cgsheen

http://xenons130.com/reference.html Too bad you gave up the 280zx donor. There's a LOT you could have learned about how your engine interfaces with the rest of the car... Understanding that, it would be easier to convert your early Z car to accept the new engine. (I took all the wiring from my donor that had ANY connection to the engine (starting at the battery), it's accessories, the ECU, coil and ignitor, relays... - not just the ECCS harness.) There are so many differences between the 280ZXT and a 240: - Alternator and it's wiring - Voltage regulation (280zx = internal to the alternator, 240 = external (with a shunt to run the ammeter)) - Coil and ignitor (the ZXT ignitor is controlled solely by the ECU) - Electrical power, fusable links, and relays I chose to abandon certain things on my early 260 and substitute the 280ZXT parts and wiring. But, enough of the lecture... I can't help you with the individual wires in your connectors - mine are all exactly as the wiring diagram (and the '83 wiring diagram on xenon's site shows those connectors exactly the same as the '82 wiring diagram) - my son's harness is also exactly the same... You actually only need 4 or 5 or 6 of the wires in those 2 connectors (less than that to actually fire the engine), look at the swap diagram to see which functions you need, trace the wire from it's source to where it ends up in the connector, mark it, and wire it up accordingly. Good luck...

On the stock L28ET the oil feed line comes off a tee installed between the block and the oil pressure sender... Then there's a hard line back toward the firewall, around the back of the engine, to the turbo.

You need to do some additional searching... In the FAQ's (and several other places) there's a diagram of how to wire up those 3 connectors. Plug #1 IS 2 wires (one brown, one green), both connected to the +12V side of the battery THROUGH seperate Fusable Links. A 280ZX is wired through several fusable links. I used my donor cars fusable link box and connected the circuits that applied to the swap. Unfortunately I don't think there are "AMP values" applied to the fusable links. Read the turbo swap guide, maybe someone has used fuses rather than fusable links...

The wiring you're holding is: - AFM plug - AFM Ground wire - The 2 two-wire plugs go to the VCM The wire bundle to the coil and ignitor are completely seperate from the ECCS harness (EFI/ECU harness) on a stock 280zxt. There's a different harness that goes from the cockpit up through the left side fender to the 280zx coil location. Pull the wiring from a 280ZX donor or re-create the wiring - it's a simple bundle...

Don't get it... If you have 2 parts cars, both with factory A/C, why aren't you just removing a complete A/C system from one and installing it in your Z? (or using the best parts from each to equal a complete system...) Stock system converts well to R134a.

Well, the picture you've taken is of a finisher strip that sits atop the weatherstrip and carpet. That's not what you should really be worried about... It's what's under that, under the carpet, under the body... Pull the carpet and padding up and check the floor pans. Check the bottoms of the doors, dogleg, spare tire cavity, frame rails and sheet metal underneath the car.

If you leave it for a year in primer, you'll probably have to take it down again and re-prime before you topcoat (more than just a scuffing)... Primer - even the good stuff can soak up a lot of crud (contaminants, oils, chemicals, all kinds of crap) that may adversely affect how your topcoat goes on and how well it sticks over it's lifespan. Better to be safe than sorry...

I'm also kind of interested since my sons know a designer/fabricator here in Phoenix that has expressed interest in designing a manifold for L28ET's. (He used to work at Full Race as one of their lead designer/fabricators) My youngest son and I (both with turbo swaps running) keep telling my oldest son that there's no reason to have him build us a manifold (which he would probably do for cost of material) because our stock manifold will handle the horsepower we plan to run. He says there are other benefits beyond horsepower and we're NUTS not to let this guy build us a manifold - but I don't really understand them. Are there other benefits like how and when the turbo spools? Are we crazy for not having this guy fab us up a manifold for what is likely to be very cheap? Or will it mostly be "all show - no real go"? We're probably never going to build our Z's past 300 horsepower or so...

I also highly recommend the FSM. The L28ET (itself) doesn't "need" either of those wires... One (thermotime) helps prevent vaporlock (in a stock 280ZXT) - I think - if the engine is too hot. The other lets you know in the cockpit what the coolant temperature is. The stock EFI system (actually, ECCS system) doesn't use either of them to operate. The wiring to them is in the ECU harness for convienence, not because the ECU uses them...

