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*New* Z project!


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I was also thinking of doing my '71 in orange with black accents and you've done a terrific job. What's even better is that you did it all yourself and that kind of stuff really motivates me to do the best I can with my project. Great job!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Under the knife again, but not because she's broke. Thankfully its my choosing.

Zproj112.jpg

 

I put enough miles on the seafoam treated oil so now its time to change it. While I'm at it, I'm removing the sump to de-rust and paint, replace the gasket, install a new valve cover gasket, and adjust the valve clearances (if needed).

Zproj114.jpg

Zproj113.jpg

As you can see in the background of the second pic the VHT didn't hold up too well on my headers. I'm thinking I just didn't prep the surface correctly, I don't think I'm running hot and lean.

Zproj115.jpg

The white pasty filth on the sump isn't because I had way too much fun removing it, that's just engine degreaser. Now here's your chance; I'm having a hard time deciding what color ceramic paint I'm going to use on the sump, so I'm holding a little social experiment so anyone with interest can "vote". Choices are either blue, orange, or I could put WAY too much effort into painting something no one will ever see and make it orange/black to match my valve cover. Straight black is just too boring. :lol:

 

Unfortunately I also found some presents in the sump when I cleaned it out;

Zproj111.jpg

Now, if this were a helicopter, you better believe that the engine would be written off as compromised, but I'm hoping the standards for a 30 year old car are somewhat less strict. Not shown are a couple sort, hair sized slivers of metal. The largest piece you see there is interesting. Its about the size of a dime and is stamped "3M". I don't think there's any sort of space age duct tape wedged in there, but I'm completely dumbfounded as to what 3M product could have possibly been in my engine.

Everything seemed to be pretty non-magnetic, but metallic. I'll be checking for play while I'm down there, but hopefully I don't need new bearings. I'd like to put as little money as possible into this engine from now on, as I'm focusing on the turbo motor.

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I had to make cuts in the budget somewhere. Figured 1qt was enough.:wink:

 

I've heard you can actually dilute the oil with water to make more quarts, they'll just be slightly less effective. You may want to look into that. :lmao:

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Hmm could the 3M and assorted crap be from a compromised Oil filter? You said it was about the size of a dime, about the size of the filter opening. Though it's unlikely, you might want to pull your rocker cover off and blow air through your ports and see if there's any clogs. Particles like those if they make it past the sump screen can lodge in your bearing oil ports, your rings oil ports, and your cam oil ports. and from there I'm sure you can guess the possible trouble you can have. Really pulling things apart and checking is the best idea, but that's up to you. Though you might be lucky and never have a problem.

 

Oh and for color. I've been partial to black, I assume you mean Pan Color rather than the sump esp since nobody would ever see it. The Engine block is still Blue so Orange would clash.. so 1 vote black.

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Skip fancy colors and paint it with POR15. IMHO. Much greater impact and scuff resistance. Not to mention the rust resistance. I guess that's a vote for black.

 

If you had metallic 'dust' in your sump, your whole engine is contaminated and needs flushed or it will recirculate and damage everything when you put it back together.

 

BTW: Great looking paint job! It changes things so much once the beast has some sexy clothes on, eh? :-)

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Skip fancy colors and paint it with POR15. IMHO. Much greater impact and scuff resistance. Not to mention the rust resistance. I guess that's a vote for black.

 

If you had metallic 'dust' in your sump, your whole engine is contaminated and needs flushed or it will recirculate and damage everything when you put it back together.

 

BTW: Great looking paint job! It changes things so much once the beast has some sexy clothes on, eh? :-)

 

It does, but she's still a finicky b*tch. :evil:

 

My ECU plug does not like to seat properly, I had to take the casing apart so I can push the plug directly to get a good fit, but it will still vibe loose as the car runs as the retaining stub is on the case that I removed. This thing is such a pain, but at least now when my Z sputters an dies on the highway (where it always breaks), all I have to do is lean forward and push firmly on the ECU plug and the engine springs back to life. Can't wait to get rid of this thing and install megasquirt, some new electronics would do this car a world of good.

^and wiring

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It does, but she's still a finicky b*tch. :evil:

 

My ECU plug does not like to seat properly, I had to take the casing apart so I can push the plug directly to get a good fit, but it will still vibe loose as the car runs as the retaining stub is on the case that I removed. This thing is such a pain, but at least now when my Z sputters an dies on the highway (where it always breaks), all I have to do is lean forward and push firmly on the ECU plug and the engine springs back to life. Can't wait to get rid of this thing and install megasquirt, some new electronics would do this car a world of good.

