jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

Today the crappy performance and backfiring that happened back in January started again. Again, unplugging the spark plug and injector wired on cylinder 1 does not change the cylinder's behavior although it reports 12.1 ohms. What's new is that I can now smell gas everytime it idles after driving a few miles which I'm guessing it's running very rich at the moment. Then out of curiosity I checked the compression on cylinder 1. It has 120 psi. After adding oil on spark plug hole, it was now 150 psi. Right now it has 296k miles on it and thought it was going to reach to 300k without a hitch. Maybe it still could but don't know how much I can stand the crappy performance.

Luckily my dad has a spare VG that he took off from a 91 with 12x,xxx miles that got wrecked and had it sitting for 4 years. Now the questions.

1. Can the injector on cylinder #1 still be bad even with the low compression?

2. My dad ordered an overhaul kit from O'Reily to replace any seals/gaskets that may need to be changed on the replacement engine. Which of those gaskets or seals I SHOULDN'T use and I should get from Nissan instead?

3. I did the timing belt and water pump back in January and 12k miles ago. Would it be a good idea to reuse the spring, tensioner and water pump onto the other engine? I'm gonna get another timing belt since my dad misadjusted the tensioning and makes noise when I increase throttle.

4. Tried searching but couldn't get any good info. While I'm getting the engine ready, what else can I do to the engine to make it perform a little better or more reliable? Don't wanna go all out like JWT but something easy.

Most likely the engine will be installed in November during break from college if not any sooner.

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

1.. Sure, you could have a dead cylinder (worn piston ring, etc) AND a bad injector

2.. What all is in this kit? And what brand is it? I'd imagine valve cover gaskets, intake manifold gaskets, head gaskets, and oil pan gaskets (on the VE they're just two little half moon deals)

Personally, I used virtually all aftermarket stuff on my blue VE revival earlier this years. Almost everything is aftermarket on it - valve cover gaskets, intake manifold gaskets (upper and lower), rear main seal, axle seals, etc.

All of the aftermarket gaskets/seals I used were either Timken or Beck/Arnley though, both of which I'd put on par with OEM Nissan (and probably make alot of the OEM Nissan stuff anyway)

The only thing I actually got from Nissan was the crank seal and the half moon oil pan gaskets (used in addition to RTV) but only because Rock Auto couldn't seem to send me the proper parts for those

I didn't have to do the headgaskets, but I wouldn't hesitate to use Beck/Arnley on those, either

For what it's worth, I used a completely no-name gasket/seal kit to overhaul my Civic a few years ago and have had no problems at all.

3.. It wouldn't hurt... but if it were me, I'd probably want to go all new since it wouldn't be much extra money at all

4.. The VG could really benefit from helping it "breathe" better - port and polish the heads, maybe open up the intake manifold and TB, etc. but that's not cheap to have done professionally, and unless you know what you're doing it can be screwed up pretty easily. Plus, if you do a port and polish job, you might as well do some 'real' headwork ala Cmax

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

Thanks for the reply. I'm trying to be careful on my expenses because I also need a driver side axle, EGR, rear exhaust manifold, power steering pump, possibly at least 2 mounts and tires. I don't have that much cash on me right now.

Looked up on porting and polishing. My dad has a dremel which I think I might do but not sure about the polishing part. Don't wanna mess it up and have to get a replacement.

Well today the check engine light finally kicked in! I was hoping to get a code 45 (injector leak) but I ended up getting a code 33! (O2 sensor) I replaced it back in October 09 and 17k miles ago. I wonder if the leaking injector f**ked it up or something.

Well gotta fully check it tomorrow. Too tired right now.

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

Now the engine is close to 299k miles on the original engine. On Wednesday the engine started to act worse. So today I decided to stop guessing and pulled out the tools.

I unseated the fuel rail to see them spray when I turn the distributor. Turns out that injector for cylinder #2 is not spraying fuel at all. Pulled the connector and the contacts were corodded. Cleaned them then measured the resistance. It was fluctuating between 2.1 and 1.9 mega ohms so it's done for. Couldn't find my dad's test light to check the harness.

So with #1 having low compression and no fuel going to #2 it was like I was running on four cylinders.

Also, if the distributor has a bearing inside then it's bad too. It sounded like a ball bearing was freely moving inside as I was rotating the distributor. The one on the spare engine sounds and feels a lot better so I'm gonna use it instead.

Oh yeah, the gasket set my dad ordered was from Felpro. It only had the gaskets and o-rigns to do the heads though so I have to get the rest of the gaskets and seals for the block myself.

Augustus Maximus

iTrader: (6)

Do the crank seals, timing belt, valve cover gaskets, exhaust manifold studs and keep it moving. Get o-rings it's a lot better o-rigns.

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

I did all that you mentioned on the original engine less than a year ago except for the valve cover gaskets which was done around 4 years ago and they're still sealing. I know a couple of areas of the original block that are fubar'd so I'm getting the necessary parts for the replacement engine for when the original truly bites the dust. I already got most of the gaskets and seals that go to the block. I even an aftermarket rear exhaust manifold to replace the busted one.

A word of advice to those who get the aftermarket mainifold. The additional hardware that came included in the manifold I ordered are highly questionable. I would recommend getting the studs, nuts and gaskets that connects the y-pipe to the manifold from the dealer or hardware store, which is what I did.

lll_hitman_lll

ugh 033 o2 sensor circut i hate that lol my last max had the same issue at 450k i just replaced the o2 with a jy one (fits in the toolbox) and replaced the bad injector which were 19 bucks apiece at my local auto parts store and the car made it another 195k then i crashed it lol at 145mph

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

Ok I installed the injector last night and got it on the road. Car feels much better now in idle and running. But once in a while while taking off from idle, I still hear a little pop in the engine. But no smell of fuel anymore.

Going to keep an eye on the oxygen sensor though. I haven't changed it yet and it seems that my mileage is still bad after the injector swap. Gotta wait till my next pay.

Oh yeah. Just rearched it on my way to campus



Less than 1000 miles to go!

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

Awesome that you're keeping it going! 300k should get here quick

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

It took four weeks but



Now I gotta 1up that 550k Max.

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

Today, I got the spare engine set up and ready and started to take apart the motor in my car apart (at 305k miles) to swap the manifold to the new block. Found out that coolant was leaking out of the IM gasket into cylinder 1.

Unfortunately I didn't do anything special to the block or heads. There will be another day for that. But I can't wait to have this done and running by the end of the week.

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

Ok I finally got the motor swapped in and everything is bolted on..... I think. When I start the car, it makes a very noticeable noise when revving it.



On first start, it was ran until the fans kicked in (about 5+ min). First came to mind is the lifters are not fully lubricated. Checked the oil pressure with a gauge and it's good. Searched on the forums and many point to broken exhaust studs, but I replaced all of them with the turbo studs. Ignition timing checks out with the timing gun. Video posted is the fourth time starting it.

What do you guys think? My dad suggests taking out the timing belt cover to check for any rubbing.

James92SE

iTrader: (31)

To me it doesn't really sound like a rubbing/scraping type of noise. It really kind of sounds like a miss IMO

Sure you don't have couple plug wires reversed?

jbbons25

iTrader: (2)

Checked on every plug and they are connected (except for the oil pressure switch, connector broke off). I do believe the y-pipe on it has a leak so that's what you might be hearing.

But I kept checking on the car today. Something can be felt on the distributor when the noise occurs. And using a screwdriver to pinpoint the noise, it's greatest on the bolt holding the distributor. So I took out the distributor to check it. It's not wobbly or loose like the original that was on my car.

The only other option would be to take out the front valve cover and check the valve lifters.....