twoeightythreez

Why would an L28ET smog any better than an LT1? Technically both motors would have to be referreed to honestly pass smog, since the S30 came with neither a turbo motor or a V-8. (I guess the L28ET definitely LOOKS factory though) Good luck! My 280Zt swap is coming along nicely. (don't need no steenkeen smog, man, I'm non-resident military!)

I think my best McGyver was not on a Z, but helping my buddy get a $300 89 grand am running. Someone had started a head gasket replacement, got to putting the head on, and stopped. We finished up torquing the head down but realized half the parts were missing! (I mean, all the Important Stuff like pushrods, rockers, valve cover were there....was just missing a pcv hose, valve cover bolts, air cleaner bolts, and coolant lines) It was dark outside, and we were determined to not leave the car there...so I was able to take some of the overflow hose, and convert it into a PCV hose ,but then the overflow hose was in the way, so I found some air hose, had to strip the outer coating off of it, and push it into the remaining 2" of overflow hose, to make the connection. Rummaged around my car and found some lucky bolts to hold the valve cover on, all is ready to fire up, turn the key and....click. Of course, the only jumpers we have are those cheap gas station ones that are like 14-ga wire and crimped clamps, and they broke off, so here we are with a pocketknife and a rock, cutting, stripping, and re-crimping the connections, then finally, get the car to crank, when it finally started it ran great! (At least it had some gas in it)

I'm happy so far with mine...I just hope I didn't damage the engine yesterday...my el cheapo electric fan broke without me knowing, I was messing with the MS tuning and wasn't paying attention to temp, when all of a sudden I saw the engine was at 240 deg...I hope it's alright as it was at idle. (The lifters weren't even ticking at 240!) That gotta be good for the state of my lifters.

If they pop up and are tight when you loosen them, they were overtight for sure....u probably did overtighten them, I did that to mine, too, initially. If you don't have a torque wrench, just barely "snug" them. It's not like they're going anywhere. (It's amazing how easily you can apply 30ft-lb when using a 1/2" ratchet, which is likely since the lifter is 24mm diameter!) (1/8 turn should be the MOST you turn them after they seat by hand)

Not a nissan commercial, but how nissan SHOULD have built the Spec V Se-R Cool non-Z hybrid.

and we all wish a max could actually do this...we would all have onehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJNhLbRWPK0

This one is pretty funny too

We we at Nmac for the convention here in TX a few wks ago. They showed a 300zxTT comercial that was only aired once. It showed a 300 beating a jet after the boost kicked in , It was very funny I remember seeing that commercial....but I think the best one was "Pigeons" Mr K is at the end wisely using an umbrella

proxlamus, Yes, I am keeping the hydraulics. Now that they're working right I like them a lot. I am willing to guess that most all the problems with them are because they're too TIGHT as well as too dirty. (I wonder how many people torque them to the spec for the solids...55-84ft-lb) They really only need to be snugged down, I'm sure thats the reason nissan made them that big in the first place (since bigger threads w/ bigger surface area will hold more forces with less torque) 30-35ft lb should do it. Thx for the reply though

Never mind, I finally found the torque spec. For the information of all here don't overtorque these things. It's been mentioned that they will bind but nobody gave a torque spec, my dad came to the rescue, found a manual laying around back in Pennsylvania and called me. It's only natural to assume that since it's a huge 24mm bolt head on the lifter that you tighten the bloody piss out of them. So, if your lifters are ticking, do try this install procedure. (The spec is only 30-35ft.lb.!) After cleaning them per this thread, clean the threads in the head, then oil the lifter threads and screw them in by hand till they bottom. Then turn it an additional 1/8 turn if U dont have a torque wrench. They don't need to be any tighter than that, as they WILL bind and cause you a headache. The sheer size of these things is good because they most likely will be WAY overtight (I had to break mine loose with a breaker bar and a pipe!) but the threads in the head weren't damaged since they're so massive. After I reinstalled them, handtight plus 1/8 turn, I started the car, and had to keep my foot on the gas to keep her running because they had pumped up so much. After 10 minutes the car was running perfectly and quiet too. I let it sit for 2 hours and started her up and she didn't even tick for a second! Lots of power too. Nearly no turbo lag and even at 6psi it throws you in the seat in each gear. I hope this helps somebody, since I had so much trouble finding correct torque settings.

