nmehdikh
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Posts posted by nmehdikh
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7 hours ago, madkaw said:
CALIFORNIA DATSUN😱
4 hours ago, grannyknot said:You might want to check the archives for other members experiences with them before you do that.
1 hour ago, Zetsaz said:California Datsun is an absolute disaster. Also, N42 head was used on early model 280z. Standard head on the L26 was an E88.
Jesus. I'm so glad I posted here, you all just saved my ass.
Any place you guys recommend instead? -
Got the head off today, as well as the rad which is being replaced. Everything went fairly smoothly.
This is my first Z, but does this look normal? Flat top pistons in an L26? I thought they were supposed to be dished.
What kind of compression ratio should I be seeing here? Using the atlanticZ calculator (even though its for an L28) with L26 bore and stroke says 9.36:1 with the felpro gasket.
Pics of the valves. Going to talk to california datsun to see if I can take it in later this week.
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Since a lot of my questions have strayed from the general megasquirt / EFI topic I started a build thread over HERE
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Car is a 1973 240z with an L26 basket case, with lots of rust and wiring issues.
Since my initial question thread started getting offtopic, I figured I would finally start a build thread to expand on my questions, and document my progress so far with the car. Original thread is found HERE
Parts are on order and I'm slowly putting together my EFI / ITB setup. I'll post updates and questions here. Since the start of that thread, I've really dug into the car to find terrible rust as expected. So, first order of business was replacing the floors and flame rails. Got floors from zedfindings and rails from baddog.
Passenger side before paint. Driver side painted. You can see the rats nest of wiring hanging under the dash. Going to have to clean this all up pretty soon.
My car didn't have seatbelts when I bought it, so I also put in a half cage and harnesses. Cage was built and welded in by a local shop. My seats currently sit too high for my liking (and for the harnesses), so I'm either going to get new seats or a build a smaller seat bracket.
Also replaced redid the entire braking system with 4 piston discs in the front, converted the rear to disks, and a new master cylinder.
I've also replaced most of the suspension bushings, still have a few to do. This weekend I am going to pull the head off to get it rebuilt. Which leads me to my first set of questions.
I thought the car just had a stock L26 in it. But now I'm not too sure so I need some help identifying stuff and how to move forward. The block is stamped "L26 086142" and the head is stamped "N42". I previously did a valve adjustment, and I remember checking the cam markings and it had standard mark but now that I realize it has a N42, I'm not sure if it hasn't been reground. There is a isky racing cams sticker on the car window, but who knows if that is just for "show".
When I pull the head off, how do I go about identifying the cam? And if it has been reground?
How do I check if the head has been shaved?What should I look for inside the motor (should I expect flat top pistons? Or dished? or notched?)?
Given that I am going megasquirt EFI with ITBs, what should I have done for the head performance wise?
Valve springs?
Cam suggestions?
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3 hours ago, madkaw said:
So you do have a MS ECU ? There are other options for ignition .
Yeah, a local friend is giving me his MS3 with 3x expansion board. I also got in touch with softopz regarding a harness. What were your ideas for ignition? -
To swap to the 82-83 L28ET distributor (for cam position / crank position sensors) into an L26, do I just need the distributor, and the drive shaft? Or do I also need to swap my oil pump? Or will it work with my L26 oil pump with the new shaft?
The three parts I'm looking at:
Shaft
Distributor
Gaskets
Do I need this oil pump as well?
Oil pump -
3 hours ago, munters said:
I wonder why nobody tries the jenvey Heritage ?
In my eyes, mainly cost. They are what? 1600 euros for set of 3? And you get injectors, fuel rail, and TPS. Still need a DCOE manifold to bolt it to, throttle linkage, an ECU, and all the associated sensors. On the other hand, the triumph throttle body setup gets you the same thing for $200 used tops. Still need a manifold,throttle linkage, an ecu, and associated sensors. I love the look of the jenvey, just can't justify the cost. -
9 hours ago, madkaw said:
As much as I’d like to do ITB’s - I chickened out and went with a stock intake . Why? Because I have/had so much to learn about tuning and I didny want it to be overwhelming and not enjoy my ride .
that being said - maybe you should find a stock intake and I would recommend a Maxima head . Everything just bolts together and you can concentrate on learning to tune with MS instead of fighting an ITB set up
I read a bit about the maxima head, the N47 right? I was looking at a few threads about it, specifically this one. And there is discussion about having to notch the block to make it work? Is this the case for the L26 as well? What head gasket would I need to run and what compression numbers would I be looking for?
