A Build in the Mitten State...

[g love]

I read your posts on your exhaust problem and it sounds like the same thing that happened to mine. The previous owner had removed the locking tabs that go in between the turbo and nuts when he replaced a gasket. I didn't know that the tabs were supposed to be there and tried everything to get them to stay until I found these http://www.frsport.com/Genuine....html . There cheap and have held since.

[SolaraOnBronze]

Yeah, my stock locking tabs are still on there, but I bought new ones from NissanParts.cc just to be sure. They are about $2.50 there vs. $7 on FR Sport. FR Sport is great for aftermarket stuff, but I have found that they jack the price up a ton on their OEM nissan parts. Not all of them, but most- like gaskets and locking tabs. Thanks for the advice!

[240_dude]

Ey man i saw ur car in a magazine called Super Street, it was on Z1's page lol. All i said was when i first saw it im like dam thats a clean a** 240, then i rembered im like o sh*t its the guy with the black 240 on black grahams on nicoclub. So fresh and so clean you inspired me to build my 240 slowly and tastefully. Just wondering how do u afford all this lol?

[Ramonesfreak2010]

Ey man i saw ur car in a magazine called Super Street, it was on Z1's page lol. All i said was when i first saw it im like dam thats a clean a** 240, then i rembered im like o sh*t its the guy with the black 240 on black grahams on nicoclub. So fresh and so clean you inspired me to build my 240 slowly and tastefully. Just wondering how do u afford all this lol?

Which issue?Maybe he has a career as a graphic designer of some sort?

[240_dude]

lmfao

[SolaraOnBronze]

Ey man i saw ur car in a magazine called Super Street, it was on Z1's page lol. All i said was when i first saw it im like dam thats a clean a** 240, then i rembered im like o sh*t its the guy with the black 240 on black grahams on nicoclub. So fresh and so clean you inspired me to build my 240 slowly and tastefully. Just wondering how do u afford all this lol?

.

haha, that's sweet- I will have to check it out. I never buy super street because it is pretty much all trashy girls and hondas, but this is a good reason to buy one. As for affording it, Ramonesfreak2010 is right- I'm a graphic designer. Not a remotely crazy job to be honest, but it pays the bills and I'm grateful to have it! Thanks for the compliment and the heads up on super street!

[Ramonesfreak2010]

Hey do you only have 2 piece valances correct? Not the center piece. Correct me if I'm wrong. The fact that your car is black makes it hard to tell. lol

[SolaraOnBronze]

Yep, I only have the sides. I'd like to try the center section on there, but I haven't been able to find just the center. Then I sort of moved on to the motor and forgot about it.

[Ramonesfreak2010]

haha niiice. It actually looks good with just the 2 pieces imo. Gl searching for the center piece.

[SolaraOnBronze]

haha, thanks. I found a place to get one new, but it is about the same price as a used set of all three, so I am going to hold off for now.

I thought I would post this here since my thread asking about it hasn't gotten any traffic and I could use some advice:

My manifold to turbo nuts have come loose recently, causing the exhaust system to leak. I have a new turbo setup that I plan to install this winter, most likely with a new manifold, so I would prefer to just tighten them up for the rest of the summer/fall. I have been able to tighten three of the nuts with everything on the car, but there is one that I am not able to get to. Here is an illustration of the nut I am referring to:



I have read in a few threads that it is possible to tighten/loosen all of these with the turbo on the car. I am able to use a combo of wrenches, ratchet wrenches, sockets, and extensions to tighten the other three, but I am having trouble gaining access to this back nut. Does anyone have any advice for me as far as specific tools or techniques? Any info is greatly appreciated, thanks!

Damon

[Bumnah]

Try using a 12 point box wrench. Cut box wrench where you need to, to get clearance.

You can also try to use a socket and shave the socket thin at the end to get clearance.

Sears also sells these wrenches that clocked at 60 degrees, and are designed to apply a lot of torque in a small range. They're long so that may cause issues.

I'll pull the damn motor to do turbo work if I had to. s*** is annoying to do in the bay.

[SolaraOnBronze]

I am planning to pull the motor this winter for a lot of reasons, but I would like to solve this issue quickly right now so that I can drive the car for the rest of the summer. I'll see what sears has for wrenches and keep messing with it.

[mRodiek]

Just pull the whole manifold/turbo and fix it on a work bench, make things as easy as possible-it shouldnt take you more than 30-40min to pull it off, 15min to tighten it, and 30min back in so your looking an 2 hours max.

Make sure you use red threadlocker/lock nuts

[SolaraOnBronze]

Yeah, I know I can do it that way, I just wanted to avoid pulling the turbo lines and unbolting the exhaust and everything if I could. I saw in the bottom mount manifold install how-to that the turbo was left on during the manifold install, so I thought there was a way to do it, but maybe there isn't.

I was also under the impression that thread lock would burn up at those temps and not really be effective- maybe that isn't the case? Thanks for the input.

[nevertheless]

z1 has an ad in the new Nissan Sport with your car..niice car dude, that garage pic is BA.

[mRodiek]

I used it and I havent had any issues, safe> sorry.I wanted to make sure those nuts werent backing off EVER-locking tabs, lock nuts, threadlocker, and even lock washers iirc. Some people say its overkill but I feel better knowing its NOT coming apart lol

I feel your pain not wanting to pull it but after all this time & effort looking for another solution-it could be done if you do figure it out be sure to let us know as well..

