ldunow9

Is there any problems I might encounter putting the motor from my 86 into my 88. The reason for doing this is the 86 has 140xxx while my Daily, the 88, has 275xxx (runs good still). I understand that the drive shafts are different, but is there anything that I should look into before I go all in. I'm almost done pulling the 86 motor. Thanks- logan

zxguy1986

Welcome to the forums Logan!

Are you talking n/a or turbo swap? Both the same?

Thks.

PredatorZ

You say it still runs good, is it burning oil ? My engine has 358,028 miles, it has oil leaks, but runs great and as far as I know doesn't burn oil. properly maintained these motors can go 500,000+ miles. As far as swapping them over, if you use the same trans, then the drive line should fit, getting one resized isn't that expensive if you had to. You are talking basic plug and play here.

ldunow9

Thanks I'm excited to find a good updated forum! And both motors are naturally aspirated. The main reason for the swap is I needed something for my senior project. My car isn't burning oil, it leaks a bit and has some other quirks but nothing horribly bad. Have either of you pulled a z31 motor before and have some tips or problems I may run into. I have the wiring harness, and all the stuff on top except for the front drive assembly out. On the bottom end I have the exhaust unhooked from the exahaust manifold as well as the drive shaft disconnected. Another question I have is how much can I leave on the motor? The exhaust manifold doesnt seem to stick out much.
Thanks again! -Logan And wow! 350+ miles. Thats insane. I thought my car was high mileage.

zxguy1986

A tech friend and I swapped an '85na 5-spd (140K) motor into my '86na 5-spd (255K) in just under 9 hrs labor total. We were in no hurry. Key in, turn, start, run! (You never know so it was a good surprise... that we KNEW would happen ) Both motors without transmission. Orig tranny was/is good.

Some hours needed after that to tune everything up exactly right, maybe another 4 hrs of tweaking - because I was real finicky about it and wanted it exact.

Like the good man said, it's just about plug 'n play there.

Can you post photos of the operation as you go thru it? Could be cool for others here to see. Thanks

ldunow9

It too me that long to get the wiring harness and hoses off lol. But yes I will ale sure to post some pictures up as I go! Looks like all I have left is the fan and the transmission and the mounts.knowing me I'll mind a thousand other things but I thinks that's it. Then I get to do it again hopefully outing everything back won't give me so much grief. I appreciate the quick responses and advice it's much appreciated.

zxguy1986

We appreciate your trust. Let us know what you get stuck with - or knock out of the park.

ldunow9

Got the motor out of the 86. I'll throw some pictures up later. Everything went good except for the bloody hands but that's how you know your doing it right....or that I should throw on some gloves. Either way I plan to take the motor out of the 88 starting Friday and I'll update on my progress!

PredatorZ

I know, I need to confirm this is the numbers matching engine, I am sure if I get it rebuilt the shop will be able to tell if it is factory, or has been rebuilt, I would assume ? I am going to take it out at some point and go through it. Would like to get a turbo motor 1st, drop it in and redo the old motor and save it. never hurts to have a backup motor.

ldunow9

With the 86 motor out and cleaned up I started taking apart the 88 only to realize there are some differences that is going to impede my progress for a while due to picking up another job and needing my car. The alternator is on the other side as well as some other things (Not sure how I did not notice that haha) so the wiring harness would have to be changed or another bracket added to the other side. The bolt patterns for the tranny to motor seem the same but the diff to drive shaft bolts are different. unfortunately I'll have to put the project off but I did get my Car running really well with some of the lower mileage parts from the 86. So pass down the info if anyone needs it and I'll upload pictures of the differences. Thanks again for the help and advice, I learned quite a bit from pulling the 86 motor and am helping a friend of mine with her car next week. And If anyone wants to check out the 88 I put an album up called Ruby the Z or something similar to that. Defiantly let me know what you think!

Update- the name of the album is Ruby-Still Kicking