PrOzLaMus, How did you line the oil feed up with the gallery? Mine won't line up (or doesn't it matter) I dissassembled, cleaned, and filled mine with oil, they stayed pumped up for about 1 minute. It's almost like they are not getting supplied oil, because when I loosen it the plunger pops back up like a cork, and prior to loosening the piston is free-wheeling. What's the proper torque spec for these, I think I'm putting them in too tight. The engine was missing on #2 prior to me doing this job, now it's missing on #3. I put all the lifters and rockers back where they came out.

280z has exhaust now....amazingly quiet...quiet as stock, can actually hear the rear end whining a bit (haven't heard that in about 2 years!) Took it for 120mi trip yesterday, the boost leak makes it sound like a hoover but it's coming along! Today I'm installing the innovate LC-1 that arrived today! Let the tuning begiN!

P.S. I'll post my VE table, Timing table, and Acceleration tables here, as its a great baseline. (the car is basically as tractable as the stock EFI with these settings) The cold-start still needs work, and like I said before it's set up to run rich and with very conservative timing, great for breaking in an engine. I have the stock turbo with an intercooler and 440cc injectors if that helps.

I'm so thankful for this website! I have (almost) completed my turbo swap in my 280z, it's tuned good enough to drive, and I drove it 120 miles yesterday! Boost leaks out of my ghetto I/C pipes like crazy but it still has great response and very little lag. (I can't wait till next week when I get the piping finished!) I'm only doing stock 6psi until the motor is run in and the tuning is perfect, plus I want to see how well I run on stock boost with megasquirt. Plus, my Innovate LC-1 just arrived on the ship today! I'm gonna install it today and start the real tuning. I can't believe how tractable this thing is....so much torque...not much HP right now because I'm running it rich at high throttle openings and pulling a lot of timing (don't even want to risk the POSSIBILITY of detonation right now, engine has less than 500mi on it, supposedly) The only real snag in all this is those hydraulic lifters. They won't shut up, I'll tackle that when I retorque the head once I hit the 500mi mark. Damn Dwarves Dawdling Down Under my Damn Cam Cover. (say that fast i dare ya) I tried Rislone, and it seems to work. Maybe I just have to put some miles on it. (It sat for 8 months after I got it, and who knows how long before that?) Oh well, pics coming soon (will take some of the car today and go to kinko's tonight) Yes, I know this thread is worthless without pics. Soon remedied.

coolant temp sensor is probably the culprit.... search the forum to find out how to wire in a potentiometer to "fool" the computer, if you can get the engine running right by adusting the pot replace the sensor. Then, you can keep the pot there to tune your fuel delivery. The thread tells you how, what to adjust and in what order to get the most out of the stock EFI.

Actually the fusible links may be hard to find but they're easy to make. I just used 12ga link wire, available at any auto parts store, and connectors to fit the BAS (Big Ass Spade) terminals are sourced from a car audio shop. The Maxifuse idea is awesome, though. The GM alternator mod is cool, too. I had to mod the Nissan alt after I broke one of the tiny bolts in the bracket, so I drilled it (the bracket) through on a press to 3/8 and used a (GM) 3" long alternator bolt. It's just BARELY long enough, the nut threads on flush with the bolt if you tighten the bloody hell out of it. I guess that'll make upgrading my alt a bit easier in the future. I also had to drill the ears out on the Nissan alternator for this to work, but work it does. So far I'm happy with the nissan alt, it's a 90A (280z w/ A/C stock alt) THe Q45 uses a 110A alt but the connections are totally different.

Geez...all ya gotta do is throw those parts into a bag with some M&M's and call it "Engine Mix" "perfect for iron deficiency" "fortified with aluminum!" J/K Sorry about your loss. How long did you keep it running again?

