Jump to content
HybridZ

RB26DETT into 240Z Beginner Progress


getoffmyinternet

Am I a complete idiot?  

32 members have voted

  1. 1. Am I a complete idiot?

    • Yes, either that or completely insane.
    • No, props to you!


Recommended Posts

First thing was to take off the coils. #3 spark plug is burned some and may be a source of missfire so I'll replace those. The standard compression is 171psi with a floor of 128 and a max difference of 14.

 

1. 150

2. 145

3. 155

4. 150

5. 150

6. 150

 

I'm not excited about it but it's probably fairly normal.

 

Spark plug gap should be .039-.043. Plugs were apexi #7s, all gapped less than that... I think the stock plugs are #6, not sure which is optimum. If my research serves me right, nismo racing plugs are #7s and up finewire, but that's probably at higher boost.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 404
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Ahhhhh. I was thoroughly confused for a while there.

 

 

I got the new spark plugs yesterday and put them in. (They made the old ones look more worn than I initially thought) Runs like a champ now. Doesn't seem rich at all, not bogging down, The first time I started it up, it died after a few seconds, but after that it stayed on continuously and ran very smoothly.

 

Tomorrow I'll check the trans fluid to make sure it's still full. I think I changed it but can't remember. Then run it for at least 15 minutes to let it completely warm up and make sure the fan kicks on etc. I'd like to be able to check the bpv to make sure it's working right. It must be blowing off or I'd notice, but only a boost gauge would show if it is functioning to spec. I would think it needs some tuning, although I understand the actual blow off pressure to not be very critical, the main thing being that it is set to prevent surge--so just above the operating boost pressure. If nothing else I can remove the recirc line and make sure there are no leaks etc.

 

The dash gauges look like they all work. Well, the tach isn't hoocked up yet, I kinda forgot about getting a new cable a while back. I'll have to get the ecu tucked inside before I actually drive it to see how close the odo is.

 

I still have those diagnostic plug wires tied off and am not sure what to do with them. I'll have to research the threads more to see if there is a code reader out there I can get or if it is even worth the trouble of making a plug for one. It would be nice to be able to see trouble codes if it's not too inconvenient. I also have some other wires tied off that I was fairly sure I wouldn't need and, I'll have to look over them again, but so far it seems I was right, so I'll probably be able to cut those out. There are only two wires from the ecu that have to go somewhere now (the ones I jumped to test run it)--ground and ignition. The whole thing should take about two minutes to package tomorrow so hopefully next time you see me the hood will be back on and I'll be driving it to a muffler shop to check out my exhaust options.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kudos! Other than routine maintenance, the only things that I've found to need changing so far were the water pump, injectors, and spark plugs, what a relief.

 

I changed the trans fluid today because it was low and I hadn't changed it before. 75-90 GL-4 is what the book prescribes. It took about 4 qts.

 

However, I'll have to revise my last statement. It runs like a champ, sometimes. Today when I ran it to check the cooling system, it was running a little missy, nothing like the dead cylinder before I changed the plugs, but every once in a while it will suddenly run really smooth. The missy sound it almost taken for normal idle, but then when it temporarily runs smooth you can tell the difference.

 

Does anyone have any suggestions or a similar story? First thing I did was unplug the injectors one by one and #5 wasn't making much of a difference, so I switched it with a spare I had. Now they all sound consistent, but the engine still sounds a little off. Next I tried to test the o2 sensors according to the book (which never works for me :roll:). It said at idle they should read 1 volt, but where both reading .05. I'll take them out and clean them, but I need to get the special socket from someone or a suitable crows foot.

 

One idea is that the injector resistor pack I made was subpar and the injectors aren't running full capacity. If anything now the engine is running a little lean because I smashed the return line and it ran smooth for a minute. There was always that speculation on what the ohm reading should actually be... Then again, the coils could be a little weak, but I don't know why it would ever run smoothly at all.

 

Tomorrow I'll see about taking it to a muffler shop and getting the exhaust line put in. There's always that possibility that it's just not running right because of the lack of back pressure and the o2 sensors reading incorrectly.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dropped it off at the muffler shop yesterday and picked it up today for $400. He said $300 before he knew that he had to make the flanges and collector. It was a little more than I thought but worth it. Doing it myself would be a pain and there's no way I could make it look as good or tuck it in as nice. It has a curve through magnaflow and sounds pretty nice. Not too loud, low and good tone, I'm very pleased. Just under a year and I could not stand it!

 

I got a ddl diagnostics cable from Jerryb that should arrive in the mail shortly with nissan datascan so hopefully I can find that slight miss easily and test everything. I haven't cleaned the o2 sensors yet but will next thing. Also, I'm giving an injector to a bosch guy to test and see if he has something like it cheap. If they are dirty I can have them cleaned or get new ones. I already got 4 new ones to replace the three that were no good from the start and recently that one that was making the engine run a little rough, should have just got all six to begin with.

