Rittmeister
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| 07-29-2009 03:37 AM |
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Yup, they're a direct bolt-on to the S13 rear upright, and yes, they're just Sports (yellows). They've got a 12mm shaft diameter instead of 10mm like the S13 shocks, and the shaft length is slightly shorter, but other than that they're about the same. I'm not sure which generation they're from; the part number is 8041-1208Sport (fronts are 8610-1436Race). The Eclipse rears, I'm told, fit all kinds of cars. I'm fortunate that I had several folks on NRR to guide me, and Koni is less than half an hour from where I live; I was also lucky to get together with someone who works there.
I admit, I tried to make my car nice. I'm pretty happy with it. I like the Sil-80, and I wish my wife was interested enough in cars to go in for that sort of thing... |
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eyesoreracing
MotoIQ Super Genius
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Posts:139
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| 08-06-2009 08:10 PM |
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 Interesting snag. Trying to put an S14 head on an S13 block is a wee bit complicated. As Clark at Jim Wolf Technology warned me, there is an extra oil passage on the S14 head that the S13 doesn't have. The lower head gasket is an S14 gasket. The one on top is the S13 gasket. The solution is to plug the passage on the S14 head surface, then feed the oil passage through an external oil line. Not the end of the world, but its not entirely clear where the oil passage goes. The extra S14 passage goes into the chain tensioner hole. There another passage on the other side of the tensioner, shown here:  I through this might work its way up to the VVT actuator on the head, but no, it looks like it dead ends, here:  Clearly this passage must go somewhere, or else why did they drill it? I can't see where it goes, though... Looking at the outside of the head, I marked the oil passages I could identify.  As I showed above, the passage from the head surface goes into the tensioner hole, then another goes up from there and seemingly dead-ends. Looking at the VVT actuator, there's a passage that clearly goes down from the actuator to the nearest head bolt hole. Oil is fed into this head bolt hole from an oil passage that both the S13 and S14 blocks seem to share. Anybody have a full understanding of these oil passages? |
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Big J
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| 08-07-2009 09:18 AM |
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Did you do a cool-aid test?
Squirt cool-aidd into the passages with a syringe (oral dosing syringe from any pharmacy) and vinyl tubing and see how they connect.
My guess is the hole is plugged because the hole had to be drilled from the outside to access the journal, and that it passes through/intercects another galley to form a connection.
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eyesoreracing
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| 08-08-2009 02:15 PM |
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Wooden workbench = no cool aid!
I'll try that in the solvent tank tomorrow. I expect you're right about it intersecting another passage, but there really doesn't seem to be much room for that second passage anywhere. Hope to know for sure tomorrow.
-Dave |
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eyesoreracing
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| 08-10-2009 05:57 PM |
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Figured it out... Look very closely at the plug in this passage:  There is a tiny hole in the middle of that plug. Its a sprayer for the timing chain... So, the passage that's shared with the S13 goes like this: Oil comes up from the block, moves over to the oversized head bolt hole, runs up into the head around the head bolt, then feeds the VTC actuator and, it appears, all the intake cam bearings. The new S14 passage just feeds into the chain tensioner bore. Some oil from the bore obviously goes into the chain tensioner, and some goes around to this passage on top, where it pees on the timing chain. To put this on an S13 block, all I need to do is drill, tap and plug the S14 hole, then drill another hole into the chain tensioner hole from the front of the head and feed it with an external oil line. -Dave |
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Rittmeister
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| 08-11-2009 05:42 AM |
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You will of course post pictures of this operation, I hope? |
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eyesoreracing
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| 08-12-2009 08:43 PM |
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After talking with Clark at Jim Wolf again, we've decided this plug/hole is not a chain sprayer (there is one down on the block already), but just an air bleed to purge air out of the hydraulic chain tensioner. Either way, the solution is the same. Feed it externally.
Alternately, you could cross drill into the other oil galley, which feeds the VTC, but presumably Nissan didn't do that for a reason. Most likely, when the VTC switches, the sudden gush of oil going into the cam gear would rob the chain tensioner of pressure, causing a momentary chain rattle. Not worth the risk...
-Dave |
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bdrecksage
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Posts:47
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| 10-25-2009 04:44 PM |
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wow, this brings back memories. i can't wait to see what happens with this car. |
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SteelbluesleepR
MotoIQ ASE Certified
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Posts:40
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| 10-26-2009 02:55 AM |
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dave, i just want to say you restored my faith in the enthusiast community when i started reading your work in sport compact car. technobabble was always the first article i read whenever i bought an issue off the newsstand and i was really sad when i saw it go away. The technical writing in the mag was almost always way above my head until i started doing some research and attending college (being on a FSAE race team didnt hurt things either), but i read them anyway and stored them for future use. i am extremely glad i stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago while doing my usual uncoordinated stumbling through the e-world of automobile enthusiast websites.
as for the s13, its awesome to hear you actually making some progress on it again.
sorry about the long-winded first post here, but it is the best praise a sleep-deprived stressed out mechanical engineering student like me can dish out. you are among a short list of people that have helped satisfy my need for an IV drip of automotive knowledge. |
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eyesoreracing
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| 11-01-2009 07:20 AM |
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Thanks for the kind words, Steelblue.