No, one is for the temperature gauge and the other is for the thermotime switch. The thermotime switch is part of the injector fan assembly that comes on a stock L28ET (that's the "hair dryer" that hangs on the plug side of the engine and has plastic duct that wraps over the valve cover to blow air on the injectors). The system only comes into play when you shut off the engine, and then only if the thermotime switch "senses" water temperature over a certain value... So, If the engine is real hot, the blower runs for a while to cool the injectors (or the fuel in the injectors and piping near them). I don't imagine you'll be using it...

Crap, I'd have to walk all the way out to the garage, open the hatch, lift up the carpet and spare tire cover, go back into the house because I forgot the camera... Give me a few, I'll see if I can get a pic... This is from an early 260, but I think it's exactly the same as a 240. Exciting, huh? The stock hub cap covers pretty much all of that.

My Son just installed a pair of those on his '76 280... Worked perfectly. No wind noise in his car now. I need some for my 260.

That's not a stock A/C system is it? Never-the-less, that's the thermostat. The little capillary tube "senses" the air temperature and the thermostat is a switch that cycles the compressor on and off to maintain a certain temp... SO - following the flow of electricity to the compressor: Your A/C ON switch starts the power supply it is then routed to the thermostat so temperature can be controlled and from there to the compressor or it's relay. BUT, there may be other "safety switches" also in line... Original factory A/C systems also have a "high pressure" switch built into the receiver/dryer that kill power to the compressor if the refrigerant pressure is too high. (Some A/C systems also have a "Low Pressure" switch that will keep the compressor off it there's not enough refrigerant in the system) All of these switches usually run in series along the wiring to the compressor so that any of them can cut power to the compressor.

I recently killed the "squirrel cage" in my 260 and since it's already hot here in Phoenix, I wanted my A/C blowing again PRONTO! I also hoped I would find a newer motor/fan that would move more air than my original! I ran to the local pull-a-part looking for a Honda blower. Our fans spin counter-clockwise as you look at them from the passenger seat (clockwise from the shaft side - which is how all fans are rated - but that's "backwards" to how you're normally looking at a fan under the dash. You're usually looking at it's butt-end and have to turn it around in your mind...). Virtually no one uses a fan that spins clockwise anymore... It's not the motor, you can make the motor spin either direction. It's how the squirrel cage is built. I pulled a Honda blower then spent nearly an hour looking to see if I could find something else. Virtually everyone else but Honda uses a blower that spins the wrong direction - even Nissan... Finally I happened upon a 1999 Kia Sportage: It's blower spun the right direction, 3-bolt pattern, same size as the Honda blower in every respect except the squirrel cage is slightly wider. I took it up to the counter and went out to the lot to get my original blower out of the Z. Confirmed that the bolt pattern looked close, and that the squirrel cage WAS larger in diameter, but about the same width as the 260Z unit. For 10 bucks, I took it... It's NOT a direct bolt-in fit! But modifications were actually slight: - I had to enlarge the hole in my blower housing a little to get the newer squirrel cage in. (but, I've been using aircraft snips for 25+ years so cutting round holes in sheet metal is not a big deal) I was able to leave the original mounting nuts in place. - The mounting holes were off ever so slightly. The "mounting plate" of the Kia blower is plastic so it was easy to elongate each of the holes so the mounting screws would fit properly. Probably about an eighth inch (1/8th in.) per hole... - Like many newer blower motors, it has a "vent" or "cooling" tube built into the housing (to circulate air around the motor?) - I drilled a hole in the blower housing to provide air to this tube... Fitment of the cage in the 260Z blower housing is good - it fills the housing nicely but isn't close enough for anything to rub. The electrical connector is a direct fit into the Kia blower AND polarity is correct! Wiring consisted of pushing the 260Z connector into the side of the Kia motor. It has more vanes on the cage and I feel like it moves quite a bit more air. I don't have anything to actually measure that though... It's nice to have another option (or to know that the Honda blower will also work in 260's/280's with a little massaging, as it's nearly identical to this Kia blower). I also think it's cool that I (or the next owner of this Z) can still revert back to the stock blower...

