TimZ

Thanks Paul - any idea what the wedge angle is?

Digging up an old post, but I'm also curious as to whether I could potentially use an aftermarket keeper (Crower makes some, for instance) if I get the correct wedge angle, or would this do weird stuff like alter the installed height or something? Something like this, maybe? Also, is 7 degrees the correct angle?

One thing that Tony has alluded to, but I don't think has been emphasized enough is that the most important point here is the clamping force that the bolt is imparting on the damper. If your bolt/washer combo isn't applying enough clamping force, then all the red loctite in the world isn't going to keep it from failing. This applies to both the stock setup, whose washer is often too thin to give the force distribution necessary, to the Nissan Comp bolt/washer (probably the KA24 combo Tony mentioned but I'm not 100% sure), that has a locating step in the washer that's a few thou too thick and bottoms to the nose of the crank just before it starts putting clamping loads on the damper. The clamping force is what keeps everything held together - the woodruff keys are only there for precise alignment during assembly. When proper clamping loads are present, all of the rotational forces imparted to the lower chain sprocket/oil pump drive/damper come through the frictional interface between the parts, and the woodruff keys see no shear loads. The woodruff keys should never be the thing that's actually causing the damper to rotate with the crank. That only happens when you lose clamping force, and that's precisely when you start having problems. Hopefully this is obvious, but if you are seeing munged up woodruff keys/slots, then you definitely did not have enough clamping force on the damper.

The pistons were custom made from Diamond: http://www.diamondracing.net/home.asp The coatings were done by Dart: http://www.dartheads.com/products/dart-coatings/dci-mos-teflon-skirt-coating.html http://www.dartheads.com/products/dart-coatings/dc2-high-temperature-reflective-heat-barrier-coating.html ...they did my combustion chambers, exhaust ports and valves too, btw.

Sorry I just noticed this post - I'm quite happy with the Diamond pistons that I'm currently using... I had them ceramic coated and did the piston skirt coatings too.

First off - I'm completely with Tony on this subject, and the only reason I posted to this thread at all was to try to point out that the original poster's basic plan wasn't going to give him what he thought he was going to get and hopefully discourage him from going down that path (which appears to have been successful, btw, along with the added dis-encouragement from others ). I didn't really want to even go into trying to explain what would need to be done to succeed in ripping off Kamerari's profile (or anybody else's for that matter). This speaks to the other thing that I wanted to mention - I personally think that the fact that the vendor won't sell certain cams to "just anybody" is not at all a bad reflection on them. When you get into some of the more "extreme" profiles you really need to understand how everything in the valve train works together, how to make sure that your head is compatible, and understand how to make it compatible if it isn't already. If you are expecting to just buy a "kit" that bolts in, then you don't know enough to buy certain cams. On a 30-something year old head with completely unknown history there is no way in hell that you can put together a kit that will a guarantee a trouble free install. For instance - let's say you want a .560" lift profile. That can be done, but not with stock valve guides and stem seals. Who do you think is going to get a bad rap when you install their cam and start destroying you valve stem seals because you didn't realize that you need proper clearance to the seal at max lift? In general I think it's good practice to limit your exposure with such products to people who can demonstrate that they understand what it will take to make it work properly. If all you do is whine about why they are being so arrogant, then you probably aren't that guy. Agreed - I've also had very good luck with Isky, and my current cam is a custom grind from Elgin, another American cam vendor.

Do you have more information on that cam than what you've shown on the cam card in your first post? Those numbers are just specs to give you an idea about commonly understood cam characteristics - they are not everything you need to replicate an "exact grind". For instance, they really tell you nothing about the opening and closing ramp rates. If that's all you've got then you might as well ask for something close, or spend the $1100.

I've been using that head gasket setup for about 10 years now. It's pretty much indestructible, and also pretty expensive. It does require machining the block, so once you start using this gasket, there is no going back. Just pray that Nissan Motorsports doesn't discontinue it - it's looked like they were going to several times, but they still stock it - you'll probably have the best luck contacting them directly. Here are a few pics:

You got it right - the plates are not for the flywheel. I've seen the outer plate used as a washer to keep the bolts from deforming an aluminum flywheel, but that doesn't leave very many threads for the bolts to engage the crankshaft.

Well, it is a buyer's market here in Michigan right now...

