jeromio

The "Since last visit" feature is really, really nice.

Welp, looks like you gotta wait 'til saturday afternoon to do your searching if you haven't already. So, go to my site (link below) and be aware that the LS1 swap is much more difficult than the SBC swap.

Mine used to read full to half, then it would stick there. I had to remember to tap it - it was the actual guge that was at fault. Musta had gunk in or something. Anyway, at some point, I guess I tapped too hard and the plastic lens came loose. Oops.

Search button is located on the upper right corner...

That is highly impressive: (very large version of the same image here ) Musta been somthing wierd going on with the launch or the shaft or something to cause the shaft to go instead of the joint. When I first saw that, I thought that sway bar was a bent up part of the shaft. (That is a sway bar, right? Mine doesn't have a rear sway bar)

Do you mean one of the joints broke, or the actual shaft? What kind of axles are you using, stock UJointed or CV? Breaking UJoints is very common. Breaking CVs is virtually unheard of. Breaking Stub axles (the shaft that runs thru the bearing carrier of the strut) is pretty rare, but not unheard of. I've never heard of anyone actually breaking the half shaft itself though. If you break a stub axle, and the car has rear drums, then chances are that the whole wheel would fall off.

I removed that starter side engine block to battery neg ground, cleaned it, applied dielectric grease, tightened it. Then I removed all the other circuits and disconnected the alternator. Cranked right over. I added back the necessary engine circuits and it fired right up. That ground really wasn't all that dirty. I am afraid to reconnect the alt for fear that Olphart is right. I guess I will remove the alt and take it in to get tested. Anyway, I am back on track - thanks for all the suggestions.

Unfortunately the starter is wedged up in there and I can't get at it at all with it mounted. Not only is it tight up there between frame rail, starter and manifold, but I have that K-member part that I added to the crossmember right under the starter. But, like I said, it spins when not mounted - but that doesn't necessarily mean anything with no load. The test bench at Autozone showed the starter motor pulling ~130 amps from rest, settling to about 90-100amps at full spin. The solenoid consistently pushed the pinion out. The block is grounded to the frame on the driver's side and there is a 2 or 4 guage wire, about 2 feet long, that runs from the negative terminal to the starter side of the engine block (I'm using the camaro battery wiring harness) and another 4-6 guage wire on that same pigtail that I attached to the firewall. Also, I have a grounding pigtail inside the car that provides ground for all the circuits I am using. It is attached to the chassis in 3 places. I will take that advice and try a jumper cable ground though. Part of the reason I decided to go get a new battery is that those side terminals are hard to clean. I wire brushed the male terminals and they look nice and shiny clean. I'm also using this fancy di-electric grease on everything ($10!). The motor is a beeotch to turn by hand (high compression LS1). I guess this problem would be a lot more scary if I hadn't been cranking it over (and over and over) that previous weekend. IOWs, I at least know that the starter is (was?) capable of turning the motor. I'm just now getting ready to go outside (freezing cold out there ). I'm gonna remove the plugs to make the motor easier to turn and I'm gonna disconnect everything and go thru the whole shebang very carefully. There's gotta be a major short circuit someplace. This is such a disappointing pain in the ass.

Yeah, part of what's driving me crazy here is that I have gutted all the wiring. I have all of 4 fuses connected (fuel pump, PCM and 2 mains). And I've done nothing to any wiring except for replacing that ignition switch since the last time I cranked it over. That alternator thing is interesting though. The alt is connected. Tomorrow I'm gonna disconnect everything except the starter. I'll probably end up replacing the 0 guage wires out of shear desperation. The other oddness is that the battery (which is brand new BTW), shows 100% charged according to the guage on the charger. Maybe my charger is hosed. But the motor shoulda cranked when I hooked up that brand new battery. It shouldn't have just clicked. Something is catastrophically screwed.

So, 2 weeks ago I finally decided to try and start the motor. My battery had been sitting on a shelf for over a year. I hooked everything up and cranked it over. And over, and over. If you saw my other thread, the ignition switch was bad. ANyway, I must have cranked it 20 times, and then it finally started. So, the next day - nothing. Just a click. SO I hooked up the battery charger. Trickle charged it for a week. Click. No crank. Checked the connections, cleaned everything up. Still nothing. This weekend, I went and got a new battery. And yet, still nothing. Fuses, relays, etc. are all fine. Took the starter off and tried it by itself. Spins right up. Took it to the Autozone for testing. No problems. I don't get it. This is truly driving me crazy. It clicks a few times, then nothing at all until it gets charged (10amps) for an hour or so. Then back to clicking. I am cursed.

I think a Cummins I6 would be much more worthwhile.

If you do any research on that expensive 4.6 (and outrageously $$$ 32V) you'll also find that they are very delicate and costly to repair.

Next year, huh? YearPart Model Description Miles Stock# Price Dealer Info 2001 Engine Nissan Pathfinder 3.5,AOT,6-01 F0285 $3500.5 M and M Auto Parts, Inc. - PRP USA-VA(Stafford) E-mail 1-800-545-6855 2001 Engine Infiniti QX4 3-00,3.5,FAOD 17545 $3500 All Foreign Auto Parts, Inc. - PRP USA-VA(Fredericksburg) E-mail 1-800-533-4091 2001 Engine Nissan Pathfinder -(3.5/V6)AT,LE,wo/Fl y,56th,4wd LssLH/EMA 021126 $3000 M and M Service and Salvage Yard Inc. USA-VA(Ruckersville) E-mail 1-800-533-4099 2001 Engine Nissan Pathfinder -(3.5/V6)AT,SE,18th 011043 $3000 M and M Service and Salvage Yard Inc. USA-VA(Ruckersville) E-mail 1-800-533-4099 2001 Engine Nissan Pathfinder OOG28 $1900 Old Dominion Auto Parts USA-VA(Roanoke) Quote 1-800-227-7315 Insurance-Quote That was just a quick search ( http://car-part.com ) on only One of the vehicles that came with that motor.

