cgsheen1

So, no altitude compensation in the '75. Once stopped and restarted, was it better? (some ECUs read barometric pressure at ignition ON and use that figure until power off) Now the SU guys are gonna say: Dang, I could have just rolled down my jets (temperature/altitude adjustment knobs) and kept on going! Sucks you got EFI... The forests in the Rockies are a bit different than in the East, eh. I was raised on the Western slope of the continental divide in Idaho. I thought I knew what a forest was until: A. My wife and I drove across country to Virginia. B. My son and I drove up the West coast to Portland, Oregon. Those are forests.

None of my turbos "freewheel" much if I were to spin them with a finger, but they spin a bit. I think however that mine spins whenever there's exhaust to move it. Yours will break-in I'm sure. Pikes Peak? You're going to need an ECU and maps that compensate for altitude change. That means it'll need a baro sensor, maps for different altitudes, and map switching and/or averaging. I can't remember if the stock L28ET ECU has a barometric sensor or not. My youngest son still runs his turbo-swapped 280Z (swapped in 2006) with a 1990 M30 (F31) ECU made tunable with a Nistune Type 2 daughterboard (11-12 pounds boost and it's a beast). (one can also Nistune a Z31 turbo ECU) Even the low-end standalones have more features generally than the L28ET requires or can use. My MS3X has features that can't be accessed by this old engine but it did give me an easy path to coil-on-plug, full sequential fuel and ignition. Phoenix is about 1100 feet and most people don't think of Arizona as mountainous, But Flagstaff is 7000 feet and my son's house in Snowflake is 6000 and they're just close to the mountains. So, we have a bit of elevation change here if you want to go up into the "piney woods". The basic L28ET engine harness (usually crap after all these years) isn't that complicated. I always advise anyone with an L28ET to scrap the stock harness and build a new one. Most of the connectors are Bosch and easily sourced - new with pins not pigtails. I'm on my 4th harness now (I bought an AEM 506 ECU so I'm building a harness for that right now). My 260Z is an uphill monster - the turbo engine has that much torque, especially with 12-14 pounds boost. Coming back down, I'm glad I have vented rotors and Porterfield friction - they work best when they're HOT.

Dave, did you post the specs of that engine and the modifications you've made? What turbo is that? Then I'm wondering why in hell you're using an L28E ECU to try to run a turbocharged engine. It's a good thing you have it in a situation where you're not inducing any load. It will not build boost (the boost you get will be at zero manifold pressure) while not under load. (my L28ET running 5000 RPM in NEUTRAL will not build boost) You need a proper ECU. On a stock L28ET that would mean a 1981 280ZXT ECU with dropping resistors OR 1982-83 280ZXT ECU without dropping resistors OR a tunable standalone ECU. You're giving more weight (credit) than you should to the O2 sensor. The early ECU does NOT poll the ECU constantly to regulate fuel. Most of the time the ECU completely ignores the O2 sensor and runs off the maps. The ECU tunes cruise AFR under certain limited conditions, in a certain RPM and LOAD range. Even the more sophisticated turbo ECUs of the 80's use basically the same strategy. Do you know for certain if your FPR will RAISE fuel pressure under boost? You can break pistons in an instant if you're hot and lean and mis-timed under boost. Ignition timing is another aspect that needs to be controlled properly. Your posts above throw up all kinds of red flags to me - but it's your engine... I have a stock L28ET intake manifold. It's a bit more sophisticated than one might think - even has a built-in "blow off valve" (that's not what Nissan calls it though). Most of us turbo-swap guys don't use them, opting for a custom intake manifold, the cleaner early 280Z non-EGR manifold, or the like. But, as soon as you ditch stock, you need a tunable ECU. You can add a Nistune daughter board to an L28ET ECU, use Megasquirt, or AEM, or... but you need the ability to tune the maps. Man... There are SO many things here... Turbo lag. I did my turbo swap in 2008 - running stock in early 2009. I've used 3 different ECUs and about to go to a fourth. Stock turbo, Chinese T04E (which I've run for 8 years or more). Stock J Pipe, custom charge pipe, custom charge pipe with same-side intercooler. I've run AFM, MAF, and none of the above with MS3X. I'VE NEVER HAD TURBO LAG - not because I'm a genius - because I have a properly sized turbo and reasonably well thought out charge and intake air piping. I have a turbo that starts to build boost around 2500 RPM, comes on smoothly, and really lets you know it's there when it hits 8 or 9 pounds and beyond. Turbo lag... Edit: OH, and get a WIDEBAND!!

