Jersey

Looks great so far Sean! Question, can you explain that Wastegate Actuator to me? I'm assuming it's hydrolic, i've just never seen one like yours. If you dont have the time, i understand, you look to be a bit busy Thanks and keep up the nice work! It'll reward you soon enough!!!

Anytime your going to be in the area, give a shout to see if i'm around, you're more then welcome to stop by. I'll have to rope my cousin to come up to give you a ride in his 280 though since he's running the hybrid like yours. Me, i'm still putting around with my little stock T3 I am lighter though

Sims, that's just about what i configured and just installed in my cousins '78 280. Only thing different is it's a 3 bolt flange and a 360deg bearing. I'm not sure if you mentioned but it's oil/water center section also. Is he porting the wastegate flapper a little bigger for you? If not, try to get that done. The one we just did was opened up to around 1.25" and i think it still has a hard time exhausting during 15psi runs. Sounds like a nice setup. The 50trim seems to spool up real nice, breaking the wheels loose in 3rd, but we still need to do some fine tuning to get the most performance out of it i think. Good luck!

If it's pin 11 (it has a number on the plug) with a green wire coming out of it, in my 82 & 83zxt FSM's, it goes to a plug that says "not used" Since i don't have a '81FSM so i can't be 100% sure it's not used in you application. Sorry i dont have a definite answer for you.

Two other things i just thought about - Make sure your timing is correct. I think you're running the '81zxt L28 and it should be 20btdc. This should be checked after the motor's warmed up and the ECM is taking readings from all the sensors, including the TPS. I remember you mentioning something fishy going on with your TPS, just check to make sure at idle (i believe set @ 700rpm for manual trans) the TPS is pulsing the injectors at the slower rate and the motor hasn't run at idle for too long... just in case it's running rich or something and throws the ECM into default mode, then you'll never get correct timing @ idle. The other thought was - maybe it's running a little lean. This could cause it to run a bit hot as well. Unfortunatly, leaness could be caused by a bunch of things - dirty injectors, TPS, HTS, AFM, FPR, partailly clogged fuel lines, pump... well, i'm sure you know what i mean. Did you do a compression check before and after the last head gasket re-build? Wonder how much they shaved off to get a clean surface. This would raise compression a little as well. Just thinking out loud. Keep us posted.

Two quick things come to mind 525 - you say you replaced the thermostat - was it a Nissan one or an aftermarket? I found the aftermarkets not to be as "flowing" as the OEM one because of the hole opening diameter. Also, if you have a meat thermometer, stick it in your radiator after she comes up to temp to verify if the temp sensor and/or gauge is off. I just went through this a few nights ago on my cousins car - sensor was on the hot side by about 40deg Pulled the only hair i had left out before trying something easy as it turned out to be.

Gabe, i picked up a 10/32" plug yesterday to do just that. But i am going to do the drill mod that's mentioned on the site Yo listed and leave the new port open to see if that clears it from leaking at idle. I wouldn't crush it unless you hear it leaking before your maximum boost you're running. I run about 16-17psi now and it doesn't leak. I guess it all depends on the strength of the internal spring. If it's weakend by blowing off 10 million times, it'll probably leak at a lower boost level. Thing that gets me is, i know most recommend to recirculate the BOV but, what happens when it's leaking too early... I would think it would be hard to diagnose because it'll just throw that air back into the turbo compressor and continue to spin it faster. To me, it seems you could overspin your tubo easy if the air just continuosly gets re-cycled from the BOV back to the turbo, back to the BOV... back and forth. My thoughts anyway.

Thanks guys. Aaron, messed up on my feed and return in my first post. I should be fine though because i ran the 3/8" SS feed from where the lower radiator connects to the block and the 3/8" SS return to the thermostat housing port that enters just below the thermostat. It's actaully bypassing the entire motor so it should be little cooler. Tony, stripped everything i could off of it including TB heater. Thanks again.

I do have the Greddy installed and running nice, just wondering what that smaller reference port actual does, then maybe i can figure out what the small port on the bottom of ths DSM BOV does since Yo's saying they're basically the same. Do you or Yo, do you know what it's actually for?

Thanks yo. I have that site bookmarked as well but just couldn't figure where that port went up inside the BOV to. The mod on that site says that'll fix leaking above 17psi but nothing about fixing the leak at idle. The Greddy S i bought for my cousin yesterday, the little port is the one i guess you're talking about.. it just seems to connect to the "blow off" 1.5" port. I'll have to do some research on the Greddy and that little port and then maybe i'll understand the DSM port a little better if you say it acts the same. Thanks for the help.

I did check the link out and understand they plug it and intersect it with another vacuum line but, i just don't know where that port goes to inside the BOV. I'll have to cut one apart to figure it out i guess. I'd like to try and cut the top off of one anyway and make it adjustable like the aftermarkets. BTW - Took my cousins 78 out 2 nights ago for it's maiden turbo voyage, running the DSM BOV, T3/T4, and on one of the high boost shifts, blew both charge pipes off the intercooler and seemed to have damaged the DSM BOV. Went out yesterday and bought the Greddy typeS BOV, strapped it on and it works perfect. Guess the aftermarket is the way to go if you've got the cash but, since i don't all the time, i like trying to figure a way to modify what i can, if i can. It's fun to me anyway. Open or recirculated i wouldn't think would effect spool any differently, in my opinion.

