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wheelman

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Posts posted by wheelman

    Sudden loss of power/boost on Z31

    in Nissan V6 Forum

    Posted

    How high were you revving between shifts?

    Were you running the car hard or just cruising?

    Were you trying to do any burnouts or race anyone?

    What was the oil pressure during the whole sequence of events?

    Have you checked your oil since you parked it?

    Did you hear anything out of the ordinary?

    Was the engine sputtering, backfiring, coughing, pinging, etc..?

    What did the temp gauge read?

    After you shut it off did you try to restart it? If so, did it start? Was it hard to start?

    Are you out of gas?

    Is the battery good?

    What did the voltmeter read when the car was running? Did it go up when you revved the engine?

     

    Wheelman

    How did you first find out about hybridz.org?

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    I've been a gear head pretty much since I was 14, got my driver's license in Idaho and started driving my Dad's 69 Datsun PU.

     

    I had a 260 back in 1984 just after I graduated from HS and loved it, but

    had to sell it when I got married and had a kid.

     

    After leaving the Airforce and moving back to WA state we moved into a house with a very small garage so I had no place to work on cars which was a bone of contention between my wife and I.

     

    In 2003 we finally moved into a place with a very large garage so I started looking for a project car. I never forgot that 260 so decided to google for info on the "best" Z car and in the process encountered Hybridz. The idea of a V8 in a Z totally fascinated me and I just had to do the swap. I guess I can say that I've been obcessed with the project ever since.

     

    This site is the best source of info on the net bar none, thanks all of you.

     

    Wheelman

    Sudden loss of power/boost on Z31

    in Nissan V6 Forum

    Posted

    A little more info is needed before any meaningful response can be given.

     

    What were you doing right before "just about nothing" happened?

    Give as much detail as possible.

     

    Just as a starting point I'd check all the electrical connections and vacuum lines.

     

    Wheelman

    ebay and hybridZ

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    TeamNissan,

    I understand this bugs you and you are just venting but what would you suggest "doing" about it?

    Ban the member?

    Issue an official HybridZ warning?

    Etc..

     

    Ebay is like a local flee market except its accessible anywhere you can get an internet connection. Trying to prevent people from selling questionable parts there is impossible, consequently it's up to each person to ensure as much as possible that the item they're buying is legit. In other words Caveat Emptor (Buyer Beware).

     

    As for people asking for feedback here, using that feedback to "improve" a part and then sell it, why is that wrong? Whoever it is took his time, his materials, his experience and the added resource of the internet (including HybridZ) and manufactured an item for sale. I say good for him, he's an entrepeneur and really owes us nothing, unless of course he offered to pay before asking for feedback. Besides, who amoung us is a certified engineer that actually examined the physical part and then applied his stamp of approval to it? If whoever we're discussing is willing to sell an untested part and accept the liability and responsibility to the customer thats his decision, not ours.

     

    Not meaning to start a flame war, but I get real tired of people thinking they need to prevent me from doing something stupid so I'll defend other's right to be stupid as well.

     

    Wheelman

    Maxima diesel crank, l24 rods and KA24 pistons vs. MSA Big Bore Kit?

    in Nissan L6 Forum

    Posted

    WanganZ,

    Is your ultimate goal for 350hp or to have a stroker turbo?

    350HP can be obtained without spending the extra $$$ on a stroker build but that would mean you can't tell your friends you have a stroker turbo. It's up to you but it's better to outline your true goals before starting to spend money. If not you either spend more than you needed to or end up with a package you aren't happy with.

     

    Wheelman

    Driving -101

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    I stayed out of the this thread because I'm extremely biased in regards to the subject matter. People yapping on cell phones while driving has got to be my biggest pet peave, especially when it's a soccer mom driving an SUV with 8 kids in the back.

     

    The larger issue isn't the cell phone itself but the cavalier attitude people have toward the process of driving a car. There are many things that are a distraction while driving that all of us participate in, when was the last time any of you ate a burger or had a drink while runnin down the road? What about fumbling with the radio?

    What it comes down to is most of us are way over confident in our abilities and not very considerate of the other people on the road with us, consequently we place each other in much more danger than we need to everyday. Should we legislate it all away? Hell no. I enjoy the remaining freedoms I have to much to let a bunch of politicians regulate them away.

     

    The bottom line is the only person you can control is yourself, so take control, drive defensively and with consideration for others and leave everyone else alone. When something does happen, man up and take responsibility for your own actions.

     

    Wheelman

    SBC swap: What Radiator?

    in Gen I & II Chevy V8 Tech Board

    Posted

    Bart and Jason,

    Which thermostat are you guys running?

     

    I have the JTR radiator, a stock LT1 pump, a Taurus Fan and installed a 160 degree stat. Before the new stat I ran the original stock unit which starts to open at 195 degrees and is meant to keep the engine in the 210-220 range for emissions pruposes. Before swapping stats my engine ran in the 210 range and no matter what the fan did thats where it stayed, as soon as I put the 160 degree unit in the temps dropped down to the 175-190 range. I reprogrammed the PCM to account for the cooler thermostat.

