Av8ferg

It appears to have a hex plug in there Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay, we’ll I just removed it from the thermostat housing. I guess the PO had stuff in the wrong place. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think the big one is the Thermotime switch, not the one going into the block. You think there is enough temp sensors on this thing...OMG! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hey guys a couple questions. I’ve disassembled the thermostat housing assemblies for cleaning (probably going to put them it in a media agitator / tumbler because it has a lot of corrosion, oil and coolant residue. It was really hard to remove those sensors. So there are several sensors in this thing. 1. Thermotime switch 2. Water temperature sensing switch 3. Thermal Transmitter 4. Water Temp Sensor. 5. Thermal Vacuum Valve Seems like a lot of redundant sensors but I plan on replacing all of them. Actually will clean and test the Thermotime switch first because that one is pretty expensive. So there is another sensor that that goes on on a block just above the Thermostat housing. It has two wire coming out. Reading online it’s another Water temp switch and is used as part of the EFI?. I was reading the EFI bible and it seems to be written for a 280z not the ZX. I realize the concepts are the same but it seems these sensors and switch might be in slightly different locations because the pics in the Bible of the sensor housing are different than what came on my 82 L28. Can anyone clear this up. See my pics My initial impression is that the TVV and the Water Temp Sensor were put in the wrong place. The TVV isn’t supposed to be on to the Thermostat housing but on the other component. Thoughts? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My 77 has that hole. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yes, the block is painted. DE1651 Cast Coat Iron from Duplicolor. I didn’t really like the look of the Datsun turquoise blue, I thought it clashed with the red engine compartment. Blasphemy to some of the Datsun hardliners but it’s a 77, not a series 1 collector car. I really like the look of this block color. I have a red powder coated valve cover and I think the colors go well together. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks for the previous advice guys. Made progress this week despite a few minor setbacks. I’ve installed the head, timing chain, timing chain cover and water pump. Here are pics from today. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It’s not that I don’t trust the damper pulley marks but just following the rebuild book which talks about using a dial indicator to set TDC before putting the head on and avoid potentially damaging a valve. The timing cover goes on after and now I can verify the position. I set TDC using the dial Indicator then temporarily placed the timing cover and damper on to validate the markings. With the crankshaft set as the video shows my damper indicates between 0 and 1 deg. Now I know exactly what the pulley should show. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay, planning to get the head possibly installed today. Just wanted to confirm the process I’ve used to determine TDC for cylinder #1. I’ve used a dial indicator and the video is in the link below. What do you all think? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finally got all my pistons in. Been busy lately but finally got the last one in today. I wanted to post a pic of the rod bearing clearance. I used plastigage. The FSM says the clearance should be 0.025 to 0.055 mm. Here’s how mine came out. Looks to be to be slightly more than the .051 indicator on the plastigage wrapper. So it meets spec in my opinion. What do you all think? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Okay. Flat washers go on the two large long bolts. Locking washers on the rest. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I bought the full engine stainless steel bolt kit but haven’t put them in yet (still installing pistons) and have all the old bolts saved exactly as they were removed. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think the lock washers go on the long bolts and flat washer on the short. I have my water pump bolts removed and stuck through a cardboard box and can confirm that in the morning when I get home. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Look at this car. A nice 280z, ready to go. https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1978-datsun-280z-67/ Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I tend to agree. It’s probably worth more than $2000 because you said it “runs well”? I went back through the pics and the rust is worse than I thought. The frame rails in the engine compartment looks like they could be pretty bad. I’m concerned about what you can’t see. Walk away...find a better car. They are out there just be patient. Rust repair will drain your wallet fast. I’d rather have a non-runner with little or no rust than a running car. Getting the engine running or a replacement isn’t that expensive compared to rust and metal work. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree with all the comments above. That car is way way over-priced. You don’t need to feel rushed he’s not selling that car anytime soon at that price. The market is different across the country but nowhere is it that high. I paid $3800 for a rust free car that didn’t run and needed a full interior rehab. That car your looking at is a 5-7k car at the most. The rust on the door jam is concerning. If he’s at 14k it probably is not negotiable and he clearly isn’t away of The value of these cars right now. Go find another on. I see good deals all the time you’ll just have to be patient. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well that makes sense. You seem to be doing a pretty good job regardless. It could be worse, you could live in California, it has crazy taxes, and they are so strict on vehicle inspections it makes owning a classic car very painful there too. I used to live there and had a classic VW that I had to register out of state to get it on the road there. It one of the reasons I enjoy living in the South, its super inexpensive, and the states mostly exempt older cars. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Why do cars cost more to restore in Canada? Is it a tax thing or just a smaller market resulting in higher prices. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

These are OEM Nissan rings. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So, I measured my ring gaps yesterday and they are a little bigger than the FSM published. Book recommends .0098 to .0157 with a wear limit of .0394. The How to Rebuild books recommends .012 to .017. These are for the compression ring. See pics of pages in pubs. My ring gap at the top, 3/4” down the bore was .019 on two rings and .018 on the rest. I the grabbed my old rings to see where they were. .021 to .022. So my ring gap is bigger than the FSM and rebuild book. Is this a concern? I think no, but I thought I get a consensus. Questions: 1. Is my Ring gap okay? 2. the rebuild book says to look for a “pip” or dot marking on the ring and make sure it’s facing up. I don’t have a dot but have and “S” on mine. I’m assuming this is a “pip” Mark. Even the instruction that came with the stock Nissan standard rings mention a dot mark but it’s not on the rings. See pics. 3. Back to crankshaft bearings. When reading the FSM last night about ring install I saw this paragraph about crank bearings. It says bearing #4 is different (plainly obvious, it’s flanged) and all the rest are the same and then the next sentence says 1 and 7 are the same. Are they same as 2,3,5,6 too? I did notice that when I installed my bearings #1 seemed a more little narrow compared to the flange it lays in. I’m wondering if I mixed up #1 with another 2,3,5 or 6 bearing. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interesting. Thanks for looking that up. I blasted the assemblies with carb cleaner after to remove all the purple power so hopefully that’s sufficient to purge it all. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The Purple Power is bad a$$ stuff. Finally all the pistons are totally clean, and all look immaculate. Got my scale and started weighing each whole assembly minus the rings and bearings. The lowest is 1273.6g and the heaviest is 1279.3g (off of memory). All the others are between those. I’ll post the weights when I get back to the garage later tonight. I also weighed the rod ends alone (without bolts). It appears Nissan has already tried to match the lighter rods with heavier ends. Average rod end is around 173.3g. One is 179.2 grams and it’s already on the lightest assembly. The bottom line is I have a 5g delta between my heaviest and lightest assembly. That is equivalent to 2 pennies. Not sure is the worth trying to match them up. It’s a stock motor and it was good enough for Nissan. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My rings grooves are looking good now. Needed a light brush up with a brass brush to get the hardened stuff totally out. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, as you guys know I’ve been cleaning pistons all week. Like many of you, I have a case of OCD and I cannot let things not just okay. I know it’s not necessary to clean the underside of the pistons immaculately but I couldn’t leave them nasty looking. It would bother me to leave them like that. Like when Steve Jobs asked his engineers when looking at the iPhone prototype he asked what the screws were made of. When they told him normal steel he wasn’t happy and wanted them to be stainless steel. They said “no one will ever know and it would be more expensive”. He responded “ I don’t care...I will know” That’s the story I was told not sure if it factual but it makes my point. So I’ve been cleaning the inside of the pistons...if you think the top is hard it’s worse under due to tight crannies and grooves. I’ve experimented with a lot of products this week. Here’s my rating on their ability to remove carbon residue. Scale is 1-10. 10 is best (this isn’t Asia where #1 is best) WD-40 = 5/10 Acetone = 6/10 Mineral Spirits = 2/10 Sea foam 2/10 Carb Cleaner 8/10 Purple Power 9/10 I had a bottle of purple power on my shelf already. Said, what the heck let me try it. Sprayed it on the underside of the piston and walked away for 10 mins. Came back and there was a black puddle under the piston. This stuff is amazing. No scrubbing, no wire brush or scotch brite. Wipe clean with a shop towel and hit with a blast of carb cleaner and....boom spotless!!! Check it out below. 10 min soak and 5 min to wipe clean and hit with carb cleaner . Unbelievable!! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just ordered a scale with a .1g accuracy on Amazon for $16.99 https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B07MP1Y746?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image Don’t think I’ll be able to trim the skinny end of the rods while attached so whatever differences I find will come off the caps I guess. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk