORRECTLY. Once the ignition has been set as active you can run "active" tests aka set the timing. Unlike scan tools where you get processed data Nissan Data scan and Consult both give you the raw Ignition timing. I confirmed it with an inductive timing light on a piece of spark plug wire to the number one cylinder. I have the car at 15*. I re-did up my transmission mount. I had the car up in the air to R&R the rear brakes. Try to restain yourself about the exhaust welds... I ran out of Argon.

Someone stole my driver side hub cap or it decided to part with my car within the past day or so. The local wrecking yards dont have any. Im NOT looking for a prestine show car part/s. As long as they are not cracked or scratched up really bad. Im looking for something in the $20 price range for one. I cant afford to purchase four at $20 ea so less than $40 if selling a set please. I would like pictures and prefer paypal. Also please send me asking price WITH shipping est. 95827 datsunmotorsports@yahoo.com

US spec 260z an 280z both have the ear style transmission mounts. I think the 73 240z might as well. I cannot remember for sure to verify. I used the Rick Wong mounts and I had to not only cut the ears off, but also cut the humps for the ears out on both sides for proper fitment and alignment. I would not have been able to fit the reverse switch or the speedo cable drive in my 260z.

And some will disagree, but the facts come down to the right way to do something and the "back yard" way to do things. Sometimes the back yard way works... Like I said I too am guilty of doing it that way, BUT the risk of damaging the unit is there. ESPECIALLY if you are running it open in your engine bay. Engine grim and grease floating around in there. Meer dust on the carbon trace WILL affect the resistance reading going to the computer and if it gets ground into that carbon trail it will wear it out faster. The unit is pretty durable and can function with the cover off, but YOU run the risk of damaging a very expensive component! That is the point. If you disagree thats your right, but as for this post Ive already pointed out the Vaine Air Flow Meter is most likely not a problem as it worked and was not changed and now there is a problem. Everyone is very quick just to start blaming parts rather than find the issue. His 25+ year old AFM could be in perfect working order and still sealed. Not just this post. Take a quick moment to think about the initial questions asked by the Author in this thread and tell me he needs to be messing with his AFM. Then read down to what others had posted. There was a reason why I posted what I posted. The author was being led in the wrong direction from the get go and I thought I gave enough information to set that straight. If you feel its ok to expose your AFM to the world go for it, but dont tell others that there is NO risk.

For anyone that doesnt know exactly what is going on in there it might as well be magic. The fact that by pulling the cover off the unit will expose the carbon trace on the inside to anything that may be floating around. Being that the board is sensitive to even dust accelerating the wear on the unit it is best just not pull the cover in the first place unless you have the proper place and equipment to adjust the unit into spec. There are some "back yard" ways to adjust the unit of which I myself have dabbled with in the past, but again I HIGHLY suggest that you know what you are doing before you pull that cover off. It really is simple once you know what is going on but most people just adjust the spring "til it runs good" which isnt always right. I have spoke with Phillip (aka BLUE) about that link above before. It was posted a few years back. "NOTE: DOING THIS CORRECTLY OR INCORRECTLY CAN POSSIBLY CAUSE PROBLEMS. DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK. I DO NOT TAKE RESPONSIBLITY FOR ANY RESULTANT PROBLEMS/DAMAGE/HARM." He puts that there to COVER HIS REAR! In this particular case Modifying the unit would most likely be a bad idea. IF the details reported here are accurate then the unit is most likely in good shape as it ran well before hand and the only change was the engine. Then you can deduce the problem lays somewhere else and not with the AFM. Modification of the AFM would only lead to covering up the current problem and again we can talk about compounded issues. BTW The cover was not designed to be removed and adjusted. THE ONLY intended adjustment was the air bypass screw built into SOME of the units. There are even some units in which the cover is counter-sunk to prevent tampering. The Unit is sealed to prevent contaminants in which can disturb the carbon trace and cause a bad signal back to the computer. It was cost effectiveness that Bosch designed into the plastic cover and sealant that prevented the need for a mated surface and cover to be machined and bolted down like other parts on some of the other AFMs. So rather than say all that in the first place it was easier to say what I said the first time through. "...dont remove the electrical cover that hides the magic inside,,, Removing the cover is a bad idea in most cases unless you have a clean room to preserve the internal components." I was not mis-leading or hiding information intentionally. I was hoping that those words would motivate some initiative to anyone reading to search more if they really needed to rather than provoke anyone. Such as search for that link that you did find... and there are many more on specific details about the unit.

