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Oddmanout84

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Posts posted by Oddmanout84

    Cost comparison of a L28ET vs KA24e

    in Nissan 4 Cyl Forum

    Posted · Edited by Oddmanout84

    So you guys are basing the cost of building an L on what others have screwed up? Perhaps a book fourteen years old isn't the right place to look for parts or part numbers.

     

    Basing the costs on what others screwed up? Hell no, I just added that little anecdote as an explanation as to why one would look for parts. Cost is based on the price of parts ONLY. Whether your bearings fail because of improper installation procedures or 30 years of oil deposits and grit doesn't matter. You still need a new set of bearings. Or another motor to run into the ground and hope for the best. THAT'S my point.

     

    We're also not just basing this on solely looking through an just an old book for parts. The book is merely an indication for how limited parts availability is NOW. If it was NLA then, it will be much harder if not impossible to find now. The demand for Datsun parts has hardly increased since then, so the market has most definitely shrunk. Those were most of the good parts, you can probably count the selection currently available on one hand.

    Cost comparison of a L28ET vs KA24e

    in Nissan 4 Cyl Forum

    Posted

    Can you explain what it is you need for the L28ET that you cannot find? At 350whp I wouldn't rebuild anything unless it was smoking or knocking. The L28ET will live long and prosper at 350whp.

     

    Na-Nu Na-Nu.

     

    Good bearings and piston rings are increasingly difficult to find, that's my main beef. Look through the "How to Modify your Datsun OHC" book as well; most of the pictures of aftermarket parts he shows are NLA. Things like better intake manifolds must be custom fabricated unless you want to go with the Lone Wolf intake, not everyone has that ability (I recently acquired a welder, but am not set up to do aluminium). I'm not saying its IMPOSSIBLE to find these items, just usually difficult and cost prohibitive. Kameari is a good example, most of their products make the RB25DET market look cheap. I think I know what you're trying to say though, that most motors don't need a rebuild and can be built without being cracked open. I can't do that. What happens when you DO need to crack it open? Lots of the L28s people find are in junkyard cars, or if they're lucky, a recently wrecked/well cared for donor.

     

    The L28ET I bought was kept wrapped up in a garage and had about 4000 miles on it, it crapped out in less than a year of light driving, crank destroyed. The stock L28 I swapped out of my 280z had thick grit and half of a 3M sanding disc in the oil pan. The other stock L28ET I picked up out of a car "never rebuilt" had gouged cylinder walls on 1 and 6 because of oil starvation. Basically what I'm trying to say is that its pretty hard for me to just take a 30+ year old motor at face value and start slapping on external power adders without any consideration to the internals. Unless I planned on beating the piss out of it until it died. I'd rather have knowledge that the motor is (at least) inspected and good to go, and if it needs new consumables I have ready access to them. With the L28 it seems to be increasingly difficult and expensive.

     

    The KA on the other hand is newer, a bit more efficient, and the aftermarket has actually grown within the last decade. This means plenty of parts are readily available and there is a larger price range to choose from. Its a much more economical option.

    Cost comparison of a L28ET vs KA24e

    in Nissan 4 Cyl Forum

    Posted

    If you want my opinion, I'd almost say its down to preference.

     

    I have both an L28ET and a KA24DE. The L28 has cost me boku bucks not only in the initial cost (was lucky to find a full rebuild w/ tuned Haltech ECU) but in parts down the road. The guy who built it did *mostly* a good job but mixed up one bolt and a stackup which cost me ANOTHER rebuild. Its still in pieces, nickel and dimeing me. Aftermarket parts are harder to find and difficult to acquire at lower prices. I'm also slightly resentful about the research I've done on the forums about the P90 head being quite outdated compared to the more modern engines, and having those nasty detonation issues if you're not careful. For the modest power goals I have, I'd rather not use methanol. I'm already running pig rich in boost to control detonation. Not my ideal solution.

     

    The KA24DE I got for FREE. It was pulled out of an S14 because it was on its last legs, and nobody wanted it anymore. Teardown showed 2 spun rod bearings and major oiling issues because the pickup ingested pieces of timing chain guide. I've known of people that have gotten perfectly running engines for the same price, however. Many SR converts simply want to get rid of them. The KA24DE has around the same displacement as an L24, and makes more power. Longer stroke limits redline, as does the half-counterweighted crank. What you gain though is low end torque. If you were insane or just really well funded, theres a fully counterweighted crank from Brian Crower that also increases the stroke making a total 2.6L displacement. But that's not really needed. On these forums there's also a graph showing the flow characteristics of the KA24DE head. Both stock and ported KA's beat out the P90 by a fair margin. Most aftermarket parts for the KA are also lot cheaper and more readily available than the L series. Its not the same level of support as the SR or RB market, but its enough. Unless you fab up the mounts yourself, look forward to spending around $500 to get them from Mckinney.

     

    You can build both motors to insane levels of cost, depending on how and where you spend your money. Even after building my L28, I'm still going to consider building up the KA as a possible replacement. Both motors have their strengths and weaknesses. The most important question (in my mind) though is, do you really want to put a 4cyl in an engine bay meant for a 6?

