Pir0San

I do have the book, but I'm still a bit shy on doing the lower end work. I spoke to the machine shop a while ago, and I asked if they'd be able to help me out with measurements and whatnot, and they said they'd have no problem with it. I will probably read up and see how comfortable I feel, and if not, I'll get the shop to help me. I don't think I'll get the whole engine rebuilt for $360, but that will at least pay for all of my machine work, and I've priced out parts for around the $200 range. When I called the shop last, they quoted me $200 for all machine work I want done, so I'll have to pay some money out of pocket, but it's worth it!

Something else I was also concerned about was the installation of the rod and main bearings. I know you have to get certain size bearings and they have to be installed correctly, but the installation doesn't sound too complicated. If the machine shop does the measurements for the bearings, then it should be a simple task of installing them in the right places and lubing them up for the first startup, right?

I've already replaced the timing chain and tensioners around 1500 miles ago, and they are still in good shape. Rod bolts are a good idea, I think I'll look into those. Anyone have a set they want to sell? Those are a little too rich for my blood, but we'll see. The only damage I saw due to the spun bearing was on the rod for the first piston. I'll take a look at the bearing seats tomorrow to verify, but the bearings weren't bad when I dismantled the engine. As for the pistons: if I understand you right, it's okay to swap pistons, as long as I swap all six at the same time. So if the piston from the original block is bad, then swap all six and I'll be in good shape? I'm going to get a new clutch and pressure plate assembly, so I should be good, right? I'll have the machine shop check out my crankshaft pulley when doing the work.

I filled out my taxes a few days ago, and I'm getting back $360, so I decided I'm finally going to pull my engine and have it rebuilt. For anyone who hasn't read my engine story, I spun a rod bearing in my original numbers matching engine which I figured out was due to a cracked head sometime later, and the sucker was seized. I couldn't afford to get the crank fixed, so the car sat until I found a guy on ebay that was giving away a L24 block. I jumped on the deal, bought a new head, and slapped the engine together. She ran once again, but the ebay block had bad oil control rings that the PO failed to tell me about, so she burns oil like crazy. After doing some thinking, I have decided that I want to rebuild the numbers matching block, and once again have my Z as reliable as possible. I want to pull the crank and rods out of the ebay engine, put the numbers matching pistons onto the ebay rods, and piece together the original block with the crank and rods. From what I understand, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. I am going to do some machine work, which I will list below. So, I have a plan, but I need parts. With my tax return, I plan on buying: Standard piston rings Main bearings Rod bearings Rear main oil seal Timing cover gasket and front crankshaft seal Head gasket Oil pan gasket Valve cover gasket Oil pressure sensor Assembly lube DistributorI also need some machine work: Measurement of pistons and cylinder bore to check for need of oversize pistons/rings Measurement of crank and rods to check for bearing type Cylinder honing Crank and rod micropolish Block hot tank Flywheel resurfaceI also have some literature to help me with the engine rebuild, such as a trusty Haynes manual, and "How to rebuild your Nissan & Datsun OHC Engine" by Tom Monroe, which was very kindly given to me by one of the members from this forum (I forget who it was, but I do appreciate it greatly! You know who you are, speak up! :biggrin: ). I do have a few concerns though. On the original block, one of my spark plug ceramics fell out of the plug and nicked away at the piston face. I'll get pictures of the damage, but I'm not sure if this will affect the operation of the engine at all. If it will, can the matching piston from the ebay block be used in the original block? I seem to remember reading somewhere that it's a bad idea to mix pistons between blocks. I also had water and oil mix on the ebay block before I realized the original head was cracked, but didn't drive the car once I saw it mixed, so I'm afraid the crankshaft may be scored. If so, I can have the crank machined for oversize bearings. I feel like I'm forgetting something, so if you guys have any ideas, post them here!

I thought the post was funny, and saw no intentional harm in it. Yeah, you poked fun at women, but then again, the whole world does. We as people label women with the stereotype of not being able to do things a man might typically do: change a tire, work on a Z, etc., but very many women break the mold. If anything, you gave any woman a chance to prove you wrong, and even admitted that many women can do what you said some can't. I just saw it as a friendly jab towards a typical stereotype, with no harm intended. Your apology was admirable though!

Yeah, the car has been running good, except for the bad oil control rings that the PO of the block failed to tell me about, but even with that it still runs great.

I had a cracked head, but it would only leak when the car was running. I figured it was the head gasket, so I tried swapping it, but pulling the head off of the car made everything much worse. I took the head down to a machine shop to get it checked out, but the pressure test passed. I later found out that the head had a crack near the water jacket that would only open up as the aluminum expanded. I replaced the head, and now no more leaking. These blocks are pretty indestructible, and if you're getting only one predominately clean cylinder, I'd bet on a cracked head. As for the water and oil mix, that happened to me too. I let the car sit for a few days, and drained the oil. Since the water and oil do not mix very well, the water and oil divided, with the oil on top of the water. When the oil was drained, only water rushed out for the most part. After draining the oil, I dropped the oil pan and de-greased/pressure washed the inside of the pan. After getting the new head I buttoned everything back up, and the car was as good as new. Good luck, and I've been in your shoes. I know it sucks.