PS. your car looks awesome

[SolaraOnBronze]

If I weren't going through all of this effort at work, that is. Hard to fix it when I am sitting at my desk

And thanks for the heads up on the ad- I haven't been able to find it anywhere! Any chance you could scan it for me?

[SolaraOnBronze]

Well, I managed to make my gasket between the turbo and the manifold half of a gasket. Exhaust and turbo are removed, pics tomorrow.

[SolaraOnBronze]

My injectors showed up yesterday- Deatschwerks 650cc:



I also scored a crazy deal on a GReddy oil pan that I could not pass up, so I went for it:



And here is a pic of the Power FC and some more random hardware that came last week:



I decided to throw the T25 back on with new gaskets for the rest of the summer, so I am going to start on that tomorrow. Hopefully things will go smoothly and the car will be running well by the 26th. I should have another update tomorrow!

[SR20_FLO]

Wow man,, ur 240sx is legendary. i have read all 8 pages today and man i gotta tell u. this is by far the best build ive seen here on NICO. And i would say one of the best looking s-chassis on the streets. Ur rims are deffinetly awesome and go along with ur kit. The rear lights just make it look so damm good.Im definetely gonna keep looking at it and good luck with ur car man.

[Bumnah]

Get an oil temp gauge too since you have that pan.

Remember the threads are 1/8 PT not 1/8 NPT. Slightly off. That just means use a Japanese gauge setup.

[SolaraOnBronze]

I actually already have an oil temp gauge installed.

Not a lot as far as updates go- I got a roof spoiler last week and tossed that on. Replaced the turbo gaskets and had the car running well for a few days, then it developed a misfire- so I am in the process of hunting that down and trying to fix it so I can get to the drag strip again before the snow flies.

I also had a friend shoot a couple of new pics last Saturday:





I'll post some more updates when I solve the misfire and have him do some more photos. Winter tear down will be upon us all soon, I'm afraid...

[superman29]

Which front lip is that? your car look sa nice!

[SolaraOnBronze]

Thanks! Front lip is the infamous Xenon lip.

[mRodiek]

My god I love your car, so much that I have to tell you on Zilvia & here What sideskirts are those?

No winter teardown for us Cali guys

[Bumnah]

That first picture is pretty spectacular.

[SolaraOnBronze]

Thanks fellas- the side skirts are just oem chuki ones.

[NismoRacer34]

Sorry to pull up a somewhat old thread. Awesome car, only got halfway through cuz i gotta get to bed but i just had to insert my opinion. And it's only an opinion but to all the people sayin coils and suspension are the most important part of a car, how about the tires? No offense, you probably were looking at tread life, but a nice set of tires will do wonders for any car. Suspension only keeps the contact patch looking good, if your tires aren't grippy it's not going anywhere.

[SolaraOnBronze]

I like to think my tires are pretty decent... for sure better than a lot of things I could be running. And like I have said before, this car pretty much never sees the track... Since I have owned it, I have gone to the drag strip once, 0 autocrosses, 0 track days, and 0 track events. Considering that, I am happy with the mods I have chosen. You're right, I'm sure super stick tires would make the car handle better, but I don't really need it to at this point.

I have been meaning to update this anyway...

The car has been sitting for just over two weeks. It developed a misfire on the number 2 cylinder on the way home from a meet and was running on 3 cylinders. I replaced the spark plugs and tested the coils, but that didn't help, so I suspect a bad fuel injector. Since I have injectors waiting to drop in, I am probably just going to call it a summer and get to work on Winter Build Round 2.

This winter is mostly going to consist of maintenance and engine bay work. I am planning to pull the motor with the help of my cousin over his Thanksgiving break and get a few things done over the winter:

Paint engine bay- I am also going to fix the rust on the passenger side strut tower.

Clean up wiring- remove random/extra wiring and do a mild tuck- mostly just clean up poorly tapped and wrapped wiring and route things a little better.

Replace rubber lines- pretty much any rubber vac, coolant, or fuel line on the car is dry rotted and needs to be replaced, including the lines under the intake manifold.

Clutch/Flywheel- The previous owner doesn't remember what kind of clutch he put in the car, and the flywheel is stock. I am going to install a new clutch and flywheel to make sure everything is up to par for the new setup.

Motor mounts- Mine are pretty smoked and there is currently a lot of engine movement, so I am going to replace the trans and motor mounts.

Powdercoating- I am hoping to have a few things powdercoated in the bay to freshen things up. The main thing right now is my fuel rail, but I'm sure other things will pop up as well.

General maintenance- I hope to replace a lot of maintenance items, including intake and exhaust gaskets, coils, and other OEM wear items- perhaps water pump, oil pump, belts, front main seal, etc. Think reliability.

Install new goodies- My other reason for pulling the motor is to make the new goodies easier to install. These have already at home waiting to go on- here is what will be bolted up:

GReddy Intake ManifoldNISMO Clutch LineGReddy Airinx IntakeGT28 S15 TurboZ32 MAFApexi Power FCDeatschwerks 650cc InjectorsDIF Turbo Lines

If funds allow, I might do this stuff as well:

Aftermarket turbo manifoldNew downpipeNew catback exhaustNew wheel/tire setup (?)

Hopefully, by April the car will be back together and running like a top. I got a pretty good amount done last winter and I am hoping to do the same this year. Maybe this time it will come out of the garage a bit more reliable. I'll update this or start a new build thread for winter 09-10 when I get the car moved to storage and start working on it in the next couple of weeks.

[nevertheless]

Thanks for the new wallpaper, Cant wait for the new set-up.