First off sorry for the massive post, it’s been years since I last posted anything, so wanted to be thorough, but it also helped me remind myself of what I've done to date.
The weather is improving and I’m hoping for some help to finally get my Zed running.
To quickly recap, the best I can from memory – after discovery of serious rot (around 2013 I think), I set about rebuilding my Zed, using a donor.I painted my car myself, and it looked amazing, but a couple months later the paint began crazing and cracking.To this day I still don’t know why this happened.
About two years had passed now, I just wanted to get the car running properly so it was driveable, I’d deal with the ruined paint another time.The engine did run, but badly, even though it used to run fine.Something must have been disrupted during the transplant from one car to another, the only change was removing the EGR valve, changing the clutch, and replacing the sump.
Codes pointed to the knock sensor.To replace the knock sensor, I removed the upper and lower intake.Long story short, little did I know the timing belt had now slipped, despite being warned to check the timing; I was sure it was fine, but of course when I finally started the engine, I broke a couple valves off.It was not a good day but my own stupid fault.
Ruined paint, broken engine…I considered giving up.However, I looked through photos and remembered all the good I’d done so far, and the money I’d spent.
So, in 2017 (ish) I got two good used cylinder heads from a member.I give these a seriously good cleaning, along with the lower intake and the block too.
It was around about now I saw a house and put an offer forward which was accepted.I suddenly had to divert all my efforts into getting my flat in a condition to sell.So my Zed was put on hold.
Fast forward to 2019.
Since moving into the house, all spare time and money pretty much went into sprucing it up (I’m currently ripping out the horrible old bathroom).However, I finally made time to start putting my engine back together.
I did the following, pretty much in this order -
At some point I bought some stainless headers from the U.S, I don’t even remember when this happened.My car is an NA, so no turbo plumbing means they do fit, but it is tight, but haven’t managed to fit O2 sensors, so relying on the ECU to use defaults. I bolted the headers onto the ‘refurbed’ cylinder heads, then I fitted the original CAS and pulleys.
I had bought a used plenum which had been cleaned throughout and sand blasted.I painted this.I did the plenum coolant bypass at this time too.I cleaned and swapped over my throttle bodies, and did the same with the ICV, with all new gaskets.
I replaced all the PCV pipes with new ones, I also replaced the now very beaten and bent rear PCV hard pipe with a section of 10mm microbore heating pipe.A bit of a bodge I admit, but the original hard pipe was finished.
I fitted the cylinder heads with new gaskets.
Refitted the lower intake, with new gaskets.
Fitted the spark plug plastic inserts and bolted on the new plenum.I probably attached the balance bar and fuel vacuum doo-dahs at this point too.
Refitted the timing belt, following online guides, ensuring all was lines up perfectly, even to the number of notches between pulleys.Turned engine over my hand multiple times and am very happy this is perfect.
Connected injectors wiring.Refitted all spark plugs that were new before I started the rebuild.Bolted in coil packs and connected the plugs.
Refitted all the pulleys, replaced thrermostat, water pipes etc, and added coolant.
I was excited, but anxious as I sat ready to turn the key…but when I did unfortunately my Zed didn’t start.
The engine turned over fine, but nothing more, didn’t try to fire up, simply turned over.
I checked all of the connections and pipes, all is fine.
So, I checked that the fuel pump was working by pulling off the filter pipe in the engine bay and on turning over, it filled a glass jar full of fuel, so it’s pumping fine.
Winter came and that was it for 2019.
Present day -
In 2020 I (finally managed) to pull off the CAS and manually turned it, so I could test the injectors.I could hear them clicking, so I assume the fuel is getting into the cylinders.I haven’t reinstalled the CAS, but had painted it, so know where it was located before I removed it.
So, next is to check for spark.I plan to check the PTU, but haven’t found any very helpful guides for this.I found something that simply suggested checking the output voltage for 12v, with a multimeter.I’ll give this a shot, but when I came to put the coils back in I discovered I had more than 6, and I couldn’t identify which had been installed originally.So it’s possible there’s a dodgy coil pack (or more than one) in there, but I’d expect the car to try and start, stutter, shake, something…rather than just turn over.I’m sure I can test the coil packs somehow, but haven’t looked into this yet.
If I can confirm I have spark and fuel, then next would be a compression tester I guess?