Thanks for the reply. So it seems that the cheapest and easiest way to figure out the halfshaft issue is to take the stub shafts from the 280Z and clip them into the r200, and then the stock 240Z halfshafts will bolt right up. Sounds perfect for me, I'm not looking for massive torque. I may get my head and intake port and polished and maybe a mild cam, but not anything too aggressive.

Is your timing set right? If you're just starting to accelerate and your timing is off, this can lead to sputtering, or at least it did when my timing was way off.

I just read through your writeup Jon, and I'd have to say you did a great job. My question is this: has anyone done a writeup on how to install the r200 differential into the 240Z? I've tried to look it up, but had little success. I did see the part list on your writeup, and I understand what I need, but what really confuses me is the prospect of the halfshafts. I was thinking about going for the 84-89 300zxt r200 swap, but I don't quite understand what I'd have to get in order to make the halfshafts/cv shafts work. I guess it's just not clicking quite yet . I want to get something with a higher gear ratio for more acceleration, so I was thinking a 3.90 differential, hence the 300zxt differential. Or would it just be easier to swap to a non-lsd 3.90 r200 from a 280zx? Oh, one last thing. How would 3.90's perform on a f4w71b 4 speed in top gear on the freeway? Would I be revving much higher than I do now with my stock 3.54 (I think that's what it came stock with). Thanks!

just turned 21 about 2 weeks ago

I'd even be willing to buy a copy from someone if they wouldn't mind parting ways with their copy. I have verified the fact that my Z did make the magazine! If anyone has it, please let me know, and I'll pay for it.

I recieved a PM today from the editor of Nissan Sport Mag, saying that my Z has graced page 80 in the winter 2007 issue of Nissan Sport Mag, but I never remember being told that my entry made it into the magazine. If anyone has this issue, can they please post a pic/scan of page 80, so that I may verify my excitement?

My tranny is doing the same thing. It sounds like a scraping noise when driving, but the noise seems to come from the transmission and not the rear of the car. I've got a spare tranny, I was going to swap it and see if the sound goes away.

Thanks Dave, I appreciate the input. I felt helpless for a while because I lost my job, but now that I have a new job, life is great, and I'm making enough money that if I save for a few months, I can fix the Z. I heard the same thing about the Xenon spoilers, and I was looking into them. The link you posted was for the exact spoiler I had my eye on. Oh, and your link for the 3m film didn't show up, but I have an idea what you're talking about. A guy I knew had a dad with a corvette stingray and he had this clear film on the back of the car where the hardtop would meet the metal, to keep it from scratching/chipping the paint. I'll take a look into it.

Yeah, the hood is indeed gone, but I've got a cherry hood sitting in my room right behind me. To me, the frame rail doesn't look tweaked, it looks like when we collided, the bumper support bracket folded on the driver's side, and shoved the mounting area outward slightly. When this happened, it caused the radiator support and headlight bucket side to fold a little bit, which also damaged the fender. I plan on dismantling the front end and taking a look. As for the choice of an airdam/spoiler/spook versus the stock valence, I'm still undecided. I like the look of the spoiler, but I'm concerned of hitting it on the ground, curbs, speedbumps, etc. I've seen too many spoilers become damaged, which makes me weary to get one. There are also some nasty speed bumps at the college I attend, so it would depend on how it would fit and how far away from the ground it is at stock ride height. I haven't really found any spoilers that catch my eye either, but then again, all I have seen is in the MSA catalog, and their pictures look as if they were taken back in the 50s. I do have a spare valence, and a spare corner for the damaged side, but both need some tlc to get them just perfect.

I took the bra off, and the hood is dented backwards. It bent my grill a little bit, but it looks repairable (the grill). I've got two new headlight buckets, a new hood, a fender that needs very little work, and I was planning on cutting some sheet metal from another Z at Pick N Pull for the rust fixes. I left the bra on there because the paint underneath it is positively hideous. Thanks for taking the time and checking out my post. I moved my pictures to photobucket, to make it easier to check them out. Photobucket link

Well, I was in an accident a year ago, and messed up the front end of my Z. I finally got around to getting good pictures of the damage today, and I wanted to see all of your opinions on the damage and what to do. I practically wrote an essay on Zdriver.com about this same topic, but I wanted to also see what you all felt about my Z and what I should do. Instead of copying and pasting, I'm going to leave a link to the post on Zdriver, and if you guys want to post back with your ideas, please post them here. Click here for link.

want to paint my car? I'll even throw in some cash!

veritech, I like your paint scheme. It's different, but in a good way.

fury, is your front bumper upside down?

Ah, thanks for the clarification. I wonder if nissan still stocks the 00056.

That key looks identical to my 240Z key, but flipped. The "grooves" in the key you showed are towards the left, whereas mine are towards the right.

you guys are awesome. Thanks for the pics and leads, I seriously couldn't find anything of value myself.

I've been looking around for a long while for some pictures and/or videos of the Z's racing in the Safari rally(ies), and was curious if anyone could help out my search.