Orbit-Zzz 84 Z31 AE Project (Warning - tons of pics)

Hey Guys,

Thought I'd post all my stuff on here. Note: this is a copy and paste from auz31club.com and is quite long.

Vids of the engine running at the end.

My names Brad and I live in Forrestfield, Perth.
Just wanted to say hi and to show you some progress on my Z31.

Anyways, my Zed is an 84 50th AE 2+2 N/A. I've had it since 2001 but my rego lapsed by 2 weeks in 2002 and the cops took the plates off it. Its been off the road since and I've slowly been getting new parts for it, mostly from the US cause Nissan Australia is a rip-off.

Some of the new parts include:
new fuel rail and injectors
all polly bushings - not all installed yet
tokico 5 way adjustable rear shocks - not installed yet
pedders comfort gas front shocks
eibach lowering springs - not installed yet
CM performance exhuast 2.5" with hi flow cat
MSA Headers
New brake disks and recond calipers
heaps more but I can't remember all of them.

Here's some pics of the progress so far.

Old exhaust system


Old vs New CM system


New CM stainless muffler


Headers installed - under car view


Header Y pipe


New poly transmission mount and dampers


Headers installed - b4 removing heads


Headers installed - b4 removing heads


engine b4 removing heads


Intake collector removed


Heads removed




new CM muffler installed


Modified colour dash












And also started removing pistons to change the rings...need to hone the bores...










Here's some more parts that just arrived @ my work from Jason at Z31parts.com

can't wait to get them installed


Polly steering rack bushes, Polly front spring seats, Plenum spacer kit, Lower temp thermostat and Polly boots for tie rods and ball joints.

Got the engine out finally.


The rear crank seal was split.


Crankshaft looks ok. Sorry for the blurry pic, taken on a mobile.


Clutch, looks a bit worn. I think I better get a new one since its all apart.


Bell housing, very greasy from the broken seal.




Cleaned and painted front cross member ready to go back in. Will these engine mounts be legal here in aus?


Cleaned up oil pan, need to paint the outside.


Passenger (left side) of block seems not too bad, honed it a little needs a tiny bit more.


Drivers side, much more worn, still got to hone more, but I'm scared of taking too much out.


Close up of the worst cylinder wall.


Cleaned and painted struts. The one on the right has the new Eibach Lowering spring. The shocks in these are Pedders comfort and are practally new, only done 50kms or so when driving the car to our new place.


Cleaned and painted guards (I know its not the best of jobs but its not going to be fully visable).


Pedders Comfort standard height spring vs Eibach Lowered with no load.


Installing lowering spring with poly spring seat.


Fully recon power steering pump and brand new water pump.


Fully recon power steering rack (this cost heaps ).


New clutch kit.


Got my bored out block back with new oversize pistons, rings and bearings installed







Started to re-assemble the engine and install it back into the AE shell for now to get it running.




New Rear seal installed


New front seal and oil pump installed


Oil Pickup installed.


Sump installed




New clutch kit installed




Engine back in car




Cleaned starter moter re-installed


New water pump and coolant lines installed




Drivers side head back on.




Passenger head is on.


Passenger side Header is on. There's no clearance issues at all with this one.






Drivers side is a different story.


Touching the bell tower.




Close to the brake and clutch lines





The brake lines are close. The line not hooked in place is the clutch line I replaced years ago. I need to bend it more to shape and cip it behind the brackets.

Got the rockers on. Cleaned them up pretty well




Half way done on the passenger side.


Broke another bolt!!!

Got the bolt out. First time a bolt extractor worked for me










Rockers all back together.




All timed and cranks free. Doesn't hit anything. I did a compression test at this stage too and all cylinders tested good. Above 170psi.


Started to grind and polish the intake runners.




Finnished cleaning / grinding out the intake runners.






Installed the new fuel rail and injectors. New FPR too.


New intake gaskets. I smeared a little bit of oil on all surfaces of these cos I had a coolant leak here when I changed these previously.




Bypassed the intake collector coolant lines.


I've decided, for now, not to go with a gutted plenum (finace issues as well as fitting it with my stock gear). Didn't get much done this weekend, I was busy with other things. But I got my rocker covers on. Not sure if I will stay with this colour or go with my main body colour later on, but it looks allright. Has a few scratches on it already from installing. The camera flash makes it look more pearlescent than it really is.





