ch33z3x

Hi there! My real name is Garrett. I'm so STOKED to finally have a reason to be here. 2 days ago I made a really stupid decision with my student loan. I needed 3k for tuition, they gave me 5k. I stumbled on this Shiro z31 on craigslist... AND STOLE IT FOR 1900!!!

SO. A few things about the car and myself: I'm in school for robotics. I have an extensive automotive background, I was a mazda guy for a LONG time. I grew up a farm so I know how to make something work, and when to do it right. If you ever have any questions about Festiva's and BP motors, let me know. I wanted an FC, but this came up first, and I've always loved this platform. Also, t-tops. I'm enrolled in BCIT (Tech school), in Vancouver, BC, taking the Mechatronics and Robotics program.

This car is my weekend ride to work, and something to tinker with when I have spare cash. After school, I'm pulling the motor, balancing and blueprinting, replacing stock pistons with forged, metal head gasket, porting and polishing the heads, custom turbo, Mercedes injectors and z32 fuel pump, clutch (not sure what I'm doing with that yet), intercooler setup retaining AC (not looking forward to that), customizing intake and exhaust manifolds (external wastegate FTW), etc, and gunning for between 4-500 hp to the wheels. I've done a ton of reading on upgrades for this car, so I know where I'm gonna start. The time in school will be spent on supporting upgrades, and getting to know my car. It hasn't been taken care of too well, So i'm starting with an oil change. The car was stolen at some point, so I have no door key. The ignition key is sketchy (ground down, I fear thinking about what the inside of the ignition tumbler looks like, I know what it takes to replace those ****'s), so I'm taking the tumbler out of the hatch and having a locksmith cut a key. Unfortunately, the jerks took the Recaros and the unique centre console Next is a transmission and diff flush (I know, no synthetic is the VLSD!), because the diff is leaking somewhere, so that needs to be fixed, and the syncros are weak. I'm hoping the flush will fix my tranny problems, but it could also just be old and tired. It's an american car with 232xxx MILES, so take that how you will. I'm hoping to avoid a tranny rebuild, but if it still seems weak after the flush, it'll be necessary before the motor. Next would be graphite infused poly bushings all around, followed by coilovers, followed by these: 17x8 JNC 010 5x114 3 30 White Wheel Fit 240sx 300zx RSX TSX TL Civic SI Accord | eBay
Next is EBC pads and good slotted (and possibly drilled) rotors. In the mean time I would like to do a full set of gauges (EGT, Boost, AFR, Oil pressure/temp, fuel pressure, Voltmeter, etc), and a decent stereo, probably with alpine type r's and a small 10" type r sub (I LOVE the alpine stuff). After that I'll it'll be time for a pocket ROMulator and a whole lot of tuning research, in prep for the new motor. 240sx short throw will also happen. I know jack about fuel maps, boost curves, and turbo trim (excuse the lack of vocabulary in this field), so it'll be a long process. The point is, I have MAD love for this generation of car, and I've been looking for a project like this for SO long. There are some things I'll need help with though.
I need speaker covers for the rear.
Canadian gauge cluster.
Cruise control doesn't work, found the link to check the buttons on the pedals though
no matter what temp the slider bar is set at, all I get is hot.
AC doesn't work
Takes time for syncros to engage
idles rough when cold
Leaky gaskets (valve cover, oil baffle)
I'm struggling to think of more, which makes me happy. I know if i do some searching I'll find answers to a lot of this, I'm just introducing myself, and I love expert perspective. HOLY CRAP THIS CARS MOVES. Looking forward to meeting you all
In the pic with the key, when you see it, you'll sigh loudly and pray like I do for this car not to be stolen before I get keys.

ch33z3x

So I need to check the oil pressure manually as well. Either the sending unit is pooched or I need a new oil pump. The pressure gauge slowly rises to 30 as i run it, but doesn't go past that. The oil temp hardly moves. I doubt it's accurate, I'm kind of an idiot and have been driving it in a manner that the motor wouldn't survive if it was starved for oil. The clock worked for the test drive, then stopped. Fog lights and interior lights are pooched, hoping I just need new bulbs. Some random clunking from the suspension, I think I may have to do bushings sooner than I thought. The funny thing is, I don't care that it needs so much work. I bought it to work on it, and I know if I show it love I'll get it back tenfold XD

ch33z3x

Hey all. So I called the Z shop in Vancouver, who the previous owner bought the car from. They said that whoever pulled the recaros and center console out of my car also pulled the stock vlsd. I went to check today if it was swapped for an open diff or clutch type, I know that open means wheels will spin opposite and LSD means wheels spin in the same direction- my problem is, when I spun either wheel, the other didn't move. I really don't want to resort to the burnout test. Any thoughts?