    Cracked crank pulley, worn woodruff keys, crank

    in Nissan L6 Forum

    Posted

    One thing that Tony has alluded to, but I don't think has been emphasized enough is that the most important point here is the clamping force that the bolt is imparting on the damper. If your bolt/washer combo isn't applying enough clamping force, then all the red loctite in the world isn't going to keep it from failing. This applies to both the stock setup, whose washer is often too thin to give the force distribution necessary, to the Nissan Comp bolt/washer (probably the KA24 combo Tony mentioned but I'm not 100% sure), that has a locating step in the washer that's a few thou too thick and bottoms to the nose of the crank just before it starts putting clamping loads on the damper.

     

    The clamping force is what keeps everything held together - the woodruff keys are only there for precise alignment during assembly. When proper clamping loads are present, all of the rotational forces imparted to the lower chain sprocket/oil pump drive/damper come through the frictional interface between the parts, and the woodruff keys see no shear loads. The woodruff keys should never be the thing that's actually causing the damper to rotate with the crank. That only happens when you lose clamping force, and that's precisely when you start having problems.

     

    Hopefully this is obvious, but if you are seeing munged up woodruff keys/slots, then you definitely did not have enough clamping force on the damper.

     

    Digging up old dirt...

     

    Nearly a year later, I'm just about ready to put everything back together. Block has been machined and freshened up, I got a different crank, entire rotating assembly rebalanced. I also had ordered a new damper and bolt/washer around the time of Tim's post. Its the damper from MSA, along with the Nissan comp bolt/washer. That being said with it bottoming out on the crank snout too soon, is there any way to remedy this besides machining? Perhaps a very thin, circular, washer-esqe shim? I have not test fit the bolt yet to see if it indeed bottoms out too soon, but I'd hate to have it on there and replicate last year's debacle within the span of the next year.

    JE Asymmetrical Pistons

    in Miscellaneous Tech

    Posted

    http://www.jepistons.com/Articles/101124-Asymmetrical-Forged-Pistons.aspx

     

    I recently went out and got the latest issue of DSPORT at the local Borders and saw this ad for JE's new asymmetrical piston skirt design. I've never seen anything like it before, but I suppose it could be old news and I'm just discovering it myself. They offer several applications, but you can also order a custom set so theoretically they could be made to fit a Nissan L6/RB,KA, etc. I'm just wondering if anyone has any thoughts on this, because it seems interesting. JE claims that the design reduces mass as well as friction, sounds good (on paper).

    ZG Flares Not fitting correctly

    in Body Kits & Paint

    Posted

    Hey everyone, I am in the process of painting my car and finishing up my suspension for my 1975, 280z. I ordered The fiberglass ZG flares from MSA a few months ago and just got to the process of mounting them. Ive noticed that while attempting to fit them correctly the drivers side flare is about 1 1/2 inches longer than the passenger side flare (For the front wheels)and isn't mounting very easily, its almost to the point where it will break if i bend it to fit it correctly. I called MSA and they told me that it was normal and they require cutting sometimes and that you have to bend them a little, also, since i drilled holes in them for the screws i cannot return them. Im just wondering if anyone else ran into this issue? Was one flare longer than the other and do i really have to cut them to fit them on properly? I will post some pics tomorrow when i get back from work, any feed back in the mean time would be much appreciated, thank you.

     

    Yes, they require some bending, and possibly some cutting. Yes, one side appears to be longer than the other, its up to your discretion on whether to trim it or not. Focus on lining up the top of the flare with the body line and the rear of the flare (the point that sits just above the rocker) first. Mounting them with tape and taking pictures to compare with other installations and taking a step back often to observe position helps a lot. Just be patient. Its better to take several days of trial and error fitting than to start cutting and messing them up permanently in a few hours.

    Head gasket clearance

    in Nissan L6 Forum

    Posted

    The only one I've been able to find that seems to be in stock anywhere is the Tomei MLS, but its also 90.5 bore. Thickness goes up to 1.5mm or 2.0mm depending on where you look. Then there's Kameari, which is either 86mm or 90.5mm bore, up to 3mm thick... but man is it pricey. The strange thing to me is that this item is listed on MSA's website (along with all of their MLS head gaskets) as N/A only, apparently because "some oil passages get blocked". I'm a bit skeptical of that statement.

     

    Wish I could help better, I'm in a similar boat.

    Fuel Cell Install and Thoughts

    in Fuel Delivery

    Posted

    Yup Mario another place to save a few dollars.

     

    Here is what I would like my filler to look like. I plan to have my tank located much lower and flush with the trunk deck lid.

    Stole this pic from another member:

     

    1085875794_o54kZ-M.jpg

     

     

    You know, I'm not the most well versed on this subject but I've had interest for some time in doing the about the same as what you're doing, Clive. I really like the idea of running a filler neck to the stock location. However, I just read the NASA/HPDE rulebook for some clarification on the rules. It looks like that setup pictured wouldn't be legal unless you completely isolated that filler neck/tube from the rest of the cabin (boxing it in with steel maybe?). I am by no means an expert on the subject, correct me if I'm wrong.

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