91zxtt

As I've been tearing my poor car apart I've found myself asking this question.....Were the Nissan engineers retards or were they geniuses? I really don't know. Some stuff I look at and think....'that's brilliant'. For example the SMIC's and piping integrating in the recirculation valves. Other things I look at and think....'What f'ing moron designed that'. For example.....the upper timing belt idler pulley stud running into the lower plenum. Also, and most recently, the EGR valve and heater core inlet and outlet tubes and the galley of vacuum/EGR/water bypass hoses. Has anyone here seen that setup? What f'ing moron designed that. It's like a Rubics Cude. I was finally able to get the rear vacuum/EGR/water bypass galley out. I still can't get the lower plenum off because the rear, passenger side has one of the heater tubes in the way. There are 1/2" washers all along the top of the lower plenum. The heater tube sits about 3/8' above the rear, passenger side plenum stud. In order to get that tube out, youo must remove the EGR valve. In order to remove the EGR valve, you must remove the drive side heater tube. What a friggin' circus. I should be able to get it off tonight as long as I can remove the EGR bolts. I sprayed some blaster on it last night, so i'll give it a shot today. The bolts don't look awful, but we'll see. I didn't try it last night..It was getting late and I had already finished my beer.

I did remove the IC's last night. They came out very easily. I was pleasantly surprised. I'm still waiting on parts to be delivered, so I'm not in any rush now. Once I get the lower plenum off, then I'll be able to place an order through Courtesy for all of the hoses and gaskets that I'll need. The EFI harness should be easy to replace with the lower penum, EGR valve and coolant/heater tubes removed. Knock on wood. Wish me luck. May the force be with me. Nanoo, Nanoo. Live long and prosper. And all that jazz. I'll keep you guys updated.

ZXDude90

Damn, I wish a knowlegeable Z owner lived near me so I could get help removing my plenum. It just looks very intimidating. I don't want to get started and then get stuck somewhere and not know how to get it back together. I need to replace that small f'in fuel hose toward the front of the plenum. It has been leaking a little and looks like I can't replace it without removing the plenum. It's only a couple inches long and just out of reach. I would like to replace alot of other hoses under there also and check injectors. I wonder about nissan engineering myself sometimes...

topless93

I feel your pain, I've been wrenching on vechiles since I was 15, (51 now) and I also wonder about how and why some items were layed out on these cars. The positive side of all of this is that I feel we are a special few that dare to do the work ourselves. When working on a Z32 engine ever get in a hurry, and things seem to always work out. Another thing that I've noticed, you usually have to remove three or more items to get to the part you want to work on. But you gotta love it, LATER

91zxtt

I sometimes question that whole knowedgeable thing. If I am knoweldgeable, then why am doing this? If I can get it back together and have everything work and not have any vacuum/coolant or fuel leaks, then I'll be one happy z owner. If not, then ooooo boy. I'm gonna be pissed.

That fuel line you're talking about is on the fuel rail. It connects the left and right banks. Yes, you likely have to remove the plenum to replace it. Taking the plenum off was easy. I just told myself, "Well, since the hose is so brittle, I might as well replace it. Where'd I put that utility knife?" Tere was a lot of cutting involved. That was another one of those designs that you look at and wonder, "What the hell were those crazy Japs thinking when they designed this?"

CanyonCarver

ha ha ha .......... keep in mind that these automotive engineers have to pack alot of $hit into a little space. And ......... when you stand back and scratch your head trying to figure out WTF, you need to know that when these cars are put together in the factory the engine and tranny are completely assembled with everything except the things that attach to the car, ie: main rad. hoses, fuel lines, wiring harness ends, driveshaft and so forth,,,,,,,, and then they're installed up into the bottom of the car with, or before, the crossmember.

What we all really need is a lift so that when we need to work on the engine, we just disconnect the few above mentioned items and lower it out from under the car........ I swear.

91zxtt

A friend of mine told me once that Nissan engineers planted a seed in the engine compartment and grew this motor in place. I'm starting to believe him. I almost lost it last night. I hadn't been that mad in a long time. I was yellin', swearin' and throwin' things. Here's the story.....The EGR has 6 bolts attached to it. 4 bolts hold the EGR tubes on each side in place (the ones that run to the underside of the plenum). I was able to remove the 2 bolts on the drivers side and remove that tube. I was able to remove 1 on the passenger side. A coolant tube gets in the way of the other bolt. I was able to get both bolts loosened from the back. Here's the part where I start yellin' and swearin'.....the bolts are too long to get out of the car. They bottom out on the firewall. I can't get the EGR valve out with the engine still in the car. Un f'ing believable. This rubic's cube has become much more complicated. There isn't much that's holding the engine in (AC compressor, motor mounts, exhaust and tranny). Looks like I'm pullin' the engine. Since I'm doing that, I'll probably port and polish the exhaust manifold. With the engine out, it'll be easier to install that EGT gauge. I can also replace my power steering hoses since they're leaking. Too bad I sent back those Noltec motor mounts.

91zxtt

Crap.....I just had an expensive thought... ...since the engine looks like it's comin' out.......JWT mild cams & HD valve springs ???? What do you think? I'm gonna be payin' for this for a while.

