Definitely Purple 260z

[Andrew_L26]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

Silicon may seal but also retains moisture when trapped in addition to paint not adhering to it !, you need to use Urethane.

Sounds good, I'll grab some next time I'm out!

[Andrew_L26]

So, taking advantage of the unit we were doing at my TAFE (clutches) I thought it was time for some manual gearbox action. Got all my parts ready including a box (ZX) and everything went smoothly, I ended up spending $650 with a new master, slave, clutch line, pedals, gearbox, new clutch and pressure plate, machined flywheel, rear main seal. I think that I did it fairly cheaply which I'm happy about.

Here are some photos of my fresh underbody sealer. I decided not to take too much of the old sealer off as the whole transmission tunnel had been protected with ATF from my leaky box.

 

 

The hoist arms didn't fall through the sills!

 

 

 

Enjoying that nice new clutch!

 

Only issue I'm having now (after a free oil change) is firstly, I have oil weeping from my headgasket! I'm really worried about this. I drove the car about 30k and when I got home I noticed a small amount of oil had seeped from the head. 

 

The car still runs fantastically though...

I haven't driven it since I got it home and I don't intend to. I'm thinking that it could be due to incorrect oil grade (I'm not sure what the boys put in but it was whatever was given to us by penrite) The oil could also be over-filled however I will double check tomorrow as when I checked it the car was on a steep incline and showed about 3cm above the full line on the dipstick. I also don't have any gauges at the moment which doesn't help due to (I suspect) a faulty voltage regulator. I really hope I'm not in for a rebuild of this beautiful L28 (F54 Block and P90A Head) Any ideas?

 

 

Happy Easter!

Andrew

[CBR Jeff]

Did you spill any oil when you put it in? If you did it's likely that it has accumulated on the gasket and run along. Try cleaning it off and then see what happens. It's unlikely that changing the oil has caused the head gasket to leak.

I am enjoying following your adventure.

Jeff

[Andrew_L26]

Did you spill any oil when you put it in? If you did it's likely that it has accumulated on the gasket and run along. Try cleaning it off and then see what happens. It's unlikely that changing the oil has caused the head gasket to leak.

I am enjoying following your adventure.

Jeff

Boy do I hope thats the issue. I cleaned it off when I found the issue and I haven't had anymore oil come out, although. I haven't driven it...

Thanks for the support,

Andrew

[Linton]

a weeping rocker cover will do the same thing, mines is the same just give it a wipe every so often.

Edited March 28, 2016 by Linton

[TobyMyers]

Recently Installed an L28 into My Dads Zed, After getting it running and driving i noticed the same thing, then realised i hadn't fully tightened the Valve cover bolts down!   Definitely a bit of a scare 

Edited March 28, 2016 by TobyMyers

[PB260Z]

a weeping rocker cover will do the same thing, mines is the same just give it a wipe every so often.

Recently Installed an L28 into My Dads Zed, After getting it running and driving i noticed the same thing, then realised i hadn't fully tightened the Valve cover bolts down! Definitely a bit of a scare

 

Definately reinforces the need to look for the simplest solutions first. Edited March 28, 2016 by PB260Z

[Andrew_L26]

Hi all, so I got my gauges working and found my oil pressure quite low (and fluctuating a fair bit) so I decided to drain it and put the correct amount and viscosity in and I haven't had it weeping from the headgasket and the oil pressure seems more stable? I've never really paid much attention to it. When I start the car the gauge slowly rises to a bit below half way then when I begin to drive around it rises to a bit above the middle, seems to rise and fall between just below the middle and just above the middle, is this normal? Also, how quickly should the pressure rise, at the moment it's a little bit slower then say when the car is warm, you shut it off and turn it back on, the temp gauge rising back up to the level it was at before you shut the car off, perhaps 5-10 seconds?

 

Andrew

[PB260Z]

Hi Andrew

 

The temp gauge will always move slowly it is designed that way.

The oil pressure reading you mention sound about right. The oil pressure will rise quicker when the engine is restarted there are two main reason for this.

• The oil won't have drained entirely back into the sump
• Warm oil flows faster.

Cheers

 

PB

Edited March 29, 2016 by PB260Z

[Andrew_L26]

Hi Andrew

 

The temp gauge will always move slowly it is designed that way.

The oil pressure reading you mention sound about right. The oil pressure will rise quicker when the engine is restarted there are two main reason for this.

• The oil won't have drained entirely back into the sump
• Warm oil flows faster.

Cheers

 

PB

Sounds good! thanks for the help! If I see anymore oil leak(s) I'll let you all know.

 

Now the only thing I need to do to make my L28 completely leak free is do something about the sump gasket. Will the motor need to be lifted up to be able to remove the sump or is there an easier way?

 

Thanks,

Andrew

[PB260Z]

Sounds good! thanks for the help! If I see anymore oil leak(s) I'll let you all know.

 

Now the only thing I need to do to make my L28 completely leak free is do something about the sump gasket. Will the motor need to be lifted up to be able to remove the sump or is there an easier way?

 

Thanks,

Andrew

Hi,

 

Yes you will need to lift the motor, not take it out just lift it. It is fiddly and can be messy but doable.

undo the engine mount bolts and jack it up carefully (watching for fan clearance etc) on the front of the bellhousing then chock the mount faces

 

If you are not confident, best to get help with this one.

