Z-Gad Posted March 18, 2002 Share Posted March 18, 2002 Well, after the bad news on the compression and leak down tests, I finally got around to pulling the engine apart. As suspected, #3 and #4 were where the problems were. I guess those cast 720 truck pistons didn't care for 15 lbs of boost. I found 2 broken pistons. The ring lands were cracked and the one of the little "ears" on the rod side of the piston was in my oil pan. I am now getting quotes on 89 mm forged pistons ... best so far with rings and pins ... $590 from ROSS and 3.5 - 4 weeks to make them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Posted March 18, 2002 Share Posted March 18, 2002 Sorry to hear about that Mike. I was hoping it was just broken rings and not something that major. How did the cylinder walls hold up, any damage? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Gad Posted March 18, 2002 Author Share Posted March 18, 2002 Hey Jeff, No damage or scoring to the walls whatsoever. I am thankful for that anyway. The part of the ring land which crumbled was inside the hollow area of the piston and apparently did not get drug up and down the wall. I couldn't find any signs of detonation or anything, and the rings were all in good shape as well. Oh well, just what I needed, an excuse to spend more money. By the way, when I called back to order the pistons, I found that the price I was quoted was for a 4-cylinder. The pistons, rings, and pins will actually run me ~$650 for the 6 cylinder 89mm bore. Shoulda done it in the first place I guess... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennysgreen280zt Posted March 18, 2002 Share Posted March 18, 2002 I would do a little shopping around on those pistons . alot of times you can find local machine shops that have business accounts with JE and ROSS pistons. I have heard prices as low as $70 per piston depending on how well you know the people good luck on the biuld up!!! ~Kenny Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonfly Posted March 18, 2002 Share Posted March 18, 2002 When I was shopping for forged pistons I talked to JE and to Ross, neither of which did much for me, I finaly ended up going to Arias and having them make my pistons for me. I paid just over $800 but what I got was 6 pistons with high silicon content (made to my specs) each one was lightened, 6 high performance wrist pins, spiral locks (full floating pins), moly rings. It sounds like a lot of money at first untill you start comparing everything you get from one mfg. to the other. At this time I can say I am very pleased with thier work and support. Dragonfly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAW Posted March 19, 2002 Share Posted March 19, 2002 I've seen a lot of broken ring lands on Nissan Z series pistons coming out of stock 4cyl engines, so I think it's a weak point. The KA24DE piston with floating pin may be a better choice for an 89mm bore engine than the Z24 piston. Silvolite has a division called KD Pistons for high performance street use. Any experience with these? DAW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Z-Gad Posted March 19, 2002 Author Share Posted March 19, 2002 thanks for the ideas guys. I was in a hurry to get the car back on the road and ordered from ROSS today. They were very polite and thorough. I tried calling JE on two different occasions, and both times the receptionist answered, but noone in the "import" division would pick-up and I was asked to call again. I didn't look into Arias (any farther than a few websites), might be kicking myself in the future, but was happy enough with the service and detail at ROSS that I purchased. I wanted a set of strong forged pistons for a turbo application and for the $ I was willing to spend, I figured any of the major manufacturers would probably due. this time it boiled down to customer service...or lack of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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