A mechanic that lives across the road who heard me attempting to start the engine; suggested it sounded as is the timing was off, it was missing.I know mechanical timing is correct, so I considered that could the CAS (electrical timing) be out.However, until recently when testing the injectors, the CAS has never been touched.When transplanting it, it was done on the bracket, the position remains the same, so it should be fine, right? Although, it IS now connected to a different cam, so would this make a difference…If I wanted to check the timing with a timing light how do I do it when the engine doesn’t run?
I’m looking for any help anyone can offer in diagnosing my problem, basically, what would you be doing yourself if in my position?
I am concerned about spending any more money testing things now, or replacing suspect faulty parts.I’ve reached a point where I’m questioning where it ends, when I call it quits, I mean it’s been about 9, maybe 10 years since this all started.I’m not getting any younger (or thinner) and I have a whole house that I need to spend money on.That said, ignoring my failed paint job, I feel like I’m close to having a working car.I just want it to start and run, even if it runs badly at first, this should fire up my Zed motivation once again!
Things to consider that I ponder at night –
The TPS and ICV will likely need setting up, as they’ve been removed etc.Not sure if they’d stop the car from starting, but I don’t think they would.This was a job I had planned when I had the car up and running.
For no good reason, the left pod controls are dead, no display, nothing.I realise this probably isn’t related, but nothing has changed inside the car for years, and the all electrics worked fine…so a bit strange for it just to stop working.I had considered that maybe there was an electrical fault caused by me pulling the loom around in the engine bay.From memory though, the internal loom is completely separate from the engine loom, so it’s probably an unrelated problem.
I’ve never had injector plugs on my loom, at some point someone has cut these off and used crimped spade connectors.Nasty I know.When I took these off I made every effort to ensure I was putting these back the same way, as usual taking plenty of photos, but this is another thing that I ponder.
First off sorry for the massive post, it’s been years since I last posted anything, so wanted to be thorough, but it also helped me remind myself of what I've done to date.
The weather is improving and I’m hoping for some help to finally get my Zed running.
To quickly recap, the best I can from memory – after discovery of serious rot (around 2013 I think), I set about rebuilding my Zed, using a donor. I painted my car myself, and it looked amazing, but a couple months later the paint began crazing and cracking. To this day I still don’t know why this happened.
About two years had passed now, I just wanted to get the car running properly so it was driveable, I’d deal with the ruined paint another time. The engine did run, but badly, even though it used to run fine. Something must have been disrupted during the transplant from one car to another, the only change was removing the EGR valve, changing the clutch, and replacing the sump.
Codes pointed to the knock sensor. To replace the knock sensor, I removed the upper and lower intake. Long story short, little did I know the timing belt had now slipped, despite being warned to check the timing; I was sure it was fine, but of course when I finally started the engine, I broke a couple valves off. It was not a good day but my own stupid fault.
Ruined paint, broken engine…I considered giving up. However, I looked through photos and remembered all the good I’d done so far, and the money I’d spent.
So, in 2017 (ish) I got two good used cylinder heads from a member. I give these a seriously good cleaning, along with the lower intake and the block too.
It was around about now I saw a house and put an offer forward which was accepted. I suddenly had to divert all my efforts into getting my flat in a condition to sell. So my Zed was put on hold.
Fast forward to 2019.
Since moving into the house, all spare time and money pretty much went into sprucing it up (I’m currently ripping out the horrible old bathroom). However, I finally made time to start putting my engine back together.
I did the following, pretty much in this order -
At some point I bought some stainless headers from the U.S, I don’t even remember when this happened. My car is an NA, so no turbo plumbing means they do fit, but it is tight, but haven’t managed to fit O2 sensors, so relying on the ECU to use defaults. I bolted the headers onto the ‘refurbed’ cylinder heads, then I fitted the original CAS and pulleys.
I had bought a used plenum which had been cleaned throughout and sand blasted. I painted this. I did the plenum coolant bypass at this time too. I cleaned and swapped over my throttle bodies, and did the same with the ICV, with all new gaskets.
I replaced all the PCV pipes with new ones, I also replaced the now very beaten and bent rear PCV hard pipe with a section of 10mm microbore heating pipe. A bit of a bodge I admit, but the original hard pipe was finished.
I fitted the cylinder heads with new gaskets.
Refitted the lower intake, with new gaskets.
Fitted the spark plug plastic inserts and bolted on the new plenum. I probably attached the balance bar and fuel vacuum doo-dahs at this point too.
