S13 Coupe Restoration

General discussion forum about the 240sx, and a great place to introduce yourself to the board!
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PapaSmurf2k3
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Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
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Flux is the way to go with solder. Keep on fluxing it!


Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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One of my axle nuts stripped so I had to get a new axle but now she's finally on the ground with all the driveline and suspension components in place. First time really seeing how it sits with the full weight of the driveline in it. The front wheels are cambered out pretty good from that 25mm extended LCA, starting to think its a bit overkill. also my steering is turned out some in the pic so don't let it fool ya, I need to make adjustments to the fronts alignment...

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Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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New issues. For some reason, even though the differential feels and spins find out of the car and the hubs have new bearings and spin free without axles installed, when I install the axles I can still spin the hubs relatively easy, but start to tighten an axle nut so much as 20ft lbs everything starts to get tight, by 50ft lbs its locked up pretty bad. I initially torqued them to the J30 spec of 94ft lbs but quickly found out it took more than my weight and some leverage to move the wheel- no brakes installed or driveshaft yet so no other factors, I did find my hubs have bent slightly when I pressed the old bearings out and it was making some contact with the rotors, but after removing rotors I still could not turn the hub till I loosened the axle nut completely. I have no idea why this is happening, something to do with the where the axle and hub mate I imagine... I am running 240sx axles bc my J30 diff has swapped SX flanges on it. I have no idea why everything binds up...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Only thing I can think of is if something on your axle is hitting something that isn't on the bearing... like its binding up on the knuckle itself or something.

Or maybe its crushing the bearing? Can you inspect that back side for damage?

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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So I tore the passenger side off today and I am extremely confused. Every write up I find on every forum out there says J30 rear hubs are a plug and play bolt on for my rear. (also I found a write up that claimed you can use s13 wheel bearing and spindle on the front and use a j30 5 lug hub that way, and im pretty sure thats what my front is now) at any rate, The j30 diff must be a 95-96 cuz it has the correct 6 bolt matching output flanges, and this diff was in the car when the previous owner was running an SR to it. I pulled it out and added new bushings, reinstalled it with the same axles, so the only changing factor in this is my rear j30 hubs ive added and one axle I replaced. But the axle measures out the exact same as the old one. Theres plenty of back play in the cv joints so its not like the axle is too long, everything spins fine till you tighten an axle nut. IDK why out of all these j30 rear hub swaps no one seems to have encountered this issue. I have added new wheel bearings and seals and the dust plate/ brake hardware mounting bracket got bent out of shape but everything spins fine till you start to tighten that axle nut. With the hub off today I slid the old axle into it looking from up top so I could see exactly how it fits, and everything lines up perfectly- the axle dust shield does bend back perhaps this is the problem? the axles dust shield contacts the rear hub bearing seal which is rubber being forced against the metal dust shield so maybe ill try putting some grease there or something? Theory two is that the way the axle shaft mates up with the rear of the bearing in a way it shouldn't- just googling "tightening axle nut causes lock up" and found a few threads of bikers who had this problem with one brand of bike in particular, they said the washer on the back of their bearings had to be in place just so or it would contact the wrong places of the bearing causing a lock up situation on install. But like I said everything I read claims all this should be PNP on my rear end and it all seems so close....

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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so today I took the old axle and beat the dust shield off it, and fvwhala! It seated perfectly inside the hub seal. my hypothesis proved true and the rubber hubs rear wheel bearing seal was alined with the axle dust shield so when I tightened the axle nut.... explains why the wheel was so hard to rotate when it was together. So J30 swap. Front and Rear. finally done. I haven't actually installed it in the car yet but soon I will, should work now though! wish I could upload a video on here, might just do a good write up, I couldn't find anything with detailed pictures on the axle to hub fitment, everyone just commenting "yeah j30 rear bolt on and go. plug and play. mates right to the 240 axles" no one ever mentions the dust shield on the axle rubbing. anyhow lots of pics coming soon I have also made up a panel mounted to the dash support bar that sits right behind the glove box for my fuses and relays and all the wiring needs, this way theyre up out of the floorboard, I see everyone put them in foot hazard areas I feel like, and this will be nice and hidden away and also easily accessible should I have to service a fuse or wire or what have you. I can just squeeze the sides of the glove box to drop it all the way down and boom theres ur fuse panel :) I got a new master and slave and clutch line and shift fork boot to install coming up along with solid subframe risers, finally clear coating the car, cleaning and coating the underside of the car, dropping the gas tank to clean and freshen up lines, then bleed the brakes, add the fluids, do some wiring and she should fire right up! not too much longer now! Im going out of town for two weeks though so probably late October or early November ill have the first start up. honestly the wiring is the main obstacle at this point, because I don't really understand fully what im doing as far as hacking some of the wires for the ECU, the fuel pump and ignition being triggered by the key switch properly, or how exactly I should wire this cluster to ensure I don't fry it. I mean most of its really just lighting I suppose so its not really THAT hard, but electronics are not my strong suit. Currently I don't understand why some of the wires have been pulled from my ECU connector, I always see people hacking into the dash plug... I suppose they are mostly just ignition power wires and fuel pump power wires and grounds, but is it important they take a reading from the ECU? I mean isn't that why they pull off the dash plug? or does it matter as far as how the ECU handles things without those inputs?