Latest dilemma is cam bearing alignment. When I got this head, it didn't have any cam bearing caps, so I robbed them off another engine. This opens up the possibility that the new caps might not align perfectly with the head, resulting in a few bearings that aren't round enough. Bolting them down and spinning the cams should give a hint as to whether this will all turn out OK.
Sure enough, the intake cam spins freely, but the exhaust cam is sligthly sticky. I managed to rig up a very sensitive torque wrench to the nose of each cam, and the intake cam turns with 1 in-lb of torque, where the exhaust cam takes as much as 2.5 (depends on the rotation of the cam). Removing the #3 cap brings it down to 1.5, so I can probably just focus on that one. Need to find some very small inside mics to measure in there. Or, alternately, go to the junkyard and steal a bunch of #3 exhaust cam bearing caps and try until I find one that works...
-Dave |
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eyesoreracing
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| 11-01-2009 04:50 PM |
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Quick progress today...  Here's my bearing drag testing rig. A very fine torque wrench connected to a 24mm socket through a method I'd rather not discuss (it involves duct tape...) Intake cam, 1 in-lb. Exhaust cam 2.5 in-lb. There is no spec for this, of course, but it doesn't feel so bueno at 2.5... |
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eyesoreracing
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| 11-01-2009 04:53 PM |
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Since the exhaust cam's drag isn't the same all the way through its rotation (it has a sticky spot), it seems like something isn't round.  This quick check, though, showed less than half a thousandth runout in every bearing. The spec is something like 3 thou. That's not it... |
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eyesoreracing
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| 11-01-2009 04:55 PM |
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Look closely at the far corner of this bearing:
See that nick? There's some aluminum hanging into the bore from that nick. That could be dragging on the cam. A minute with a file and some wet 600 grit and it looks much better.
but does that fix the problem? Of course not.. |
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eyesoreracing
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| 11-01-2009 04:58 PM |
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Ok, time to get all systematic on this bitch.
I measured the drag with no bearing caps (0.75 in-lb), then installed and torqued down the caps one at a time, measuring each one. All the results are written on the cam gear, where I can't lose them, in that fancy new silver Sharpee. I love silver Sharpees!
Bearing #3 is causing almost all the drag. |
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eyesoreracing
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| 11-01-2009 05:05 PM |
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Caps # 2, 3 and 4 are identical castings and are only stamped with their location number after the cams have been line bored at the factory. I hit the junkyard and raided the only two SR20s there (G20s), taking 6 caps in all ($2 each, but the guy was nice and only charged me for 4). One of them might happen to line up and give me the proper bearing clearance.  Yup! Turns out the very first bearing I tried worked perfectly. The exhaust cam now spins freely at 1 in-lb all the way around. Obviously, from the color of the bearing cap, you can see the donor car had probably 2 oil changes in its 190,000 miles. After the spin-test, I also did a quick plastigauge check to make sure none of the bearings are too lose. All is good. Maybe I'll actually take the old head off next weekend... -Dave |
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Big J
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| 11-01-2009 06:40 PM |
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Posted By eyesoreracing on 11-01-2009 06:50 PM
Quick progress today...
blah blah blah blah
(it involves duct tape...)
blah blah blah blah
a little Alabama chrome does the trick |
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AErrorist
MotoIQ Newb
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Posts:10
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| 11-06-2009 07:32 PM |
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Dear Dave Coleman,
My S13's transmission exploded tonight, I do not want it anymore, it makes me sad. Would you like it? You can have first dibs. It's in KY, please come pick it up.
Sincerely,
Adam |
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eyesoreracing
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| 11-07-2009 03:29 PM |
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Why would I want an exploded transmission?
-Dave |
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eyesoreracing
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Posts:139
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| 11-07-2009 03:37 PM |
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S13 head came off today. This is the first time I've even had the valve cover off this engine. I bought the engine from Venus auto, slapped it in and started driving. If I had ever seen this, I probably would have been worried. Looks like the original Japanese owner wasn't big on the oil changes...  Down where things go bang, though, it all looks good. Still perfectly honed cylinders, and the pistons were clean and mostly carbon-free (the nasty wetness in this picture is WD40, which I was using to chase out the coolant that spilled in there when I lifted the head.)  Combustion chambers look equally happy. Nothing building up, no detonation witness marks, no sign of anything but a happy engine.  I yanked the exhaust valves out already and will be re-using them in the new head. The new head was a non-turbo, so it didn't have the sodium-filled exhaust valves. Next, the head and valves are off to Cosworth to get the exhaust guides reamed out to fit the fatter sodium-filled stems, and to get the valve seats cut. -Dave |
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Rufledt
MotoIQ ASE Certified
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| 11-08-2009 03:25 PM |
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first off, i am amazingly excited that this car is a project once again. I thought all of those awesome cars were going to 'go away' with SCC, which put me in an emo mindset for far too long. Exept without that hair cut. or the girl pants.
i've been out of the car geek-ness for a while thanks to college (for not engineering) so i have a question- what is the advantage of keeping the sodium filled exhaust valves? Does the bigger diameter offer strength or is it a heat thing because of the turbo? sorry if you mentioned why already but caffine has a way of ruining my brain's ability to recall the memory of what i read on the previous page.
thanks! -Paul |
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