Phlebmaster

Thank you Mike! That makes sense. Thank you for the images, helps with understanding the setup and how to apply it to my truck. I was considering a second fan, winter temperatures will make it more difficult to assess the efficacy of a single fan. It must work without interaction for reliability and safety and cooling properly in all conditions including seasonal temps.

Actually that’s a great idea. I’m using a 16” fan from a Toyota Sequoia and it’s wired up through a relay system so it should be an easy process. Looks like it is time for a junkyard run!!

I don’t judge

Finally got the steering linkage and spindles done. I still need to swap out the control arms but the truck is a lot safer now. I’ve replaced the bearings, spindles, all of the steering rack and tie rods. Pretty soon she’ll be a new truck! I also put a real tow hitch on since the bumper hitch was a joke.

Okay so I have some feedback regarding the changes I made regarding swapping the clutch fan for electric, pulstar plasma plugs and CTI Altima pistons and rpm changes in response to the throttle. 1. CTI std pistons with slimmer rings. 1.2 1.2 2.5 vs stock 1.5 1.5 2.8 mm rings. These are basically 240sx pistons but a little lighter and scampi rings. They are pretty sturdy but much lighter than the 240sx pistons. They state they are for the Altima but seem to work well for the frontier. Remember, I haven’t changed my head or intake for a 240sx setup so I’m running the stock frontier intake and head. The pistons are of decent quality and I would use them again if needed. The compression is higher than the stock frontier pistons but I have ARP studs and a quality oem head gasket. 2. Pulstar plasma plugs are basically regular platinum plugs but have a capacitor that in my understanding stores energy and jumps up the output of the spark enough to create a plasma. Unfortunately I can’t see through my engine, but that would be cool, anyway so far I think they are doing this because I don’t have any unburnt fuel smell like before in my exhaust, even with iridium plugs. 3. Removed the clutch fan and installed an electric push fan in front of radiator using an adjustable thermostat controller. Okay so I’m gonna tell on myself, I went cheap with the thermostat switch but I was curious if it would work. I wired it up and it does work for adequate cooling even if temperatures are high. However I recommend using a quality thermostat switch system or an adjustable one of good quality. I would also recommend one that the sensor sits in the coolant and not between the radiator fins. I ended up having to use thermo paste to get a good connection for the switch. Now that I know it’s going to cool the engine I’ll get the right switch. Now I’d like to share my thoughts with these changes and how It changed the engine rpm characteristics. I know it revs much faster than before, but more subjective is how the engine feels while driving. The feel is more responsive to slight changes in throttling. I don’t think it will make much difference in horsepower or torque but I will keep you posted after breaking in my new parts. Hopefully without breaking my new parts. Hahaha

Sahweet!! I found a compressor app for my pictures. Let’s see if it works. the Apexi NEO is a fuel management system similar to power commander for motorcycles. It adjusts your fuel output based on your parameters that you set based on your setup. It uses the MAP and MAF information as well as RPM. The main reason I am using this is so that I can put in larger injectors and fuel pump with an adjustable fuel pressure regulator and get it to run. The wideband tells you the AFR so you can adjust the settings on the fly. The most complicated part of this process was determining which pin number on my ECM matched up with the correct wire to the device. Even the factory service manual wasn’t clear on wire color or pin location. I kind of had to do a process of elimination and testing circuits to make sure I was in the right wire. But I marked the ECM for future reference if I ever have to do more work on that device. I recommend labeling your wires and anything that could possibly help the next guy who happens to encounter your contraptions. My experience with the Apexi Neo has been pretty good but You definitely need to read the book for setting it up. It’s not always clear or intuitive but it is probably one of the better systems for those that don’t have a couple grand to spend on a standalone. Plus it is removable without affecting your vehicle so you can go back to stock without any problems. The next couple of pictures after this group is of the oil cooler I put Inline for the oil feed to the turbo. It’s actually a motorcycle oil cooler from an old engine that I had and it is quite remarkable that I can touch the oil feedline after driving it without burning my hands. It definitely does the trick. The oil pressure to the turbo is great no issues there. That was my main concern is reducing the oil pressure to the turbo but it seems to be flowing pretty well. Considering it came off of a motorcycle with probably a tiny oil pump it’s pretty efficient. Anyway it was kind of an out-of-the-box thinking and it might work for somebody else.

Thank you for your reply. That’s what I gathered from reviews and other sources. My hope is that I will be able to get a little more control over the timing and combustion. I should be able to compare the data log information and see what happens with the AFR details from my wideband. fingers crossed! But I will make sure I close the loop with my experience in case others are considering the plasma plugs.

I need to figure out how to compress my pictures so I can post more than one per post. Anyway here is what happens when you do not gap your piston rings properly with a turbo set up. Also Detonation played a part in this damage. So make sure that you take the time to make sure the piston rings are gapped properly especially if you’re using aftermarket stuff.

It was a busy weekend but not as productive as I intended. Damn Oregon rain!! Anyway, I have the new pistons in and ready to reassemble the engine so I can fire it up and make sure everything‘s good there before I tear the suspension down. If you’re ever curious what detonation will do to a Piston take a look at this picture. Here’s a picture of the new pistons in place and one of the many sets of pistons that I have demolished due to not having the correct air fuel mixture and piston rings not being gapped properly for a turbo set up. If you think you can just get away with it think again. Measure those damn rings and make sure that they are not going to expand to the point of bunching up and breaking your ring lands in your pistons. The first three times rebuilding the engine was fine but he gets a little old after fourth or fifth time Because I was in a hurry and neglected to check the ring gap.

I finally got all my parts. I’ll have more instructional information and updates soon. But I have my work cut out for me as you can see in this picture. 1. upper and lower control arm replacement. 2. tie rods and steering linkage including polyurethane bushings for strut bars. 3. lighter pistons 4. water pump 5. electric fan swap with adjustable thermostat controller. 6. spark plug replacement for the plasma plugs. I will make sure to outline any difficulties experience and improvements.

I just remembered that I have a video of some of my projects that many of you Ratsun peeps helped me with. Here is a link to that video. It will give you a little history and maybe some fun memories. Phlebmaster’s project compilation- not everything

So I’m waiting on delivery of the upper and lower control arms today and then will start replacement of the front suspension and steering systems. I went with upgrading the bushings for better handling. More in that later…. ”while I’m in there” I’m replacing the clutch fan with a 16” electric fan and using an adjustable thermostat controller. I hate skinning my knuckles on that damn fan. This will help with the rpms as well as the lighter pistons. Oh, and I got a set of pulstar plasma plugs. I am very skeptical about gimmicks and claims of a million mpg and HP but one thing they do well is ignite the fuel mixture fully. Since I don’t have timing adjustments I’m hoping to tighten the accuracy of it with these plugs. Snake oil??? Maybe but I’ll keep you posted.

Let’s see, how about the blue cylinder head and other L16 engine goodies you gave me for the ratsun engine raffle. It’s been a very long time. you have been very helpful with my previous projects.

That’s some amazing stuff there. The extreme cold is almost like an alien world and regular rules don’t apply for just about everything. Nice post brother! Love what you did here.

We’ve all been to your house. Haha