I'm all set to install my plenum but I need to get it professionally cleaned out. There's only so much a spray can degreaser will do and its still full of muck, can't get into it properly.

Here's some pics of the cleaned out plenum.






It's Alive, ALIVE. I Managed to start the engine. Had no exhaust from the headers back and no coolant so didn't want to run it for long but it goes.
I'll hook up the exhaust, put the altenator on, the fan belts and add coolant then check for codes and tune etc.

Ok, vids now. Again sorry about the links.

Theres still a wired sound from the harmonic balancer or somewhere around there and the altenator is making a squeeling sound after I clenaed it.
You can hear the leak exhust leak where I broke the stud off on the passenger side.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_a6F56O5dlI

And the exhaust note. Sounds good except from the leak on the passenger header. You need good speakers to hear the note properly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R31tsLIIXMg

 

I hope that isn't sealant on the head gaskets.

 

I question that too. Was the first thing that stood out about the pictures.

What head gaskets are you using too?

 

Oopps, Is this going to cause dramas later on?

I got the full Gasket kit from Blackdragon Auto in the Sates.

 

Yes, they will not seal properly and leak.

 

but hes had it running? so hes still screwd?

 

Is there anything I should use or just clean dry head gaskets?

 

head gaskets dont normally get anything, just a fresh clean surface.

 

Ok so whats your advice guys? Should I leave it till it leaks or should I strip it down again and replace the gaskets?

It is running and does have decent compression. Will the oil and coolant leak through?

 

its a hard call.

what type of sealant is it? looks like a loctite product. let me know the exact name and product code.

as the other said though, the hg's are designed to be used on freshly cleaned surfaces. how much did you use on the hg's? lots or just a little skim? looks like a lot, looking at the edges of the heads.

 

It is very likely that it will have compression, oil and water leaks in the near future.

Sealant on head gaskets tends to cause the fibre material of the gasket to split due to the large clamping area of the block and heads. Any high spots in the sealant will create a high pressure area when clamped. Also the layer of sealant that has now dried has less strength than the gasket itself. This will allow pressure to leak on both sides.

Remove them and replace the head gaskets with new ones using no sealant at all, just clean the surfaces so they are spotless and wipe with brake clean so they are oil and grime free.

 

Let alone with the amount that looks to be put onto the gasket. The clamping force would have pushed the excess sealant into the oil/water galleries and into the combustion chamber. Potentially clogging the galleries.

Over and above that, drz's info is spot on.

If any have qualms about the new HG's sealing. There is a spray on product that can be used with "some" brands of HG's.

I cant recall the name atm, but its a blue tacky solution that air drys before you mount it to the head and block. Some one will chime in with the name.

But again, only 'some' brands of HG can be used with it.

Generally, nothing is used.


Apart from that small major issue, the build up looks good.

Whats the reason for using the plenum spacer? I havent seen one used before. Can you explain why its used?

Cheers.

 

Thanks guys I'll try and get onto it and order in some new head gaskets.

The plenum spacer is to help keep the intake air temps cooler. It separates the lower intake manifold (which has coolant passages) from the upper intake plenum which I bypassed the coolant lines). They say cooler intake air temps = more power output but I know it wouldn't be heaps.

 

Ah, well there you go. Learn something new everyday. Good idea whom ever conceived it initially.

What was the sealant? Brand/type? Interested to know.

Cheers.

 

It was Permatex? Sensor-Safe Blue RTV Silicone Gasket Maker.
http://www.permatex.com/products/Au...ensor-Safe_Blue_RTV_Silicone_Gasket_Maker.htm

It was obviously red but it was in the blue tubes.

 

Would be much better to fix it now than fix it when it fails. Only adhesive I would consider for head gasket is Hylomar and then only if it didn't have a factory coating.

 

Thats it! Thats what i was trying to describe. Works very well.

 

New head gaskets on order from US. Should be here in a week or 2 at the most.

 

Yep

Buy Hylomar or another trick is a light coat of a good brand of silver spray paint, this has a high content of aluminium which gives the silver color and also is good for sealing head gaskets.
Andy

 

Excellent Build! Did you end up replacing the head gaskets?