Hi guys, picked ups '94 manual non turbo the other week. Took it to work on Monday, car worked fine. Went out to the shop on my lunch break, 2-3mins drive. Went back to work, parked up and the car stalled and wouldn't start again. Tried starting it a few times. Car flooded. Took 2 spark plugs out just to have a look, soaked in fuel. Anyway, had to get it recovered home as it wouldn't start. It was dropped off home yesterday as I couldn't sort a recovery truck on monday evening. However, I have noticed that when it was unloaded at home, there was a puddle of fuel on the trucks's bed and then on the floor. 

I was wondering if you guys have any ideas? I haven't tried to start it since Monday evening. I'm gonna leave it until the weekend and see if it starts when the petrol cleared out. The weird thing is that there was a fuel leaking on the recovery truck. From the FRONT of the car. The car had corroded fuel lines on the latest MOT advisory, but if it was leaking from the fuel lines somewhere, how would it end up flooding the car? I'm not sure if the car was fuel starving, and just built up extra pressure hence why flooded engine - especially on my short trip to the shop and back, it would be dumping more fuel in since the engine was cold. I am gonna take it to the garage, but first I'd like to go over potential issues myself.

Just want to know if I'm dealing with 1 issue or 2 separate ones. i.e. leaky fuel lines hence why fuel on the floor AND leaky injectors? Maybe it's down to sensors, I don't know at this time. I will have a look at ECU diagnosis, should be either code. 45 (injector leak) or 51 (injector circuit - harness etc)

Any input appreciated. Surely I'm not the only one that's had this issue.

From what youv'e described it sounds to me like you have fuel leak & a problem with your fuel delivery and/or spark system. IF you manage to get it started DO NOT drive it without changing the oil as fuel will have leaked down through the piston rings & diluted your oil putting your bearings & entire oil syste at risk of metal to metal contact!

You either have a leak from the fuel rail or a weak spark, aswell as an external fuel leak all very easy to diagnose if you know how..

Again, DO NOT run your car after filling the crank case with fuel or risk engine damage!

The first things i would investigate if i had your issue would be your injector o rings & PTU..which could cause a weak or no spark..   Leaking injectors are unlikely to throw a code iv'e had it happen more times than i care to recount i have never seen a code on conzult!. Get your fuel system holding pressure & go from there.

I am locatedin Surrey & know the 300s like the back of my hand i'd be happy to help if you can get it down here and you can't fix it yourself.

7 hours ago, Toomanyzeds said:

From what youv'e described it sounds to me like you have fuel leak & a problem with your fuel delivery and/or spark system. IF you manage to get it started DO NOT drive it without changing the oil as fuel will have leaked down through the piston rings & diluted your oil putting your bearings & entire oil syste at risk of metal to metal contact!

You either have a leak from the fuel rail or a weak spark, aswell as an external fuel leak all very easy to diagnose if you know how..

Again, DO NOT run your car after filling the crank case with fuel or risk engine damage!

The first things i would investigate if i had your issue would be your injector o rings & PTU..which could cause a weak or no spark..   Leaking injectors are unlikely to throw a code iv'e had it happen more times than i care to recount i have never seen a code on conzult!. Get your fuel system holding pressure & go from there.

I am locatedin Surrey & know the 300s like the back of my hand i'd be happy to help if you can get it down here and you can't fix it yourself.

Hi, really appreciate this. I will try to start it on saturday. If it starts, that's one big worry out of the way.

Fuel lines - I'll check but it's probably going to be the ones at the back of the engine, I'll follow from the fuel filter and check everything.

PTU - I read that it's better to just upgrade to Series 2. Was there different PTU for non turbo and turbo engines? I see some online available but they all seem to just mention VG30DETT... 

Injectors - I will inspect and order a new seal kit. I'm not sure new injectors would be necessary if I do find they're leaking.

Its likely you just need to tighten/reposition some clamps, there's an in and out straight from the filter to the rail & from the rail back to the tank, with a damper and fpr in between..  it can look more complicated due to the bent metal piping nissan added but its essentially very simple and easy to trace. Get it somewhere dry and put cardboard under to see where it drips. 

