well i went to rockingham today, was having a great time until we drove into the pit lane and heard seriously loud banging noises from under the bonnet . had to get towed back to hull. looks like after spending 6.5k on my top end, the bottom end has now given up, at least it seems that way. christ knows how much it will cost this time, i could have bought a new car with the money i am spending on this 10 year old car. pissed off to say the least.

steve

Sorry to hear this mate,another poorly zed this week!did you run on track!,if so for how long,at what speeds,best of luck with it,Tony

Steve gutted for you mate!

 

I get my oil leak sorted but the coolant leak is still there even though the system has been pressure tested numerous times.

 

To top it all today I realise why my Z is giving me shite mpg as it starts to stink of petrol fumes. My tank pipe is leaking and p1ssing fuel all over my passenger side back box...excellent...so let's catch fire and blow me up eh? Jobs a goodun! Fcuking Z's, where does it ever end?

 

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"Life sucks. Get a F**king helmet, okay?"

Denis Leary

 

[This message has been edited by Timmy_Turbo (edited 29-09-2002).]

Anyone know what BHP the stock big ends can take ?

ste this is the problem when ya start to mod ya car.

the next work i am looking into doing on mine is the bottom end

good luck when ya buy ya 2nd hand engine,lol only jokin

id say ya looking at ,at least a couple of grand.jay

give me a buzz and ill dig out the number for the guy who does a lot of falcons work

thing is i was running stock boost!!!

Originally posted by Nelson MainFella:

Anyone know what BHP the stock big ends can take ?

 

Rumour has it that the bottom end is good for 600bhp at the crank, not that I'd want to push my luck that far personally.

 

Wild turkey - oil starvation by any chance? If you were at stock boost thats the kind of thing that usually causes self destruction of the bottom end.. (been there, done that, just not in a Z)

 

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GZ.

Originally posted by greyzed:

Rumour has it that the bottom end is good for 600bhp at the crank, not that I'd want to push my luck that far personally.

 

Wild turkey - oil starvation by any chance? If you were at stock boost thats the kind of thing that usually causes self destruction of the bottom end.. (been there, done that, just not in a Z)

 

 

since i have had the top end rebiult i have religously changed the oil every 3000 miles and used fully synthestic 10/60. how can i get oil starvation? i am interested how this happens!

 

thanks for your thoughts guys.

 

steve

Oil starvation is not necessarily blocked oilways - could be a lack of oil at the pickup point at the pump. If you have been on track then the oil gets moved around in the sump a lot more than you could ever get it to do on the road, and as the pump tries to get oil, its 'at the other side' of the sump therefore, oil starvation occurs. Its a possibility. How many sessions had you done previously (if its like a 'proper' track - i.e. not 1/4 mile jobbie) and had you checked/topped up oil )if needed between sessions, cos you can use a fair amount of oil when you are on track.

Im not sure what the baffle situation is in the sump of the zx i.e. is it a good setup? are there any baffle plates at all? some kind of windage/trapdoor affair at all? if not, someone must do a kit maybe someone could point out some kits or see about getting one made up. Alternatively, see if your mechanic knows of any dry sump kits this should cure any starvation problems.

But could be more owing to if you hadnt checked oil between sessions.

hope that helps

 

Await Mr Hairsy to rip me to pieces

 

i had done about 6 laps of the circuit and had had the oil and filter changed the day before, so oil should not have been a problem, i had tried to see how much oil was present before i went out on the track, but those dipsticks are useless.

i just dont know if i want to rebuild the engine again, for it to go when taken ona track! i thought these crs could take some stick, i am having a series of bad luck and its not that i dont pay for the best engineers to do my work.

steve

take it back to ste and see wat he says?

DONT TELL HIM YOU WERE ON A TRACK!!!

I know how u feel mate, its the second worst feeling in the world when u hear horrible noises like that!

 

Trust me i know how you feel.

 

Dont kid yourself but be optimistic, it could be less serious than you expect.

 

A lot of zeds are getting to that difficult stage now where stuff really starts to go wrong.

 

Its a real shame because they are fantastic cars.

 

In 6 months im buying a newer car possibly a very very late spec zed or a....... hmmm maybe i shouldnt metion that car on here!

 

Anyway good luck mate and i hope its not too bad- my fingers are crossed for ya bud!

