Alright...so first of all, hi. I'm Jake, and this is the plan.
My girlfriend's 1993 J30 died, apparently the motor is shot. I'm thinking I'll buy it (it's technically her dad's) for $200, get an engine from http://www.streetunit.com (30-50k miles on it), and swap the low mileage one in.
The car has 195k on it, but it seems to be in immaculate shape. The leather doesn't have a crack in it anywhere. They bought it with I think 17x,xxx miles, and they were supposedly mostly highway miles. What would you guys recommend replacing while we're pulling the engine? Think the transmission will be ok? Think this whole thing is a waste of time and money? I'm looking for any thoughts and opinions before I drop ~$1500 on this project.
Thanks
New life for a J30
-
elwesso
- Posts: 30810
- Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2003 4:52 pm
- Car: 94 Infiniti Q45t 5 spd
2007 BMW M Coupe
2007 Infiniti G35 S 6MT - Location: Indiana
- Contact:
Re: New life for a J30 (Jakw)
Welcome to NICO Jake... if you dont want the J ill buy it!!!
Sounds like a great deal....
Sounds like a great deal....
Re: New life for a J30 (elwesso)
Hey, thanks. I actually found a place online where I can get an engine and transmission for the ~$1200 I'm willing to spend. I'm also just going to go ahead and 60k maintenance this bad boy so I don't need to worry about anything mechanical for a while (in theory). The project should be under way within the next couple weeks, so wish me luck!
Would the dude in your sig by chance be the cheapest place to get a 60k maint. package?
Would the dude in your sig by chance be the cheapest place to get a 60k maint. package?
-
elwesso
- Posts: 30810
- Joined: Sun Feb 23, 2003 4:52 pm
- Car: 94 Infiniti Q45t 5 spd
2007 BMW M Coupe
2007 Infiniti G35 S 6MT - Location: Indiana
- Contact:
Re: New life for a J30 (Jakw)
Yeah, tell him Wes sent you.... Tell him whats up and he'll hook you up wiht everything you need. I would also replace the valve cover gaskets while your inthere... I would also do the front and rear main seals....
Re: New life for a J30 (elwesso)
Alright, thanks man. By the way, the engine and transmission will be from http://www.tigerjapanese.com. Just throwing that out there to make sure no one has horror stories about them...
Also...I can't help but notice you said you'd buy it.... How much?
Also...I can't help but notice you said you'd buy it.... How much?
Re: (J30Guy612)
Well, my engine is finally here.
So...the sticker on the timing belt cover on the dead engine says the belt was done at 185,000 miles by a Nissan dealer. Do you guys suppose they would change everything and that I should reuse the pulley/tensioner stuff? If it only has 15,000 miles on it, it would be way sweeter to just change the belt and not have to spend ~$400 for the whole 60k maintenace bit...
I doubt a dealer would do only the belt and not the rest of the stuff along with it. What are your thoughts?
So...the sticker on the timing belt cover on the dead engine says the belt was done at 185,000 miles by a Nissan dealer. Do you guys suppose they would change everything and that I should reuse the pulley/tensioner stuff? If it only has 15,000 miles on it, it would be way sweeter to just change the belt and not have to spend ~$400 for the whole 60k maintenace bit...
I doubt a dealer would do only the belt and not the rest of the stuff along with it. What are your thoughts?
Re: (Jakw)
if it is done by a dealer, then you can get this information from an infiniti dealership, give them the VIN and they will find out for you, that would be a sweet deal if the full thing was done 10k ago, i wouldnt use the timing belt though.....
by the way, tiger japanese is a reputable company, heard a lot of happy stories from people (in ottawa, kingston, toronto areas) about them
by the way, tiger japanese is a reputable company, heard a lot of happy stories from people (in ottawa, kingston, toronto areas) about them
Re: (95-j30t)
So I can find out from any dealership? That would rule pretty hard if I only had to replace the belt.
Oh yeah, and t-jap seemed pretty decent, but they somehow got the wrong shipping address. So after like 17 days, they got the motor and transmission back, but the transmission broke during shipping. They refunded the $190, but now I have to use the old transmission because I don't want to pay for shipping for another one (it was free shipping if shipped with an engine). They rushed it here when they found out about the mix up though.
Oh yeah, and t-jap seemed pretty decent, but they somehow got the wrong shipping address. So after like 17 days, they got the motor and transmission back, but the transmission broke during shipping. They refunded the $190, but now I have to use the old transmission because I don't want to pay for shipping for another one (it was free shipping if shipped with an engine). They rushed it here when they found out about the mix up though.
Re: (Jakw)
Sounds like your under way
Are you installing the engine yourself?
Good luck!
Are you installing the engine yourself?
Good luck!
Re: (J30Guy612)
Well, the dealer said that they only keep records for 10 years, unless it's the specific dealership where the car was serviced. I have no idea where that is, so I dunno. I suppose if the stuff looks 15,000 miles old, it'll be fine, haha.
Yeah, a friend and I will be working on it in the next few weeks. We have a shop to use (supposedly), but the dude is impossible to get ahold of, so we'll have to see.
Yeah, a friend and I will be working on it in the next few weeks. We have a shop to use (supposedly), but the dude is impossible to get ahold of, so we'll have to see.
Re: (Jakw)
the engine is JDM right ?
there are a couple of things that you need to swap from your current engine to the the JDM before you install it.... i'll give you a run down of the things over the weekend, i hope this helps....
there are a couple of things that you need to swap from your current engine to the the JDM before you install it.... i'll give you a run down of the things over the weekend, i hope this helps....
