KraZeeZX

Well... I isolated my electrical problem today... geez. After the coolant explosion.. I figured all of my electronics would go bad one way or another, but I never had the chance to dry them all out properly since I don't own an air compressor. Disconnected the PCM connections to start checking pins individually to see if power and ground were being sent properly.. . the PCM is fried. Luckily the harness can be saved though. whew... that would have been a BIG hit on the wallet. The tech who was checking everything for me has done an awesome job. It's nice that I finally found someone who has an appreciation for something as unique as my hybrid. His shop went and immediately found me a brand new 1998 PCM for only $340! That's an unbelievable deal. I paid $400 for a refurbished one and still had to flash it! So I am very greatful that these guys have had the knowledge, ability and care to satisfy the customer and get my Z rolling again. They're even going to type up some info for me to present to the inspection shop so I can get compensation; since the PCM fried due to their laziness and non-existent attempt to help dry it out. (They made me sit outside with a comprssed air hose and do it myself as best I could. ) Anyways... these guys are going to get my new PCM and plug it in... and presto! the Z will run again! They fixed my starter switch too, so now it will actually crank without turning the key 42 times. Once they plug in the new PCM, I'll bring her home and get to work on my overheating problem and my exhaust leak! After that... she'll be ready to roll! -Vann

Awesome! Congrats! I loved the first drive in my conversion... it's an experience you'll never ever have again unless you build another freak creation. the whole... "This is awesome! I hope nothing explodes! " ... lol, what a rush. Adrenaline and anxiety clashing and having an all out war in your body while you're trying to drive... sweet, sweet success! - Now get the rest fixed up! -Vann

hehehe... cold??? what does that mean? I live in Houston where it's always a comfortable ( ) 90 degrees with a totally bareable ( ) 100% humidity! Thanks for the ratio tips.. I'll definately take that into account when filling my system up tomorrow! I've got my nice new hoses, my new thermostat and I'll be heading out to buy my overflow catch tomorrow morning. I'll have to get a few 1 5/16" lines to connect the catch as well. I'll be sure to post if I run into any trouble.. but hopefully I can manage to solve the problem with minimal fuss. Is there any recommended way that I drain my coolant? Like.. into a bucket if possible or something along the lines of that? Thanks again guys.. y'all are awesome! -Vann

Hey! Welcome to the board! You'll feel right at home here. I have an LS1 in my z32 and am very happy with my choice despite the small tech problems I am having here and there. My swap cost quite a bit to get everything running correctly, but it's worth it. ANY of the engines mentioned in this thread would be great options... you might want to stay away from the Sr20det since the z32 is a bit heavy and you wouldn't make as much power/torque as you could with the other options. Aside from my swap, one other LS1 swap and a few standard carbed Chevy 350 swaps... a sawp in a z32 is going to be a lot of guesswork, frustration & trial and error. I'll be the first to tell you though.. pioneering a swap has got to give one of the most satifying feelings once the car is actually up and running. Just pick your favorite motor, and get to work! As far as engine upgradeability goes... any option would be fine. Supras have a huge market for parts and have great engines. The LS1 is aluminum and can be modded a fair bit too. It's all up to what you want in your Z... if you want turbos, go with the 2jz, for All-motor a v8 is going to be a better option. If you want to see more of my swap.. check out this page and look on 'page 2' for the pictures. http://www.cardomain.com/memberpage/698415/1 Lemme know if you have any questions, I'd love to help. -Vann

