Oddmanout84

Been running the car for over a week now since the install. The clunking sound is still present during warmup, but the rough running is gone and the car idles normally. The AFR gauge, though, seems to be dead for some reason. It constantly blinks the first red light of lean, no changes. Odd. I really want to figure out what the clunk is though. Its not like any other clunk I've heard an engine make, because its not regular. I can't begin to describe the sound, somewhere between a percolating coffee pot and turning a cement mixer that's filled with large irregular pieces of wood. A very deep sound, but hard to hear sometimes. What is this sound and why is it there... it doesn't make sense...

Mostly easy. Some wiring. Very little fabbing. A lot more searching.

Huh. I thought most cars switch components on and off by switching power on and off, not grounds.

Take this as it is; my opinion, but I've seen the 240sx dash in a couple Z's so far. Why would you want that thing? its just so... boring. It completely lacks the character of the original dash, and looks like it belongs in a utilitarian econocar. Unless your dash is really that shot and you have an S13 dash worth hacking apart,the question is why? I'm curious to see.

Scratch that. Took the plunge. Gauges are on their way and should ship next week! Now I just need to scout out a good location for that boost vac sensor to tap into...

why the heck did it double post when I tried to edit...

Well, I highly doubt I'll ever go as far as the engines in the book. It would be overkill for my car which is mostly a fun street driver. However, I do want to track it down the road at Limerock, once I'm ready. At most I wanted to do the simple plumbing similar to what others have done in this thread. I've only had my L28 turbo motor in my Z since last fall. Its been driven in pretty much nothing but 60*F and below weather. Engine was blueprinted, but pretty much stock rebuilt by the guy who owned it before my friend, which was in turn sold to me. Had about 4000 miles on the rebuild before I got it. Stock turbo as well, non-watercooled center section. Radiator is aluminum with an electric fan. The temp gauge stays well in the middle when moving forward, but if I idle in traffic for a few minutes it quickly runs up to 250 on the gauge. I'd considered the gauge was just getting old and inaccurate, but the temp relay controlling the fan kicks on right about where it should according to the gauge. The other day it was about 60* out and I idled the car long enough to seafoam the engine. Upon shut-down it shot out quite a fair amount of boiling coolant into the overflow tank, enough to fill it. I've always tried to burp the system correctly when I fill it, but maybe I'm missing something... I've been running either 50/50 or diluted 50/50 with water wetter in both. It just seemed puzzling that it would climb so fast in colder weather, and made me wonder how this summer was going to be. If its having this much trouble at idle I can't imagine trying to push it farther (than what I currently run) without some serious fixes. Just letting you know where I'm coming from.

Yeah, except when you're in Okinawa and your Z is in Connecticut! Almost 4 years of torturous planning... Edit: And then I come back to find this site and realize I still don't know squat!

Oh, I understood. And you're absolutely right. I "read too far into it". Disturbingly often its the most obvious things that are right in front of our faces which we fail to see. Well you know that internet saying; "When you see it, you'll sh*t brix." ? I did. That'll sure teach me for reading!

Semper Fi. I got my Z while I was in the Marines as well, when I was stationed at Pendleton. Drove it home, stored it, then went to Okinawa. When I got out 4 years later I took it almost completely apart. Its one of the best ways to do it, and really teaches you about what you're working on. Just make sure to bag and tag all the parts/hardware/fasteners/everything. Take lots of pictures too so you remember what goes where. The next thing after that is to go forth and kill rust. If the rust is too much, at least you have a pile of parts to use next time or sell. Just keep at it and this becomes this shameless self promotion. You've got the perseverance, and the regular paycheck. The only other matter is the time you can budget.

I have been pouring over this thread for a while now, and plan to tap bypasses into my spare P90 head. That was a lot of information! Oddly, I don't remember seeing anything about it in the "how to modify your datsun OHC engine" book. I wonder why... Anyway, I remember seeing some posts from people looking to source the higher flow LD28 coolant pump earlier, but I don't remember seeing if anyone found a source. I looked it up and found them on Rockauto.com. I've ordered some stuff from them before, so they're legit. Just not sure if there's any differences between their remanufactured/new products and the stock Nissan part in terms of reliability. http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/raframecatalog.php?carcode=1211230&parttype=2208&a=FRc1211230k475236

Check the ECU plug. Those little pin connectors are awful. I had the same problem for a long time. I eventually got the car to fire when cranking but it would not self sustain. Turned out it was the ECU plug. Until I swapped my engine out, I had to hold the plug in at times while on the freeway to keep the engine from cutting out. Also check the EFI relay and ignition relay. Nissan still carries the parts, and the ignition relay they sell now is an upgraded unit. Works much better. Just give them the part number off your old IGN relay and they SHOULD be able to find the upgraded one in their system. Edit: forgot to mention, the way the injectors fire is by the ECU switching their grounds on and off. Nissan is weird.

Its in their "previous products" list. In there you can find a manual PDF file to download, wiring harness PDF, and ONE version of (outdated) software. I tried to run that software on my ECU and it wouldn't even go to the connection screen. It just told me to get newer software, lol. Sadly, the newer software versions don't work much better for me, either.