Richard, regarding injectors, I was going to go with newer high impedance Bosch units. Something along these lines. I'll definitely get in contact for tuning help when I get closer to start-up. -
Bumping an old thread with updates and seeking more advice as always. I guess this thread is going to devolve into a general build thread?
The megasquirt/ITB plan was put on hold for other things done to the car in the meantime. But finally getting around to getting the parts together.
Done :
1) upgraded the braking system : 4 piston fronts, and disks to the rear from silverminemotors
2) new floors from zed and new frame rails from baddog
3) added half cage and safety harnesses
4) new wheels and tires
5) all suspension bushings done
In progress :
1) Rewiring the entire car. A previous owner did a terrible job of installing a rats nest of a "painless" wiring harness.
2) New radiator and fans
To Do in the next couple months:
1) rebuild head
2) get megasquirt/EFI working
So here are some questions for you guys.
Regarding the head
I believe its an E88 that came with the L26, but I'll check tomorrow morning and make sure.
1) If I am going EFI and ITBs what cam do you recommend?
2) Rebuilding the head, I'll be taking it to a machine shop, but what do I need to buy for them to complete the work?
3) What are my options performance wise? Shave the head down to increase CR? how much?
Keep in mind, I live in CA so I only have access to 91 octane.
Regarding ITBs/Megasquirt
Going with MS3X with the expansion. Using the two harnesses from DIYautotune to make my life a little easier. Got 2 sets of triumph ITBs Off a 2012 675 Daytona, talking to the guys at DIYautotune and I should be able to reuse the TPS and ISCV from triumph. Going to use the lambda controller Derek recommended.
1) For Crank position and Cam position I was going to switch to the distributor from the 1982-1983 L28ET and use this trigger wheel. Will this distributor work with my 240z's tach? If so, how does it get wired in.
2) What size fuel pump and injectors will I need? I imagine I don't need anything too crazy right? 36lb/hr injectors?
Pics of the car as it currently sits in it's dirty state.
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I did the garden hose flush method, without the radiator connected. Pulsed the motor a few times. Kept it up until it clear water was coming out. Then went about changing the waterpump.
Not much crud came out of the motor, and the water flows great through the block. Changed the waterpump as well. The waterpump was in decent condition when I pulled it out. Cast impeller and no visible pitting or anything.
Still haven't had a chance to test drive it as the rear suspension is currently in pieces. But I had another question, regarding the gauge sending unit. It is currently tapped into the thermostat housing, on the bottom side. So on the "hot" side of the thermostat. Doesn't that mean I'll get varying temperature readings based on load, regardless of what the radiator is doing? As the motor is revving, and producing more heat, the coolant takes that heat, directly past the sending unit, then to the radiator for cooling. Then after its cooled, it flows through the block to be heated and then back to the temp sensor. So no matter what it's seeing "fresh" hot coolant. Or am I missing something here? -
Well here is just a small sample of some of the stuff I managed to get out of the radiator. Going to do my best to get everything cleaned up as much as possible, and switch out the waterpump. Pretty sure this was the culprit, I probably wont be able to test drive it until Sunday/Monday to see if it still heats up.
Thanks for all the help guys -
Edit: Regarding MSA. They cannot get you their Premium W/Pump # 16-7021 which comes with a cast impeller according to their site? It's a pretty common part. Costs more than Rock Auto though.
I was in their store on Wednesday and that's what they told me. They said they used to be able to get them, but their supplier fell through.