Ok, if you've read my other posts, you know I'm having an overheating problem. I know my coolant system has some air in it and it also doesn't have any relief or overflow components. This causes my hoses to collapse when the engine is turned off making it very hard for my engine to cool down. I'm installing new coolflex hoses, a 160' thermostat, and an overflow catch can... but I need some help understanding the overflow and how I would go about installing this component. The LS1 has the hose that goes to the Thottle body... how is that incorporated into the cooling system? Right now my system is set up as follows: The obvious: Upper rad hose to upper rad waterpipe - Lower rad hose to lower rad waterpipe and - Radiator overflow outlet connected to throttle body - the heater hoses are both blocked off seperately I know that is a VERY inefficient way to have the coolant running. I have a 'Be Cool' radiator and looked at the 'recovery' cans they sell. They are sealed with 1 inlet & 1 outlet. Would one of those alleviate the pressure problem I am having? How would the plumbing be connected to get it to work? I want to find a nice resivoir which I can open and check my coolant levels and whatnot. What kind would you suggest? Basically, I need to know what kind of relief is best... a sealed recovery tank, or your standard overflow resivoir that can be opened and be used to refill the coolant system. Also.. how would one of these tanks be correctly hooked up to get the pressure relief I need. I know you guys have the answers... this is all basic coolant plumbing, but I am VERY new to it. THANKS, -Vann

WOW! Lots of helpful information there! Ya, I'm going to be installing an overflow catch this weekend. The entire function of relief you are decribing was completely omitted on my install. I had to manually release high pressure by opening the rad cap a bit... then the hoses would open back up some. It makes total sense and I was curious myself about how well the cooling system would function without an overflow catch. I'm hoping my electronics aren't in as bad as shape as what you described! I know it blew the relay on my fan and messed up my starter switch. But hopefully the PCM isn't fried! I've got my fingers crossed! Thanks for the AWESOME insight... I love this site! -Vann

Hey.. I sent you guys PM's about meeting up this weekend. All the info is there. Lemme know if you plan on coming! -Vann

Well... all sorts of things have gone wrong since the coolant explosion at the inspection place. An immediate effect was a new fault in my starter switch; the gauges/accessories would turn on, my PCM diagnostics light would come on, but the car wouldn't crank unless you turned the key about 20 times! I brought it to a shop to have the switch replaced and now there are more problems. The put a new switch in... nothing. No crank, no PCM diagnostics light... nothing. So they put the old switch back in... this is where it gets wierd: Now the engine will crank & crank & crank, but it won't turn over! Apparently the PCM is not getting any power anymore and the diagnostics light doesn't turn on anymore... it isn't sending any information to the diagnostics port now or to the injectors/plugs. What could be getting in the way of letting the PCM get it's power??? Is it possible that the VATS is re-engaged somehow? I know my stock 300zx alarm was plugged back in... so I told the shop how to disable it. But whatelse might it be? I'm hoping it's something relatively simple, but something in the back of my mind tells me that a bunch of relays and fuses were blown when the coolant explosion happened. I'm going to be sick if that's the case... Is it possible that the shop has overlooked something and forgot to plug everything back in? I don't see how it's possible for the car to work (even though it took 20 key turns it still turned over), and then once they reinstalled all of the SAME parts... now it doesnt work??? How is that possible? -Vann

Ya.. I have some coolflex hoses being overnighted so I can replace those crappy ones. It's wierd though... they aren't permanently kinked, they collapse and actually suck into themselves when the car is shut off. They make it REALLY hard for my car to cool down. But ya, that's why I have the good stuff on the way! -Vann

Hmmmm.. I think you're right. Stupid shops... I knew $600 was just ridiculous, but I guess they wan't to make their profit one way or another. I did find out that the hole is threaded already and all I need to do is find a matching size bolt! Then I can get a gasket and some locktite and it should be taken car of until I can find that oilpan for a better price and when I have time to actually do all that work! lol, Thanks for the heads-up though, I appreciate it. -Vann

So far that seems to be the best option... I got quoted $500 for a brand new oilpan! I think a gasket and plug is the best option. I found out it was drilled for an oil line to the supercharger that used to be on my car. I figured it would have been sealed up or taken car of when the SC was taken off my car.... but the guy did steal it, so I guess I expected too much. Oh well... THANKS for the suggestion though.. I'll look into having that done soon! -Vann

Ya it was nice of them.. and I'm not blaming them for the initial blowout, but for trying to drive it 2 times while it was EXTREMELY overheated without even waiting??? That's not good at all. -Vann