 

 

LUKE DUKESTER

 

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thanks for your support guys, i have been told by flacon that my top end may well be ok, as long as nothing came loose in the lower end. even so, whats the point of having these cars unless you can take them round a track! i will have to think about this, but i may sell the car as is, so if anyone is interested then email me. also i am considering breaking the car, or at least selling off some of the new gear i have only recently placed on the car.

steve

Steve, the 300zx will run on track but it is not a caterham or an elise so you cannot belt round the tarckday endlessly like they can! Three out of three 300zx at Rockingham yesterday had some sort of problems, 1 engine and 2 brakes. The car is a GT not a short track racer. If you take it out on a longer circuit with longer straights and fewer tight corners (Silverstone/Donington) then it is going to survive better than at places like Rockingham on their infield blast and brake track. Not wishing to rub salt in but to do 6 laps in a 300zx was asking for it, on any trackdays I do 3/4 laps maximum. One warm up, 1 or 2 hot depending on the type of track then the last one idling round pissing everyone off without touching the brakes at all, letting air to get to the engine and most importantly the brakes. If that is not what you want to do on track don't use the 300 at all and get yourself a caterham and you can blast around tracks for 10+ laps without worrying! A 300 is not meant to be a trackday special it is a cruiser with power. Good luck with the engine repair, I got a superb engine for £1300 delivered from a contact off Mike Fenney/MJP Autos and Andy on here had one available for me aswell. Keep the faith if you can. JN

 

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Z first and anything else is secondary!

John (Nukem) Newcomb

www.geocities.com/jn300zxtt

Originally posted by jaylox:

take it back to ste and see wat he says?

DONT TELL HIM YOU WERE ON A TRACK!!!

LOL as if anyone would.

Hope they sort it out for you Steve.

 

 

 

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KEEP IT SIDEWAYS!

steve knew i was taking it on a track. i am trying to see whether i can replace the bearings in situ, if so that will make things easier. i think i need a caterham! as i love blasting round the track, chasing the porsches which was fun whilst it lasted.

 

steve

John,

i did two laps with an instructor, then took a friends out fro two laps, came in and then went out for two more laps. live and learn!

 

Originally posted by wild turkey:

steve knew i was taking it on a track. i am trying to see whether i can replace the bearings in situ, if so that will make things easier. i think i need a caterham! as i love blasting round the track, chasing the porsches which was fun whilst it lasted.

 

steve

 

there is just no realistic way you could do this job without pulling engine, if you have done big ends , then you may have done crank aswell,and that will need redoing.

Again unfortunatly there is no real cheap or easy way to do this job, and its not worth taking shortcuts because youll end up paying down the road.

its sucks

 

new engine it is then!!

ste ,you trying to catch me up?4 engines?

 

good luck bud and i hope it gets sorted.jay

Why replace the whole engine though???? Just get a short block and fit the rest of yours to it. OR uprate the bottom end of your blown engine with newer bits hence making it stronger for next time...

 

CheerZ,

 

Andy

Andy,

your probably right, i tihnk i may get the bottom half rebuilt and strengthened as well, so i can run higher boost. fok it, if your gonna replace then might as well upgrade as well!

 

steve

Read and replied to this yesterday,so armed with what info i had ,popped in to see a very clever man at work,bear in mind that we produce 16,000hp(yes 16,000hp)engines(6 turbos and superchargers, from marine applications to the worlds largest dump trucks,this guy is our top man for last 30 years,he does tear downs/rebuilds/servicing/one offs/(you get the picture),to cut what he blew me away with short,he basicly says that: a top end rebuild wiil more likely than not cause a catastrophic engine failure to the bottom end of an engine/bearings/crank etc,if there was no work done to bottom end,having turbos makes it worse due to the forces involved(he showed me a crank,200kg,10ft long,thick as a big mans body) from a V18 engine,6 turbos etc, the crank unbelievably had broke clean in half while running at 10,000rpm,due in part to bottom bearings/shells not being done when being re-built at the work site,cost em $180,000 in warranties,the moto to this is,if you rebiuld the top end,do the bottom at the same time,.(sorry if i loose anyone with this story but the guy was well over me head).

cheers tony,

its seems like a few are thinking along the same lines. the car had not been serviced as well as i thoughtt and steve at falcon had said there was a lot of sludge in the top half of the engine when he took it apart. it may well be that the bottom half has given way, as i am now running higher boost, but i stress that when it blew, i was running stock boost.

i have decided that i love me zed too much and that i will get it fixed. its just how i go about it and how much it costs. i would like to get the bottom end strengthened if possible, just to make me confident and allow me to run higher boost still, as i have turbos that are supposed (according to smithy) to run upto 20psi.

thanks again guys, i'm back on track now and keen to get on with the job.

what would you guys do if you were in the same situation? i would like to know.

steve

I'd replace the oil pump for a start - with the sludge this could be the cause of the problem - was it replaced after the sludge was cleaned out?

 

CheerZ,

 

Andy