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PapaSmurf2k3
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You should definitely do a write-up :bigthumb:

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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will do then! I took plenty of vids and pics along the way and even took a micrometer to all aspects of it! last thing I have to figure out though with the j30 rear hubs is the lower ball joints, I know a lot of guys use the B13 Sentra ball joints (89) and so I got two of those from Autozone on the cheap for $10, problem was when I took this hub off I discovered even though it felt tight on the car there was lateral up and down play with it. now the auto zone ball joints these days don't come with a castle nut and coder pin, no they use a locking nylon nut now cuz its cheaper. I quickly discovered trying to back the nut back off just spins the entire ball joint. I got frustrated, and since its cheap, I just took the angle grinder to her. when it was off the car I tried to tighten it up to see if the play was just because the nut didn't seem seated all the way down, there was like a 2-3mm play as if I needed to tighten the nut down, but alas it spins the whole joint. ill try the other side today and not take a grinder to it lol see if I can just tighten it up if its the same way... if so idk what ill do lol

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Post is up for the J30 rear swap now on the general info page! B13 Sentra front lower ball joints do work! And I finally bought a brand new MAF off a buddy of mine! So that just leaves swapping out the single jingle pig tails for the dual cam MAF and stuff, and I think ive got all the wiring figured up for the rest of the car, assuming the double 4 pin to 5 pin relay trick will work for the ignition and fuel relays to cut what it needs for the starter relay, so that means the only real obstacle I haven't quite figured out how im going to go about is this dang NX1600 Gauge Cluster I bought. Paid a pretty penny for it at $400. but its in great shape, assuming it works, Ive been wanting to bench test it before the warranty is up but im afraid to put power to anything. I have a great pinout from AirToys video / write up, and the pins are clear as to what lights up what, BUT in AirToys diagram he labels one of the wires as a "12V illumination", HOWEVER; in the comment section he says "don't put 12v of power directly to anything on it" replying to a question about that, and I asked my dad whose an electrical engineer and all he could really say was "usually electronics run on 5V systems." Soooooo idk what to do. I mean most of the gauge cluster is really just lights, thats easy just wire the light to trip when appropriate in the circuits im running, BUT idk about the clusters illumination being im hardwiring things cuz no body / dash harness. I don't see anything in the FSM that wouldn't be a direct 12V to the cluster but thats for the stock 240 system, I CANNOT find an FSM for the wiring of the NX1600 cluster so idk if I need like a really on it, or fuses in line to it, or resistors, or something, I have no clue but I really wanna run this dang cluster! Don't wanna light $400 on fire though...

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Today I got the rear hubs, rotors, calipers, all that installed and finally got her back on the ground! she rolls fine now! so happy all that worked out! So ive spent the rest of the evening trying to figure this darn cluster out, its almost the last piece of the puzzle, and defiantly the most puzzling. I took a good battery and hooked up the "12V illumination (blue wire black terminal) to an inline fuse (15A to start to test- perhaps thats too much?) and tied the illumination ground (red wire yellow stripe, on both the yellow and black terminals) to a wire to ground, and nothing happened. im guessing I did not successfully complete the circuit to activate the lighting, I hope I didn't damage anything, don't think so, wires didn't even get hot so... Idk further testing is needed. this might be the only thing I end up paying someone to do on this car... im not much of an electrician haha a friend did find this to try and help me, its the NX1600 FSM circuit page if its worth anything to anyone...

