1983 Nissan Maxima Diesel...questions

[theminotaur]

Hi,
A friend and the guy "Bill" who sold me the 1983 Nissan Maxiam Diesel suggested I check out this forum. I can't believe there was such a forum.
I have a couple questions:
(1) I want purchase a Diesel water fuel seperator. I seen 3 manufactures Raycor, Stanadyne, and Davco. Which is the best brand? Which model would work best with my Diesel engine? I prefer if it has a plastic bowl to collect the dirt, drain valve for water removal and a pump to bleed the air
(2) I want install a turbo, supercharger, or one of the "new" electric driven tubos. Which would work better for my engine? Bill says that I can use a exhaust manifold from another Nissan sports car (sorry don't recall the name). But he says I need to work the turbo to fit so close to the steering axle.
(3) If any one is selling used parts for this model, please let me know. If you post it to Ebay let me have the weblink. I had a hard time finding parts for this vehicle.
Thanks, Paul

[rlaggren]

Welcome.

Someone recently offered a turbo manifold for sale. Use the Search button to look for stuff on the forum here. It will take you a few hours to get the highlights and get some general info on your car. There is some turbo stuff here and more references off-site; this is not really a hop-up site but we're always interested in a good story. Let us know how you do.

Parts are found using Google, Ebay, Nissan forums, the FLAPS, local junk yards and even the Nissan dealership. As Al our host reminds us periodically - you have a 25 year old car and must expect to get creative with the parts sourcing. So far most stuff seems findable.

Cheers, Rufus

[asavage]

You'll definitely want to check out The FAQ for common problems and links to solutions.

The OEM filter on your '83 has a water separator. The Owners Manual shows how to periodically loosen the plastic water-in-fuel (WIF) sensor to drain accumulated water; most of us don't, because we don't get water in our fuel in the first place. The water-in-fuel sensing system works pretty well. I've never had it come on in my '82 Wagon, but I've seen it come on in another Maxima diesel I've owned, and indeed, there was a tablespoon of water in the (very old) filter when I drained it.

See glenlloyd's fuel filter change procedure thread for much more info on the fuel filter, replacement, part Nos. (including aftermarket) and good pics of the WIF Sensor.

Adding a Raycor or similar won't separate water a whole lot better than the OEM filter system, IMO. Unless you plan on running some alternative "fuel" that requires exceptional filtering, I advise leaving the OEM system alone.

Turbocharging the LD28 is covered in several excellent threads. Summary is that the easiest straight-line method is to use an exhaust manifold from a 280ZX Turbo, modify it slightly, use a water-cooled 300ZX Turbo turbo, and fabricate the plumbing. It's straightforward until you get to installing the intercooler, and then you get creative with the plumbing. Use the Search feature and read up.

Parts are available. Some parts are commonly broken and therefore rarer, such as the plastic shifter console, the harmonic balancer, manual transmission flywheels, and like that.