If you need to replace the radiator Arizona Z Car sells a bolt-in aluminum radiator for Z cars. It is good quality and it is my understanding that it is a Ron Davis radiator with Z car mounting brackets. Keeps my SBC 350 cool in the summer.
Thanks for the link!
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Google "how to test a thermostat" Also, YouTube has videos on this. You will need a thermometer for this test. Go buy a digital thermometer.
A belt can slip with no noise.
Got a thermometer and the thermostat out. Testing is on tomorrows agenda.
Ah, usually it goes more along the lines of changing the water pump and while you are in there changing the thermostat and coolant. For me I never seem to be able to save the coolant so I end up buying more so I only want to buy once if I can help it.
What miles says is true, a belt can silently slip. I don't recall the stock routing, but I think if it was slipping a lot wouldn't the voltage drop? I thought they were on the same circuit.
Couple things here.
1. It could just be a big bubble being trapped somewhere
2. It could be engine related, cracked or ripped head gasket, warped head, or a really bad tune (lean AFR's will make an engine run hotter)
3. It could be a bad pump, once you start accelerating the engine does generate more heat. A bad pump wouldn't circulate the fluid as well.
4. It could be your gauges are off. As mentioned a car can run about 210 without boiling, it should actually be able to run 220 without boiling with a good sealed system, the problem is that if it doesn't come down you are going to have a problem.
5. This just came to me. Have you checked the location of the sender? If the sender was drilled in somewhere or installed somewhere different it could be reading something not as reflective of the overall temp.
Got the cooling system drained and ready to change the waterpump, and I may have found the issue. The radiator had a lot of large particles clogging the smaller pipes that lead to the fins. So this is what was restricting the flow so much. Going to try and flush it all out if I can, if not, a new radiator is on my list. Going to change the waterpump while I can as well. Regarding the waterpump, MSA couldn't get me the cast impeller kind, any risk running the stamped impeller?
You are right regarding the routing, on my car the alternator and waterpump are on the same belt.
Thanks for all the help guys, I'll report back if cleaning out the radiator clog fixes the issue.
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Grab belt and twist, shouldn't be able to turn it to 90*.
You are missing a fairly common piece to the replacement puzzle, it usually is water pump, thermostat, coolant flush. Is there a reason the water pump was not replaced? Even on fairly new motors I've seen the pumps start loosing bits or rusting out depending on what coolant was used.
Any screeching noise on startup, or whining from the front? If it is slipping it could also be the bearing in the pump going bad or a combination of the pump and loose belt.
I'll check the belt. But it doesn't make any screeching sounds, ever. I do hear some noise from the motor, but I can't narrow it down between regular valvetrain noise, or if its the waterpump bearing. What kind of sound should I be hearing if its the water pump bearing?
Changing the waterpump was the next step I was going to do. I went with the cheapest / easiest options first. While the water pump is out and the coolant is drained, I'm doing to test the flow of the radiator and check the thermostat again.
Anything else I should check while doing the above? How much should the thermostat open up when it's up to temp?
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Could be as simple as a loose V belt if it started suddenly.
What should the tension in the belt be? How much play?
Also, when I go to check the thermostat, how much should it be opening?
Thanks for the help guys, sorry about the confusion.
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No offense but we really just want a "yes" or a "no" for this question. If it was working but it's not now then you can focus on what you changed. If it was never working right and you added the fans to try to fix a problem maybe you're looking in the wrong place. If you don't know if it was ever right then you have a potential can of who knows what kind of worms to mess with.
The car has had electrical fans on it since I've owned it. It came to me with electrical fans on it. Sorry if that wasn't clear in my posts. It's not that I changed the fans and it started heating up like this. I thought it was just pertinent information to share about the car.
The car used to run fine and not heat up. Then one day it started having these symptoms. Which lead me to start replacing the common things : radiator cap, thermostat, flush coolant etc.
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Not sure if someone already mentioned it - check the thermostat. It could be stuck part open, could be in the wrong orienation and unable to open fully
I unfortunately don't have another gasket laying around, so I can't do this until I get a new gasket in. I can't reuse the old gasket right?