 

Evan might have been right about regretting not getting the fly surfaced right away. I wouldn't want to waste the money though and it shouldn't be hard to do it now if I have to. The car gets a little shaky grabbing first gear from idle, but I won't know if it has anything to do with the fly being uneven until I can rule out the miss being amplified under load. It's probably not clutch related.

 

How much sound do you guys hear from the engine? Now that I have the exhaust under control, the valvetrain sound seems a little louder, and I can hear the turbines chatter a little shortly after closing throttle. It doesn't really sound like surge which I should be able to recognize, and I can hear the bov opening right away, so perhaps it's just turbo noise? I've never had a turbo personally so I'm babying it because I don't know what to look for :P.

 

That said, on the drive home I opened it up, and by opened it up I mean just cracked the lid and let it fizzle, the car shits and gits compared to what I'm used to :D I mean on paper it's got at least twice as much power as the old engine anyway. The chassis does feel a little heavier now, not that it makes a difference.

 

I'm also used to driving a truck that can go into first gear uphill without any throttle or practically shift without the clutch and not miss a beat, so the first gear rumble could even be me rooking out, ha! A little more gas than normal evens it out and the rest of the drive is solid, although my diff still thumps every shift (next on the list) even with the new driveshaft. That miss is definitely all through the powerband so it's gotta be a fuel delivery problem. I'll test the current through the resistors as well as the resistance through the coils if I don't find anything sooner. Also, the fuel pump is a lot noisier than I thought it would be. It's right under the tool box so down the line maybe I'll tar under it or deaden the inside or something to help calm it down.

 

Loose ends:

 

The fan switch doesn't work so I jumped it to always on. Needs replacing.

Need to buy that speedo cable for 50 bucks or whatever.

Need to tap in somehow for the electronic tach. Will either turn out simpler than I thought or much harder.

Oh yeah, and redo the whole interior, weatherstripping, rims, suspension... Eh, maybe next year. For now I'm just gonna drive the hell out of it. Right after I go to the dmv and get it back to op status. ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Get some pieces of thick rubber, or one big piece, and use that as a base for a platform on which your fuel pump is mounted. The stock Z fuel pump is mounted to a small "shelf" that is itself mounted to the car (or maybe the Z had a circular, coil-style clamp on a shelf, I can't recall right) but if you emulate this and use a piece of rubber as the connection between fuel pump and car, you isolate alot of the noise of the fuel pump. In addition, you can make a metal sound shield to go in between the rubber boot and the pump, if its still too noisy. The rubber obviously insulates any vibrations from transferring into the car, but the shield would help with sound waves being transmitted through the air. Every layer of interference you can get helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, I was gonna do the cliche driveby video, perhaps today after I give my baby a bath!

 

Not do diss the l28 or anything. As much as I love the rb, I'm sure I would love the l28 equally if I had sweat over one for as long. Truth be told I don't know if I have the genius to squeeze as much power out of the oldschool muscle as I'm eventually planning on going for, so I spent more money upfront to start with a platform that's a little ahead. I'm not much of a builder, more of a start with what bolts on guy. I'm hoping that the newer design will pay some mileage dividends as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I found out what the clunking noise is. The left side of the tranny mount is torn half way through and the trans bolt end is bouncing up and down on the mount face. I don't know how it happened, must have been cracked or something before I put it on.

 

Anyone know where to get a new mount? I'm having trouble finding just the tranny mount by itself instead of in a kit with the engine mounts for some outrageous price.

 

Do the silvia or z31 mounts work? They look a lot alike, anyone know if the bolt spacing is the same?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The trans mount, shown here, is the same in all these cars with the designated engines. For some reason, my US CD isn't working properly, and showing European cars, so I think the KA tranny mount would be the same being that this is the FS5R30A trans, and the other cars listed have the FS5W71C trans. So does the KA S13 and S14's. Sadly, the isolator is only the same as the C34 trans isolator, so I don't think you'll have luck finding a factory replacement, and may have to look into other vehicles or aftermarket parts / parts bin accessories:

 

croppercapture_54_423.jpg

 

 

croppercapture_55_825.jpg

 

 

croppercapture_56_323.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally got a nissan contact in the states today. I've been to three different dealers looking for someone who can order off of part numbers and there's one right by me. The guy says he can get the isolator for about $50.

 

Careless: In my fast 70T01 is the manual trans, 72T01 is the automatic. Don't know if they are actually different or not...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I finally got a nissan contact in the states today. I've been to three different dealers looking for someone who can order off of part numbers and there's one right by me. The guy says he can get the isolator for about $50.

 

Careless: In my fast 70T01 is the manual trans, 72T01 is the automatic. Don't know if they are actually different or not...

 

look at the top of the pictures where it says "App. Model" :icon45:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.


×
×
  • Create New...