I'm not an engineer, nor do I play one on TV, so I'm not sure whatcha mean by that - "the long tube in bending". And by lng tube, do you mean the longest tube, the one that gets mounted in the bushings? From a layman's eyes, it looks plenty sturdy enough. Are you saying that there should be another tube in there someplace, or that one of the tubes should be removed (or both)? Here's another example: (Simon deGroot's car) Better, worse, the same?

Sure - what's the going price, $50? I think shipping to MI from NC might be painful. Lemme snag a pic of it tonight and I'll email it to you....

That reminds me - I have a set of hatch louvers up in the rafters of my garage. Black anodized aluminum.... $,?

I don't see why an LSD would be that important in a straight line with an IRS car. Granted, I've never driven a high powered Z before, but in a dead straight line, I could easily lay down dual stripes with the old L28. Now tires and gears - very critical. I wonder what the results would be with a 2nd gear launch?

Maichor, you found headers that fit? Details?

Crap - that only serves to further confirm that my 4.11 rear is gonna be a tire frier.

I have everything completely disassembled. I pulled the dash and untaped all the wires. I then isolated out the 5 wires that go to the ignition switch. I have a white/red wire that is the supply to the switch. There is a green/red wire that I know is associated with the instrument panel, etc. lights, but it never shows continuity with the fat white/red wire. Not sure why. Then there's the blue/red accessory wire that I have running to a relay that then powers up 6 accessory fuses (nothing connected to them yet). The black/white wire is the On or Run wire and the black/yellow wire is the Start wire. So, the switch joins the supply, white/red to the Blue/red accessory wire when in the Accessory and On/Run positions. Both the blue/red and the black/white are then joined to the white/red supply when the switch is turned to the On/Run position. But, when the key is switched to the Start position, only the black/yellow wire is joined to white/red. Everything else is cut. This is my dilemma. I would expect black/yellow and black/white to be switched on in the Start position (and blue/red to be off). I just went to the auto parts store where I was quoted $220 for an 87 Maxima ignition switch assembly!! That ain't gonna fly.

Started it! Still have wiring problems. My ignition switch is goofed up and I guess I have to get another one. But, if I jury it with a jumper (to the injector line), it starts and runs. The SES light is on though and it idles pretty horribly. Unfortunately, I have completely torn apart the interior (dash, seats, everything) and all of the wiring, so, no drives for awhile. Need to get a scan tool anyway (AutoTap - another $300 I have to explain to the wife ). Pretty exciting though....

My ignition switch seems to be flawed. The Black/white "Run" wire goes 0 volts when you turn it to "Start" (Black/yellow wire). My car used to start and run fine with the L28, so, I dunno what's up with this thing. I just got most everything sorted - enough that I put gas and oil in and tried to start it. And tried, and tried, and tried. Then I put a light on the ignition on fuse and noticed that it turned off when the key went to Start!? So, How do I compensate for this? I can't just put a jumper from the Run pole to the Start pole because then it Starts when it's in the Run position (which sounds obvious, but I tried it anyway ). I have a hard time looking at the switch diagram in the Haynes 240Z manual I have (tiny, grainy picture), but the CDROM 280Z manual seems to (well, blurrily) show that the Run position has power even in Start position. I mean, otherwise how is the coil supposed to get power while starting? So, I guess I'm gonna go buy a new ignition switch. I got the 87 Maxma column switch setup (ala Owen), so, I guess it would be key to get a Maxima switch to go with that. Sucks having 2 separate keys though.

Again, it has to land back at the goals of the project. This is for publicity for a shop, yes? So, you get big power from an RB, okay, that's good. But an RB is relative unobtanium in the states and is no longer even produced in Asia. Big power in a VG - that's a bit closer to home. If you have an old Z32, you may wanna find that shop and give them some go-fast money. But how about this: you make big power from a VQ. You're one of the first shops doing this. You are a badass from that standpoint alone. Furthermore, how many potential AltimaMaxima350ZG35 etc. owners' ears will perk up at the sound of a big hp VQ? Now you have direct experience doing things to their engine that they will want done. Bigger risk, yes. Bigger payoff - undoubtably. If you give me some numbers I can work it up as an exercise for my Finance class. VG is playing to a smaller audience. It's more of a yawn (granted 1000hp is nothing to yawn at). And it's not a motor that kids are gonna have in their cars. Gain expertise and a good rep on a new, popular powerplant and you could be well rewarded. Look at all the LS1 action for example.

The VQ35 has been around for awhile. It's been in the Maxima, pathfinder, the trucks, etc for a number of years. It has a forged crank and chains instead of a belt. I'm guessing anything the VG can do the VQ can do better. Gonna be more pricey than VG since it is newer, but still, there's plenty of them in the yards. Nissan puts that motor in almost every vehicle they sell here. Why not get a couple of used truck VQ35s, custom manifolds, a big turbo and aftermarket EFI. Gotta be cheaper than an RB, should be as stout as the VG (or more likely stouter). I think if you can manage to fine tune it to high HP on stock internals, you could get a whole lot of publicity.

No way. 17X8 will not fit with the stock springs. My 17X8 wheels are pretty tight with the narrower coilovers. My wheels are 22mm offset, so, I'd say try for a 17X7 with like a 45mm offset.