aarang

As for your crank seal leak, I've had this happen on two Z's that I've had in the past. It turns out that both dampers were cracked on the portion the seal rides on. Not really noticable unless your looking for it. Just something possibly to look for. Aaron

About ten years ago, I purchased an L28 from a Japanese engine importer that had that manifold and was an F54 flat-top/P90a without the hydro lifters. I tried to use it after swapping out the cam (Crane 280) for one that I had in a previous FI L28 with the standard intake manifold. After getting it running, I can tell you that the motor would fall flat on its face after 5500 rpm's, whereas before it would pull to about 6500-7000rpm's. I put the standard manifold back on ( with the Mercedes 65mm TB) and there was a huge difference. I don't know how it would work with a turbo, but my guess would be that the results would be the same. A restriction is a restriction. Remember that "NAPS" stands for "Nissan Anti Pollution System", or Nissan Anti Performance System!! Just my .02 Aaron

You are 21, now. By the time you are about 25 or 26, you will be a different person and things will be a little clearer. The most important person to take care of right now is you. Education is a must. If you meet a girl and she has a savings account with a couple thousand in it, a steady job, either done school or going to school, that is the one you hold on to!! You will learn from experience that you can only live with a nice set of tits for a while....... ( unless of course they're attached to the above girl ) Aaron ( I've lived through all a women can dish out!)

After reading the previous "Name your clutch" post, I was about ready to plunk down the cash for the Spec stg II from Clutch Express. The guy emailed me back and said that Spec has a new six-puck carbon kevlar clutch called the "3K" that will perform like a metal puck clutch, but will be much smoother and won't chew up a flywheel as badly. He doesn't have info on his site yet for it. I've tried to find info on it, but haven't had any luck. Anyone have any experience with this clutch? Supposedly it will handle 500ft lbs and is only $20 more than the stg II. Thanks in advance Aaron

Hey everyone, here is a thought. I have a 2004 Toy Tacoma V6 as a daily driver. If everyone pitched in I could test the STS on my truck.......

Do you still have the metal injector bases for $20? These replace the plastic bases, right? If so, consider them sold. Thanks, Aaron

Personally, I would rather have a Vortech with an intercooler for the same amount of money. It is proven to work. Until someone rides in a car with that turbo system to see how it works, I would still be skeptical.

What happens when it rains?, or you drive ( accidentaly) through a puddle? Pressurized water into your engine??? That thing needs an airbox somewhere else!

The ones I got were 86.5 mm with a dish volume of 6cc's. I wanted to raise the compression slightly, but not too much. All the other specs are basically stock.I paid $463 which included rings, pins, and clips. I told Ross it wasall included in the price from Summit So they sent it all to me for that price. Aaron

If you go directly through Ross, You will pay upwards of $750-$800. If you buy them through Summit like I did, you will end up paying about $460 for the same exact thing. Gotta love the buying power of a large company!! The part number I used for L28 dished pistons was #35-32. That is a Ross p/n according to Summit. I just had to call Ross after paying Summit and give them my order number and give them a brief description of what I wanted. They ended up wanting a sample so I sent them an old turbo piston with a note telling them EXACTLY what I wanted done. You can't give them too much info! Ross does have a few L series piston configurations in their data base which helps. It took them six weeks to make them, but it was worth the wait and the $300 I saved. Aaron

My wife and I just had a baby. I barely have enough time to take a shower much less work on the Z at the moment. The good thing about the Z is that it will still be waiting for me when I am ready. just because you can't work on it now doesn't mean you won't find the time later. Aaron

I ordered my Ross pistons through Summit ( with rings, pins, and clips) for $463 to my door. You can order the pistons through Summit, and they will tell you to call Ross for specs you need. I ended up sending them ( Ross) a sample L28ET piston and described what exact mods/ size I wanted. They turned out perfect. Aaron

I got mine from Motorsport Auto, front and rear seal. Both Genuine Nissan even though the dealers said they were NLA. Aaron

There is a product that is made by LPS. It is called "CFC Free". It is a purpose made electro-contact cleaner. I use it at work almost everyday. The older airplanes I work on seem to have the same connector gremlins as the Z. I know from first hand experience that the older connector pins that are not coated with gold or some other non corrosive can degrade really fast and cause all kinds of problems. I would be wary of using brake cleaner as it may cause oxidation of the connector pins. I think Napa carries LPS products. Hope this helps. Aaron

I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. Hope you get it. The police evidence thing sucks. There is a wrecking yard near my house that has a '79 ZX with perfect black interior. It is also in "evidence limbo". I have been waiting for over a year to get my hands on it. It just sits there and rots away......