Don't know if that's an option, since its 3rd-4th hand by now, probably initially purchased around 2000. That and they don't seem to support them much anymore.

I was lucky when I did my engine swap at Airjockie's place last fall, the Haltech came with it, already tuned to the L28ET he sold me. I only upgraded the intercooler and made a few minor changes so a retune wasn't needed. Which is good, because the damn thing won't interface with any computer I've tried. I can't get it to cross into online mode. First try was with an old laptop of mine that ran windows xp, about 6 years old. We used a USB-to-serial adapter to connect it to the ECU's serial port. Tried every version of the haltech software that the haltech forum sent. I got frustrated and let it slide a while. Then recently I bought a 1998 Panasonic Toughbook with serial ports, floppy drive and windows 95/98. That's what the E6K was designed to interface with. NOPE. No worky. When I try to switch to online mode it loads halfway then stops, then loads halfway again, ad infinitum. At first I thought running the program on windows XP was the problem. Then I thought maybe the USB to serial adapter was the problem. I solved both of those. I don't even know what the problem is anymore. What infuriates me the most is that until I solve this, I can't swap in larger injectors, rising rate FPR and fuel pump that I really want. That would let me upgrade to a larger turbo. Not to mention that cold starting the car is a complete hassle when you can't get in the program to enable some sort of enrichment mode. If anyone has any input on the problem, I'd really appreciate the help. Last time I contacted Haltech about the issue they just emailed 4 more versions of the E6K software. I thought I'd try here before I go bother them again.

Any updates on the gauges? Running well? I'm getting ready to take the plunge, just need to source a 240sx VSS. Probably going with the 2 5/8 gauges though.

Can't believe that thing is worth $80,000. But as for accuracy, I don't think its too far off. I think what's throwing everyone off is the fact that its all one color, which may throw off perception. Here's the original Tomica 432 which I bought from a place called Jusco in Okinawa. It looks like its from the same mold. The thing is about the size of a Matchbox or Hotwheels car, and the detail blows both out of the water.

Sure. Since then I've made a few minor changes; Z centercaps for the wheels, a FairladyZ emblem, and a few non-visible things. Also in the process of painting and installing a '73 hood (non-vented).

I hope the bolt carrier group and firing pins are backwards as well.

This winter sucked. Had one big storm roll in mid December and dump about 12 inches. Decided to buy a snow blower so we don't have to get a plow to dig us out. Since then we've had nothing but this crap at the worst. Never more than an inch of accumulation. Guess the blower is more of an insurance policy that it will never snow again...

So I finally got it finished. The new flywheel is in along with the new clutch. Torqued all bolts to spec and safety wired the flywheel bolts together. After having issues with the new clutch master cylinder, I swapped the pushrod from my stock one into it and it seems to disengage just fine. Fixed a few things in the interior with the carpet, relocated the Haltech computer, put header wrap on the downpipe. By around 11 pm I had everything in and double checked, and the car on the ground. Started the car as normal, with me pumping the gas pedal slightly to get her going. Took a little longer than usual, but then it fired up. Ran VERY rough. Held the pedal to sustain idle speed until the car warmed a bit more, about half a minute. The engine is still running very rough, with a loud knocking sound. The whole motor shakes with each knock, normally when running you can't see it move at all. I can't pinpoint it in the engine by ear or using my stethoscope. Killed the engine, checked all the plugs. All are wet except #2. That plug has always been mysteriously clean compared to the others, but never caused the engine to make a knock. All plugs are firing, same with injectors. My AFR gauge is strangely not lit. Shut the car off for a minute thinking maybe the Haltech ECU plug isn't seated right. Went upstairs to make a quick printout of the wiring harness so I can check the pin functions on the plug by number. In the meantime I'm panicking, trying to figure out what I could have possibly done wrong. The pictures I took clearly show that I put the friction disc on correctly. Replacing the pilot bushing was particularly tricky, the grease method didn't work so I had to use wet paper. The old bushing shattered as it came out, the new one went in without a fuss. This time when I put the tranny back in I had a floor jack to assist me but it was still a pain to line up and get my pilot shaft in the hole (har har). Used the rope method to lock up the motor when I torqued everything, but I made sure #1 was on the compression stroke before I put the rope in. Don't think I bent a valve... Came back downstairs after about 10 minutes. Unplugged the ECU, made sure the pins were aligned correctly, then plugged it back in. Started the car. It fired up, and the knocking was about gone. Very weird. Revved it, observed it for a few minutes, nothing but noisy injectors as usual. The AFR gauge is actually reading something now, slightly lean, normal for idle. I had to cancel further testing to avoid waking neighbors. By then it was 1 am. I'll have to get back to it tomorrow and test it further. Needless to say, I'm still a bit nervous. Bad gas? The car has only sat for a few weeks at most, can't imagine it would go bad in the lines that quick. This is all very odd.

Right after I bought it in California Now

Old news, but a better remix. Now with special effects!