heavy85

Let me start by saying I'm no expert with turbo systems ... but I do know square things want to become round when pressurized. It looks like fine craftmanship went into the manifold but at 20 pounds per square inch and I'm guessing around 90 square inches (wild guess at 30 inches long by 3 inches wide) on the top plate for example means there will be 20*90 = 1,800 lb of force prying at those welds and trying to bend the flat plate into a circle. Was that square box intake manifold designed to handle those kinds of loads? Sorry not trying to be critical just an observation from an uneducated (at least in turbo systems) observer. Does sound like it'll be a sweet set-up though. Cameron

Where's the e-brake? Cameron

When my synchro was worn out it would grind shifting into gear so if it's not grinding I would look elsewhere first. Cameron

There are several different grades of loctite - may want to try the 'permanent' stuff. There is also a loctite made for slip fit application like the pulley on the end of the crank which is different than the threadlocker and may work better? I used to work with someone who used to work for loctite and I would hear stories. Apparently back in the early days the salesmen used to drink some for show since it's anerobic (cures in a lack of oxygen) and the body's got plenty of oxygen so it wasn't really that harmful. Also used to hear the stories when he worked the helpline ... like my grandson superglued my a$$ to the toilet seat and I cant get up kind of stuff. Cameron

My previous autox / daily driver was an 84 GTI with suspension and some engine mods. Fun car and still going strong. My brothers got it now but it's been hit three times in the last year so the body is trashed. Last I knew it had over 250,000 miles on the engine with only a head gasket and still raced regularly! That things loves to rev. The engine will outlast the rest of the car. Anyone in Columbus Ohio area looking to get rid of one with a nice shell he will be looking for one to swap all the good parts to. Cameron

In my opinion the late model RX7 seats look better because the headrest is build in but with a cut-out in the middle for the harness. Otherwise they look very similar to that one and they fit nicely in a Z. Cameron

Thanks for the info. I'll have to buy a couple of nuts and go from there jmortensen - you must be a master searcher as I cant seem to find what I'm looking for when I search.

I noticed a little slop between the drivers side companion flange and stub axle of my 240. I could rock the companion flange back and forth slightly when the wheel was locked which I think is the primary contributor to my rear end clunk. So I took the companion flange off and the slines look OK but I still think they are a little too loose and obviously the axle nut was not very tight (although being peened it was hard to get off ... but nothing a 3 ft cheeter bar couldn't handle). There is a thin copper washer that goes between the companion flange and the inner wheel bearing. This washer (shim maybe?) does not show up in the Haynes manual so I'm wondering if it's suppose to be there and maybe that is why the nut loosened up and as a result the splines are getting a little worn? Anyone know why that copper washer is in there? I'm thinking of just tightening it back down and calling it good until winter but probably should replace them at some point since the splines aren't tight anymore. Thanks Cameron

I stumbled across an old post from Norm (of the 12 sec SU fame) the other day and he let one of his speed secrets slip out by suggesting you gain some power by running a quart low. I know if you run about two quarts high it'll start puking out the breathers - and I mean like coat the engine bay in a nice coat of oil puking - at about 6 grand:) Cameron

Two questions (ref L28): 1) Stock oil pressure guage reads just under 1/2 at idle (and about 3/4 at elevated RPS's) which I think it should. Now I just installed a 20 PSI oil pressure switch and idiot light and below about 1000-1200 RPM the light comes on. So does that make sense that the stock guage reads almost 1/2 way up yet it's below 20 PSI and more importantly is < 20 PSI at idle too low? 2) When I first start the engine it takes a couple seconds to build oil pressure - that doesn't seem right to me but is this normal for an L series? Related to this is I noticed that the oil filter didn't have much oil in it when I changed it at 100 miles (rebuilt engine). I'm used to oil dribbling all down the engine on other cars when you take the filter off of but I only got a couple of drops of oil which is obviously related to why it takes a couple seconds to build pressure. One other piece is it's a turbo block running N/A without the oil cooler - I just left the sandwhich assembly off from between the filter and the block which I know deleted the by-pass valve but that shouldn't have any affect? Thanks Cameron