CanyonCarver

That made me laugh............. you might be able to just lower the motor enough to get to what you need. Leave the driveshat and exhaust installed. I have myself learned to get all of the things that are in the way, out of the way. It's way easier.

bardabe

Well I have one question. "What size Hex key do you use to get the radiator pipesoff the motor?" I got all of the nut's off of it, but I can;t find the Hex key that fit's the Hexbolts holding the pipes to the motor. I need to replace my thermostat. I was screaming swearing and ripping my hair off and I could not ge tthose things off because I could not find teh size. I tried the 1/4" too big I tried the 6 and 7 MM they also did not fit. put it like this I tried all the one's I had. none of them fit. so I wan tto know what size you guy's used and what brand. pretty please?

ZXDude90

Might as well huh? Man, that sucks having to take out the engine because of a few bolts :-/ . Im thinking about investing in a good lift. It would make things alot easier.

topless93

I bought a Craftmans 3/8" drive metric allen socket set. Had no problem with mine.

91zxtt

CC- if I can lower the engine, then I'll try that. I think the crossmember will get in the way. The other concern i have is getting the passenger side water tubes back in. The bolts are buried underneath the plenum and since I only have 1 elbow and 1 wrist on each arm, it makes it difficult. If I had a couple more wrists, then it'd be much easier.

The allen wrench that you need is just slightly larger than the one you use to remove the plenum cover.

Does anyone know what the flow rate iss of the Specialty Z TT headers? No, I'm considering purchasing that. I'm just looking for a comparison. The honed stock manifold increases flow from 170cfm to 211 cfm. Stillen sells it for approx. $450.

CanyonCarver

The fsm states to remove the crossmember before removing the engine, so it's coming out anyway. I don't know if the mounts come out with the member tho.

91zxtt

If that's the case, then I should be able to lower it far enough. Thanks for the info.

bardabe

I have that crafts man thing but none of them fit. can you tell me the size you used so I can figure out how to fit it in? c=it's driving me bannanas

91zxtt

Is your Craftsman set standard or metric? Everything on these cars is metric. My allen wrenches aren't labeled, so i don't know what size it is.

CanyonCarver

There are 1/2 mm sizes too (5.5 mm???)....... this was just the first search results that came up:

http://www.cvfsupplycompany.com/25pcalwrenhe.html

91zxtt

A funny thing happened last night......it made me feel like I was 18 again. I was talkin' to Pops last night and told him about my thoughts of installing JWT mild cams and if we had to remove the engine, then I could installed ported exhaust manifolds. Basically, he gave me a Rizz-esque response; i.e.....um, no. I know how b300z feels.

Dad and I are going to remove the lower crossmember this weekend and see if we can lower the engine and get the bolts out of the EGR and water tubes. Once I have all of that stuff out, then I can get the lower plenum off. Then I can take inventory of what I'll need as far as hoses and gaskets go. I'll probably clean everything up real nice. Maybe paint the valve covers, timing belt cover, & balance tube. It looks like have it running again in November may be possible.

91zxtt

:woot: Success. I was able to get the water tubes off without dropping the crossmember. I got the lower plenum off also. :rockon: The EGR valve is only being held in by the tube that runs down to the driver side turbo. I need to get a larger wrench to get it off though. Once it's out, I'll have access to the EFI wire harness mounting brackets. I may need to remve the Brake master cylinder, because the harness runs behind someof the metal brake lines along the back of the firewall. No big deal....I've been wanting to change my brakefluid anyways. I even had time to spare to do some yard work this weekend. Here's what she looks like now.

I found out something interesting....the EGR tubes that run to underside of the upper plenum were partially clogged. I'd say 50% or so. So, cleaning those out should help out a bit with my emmissions. The vacuum hose that ran to the EGR was also very loose. I bet it was the cause of my high idle. That thing is so buried back there that I couldn't hear it on the leakdown test. thhe hose was also very brittle; especially for a vacuum hose.

Mousier158

91TT i have a suggestion for removing the EGR bolts if they are bottoming out on the fire wall...drop the tranny and manually pull on the engine or find a solid spot to pry the engine forward a bit and wha lah. I had to do this while installing a clutch master cylinder. of course i had the tranny out in the first place. hope this helps or sparks a new idea.

CanyonCarver

Good pics................ Did you do it without moving the motor? Or did you lower it a bit? Those dam egr's!!!!

b300z

yea........
dude you need to come over and work on my car too

those are some sweet pics you took too :rockon:

91zxtt

Didn't have to move the engine at all. Dad pry'd the water tube back a bit and I was able to slide the lower plenum off. After that it was easy because I could see everything I was working on. The bolts that I couldn't remove are still in the EGR valve. You can still see them in the pictures of the EGR. Once I remove the EGR inlet tube, the EGR valve is out. So, when I put it back in, I need to make sure to remember to slide the bolts in before I tighten up the inlet tube.

91zxtt

Well, I ordered everything I needed from courtesy to start putting it back together. It was primarily a sh*t load of various hoses. I'll be ordering gauges today also (vac/boost, voltmeter & fuel pressure). I hope that's all I need to buy for a while.

CanyonCarver

Where are you mounting the guages? I saw a autometer 2-guage pod on ebay for like $20 this week.