datsunlover

Heh.. well, this may sound strange seeing as I just posted a "help!" thread about my Nissan 4x4.. mind you, it's a 93 w/270K on it. Hard K's in the Canadian climate. And I'm only into it for $2000. Personally, if I had $20k to 'play' with, I'd be looking at a nissan Frontier 4X4.. for that kind of $$ you can probly get into a 2000 - 02... Full size, I'm not sure on pricing, but I'd go for a Dodge myself.. I should add that my 'other' truck was great and very reliable. Also a 93 king cab, but just 2 wheel drive/auto. 3 years with it and no major issues.

Ok.. so I got's me a 4X4.. 93 Nissan King cab, V6 5 speed. all was well.. I even 'rescued' some friends of mine last night.. (their car's fuel pump died in the MINUS 37C FREAKING COLD!!) and my truck started fine. I drop them off, stop and put in $20 of fuel in, drive home and park it. Just for good measure, I stick a light bulb (trouble light) beside the battery as I don't have a block heater. This morning (still -37C... not sure what that converts to for you guys in the states.. but exposed skin will get frostbite in about 1.5 mins.) My girl friends car BARELY turns over, her parents van is the same and her brothers ford Tempo(rary use) just cranks and dies. ALL these vehicles were pluged in through the night. I remove my light bulb, and get in my truck... turn the key.. fuel pump comes on, primes just fine and turns off like normal. All the lights work/come on on the dash. Radio/fan/ect work fine. Ok.. clutch in.. I try to start it, and get nothing. ?!?!?!?!!?! The lights don't even dim!! The radio keeps playing, the 'warning' lights on the dash don't even flicker. it's like I didn't even hit the key to the 'start' position. I get a 'click' from under the dash, but no starter noise. So I wack the starter with a screwdriver, curse and swear, and try it again. nuthing... I 'jump' the solinoid with my screwdriver.. (horay.. sparks! Guess I have power..) and the motor turns, but it's not cranking the engine.. so I get a ride to work (almost 2 hours late now) and when I get home tonite, it's the same. I even tried pushing it down the driveway and 'bump' starting it but no dice. HEEEEELLP!!! I am at a loss here.. I don't understand whats going on!

Yup. I'd say its' the ignition control box on the dizzy then.

I would do it man... and although the zx's arn't as.. nice looking (MHO) as the earlier Z cars, they can still be made to look really decent.. they still look unique compared to almost evrything else on the road these days.. And the 'miss cause of a head gasket' hmm.. I don't know about that, but you'll have to see it in person and hear it run. Could be an ignition/electrical issue.. Really, if the HG is blown, it should be blowing some white smoke OR have no fluid left in the rad... either way, if it IS, the head gasket that isn't a big deal.. hows the rest of it though? Rust isues? Does the turbo spool up good? How's the trany/suspension/brakes? Basicaly, I'd do it either way cause the drivetrain is DEFINATLY worth the $450. Even if it needs a complete re+re.

Well.. yah. It seams stupid I know, but I have personally had this happen, and know a few ppl who had similar problems. That little box basicaly controls your spark.. and a bit of timing advance IIRC.. If you were playing with the timing (turning the dizzy right?) you may have just jared a wire loose.. check the conections at the black box.. and probly the AFM just for good measure. Make sure they are clean, and the clips arn't broken/cracked. If it IS the 'black box' (sorry.. can't think of the proper name right now.. stupid beer...) I don't think you could "re-wire" it.. replacement is pretty much the only option. I'd look around for one used, or a whole distriubutor perhaps that you could swap in to test this theory...

Thats was what I was going to say. I did that once.. reversed the firing order ..well.. put every plug off by one location on the distrubutor. (Basicaly, instead of 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2, I had 2-1-8-4-3-6-5-7) Oops.. had some good flames leaping out of the carb!! You may want to check out the distributor cap and rotor.. they may be in need of replacment. I think the choke could be causing part of the problem though.. Even though it may be a mild temperature outside (for people I mean) it's still a 'cold' start for an engine, if only for the first few mins. Just from my expiriance with my backyard built RX7 V8, I had to play with the gas a bit to start it up and keep 'bliping' the throttle a bit till it warmed up. I never had a proper choke setup, but it was the middle of the summer and warm up would take about 2 mins so I just delt with it. Just curious.. have you contacted the previous owner? Not saying he 'screwed you' but if he drove/built the car he may have some advice for you, or a better idea what 'may' be going on with it. My 75 is pretty stock, but if I sold it I'd have to spend a good 2 hours explaining evrything to the buyer.. how this works, what to do if, ect.

