lol dont we all...vlsd is next on the list for me too. wondering if they put new clutches in the vlsd unit?? my only concern w buying one w high miles. man this car is coming along. how come you didnt consider just throwing rods and pistons in there?

 

Nice! I'm loving this thread so far! I gotta check the car out once the motor is in and blower is re-installed!

 

No doubt. I am going to try to maximize the n/a set up before I put the blower back on. I want to get it running well n/a before I put the blower back on. I will see the track and dyno both n/a and boosted.

 

my lifters showed up today, but only one of the two head gaskets got here

The lifters have a dark coating on the top of them (teflon maybe). I assume this is something that wears off and not something I need to remove before installed? Can someone varify this.

 

when I got new lifters and pushrods for my truck it had the same coating which is there to prevent surface rust while in storage.

I called the company was told to wash it off

 

what did you wash it off with? Brake cleaner or something like that?

 

Awesome. If you ever happen to hit up Richmond Dragway or a dyno near by let me know. I definitely wanna check it out!

 

Ive been wanting him to build me one for quite some time

 

i see franziskaner

 

I had time to put my two new lifters in and recheck valve clearance...we are good to go

Left Head
Intake readings in inches
.011
.010
.011
.012
.010
.012

Exhaust
.012
.013
.011
.013
.011
.012

Right Head
Intake reading in inches
.013
.012
.011
.010
.010
.010

Exhaust
.012
.011
.011
.011
.013
.012

My other head gasket should be in on Monday. I'll update once I start moving forward again.

 

I got my final head gasket in today, I hope to put the heads back on tonight.

I was looking at ampire's thread and he was asking about the dowels in the cams. What is the correct procedure for installing them? I just tapped mine in with a wooden mallet. How tight do the need to be?

 

Would like to know as well. Your thread is a great resource to me, fellow December-swapper haha. I assume the same thing.

 

Remember how the spacer and cam gear go on the end of the exhaust cam? The pin should stick out far enough to engage the slot in the exhaust gear - and the intake pin will need to be longer to go thru the spacer and both gears.

Tapping them in to start is good - if they stick out too far, when you re-tighten the bolts on the cams, the pins will be pushed in to fit...

 

I just got done with the last 95 degree torque angle pull, I oiled the bolts and seats and they went down nice and smooth. The heads are back on now Hopefully I can pick at it a little more this week.

Also, for anyone else doing this Aaron gave me a great tip....it's real easy....stand on the engine stand when doing your tq sequence, you will not need people to help you hold things in place and you are also above your tq angle meter so you are able to see it clearly. Just wanted to pass this along, I had two people helping me the first time and this time I did it by myself and it was easier and I feel that it was more accurate.

 

good deal, it was just one of those things I thought about, and did not know if there were an exact procedure.

 

How's it going?>

 

I have been working on it a little bit each night this week. I put the heads back on the engine monday night, I put the cams back in last night, I put the rear valve cover and secondary timing chains on tonight. I hope to put the main chain on tomorrow night. Once that I will need to put the outer timing chain cover on, and then put the oil pans on. Once I have done that I will start to put the engine back in the car. I already have an adjustable fuel pressure regulator in the car from my supercharger set up, so I should be good on the fuel set up.

*Also, does anyone know the tq specs for the 3.5 oil baffle?

 

Not using the 3.0 oil baffle?

 

I had already taken it off when some people were talking about clearance issuse with arp rod bolts, turns out some of the information was a little mixed up, and I don't think you need to change it for just the rod bolts. Anyway, mine is already off so I figured I will just use the 3.5 one that bolts onto the bottom of the 3.5 girdle. I think there is a little more info posted in my thread a few pages ago. Once everthing is installed I am going to turn the engine by hand a few times to make sure nothing is clanging around anyway.

 

Its the Eagle Rods and big 3/8th bolts that dont clear, not stock rods and arp's.

 

does anyone know the thread pitch on the thermostat housing bolts? The stock ones are too short for the 350z thermstat. I left the bolts at home I meant to bring them with me today. I know the are a metric 6, but I forget the rest.

 

6mm x 1.0

 

looks like you are already passing me on this project. I am still waiting for some parts from courtesy that were special order...

 

the main chain is on. I turned the engine a bunch of times and everything looks and feels fin. I do have a question though. When I turn the engine so that the yellow link comes past the crank on the seventh time around it comes to where the yellow link lines up with the timing dimple on the sprocket, so that tells me that the crank is a cyl 1 tdc. The cams also are pointing in the correct direction at this point, the only thing that does not line up are the gold links on the secondary chains. The gold links are not on the dimples on the cam sprockets at this time....is this okay/normal? I just want to make sure everything is right before I put the outer chain cover on.

 

anyone know the answer to my question about the gold links on the secondary chains?

 

I dunno how the small chains actually change during many rotations, but if you assembled things correctly, the actual timing will not change. Those chains are much better than belts if the chains and tensioners are new, and assembled with oil inside.

 

I am hoping someone knows the answer to this for sure so I can feel good about putting the outer timing chain cover on.

 

If you really really want to be sure, you can take the chains back off and put them back on. It really doesn't take that long, but like Grey said, if it was right when you started rotating the motor, it hasn't changed.

 

I did that once....and when I re did it, it did the same thing....so I guess I am good to go then.

What is the best way to prime the main tensioner? I pumped it up while soaking it in oil, but it got so hard to push in I could not push it down with out is loosing some pressure. Once the oil pan is installed I plan on adding engine oil and rotaing the engine by hand....will this get the tensioner good and tight or do you guys do something else?

 

Just read through ajcool's and he also had trouble/questions with the secondary tensioner alignment. http://forums.maxima.org/all-motor/5...-thread-2.html

Just make sure the dots on the sprockets align horizontally, I think thats the important part. This is the next step for me, I'll probably do it in the next couple days.

 

The important thing is that you got lots of oil in the cylinder at assembly. I took the bellhousing off an old busted automatic tranny and mount it on the engine and hang a starter on that, then crank it over with a full crankcase and filter installed. After doing this for a while, spin off the filter and check for oil - it should be full. Keep it up until you're tired of the noise.

 

That was I am saying, how do you get a lot of oil in there because when you are able to push it in far enough to bolt it in place it seems like it has vented most of the oil out the back of the tensioner.

 

Which is normal - the point is that the inside of the tensioner was soaked in oil, and when you first start up, the tensioner will fill and hold pressure well.

 

I guess one could one also disconnect the coil packs and fuel pump fuse and crank the starter once its in the car?

 

Okay, good deal. I check my dimples on the cam sprockets and every thing is lined up where it should be, so I feel good about that. I will go ahead and put the outer timing chain cover on and keep moving forward.

I was planning on doing this too once I turn the engine by hand some. I just wanted to try to build a little oil pressure before the flywheel gets hit with the tq of the starter for the first time.

 

I am on the same boat here, it is hard when youre alone doing this but later i will seat back and enjoy... Keep the good work and good luck!!

 

thanks man. It has been really cold here the past week and since I really can only work on this in the evenings I have not gotten anything done since I last posted. It has warmed up a little bit this week so I hope to pick at it some over the next few evenings. I am to the point where I just need to put things back together.

 

Yeah I got 2 space heaters in my garage, its not fun working in there though (20-30 degrees). I took off from work for the next week for "christmas vacation", aka getting the damn project done. I finally have most of my parts and today and tomorrow I will reinstall the timing components.

 

It's a little bit warmer today, I hope to get something done in the next few days. Goodluck with yours!

 

This "warm" weather is a real blessing, my garage is like 50 degrees with the heaters, so I got a ton done today. Hope the same for you in VA.