Hey guys. Sorry it's taken me so long to reply to my own post. Yo, or anyone, do you know what or where that little port in the bottom of the DSM BOV does/goes to? I know the top port is above the valve and presses down on it during positive manifold pressure and also helps lift it off it's seat during vacuum situations, just don't know what that bottom one is for? I dont have any problems running it open to the atmosphere. I may get a puff of smoke between shifts because i'm sure it turns rich for the moment but i never really noticed or cared since it doesn't bog or effect performance as you say it does in your case. It helps performance in my case as it seems to do in FL327's - no re-spooling required. Whatever boost psi i'm pushing at the end of a gear, it's back at the same pressure in the next gear. I'm also running a 45deg DP and 3" exhaust which may be why your having to re-spool 525. Let that thing BREATH! lol. Thanks for the info and ideas guys.

I thought possibly the reference line just "helps" the valve lift off it's seat under high vacuum situations and the pressure in the charge pipe when the throttle is snapped shup actually pushes the valve open. I would run the one way valve so boost pressure would apply the pressure to help hold the valve shut. Ahhh... but if the air couldn't go back toward the intake because of the one way valve, i guess it would constantly hold pressure on the BOV, even when the throttle is snapped. Hmmm... Maybe a fitting with an .022 port to release the pressure between the port of the BOV and one way valve like ya use on the Grainger/Dawes wastegate device? hmm. Thanks Doug. Just trying to see if i can figure out a way to make it work right without leaking at idle while on a wife..i mean.. budget

I'm running the DSM BOV which has a vacuum line to the manifold for a reference pressure. The problem i'm having is that at idle, she leaks a little, giving an unstable, loping idle because I run it vented to atmosphere. I'm not going to re-circulate it. I've read that they're suppose to do this due to allow air in while the turbo is acting a little restictive at this point. Question is, does the vacuum line at the top of this valve act two-fold meaning, under positive manifold, it holds pressure down on the valve to hold more boost and... under high vacuum situations, does it pull up on the valve to release it easier? If it does work like this, i'm wondering if i just put a one way valve in there to make it stop leaking at idle while still allowing it to hold boost? This might be a confusing post, sorry, but i hope i made sort of sense! lol.

Got ya. Thanks Nathan. Couldn't remember! I found out i was one tooth off on the oil pump which caused my timing issue. Everything's good now 8) Thanks again.

For the life of me, i can't remember how the 82-83zxt EMC gets it's signal to know where TDC is? I don't think it's the CAS, like the newer 84 and up ECM's so, where then? Seems i'm a tooth off on the dizzy but i double checked it at TDC and it all lines up perfectly. I must be missing a signal on the wiring somewhere. Any help/suggestions is appreciated. Thanks.

I ran two 3/8", SS hardlines to feed coolant to the center section of a T3/T4. One feed, one return. The feed is coming off of the thermostat housing, actually below the thermostat. Is this ok? Any other suggestions of where to get the feed from if it's not? Also, not specific to turbo motors but, the 3/4" or so pipe coming out of the block that Y's off and acts as the crank breather, can i cut this back a bit, say to about 2" away from the block, or would it cause any problems? Just can't figure out why they have such a long pipe and then Y's off and necks down? Maybe so it doesn't get as affected by the exhaust housing as hose would? Thanks in advance.

Sorry John, since i'm doing the turbo swap into the 280 and converting it to CV's, i put 2 and 2 together and posted it there. Might as well just end this topic. Bottom line, the spacers are different so use the right ones. Later.

The 240 stubs have to be a be a bit shorter, between the bearings anyway, by about the 1mm. Both the 240 and 280 different sized spacers had a "B" stamped on them. I torqued them correctly. Once i used the correct 240 shorter spacer, it was perfect. It will not work with the longer 280 spacer. I'm not sure if there's any ill effects of what you did by using the shorter 240 spacer on the longer 280 stub but, i'm sure you wouldn't notice the binding effect like i did after installing them! haha.

Hey all. I'm sure this info is posted here and other places on the net but, i just wanted to make a reminder post for anyone considering using the CV halfshafts in a 280 by installing the 240 stub axles into the 280. Make sure you use the 240 bearing spacer!!! The 280's spacer is about 1mm longer than the 240's and will bind against the bearings when the companion flange nut is properly torqued down to spec, causing the wheel to be completely locked up. I scratched my head for over 2 hours last night because i SWORE i had the spacers side by side and they were exactly the same, but they're not. A one hour job took me nearly 3 hours because i missed this and wouldn't want anyone else to go through my pain and suffering!!! lol.

Hey all. Quick question - does the tranny mount have to be modified in order to bolt the T5 into a 280? I put the T5 in my '73 240 and i did have to modify the mount and move it foward about .75" but never did it in a 280. It's a '78 if that makes any difference. Thanks in advance.

Sounds good Moby. Send me some pics if you get a chance - Jersey@cptclabs.com Worried with summer coming that i'll be running a bit hot with my single puller. And i dont have the room like others do for the taurus fan either If you could dip the sensor in a pot of water with a temp gauge, then you could see if and when it completes the circuit.

You're getting spark when you hook the coil straight to the battery and you know you're getting fuel because the plugs are wet? Where did you check for spark - at the plug or just right out of the coil? If you're getting spark while cranking at either or both of these places, the CAS, AFM or the IGNITOR shouldn't be any of your problem. If you're getting spark at the plug while cranking and you say you know you're getting fuel because the plugs are wet, then you might have a compression problem. If you're getting spark out of the coil but haven't checked directly at the plug, i'd start there. Might be something as simple as corroded dizzy cap or rotor. Let us know how you make out.

My Z isn't half as nice as Scotty's, but thanks and you're welcome anyway