No, most of the oil accumulates in the compressor itself and the accumulator (receiver/dryer). The oil in the rest of the system generally isn't enough to be concerned about. Get as much oil out of the compressor as you can and replace it with a like amount of R-134a compatible oil. They always suggest that you replace the accumulator with a new one - I didn't on my Z, but it's a very good idea. That's the main filter (and "dryer") for the system, so it protects everything else. They make a conversion product that has a small amount of oil, acid neutralizers, conditioners, plus a small charge of R-134a to carry all that stuff into the system. It's a good idea to use it on a older system that you're converting. You use slightly less R-134a than the system specified charge of R-12. I never charge by specific amounts though, I go by pressures and performance. If you have leaks, find and fix them. Vacuum down the system, -30psi for 30 minutes, to remove as many condensables as can be removed. I'm overly careful about NOT introducing any "air" back into the system when I'm charging, so I bleed my gauge set and hoses before (while) attaching them. Just let a whisper of refrigerant escape through the hose(s) while you're connecting them. You'll get better results the first time out if you charge when everything is nice and WARM... If it's 90-100 here (remember, no humidity here... It's a DRY heat!) I shoot for center vent temps in the mid-to-low 20's with a suction side pressure in the low 20's psi. Suction side pressure will start out much higher, and fall into place when the refrigerant level / performance gets near the "sweet spot"...

I used the 280ZX radiator from my donor car in my "early" 260... It works alright for being free. If I were to spend money on a radiator, I'd get one built for the 240/early 260 frame. The ZX radiator is "taller". When it's mounted properly for hood clearance, it hangs down below the radiator frame support exposing the lower tank to rocks and debris and puts the bottom 3 (or more) inches of fins behind sheet metal. Still, it's worked fine with my turbo swap and I've never had a cooling problem (Phoenix, AZ so that says something). My son's '76 280 has a different lower cross member for the radiator support than our early model Z's. They "bowed" the lower member down on the 280's. His Z takes a ZX radiator without it hanging down below the radiator support...

40 degree air??? I converted my stock system to R-134a when I completed the turbo swap. I'd be dying if it only blew 40 here in Phoenix! I get temps in the low 20's (F)... (I've actually measured it as low as 9 degrees - my son's '76 280 blew 5 degrees after we converted it from R-12 to 134a...) It's hotter than 90 here but we don't have any humidity. I have no problem with using R-12 if that floats your boat (best refrigerant they ever made for these things), but you can make R-134a work just fine. 2 cans cost me about 20 bucks - no reason for me to fuss with R-12... Condenser runs hotter, but we close up the gaps around it and the radiator to get the best air-flow through them that we can. Nissan has always used a good sized condenser - I've never had any problems converting Z's, 240SX's, and etc... Mine has never overheated the cooling system, even when it's 115+ here in Arizona.

I got my harness and ECU from an '81 Turbo car I bought in San Diego and limped home to Phoenix... Must be kind of a common leak point - right above the ECU. My harness connectors and the pins of the ECU were badly oxidized. It took me a LONG time and multiple cleanings to get rid of the electrical problems caused by poor connections at the ECU. BTW - I did much the same thing, except I could reach the wires and connectors to my ECU. When my car would start running like crap, I'd reach down and wiggle the wires around until it straightened up... Finally got SO sick of doing it that I finally: 1 - pulled the ECU cleaned all of it's connector pins to a stupid degree 2 - pulled every wire OUT of each of the 3 connectors one-by-one a. cleaned and adjusted the connector on the end of the wire b. soldered the crimp connection between wire and metal connector I haven't had any problems since I did that...

Don't know much of anything about MS, but I can say that the only major difference between the '81 L28ET and the later year engines is the crank angle sensor. On the '81 it's external - there's a trigger wheel bolted to the crank pulleys and a sensor near the A/C compressor - as I'm sure you've seen. On the '82-'83 it's built into the distributor. If MS doesn't use the stock CAS, shouldn't matter a bit... (even if it does, the CAS signal must be the same from either unit... I use a stock '81 harness and ECU on my '83 engine) (The '81 also uses a "package" of dropping resistors for the injectors that is external to the ECU, but that too doesn't matter a bit if you're not using a stock harness and/or ECU...) Otherwise, all the L28ET's pretty much "same same" as far as the electronics go.

Ditto... Be sure to find and download the Factory Service Manual (FSM). Many problems in these old Z's can be traced to electrical connectors and Grounds. Check and clean them as you're going through the car. Most of these cars have been modified somewhat by previous owners so it's almost always an adventure... Remember: "Patience Is The Key To Joy".