This question never got answered. Could be the old "I really want my new parts to work so I'll ignore the past" syndrome. "It can't be the new fans".
p.s. I think that should be electric fans. The old fan is also mechanical. Side note - if mechanical why not electrical. Electrical fans. Doesn't sound right but maybe it is.
Sorry. The car has electrical fans on it. It's had electrical fans on it since I bought it. I was not the one to swap to electrical fans.
The reason I don't think the fans are of concern is, at speed the car is getting airflow through the radiator regardless of the fan situation. Even at idle, the fans are enough to cool the motor in it's current state. Its at speed that the radiator isn't providing enough cooling.
Jacking up the front of the car is required for me as I can't get a pan under the car to drain so it isn't really a second thought, but depending on how your suspension is loaded, driveway, etc you could be keeping a big air bubble somewhere in the system.
I thought that's what it was as well, so this morning I jacked up the car and let it idle for quite a while, got it up to temp and didn't see any bubbles come out once the thermostat opened up.
Regarding the VDO gauge, I will get temp readings this weekend when I have time to work on the car again. In the meantime, I got pics of the radiator front and back.
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Need to sort out what you actually have:
- After market temp gauge, yes? Have you calibrated the gauge?
- You added coolant. Did you refill the cooling system completely? Did you note water flowing with the cap removed"
- Can you identify the radiator? Stock, after market aluminum, etc. Post a picture.
I'm not sure if the gauge is aftermarket, as I've never owned a Z before. The temp, fuel, and oil pressure gauge are all VDO brand. It came with the car when I bought it, I did not calibrate it as it seems to be working right. The thermostat opens up at 180 on the gauge.
When I switched out the thermostat, we completely drained the coolant. Refilled it. Left the radiator cap open, idled, and filled with coolant as the coolant level would drop.
Radiator is an aftermarket aluminum radiator from Champion.
Confirm cooling system is full and water flow: cold engine
- With the engine cold, remove the radiator cap and start the engine. Did the water level drop? If so, add water while the engine is idling until full and replace the cap.
- Can you see water flowing?
Cold start, coolant level does not drop.
Water flowing? I can't really tell... (maybe this is the problem) Do you have a video example of what exactly I should be seeing? The water seems to be moving very slowly, and under throttle it moves a bit more. But I wouldn't really call it a steady flow.
So if its not bad flow from the radiator, or the water pump. My only other idea is that it's running lean. But I have no real accurate way to test that. The plugs seem fine, and the exhaust smells like its running rich, but again this isn't accurate. Maybe ignition timing is causing issues? the car starts up instantly and has plenty of power.
I have a new waterpump on hand that I can throw on. But if the waterpump was bad, would it produce any other symptoms? Leaks? Noise? That doesn't seem like too much work. While doing that, should I pull the radiator and have it flow tested? It seems relatively new, so I wouldn't expect it to be gunked up with sediment.
Other things to note : the front half of the radiator is painted black, this might be hurting cooling capacity, but since it cools back down at idle, I'm still kinda stumped. Also, since the car is running hot, both the upper and lower hoses are very hot to the touch, so that seems like the radiator isn't cooling fluid very well.
I'll see if I can get my hands on a thermometer to just be thorough, but I don't think the gauge is too far off the mark. Especially since the electric fans are on a completely different temp sensor, and they come on at 182.
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Maybe spend a little more time on getting good evidence. You didn't give a number on "creeping up" from 180. 185 or 205? Give it some high load testing, like a few acceleration on-ramps and see how bad things get. If it stops at the same point and never overheats, you might be just nervous about nothing.
Blown head gaskets are a fairly common cause of overheating, I believe. If everything else checks out, give it a test.
Temp keeps rising until the red on the gauge (which I think starts at 205 or 210 on my VDO gauge), I haven't let it go past that as I don't want to risk damage.
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Just a guess but it sounds like a mild head gasket leak. Exhaust gases are leaking in to the coolant channels. The bubbles and gases reduce the cooling ability and your temperatures go up under engine load.
