Well guyZ,

 

Pulled all but two of the plugs out and they looked ok, Bosch platinum tipped jobbies, connected to coil packs and left them resting on top of the engine, good news is that I am now getting (or at least seeing) a spark from each of the four pulled plugs and coil packs so I guess that rules out an electrical/electronic problem.

 

Whilst cranking car to check 4 sparks, smelt petrol coming out of the empty plug holes, Oil is still OK (at full indicator on dipstick) BUT when I checked the water it was Waaaaaaay above high so I undid the rad cap and low and behold the rad was dry, infact when standing over the rad cap hole, could not see ANY water in the rad at all. I then checked the expansion bottle and it is full right upto the bottom of the filler tube.

 

Question: Would a Zed refuse to start if the rad is bone dry?

 

Still not getting any errors on the ECU, but am coming to my wits end.....

 

Would it be OK to get some antifreeze to top up the rad with?(keeping an eye on how much it takes?)

 

Do you think I have a dodgy Rad Cap? The only reason I can think that the Rad is dry is if the cap wasn't working it wouldn't let the steam out and that would have forced all the coolant into the expansion bottle?

 

Like I said before the car didn't do all the steam works when it was overheating as I didn't give it a chance to get that hot, as soon as the needle moved from it's usual middle of the gauge to 3/4's up I pulled over and stopped.

 

I really don't know what else to do!

 

The car just cranks but doesn't turn over - if there is fuel/air and a spark why would it not burp at least?

 

I have pictures of all of this but can't upload cos I don't have any webspace :(

 

Any suggestions welcomed (as long as they are about fixing the car! *lol*)

A zed would start even bone dry. It would eventually seize though.

 

It looks like you will need to try and borrow a compression tester to verify that you havent almost seized it and broke rings etc.

 

If you have fuel / air and sparks at the right time you should be running.

 

The loss of water might be from hot running / rad cap etc but it could also be due to a blown head gasket.

 

If compression was way down then it can never get running fast enough on the starter to get ignitable compressed mixture.

Here we go again - I just spent 10 minutes typing a reply to you mate but it wouldn't accept it cos I had too many mad smilies in the post and it told me to click back to correct the post, except it just wiped it :(

 

I just took the battery out of the car to give it a charge (it was getting low now were into the 3rd week of the car still buggering about) and it's started to rain and I've just realised that I left the drivers window open. I never thought I'd see the day that I wish I had windy-up windows :( :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

The Z has taken over 12litres of water and still wants more, there is a smallish puddle underneath the car and the expansion tank is now full, but the rad is half empty - the engine and rad were completely bone dry earlier, and I think (but can't check thanks to the wonderfully crap nissan expansion tank design) that I may have oil in the water. So far no signs of water in the dipstick yet.

 

I am well and truly in despair and frustrated with this bloody car

(vent mode: off)

 

Has any1 got a list of parts/tools and (hopefully) tech docs for a TT Z with a Blown Head Gasket if so send them my way please...

 

Oh joy Oh joy I am soooooo looking forward to all the other parts that are bound to break (either thru old age or by me) during the repair. :(

 

Sod it I wish I were dead and not the Z, although I doubt it would take care of me if our roles were reversed.....

 

Can I get odds on my engine being Hydrolocked?

 

:(

if your engine is hydeolocked, it could be big probs, did that to an astra deisel and it was totally shagged.

 

If that is the case, you thought about replacing it with the TT motor Arthur is selling, his needs a big end, but its got to be less work than rebuilding a hydo'd engine.

 

Hope its not though

 

Hugh

Well I wouldn't rule it out seeing as I've only done 2k miles max in the 5months I've had the car (nice long journeys too, not start-stop-start town driving).

 

This si what you get for being nice to your Z.... shat on :(

and typically I only just put 12months tax on the car last month and put 5 new SO3's that have done less than 300miles... (I say 5 cos the week after I put 'em on a screw mysteriously appeared in the sidewall of the drivers' rear tyre....)

 

The curse of the Z strikes again!

cant be hydrolocked if it still turns over and if the plugs were out and water in a cylinder it would come spraying out the plug hole when you cranked it. You cant have hydrolocked anyway from your description of how it came to a stop. You really have to drive into deepish standing water at speed to suck enough water to hydrolock.

 

 

 

Keep the faith. Just maybe you got a leak somewhere or the cap was not sealing and you boiled it up. Maybe you havent damaged anything mechanically. You could have something else like a break in the wiring somewhere - and not be getting proper fuel injector pulses.

