90 Q45 5-speed swap, chain guides, adjustable suspension

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subtle_driver
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This thread has images and info on how to perform:

(1) g50 5-speed conversion (done on a 1990 base model)

(2) updated Timing chain Guides on 1990-93 engines

(3) and installation of adjustable ball bearing front upper control arms, adjustable stainless steel front tension rods, and adjustable upper rear control arms.

I am gathering parts:So far I have,

z32 5-speed,clutch/brake/gas pedal assembly from z32 and 240sx,clutch slave and master cylinders with hard line from z32,shifter,...

I'm ordering a bellhousing from Mazworks. Ordering a Z32 tt chromolly flywheel.Stage-4 pressure plate, with organic style disk from z32 tt.Making a Custom Drive-shaft locally.

Need a z32tt startertransmission tunnel inner shift boot

Anyone have any tips that have done this before? I need a complete parts list.thanks.
Last edited by subtle_driver on Sun Oct 10, 2010 12:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.


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Rex
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Have you found elwesso's thread?

That's going to be the best source of info on NICO.

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elwesso
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subtle_driver
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Nice legs man! haha! I can't wait to drive it with the manual transmission.I'm gonna do a search for your build thread. Is there anything you reccomend to make the swap go smoothly?the only problems I can forsee now is mounting the clutch/brake pedals. Looks like a nightmare. Can it be done without pulling out the dash?

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elwesso
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The clutch and brake pedals in my car are custom from other nissans (modified).. The dash is about a 8 hour job by itself and thats the ONLY way that i know of to get the E brake out.

its gonna take a lot of time. Getting the transmission in the car is the easy part, its all the other little stuff like modifying exhaust and other stuff like that.

subtle_driver
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So i have to remove the stock e-brake setup? there is no way the clutch pedal can be installed without tearing out the dash?

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Q451990
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I wonder if keeping a pedal style e-brake is possible as well. I was very surprised to see that Nissan went to that setup in the D22 series Frontier - but it actually works pretty well. The only issue is that if you actually want to use the e-brake while you're driving - e.g. on hills - the release setup isn't exactly ideal.

I would love to see this modification narrowed down to a fairly a-b-c-d type deal. If my transmission fails, I'd be extremely interested to go M/T.

subtle_driver, if you haven't found the Wes 5 speed build thread yet, I bet it's linked pretty clearly on http://www.q45.org

Heath

subtle_driver
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YEs thanks for the link. I have seen that on q45.org already, and I'm going over it again and again.

I wonder, has anyone done this with a g50 that has no pre-cats like mine?

I'm planning on getting a BFG and banging the crap out of the floor pan to make clearance for the starter.

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Q451990
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Why does your engine not have pre-cats - JDM engine replacement?

Heath

Q45tech
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Not sure about other States but in 2015 my 1990 Q will be 25 and exempt from Federal and State Emissions and can be modified any way I desire.Actually in 2013 I'll be 65 and can avail myself of Senior Citizen Exemption removing the necessity of Emission testing IF I hold annual mileage below 4999 miles.


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elwesso
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subtle_driver wrote:So i have to remove the stock e-brake setup? there is no way the clutch pedal can be installed without tearing out the dash?
yeah in order to remove the E brake, you have to remove the duct that goes to the far left vent, and the only way to remove that is to remove the dash.
Q451990 wrote:I wonder if keeping a pedal style e-brake is possible as well. I was very surprised to see that Nissan went to that setup in the D22 series Frontier - but it actually works pretty well. The only issue is that if you actually want to use the e-brake while you're driving - e.g. on hills - the release setup isn't exactly ideal.
There isnt enough room.. The clutch pedal has to sit where the E brake was. It cant go farther left (toward the center of the car) because the master cylinder would hit the brake booster..


subtle_driver
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can i cut it out?>

also, has anyone come up with an ebrake setup for 5-speed conversions?
Q451990 wrote:Why does your engine not have pre-cats - JDM engine replacement?

Heath
My car is stock. Not sure why? I thought all the older g50's had no pre-cats. I never see them in the junkyard cars either.

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Q451990
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As far as I know every USDM G50 had two grapefruit sized precats on each exhaust tube, a cat on each pipe, a muffler on each pipe, and a dual resonator at the end. My very early production 1990 Q, and current 1990 Q both have them.