As long as the stock compressor is in good working order, it'll be fine with R134a. I'm running the stock A/C system in my '74 260 with R134a and we just converted my son's '76 280 last summer... We both have turbo swaps but kept the factory A/C system intact - can't live in Arizona with no A/C.

What he said (Zguy91)... The vents and scoop are plastic. They bolt on to the hood. Really easy to unbolt, clean up, and spray (well... easy to unbolt as a rule, maybe not so easy to clean up and sand smooth, easy to spray...). My Son and I took 280ZXT scoops, modified them (trimmed off most of the "vent" part), rattle-canned them black, and installed them on our earlier Z cars when we did our turbo swaps... Paint shop could do it in single-stage if you don't want to rattle-can. They look good completely black...

Oh, I'm sure there will be a 280ZX or two at the MSA meet in Orange in a couple of weeks. If not, Mine and my son's Z's will be there with stock L28ET swaps. (see the old guy looking at the red 240Z on the MSA flyer? that's me...) I also have a great number of pictures from the 280ZX donor I had. That car was complete and original under the hood...

The thermotime sensor is at the front of the engine right next to the temperture sender - IIRC, under the thermostat housing? Near the upper radiator hose and the distributor anyway... Neither of those has ANYTHING to do with the ECCS... The Thermotime switch (sensor) just activates the injector blower (that thing hanging on the spark plug side of your engine) IF the water temp is above a certain value when you shut the engine down. It activates a timer that makes the blower fan run for several minutes (and if the rest of the blower piping were still there, it'd blow air in the general vicinty of the injectors...) The temperature sender just runs the water temp gauge in the dash. The Cylinder Head Temperature Sensor is IN the head, spark plug side, between 5 & 6 cylinders just above the starter. It IS critical for ECCS to work well (just don't know how much it does when the engine is first started and thus cold)... It's easy to check if it's working correctly - the FSM tells you exactly how to test it. You just need some hot water and an electrical meter that reads Ohms (resistance). It needs to be connected properly to the ECU (you can check that too - it's all in the FSM) It's also easy to check the air bypass you replaced. At start, it's given +12v for a couple of minutes. That heats a bi-metal element that opens a shutter and allows air to pass. It closes by itself as the voltage is removed and it cools off. The ECU controls it's action. After the first 2 minutes, it does nothing... It's such a simple thing, it rarely needs replacement. The TPS on the L28ET only tells the ECU two things: "the throttle is closed" OR "the throttle is not closed". It affects idle. It needs to be set properly. The FSM tells you exactly how to do that. L28ET's run like crap - especially at low RPM's if there's a vacuum problem. Triple check ALL the vacuum system and the intake piping. Cracks, tears, missing hoses will cause you a great amount of grief. You probably want to check the VCM and the two valves it controls on the intake - the EGR and the A.A.C. - My son runs his L28ET without the VCM. I don't know if mine actually works the A.A.C., but it's not connected to the EGR at all. (The VCM has 2 rubber diaphrams, it could also be the hidden source of a vacuum leak...) Bad electrical connectors and/or wiring will also cause the engine to run like crap. Got a windshield leak above the ECU? Recheck all the ECCS connectors. Your O2 Sensor doesn't come into play until everything heats up and the ECU tries to run "closed loop". Get your engine running before you replace it. My son's L28ET actually blew oil out the downpipe when we first started it. His was definately from sitting for years and it was the oil seal in the turbo. It took a while before it "healed up". Your's may do the same, or it may not. Either get it rebuilt, or run it for a few days and see if it seals. Lastly: Get a radiator and some coolant in that thing!!!

When I put the oil pan back on my turbo engine just before the swap I used a stock gasket (from BAP) and a thin film of black silicone gasket maker. That was two years ago - no oil pan leaks... But, I totally believe in Nissan's silicone gasket material. I've put VQ30's and KA's back together with that stuff. They were engineered NOT to use gaskets, just silicone - but that stuff is pretty amazing. If the parts (bottom of block and top of pan) were cleaned properly and the silicone applied properly, I don't know why it wouldn't work by itself with no other gasket in place. But, like Blu said, you've got little to loose if they do the work - except maybe another trip to the dealership...