The "pin" is electrically isolated, so it doesn't necessarily need to be plastic. Brass?

That's generally always a good idea. If someone comes up with a replacement for that plastic tip, I can fix 2 or 3 headlight switches that I have.

If you've tried holding the plastic "knob" in the front while using a flat blade screwdriver at the back and it didn't unscrew, then I'd assume the knob is pressed on the shaft like many other knobs on a steel shaft. Since it's a thing that's meant to be turned, I'd think it was the latter - a knurled shaft with the knob pressed on. Since it has a spring behind it, the fit would have to be very tight. It has a few disparate parts, so there had to be an assembly procedure. Now, whether it was meant to be disassembled is another matter... I have a few at the shop but I've never tried to take that particular assembly apart.

Why not bypass the switch and see if the turn signal circuit works otherwise. Power comes from the flasher unit (White to Green?), the switch sends it to the G/B or G/R depending on position. Jump the Power from flasher to the G/B and see if it flashes - then on to the G/R...

The 5-speed adds nothing but an overdrive gear. The overdrive gear is meant for reducing RPM at cruising speed to add fuel economy - not speed or torque. The 240mm clutch package won't care if it has a Nissan 4-speed or 5-speed behind it. I have an L28ET with the Exedy 240mm clutch package and a 280ZX close-ratio 5-speed behind it in my 260Z.

Go through the EFI troubleshooting basics in the FSM and triple check your EFI wiring and connectors - make sure everything is CLEAN. Check your EFI coolant sensor for correct Ohm reading. Please don't touch the AFM until you've literally done everything else (unless someone else already screwed you by messing with it). Vacuum leaks will completely throw the ECU out of whack. If you've had a windshield leak in the left bottom corner be sure to pull out the ECU and check the connector and all the pins for corrosion. L Series love a rich condition - up to a point.

I've got my popcorn - still waiting to hear how the spindle pin saga goes for you. (I shouldn't say this. When I bought this 260Z chassis in November of 2007 to install the L28ET my youngest son gave me I had ZERO experience pulling spindle pins. I wanted to clean and paint all the rear suspension components, so I took it all apart. The spindle pins pushed (well, tapped) right out - someone before me had installed them correctly and used anti-seize - but at the time I assumed that was the way all spindle pins would be... Besides mine I actually did 2 or 3 sets before I ran into my first "cut it apart and press out the pieces".)

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I'm laughing at reading their description "to add rigidity and strength to the front fenders" as it welds to the chassis and has absolutely nothing to do with the fenders themselves. It definitely is a chassis brace. I would look at what the others have done to strengthen the chassis to prep for racing their Z (even if you're not - racing). But honestly, I think the greatest strength of a Z Car would be the ability to avoid being in a collision.

Mine have been in since September, I daily drive my 260Z, and I've actually driven quite a bit using them at night (I have LED replacements for my H4 bulbs in my headlight housings now and they are BRIGHT) - even a couple of 3 hour night trips up in the mountains. After changing all the gauge bulbs, I replaced all my turn signal and brake lamps with LED bulbs as well. Probably should do the same in my side markers... The ones I bought are "short" enough to fit well inside the green lenses of the gauges. If you remove your gauges, it pays to disassemble them and re-paint the inside of the gauge body with flat white paint. I tape over the green lens and shoot the inside of the "can" - that bounces a lot more light out of the can and onto the gauge face and needle. Made a big difference even while I was using incandescent bulbs.