PTUs are the same for NA & TT if your still on the series 1 then its advisable to replace it, they will regularly fail.

Its possible for PTUs to work and be out of specification giving a weak spark, they're complicated to test so i won't get too technical on this post.

You need a "converter harness" to fit the replacement series 2 PTU.. I have nissan converter harnesses new in box i can sell for £20 but you'd have to buy the PTU separately. 

Ofcourse new injectors are not needed if its just an o ring failed. Test them.

1) Check the OHM reading of the injectors with a multi meter.. They should read 12, anything over 14 needs replacing. 

2) Put the fuel lines back on the rail with the plenum off and the rail removed and turned upside down so it sprays into the air and doesent further flood your engine.. Remove the CAS and turn it by hand to visually see if the spray pattern is good, you want the pattern to be the same for all 6 it will be obvious if any of them have a problem.

I have a tonne of brand new seal kits (top and bottom o ring + lower rail isolator) i can sell cheaper than you'd get anywhere else (£20 + postage!)

You might also want to change some of the lower pintle caps whilst the rail is off if any of them are cracked or damage.. I have brand new pintle caps i can sell for £5 each. 

On 03/11/2022 at 10:20, Toomanyzeds said:

Its likely you just need to tighten/reposition some clamps, there's an in and out straight from the filter to the rail & from the rail back to the tank, with a damper and fpr in between..  it can look more complicated due to the bent metal piping nissan added but its essentially very simple and easy to trace. Get it somewhere dry and put cardboard under to see where it drips. 

PTUs are the same for NA & TT if your still on the series 1 then its advisable to replace it, they will regularly fail.

Its possible for PTUs to work and be out of specification giving a weak spark, they're complicated to test so i won't get too technical on this post.

You need a "converter harness" to fit the replacement series 2 PTU.. I have nissan converter harnesses new in box i can sell for £20 but you'd have to buy the PTU separately. 

Ofcourse new injectors are not needed if its just an o ring failed. Test them.

1) Check the OHM reading of the injectors with a multi meter.. They should read 12, anything over 14 needs replacing. 

2) Put the fuel lines back on the rail with the plenum off and the rail removed and turned upside down so it sprays into the air and doesent further flood your engine.. Remove the CAS and turn it by hand to visually see if the spray pattern is good, you want the pattern to be the same for all 6 it will be obvious if any of them have a problem.

I have a tonne of brand new seal kits (top and bottom o ring + lower rail isolator) i can sell cheaper than you'd get anywhere else (£20 + postage!)

You might also want to change some of the lower pintle caps whilst the rail is off if any of them are cracked or damage.. I have brand new pintle caps i can sell for £5 each. 

Thanks for the input. I will see what of use to me once the mechanic has a look over it.

I tried to start the car on Saturday for the first time since it died on Monday. Absolutely nothing, clicked and that was it. Thought it could be the battery so let it fully charge over night and the same thing happened again on Sunday, made 0 difference. Even went to Halfords to get a new, more powerful battery and it did nothing, so it's not the battery.

Now, it could be the starter, maybe it's one of the fuses.. Couldn't check the fuses as it started raining again... any idea on this issue now? I'm really not having a good time owning this car. So many issues in the space of 8 days after it ran completely fine.

A no crank situation can only be caused by a few things, verify the battery is charged & connections to the battery are on OK. 

My moneys on it being the starter relay

http://twinturbo.net/nissan/300zx/tech/starterrelay/starterrelay.html

Check out the above link, you'll see the starter relay and where it is located behind the front drivers side wheel arch liner. Pull the smaller of the two plugs and leave the other connected then place some wire between the two terminals of the harness side of the plug that goes to the car and turn the key. 

Report back if it still doesent crank 

If it's dead, dead, and not clicking bastard dead check out the connection of the "blue  Batt" loop, mine was not connecting right, so cleaned it up and closed the connectors a bit, all good now

 

20 minutes ago, A 2X OK said:

If it's dead, dead, and not clicking bastard dead check out the connection of the "blue  Batt" loop, mine was not connecting right, so cleaned it up and closed the connectors a bit, all good now

 

Thanks! Will do.