Well I now have 100 miles on the complete rebuild (finally - woohoo), but I still have the stupid raw fuel smell from the carbs. To review: floats are set per Mikuni manual, fuel pressure 3 PSI, I have insulators between carb and manifolds, and I have now installed a heat shield - I can now grab onto the carbs and they are only warm to the touch! Any other ideas as this is really driving me nuts and making it hard to park inside. As soon as I figure this out I can really start enjoying it. Are these carbs able to not smell like raw fuel? Thanks Cameron

Woo-Hoo It's finally done. Should test drive it tomorrow (fingers crossed). Ended up being the @#%$@!'in POS 'alignment' tool and I use the work alignment loosely because it was too sloppy to properly align anything. All is good now and for some reason I now have plenty of free play (even just wiggling with two fingers). Thanks for all the help. Cameron

Well since the TO bearing rests back against the bellhousing I dont see how the sleeve could have anything to do with it? Also, what do you mean 'Two fingers trying to jiggle it back and forth won't do it' because that was my judge that it was too tight. Maybe it's not too tight I just figured if there was no visibly play with a light touch that it was too tight. How exactly then do you determine free play? Thanks Cameron

She's alive ... well sort of. After a huge ordeal involving various machine shops a couple of blocks various stripped threads and an unplanned complete engine rebuild (but I did manage to get a complete turbo motor for $125 in case the tripples dont work out) plus a new synchro in tranny and LSD Saturday I started it for the first time. Engine ran great until it sprang a water leak but no big deal just thermostat cover - but didn't get to drive it any other than inched it forward to make sure the clutch and tranny engaged. Anyway when I installed the motor I noticed that it was very difficult to get it any closer than about 1" from the front of the tranny but didn't think too much of it. Then later Saturday after realizing that the mystery bolt that had been sitting on my workbench for a while was the one which holds 5th gear on I took the tranny out to install the missing bolt. When I went to put the tranny back in I noticed the same fitup issue and actually had to draw the two together with the mounting bolts. Realizing that this still did not seem right I pulled it back off started scratching my head. So here is what I have and am desperate to get this in so I can test drive it finally so if you got any ideas please shoot them my way. '82 Turbo block ?? l28 crank from a non turbo F54 larger diameter 280Z clutch and flywheel Early 'Competition' 5 speed If you draw the two completely together then there is pressure between the throughout bearing and the clutch which I think there shouldn't be any but that's just in the very last bit of drawing them together? Also seems like some of the difficulty in getting them together (and appart for that matter)before just the last bit when the throughout bearing starts engaging the clutch is in the pilot bushing but cant tell for sure. Now I have another 5 speed and the bellhousings are identical and a 240 clutch which actually uses a THICKER flywheel and THICKER clutch and THICKER throughout bearing. So I've got the skinniest pieces in there and it still seems too thick. This same set-up was in the car before but I can't say for sure it was ever right. Any advice??? Thanks Cameron

That's funny because they couldn't get one here in central Illinois. Cameron

First engine removal: Bought my first car and decided to rebuild the engine. It was a 260Z and I was 14. Removed the head then my dad and I lifted the short block out by hand, resting it on the radiator support along the way, then eventually onto the bench - no harm no foul. Rented a hoist to put it back in - $25 well spent. Second engine removal: '84 GTI parts car. Moving & needing to strip it to scrap the shell but again no hoist. Ended up taking a sawzall and cutting the front (of the car) off between the headlights. Then is was a simple matter of just sliding the engine/transaxle out the front - I would NOT recommend this method if you want to reuse the car. Scary part was when they came to take the shell lacking suspension and inside our garage. They hooked the front to a wrecker, then a guy and a GIRL, one on each side carried the rear of the car out onto a trailer - wouldn't want to piss her off! That car had been flipped in an autocross believe it or not. Third and latest removal - 240Z 'needing a tune up' turned into complete rebuild. Rented a hoist - $30 less well spent. Hoist worked well and everything but it turned out to be a 1500 lb hoist and weighed several hundred pounds. Wouldn't have been that big a deal except the car and the garage are about 100 yards from each other so I had to put the hoist together and take it back appart twice...and I'm not 14 anymore. Hopefully in the next couple weeks it will finally go back in. Tranny is done (I had to put in a new synchro), new (to me anyway) LSD is cleaned and ready, half-shafts repacked with new boots, engine 95% of the way there. What was to be running in March, then April, well now I just hope to have it running with the driveline back in by the end of May but the end is in sight. Cameron