rogerz

your ac and cruise problem probably because all your vacuum hoses are rotted out. stock nissan gage setup was always sketchy. try a new sender. download the fsm from xenon freebie. you'll need it. you didn't steal it at 1900 you probably overpaid. rough idle could be chts. before you go spinning off on all the exotic stuff you mention you better learn the car first. here is some basic stuff that will keep you running:

Get your battery load tested. Be sure you have clean, tight corrosion free terminals on both ends of your battery cables. Be sure the ground (negative) cable goes to a bolt into the frame before going to the starter. grounding through the starter is not a reliable connection. Z's don't like low voltage. causes the electronics to act funny. it is possible to have enough amps to crank but not enough voltage to run the electronics. If you have one size fit all cheapo clamp on terminals they are a problem waiting to happen.

Clean the connectors for the maf or afm, ecu and tps. Deoxit by CAIG is probably the best connector cleaner on the market. spray with CorrosionX after cleaning and before putting together this will help prevent any further corrosion.

Replace outer tie rod ends, and ball joints. replace the bushings with poly (don't forget to lube them as directed unless you like squeaky things). New shocks. all those things will make you think you are driving a different car. doing them piece meal is a waste you won't see a great improvement until you do the complete job. Rear bushings nice too but more work and you won't notice as great an improvement. Rear shocks also because if the fronts are gone so are the rears. if car squats when you jump on the gas the rears are gone. If you have the electro adjustable shocks they are DEFINITELY GONE.
Also change out the master and slave for the clutch hydraulics they go out on dark and stormy nights at oh dark thirty. NO FUN.

ch33z3x

Thanks for the reply! I've seen the post for the new guys regarding your last 3 paragraphs. I'm going to go through most of that when I do the first tune up. I didn't think of ball joints and tie rods, which seem obvious now. I'll probably have a shop do those, with a proper alignment. I don't really have the facilities yet for that. I do have a lot of ambition, and I appreciate your patience with my questions. I'm going to study the FSM before I do anything serious, for sure. Thanks again!

zxguy1986

Welcome to the club, Garrett. Can I ask you to post a few more photos of the your new Z? - I'm interested in the Shiro exterior. Also, taking them in daylight would be cool.

Delecroix

Welcome to the site. I would say $1900 for a Shiro is a steal; Z prices are going up immensely here the past year. Sucks that you are missing parts from your car though.
I second getting familiar with the FSM, at least the general maintenance section, and do the general tune ups; spark plugs and wires, distributor, water pump, belts and tensioner, probably do the two temperature sensors and oil pressure sensor. Coolant, oil, diff, and trans fluid flush would be wise as well.

ch33z3x

Thanks guys! I'm gonna have the z shop do the trans and diff flush after I finish my tune up, I have no hoist or I'd do it all myself. I'm gonna do the sensors when I do the t-belt, but I have research (studying FSM) to do first. I'd be pissed if I broke something!

ch33z3x

Update:
So I changed the oil and cleaned out the connectors. Tps was pretty bad, when I cleaned it up it idled so smooth. I finally have proper keys! I can lock it! I had to pull the outer door handle and have 2 keys custom made. When I did the lock cylinders, I lubed up the door latch mechanism and rods/hinges with quick drying graphite lube. Works so nice, AND when I lock my driver door the passenger now fully locks. Installed Alpine type R coaxials in the back, turns out they're oversized. Pics to come of final fit. Got a few odds and ends from an auto wrecker: inner door handles (now they match!), the plastic piece for my hatch popper, marker light, etc. Fixed all the outer lights, now my lights light on the dash only comes on when my lights are on. I think it's either because of the HIDs that came with the car or because I have a few interior lights out. Not gonna worry about it until after this tune up. After some saving, I'm finally ready to really get my hands dirty. I have new transmission fluid, the timing belt, idler, water pump, crank and cam seals and woodruff key, t stat and gasket (OEM), CHTS (OEM), pulled a newish plug off a sentra for it, injector cleaner, NGK plugs, valve cover gaskets, and coolant. It's gonna be a good weekend. Next week I'll do the oil sending unit and start on the vacuum lines. I found a few missing (melted) under the hood. I'll clean that up and start under the dash next, followed by the interior lights and a kill switch. Pics to come!