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Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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on second thought im not so sure that is the correct FSM page. that does not look like the layout of the terminals or bulbs on the back of that cluster ...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Yeah, the page you posted has options for 4WD, spare tire carriers, etc haha. Doesn't sound right.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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yeah defiantly wasn't right. at any rate its pretty clear what wires light up which bulbs, so really I just need to integrate them into my circuity work. problem is idk exactly how I go about that... I mean in theory theyre just light bulbs in line so it sounds pretty straight forward. I just don't know how to wire up the illumination- afraid of overpowering the unit and frying it :(

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Hey whats up! finally back! I went and got married and took a vacation to Southern California! finally getting back into things with the coupe, I got the clutch master and slave installed! wanting to get an adapter for my line though it has the wrong style fitting for the slave.

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I also started fabricating the front caliper bracket spacers, the shims used to frankenstein the front J30 spindle / S1x (?) Hub is what I believe to be causing the alignment issue. I mocked the brakes up using washers to shim the desired thickness needed to make my brackets, contacted my machinist and was quoted $60, then I happened to be walking through Lowes and saw a sheet of steel plate that looked about right, paid $10 and took it home, turns out its the perfect 6mm thickness needed, I cut it to fit with the calipers shape, now I just need to drill holes and get longer stronger bolts for the bracket.

Still in limbo on the wiring, it would seem the easiest thing to do would be buy another shell for a few hundred bucks just to rob the wiring off of it for my car, I just don't want 30yr+ old wiring... would be neat to find an obd2 s14 though and use that, plus id have that cluster installed in a day... honestly if I could find someone who knows what they're doing id pay them- even just to clear up a few questions I have because I feel like im pretty close to understanding how it needs to work I think im just overcomplicating it. like I understand how relays work and how to wire them, I understand battery to fuse block to relays. switches trigger relays. components wired to the relay. what size wiring is needed where. how to solder. how to wire said switches and relays up to the fuses and each other, I understand how to wire the fuel pump up and lights ive already got wired up and headlight motors too, but Im just a little confused on:

1) how to wire the key switch up.
I understand ignition must get power this way and the fuel pump but how is best to wire that? ive seen people do a 4 pin relay and use the power the ignition receives to also trip a 5 pin relay that cuts for starter and otherwise powers accessories. also how would gauge cluster receive power when key is switched... which leads into...

2) how to wire the cluster up. HELP WANTED.
basically its just bulbs which sounds and would be easy if it weren't for the issue that I don't have a dash harness. every write up and video I find everyone has their dash harnesses and basically just color matches the wiring, or does a re-pin if its cleanly done, so im completely in the dark I feel like. im mostly confused on how to power up the unit (illumination) as I see flip flopping on wiring it directly to a 12v + source. and as for things like the speed sensor do they wire directly up to the gauge or do they pass through the ECCS or do I need any sort of resistors or anything in line from the component to the cluster? or even its own fuse block? everything is labeled clear as day im just having trouble visualizing and condensing all the circuitry and make it more efficient basically. and ive never messed with much wiring so its very frustrating. im buying the dual cam harness from wiring specialties this week, then I just need this wiring mess sorted out and this car can be on the road. everything else is done at this point except for paint and body really...

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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OK so ive found a shop that can wire it up, freedom motor works out of Knoxville where I live, dude JT is awesome he's built cars for SEMA before and said it'd be no problem to fabricate a dash harness for me. But on jobs like this he likes to work off the customers budget rather than give a price, and being a tech myself before I totally get that, so after talking to him about using top shelf materials and having everything on OEM switches and if he can get it done in about two or two and a half days time we set the minimum 1000 and max $1500 to get it done. so thats an option I have but it is costly, but atleast I won't worry about a fire and the cluster can be hooked up and have all the settings for the wiper motors and feel factory which is cool to me. SO I went ahead and paid almost $600 for a wiring specialties harness with the harness patch for the KA. (to make his job easy, eliminate any aging issues from factory wiring, and cuz I kept reading that you cannot make a single cam harness work on a dual cam bc the ignition wire cant handle the load on the dual cam, and for the extra plugs this harness comes with). also ordered REDLINE MT-90 fluid for the SR trans in it and sway bar end links finally. not too much left now! I just gotta bolt the driveshaft up and put oil in it and get the wiring and plumbing work buttoned up and thats it!