Was that Bernoulli? Bernoulli principle is why airplanes fly (P1 + V1^2 = P2 + V2^2 so as the air goes faster over the curved top of the wing the pressure lowers thus creating lift) but I'ld have to think more about that creating a venturi affect. I think they are different but it would cause my brain to hurt to think that hard so I wont and am too lazy to look it up. Anyway, standard atmospheric conditions are approx. 14.7 PSI absolute so boost higher than that and there would be no chance of opening the valve no matter how hard it sucked (perfect vacuum would be -14.7 PSI gauge). Now practically how much vacuum can a venturi from the exhaust produce - not sure but I bet it's not much more than a pound or two IMHO. Cameron

Well I finally gave up on my F54 and got another one. The 'new' one is actually an '82 turbo motor from which I am just using the block and putting the 'old' flat-tops in it (but now I have a complete turbo set-up for the future...). So I was looking at the oil pumps and from the outside they look indentical with the exception of the casting marks. It is my understanding that the turbo pump has higher displacement but how can I tell what I've got? The old motor had been built before so maybe it's alread got the bigger pump - are there external differences that would tell me which one I have? Secondly, the turbo motor has a plate sandwhiched between the oil filter and the block to route to an oil cooler. Problem is I dont have a cooler so if I ditch the plate then I loose the oil filter by-pass. My old block has the by-pass in the block but the turbo block has it built in the oil cooler plate. So then what is the recommended course of action? Any good source for a low cost oil cooler or can I maybe run it into the bottom of my radiator where the auto trans would normally hoop-up to? Thanks Cameron

.. or maybe fill the 'spokes' with that magnetostrictive (or something like that anyway) fluid the you can send current trough to change it's stiffness. Or if your a Nascar fan just put a couple extra spring rubbers in the tire.

Not sure if it's been on here before but ... http://www.michelinman.com/difference/releases/pressrelease01102005a.html

I once had a late 70's 550 honda motorcycle when I was a poor college kid. It needed a new air filter bad and I couldn't spend the, what seemed like at the time, rediculous cost for a new one (like $30 or $40 if I remember). So I just threw the old one away and thought - that'll make 'er run. Well all it did was created a bad stumble just off idle. So I got clever and decided to take an old tee-shirt doubled over and use that as an air filter. Well then it was a pig - just no power at all. So then round three I used only one layer of tee-shirt and it ran better than ever. I would have never believed it if I had not experienced it myself but no filter = bad stumble, two layers of tee-shift 'filter' = dog slow, one layer of tee shirt 'filter' = yee hah. I guess my point is engines can be very sensitive to what air filters you run. Cameron

No dice - he can't even get them. Now dished pistons are available it's just the flattops that are not available - so is there anyway to use dished pistons in a N/A application (F54 / shaved P79) ? Maybe L24 rods to get the compression back up but then would it be too tall and hit the head and / or valves? Still trying to find another used block that doesn't need boring but not having luck so far - anyone in central Illinois looking to get rid of a F54 block that can use standard pistons please shout out - so I'm trying to figure out other ways of getting this engine together without having to resort to forged pistons. Thanks Cameron

I read through the old posts and still can't seem to find any. I need oversized pistons and do not want to spend $$ on nor do I need forged ones. Just talked with Courtesy Nissan and the 0.5 mm overbore ones are NLA and the 1mm overbore ones are on back-order. I dont trust the VB ones since they are so cheap. Is there any source for a good quality oversized (0.5 or 1 mm) pistons? Thanks Cameron

I'm still trying to find a good used F54 (anyone have one near central Illinois let me know) to rebuild as a cheaper alternative to boring out mine and buying new pistons. I'm not having much luck yet and am still considering just going ahead and boring my block out and be done with it, however, I just noticed that #5 (or was it #2 - dont remember) cylinder has been sleeved. Not sure why since it's at factory bore now so it must have been just to fix the block in a previous life. So is there any reason not to use a block that has a cylinder sleeved? I'm thinking it shouldn't really make a difference but just want some other oppinions from the engine 'experts'. It's not for a dedicated race car but is for weekend warrior duty so it'll be beat on pretty hard and I want as much power and reliability as I can without spending a fortune. Thanks Cameron