Heh heh.. trust me man, I live in northern ontario; I know what winters do to vehicles.. espesialy Z's... When I got mine, I'm sure most folks on this board would have told me "that's a parts car man.. too far gone to be saved" Seriously, it was that bad. In retrospect, I could have waited and found a 'better' one to start with.. but I may STILL have been looking. I understand the space issue.. I just thought an A frame would make your task easier.. Basicaly something resembleing a kids swing set that is as high as your roof allows, and wide enough to straddle the car. Aside from cutting the upper rad/body suport, the drivetrain should just slide out.. er.. stay put while you roll the car out from under it. I'm just a lazy kind of guy and try to think up ways of doing things easier, or will as little 'work' as possible.

Hmm.. the great "350 Vs 305" debate.. Well in many areas (mine anyway) the 305 is WAY more plentifull. And I have to agree that a 305 CAN be built and be a good motor. I think it's the other way around too.. 350 cam/heads on a 305 block=cheep power upgrade using stock parts. When I was looking for an engine for my RX7 project, I wanted a 350. Why? because it 'had' to be better than a 305 right? So I could say "yeah.. its a 350." whatever... I ended up buying a running 305/350th for $400. (after a tiring search for a 350) The guy thought it was a 350, was told by the previous owner of the truck it WAS, but when I came to pick it up (he pulled it out of the truck after I heard it run) he told me he checked the block #s, and turns out it was a 305. I decided well "It ran, had good compresion, and the guys being honest. I'll take it." I jamed it in my 'rex and it was a scarry ride. No mater how bad your math is, V8 + little car = FAST and FUN! After the cam went (some 305's are bad.. yes) I bought ANOTHER 305 to replace it for $75. Actualy.. the whole car.. I just pulled the motor and called a scrap guy... So.. I have to dissagree with the statement '305's don't make sence' because.. they do. Evryone and their brother wants a 350.. therefore you can get 305's for almost nothing (as has been stated) so WHY do you have to have a 350? The time and money you're going to spend looking for a 350 (which seems to be a problem.. where you live..) could in theory be cut down.. a lot.. by just using a 305..

Well I'm sure it'll work.. I've seen it done countless times in wrecking yards/ect.. Only problem I have is ah.. well, 'choping' up a Z! It'll probly be a lot of fudging around too to get the engine/trans suported and build around it while choping the car away.. you'll have to suport parts of the car as well as you cut into the structure. What about the roof of your garage? Does it have a beam or something that would support a set of chainfalls? (thats how I'm gona pull the engine in my Z soon.. roof is 7 feet in my work space) If not, seeing as you're into some 'construction' of something anyway, why not build a simple 'A frame' of some sort (to attach chains too) over the front of the car? Just take off the hood, front grill/bumper and roll the car back once the driveline is lifted a few inches...

I'm not sure about the air temp sensor being the cause.. but could be part of the problem.. it 'works' by changing resistance (ohms) with temperature, and whatever resistance it 'sees' it tells the ecu.. something. ( sorry, couldn't think of any other way to say it) I supose you could check it by setting it in front of a heater/heat source beside a thermometer. Then take a reading at difrent temps and compare to the chart in the FSM. Thing is though...I find anytime electrical componants get wet, funky things happen.. I'd try to swap in a known good AFM for starters.. I got one for a ZX from my local nissan dealer. Apparently, it had been sitting on a shelf for years.. it was used by the techs as a 'test' afm back when the zx's were fairly current, (what.. 20 years ago I guess?) and afm related problems were ussualy the first thing to happen. I made a 'friend' of one of the shop guys and got it for $75 cash.. (I'll sell it if you want, as it's useless to me in my SU'd 280z) Strange that it would run for so long withOUT the fuel pump on though... this is a shot in the dark.. is the fuel return line cloged maybe? May explain where the fuel came from to run the car with no pump.. Or maybe the fpr IS faulty and allows too much presure when vac. is attached to it, and causes the flooding..