Just wondering what you are going to do with the Z31 seats and brackets. You wouldn't want to part with them, would you? My 280ZXT is screaming for new seats! Aaron

Well, I was cleaning up my rear control arms and burning out the old rubber bushings so I could install the poly bushings, when I noticed that the inside flange( the one that bolts to the CV shaft) on the driver side control arm wabbled a little. It looks like the nut has never been off, or even the CV shaft for that matter ( before I took it off), as the inside of the flange was perfectly clean. The nut is still peened onto the shaft. Should I just try to tighten the nut, or should I disassemble the axle to investigate things further? Has anyone else experienced this before? I am hoping I don't have to disassemble it which would basically mean replacing the bearings. If there is movement on the shaft, is it possible the splines are worn, also? Thanks Aaron

You might want to have them checked out. I went to Oregon Drive Axle in Tigard to have mine overhauled. It was $150 ea to have them brought up to new specs. The guy is really nice and knows his stuff. I just had my new driveline made there, also. Aaron

Could be the cam timing making the cyl pressures higher. What number is the cam gear on? Aaron

Tuning with a W/B sensor on a dyno will make all the difference. It's well worth the $100 or so. Aaron

I have been doing alot of research on this site and others about what clutch would be good for my 280ZXT. After a year of having the drivetrain out of the car, it is finally time to start reassembly! The car will be mostly street driven with some track time later. Seeing how I will be pushing about 350HP and about 400ft lbs of torque ( maybe more later!) with my setup, I have come down to 3 clutches. I was hoping for the magical combo of easy drivability and good capacity coupled with longevity. I know the 280ZXT is about 500lbs heavier than a 240, so I was wondering what people were using in their 280zx's and their impressions. I know nothing of the carbon kevlar clutch and wether or not it will chew up my flywheel like a ceramic clutch. I don't want to go to a puck style clutch if I can help it. I think I am leaning more to the SPEC carbon/kevlar as the price is right, and the capacity is higher than the other two. Here is what I was looking at; Spec clutch #SN321 stg I (organic friction plate) Spec clutch #SN322 stg II( carbon kevlar) ACT NX2-HDSS /HD pressure plate and clutch Any help/ comments/ opinions appreciated! Thanks Aaron

If I remember right, you said your turbo was a TO4b H3/ T3 .82. I think if you do some more tuning and maybe get some forged pistons and balance the whole thing while your engine is apart to fix the low comp, you might be money ahead. Also with a turbine A/R like that, you my not be able to take full advantage of the upper end of that turbo, without changing the cam and porting the head. You have a bunch of good parts to work with already, especially the SDS which you may have to use on the RB. If you get the RB, you probably will pay the $3000 for that and I'm guessing another $3000 to get it in the car and running. With that kind of money, you could push the setup you have to 400hp with proper tuning and the afore mentioned parts. 400hp in an RB and 400hp in an L28 is still 400hp! I'm guessing also with the money you save, you could get a Spearco intercooler, also. Just my 2c Aaron

The little piece of paper that came with my ARP's said to torque the nuts to 60ft lbs with their lube. I was told not to use the copper spray by the guy that did my head. He said as long as the head and the block are flat, they shouldn't need it. I guess the metal gaskets have a tendancy to move around a bit, especially the 2mm one. The copper makes them move more I guess. He has been building L6's for 20 years and does most of the exotics ( Porsche, Ferrari) and oddball european stuff in the Seattle/ Tacoma area. Hopefully he is right, because I just finished putting my head on with a metal gasket and no copper spray! Aaron

I ran my cooling lines from the 1/2" NPT plug that's pretty much behind the turbo on the block, through the turbo, and into the thermostat housing. I don't know if you'll get much water flow through the turbo if you go from the thermostat housing and back into it. The coolant flows from bottom to top on the L series. So if you go from the block, into the turbo, then into the head, you should be getting max water flow through the turbo. I used a 1/2" NPT to a 3/8" NPT brass adapter and then used flexible stainless AN-8 lines with fire sleeves to run the water. Pretty much the only restriction was where I had to drop down to an AN-6 and 1/4" NPT into the thermostat housing. Hope this helps Aaron

I ordered my pintle caps through RC Engineering for a $1.25 ea. Xander is right, the caps are only there for protection, but with the Z they are for sealing also. I cut the o-ring and old cap off of my Accel injectors, the new cap just snaps right on. Should be the same procedure with the DSM injectors. Aaron