Re: (95-j30t)
Yeah, it's JDM. Thanks for the heads up and info.
Re: (Jakw)
swap engine mounting brackets (i'm assuming that you got a 300zx non turbo engine, 300zx's dont have the same mouning brackets)
the EGR temperature sensor is not available in the JDM engines, once you get both engines out, swap the EGR valve (and clean the pipes that connect to the EGR on both sides)
i'm not sure what is the JDM engine's year of manufacture, but most likely it is off of a 90-94 300zx non turbo, check the injectors connections, they might not be the same, all you need to do here, is clean the injectors contacts, and splice the wires (i hope that you have the wires that came with the JDM engine) to the J's harness (do not use the JDM harness, it is shorter and needs a lot of work to fit, where the J's engine harness is a plug and play for a 300zx non turbo engine
check the PTU (ignitor chip) the came with the JDM engine, if it is the one that has fins, and is mounted on the timing belt cover, then that needs to be swaped (use the J's ignitor chip, they are a plug an play, and they are a million times better than the older ones that have fins)
you can easily check to see if you have a 90-94, or newer.... they are almost exactly the same and there is no difference in performance what so ever..... but the older engines use a different ignitor chip, the chip that has fins, and is mounted on the timing belt cover can indecate that the engine is a 90-94 300zx non turbo..... also the injector connections are a good sign to see, the 90-94 have a rectangular shape injector connection, where the newer ones have the newer rectangular (but round) plugs
the older injectors and connections are a bit of a pain, they get dirty every now and then, clean the injector contacts, and ohm the injectors by removing the plug out of the injector, and use an ohm meter on the injector pins (yes without pluging it in), it should read 10-14 ohm (good reading), any other reading would indicate a bad injector...... it is a lot easier to do now with the engine out, than later, it is good to check......
hope this helps, good luck
the EGR temperature sensor is not available in the JDM engines, once you get both engines out, swap the EGR valve (and clean the pipes that connect to the EGR on both sides)
i'm not sure what is the JDM engine's year of manufacture, but most likely it is off of a 90-94 300zx non turbo, check the injectors connections, they might not be the same, all you need to do here, is clean the injectors contacts, and splice the wires (i hope that you have the wires that came with the JDM engine) to the J's harness (do not use the JDM harness, it is shorter and needs a lot of work to fit, where the J's engine harness is a plug and play for a 300zx non turbo engine
check the PTU (ignitor chip) the came with the JDM engine, if it is the one that has fins, and is mounted on the timing belt cover, then that needs to be swaped (use the J's ignitor chip, they are a plug an play, and they are a million times better than the older ones that have fins)
you can easily check to see if you have a 90-94, or newer.... they are almost exactly the same and there is no difference in performance what so ever..... but the older engines use a different ignitor chip, the chip that has fins, and is mounted on the timing belt cover can indecate that the engine is a 90-94 300zx non turbo..... also the injector connections are a good sign to see, the 90-94 have a rectangular shape injector connection, where the newer ones have the newer rectangular (but round) plugs
the older injectors and connections are a bit of a pain, they get dirty every now and then, clean the injector contacts, and ohm the injectors by removing the plug out of the injector, and use an ohm meter on the injector pins (yes without pluging it in), it should read 10-14 ohm (good reading), any other reading would indicate a bad injector...... it is a lot easier to do now with the engine out, than later, it is good to check......
hope this helps, good luck
Re: (95-j30t)
Woah, thanks a lot! So I noticed on a site that the timing belt kit was different for a 93 J than for all of the other years. Is that anything I should know about? I still have to get all the 60k stuff for the Z engine, which I haven't had the chance to unwrap or anything yet. Is there a place that has all the 60k stuff as a package? I don't really know where to find the best prices for parts for these cars... Thanks everyone.
And thanks again, 95. You probably just kept this project from failing.
And thanks again, 95. You probably just kept this project from failing.
Re: (Jakw)
Well, this is pretty slow-going so far. Still working on getting a shop or garage to work in, but I haven't been able to order the 60k maintenance stuff yet.
Anyway, does anyone have an aftermarket underdrive pulley here? I was going to buy it with the 60K kit from Concept Z Performance. It's $380 without the pulley and $540 with it (everything included). I'm just wondering what kind of realistic gains to expect from it I guess.
Anyway, does anyone have an aftermarket underdrive pulley here? I was going to buy it with the 60K kit from Concept Z Performance. It's $380 without the pulley and $540 with it (everything included). I'm just wondering what kind of realistic gains to expect from it I guess.
Re: (Jakw)
I guess here's an update...
I bought a 60k kit with UR underdrive pulley, so I have a car, engine, and parts that I need...but with no place to work on it. I talked to the mechanic who did all the work on this car. He said 'the book' quotes this as something like a 22 hour, $1400 job. I still don't have a place to use...like, with a lift and stuff, so I don't really know what to do. I have a car and $2000 worth of parts just sitting around because I can't do anything.
Anyone want to buy a project?
I bought a 60k kit with UR underdrive pulley, so I have a car, engine, and parts that I need...but with no place to work on it. I talked to the mechanic who did all the work on this car. He said 'the book' quotes this as something like a 22 hour, $1400 job. I still don't have a place to use...like, with a lift and stuff, so I don't really know what to do. I have a car and $2000 worth of parts just sitting around because I can't do anything.
Anyone want to buy a project?