Easy way to check your Fuel isnt a tester... Pull the return line on the rail after the FPR on its way to the line on the car. Get a catch can and place the return line off the rail into the bucket. while running at idle the return line should dump about 2.5quarts in 30 seconds through that line into the catch can. IF you have less than 1quart you have a problem... Also after this test is complete repeat the test only this time watch the return line in the bucket... Give it a goose on the throttle... see how it interrupts the flow of fuel. If you notice the interrupt in flow your FPR is good... Typical failure of the FPR will result in fuel coming out of the vacuum fitting on the FPR when you remove the vacuum line. These tests will determine if you have a fuel delivery problem and you will not have to use the pressure tester. Pressure is not Volume and Volume runs your engine. Dont pull your AFM appart... At least specifically dont remove the electrical cover that hides the magic inside. Remove it from the car and check that the flapper door moves back and forth. There are some specs around on the internet and I think on "BLUE"s website. Blue is the handle for a guy over at zcar.com. Sorry, your going to have to look for the specs and how to test the AFM properly. Removing the cover is a bad idea in most cases unless you have a clean room to preserve the internal components. As far as the old motor goes. How did it not run right? Is it acting the same way as it was in the old car? Or is this in fact a new symptom for this engine? Which motor did the coolant temperature sensor come with that is now in your car? Have you cleaned that sensor and tested its resistance? If you cant find the specs( on Blues website again or the FSM) you can compare it to the other sensor you have as well. Not that, that is a great test of anything but it could help determine a difference between the two. This sensor is a thermistor and its value changes by temperature. So make sure the two sensors are about the same temp. And you should really fix the temperamental injector connectors. Compounding any problems will give you head ache and make it virtually impossible to diagnose. And thats just what leaving the connectors for the injectors or any sensors on the engine will do. Compound other problems... leaving you with "hidden" problems.

Sounds like we dont have enough info to even take a guess at what the possible cause could be... Exactly what was switched... be specific. Engine, Trans, harness(harness parts), etc... What condition was everything? How do the electrical connectors look on the inside? Sensors from new or old motor? Why did you switch motors because the balancer kept breaking? was the snout damaged? How did the old engine run before the swap? There is no such thing as to descriptive and no-one should be giving you crap for being too descriptive... So feel free to take some time in greater detail describing what has happened other than you pinched the line and it runs and the relay pulled it runs. That means very little to anyone that can help you over a forum.

Thanks for the offer, but we already have a bunch of manifolds and as I said We have the EGR in place and all the lines in place. So its plumbed up correctly. The engine is a USDM N42 L28 engine and we are using the USDM manifolds from a 11/75 which falls under model year 76 under the USDM. So its all 76 correct no problems there. The Problem is that I cant even tell this car once had an egr system. my guess is that the L20A had no EGR. So the FSM and all the other diagrams are different. The 76 Fairlady Z is similar to the 280z but thats all. The wire harness doesnt swap over to the 280z or vise versa. So we are trying to figure out how to graft it in.

So Im helping a friend out with a 1976 Fairlady Z. Its been Ca registered before but was last registered in Or. We have full history on the car and the car currently has a L28 and was running the L20A EFI system, but we are putting the 76 L28 EFI system on it so we can be sure to get past the Ca Ref. The EGR system was removed in Or, but the CA ref sticker from before says it had a EGR system installed when it was first introduced into Ca so it has to have it again to get past the Ref again. The only hickup we have is getting the EGR system sorted out. I know most people just pull these systems off and that this info may be hard to get. We have both looked at the FSM for answers and havent found any. I have a copy of the paper schematic for that year in PDF, but its been altered somehow so that some of the diagram is missing. I think someone inserted the wrong scan into the PDF as it mostly lines up but not quite. Basically we have the EGR valve in place and all the lines hooked up to it. We have a vacuum solenoid mounted to the manifold next to it. Then there is a 4 wire harness that connects to that. The harness goes to a connector that doesnt exist in the Fairlady. We need to find the wire diagram for that. My guess is that it is connected to a relay and some sort of load device and or the Transistorized ignition module like the 74? There is also a temp sensor that the 4 wire harness on the manifold connects to that has to be some sort of thermo time switch? How does it all hook up? am I missing anything? Thanks