I have also noticed that most of the Q45's in the local pull-a-part have their cats cut out... probably for the metals in them. I'm not entirely sure it's not done before they're put on the yard.

Heath

subtle_driver
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Q451990 wrote:As far as I know every USDM G50 had two grapefruit sized precats on each exhaust tube, a cat on each pipe, a muffler on each pipe, and a dual resonator at the end. My very early production 1990 Q, and current 1990 Q both have them.

I have also noticed that most of the Q45's in the local pull-a-part have their cats cut out... probably for the metals in them. I'm not entirely sure it's not done before they're put on the yard.

Heath
I just went out and double checked as i thought I was going insane! But I don't have any pre-cats. I can remember when I had my cats off at one time, I looked up there with a flashlight and there was a normal sized tube all the way up (no lumps or enlargements that can house a pre-cat) to the bends that lead to the exhaust ports. It has a heat shield but nothing that looks like it could have been a pre-cat. I could see all the way up the down-pipe section from inside the tube and there is nothing inside, and it is a normal shaped pipe all the way up.

I guess when I have my car on the lift, when I install the transmission, I'll have to take some pictures for you guys.

My stock system from beginning to end: header, downpipe, (no pre-cat) Catalyst, Y-pipe, Resinator, Dual in/out suitcase muffler.


Q45tech
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All JDM junkyard takeout engines come without precats. Ethical and law abiding shops will swap old U.S. headers on to JDM engine to comply with Federal Emission Laws.

Since leagally we could be forced in future to do the work without compenstation plus the Federal [State enforced] $10,000 fine.

subtle_driver
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Q45tech wrote:All JDM junkyard takeout engines come without precats. Ethical and law abiding shops will swap old U.S. headers on to JDM engine to comply with Federal Emission Laws.

Since leagally we could be forced in future to do the work without compenstation plus the Federal [State enforced] $10,000 fine.
I'm pretty sure the old man who had my car before me didn't do a JDM engine swap. And all the 1990-93 q45's in my local pick & pull didn't either. I live in San Diego. Maybe it's a regonal thing? Its not that i don't believe you guys, its just i know what I'm seeing on the cars down here. I'll pay more attention next time im in the junkyard tho.

anyways, back to the 5-speed dicussion... So, I'm gonna try and figure out a way to install the clutch pedal without taking out the dash. even if it means cutting and welding. I hate dash work. I do it all time time in BMW's and Benz. I don't feel like doing it unless its a last resort.

I'm gonna send the core bell housing to mazworks next week. and by the end of the week i should have some funds to pay for the adapter and machining work.

Also, I looked up the tt and the n/a starter for the z32, they seem to be the same unit. So I'm gonna go get a used one.

Also, the output yoke that goes into the transmissions, are they the same between the z32 manual, and the Q45 automatic? i read it somewhere but I want conformation. I can get the front half of the z32 driveshaft and have a driveshaft shop install a new u-joint and extend it for less than getting a one piece unit.

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Maybe you do not know what a G50 pre cat looks like? All usa g50 had precats installed at the factory in japan- all of them.

California{at the time} had the most stringent pollution control laws of any state in the usa.......cars were tagged either usa or California they were so much more restrictive and different from the rest of the usa models, and the california designated ones got more performance robbing pollution control devices and tighter controls on the common components shared with the rest of the usa.

It was {is?} so bad, many car collectors and performance oriented buyers avoided purchasing used cars tagged with California spec emission systems.

subtle_driver
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Finally got some time to start installing the clutch pedal! Got both the brake pedals out and the lower dash panels and random relays and modules. The body control module must be what i disconnected and pulled down there, cause the windows are non-op. hehe.



I found that my "z32 clutch pedal" was a brake pedal. The 240sx clutch pedal is too short unless you want to install the cmc in the wheel well.

Getting the clutch pedal tomorrow, and a z32 starter.

looks like the brake pedal could work if you made a plate for different hole pattern for the clutch master cylinder. But I don't want to deal with that. I want it to be easy as possible. I also want to retain the parking brake if possible.

I just got my chromolly z32tt flywheel and stage 2 clutch in the mail.

..the hard part is just around the corner!

