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L28e died in my 280z... time to go with a l28et swap?


joshp

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Yesterday was a very sad day for my 77 280z...  long story short, the existing engine is toast.

 

I've been thinking about doing the l28et swap for a couple of months, but now the decision has been thrust upon me.  While I have been getting my hands dirty with some simpler mechanic work, I'm nowhere near ready to tackle the engine by myself, so work will be done at my local Datsun guy's shop.

 

I don't have the luxury at this point of waiting to find the cheap donor car, and while I was doing some quick searches for engines, I found on lowmileageparts.com and carmonkeys.com the 280zx turbo engines available at nearly the same price as the n/a engines.  I've read the turbo FAQ and lots of information while pondering the swap, and here's where I need some help.  Let's just say for simplicity sake that each rebuilt engine would be $1000.  (I know they can and have been found for less, but really I screwed the pooch by waiting until I blew this one up, we'll call it a dummy tax).  I'm in CA so the l28et would have to be a stock swap to be bar approved.

 

Option 1:  $1000 for a refurbished 280zx non turbo engine (same L28e, correct)

                 Labor for pulling and installing the replacement

 

Option 2:  $1000 for L28et includes intake and exhaust manifolds

                 $150 for turbo AFM off ebay

                 $150-200 for Turbo ECU

                 $?  turbo wiring harness

                 $? turbo distributor

                 $200 spark plugs

                 Labor for engine, PLUS install the extras

 

For a simple stock swap does it appear that I have covered all my bases?  I'm needing help guessing on the labor hours for these engines.  8-10 hours for pull and replace original?  Guessing 16-20 for the second option?  I assuming I would stick with the 4 speed for now, and that the transmission could handle the mild factory turbo HP increase and that I could then swap it later. 

 

What would you do?

 

Thanks for any and all info, tips, etc.

 

 

 

 

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I found and read through Bumble Zee's swap writeup so I'm going to include the parts list he provided as a list with prices I'm seeing on them to both organize my thoughts and provide insight to those who may find this in some way helpful.

 

Complete turbo engine -   $1089 http://www.carmonkeys.com/1982-NISSAN-280ZX-Engine-Assembly-Turbo-5-Years-Warranty#product-details

Turbo - I believe is included in above, email sent for verification

Turbo exhaust manifold - included with engine

Turbo ECU - $150 - $200 on ebay

Turbo FI harness - $50 on ebay

Turbo ignition harness- ? 

Head temp Sensor - ?

Knock sensor $120 on rock auto

Water Temp Sensor- $15 on rock auto

Crank sensor  -  $50 on rock auto

ignitor and coil bracket - $70 ebay

oil pressure sensor- $30

emissions sensors- been searching all afternoon for a good source on what will be required by a BAR referee.. any links or help?

downpipe

injectors - $200

Turbo clutch - $120 kit on rockauto

Turbo AFM $150 is on ebay or $200 on rockauto

Turbo TPS - $33 rockauto

FI relay - $40 rockauto

 

Totals up to $2,217 before tax and shipping, missing a couple pieces of info.... hmmmm say $2500... before labor.... so $1500 difference plus the labor difference... argh....  I'm guessing at least $1000 for labor difference at 10 hours and $100/hr rate.  Puts me somewhere around $4500 vs. $2000 for my best guess on straight replacement.

 

 

 

Edit: fixed math

Edited by joshp
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Hmmm...  I'm not charging near enough for a turbo swap.  I have an L28E in the shop right now from a '78 280Z.  We just pulled it to swap in an L28ET.  The owner has it listed for $350.  Ran perfectly and it's 100% complete.  I can put you in touch with him if you'd like.  It's in Phoenix though...

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The engine totally seized up... I picked up this z in November-ish, and knew there were some issues with the engine.  Wasn't too worried about it, since I figured I would be doing a swap at some point as well. 

 

I've thought about the junkyard engine, but that's essentially what got me to this point now.  I'd rather put up the cash to get it right and move on... just trying to figure out my path.  Even typing this I feel dumb, but I have to ask... what about the possibility of having the l28et installed sans turbo?  

 

cgsheen... not trying to pry, if I was to call and ask for a straight L28et swap, what's a ballpark figure for you?  Am I guessing too high on the amount of labor?

 

Josh

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I have an l28et installed on my 77z last year. I was lucky i found a posting in craigslist for 600 complete with ecu and harness. This was removed from a good running car. No leaks. Anyway since I am installing this to my car, I had it rebuilt from sunrise Z since i dont have the time to do it myself. I paid total of 4200 thats with rebuild, parts including new pistons, head work, removing the old engine and installing and wiring the l28et harness.

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To be BAR legal you will need the VCM, EGR and evap system functional. Turbo evap cans can get pricey, if you can find them at all. Also need the turbo down pipe and cat. You should be able to keep your current exhaust after that.

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Just talked to the shop that my Z is at, and all I can say is that it won't be there for long.  $2300 just for labor in a remove and replace with another L28e, hemmed and hawed about the turbo swap.  Shame, because I really would have liked to give this particular shop my business...  really nice guy, but it seems like he really doesn't want to deal with a job like this, and is simply pricing it as such.  Called around a bit and found a z place that knows the swap pretty well and gave me a ballpark of about the same figure for the L28et swap.  Approximately $1600 at book for R&R, best guess of half of that to pull the L28et from a donor, and $3-400 to button everything up including wiring.  Have truly had a rough time tracking down a donor zx turbo in the time crunch.  If I can source all of the smog equipment along with the parts I listed as well, the reman engine and parts is an option that's increased cost is slightly offset by not having the labor of pulling the engine from a donor car.  If anyone's got a source for parts in the CA Bay Area, I'd sure appreciate a PM. 

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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...
  • 2 months later...

wondering what you ended up doing with your engine? any updates?

 

also how reliable is carmonkey for sourcing parts, especially a l28et engine?

 

Also in for carmonkey reference info..    Very curious to see if that's a reliable site.   

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