Ive talked to as many people as possible, but i cant seem to get a straight answer about the L28 engines from japan. some have told me that the L28 is obtainable from japan brand new, zero miles. new, not rebuilt. new cylnder head, block etc. and then some tell me that the same company is just rebuilding them, and with shaudy parts at that. on top of all of this i can seem to locate this company. who are they and whats the real story behind the L28 fro them?

 

I've heard of this before ... Bleach might know a thing or two about it.

Whoever told you that you could snag a zero-mile L28 was yanking your chain. These engines haven't been made since 1984, I believe.

What this company probably offers is a "zero-mile rebuilt" engine, meaning that it probably hasn't even been started since being rebuilt. I haven't heard any real bonuses to buying a "JDM" rebuild; I would think that a local engine shop with up-to-date tools, parts, and know-how would be able to to build your engine up to the specs of the Japanese counterpart (which I don't see a difference with).

Hope this helps,
-Dave-O

 

Agreed. It just doesn't make much business sense to continue manufacturing a 20+ year old engine design that's no longer being used in any currently produced car.

 

I don't know anything about these companies with "new" engines. I used to see L28's for sale in the USA from a big company that sells rebuilt engines. They had an expensive core charge so they did want your old engine to rebuild and sell. I think as of a couple years ago they no longer offered the L-series engine. And those 30K mile JDM import engines are long gone as of 3-4 years ago. If you're lucky, you might find an L24 rebuilt (low demand) but no L28s as they are the most popular.

There are Z-specific shops throughout the country that have a set price to rebuild your engine. You drive your car in, come back in two weeks and the engine was removed, rebuilt, and replaced all for a flat price. The shop I saw that did that was Zsport in Everette, WA.

I have heard from many people that the parts put into the engine should be from Japan or the USA. But Japan parts have been known to be higher quality in most cases. Stay away from Korean and Taiwan parts.

 

Where are these places and what is the average cost to have a full rebuild done?

 

The place I mentioned is north of Seattle but I'm sure there has got to be more places that will do the work.

I dont' remember their exact price but we're probably talking about $3500-4500 for the complete job. That is a stock rebuild. Most of that is labor.

 

There is a Datsun shop just south of me in san jose or santa clara that will rebuild from the bottom up for about 2800.