Well... I managed to get a few nice pics of the work I accomplished over the weekend. I really wanted to get the car out in the open so I could get a sweet shot of the overall look now with the new wheels.. but I didn't get a chance before my inspection catastrophe. I'll be sure to get some nice ones later this week once all the problems are fixed and I can actually drive again. For now.. here's what I've got! (I linked 'em all so this page won't take forever to load.) Let's start off with a nice before & after set of the engine bay: - Engine bay before: http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/9-24-04_engine1.jpg - Engine bay After!: http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/10-2-04_intake+covers.jpg Don't worry though... I have new, non-collapsible radiator hoses on the way! Those plus a new thermostat should help get my temp back down to normal! 8) And the rest: My pretty Corvette fuel rail covers... They only required about 1/4" be sanded down on the rear of the passenger side cover to get them to fit. - http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/10-2-04_frc.jpg A nice bay pic including my Nissan front emblem - http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/10-2-04_intake+covers2.jpg The interior (I'm modifying my stock shift knob to replace the one in this pic) - http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/10-2-04_interior.jpg My custom gauge pod: (Unfortunately, my oil-pressure gauge is leaking ... I'm going to swap sending units for an electronic one) - http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/10-2-04_gauges.jpg A pretty, okay pic of my new wheels... they're just stunning when you see the entire profile of the car) - http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/24offset_10-2-04.jpg And the last 2 pics... showing how much clearance the wheels have relative to my stock brake calipers. I reasearched wheel size, offset and tire size for weeks to find out if these wheels would fit and got all sort of answers... mainly big, fat NO's were the concensus... so I bought 'em anyway. I was told that the 24mm offset of these wheels would NOT be enough to clear the stock calipers... man... those guys were WAY off... I actually have MORE caliper clearance with these wheels than with stock. Front caliper - http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/24offset_front.jpg Rear caliper - http://www.streetneeds.com/uploads/auser/24offset_rear.jpg Not a bad set of wheels for only $650 shipped! I'm heading home Wednesday to start fixing all the new problems. Hopefully I will get them taken car of and be able to get some sweet oudoor pics on Friday! (If it's driveable, you shall have video! Let's keep our fingers crossed and our lucky horseshoes handy! ) -Vann

Ok.. I got ALL that great work done yesterday on the Z. So.. today I took it right to the front of my neigborhood (1 block away) to get it inspected (they do inspections 7 day a week). I start it up... temp at 160, oil pressure fine, power steering how it should be.. . everuthing was running great. I get it there and they start doing the inspection... it passed everything on the look-over. So then they get it on the dyno to do an emissions test... I'm talking on the phone standing right outside the shop and they start running the car. About 2 minutes of it running at low rpms and all of a sudden.. SHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I look over and GOBS of white smoke is pouring out of my precious Z. :eek2: I nearly died right there on the spot. I run over and see what the heck happened... the lower radiator hose popped off the radiator and threw coolant all over the engine! They cut the car off thank god and got a tech to look it over. They reattatched the hose, and clamped it down with a MUCH better clamp than what was on there and then found out that all of the other clamps on my hoses were loose too! So now I'm really confused... I know I checked the clamps over.. but they weren't tight enough I guess. So then they refill it with coolant and try to start it up and run the test again. BAD IDEA. The temp sensor is reading 250+ (it should be at 180) and they're sitting there expecting to run through an entire emissions test!!!!???!!! I don't think so. So after starting the car and letting it die... they started it again and tried to drive it on the dyno real quick to pass off the test... WRONG IDEA again... it started shooting a bit of black smoke out of the exhaust!!! So now I'm even more pissed.. I told them to just screw the inspection and get the car off of the dyno.. it needed to cool down, but for some reason, they though the new coolant would instantly alleviate that problem! So I get it out, roll it aside, and got them to let me use a compressed air hose to blast away all of the coolant in my bay. I sprayed the radiator for a while too and got the temp back down to 200. So now I'm ready to drive it back home quickly (for that 1 block). I go to start it... the fan isn't working on the radiator (I'm assuming they blew my relay) and then it didnt start all together! Got them to let me use a battery charger.. hooked it up.. started the car and quicly left... with squeeling power steering now... and got it back home... the temp only went up to 210 on the ride back. So wow.. amazing how a required inspection can completely RUIN all of the hard work I put into the car in only a matter of 20 min!!!! This morning.. the car ran perfect... NOW... it's still hot, my radiator fan doesn't work... and I have a mysterious power steering leak! Un-freaking-believable. Sorry, but I just had to rant. It sucks... I am not letting any shops do maintenance on my car, but an inspection has to be done in order to get the darn sticker... and it figures that they would end up messing up my car. I'm just glad it wasn't anything worse than the radiator hose... but now I have to go take care of all that. Just added frustration. Grrrr... ok.. now to go and relax before I pass out from all this stress!!!! Be safe guys.. and tighten your radiator hoses! -Vann

