86 Z24I ressurection, need advice!

[mirageshepard]

Hey everyone, It has been a while since I've had any major issues with my 1986 nissan hardbody NAP Z2.4I. I finally figured out what my issue was with it starting great 1 day then not wanting to start the next day or it would start & run like a 1 legged chicken. In the start of getting it close to running right I cleaned the air flow meter on the side of the throttle body & it seem to make a major change but it wasn't quite "there" yet. Now that I had it close to what I felt was right, I realized that when I cleaned the air flow meter I never thoroughly cleaned inside the throttle body where the air flow meter was mounted. When I cleaned inside of it with a alcohol soaked Q-tip (I learned carb cleaner is not smart to use) I finally found my little demon, it wasn't much dirt but after the cleaning it ran great! & THANKS to everyone that chimed in & shed light on the situation!

 

Ive been trying to fight a oil leak but I'm loosing the battle. I've also got a little bottom end knock now that I've got it running great, & it seems to get louder as engine heats up but not much louder. SO with those 2 major issues & a few other extremely minor oil leaks (never makes puddle) I'm thinking about taking out the engine & start over with a Z24s out of a 84? 720 (carb). the odometer in the truck showed 89K miles, but don't know if this is original miles because the 720 that the engine came out of looks extremely rough. I would assume all I would have to do is change over the TBI set up (I'm scared of breaking bolts lol) from my Z24I to the Z24S & maybe distributor as well. I want to at least reseal the 720 Z24 engine to fight any near future leaks. I don't want to venture much into anything internal because I know this engine ran well when I took the engine out of the 720 about a year ago (its on ground wrapped up tight with canvas). I may as well do a timing set as well for good measure, but I'm going to see what everyone thinks about my thoughts on this because I've never done much with these types of engines & I don't want to dive into this swap blind.

 

Now for a few questions. What type of engine reseal kit would be right for this swap? What brand is the best?...or is there nothing greater then nissan parts? Would a new oil pump be a good idea as well? What else would be a good idea to replace when I remove all covers to replace gaskets? I'll be attempting this swap as soon as a buddy gets some free time to help (medical probs prevent me from doing the simplest things sometimes) As a side note I looked around to see how much it would be to have the whole engine rebuilt by an engine builder with a great rep & he wants $1400 just to do a totall rebuild so since thats not in my budget I'm trying it this way to save some cash & hoping this engine swap will get me by for a while longer. Any advice is appreciated!

[datzenmike]

If you haven't run that Z24 then you have no Idea how well it works. Imagine changing a bunch of gaskets and swapping all the TBI stuff to find it's a wheezing oil burner.

 

Your oil leak could be the valve cover, oil pan, timing chain or front timing seal. Slight knock could be the timing chain. Pull the rad and the complete timing set and replace, you want to replace the timing gasket and crank seal anyway. Drop the oil pan at the same time, (it will make doing the timing gasket easier too) and spin the mains and rod bearings out and replace.

 

Now you have a knock free motor that doesn't leak with new timing chain, guides and tensioner. Could do this with the engine in the truck too.

 

Call it good.

[mirageshepard]

If you haven't run that Z24 then you have no Idea how well it works. Imagine changing a bunch of gaskets and swapping all the TBI stuff to find it's a wheezing oil burner.

 

Your oil leak could be the valve cover, oil pan, timing chain or front timing seal. Slight knock could be the timing chain. Pull the rad and the complete timing set and replace, you want to replace the timing gasket and crank seal anyway. Drop the oil pan at the same time, (it will make doing the timing gasket easier too) and spin the mains and rod bearings out and replace.

 

Now you have a knock free motor that doesn't leak with new timing chain, guides and tensioner. Could do this with the engine in the truck too.

 

Call it good.

 

Thanks, when I get time & space to do it I'm going to remove both engine & tranny at once since it was easier that way when I pulled that spare engine out of the 720, & do it that way because laying on my back on the ground for long periods of time to get to stuff under the engine would be rough on me because of a few medical probs.

 

I've narrowed down the major oil leak to either the rear of the oil pan or rear main seal.

 

As soon as I get the chance, its getting to an engine stand, drained & pan dropped to let excess drain over night then flip it over to violate some bearings then unzip the front to replace timing goodies

Treat it to some good stuff to make sure the engine forgives me for violating it

 

So do I stick with Genuine Nissan parts?

 

Thanks again!

[jesusno2]

How bout ya take that napz and throw it in the scrap heap and bolt in a single cam ka engine. Its not too hard if you can find a truck engine and swap to a 240sx intake wiring harness ecu. That my opinon the napz is good for a boat anchor if ya want any kinda performance.

[datzenmike]

Not true. They are a purpose built truck motor and not used in any Nissan car. For pulling a truck they do very well having lots of low speed torque. If we are talking boat anchor, the KA wins by being a lot heavier. :P

[mirageshepard]

How bout ya take that napz and throw it in the scrap heap and bolt in a single cam ka engine. Its not too hard if you can find a truck engine and swap to a 240sx intake wiring harness ecu. That my opinon the napz is good for a boat anchor if ya want any kinda performance.

 

My dream engine is the KA, BUT things are kinda tight right now so I'm trying to keep this engine going till I can find another job so I can afford a KA and maybe even trick it out as soon as I find the right info.....but thats a long ways off in the future. My luck being the way that it is, I would build the KA the way I would like & it would break everything in the drive line but the wheel studs lol

[jesusno2]

Are they heavier? Can't be by much since the blocks are almost the same. Mike I can say that my 720 has 260k on the original 2.4 napz it is on its last leg. But when it goes I will ka that truck I'm just not a fan of the head design. My truck has many miles and still runs pretty decent but jesus that thing can't get outta its own way. Its a 3rd gear full throttle situiation to climb any incline to keep up with traffic