Most of my difficulty with spindle pins hasn't been with corrosion - maybe no surprise as I live in the stinking desert. It has been with the lock pin having been installed incorrectly. Spindle pins are relatively soft and I've pulled many that have a "mushroom" on one or both edges of the indent that the lock pin settles in. Once the spindle pin is deformed in the middle it makes it difficult to pull either direction. I assume the problem comes from either over-tightening or from not having the pin in the correct position and then expecting the lock pin to correct the orientation as it's being installed. Generally, If I can get the pin to rotate, I can get it to come out. I've never used a spindle pin puller. (I did have a customer bring one in that he bought - and quickly broke - I was not impressed)

Interested too - I've pulled a lot of spindle pins and have had fair-to-poor luck with heat.

I used these: Amazon.com: QasimLed Bayonet BA9 BA9S 53 57 1895 64111 T4W Super Stable and Bright Led Bulbs Exterior Marker Indicator Interior Reverse Side Corner Light White 12V DC 10pcs : Everything Else They are dimmable and work with the stock rheostat. But like SteveJ said: "I haven't found a need to dim the gauge bulbs ... since I can't remember when." But then I live in Phoenix and don't get out driving in the country at night much. Lotta "light pollution" here.

Yup.

Oh, you should have said this in the beginning... You read what I said about the right turn signal pilot being tied to the right front turn signal lamp wiring? You have no idea if "your turn signals work" if you're only able to test the rear lights. I also said the turn signal lamps were on 2 separate circuits - one front, one rear. In this case it certainly can be an issue with the right turn signal SWITCH. That is as a very common problem.

The wiring diagram says that shouldn't happen as the power to that lamp comes directly off the wiring that powers the turn signal. It gets its ground from the gauge body. The stock '72 has 2 turn signal circuits - one for the front (GB & GR), one for the rear (WB & WR). The right turn signal pilot lamp is connected to the GB wiring to the front turn signal lamp. If the right front turn signal lamp is working, so should the pilot lamp. The hazard switch sends power through the same wiring... That's IF everything is still stock - I've seen a LOT of under dash wiring that is NOT. Otherwise, oddity.

The insulator on the left is either damaged or modified. It should look like the one on the right and the front insulators have a bearing between the insulator and the top perch (in stock form) so turning can happen without friction on the insulator.

The steering column is grounded to the frame by it's mounting bolts. There isn't a specific ground wire connected to it. There is a large ground wire at the steering column to provide the grounds needed by the switches on the column but it's not directly attached to the column itself. Is your frame ground intact?

I use cotton twine (rope) and wet it before inserting it in the groove. It's amazing how it cuts the rope friction pulling it out of the rubber (and makes pulling those corners easier). My son and I generally tackle windshield and hatch glass together but I'm going to try your solo method - sounds solid.

Due to a NASA (supposed to be) weekend on stock brakes (which lasted about 2 track sessions with the instructor) I started out with the 4-piston non-vented mounted on stock disc. (just the caliper change and I can't remember the friction material - probably semi-metallic back then) The "butt dyno" couldn't really tell the difference between this and stock. Disappointed, I installed the Z31 vented rotors with the 4-Runner wide calipers (stock master and booster) - friction was either semi-metallic or ceramic, can't remember. I noticed a good improvement in braking and a large improvement in fade and heat dissipation. A short time later, I installed Porterfield friction material on all four wheels (stock drums in back). These pads grip about the same as an OEM with normal street traffic, when they warm up they get VERY grippy and do not fade. Goldie likes to hill climb (L28ET builds a lot of torque) and coming back down the hill is much less dicey with this particular friction. At the bottom I still have full confidence as these grab better at the bottom than they did at the top and I've yet to experience fade. I've been on this setup for 7-8 years and I daily drive my 260Z. I still use the stock master. My youngest son did the same brake swap on his 1975 280Z but replaced the master with a 15/16 280ZX master cylinder. I'm sure there's some difference, but I've never really been able to tell when I drive his car.

It's probably the switch itself and it's a very common problem. Lots of threads about these issues. Left is pretty common because the mechanics of the switch causes the contact end to be pushed up. Gravity and worn parts tend to pull the contact away or cause it not to fully engage.

Printer files have been on thingiverse for quite a while for this and many other Datsun parts.