Sweet! I'll be sure to let both of you guys know exactly when and where the meet will be once I get the specifics figured out! I can't wait to see more hybrids! -Vann

WOW! I did a LOT of work on my Z today (October 2, 2004) getting all the loose ends tied up... there's only a few more things to do before she's totally done! I'll take some pics tomorrow (October 3rd) afternoon when the suns out and post the before & after of all the work! Here's what I accomplished in ONE measley day! 8) - 1) Picked up the Z at 9:00 AM from the body shop and drove her home. - 2) Put new oil in, discovered leak, temporarily fixed leak - 3) Ordered new metal header gaskets (to fix my exhaust leak) - 4) Put my new wheels/tires on... I already posted that though! (they look too good to mention only once, hehe) - 5) Routed the intake so there is now a filter and the hood closes! - 6) Relocated the thottle cable bracket & readjusted the throttle cable - 7) Trimmed my Fuel rail covers and got them on... they look PURTY! - 8 ) Zip-tied all the loose wires and cleaned up the engine bay a little bit - 9) Cleaned up the interior & trunk a BUNCH - 10) Fixed all of my gauges - 11) Found an oily rag in my dash and cleaned that mess up - 12) cleaned up the garage - 13) Locked the car up at 2:00 AM - 14) Logged into HybridZ What an adventurous... exciting... and exhausting day it has been! I will admit that I have NEVER been so productive in my LIFE! Just shows how much a nice car can motivate ya! Not too much left now... here's what I have to take care of : - Get an inspection sticker (can't driver without it! ) - Run a toggle switch from my electric fan to the interior (for some reason, it doesn't turn off when I turn off the car anymore! I guess the relay went bad, so the switch will be fine for now.) - Get a new oilpan - Replace my header gaskets - Move my battery (I can't put my T-tops in the trunk! ) - Build the custom panels for the engine bay Once those 6 things are done... my car will be juuust about ready to go to it's first show!!! If I had the resources and kept working like I did today.. all that could be done at the end of tomorrow! I'll get y'all some pics soon and hopefully (fingers crossed I'll have a decent camera man) some video! -Vann

HOORAY !!! I found a nice temporary fix (that means 2-day fix with only 1 mile of driving + however far it is to the shop I'm getting my new oilpan at). Ok.. so I scraped the rest of that epoxy junk of and found a perfect 1/2 inch hole... started looking around the garage for something to plug it.. and I found something! It's a little rubber boot that has a bevel on it which allowed it to go inside the hole and form a small seal around the edge. I added some light temporary epoxy so it'll hold for at least the 2 days it needs to and Presto! No more gaping hole and oozing oil! Don't worry though.. I wont be doing any hard driving until the new pan is on! Thanks for the suggestions guys.. let me tell you, If I had a welder in my garage.. I woulda taken care of it just how y'all said, but I don't so I had to improvise! Whew.. that was a close one! -Vann

Wow.. funny you should say that.. look at my newest thread! A hole in the oilpan! Unbelievable! Any suggestions on a fix would be awesome. -Vann

Holey Moley! Well.. I was pouring in my new Royal Purple oil, got done and looked under the car... theres a puddle! OH NO! No I start checking all the fluids... brakes, clutch, power steering.. nope... So then I start looking and feeling around to see what's wet and where the drip is coming from. LOOK WHAT I FOUND! HOW ON EARTH CAN I FIX THIS!!!! It looks like someone tried to patch it up already, but it dissovled and now the hole is back. Granted it's the front of the oilpan.. but oil is oging to fly out when I do any braking. Are there any ways to fix this quickly and easily so I can not worry about it for now? I am going to get a new oilpan install during the week, but I want to drive to a small meet tonight! (it's only 1 mile away from my house) Any suggestions would be GREAT! Please help! I'm going to cry if I can't drive my Z!!! -Vann

I wonder how far out that is from my house. I'd drive down there.. but the car hasn't been inspected yet. I don't want to get pulled over and then get extra tickets for my wipers and no front license plate.. etc. BUT - next weekend (my car will be inspected during the week).. a few Z32 guys are coming down from Dallas and wanted to get together Friday night the 8th. I'm trying to set up a little meet' date=' nothing too special, but it's always fun to chat with other car nuts. We should find a place where [b']we[/b] can meet up and then set the meet up around that if you're free Friday! Let me know if you have any ideas... I live in Katy on the extreme West side of Houston... off of Fry Road (near Grand Parkway if you're familiar with that) Lets find somethin in the middle. Lemme know.. I 'm anxious to meet more Hybrid Z'ers! -Vann

The Z is home from the body shop... and I got to drive her back! It... is... amazing! The rpm's never went above 2000 while cruising with the T-56! I won't be using 6th gear for a while! It's SOOOO buttery smooth. I'm too afraid to punch it in 1st or 2nd just yet... but I gave it about 3/4 throttle in 4th and it pulls like a beast! I need to adjust my clutch engagement a bit... it's too close to the floor for my comfort, but that's an easy fix. It's just awesome hearing this glorious V8 pushing my Z around! Now it sounds like it should have when Nissan built it! I'm like a schoolgirl at a Britney Spears concert! There's quite a bit of work left to be done... but I don't even care... it's all little things that'll get done soon. I got my new wheels on... see 'em here: http://hybridz.org/nuke/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=37399 They really add to the car... It's a shame I didn't get 'em sooner! Here's what I'm working on this weekend: - Routing the intake so I have a filter on it. - When I got the car home.. I checked the oil.... NEARLY EMPTY!!! So I bought 4 quarts of Royal Purple 10w40 to dump in there and save her before she dehydrates! I can't believe she's been running at that body shop with no oil! Anyways.. good thing I checked. - My fan stays on all the time... by that I mean... even when the keys are out and the car is OFF! So I'm running a switch to the dash so I can just turn it off and on when I need to. - I'm putting my Corvette fuel rail covers on too! The passenger side one needs to be cut a bit in the back because of the akward shape of my firewall.. but I placed them on top and it's going to look slick! Hopefully I'll have all these things done by tonight so tomorrow I'll get some nice daytime pics and hopefully a driving video for ya! It's so nice to have the Z back home!!! -Vann

Well.. my Z is home from the Body shop... it has a nicely painted stock hood back on it and all the boo-boos on the front bumper were take care of! The shop has to go back and fix a few spots on the rest of the car.. but that's for later. Oh.. if you have some spare time, check out my page I just put up over ar Cardomain.com and sign the guestbook! http://members.cardomain.com/krazeezx I JUST put on my new 18x9 Cobra Y2k wheels with 265/35/18 tires all around. These are SWEET! Extremely aggresive, and they don't rub!!! What do y'all think. (Disregard the Cobra center-caps... I'm getting replacements soon! ) -Vann

Nice grab! Ebay rocks! For example: I got a replacement shift knob for my 91 300zx (go for $55 new) for a whopping... $1.00 !!! Thank you Ebay. Also.. I'm going to be working on fabbing up some hood hinges to get my hood to open in reverse like the Datsuns do. So.. I found a nice (no dents!) 1993 300zx hood and won it for.... $9.99!!!! Hoods for my car sell for $300 ... I think 10 bucks is pretty much like stealing! Hooray for Ebay! -Vann