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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oh yeah and I got new rear rotors and pads and calipers for it yesterday since we had a sale at work. And just to be honest idk how y'all build these S chassis so cheap. hats off to you guys. I was adding everything up the other day and now after replacing everything but the gas tank I seriously have $9,000 in this stupid little KA s13 lol. and if I have to pay another 1000-1500 for wiring, get an alignment, buy oil, get the rest of the exhaust welded on, buy an O2 sensor, and whatever else I need... well im gonna easily have 11 or $12,000 in this thing. I mean sure everything is new but the gas tank and the engine cylinder head, but its still just a 4cyl KA dual cam just with new bearings and rods and accessories with a few deletions to EGR and vacuum line systems. I have beefed up and completely re worked the suspension and steering setup, and cleaned the car up overall in all aspects, but $10,000 into a KA dual cam S13... I mean thats just crazy. once I realized how much I had in it and what needs done I freaked out and tried to just sell it, I mean thats crazy to have that much in this thing, but lo and behold I couldn't even sell it taking a $1000 loss. Most people honestly just laughed and tried to call it a $3-4,000 ride, now I get I won't get my money back out of it but c'mon, I'll turn it into beer cans before I take a $5,000 loss on it. So I bought that harness and im just gonna see things through at this point. I have to say theres plenty of S chassis around my town swapped and making power, and theres plenty of clean looking factory single or dual cam KA ones too, but very few that are both making power and clean on the body and interior and suspension setups, and when those sell its usually in the $10-20k range. So I do feel this car is a little special and that people around my town don't seem to understand... they just see a dual cam KA and go "eww". So overall I get it, but I think its special, how many dual cam KA s13s are running around with everything but the gas tank upgraded and brand new? id think not a lot. IDK what do y'all think she's worth? not that im gonna sell it, just honestly out of curiosity bc I cant say ive ever seen someone sell one with this much new parts and a rebuilt dual cam...

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Just to break it down, heres all the modifications and parts ive installed off the top of my head. I know I must be missing some stuff cuz somewhere I have it written all down on paper with receipts totaling about $8000...

Driveline:

Ka24de fresh rods and bearings - 400
New oil check valve in the block for filter - 5
New pickup tube- 5
New oil pan - 180
New distributor -100
New NGK iridium plugs- 30
New plug wires- 20
New igniter/transition coil- 60
New D21 flywheel - 80
ARP flywheel bolts - 20
D21 exedy stage 1 clutch kit - 100
S14 intake manifold - 20
New ISR 4/2/1 headers - 200
Borla muffler and blast pipes - 100
Injectors serviced with kit - 20
New water pump - 50
New thermostat - 10
New knock sensor -40
New ignition module- 30
All new gaskets - 50
EGR deleted - free with a welder :)
Chopped vac hardlines but kept the heater core hardline pipe = free
Aftermarket radiator- 50
Dual electric fans - 50
Circuit racing coolant overflow tank - 60
ISR crank pulley - came with engine
exedy master clutch cylinder - 20
Enjuku auto to manual conversion line- 40
Wiring specialties engine harness- 560


Transmission is a Sr trans with a ka bellhousing swapped over to fit- do have the Sr bellhousing is one wished to go Sr and the cars already setup for the intercooler fitment and pipe Work as it used to have an Sr at one point - came with car (paid 1500 for car with the trans and diff and aftermarket rear links)

Engine and trans have new poly mounts from circuit racing- 80 / 55

Differential is a j30 6 bolt LSD with the 6 bolt half shafts for oem axles. And is held in by new white line poly mounts. - 35

Axles are new - 100

Suspension:
Unknown brand coilovers - came on car
Unknown brand rear adjustable links (all) - rear came on car
^^^These are the few parts that are not new but in great shape
Oem rear lower control arms with new Sentra ball joints - 20
Front suspension is s14 inner tie rods- 100
S14 outer tien tie rods - 56
25mm cut and welded extended lower arms- 100 to a local drift dude to weld up with gussets
New Adjustable tension arms - 40
Sway bars have poly bushings- 40
Rear subframe solid bushings / risers (not yet installed new in box)- 100

J30 5 lug swap all around, modified both knuckles and spindles to fit. New poly bushings in the knuckles. - 80

New brake calipers pads and rotors all around- 400

Sitting on 350z 35th anniversary wheels that have been recoated in hyper silver
With brand new tires. Bolt on 25/30mm spacers. - 400 for the wheels and 500 in the tires that haven't seen any time