 

Cheers

Edited March 29, 2016 by PB260Z

[blu260z]

Hi Andrew as promised a little tutorial video on gasless mig welding. Hope this helps.

 

http://i1302.photobucket.com/albums/ag127/chrispsawyer/Mobile%20Uploads/th_20160403_101537_zpsn2h1mdbh.mp4

 

Edited April 8, 2016 by blu260z

[Andrew_L26]

That's the first tutorial I've seen with sheet metal! Those tips will defiantly help!

 

Thanks!

[Howdy]

Give you the hot tip, use gas. It is a rip off but well worth the expense if you have a reasonable amount of welding to do. Gasless sucks, spatters everywhere, porous etc. I persisted with that in the early stages, swapped to gas and never looked back, just couldn't get a good result with it. It is 2000% easier with gas. Also, you mentioned the oil leak - while you have the rocker cover off, check the tension of the head bolts, I always had the head lifting off the block causing leaks, but OK, that was with 15lbs BOOST, yeah!!

[Andrew_L26]

Give you the hot tip, use gas. It is a rip off but well worth the expense if you have a reasonable amount of welding to do. Gasless sucks, spatters everywhere, porous etc. I persisted with that in the early stages, swapped to gas and never looked back, just couldn't get a good result with it. It is 2000% easier with gas. Also, you mentioned the oil leak - while you have the rocker cover off, check the tension of the head bolts, I always had the head lifting off the block causing leaks, but OK, that was with 15lbs BOOST, yeah!!

 

Yeah, I've decided I'm going to save up for a second hand Lincon 180c and go from there!

As for the head bolts I'll get around to that this weekend, however I haven't had anymore oil leaks which is good!

[Andrew_L26]

Also, cleaned my carbies and tidied up my engine bay!

they look great. Put some blanking plugs in where some old emissions stuff which wasn't connected due to the British SU not supporting it all. Deleted the EGR valve thingo and welded up the holes. Also got rid of those (asbestos?) heat-shields as the new British SU's don't really have any issues with vapour locking

 

[gav240z]

I was just looking at this guide. Since I'm not great at MIG on sheet metal, I'm used to Oxy/Acetylene. Different technique, but this guide is good in terms of tips. 

 

http://www.speedhunters.com/2014/03/the-101-how-to-weld/

[Andrew_L26]

She's going for a roadworthy next Wednesday so wish me luck!

Hopefully she will pass so I can finally drive her! So keen!

[PB260Z]

She's going for a roadworthy next Wednesday so wish me luck!

Hopefully she will pass so I can finally drive her! So keen!

Good Luck, enjoy that first registered drive.

 

Cheers

PB

[Impatient1]

She's going for a roadworthy next Wednesday so wish me luck!

Hopefully she will pass so I can finally drive her! So keen!

No news is good news, but hopefully you've been driving so much you haven't had time to post.

[Andrew_L26]

No news is good news, but hopefully you've been driving so much you haven't had time to post.

Unfortunately that isn't the case! the garage I went to were overly picky and had no idea what they were talking about. They were not happy with the fact that my AC doesn't work (doesn't have a belt on it) the back seats not automatically clicking in (You have to push the leaver back to lock it in, the way it was from factory) as well as my dogleg being in primer, the chain I have around my diff due to the strap breaking (don't see why this is an issue) and my vinyl wrap (they said that there will be rust under it but I know that there isn't. I've decided to take the vinyl off and get some colour matched paint, make the car look more respectable and take it somewhere that is used to dealing with older cars, they were inspecting it as if it was a newer car. Anybody know anywhere that is good, I've got a place in mind but I would love to go to a place that isn't going to be winging about my AC not being hooked up (because it is low on R12 gas and my car is slow enough as it is) Also, vicroads actually specifies that the Aircon doesn't need to be functioning but I really can't be bothered with this place (C&A Auto Fashion)

 

Andrew

[Andrew_L26]

I've decided to put the project on hold for a few months, I'm saving up for a Lincoln 180c welder (probably just get one second hand as it's not the sort of thing that is really easy to damage and quite easy to fix) That way I can really do repairs properly, Sure I can get panels welded in roughly with my current welder but It's not to a standard that pleases me as my current welder has very little control and I end up burning through panels which is just time consuming and annoying.

 

If anyone is selling one let me know!

[PB260Z]

Hi Andrew

 

That is a shame, but don't loose heart. Step back for a week or two and see how you feel.

On a positive note, you now have a list of what is needed to get through rego. When you say the A/C is not connected, do you have a functioning demister for the front screen ?

 

Maybe print off a list of the Vicroads approved inspectors and drive past a few and see what cars they have in their yards.

 

Just a thought

 

PB

[Andrew_L26]

Hi Andrew

 

That is a shame, but don't loose heart. Step back for a week or two and see how you feel.

On a positive note, you now have a list of what is needed to get through rego. When you say the A/C is not connected, do you have a functioning demister for the front screen ?

 

Maybe print off a list of the Vicroads approved inspectors and drive past a few and see what cars they have in their yards.

 

Just a thought

 

PB

Yep, my demister works, took me a while to replace the vacuum lines but I got all the controls to work so I am able to blow hot or cold air at the windshield. But that's certainly a good idea with driving past the places and finding out what kind of cars they deal with!

 

Cheers,

Andrew 

[C.A.R.]

Go see Richie at Allcraft Automotives in Moorabbin: 9532 2919
He's a RW inspector & is a Datsun guy - he'll be fair & reasonable.