Good story, Tony - and this was exactly what I said when I read Dan's post above.

There ya go - much simpler and more elegant than what I was thinking of, plus it should only take a few minutes to implement.

I hate to say it, but I'm thinking from looking at the geometry of that bellcrank, it's not going to take very much movement to make a pretty significant change in throttle position, which could be contributing to the touchiness that you are experiencing. If the engine can move at all, it would be a good idea to isolate the engine movement from the throttle movement. Ideas anyone? A throttle cable would work, but you didn't want that as I recall (I get it - I like my old school mechanical linkage too )

Refresh my memory, please - is that engine hard mounted (i.e., aluminum plates for engine mounts)?

I'll stand up and say that I was the one who originally pissed Alan off by pointing out that the TI Baby piece implies a problem with the KEW tensioner... http://forums.hybridz.org/index.php?/topic/57095-is-this-a-timing-chain-tensioner/page__st__20 ...and I have to agree with Alan here. It seems to me that the TI Baby piece actually introduces more potential failure points that could come loose. Plus, it makes it very difficult to tell how much tension is applied to the chain, and even when hand tightening it makes it really easy to over-tighten the tensioner, which I believe that Alan has mentioned can and will lead to premature timing chain failure. In case you weren't paying attention, this is a pretty catastrophic failure mode. I use a similar tensioner for my alternator belt, because my packaging in that area was making it difficult to tension the alternator using the tired and true pry bar method. I failed two belts in short order from over tightening by hand with this piece - you really couldn't tell that the belt was too tight by wiggling it. I have to be really careful every time I have to tension this belt to make sure that it doesn't happen again (I take things apart and reassemble alot ) After having used the KEW tensioner for a couple of years now, I have to say that I have checked periodically, and have had no issues with anything coming loose. If you are worried about this, drill the existing four bolts for safety wire and be done with it.

I tightened mine as tight as I could get it by pushing the tensioner against the chain with my thumb only, and then tightened the retaining bolts. Be very careful not to over-tighten it with the TI Baby piece.

When you clean the threads, use a "bottoming" tap - this type of tap is flat on the end, and will clean the threads all the way to the bottom of the hole.

Thanks! I use an Electromotive TEC3r, and the third rail is a vacuum summing log to give the MAP sensor a more stable reference.

I'm currently using this pump: http://www.fuelab.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=5&category_id=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=3 170gph , and still has really high flow even at high pressure ...Should be more than I'll ever need Tony - come on now, you know I'm running E85 - no need (or desire) for a secondary fuel supply. I did debate whether or not to run them in series like that, though. Series was desirable just for the really clean plumbing, and I'm reasoning that it won't make any difference at all when I'm on the 32's, and when the 150's kick in their flow will dominate and any pressure drop to the 32's will result in an insignificant flow reduction overall. Plus the big-assed pump is so over capacity that I'll never get to the point where its not keeping up with demand, so there will always be fuel flowing all the way through the rail.

Just thought I'd post a couple of pics of one of my winter projects - I've modified my Mikuni Manifold to accomodate another 6 injectors. This was a pretty tight fit, but the end result is looking pretty good. This will allow me to run 32lb primary injects and then use the 150lb-ers as secondaries. I should be able to get much better drivability this way...

Yes - studs work best with the Mikuni Manifold

Usually you'll want to limit the amount of oil going to the turbo to keep from blowing oil past the seals. The fitting that you linked is WAY too big. -3 is common, and -4 is okay if you run a restrictor or have a long run to the turbo. Here's a link to a commonly used restrictor (it's the one that I use with my GT4294R): http://www.atpturbo.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=tp&Product_Code=ATP-OIL-022&Category_Code=GRT

I guess I hadn't heard of this being reporting on Isky cams. They generally make a good product - if you're that worried about getting a soft core, get it nitrided. Isky _might_ even offer this as an option. Problem solved. Here's a link to a short article about the process (btw, note that we aren't the only ones seeing problems with "soft cores") http://www.lsxtv.com/forum/camshaft-technology-what-nitriding-process-1033.html

Call Courtesy Nissan and see if they still have the factory exhaust manifold studs available. I have had MUCH better luck with the factory studs - the side that screws into the head is literally twice as long as the other commercially available studs that I have been able to find.

Yep.