I'm glad I didn't have to use a BFH on my Z yet (though I used one to make parts for it)

I just took my L28et swapped 280 for a spin on the highway today. I still have no exhaust and still no proper I/C piping, but it was fun all the same. Still having major problems setting up cold idle and start, and it's still pig rich at WOT because I don't want to risk detonation. I love it already, though, with no exhaust people near me kept looking for the peterbilt :oP

Same thing happened to me at Carlsbad Speedway (about 40mi north of San Diego Naval Station) I was beating the crap out of the car, which had the junkyard 280zx 5speed I installed 5 months prior. (250k mi) I lined up for my last (slow) 15.2 second run of the day and decided to do another burnout (I had already won the contest, somehow, simply by perservering and doing a 5-minute 1st gear burnout) but this time I wanted to outdo myself. I got the tires hummin' and smokin', and then after 30sec. goosed the gas, brought the RPM's up to 6500 and powershifted into second. Unfortunately, I somehow also place the 3-4 fork down into 4th at the same time. Even a stock, worn L28 has sufficient torque to twist the mighty hell out of stuff in this situation, and the trans case yielded by cracking. The car is still in both gears, though, and the stock clutch starts slipping, and the car is welded to the left drag lane, as if it had a trans brake auto. I push the clutch in, and try to put in in neutral, but the shifer is also stuck, so I resign to letting the track crew push me off (since I have to sit inside and keep the clutch pushed down) Definitely a case of running fine but can't go anywhere. I get to the parking area, and proceed to dissassemble my center console, NO WAY am I paying for a 40-mile tow if I can help it. I find the shifter is stuck because it somehow got wedged between the 1-2 and 3-4 shift rods. Weird. I manage to untangle it, push the 3-4 back up into 'neutral' position, and then with a wrench as a pusher and my fist as a hammer somehow get the 1-2 fork to also go to 'neutral'. Car is now in neutral. Progress. I reinstall the shifter, and somehow it all works again! I remember this every time someone mentions how weak the nissan trans is. Weak, kinda. Unreliable, Hell no. Other than having no 2nd gear (It sheared all the dogs off that respective dog ring) I'm able to drive home! yes, every few miles the trans chews up a bit more metal, but she got me home. Keep in mind there's no oil in this thing (the case of the tranny was cracked!) 40 miles home, then another 20 to the transmission shop, because at the time it was my only car. The kicker? I still have that same transmission. (New case, new syncros, new 2nd gear and new shift forks, but still same tranny!)

I had mine installed in the stock rubber TB boot where the hose nipple went for the cold-start valve. I have a different provision for cold idle. The IAT was pirated from a 1989 grand prix w/ 3.1 v-6. (it pushes in) Since then I've done a turbo swap, so I took the same boot, made a short pipe to connect it to the air filter, and bolted the whole shebang to the intake side of the turbo. Works great. I was sure that's the best place to put it, as it's compensating for intake air temperature, not intaked-then-compressed-then-sent-thru-intercooler temperature. (let me know if it's in the wrong place )

That's good info. 260z2+2. I'll be looking around, as I recently put a 4.11 in my z and then did a turbo swap, when it's tuned I take it it's gonna be a wheel-spinning, go-nowhere monster. I also heard there was a NISMO 3.08 R200 at one time?

BradMan, I think you've got it a bit confused... MSI and MSII both have FIDLE outputs. Both versions have the coil driver IF IT'S A V3 BOARD. The MSII, unlike the MSI has an IAC DRIVER CIRCUIT (MSI only has FIDLE) You're still right about modding it to run PWM idle control. I'm currently using both FIDLE and IAC on my '78 Z. FIDLE is controlling my electric fan relay IAC is controlling idle speed, through a jeep IAC motor and DIY IAC enclosure (though they made it wrong, I had to use the jeep body and the GM pintle for it to work!)

Krylon clearcoat works great for sealing the board, btw

make sure you clean the board with acetone real good, wash it off, dry it, and seal it to protect from the elements when you're done in there... you might still need to install external pullup..I had to on my Z but it's easy enough...just place the 1k resistor between the red and white wire (12vdc in and LED) on the dizzy wires.