ok when i bought my car it came with two spare engines, i was told that one is an Original GT-X L20 and the other is an L28 from a Z. these engines are pretty bare, basically only blocks /heads and internals, no carbs/manifolds. what do i need to look for on these to identify aside from removing the oil pans and looking at the pickup?? will the sump be in different places?

i will probably just keep the entire L2o engine and the L28 head/ crank, but ditch the rest as L28's are very readily available in the USA.

so can anyone post where the stamp on the block will be and what it will say?? i dont think it will be like SR20's or KA24's, or even honda engines are very easily spotted.

also i have three different valve covers that all say something different.. is there any valve cover thats more rare than another (besides the S20 that is... HAHA)

upon moving the engines today im pretty sure they are both stamped L20 now, but on one the oil sump is to the front and on one the sump is to the rear..

on the skyline L20 isnt the sump supposed to be to the back of the engine?

not sure if i should try to freight BOTH engines to the US now or not??

we had to move BOTH engines to the third floor of my friends ware house and when the lift reached the third floor platform it kind of shimmied and one of the engines rolled right off and landed on his RC drift track one floor below.. havnt looked it over, but luckily no one was under it to get crushed. right now its just buried on destroyed wood and carpet remnants until he can have his mechanic pry it loose. it was a crazy sight to see.

If you get a copy of the g-works mag. They posted good pictures of an L28 block. I'll try and post pics tom.

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http://www.HistoricJ.com

It's at the top edge of the block (below the head gasket) on the opposite side of the carbs/exhaust. It will say L20 or L28E.

Also visually they have different timing covers. The short block engines (L20/L24) only have two bolts at the top of the cover. The tall block L28 has 4.

Same way you tell the L14/L16/L18 from the L20b.

As with what 'datsunfreak' said. The block should have a flat surface that stamped below at the #6 end of the block (ie. where the transmission bolts to, underneath where #6 sparkplug is. It will look something like this;



Skylines are FRONT SUMP. The rear sump you have will be the motor from the FairladyZ.




Which covers do you have?
The 'standard' NISSAN OHC in thin font,
The NISSAN 2000 OHC in the same font,
NISSAN in big block letters.
NISSAN in small and TURBO in big block letters.

They're all variations of the standard shaped cam cover though. A rare cover is the one with a squared section above the cam gear that has "OHC" cast into it. Or "3100" you can imagine why, I'm sure.

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It's possible that the engine block stamp is misleading tho. Registration costs are based on capacity in Japan, and so it isn't unusual for the L28 to be ground off and L20 stamped in it place

Also the heads on L20 are 30mm inlet port, on L28 it's 36mm. On the plug side of the head, look for a code cast into the ledge under the plug holes, if it sez N42 it's an L28 head.

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Here are some pics from the G-Works. If you need more LMK.

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http://www.HistoricJ.com

Few more...

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http://www.HistoricJ.com

Just to add to this, isnt fitment of either front or rear sump all to do with the relation of the suspension setup compared to where abouts the engine sits?

Eg: a 240/260/280Z and the 1st gen L24E Maxima has the front suspension fairly well forward, so needs a rear sump to clear it, and the Skyline and Laurels have the suspension closer to underneath the firewall so need the front sump fitted.

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Current: 62 Prince Skyline; 65 Prince Gloria; 85 C32 Nissan Laurel 2.4GL; 1993 Nissan Maxima 3.0i S
Previous: 87 U11 Nissan Bluebird 1.6; 85 C32 Nissan Laurel 3.0SGX; 82 C31 Datsun Laurel 2.4; 82 910 Datsun Bluebird 2.0; 79 810 Datsun 180B

thanks for so much great info guys. i will have to print these pics off an take them out and compare them and try to figure out if in fact they did grind the L28 off and re stamp it as L20. i know i have one engine rear sumped, and one front sumped.

also i have two valve covers that say Nissan OHC, one that just has big blocked Nissan lettering, and the other two i don't recall what they say. i will have to look them over again when i have a few minutes.

Further to model sump location, I know the Leopard is front sump and I believe the Patrol may well be also.

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In that last pic it shows the oil filter mounts.

M n42 block has the same as the f54 pic shows... ?!!?!?

Your GT-X should have front Sump and also has two wings welded on the side.

L20 has Nissan 2000 on it from factory but the one with big Nissan lettering are very popular and rare compare to the OHC version.

no kidding? im not sure if i have one that says Nissan 2000, just Nissan in big letters. i will have a look this weekend when i make my way to the storage unit

Here you go, This is on my all stock KGC10,




Not the best picture but as you can see, "Nissan 2000 OHC"

Some early 240Z came with 2400 version of the same cover.

Keep the big letter one for sure since it's still a rare cover compare to other one. I have the same one and also more rare version of that which is in plastic.

oh ok, you know now that i see it i MAY have that VC too, but im not sure. i will take pics of all the stuff i have when i make it out there again this weekend