 

If there is no salad cream in the oil and no oil in the water your head gaskets might be fine. It would also be unlikely for both to go. I dont have experience of zed head gaskets but if one went between cylinders you would loose compression on those 2 cylinders but I think it would still start and run roughly on the other 4. Others will know better where the gaskets do fail.

 

A compression test would confirm the rings etc are OK. If so you have to look for other causes.

Nibbler, I really feel for you mate. Unfortunately, my engine knowledge is very limited but hopefully a joint effort from everyone on this forum will help you along.

 

I'm going to start a campaign. "HELP NIBBLER NOW!"

 

Good luck mate.

 

 

 

Cos

Hi Mate,

 

Were the plugs wet when you took them out ?.

If the plugs were wet then it soulds to me like you may have valve problems. So you really need to do a compression test. once you have done that, if you are low on a one or more cylinders then you need to do a cylindr leakage test to find out if it's inlet values, zorst valves, head gasket or piston rings.

 

If you try to start it and it won't start but you can smell petrol. Try this.

 

Unplug the fuel pump relay (rear driver side of the engine bay by the windscreen). Crank the engine with full throttle for about 5 seconds. Plug the relay back in and crank for 5 seconds again with full throttle. Does it start or at least try to ?

may be the ECU or knock sencer

 

sorry my 2p

 

or ptu

 

jay

Are the sparks plugs leads on in the right sequence?

(That may be a duh question.)

 

Is the timing right?

 

Just because the plugs spark out does not always guarantee

that they will under compression. (PTU is known to fail on Jap Zeds, up to '90 I think.)

 

This site has a lot of tech help:

http://www.twinturbo.net/ttnettech/tech.aspx

 

I may have caught this prob part way but was the car ok one day

and not the next or had you been doing some work on it?

 

 

It's only a machine so there will be answer somewhere - 'tho perhaps

you have been a bad lad in a previous existence and this revenge........

 

(Just because you are paranoic does mean to say that they

are not really out to get you:D )

You can do a compression test, sort of, by holding something over the plug hole, a rounded piece of wood? If it trys to blow the wood away from the hole it lkooks good, if it just gives a whimper, not so good.

 

I know a guage is better but if you dont have one. And comparing all of the cylinders will give you a comparison which you can work to in the short term. Ie one blows hard, and another one blows soft.

Compression tester from halfords for about £10 - £15.

Measures in PSI and Bar. you shoul dbe looking at about 130 - 150 psi per cylinder.

Nibbler, you're not on your own.

 

I've got persistant but intermittent overheating problems too. I've been going out for a spin around 7 every evening (so ambient temp quite low by then) and some nights I've done 60 miles hard driving fine - other nights it's near-overheated on the way to Tesco and I've had to stop and let it cool.

 

I'm gonna post seperately I think and get some thoughts, but thought I'd let you know I'm sharing your pain!

Nibbler,

1) Are the plugs wet if you pull them after cranking over a few times?

2) If so with what (smell them)?

3) Do a compression test! If you havent got a tester buy or borrow one, they are quite cheap and could show your problem straight away.

4) Is the spark you have regular?

 

Just to clarify what I have picked up from your posts.

-You have fuel at the injectors (you smelt fuel when cranking).

-Your temp gauge went above normal and you pulled over.

-The radiator was nearly empty after the gauge moved.

-There is a spark when you rest plug and coilpack on the engine.

-Nothing else has changed between the engine running and now apart from the overheating problem.

 

Please confirm / correct the above, its been a long week and I am not completely with it.

 

Paul

Ya really need to be getting your multi-meter out here and testing all your engine components manually.You will end up running in circles if you just keep messing and have no definate answers to your probs.In general,the diag socket info on any Nissan is woefully poor so you need to be methodical in your testing.

On a brighter note,it doesnt really look like theres much wrong from what your sayin,looks like an original fault as also taken somethin else with it if you know what i mean!!

With you sayin you have a small puddle under the car,this is the first thing to find as is prob the cause of all ya faults.ie.low water,gets hot,takes out ptu,cts or whatever?Either of these would cause your next fault,non starting.

Are you sure that ya cambelt aint jumped a tooth or 2,again this would go with breakin down and non starting,not overheating tho.

You really need to be pullin things apart and start testing,its the only way ya gonna fix ya Z!!!

Good luck,

Gary