L28 from 82 ZX teardown

[Av8ferg]

Finally got my F54/P79 engine in my garage. I’m going to start tearing it down for a complete rebuild to install in my 77z. Has 164k miles on it and is a guaranteed engine. Was a deal $408 out the door, no core. I might need some help as this happens so wanted to start a new thread for anyone wanting to guide me along.

 

 

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[siteunseen]

Take a lot of pictures as your take it apart.

Don't force the old bolts, they'll snap in a heartbeat. 50/50 acetone and transmission fluid is the best penetrating oil I've ever used. A quart of each will last forever. Buy a spray bottle and mix it as you need to.

When you ziploc bag stuff write what it is on a piece of paper, not on the baggie. It'll rub off.

Get some thin cheap wire, phone wire for me, and use it to tie bolts into their part.

I'll try and add if I can. You're about to have some fun finally. 

AND the engine stand rotates a lot easier if you take the weight off the front, rope from the ceiling or a floorjack with a stick of wood. Be really careful though, they'll slide out on your foot!

The wire I'm talking about is to keep the different length bolts in the right holes. The water pump, front cover, oil pump...

Buy a gallon of lacquer thinner, $10, put it in a five gallon bucket with a tight lid. You'll soak a lot of stuff in that then blow the crud off easier trust me.

Edited September 16, 2019 by siteunseen

[Av8ferg]

Cliff,
Thanks, all great advice. I need to be disciplined because otherwise I’ll have a mess trying to put all the little things back on. Great advice.
Tomorrow I’m going to try and pull the Intake an exhaust manifolds . Charging the go-pro so I can record watch it later Iliad I need to. Already broke my first bolt on the heat shielding between the manifolds.


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[Av8ferg]

Okay, got the manifolds all off without breaking a bolt. Whew!! I let the bolts soak overnight in a penetrating oil and they came off in a breeze.

Here are the first looks at the head and and cam. Looks dirty but I don’t see anything the looks like a problem.






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[Captain Obvious]

Awesome! Looks great so far. One broken bolt on an manifold heat shield? You're ahead of the game!

Crack the front main pulley bolt loose before you take the head off. The friction from the valve train will help hold the crank while you loosen the big bolt. And also you won't run the risk of bunching up the chain in a tangle and wedging something. You'll probably need an impact wrench. Do you have one of those?

And then when you go to pull the head, remember the special procedure for loosening the head bolts. And don't break any of them!  

[Av8ferg]

Copy all. I have 1/4 impact driver but that’s probably not going to cut it. This timing chain looks new to me but what do I know.


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[Zed Head]

Did the car have 164K or the engine.  That emblem glued on to the engine is not a Nissan factory thing.  It looks like it's a fairly fresh reman.  You might find that everything is almost new.  Might be ready to go as-is.  Stop and think.

Someone ot there has probably seen this before.  @240260280z 

[siteunseen]

I put some Vise-Grips on the cam and used a big ole cheater pipe on my 1/2" drive with 27mm socket to break the crank nose bolt loose.  Same thing to re-tighten.

[jonbill]

Or you can thread a couple of bolts into the other end of The crank and put a bar across them locked against the engine stand to stop the crank from turning.

[siteunseen]

Good catch Zed Head!  I need to pay better attention.  Didn't even think about that.

I have seen those, on my Camry as a matter of fact.  That head's been rebuilt I bet.  The glue or silicone holding that button on gets too hot and it falls of, voiding the warranty.

"heat tabs"

Edited September 17, 2019 by siteunseen

[Zed Head]

164k is not a ton of miles.  Normally a person would measure pressure, do a leakdown test, look at oil consumption, check the cam sprocket notch and groove, etc,  You're kind of jumping ahead Av.

[Zed Head]

So the question might be are you rebuilding it for fun or to make it better?  I'd at least check valve lash and the cam sprocket notch and groove, just to see what the wear is on the valve train.  If it's freshly refreshed you'd be wasting money to mess with it.  The cam lobes look new.  It might end up in worse shape when you're done, no offense.

Sorry to the guys looking for internet entertainment.  I'm one of them...