     

    There are lots of things that can cause problems with the cooling system and to blame it on the radiator is not always valid. I'd be willing to bet Jason's JTR unit is either plugged with stuff and/or the cap is weak and releases the pressure before it should which then boils the coolant which causes the engine to heat up more, etc, etc..., and Bart's install is definitely unique. I'd be interested to see how Bart's system would work with the old Camaro radiator, would it run hotter now than it did before?

     

    Anyway, the only problems I've had with the JTR radiator were caused by an old thermostat and a fan that overloaded it's relays and burned them out. Once these issues were addressed the JTR radiator has worked great.

     

    1 in the + column for the JTR radiator.

     

    Wheelman

    L28et Swap into a 240z, difficult?

    in Nissan L6 Forum

    Posted

    JSM,

    You sound like an old guy who has been through the "buy cool car, get married, have kids, sell cool car" deal. I went the same route and don't really regret any of it except I never got my college degree which now impacts my bottom line.

     

    WanganZ.

    Listen to what JSM said. You can always buy and drive the car(s) you want but as you get older it becomes more difficult to get that education. Family and other obligations build up quickly and pretty soon you're 40 and still haven't finish school. Find a beater to drive while in school and concentrate on it, then after you find your first real job buy the car you want and go to town on it.

     

    Wheelman

    Drill and tap ring gear?

    in Drivetrain

    Posted

    I said I'd update this thread once I installed the ring gear so here goes.

     

    Edit: The measured backlash on my open diff was .007".

     

    My ring gear did have a fairly tight interference fit with the open diff so took a bit of persuading to remove. It also has a good tight fit with the LSD.

     

    There were no alignment issues from the hand made shims I used, all the bolts threaded right in with no binding what so ever.

     

    Now I'm waiting to receive the bearings so I can finish the swap. I can hardly wait.

     

    BTW: I never meant to restart the argument about the need for spacers, sorry to wack that hornets nest.

     

    Wheelman

    LT1 Vette, or F-body?

    in Gen I & II Chevy V8 Tech Board

    Posted

    One other aspect of the Caprice/Impala SS LT1 is that it does have the iron heads which are heavier and run a slightly lower CR (10:1 vs 10.5:1) but they have been shown to flow about 20% more than the aluminum heads. The iron heads were designed later than the aluminum ones and incorporated improvements. If you can find a 96 or 97 F-body LT1 the heads on those are supposed to be better, but then you run into the OBD-II computer which is slightly more difficult to program than the 94-95 models.

     

    I have a 95 Caprice LT1 in my 240 and did the LT4 hot cam swap with high rev springs, I can say the car is definitely not lacking for HP. I haven't dynoed it yet so can't say exactly what it's putting out but I'm satisfied with it, at least for now.

     

    As for LT1 or LS1, the biggest difference you'll run into is transmission selection and mounting it. The LT1 uses the same mounts and bellhousing pattern as every other first gen SBC out there. This means the mounts are cheap and a known swap, where as the LS1 requires either custom mounts you fab up or those purchased from John's Cars (http://www.brokenkitty.com/zcar/zcar.htm). I used a GM T5 with my LT1 which is not really an option with the LS1, which leaves the T56 or 4L60E auto. They are heavier and more expensive but also stronger than the T5.

     

    The EFI wiring issues are very similar between the 2 engines and the fuel tank/pump factors are identical.

     

    As you can there are many factors to consider when choosing which LT1 or an LS1, including budget, weight, power output, aftermarket parts availability, etc..

     

    BTW: Welcome to the board and be sure to use the search function, it will answer the huge majority of your questions.

     

    Wheelman

    R200 bearing issues.

    in Drivetrain

    Posted

    Carrier bearings.

     

    I got to thinking a little more about this and bet that NAPA is listing R180 bearings instead of R200 for the 280Z.

     

    I'll see if I can find the numbers on the open carrier and reference those.

    Thanks for the link Jon.

     

    Wheelman

    R200 bearing issues.

    in Drivetrain

    Posted

    Ok, I searched for this info but didn't find anything specifc so here goes.

     

    I'm preparing to install the PowerBrute LSD in my R200 carrier so went to NAPA and picked up a new set of bearings. I had gone to the web site prior to stopping in so I knew they had a set for a 77 280Z. I figured they would fit the new LSD as everyone says just pull the bearings from the old one and have them pressed onto the new one.

     

    The dimensions given on NAPA's website for these bearings are:

    1.575" ID, 3.15" OD, width .778"

    Part number is: BR30208

     

    Anyway I get home and decide to check that they will fit before carting everything to the local machine shop to have them pressed on. They will not fit, not even close. :rolleyesg

    I grab the calipers and find that the "nose" of the diff is actually ~1.77" in diameter.

    My next thought is, check the website to see what they list for an 86 300ZX. Figured it would have an R200 with 12mm bolts.

    They don't show anything. GRRRRRR. :fmad:

    Out of desperation I go to Schucks website to see what they list.

    I find the following:

    1.771" ID, NO OD size and .748" width for pretty much all cars with an R200.

     

    So now it's back to NAPA to return the set I bought and see if I can find another set before the weekend.

     

    Has anyone else ran into this?

    Is there a good accurate source somewhere on the internet that lists all these dimensions?

     

    Wheelman

    Drill and tap ring gear?

    in Drivetrain

    Posted

    The material is some alloy of carbon steel, not sure what alloy exactly but I'm pretty sure it isn't stainless.

     

    I'll update this thread once I bolt the ring gear on, it may turn out that the shims get much tighter as the bolts are threaded into the ring gear and any alignment issues with them come into play.

     

    Wheelman

    Drill and tap ring gear?

    in Drivetrain

    Posted

    I found a place called Metric Metal (www.metricmetal.com) that lists 12mm OD x 10mm ID steel tubing. I sent an email asking for a quote but never heard back, maybe they only deal with large quantity orders.

     

    Anyway I finally decided to see if I could make some for myself. I had some sheet metal laying around the garage that it turns out was 1mm thick. So I cut a strip long enough to make 10 30mm long strips. I made sure the strip was narrower than the depth of the holes in the diff. I cut it into 10 30mm long strips and wrapped them around one of the 10mm bolts from the diff. There is a 3mm - 4mm gap between the ends of the strip once you wrap it around the bolt, I oriented the gap to face the outer edge of the diff when I placed them in the holes. The gap can be widened to provide an interference fit that locks the spacer in place, this means they won't just float.

     

    So what do you guys think of this idea?

    I can take some pictures if you want so you can see what I did and let me know if the idea is totally wacked.

     

    I also ordered a dial indicator to do the install myself, it should arrive on Thursday.

     

    Wheelman

    Not Z related but need advice.

    in Other Engines

    Posted

    The plan now is to freshen the current motor (A14 I think) and swap in an automatic tranny. I like 240Zed's idea of an electronic ignition so maybe we'll put a Pertronics module in it.

     

    After talking to the owners about the cost and complexity of an engine swap they decided against it, which I think is better anyway. The last thing I want is to be their mechanic for life because no one else will touch the car.

     

    So now I searching for a B210 automatic transmission, shifter, driveshaft (maybe) and possible crossmember. If anyone knows of a junk B210 they could scavenge the parts from please let me know.

     

    Wheelman

    Drill and tap ring gear?

    in Drivetrain

    Posted

    I just bought a Power Brute LSD with the 12mm bolt holes. I haven't actually pulled my open carrier yet to verify it has 10mm bolts but I'm pretty sure it does.

    I checked with a local transmission shop to see what they would charge to swap the carriers for me as I don't have the tools to check the lash and was given a quote of almost $500.00.

    So now I'm thinking "I can buy a dial guage, new bearings and have them pressed on for less than that."

    I mentioned the 10mm, 12mm thing to the guy and he said they'd drill and tap the ring gear, how hard is this to do? I have a full size drill press at home and access to carbide bits from work, is this something I could do myself?

    I know it's been argued here that it isn't really worth worrying about but I want to do this right. If it's a major job to drill and tap the ring gear then I'll either use spacers or buy some shoulder bolts.

     

    Wheelman

    LT1 and Subaru Rack

    in Brakes, Wheels, Suspension, and Chassis

    Posted

    Thanks for the info Dave.

    When I looked at Alsil's mustang rack install it wasn't that the rack was a different length but that it was installed quite a bit higher than the stock rack in relation to the crossmember. This meant the LCA and tie rod were not parallel in their arcs of motion which is where bump steer comes from.

    Alsil might have been able to change how the tie rod connected to the steering arm to adjust for the difference but he didn't

     

    When I looked at yours the LCA and tie rod are parallel. I think you could probably have left the LCA length alone and not had any more bump steer than you do now.

     

    Anyway it's a very clean install and if I decide to do mine I'll probably follow your lead, use the Suby rack and move the LCA pivot point up and out.

     

    Wheelman

    Top three HYBRID dream cars?

    in Non Tech Board

    Posted

    My first suggestion would be a Rotary powered Spitfire.

    I know it's been done, in fact Grassroots MotorSports magazine built one.

    Heres the link to the webpage documenting part of the project:

    http://www.grassrootsmotorsports.com/archives/rospit.html

     

    The M3s have been taken so I won't re-submit those but I love those in RonTyler's post. I LOVE those cars.

     

    What about a Ferrari 308 GT with an LS1. Very sexy lines that begged for a real drive train and suspension.

     

    C3 Corvette (1969) with C6 suspension and drivetrain. Classic lines with modern handling and power.

     

    There are so many it's hard to limit it to just 3.

     

    I really liked the 914 with the Suby engine suggestion. Great handling, quirky looks that also begged for more power.

     

    Wheelman

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