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Infinitiguy19
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subtle_driver wrote:The body control module must be what I disconnected and pulled down there, cause the windows are non-op. hehe.
You have a 1990 Q45 right?

You have the most rare Q45 of all because you have a BODY CONTROL MODULE Which unfortunately no other 1990-1993 Q45 has....Just yanking you, you have a AUTOMATIC DRIVER POSTIONER which you unplugged no doubt. but the only thing that can cause the windows to not move is the Power window circuit breaker, center console power window switches and maybe if you had an after market alarm tied into the power windows....

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elwesso
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must have been a PITA to get the E brake out without taking out the dash.. Unless you did some trickery..


subtle_driver
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Paul Wall wrote:
You have a 1990 Q45 right?

You have the most rare Q45 of all because you have a BODY CONTROL MODULE Which unfortunately no other 1990-1993 Q45 has....Just yanking you, you have a AUTOMATIC DRIVER POSTIONER which you unplugged no doubt. but the only thing that can cause the windows to not move is the Power window circuit breaker, center console power window switches and maybe if you had an after market alarm tied into the power windows....
Well I'll take your word for it, I don't have the module diagram in front of me, and frankly i don't care what it is, it just was in the way of progress so i yanked it out.

Ya, i think your right about the alarm, i have some aftermarket thingy with wires that says Taiwan on it. I unplugged that and moved it out of the way too!
elwesso wrote:must have been a PITA to get the E brake out without taking out the dash.. Unless you did some trickery..
I read the older posts about having to pull the dash out, I decided I didn't want to do that. I'm too lazy. It wasn't too difficult, just bent the tabs back that go to the studs on the firewall, and disconnected the cable, pushed down then rotated out. after the clutch pedal is mounted, I'm planning on installing it again with some custom brackets or spacers.

Looks like the most painful parts are going to be reinforcing the top of the clutch mounting bracket with a bolt or stud. and figuring out where to drill the hole for the clutch master cylinder (I don't have x-ray vision).

subtle_driver
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z32 brake pedal swaps over to q45 bracket, notes:*springs are different and can't be swapped without modification,*top of pedal was trimmed so it would fit without moving the climate control ducting.*as you can see in the second picture, you must hack off the tab on the pedal, and re-locate to the other side. Not a big deal.

This is what I was going for originally (keeping the original parking brake pedal intact), but as you all know the brake booster is too big for the master cylinder to fit here. If you go out and find a smaller booster, it can work with a clutch pedal and stock parking brake assy. (you must use a z32 clutch pedal, and you must remove the studs on the pedal braket before it will fit). As I said before, I'm too busy and lazy for this bs, so I removed the parking brake assy bracket like everyone else did. I'm going to use a electronic parking brake.

This is what I'm gonna use to pass your automatic Q45 on the freeway. just kidding!

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dam looks good justin keep up the good work

subtle_driver
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thanks man. hard enough with my busy schedule.

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elwesso
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looks good dude!! Your clutch and brake pedal are a little farther spaced out than mine are.. everything with mine (as you can see in my sig) is shifted a little bit over for some epic heel/toe action.

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Infinitiguy19
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What you 5 speed guys plan to do with the E-Brake release hole?

subtle_driver
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Paul Wall wrote:What you 5 speed guys plan to do with the E-Brake release hole?
I'm not there yet, prolly weld a plate to cover the hole. I'll deal with that later, if i drive through a puddle I'll get a wet reminder.
elwesso wrote:looks good dude!! Your clutch and brake pedal are a little farther spaced out than mine are.. everything with mine (as you can see in my sig) is shifted a little bit over for some epic heel/toe action.
where is your sig?

I have a z32 gas pedal, i haven;t even gotten there yet, maybe its closer to the brake?

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Infinitiguy19
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Wes's sig:

I meant what do you plan to do about the hole left by the E-Brake release handle. Its near the fuse box.

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elwesso
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You can tell in that picture I just left it as it was.. you dont really notice it.

subtle_driver
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Paul Wall wrote:Wes's sig:

I meant what do you plan to do about the hole left by the E-Brake release handle. Its near the fuse box.
I can see the sig now! hmmm, I think I'll keep the e-brake handle there, and use it to activate a tailgater flame thrower or something!


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