l28e 240z vs. l28et 280zx!

[cd1105]

I'm with cd1105 on this one.

 

I thought it was going to be a big huge deal, but rebuilding the L28 is really not a hard thing at all. Swapping it in and out of the car is even easier.

 

Follow a few simple rules, and turbocharged Datsun fury is at your finger-, er... toetips.

 

1. Plastic baggies - Every part smaller than your fist should go in a plastic baggie, labeled with what it is and maybe even where it came from. Sounds time intensive, and it is, but much less so then "Oh god, where are my front cover bolts?"

 

2. Clean EVERYTHING - Find some kind of heavy concentrated degreaser (I prefer Oomph!(http://www.stp-oomph.com/products.php); removes carbon crud, rust, and any grime REALLY quickly). You'll feel better about it, and your engine will thank you.

 

3. Go by (buy?) the book - Get the FSM, a Haynes or similar, and the 'How to Rebuild Your Nissan/Datsun OHC Engine'. The last one has the most pictures, but also the most misinformation (IE dunking your pistons in oil before installing them.)

quote]

 

+1 on rules 1 and 2

 

that information in 3 scares me lol. i have my haynes manual on the way for the reasemble.

[Ineptitude01]

I'm still a little mad at the 'How to Rebuild...' book. That stupid guy told me 'It's very easy to get the rear main seal on the crankshaft. Just push it over with your thumbs'

 

Well, lads, I'm here to tell ya. It's not very easy. I broke two of them, ran out of patience, and continued with the build. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong, but I'm just going to get this when the engine's assembled on the crane, awaiting flywheels and other treats.

 

The moral of the story is, check all your books, and usually 2/3 will agree.

 

I guess rule no. 4 is 'Use your head'. Most of the time, if something looks weird, it is weird. If your crank isn't spinning, for example, check which way the arrows on the main caps are pointing. *cough* Not that I would have made such a dummy mistake...

[xShodaimex]

HOLY shiznitz!! I was googling around and came across this forum and after reading the whole thing I noticed I WAS THE ONE WHO STARTED THIS POST! Wow has it been long! BTW guys I NOW own a late 74 260z with the infamous l28et!

 

Sorry to bring up such an old ad dead post but I just had to!! Lol

[HowlerMonkey]

I am going through the "plastic baggie nightmare" right now.

 

My half brother who is 20 years younger than me had a mitsubishi 3000GT VR4 in which he proceeded to take apart the engine and all peripherals as well as the transfer case down the the last bolt and put all the parts into plastic baggies with labels.

 

That was 5 years ago and it sat in dad's garage for 5 years before I boxed up and shipped the entire mess to my place to put together.

 

I spent hours organizing the baggies on a very large table and spent many hours trying to find things as I put together the engine.

 

After spending more time searching than wrenching, I simply poured the contents of all the baggies on the table and it's been easy ever since.

[BluDestiny]

So is your car running?

[HowlerMonkey]

I've replaced the rod and main bearings, lifters, water pump, oil pump, all tensioners and idler pulleys.

 

I'm still sourcing a pair of used turbos that are rebuildable and having trouble finding rebuild kids for the 4 piston calipers he took apart.

 

Engine is done with the rotating internals of the turbos replaced with a through bolt welded so it doesn't come loose (all housings were ruined by turbine contact) as I plan to throw the engine/tranny in to drive the car and see what else is wrong before investing a bunch more money when it might be cheaper to get an imported jdm AWD tranny.

 

I just have to finish the transfer case, possibly replace the center viscous differential, swap some diodes and surface mount components from one ECU to another, rebuild the brakes, rebuild the turbos, etc........

 

You know....the simple stuff.

Edited September 18, 2012 by HowlerMonkey