^and wiring

 

Have you tried a big thick rubber band or something? Electronic contact cleaner and then some dielectric grease? I was much happier with the car once I got the MS on. The EDIS made it so much nicer, as well. I am picky with electronics since I used to tune turbo cars for a living.

 

I once had a customer that wanted to wire in his own AEM standalone into his first generation eagle talon (for stripped out highway and drag). He used all butt connectors (he didn't buy a pnp model) and had such a rat's nest. Whenever it did the same thing, he'd reach over to the passenger floor and jiggle the rat's nest until it started working. LOL. It's a shame considering the fully built trans and race motor, etc. that he had in it. He just reached too far with his budget, came short, and wouldn't wait to get it running.

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Have you tried a big thick rubber band or something? Electronic contact cleaner and then some dielectric grease? I was much happier with the car once I got the MS on. The EDIS made it so much nicer, as well. I am picky with electronics since I used to tune turbo cars for a living.

 

I once had a customer that wanted to wire in his own AEM standalone into his first generation eagle talon (for stripped out highway and drag). He used all butt connectors (he didn't buy a pnp model) and had such a rat's nest. Whenever it did the same thing, he'd reach over to the passenger floor and jiggle the rat's nest until it started working. LOL. It's a shame considering the fully built trans and race motor, etc. that he had in it. He just reached too far with his budget, came short, and wouldn't wait to get it running.

 

I've cleaned the contacts before, I'll probably end up doing it again. From my understanding, dielectric grease impedes electrical flow, which is why I'm hesitant to apply it to such a low voltage component with tiny connectors. Maybe on the back so humid air can't get in and corrode it, but I'm wary about putting it directly on the connectors. I'm going to use zip ties to hold the plug in for now.

 

I've been holding out on the EDIS/MS setup until I get the turbo motor ready, but I'd certainly like it too. I wanted to get a good understanding of how the stock electronics work before I completely overhaul them as well. Hopefully I figured out my Z's lack of balls too. I just got a timing light so I can accurately gauge the ignition timing, which I'm pretty sure is retarded well below 10 degrees BTDC (looked more like between 0 and 5 when I looked at it earlier. I'm really reaching out to find a new set of feeler gauges as well, as what I have now are primarily standard increments, with oddball wtf numbers for the metric. I have a feeling that my valve clearances are still a little off so I'd like to gauge them more accurately.

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I've cleaned the contacts before, I'll probably end up doing it again. From my understanding, dielectric grease impedes electrical flow, which is why I'm hesitant to apply it to such a low voltage component with tiny connectors. Maybe on the back so humid air can't get in and corrode it, but I'm wary about putting it directly on the connectors. I'm going to use zip ties to hold the plug in for now.

 

I've been holding out on the EDIS/MS setup until I get the turbo motor ready, but I'd certainly like it too. I wanted to get a good understanding of how the stock electronics work before I completely overhaul them as well. Hopefully I figured out my Z's lack of balls too. I just got a timing light so I can accurately gauge the ignition timing, which I'm pretty sure is retarded well below 10 degrees BTDC (looked more like between 0 and 5 when I looked at it earlier. I'm really reaching out to find a new set of feeler gauges as well, as what I have now are primarily standard increments, with oddball wtf numbers for the metric. I have a feeling that my valve clearances are still a little off so I'd like to gauge them more accurately.

 

Dielectrics are fine for this situation. It simply stops moisture from getting in there and can help the contacts stay cleaner. I've used it on about everything electronic. Your pins have direct contact (or should, anyways), so it won't hurt that.

Getting the lash right is very helpful. It is good to have a second person so you can feel if it's moving as you tighten the lifters. Don't assume it's still right after you tighten it down.

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In that case, I'll give it a whirl. Zip ties are holding the plug in place just fine for now, and I solved my "L28 has no balls" dilemma. Turns out I set my ignition timing to 0 degrees instead of 10 B.T.D.C. Durrrhurrhurrr!!

 

She certainly has some "balls" now!! :eek:

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So now I'm wondering... if my cabin STILL manages to have too much exhaust drone after I completely cover the inside with 80mil Rattletrap mat, should I buy a resonator for the exhaust or will that kill the twice pipe's note. Or should I just weigh my Z down with another layer of rattletrap.. :(

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I highly doubt that there will be an annoying drone after all that sound deadening but if so I'd say go the route of modifying the exhaust instead of adding more weight.

 

 

Hope so! My girlfriend refuses to ride in the car, but more importantly I can't hear the radio!! :)

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