Refitted the timing belt, following online guides, ensuring all was lines up perfectly, even to the number of notches between pulleys. Turned engine over my hand multiple times and am very happy this is perfect.
Connected injectors wiring. Refitted all spark plugs that were new before I started the rebuild. Bolted in coil packs and connected the plugs.
Refitted all the pulleys, replaced thrermostat, water pipes etc, and added coolant.
Connected remaining electrical connectors – TPS, CAS, injectors, PTU, MAF, coolant sensors etc.
Refitted air intakes etc. Checked oil.
Connected freshly charged battery.
I was excited, but anxious as I sat ready to turn the key…but when I did unfortunately my Zed didn’t start.
The engine turned over fine, but nothing more, didn’t try to fire up, simply turned over.
I checked all of the connections and pipes, all is fine.
So, I checked that the fuel pump was working by pulling off the filter pipe in the engine bay and on turning over, it filled a glass jar full of fuel, so it’s pumping fine.
Winter came and that was it for 2019.
Present day -
In 2020 I (finally managed) to pull off the CAS and manually turned it, so I could test the injectors. I could hear them clicking, so I assume the fuel is getting into the cylinders. I haven’t reinstalled the CAS, but had painted it, so know where it was located before I removed it.
So, next is to check for spark. I plan to check the PTU, but haven’t found any very helpful guides for this. I found something that simply suggested checking the output voltage for 12v, with a multimeter. I’ll give this a shot, but when I came to put the coils back in I discovered I had more than 6, and I couldn’t identify which had been installed originally. So it’s possible there’s a dodgy coil pack (or more than one) in there, but I’d expect the car to try and start, stutter, shake, something…rather than just turn over. I’m sure I can test the coil packs somehow, but haven’t looked into this yet.
To check for spark is there any reason this won’t work - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Silverline-633982-Ignition-Spark-Tester/dp/B00157O4YK/ref=sr_1_7?dchild=1&keywords=coil+tester&qid=1591189600&sr=8-7
If I can confirm I have spark and fuel, then next would be a compression tester I guess?
A mechanic that lives across the road who heard me attempting to start the engine; suggested it sounded as is the timing was off, it was missing. I know mechanical timing is correct, so I considered that could the CAS (electrical timing) be out. However, until recently when testing the injectors, the CAS has never been touched. When transplanting it, it was done on the bracket, the position remains the same, so it should be fine, right? Although, it IS now connected to a different cam, so would this make a difference… If I wanted to check the timing with a timing light how do I do it when the engine doesn’t run?
I’m looking for any help anyone can offer in diagnosing my problem, basically, what would you be doing yourself if in my position?
I am concerned about spending any more money testing things now, or replacing suspect faulty parts. I’ve reached a point where I’m questioning where it ends, when I call it quits, I mean it’s been about 9, maybe 10 years since this all started. I’m not getting any younger (or thinner) and I have a whole house that I need to spend money on. That said, ignoring my failed paint job, I feel like I’m close to having a working car. I just want it to start and run, even if it runs badly at first, this should fire up my Zed motivation once again!
Things to consider that I ponder at night –
The TPS and ICV will likely need setting up, as they’ve been removed etc. Not sure if they’d stop the car from starting, but I don’t think they would. This was a job I had planned when I had the car up and running.
For no good reason, the left pod controls are dead, no display, nothing. I realise this probably isn’t related, but nothing has changed inside the car for years, and the all electrics worked fine…so a bit strange for it just to stop working. I had considered that maybe there was an electrical fault caused by me pulling the loom around in the engine bay. From memory though, the internal loom is completely separate from the engine loom, so it’s probably an unrelated problem.
I’ve never had injector plugs on my loom, at some point someone has cut these off and used crimped spade connectors. Nasty I know. When I took these off I made every effort to ensure I was putting these back the same way, as usual taking plenty of photos, but this is another thing that I ponder.
Some photos of some of the above -
https://ibb.co/SmVkLD0
https://ibb.co/cwgFqz2
https://ibb.co/C6p5mBn
https://ibb.co/QnNz3sL
https://ibb.co/wzFpdjg
https://ibb.co/8MJyKYw
https://ibb.co/drNVWks
https://ibb.co/vc2K5qF
https://ibb.co/8DWWW7R
https://ibb.co/zZH4sT4
https://ibb.co/1spCjHt
https://ibb.co/pLBsC6K