So I have a few old HO2 sensors around here that basically plug and play with my RB25. They are all used. The plan is to obviously get a NEW replacement asap. But I was playing with them and doing the Ca BAR tests on them for now cause Im a curious person. All 3 that I have fail the tests. They all still swing, that is to say none of them are stuck lean or rich. But they all 3 switch so slow that they cause a hichup in closed loop as they do not move fast enough to correct whats coming out the exhaust. Im actually very surprised just how reliant the Nissan system is on the O2 sensor especially considering that it is for OBD I. So now that Tm fooling around with this thing Im wondering what wears out that causes the sensor to stop switching as fast as new? Any technical in depth stuff for me? Ray

Panels done? Looks like a nice ride though I think I would be fearful that I didnt have enough "Drive line shield" with just the one bar we can see in the pics. Seen too many of those pretzel and come through to want to mess around. look forward to see more pics as it progreses

So I know a lot of people just simply delete this "pesky little smog/emissions" item from their swaps. I have a for the most part complete stock swap. My PCV valve seems to be causing a boost leak, at least as far as my understanding of the function of the PCV valve is concerned. It acts normal until boost then leaks boost into my valve covers/crank case. The leak seams to have just started happening as the leak is pushing oil out between the seal of the oil cap and spilling over onto my motor. With all that said I do not wish to re-engineer the PCV system. I think that a $10 part should be a easier replacement. I was thinking maybe the SR20 might have one, but its not purple so not the same exact part. The RB20 and RB26 isnt the same either I checked. I dont want a used one. Id rather go to the Nissan Dealer to buy a new part as it makes more sense than searching and hoping I buy a good part. Any ideas on the replacement part or part number? Thanks Guys

I have yet to this date... 4 months deep, been able to get on a dyno for a base line. I have tackled the leaky sparks from the coils I have concord the stock rubber turbo inlet hose that tried to go through my turbo and I have come out victorious. I had to hand fab an aluminum intake for the turbo and mount a new filter. My K&N filter collapsed on in itself. I literally filed an 2.5"-3" adapter to accept the BOV recirc pipe. So Ive added My SAFC II to the car and im running that for now as if it wasnt there. So its just a monitor. I also installed my A:F gauge today. I still want to get a Boost gauge, but that can wait. Things are going well for the car and me. Its very fun to drive. I have to wait my turn to get it up on the dyno and hope there is time, so there is no telling when i will be able to get it done. That sounds pretty bleak, but itll happen. Basically I have to wait until the time is right if I want to do it for free. In the mean time Ive made some new problems. Hard launching has blown out my KYB GR2 rear shocks... They are 3 years old or so. I also bought the parts to build the new trans mount and tuck my exhaust up better so I can lower the car back down. My plan is to if things fall through this weekend, put it all together and maybe even get to the replacing the rear shocks with KYB 4 way adjustables. Ray

I purchased a pan and pickup from Eric's Performance in Ca in early Jan 09. Great parts, but price had already started to climb because of availability. Almost double what the Nissan Dealers were asking when the pan was available. BTW he was great to deal with and even tried to offer me a better deal on the pan than he originally was asking. I didnt get a chance to read this whole thread, but did you call Nismo Parts in Seattle? They have a list going up there. They are trying to deal with Nissan directly or source out these pans in Japan somehow. They have a list going. Give them a call and see if they are still trying to do this. I should still be on their list. The pan's price was $134 USD and the pickup was $36USD before they ran out. If they get info inquiries it might help get some pans in sooner if they knew there was more interest out there for them.

100 octane is my friend... BTW I was mistaken about the timing on my car. I set it correctly after using an inductive timing light and a plug wire. The S2 engine has a combined TPS TVS setup and the ECU only uses the TPS on the S2 where as the S1 uses both inputs. So when timing the S2 you dont do anything to the TPS. simply move the CAS until the timing light indicates 15*. I wish I could edit my original post and change this info. Hope this helps