Interior:
Full interior but no carpet
Crackless dash- 80

Oem gauge cluster- have it modified for aftermarket gauges you can do that or put it back to stock OR I have an nx1600 cluster I was working on wiring in... - the nx cluster was 400

S14 leather seats (front and rear- rear modified to fit coupe)- came on car when I got it

Tomi shift knob- 30

Trunk to firewall sound deafening stripped and covered in bed liner- 40

Custom wooden deck- made it out of scrap from work when I laid flooring for a living

No radio or speakers yet- I do have the oem speakers though

Exterior:
Rattle can paint job I’ve yet to put clear coat on (should happen this week though) it’s been sanded and it’s not had a bath in two months so it looks hazy and dirty AF rn in pics. - 250 (including sanding materials)

Rocket bunny knock off ducktail wing (uninstalled)- 80

Drift armor rear bash bar painted hyper silver like the wheels.- 275

Bay painted black- 40

Wheel wells painted black.- free

GKteck side mirrors - 80

So right there is over $6,000 and I know im forgetting a few things, like mounts ive fabricated, bolts bought, differential fluid, and little things like that, and not to mention my time in it which is pretty much all my free time of the past 3 years lol

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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well I gave up on trying to sell it before we move so I shifted my focus to finishing it before we move at the end of January. I ordered a wiring specialties combo harness with the ECU patch kit, and im just gonna pay JT to wire the rest up for me. I also ordered some Redline MT-90 for the trans cuz I couldn't find it locally, then picked up some new rear pads, rotors, and calipers for the rear to match the new ones on the front. also picked up a small breather filter so I can pull the gas tank breather line and 'cap' it with that small air filter.

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And then I found some steel at Lowes that was the exact thickness (6mm) I needed for caliper bracket spacers so I cut and shaped and drilled them and slapped some gold paint on it for protection cuz gold was all I had left lol

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and heres those calipers plus the new poly rear sway bar bushings. also when I went to find these bushings the work computer says the s13 came with 23 or 25mm rear sway bar, but mines a 27mm??? maybe someone upgraded it? ill have to do more research...

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Oh also I ordered some GKtech front poly end links and those came in. the red poly energy bushings are for the rear end links- these red bushings are too thick so I need a long bolt and a metal spacer like a big roll pin to go over it. or maybe just a locking nut so its adjustable???

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...and since I had the front sway bar off (im currently dialing in the front suspension and steering setup) I cleaned and sanded and primed and painted the front sway bar.

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
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Damn. Its always a bad idea to add all the stuff up haha, it makes you feel bad about yourself.
You're definitely going ham and buying a lot of stuff you probably don't need though.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Reinstalled the sway bar, had to bend the brackets up a little bit but it works out. digging the grease fittings.

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Poly end links from GKtech

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also got the Rear calipers, pads, and rotors installed. they fit up perfectly.

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Still waiting on the new wiring harness in the mail. and I just ordered a Blue Seas split fuse panel for it. while im waiting on those to come in ive been trying to find someone locally that sells NiCopp brake line by the roll but ill probably have to order it from summit racing... I picked up a new shorty clutch line, wanting to swap to a braided one but had this new one at work for like $10 so for now that'll get me going. I need to order a new fuel pump. theres a walborro 255 in this one right now but its been in there for awhile, im just gonna get a new oem one so I know it'll be new like everything else lol still need an O2 sensor lol and maybe a single cam speed sensor, idk if the one I have is going to read double or not with the NX cluster, but once I tidy that up by next week and once the harness arrives, I just need to bolt the driveshaft in and fill the fluids and haul it over to JT to wire the dash up. aaaaand thats pretty much it besides an alignment and getting the exhaust welded up. moving to the west coast with this car should be interesting lol...

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centralcoaster33
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Joined: Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:41 am
Car: 240SX #5-1997
Location: Central Coast, CA

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Curious which brackets you bent... I can't tell if it's the brass looking ones ones that come with ES bushings or some others. Otherwise, nice work and cool bits, keep it up!

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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yeah I had to bend the golden looking brackets that come in the energy kit. I know I got the right size bushings cuz I held the old ones up to them. this car has a 27mm rear bar and a 25mm front bar which I think is an upgrade from oem? anyways the bolting points are right in the bend of the new brackets. at first I was just gonna drill the mounting slots out wider but because of that I couldn't. so I just put them in a pair of pliers and bent them in like 2mm or so. made popping the bushing into it a little difficult but I was able to do it by hand still. fits right up after that!