I haven't used them but I've heard that you can get a test kit at the auto parts store that will identify exhaust byproducts in the coolant.
And your overlfow bottle should be vented to atmosphere so the "raising the bottle" to get the air out doesn't really matter. Probably good that you have a clear hose though so that you can see the bubbles.
I figured if it was the head gasket, I'd see bubbles forming while sitting in my driveway right?
Was it working before the swap to mechanical fans?
If so I'm tempted to ask if you wired them correctly. They do have polarity and can blow the wrong way.
The fans are blowing fine. At idle, the car warms up, the fans kick on, car cools down. They are in the right direction as well.
At speed on the street the fans should be mostly ineffective. Fans are for no or low speed. Of course, if they were installed in a way that blocks flow across the radiator, there could be a problem.
The bubbles shouldn't be there though, after a few heat/cool cycles. It should just be fluid getting pushed and pulled from the overflow bottle.
This was my thought process too. If the fans were the problem, the car would overheat at idle not at highway speeds. How man yheat/cool cycles do you think I need before all the air is out of the system? Maybe I just haven't had enough?
Regarding the main radiator hoses, should I be able to compress them while the car is running? Judging from the cap, I would think I need to exert at least 16PSI to squeeze, them but they seem to squeeze fairly easily. So either there is more air in the system? Or the hose is collapsing under load from the waterpump?
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HI guys, I've run into a werid issue on my car. Its a 73 240z, with a L26 with the mechanical fan remove and replaced with electrical fans. Car appears to have an aftermarket radiator on it that is reasonably new.
What I've tried so far : New radiator cap, New thermostat, New overflow bottle, new overflow hose, new hose clamps, fresh coolant.
The car idles fine, and will hold 180 all day. I get on the highway, temps start to creep up, clutch / go to neutral and temps creep back down to 180. Even weirder, after even the shortest drive, air shows up in the overflow hose from the radiator to the bottle. So then I have to raise the bottle and get all the air out again. After getting the air out, car will drive fine for a very short while (couple min) then temps will start to creep up again. Pull over, find more air in the overflow hose.
The car doesn't seem to be losing coolant anywhere, but somehow air is getting into the system? Waterpump going out? I'm stumped at this point. -
If you click the picture it'll go to full resolution.
Yeah, I found the locating piece and had it in the right way. But the spring clips wouldn't latch into place. The diameter was slightly too large. I suspect oreilly's gave me the wrong part.
If its a 73 distributor I guess I'll order a cap from nissan and try my luck again. -
Car is a 73 240z, motor is an L26. Trying to find a new distributor cap for it, but nothing seems to fit right.
I originally ordered one for an L26, and it was too big. Looked up the markings (D611-54) on the distributor and they seem to be for a 73 240z, so I ordered the cap for that and it was still slightly too big.
The cap that is currently on there (and used to work until it went bad) has a outside diameter of 3 inches, and an inside diameter of 2.4 inches. I also ordered a rotor for an L26 and an L24, the L26 one was again too big, but the L24 one fit fine.
Is this a case of shitty parts store caps just not fitting right? I've attached a pic of the distributor markings, can you guys point me in the right direction of what cap to order? -
My car currently has the Ignitor electronic ignition on the distributor. I've read this functions as a hall effect sensor, can it be used as the cam position sensor?
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240z with L26 - ITBs, EFI, megasquirt
in S30 Series - 240z, 260z, 280z
Posted
I got two sets of the triumph street triple R or daytona 675 throttle bodies. Here is one of the ebay listings, it even came with fuel rail and injector if you were inclined to use them, but I'm using a manifold flange from Blake Machine thats already set up for EFI. Seemed like going with two sets of 3 throttle bodies would be easier to work with rather than taking a 4 and splitting it in half.
As far as fuel, I'm going to be pulling the tank in the near future. Once its out I can decide if it's worth saving or if I'm going to go with a fuel cell. If that tank is in good condition, I'm going to weld some baffles in and refinish the whole thing. Tanks Inc makes a drop in fuel pump with a sump around it, but I think I would still like to put in some more baffles or fuel tank foam.