defrag010 Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 Long story short.. I've been lurking here for quite a long time. I recently bought a '79 280ZX automatic that I am going to fix up as a new daily driver. The car is clean, and only needs a new paintjob and some interior re-upholstery. However, the engine bay was a mess when I got it. Wires spliced everywhere, vacuum hoses ripped, everything dry-rotted or broken. The car had an overheating problem, and the seller thought it was a cracked head so the car came with a brand new rebuilt head that I am going to put on it. The funny thing, though, is that when I took the clutch fan off it had no resistance to turn. Instead of trying to fix everything, I want to start clean. I don't want to go standalone, though, because this is just going to be a daily driver and I want to retain a/c and cruise. I am going to get the engine harness, ECU, and fuel rail from a 4.0 jeep and take the nissan engine harness out. The good thing aobut the Jeep ECU and engine harness is that they come in the engine bay in the jeeps, so I can put this one in my engine bay and not have to worry about crawling under the dash. The Jeep fuel rail has the same injector spacing as the L28 fuel rail, and I can tap a return line in the rail and make brackets so as to use on the L28 return fuel system. There is a jeep 4.0 cherokee parts car here at work, so I can just go and rip all the stuff I need off of it. I will be able to run speed density to free up alot of room/headache, and I will also be able to easily find the right size injectors I need. So, onto my questions. -Will the stock cruise control work without the stock ECU and stock engine wiring harness? Is the engine wiring harness even separate from the body harness? -Is there a distributor that uses mechanical advance VS. the stock L28 vacuum advance that will fit onto the L28? I'd like to use the jeep ECU to control the timing advance, but there isn't any way I can use the jeep dizzy on the L28. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zcarnut Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 ...Will the stock cruise control work without the stock ECU and stock engine wiring harness? Is the engine wiring harness even separate from the body harness?... The 280ZX ECU module just controls the FI (fuel injection). The cruise control is handled by a separate module located under the passenger seat. There are no connections between the two modules. Like the Jeep, the ZX has a separate wiring harness for the FI components. I would think it would be easier for you to get a used ZX FI wiring harness rather than trying to get the Jeep one to work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcelectronics Posted August 27, 2006 Share Posted August 27, 2006 Is there a reason you want to create a headache with no real gain? If you want a reliable daily driver, just do as ZcarNut suggested :- " I would think it would be easier for you to get a used ZX IF wiring harness rather than trying to get the Jeep one to work." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defrag010 Posted August 27, 2006 Author Share Posted August 27, 2006 I've thought it over alot, and my reasons are: -speed density with the Jeep ECU -cleaner O-ring style fuel rail, and ability to upgrade/change injectors easily -it's all FREE from the parts jeep out behind the shop If I were to restore the ZX back to stock under the hood, I would have to buy: -new harness -new maf sensor and air intake hoses -new fuel rail -new injectors or have the stock ones cleaned and balanced I wasn't kidding when I said the engine bay was a mess.. lol. Everything is either missing, broken, or corroded. It would cost alot of money to get everything back to stock, and it won't cost me a cent to do the jeep ecu/injection. I'm no newb to ecu's and wiring.. I helped a friend in OKC put a DSM ecu onto his turbo KA24 S13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted September 2, 2006 Share Posted September 2, 2006 i would so turn this into a megasquirt project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
defrag010 Posted September 3, 2006 Author Share Posted September 3, 2006 I would if I didn't have this jeep stuff to get for free. This is an extremely limited budget fixer upper for now. I'm going to have to mount the crank sensor from the jeep onto the zx pulley, and other than that it should work great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex_V Posted September 8, 2006 Share Posted September 8, 2006 Wait its a speed density setup? I dont really think thats going to work with out messing with the ECU's maps. The ECU is expecting the Jeeps TB, IM setup, and most of all 4L of pistons pulling air. Not 2.8L thats a big diffrence and a speed density setup really relies on the major parts of a setup always being the same. Have you researched more on that? ~Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.