So I had to take the trans back off last night. wanted to do it before I got too much hooked up. I was thinking about any potential failures or things I missed since im so close to running it now, and I was remembering back to installing the oil pan and the rear main retainer moved on me, I don't remember resealing it and I started franticly looking through old photos for proof of my work of which I realized I never took any cuz it was a late night. I remember replacing the rear main and thinking "oh this one I pulled out still looks great (maybe they replaced it when they redid the bearings and rods)". I still have to take the pressure plate and flywheel back off then I can check that. bleh I cant believe im tearing it back down this far, but better now than it pissing oil on first start up and having more to deal with then so... and I ordered some OEM bolts for the bellhousing- was afraid the ones I picked up from ACE hardware weren't a high enough grade and such. so right before thanksgiving I can slap that all back together and sleep comfortably about it finally lol

Other than that step backwards everything is progressing wonderfully. I cleaned up the garage and found my valve cover bolts finally lol. Bought a shorty clutch line, and found all my brake lines. I think im going to order some NiCopp lines though and just redo it all anyways. these lines aren't rusty but I think I can tuck the lines and make the bay look cleaner, plus NiCopp doesnt rust, and im eliminating the slush box lol. Found out the cars an original auto, so Im thinking I have the more powerful brake booster, I need to order a z32 master to complete the brake setup as well. I did order a Blue Seas split 12 fuse block. and im still waiting on my wiring specialties harness to come in. My rear poly sway bar end links arrived at work today as well. I still have a few small things to figure out (radiator mounts / throttle cable mount / capping off the power steering-not running that right now / hooking up the 3 vac lines and 2 or 3 fuel fines-possibly getting a regulator or atleast a new oem one). Then ll I got left is run the brake lines, buy that master, hook the clutch line up, bleed those systems, put oil in the engine and trans fluid in the tranny, bolt the driveshaft up, Hook the engine harness up when it comes in, and then its off to JT to wire the dash and cluster up for me. hopefully he's not too booked up and off work with holidays coming up. im moving at the end of January so I need this thing running by like mid January at the absolute latest. Ill still have clear coat to do on the car and fixing the quarter panels or just covering it with a kit, and I need 17in wheels or some rubber band tires on these 18s cuz the front rubs, and then getting some nicer seats and a nice radio system, but all that can be dealt with after it gets running.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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problems problems problems...
so last week someone hit my mailbox so I didn't get my mail. today I find UPS left me a letter stating my Wiring harness was attempted to deliver 3 times and got returned to sender last week. So now ive msgd Enjuku about it. I just hope they can get this sorted out fast and get a new one to my door. with the holidays and all coming up I HAVE to get this car ready by the end of the month just short of the dash wiring so JT can wire it up before or after Christmas. The second week of January the wife and I are taking a trip to Seattle to hunt for an apartment or house, probably an apartment till we get the lay of the land, anyways long story short the third week of January our lease is up here in Tennessee and were gonna be driving to Seattle Washington. Not in the 240 unfortunately lol just doesnt seem wise lol anyways that means even if I do get the car done in time ill have to either ship it to Washington or store it back home here at my parents till sometime in the next year I can make the trip back and possibly drive it across the country then. wouldnt that be awesome! its just alot to do and so fast. todays the 17th of November, I work 40 hours a week selling parts/retail, and ive got basically another 13 days to FINISH it. Still to do in the next two weeks: remove clutch and flywheel and check the rear main retainer, reinstall flywheel and clutch and transmission, bleed clutch master and slave, hook up brake lines, hook up fuel lines, hook up vac lines, hook up heater lines, bleed brake master and calipers, order rear caliper hoses, order z32 master cylinder, bolt starter back on, cap off power steering lines, get a belt to run the alternator and water pump, buy or make some radiator bushings/brackets, get my engine harness in, get an alignment and have the rest of the exhaust welded up, and my front tires are rubbing, but my fenders are already garbage im planning to replace one day lol so ill probably just cut them up to make things work for now. basically at this point its a whole lot of small things... also im super worried about once the car gets to Washington state will I even be able to legally drive it... theyre very strict on emissions I know, but Idk how they feel about like suspension and other modifications too... but heck I have two tricks up my sleeve to slip it through the cracks I think if thats the case, I mean hell ive spent 3.5 years and like $8,000 on this mother im gonna drive it, but so help my heart if they impounded or crushed it or something I honestly wouldnt know how to handle that...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
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That sucks about the rear main :(
You should be fine with the suspension mods in Seattle. As far as engine and exhaust, maybe just keep it registered in TN for as long as possible. You can also register it as an antique and be done with it.