PredatorZ

Sounds like you are making good progress on your car, my TPS had a lot of blue corrosion on it, just the way it sits it can trap water. Shiro's are very cool cars, pretty rare, good car to have as a project / driver as a student.

ch33z3x

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/7ygs3rntqxppxn7/rwGZJSJWhF
I'm still figuring out to put pics directly into posts.
First three are vacuum lines I found melted. I know where they go, and how to fix them. Waiting for pretty red vacuum hose. The fourth is a one of my new (Perfect) keys. Thanks to West Coast Locksmiths. Fourth and fifth are of door lubrication after I pulled the handle out. Sixth is car ****. Seventh is progress so far, and eighth is the connector that seems to have melted/broken off the FPR... Factory service manual says it's a fuel temp sensor. Interesting.

rogerz

you can do tie rod ends, shocks, and ball joints if you can put the car up on jackstands. borrow/rent the shock compressor and ball joint removal tool. Most O'Reillys have them available. they aren't that expensive. try amazon.com or Harbor Freight. don't worry about the fuel temp sensor. I made the error of buying one new for my 85t. doesn't change a darn thing in how it runs nor improve gas mileage. if you find one in the junkyard take those two plastic slider bars out of the lock. if one breaks you will need a replacement.

ch33z3x

So I was reading the FSM today. Apparently in California our cars came with an EGT sensor. I'm gonna hunt for the bung on the crossover pipe while I'm under here. It'd be sweet to have the gauge, and the value for tuning. I'm working all weekend, so I'm studying up for Monday when I get back into the car.

PredatorZ

On the posting window, top row is a smiley face, directly to its right is a paperclip, click on that box, you will get a pop up window, if you don't, turn off your pop up blocker for this site, once you get the window just browse for pictures on your PC, when you have all them you want hit the upload button, this site allows pretty large pictures now.

ch33z3x

I've had about 2 hours to work on it. Started by pulling the crank bolt. Big ratchets are good. Ebrake on, car in fifth (I have since been introduced to the idea of wheel chocks for this). One foot on the fender, on on the ac compressor. Boom. Easy. The hard part was pulling the plugs. Right side, not so bad. They were pretty corroded in there, I was worried about them being seized. They all came out in one piece though! Phew. Thinking about using anti seize, heard best for spark plugs was copper or lithium based stuff. I also realized it's a good thing I'm planning on doing the valve cover gaskets (leaking) and seals (at least one cam seal is bad). Taking off that intake tube was not easy. I had good tools though, so none of the rubber was hurt. Once the Idle Air Assembly was off, getting the other spark plugs was straightforward. That one in the back on the left was not easy. Best friend all day: Extension and wobble.
So I just have to get the crank pulley off and start on the timing components themselves. The cam gear bolts came pretty easy too. I'm really enjoying working on this car. I'm stoked to start bolting things down to spec torque. I haven't cared enough about my other cars to do that. On to the seals!

Edit: Not using anti seize.
http://www.ngksparkplugs.com/pdf/tb-...1antisieze.pdf

Deezter

Always glad to see another young guy like myself putting work into a classic like this. It seems like our generation just doesn't appreciate beauty and design like this anymore!

ch33z3x

Spent most of the day running around looking for tools. I found two different pullers that I thought would suit the application, and got to work. Turns out I wasn't crazy, and the FSM shows six bolts that aren't on my crank pulley. It was pressed on, with two threaded holes in it for a puller. Turns out the Idle Air control bolts fit, so I used them, as the steering wheel puller's bolts were too big. Once I got that off, getting the timing pulley became my next challenge. Again, my FSM simply says... remove crank timing pulley. The pulley is very close to flush with the oil pump. I couldn't get anything back there, wound up taking off the cam gears, water pump, and thermostat housing, as well as moving other stuff outta the way. That's when I realized I was glad I bought cam seals. The only thing I can think of is to file down the fingers on my small puller and try to wedge them in behind the crank timing pulley enough to get the main puller bolt concentric to the crank, at which point it should come easily. I'm using a file because I'm a po' boy and don't have a grinder, otherwise I would have had the gear tonight I think. I got the puller filed down to where I think I can use it. We'll see tomorrow.

ch33z3x

Well ****. I have to replace that gear, don't wanna damage the oil pump. Nissan doesn't make the gear, and I can't get it aftermarket. So I either have to source one online or go pull one off a maxima engine. Hope they're the same. I'm gonna pull the crank, destroy the oil pump and remove it with my puller with the fingers. That way it'll be perfect for mine. I did just talk to a welder though, and he said if I only drilled 1/4 inch holes in the pulley it shouldn't affect the strength. He said I could also just leave studs in the holes and grind them flush, so I may be able to just reuse mine. We'll see.

PredatorZ

You are doing what I call desert Island repairs, by that I mean you are just using what you have on hand, kind of as if you had to, but actually by choice or budget really. Been there done that. When you can't afford a new tool, you sometimes have to modify / create a workable solution. Good luck !