Is this a Z or ZX? If its a ZX, I'd suspect the 'black box' on the side of the dizz..uh, .. distributor. They just up and die sometimes, and being electrical, it can come and go for a while.. making it hard to pin down the problem.

Tyson; I would say the auto is QUITE difrent than a 5 gear is gona be.. it's only a 3 speed auto correct? If you're near redline at 100MPH with the auto, I'm sure the 5 gear will drop that a LOT and get you better top end speed.. heck, my stock 4 gear (witch sucks.. 2nd to 3rd is to big of a 'gap' and drops revs..) will get my car up to 120mph and still not quite touch redline.. Thumper; The simple answer is.. Yes. the 3.90 will make your car a bit quicker in 1/4 mile. (Compared to the 3.54, and assuming all other things being equal) Aso.. IMHO, being near or at the red line isn't really a big deal, seeing as it happens as you FINISH the drag and go through the traps. Obviously, you would not want to sustain that RPM for a long time.. IE; highway cruising/road course racing) but if you're wanting a better 1/4 time, put in that 3.90 in.

Sounds to me like this mech is (possibly) doing the work on your car AFTER normal work hours.. like has been said, any repair shop/garage I've ever seen would NOT take on a project such as this.. it wouldn't be cost effective. I agree with evryone so far; talk to the guy and get a detailed list of what he's done, and how much $$$ has been spent. AND what he has left to do to 'finish' the car. Several years ago I built a V8 RX7.. I bought the engine/tranny mounts and a chev axle 'jiged' to bolt into the mazda suspension. That was $1200. When I picked this stuf up (drove 6 hours!) the guy that builds this stuff (builds RX7 V8's for a living.. awesome!!!) told me "I ussually sell the whole car, compleated, for around $7000. IF the buyer provides the car! You have to realize there's LOTS of other stuff to fab/find/work out to get this thing going... " He was right. It took me another $3500 just to get the thing mobile.. and I still didn't have the front brakes/suspension upgraded!

Sorry, couldn't resist the silly joke. Anyway, I droped off my 'spare' N42 to a friend today. (got it for $50 complete.. heh) He builds engines as a 'hobby on the side' and actually make more $$ off it than the factory job he holds.. (hes thinking of quiting the factory work and doing engines full time.. ) and a LOT of the stuf he's done is for racing/drag cars. He knows his 'stuf' but is a really modest and honest guy. Anyway, we looked through some books he has and wouldnt you know it; cant find any info in the N42! Lists 240z 70-73; e88, 260z 74; n47 and 280z 75-79 n47,p79,p90. Weird.. Either way, we're sure it'll work fine as I HAVE an n42 on the car already.. He's gona tear it apart, clean it up, do a 3 angle valve job, new seals/springs, port match the intake/exhast and look into a cam (he can apparently get some awsome deals..) as well as take .020" or so off to 'bring the squeze up' as he says. He seamed excited about it as it is quite difrent than most stuff he does.. he's gona see if he can get me 225 horse or so.. (thats the goal anyway..) I'm tryng to keep the budget in check, and told him that.. but I don't wana 'skimp' and in the end have something go boom cause I was too cheep. I dated this guys sister a few years back too (still freinds though) so he's gona give me a break on $$$. AND I can pay him bit by bit, so I'm not slaped with a huge 'bill' in the end. He he he... gona be faster next year.. yipee!!

My choise would be the 3.90 and IIRC, that's what came in all the zx's with the 5 gear. I'm going to be doing the same swap in my 75 (my 3.54 is shot, and the stock 4 gear is.. useless. Grinding, and a terible 'drop' between 2nd +3rd shifts.) From what I've heard, the 82+ zx 5 gear has WAY better ratios, and a decent 5th.. Part of the reason they switched to a 3.90 (the zx is HEAVY..there's the main reason..) I believe, is to get better acceleration. Obviously, the car would be really rev happy with the 4 gear throught a 3.9, hence the change to 5 speed. What do you have right now, a 3.54?