Why are you moving to Seattle anyway? I've been a few times. Quite different than TN haha.

Blaqkfox
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Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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My wife has a good job lined up in Seattle, she works as a programmer and theyre like opening a school or something and offered her a teaching position lol she went to college and double majored, she makes a lot more dough than I do lol plus we've both always wanted to travel. Yeah that was my back up plans; either register it as antique but then im limited to the amount of miles I can put on it per month or year right? like its only allowed to be out for "shows or maintenance" right? though I know alot of ppl here in TN that register as anique to get around tag fees and they say no one ever enforces that rule but on the rare occasion and in such cases they'll just say "were testing a new part" or "diagnosing an issue" to get away with driving it. the other plan was to put the title in my mom or dads name so I could keep it registered and tagged with TN and then just play it off if I ever get pulled over like "oh its my dads car he's in town" or whatever, cuz my license will eventually be a WA license so I don't think I can keep my name on a TN title like that lol engine really shouldn't be an issue its all factory besides the exhaust and EGR delete. My buddy lives in Cali and says he just pays off the emissions guy to pass him somehow but it can get expensive to have to keep that up I feel like, plus then any cop hears me and its like waving a giant red flag ya know, so idk what the better way to go is...

SO I did just now get the flywheel back off. and theres NO bolts in the rear main retainer!!!! how embarrassing lol. its a new retainer and its on good and sealed just no bolts, im gonna reseal it just to be thorough about things. glad I tore it back down! and I found a tiny tiny sliver of a shaving where the pilot bearing mushroomed at the tip when I previously installed the transmission, how odd, probably why I had so much trouble getting trans on the first time, s*** was moving around a little and mushroomed the edge of the tip of the pilot bearing. idk that its worth replacing the bearing over tbh. its only on the very end so it doesnt really effect anything...

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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You'd have to check your local laws for antique tags wherever you'd register the car. Here in Mississippi its just like a regular tag, you just only have to do it once. Unlimited miles and days you can drive.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Oh ok! ive ever only known TN laws on it assumed it was likely the same everywhere else, here in TN they limit you to "weekends, car shows, or maintenance" as the only reasons to even be out driving one and then you're limited to how many miles you can put on it in a certain amount of time as well, but like I said no one checks up on it so people here really just do whatever they want lol Knox county is really lax on car modifications.

ONTO WORK.
I picked up the stuff to redo my rear main.

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and then had a heck of a time getting the old pilot out. my puller kept slipping, so I gave up and tried grease packing it and that didn't work so I tried shoving bread in there after that, that didn't work, so I modified the puller for better grip and finally after two hours...

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Got the retainer all cleaned up and a new seal installed...

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new bolts and torqued them to 40ft lbs.

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And my front brake hoses arrived! I already got them installed but I haven't taken a pic yet, hope theyre gonna be long enough for the little bit of add angle I got going on...

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And this is how the inner tie rod : rack is sitting... will this be ok y'all think? I see some people run the offset spacers but mine seem to be offset in the opposite direction for what people use those for... should I even worry?

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PapaSmurf2k3
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Posts: 23998
Joined: Thu Nov 21, 2002 3:20 pm
Car: 2017 Corvette, 2018 Focus ST, 1993 240sx truck KA Turbo.
Location: Merrimack, NH

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I'd drive it ant see how you like it. I dunno about modifying the rack position. I've never done that before.

Blaqkfox
Posts: 159
Joined: Thu Nov 12, 2015 8:34 pm
Car: 1992 s13 240sx coupe

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Front brakes are hooked up. Mounted the booster and z32 BMC today. Had to bend a new line for the passenger front and make a bracket to mount to the coilover. Really need a better bracket design but some locktight and it should be ok for now. Realized the clutch line can work like this but it’s kinda too short, I can’t mount it well so I’ll pickup an adapter to run the shorty ss line later this week too. Didn’t get nearly as much done today as I wanted but it’ll be alright. Just too tired.

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