L28 Front sump conversion

[jeffer949]

Im building a l28et and im converting it to front sump. I've already drilled everything and I know what im doing there. Wanted to run how im sealing the oil galley off.  I the picture you can see my new pickup hole and dipstick hole. I have already put a Welch plug to the left of the small hole and plugged the old pickup. Next im going to put the aluminum plug i made that has a npt plug inside of it between the new pickup and dipstick hole. When I tighten down the npt plug it will spread the outer wall of the aluminum plug and seal it off. I will theb back that up with another Welch plug.  Im almost sure it will work but I wanted to get some more eyes on it to make aure. Because if it doesnt work. Ill suck air  and take out the bearings.  Any recommendations on a sealer I should use if any?

[jeffer949]

Well. The above mod worked and its now front jumped. Had to make a new dip stick tube and  then I started on making an adjustable cam gear.  Turned the inner bore out and faced the rest so ill have a good flat surface for the aluminum inner hub to bolt to.  I realizing noone answers questions on here anymore and people just use it for documenting their builds.  Its really sad. 

[calZ]

I answer questions whenever I've got a good answer, but I haven't tried enough different sealers to be comfortable risking your engine on my recommendation. 

[jeffer949]

I'm not complaining to anybody specific.  Ive been around this site for close to 20 years and back in the day it was so helpful.  Now its dead.  Is what it is. 

[calZ]

Oh I know, I just meant that most people only speak when they've got a good answer, and there are fewer people around now, so you're going to get fewer answers. 

 

It does suck how little activity there is these days. A lot of the experts aren't around anymore. 

[FastFloridian]

There is still a few around (I’m not one of them). I’ve gotten some good advice. At least this site is still up, the 370Z site just went down a few weeks ago, ugh.

[jeffer949]

Slowly been chipping away at building this engine. Got all the oil pickup tube mods done.  Then used my cnc router to plot out where to drill my block for the cooling mods for JeffP's head gasket. I'm cheap and not using his gasket but modifying a felpro to have all the cooling passages. My router isnt ridged enough to actually machine the holes but it allowed me to do a spot drill for the hole centers. Then came back and use the correct sized drill bits in a hand drill.  Then used a die grinder to connect the 2 holes on the oblong holes. Worked well. 

 

Some time after that i was working on m wife"s car but wanted to keep going on the engine so I took my heavily carboned up pistons and soaked them in Superclean. DO NOT do this!!!! It eroded my pistons and made them unusable.  Talk about a gut punch. The pistons where within spec and perfectly usable. 

 

 Well I didnt know what I wanted for Christmas But I did after this. My mom and Aunt said they would go in together and get some new ITM's for it and where nice enough to let me have them now. Pressed the old ones off. New ones on. Gapped the rings. And install.

 

 

[jeffer949]

Next I need to pull my current engine as I need the oil pan from it along with the new timing chain guilds and oil pump and everything else. Thats new from when i built it a year or so ago. 

 

With it being a front sump I'm going to look into adding some oil baffling of some sort. I cant remember if there is any.  Need to button up my 4n71b Jatco from the 84 300zx turbo and finish the inner hub for my adjustable cam gear.  But I cant finish that till I pull the old trans as I need the bellhousing.  Then I go down the rabbit hole of needing a new driveshaft but also wanting to swap in a 8.8 out of an ford explorer... ..