Ok.. I'll give it a try.. gime some time..

Well yah, I supose the same unit as the factory used in the rear could be (in theory) droped in the front.. Like I said, (as far as I know..) the front diff is 'open' from the factory.. but it is concievable in some markets they (nissan) may have instaled one.. ??? I can't see why there would be a 'front' or 'rear' designation though (as far as LDS anyway) so now I'm confuesd...

Hey.. if you have a mouse 'wheel' and you spin it up and down (scroling up and down the page really fast) it's kinda trippy... it's making me dizzy though... shizzle..

To my knowlege, no Nissan trucks came with a LSD in the front (IFS), BUT some pathfinders and trucks did have a rear LSD as an option/upgrade. It is a solid axle, but I'm curious now if the lsd unit would be workable in a Z car R200.. I have a 93 king cab 4x4 and Im guessing I have the 4:11 (not LSD.. ) as I can turn 31" tires no prob.. actually burn them on dry pavement! And cruising at 100K I only turn about 2400 rpm. My boss has a 94 pathy and the diff case actually still has the sticker on it saying; "Use only LSD oil". I may change the diff fluid next week in my 4x4, so I'll try to get some measurments or something to see if it's close to the Z diff.. I know of a few scrap trucks around... if for nothing else, it'd be cheep4:11 gears!

Hey man.. you gota have a good dizzy.. I mean.. oops.. oh dear god.. now I've done it..

Doh!! I finally got around to calling Rick today.. (been working, x-mass stuff and all that.. blah) He can get me stock struts.. out of japan and in 5 weeks!! And I guess they changed their computers or something, cause he couldn't pull up the tokicos or get a listing.. or something. He called/emailed someone to see if they had them, and might give me a call back.. guess I'm SOL though for you to pick them up for me.. and he figuress shipping is gona be a little steep cause of the weight.. EDIT; heh... just got a call back from Rick. $120 a piece for tokicos hmm... Just before he called back, I was on the phone with a speed shop in Barrie. KYB GR2's for $80 each. Rears will be there moday, fronts in 4 weeks. (which is ok, cause it'll likely be a month or 2 before I get to the front suspension anyway) I know, I know.. 'eeeewww.. kyb's!!!' but I'm gona be unemployed come january (2 months of schooling.. EI only pays 55% of my wages) and I want the rear end back on the ground so I can start pulling the motor/tranny.

I've actually wanted to do this for a while.. but looking at the patern in the stock 4 gear, I decided it was a bit wide and would look.. odd.. I'm wanting to swap in a 5 gear (stock Z) this winter and may build a shift gate then.. I was going to make a whole 'plate' from 1/4" aluminum that would come back over the ashtray hole, and incorperate the choke lever and some 'extra' switches (fog lights, hidden switch perhaps for the fuel pump..) I don't see it being to dificult to build, and my shop has a CNC mill so I could probly get the nc guy to program it in, and run a few off...

Yup... clean clean clean.. 'diddy' it up as best you can.. maybe try to at least grind/wire wheel the rust/body damage and spray some rust paint over it. (white tremclad, the old stand by. cheep and efective:) ) Seeing as the car is white, it shoudn't look too bad... Personaly, when I look at something, I'd rather see damaged areas/rusted sections cleaned and just sprayed over so I KNOW there isn't an inch of bondo over it.. if you're not great with body work, or don't spend some time on it it looks worse IMO then just cleaning/preping it.. (a dent is bad.. but a 'hack' or quick fix over it is worse..) Definatly get the interior looking good, clean the windows and shine the bumper/wheels/ect up nice. I'd say ask $1800 and take best offer...

Um.. just curious.. why did you put your dizzy on that side of the engine?!? nice custom work anyway... Um.. could you get/build a 'T' fittng of some sort and tee into the rad hose perhaps? (you may even find something in a wreckers.. I'm sure i've seen somthing like this with a temp sensor in it..you'de just have to drill ithat out and attach a hose.) Then run/jog the smaller dia. heater hose around your dizzy and other obstructions to the firewall...