I took my 92 UK TT to SE to have some problems looked at, they were:

 

1. Bad oil leak

2. Engine runs lumpy

3. Some white smoke at start-up from driver’s side

 

There were a few other things like timing belt change but not much else.

 

I have just had a call from them stating the following:

 

“Having looked at you engine we have found that there is low compression an all cylinders, in particular 5 and 6. This is probably due to head gaskets leaking and could well need new valves and rings. The only way to sort it is to take the engine out and do a complete re-build for a set price of £2200”

 

Ok, now I’m not looking to start an SE good or bad debate. My problem is deciding what to do next. I got the car fairly cheap and am not very happy paying almost half as much again to get the engine sorted.

 

My options would seem to be:

 

1. Locate a good second hand engine and someone to fit it.

2. Find someone who is prepared to do the work for a cheaper price.

3. Sell the car with the engine faults and cut my losses.

 

Any alternative suggestions, offers or advice would be gratefully received at this my darkest hour.

 

Steve r

 

You won't find anywhere that will do a better job engine wise than SE for cheaper...trust me! My car came out of there a few weeks ago and the engine is spot on.

 

Don't bother with a recon, costs nearly as much as SE are quoting you for a re-build and you could have the same shit to deal with in a short space of time having spent 1700+ squid

 

Sell the car? Upto you entirely to make that decision

This is almost exactly the same situation Timmy Turbo was in. Maybe he can remind us of his reasoning for having a rebuild.

Fitting another engine is an option, but you almost never know whether it's a good'un or not until it's too late.

Finding someone else to do the work, well just make sure they know what they're doing.

Nothing wrong with a second opinion though.

Steve

 

First of all, what I would do is get a second, third and forth opinion. I've never had work done at SE but the referals that I have heard of have been more bad than good.

 

However, as you said, you are not here to start a slanging match so, it may also be worth asking some of the lads on this site to take a look for you. There are some top geeezers on here who would be more than happy to take a butchers.

 

You are no-where near Derbyshire but I'm sure some of the lads down your neck on the woods wouldn't mind helping out with a quick review.

 

Hope all goes ok for you but as far as what to do next, that is completely up to you.

 

Are you mechanically minded and do you have a second car - ever thought of having a go yourself? £2200 is alot of money.

 

How long have you had the car - how many miles does it have?

Thanks for the replies guys

 

I must agree with you that a recon for £1700+ is not an option when I can get the engine completely rebuilt for £2200.

 

I am quite happy to have SE do the work it just hurts to have to dig that deep so soon after buying the car.

 

Cos in answer to your question I am fairly mechanically minded but have never worked on a Z and do not have a garage or suitable tools anyway. The car has done 104k so probably had this coming. I have owned it for a month and driven it twice, once to get it home and then to take it to SE :0

 

 

Yep Andy is right, nothing wrong with a 2nd opinion which is how I ended up at SE in the first place

 

My engine was pulled by Arriva Nelson in Peterborough, who told me that it was Phuket.

 

I was told that the cylinder bores were badly scored, I had bad piston slap, my heads were cooked, valves were sticking etc. etc. etc.

 

Options were(plus I was just about to buy a BIGGER house) as follows:-

 

1) New engine at trade(Bob's a nice guy) from Nissan 4500+vat...no turbos, just engine which isn't too bad as I think Nico paid 7.5K for his a while before me

 

2) Recon engine at 1700+vat without turbos or about 2200+vat with turbos

 

3) rebuild at about 3.5K I think which Bob said wasn't worth doing as I might aswell spend the extra money on a new engine

 

So you could see where they were pushing me? Plus none of those prices included putting it all back together. They had charged me 850 squid just to pull the engine and their labour on Z's was normally 55 an hour but Bob did me a deal at 45...gee thanks mate

 

So I told him to standby while I told this motley lot on here, most people advised me not to get a recon as you don't know what the compression is like or how many miles etc.

 

So you could spend nearly 2K on a second hander and a few months down the line just after the warranty expires you could be right back at ground zero!!!

 

New lump? Would've loved that but just too much at the time!

 

So Pete(SE) got in touch, asked me if they(Nelson) had measured the bore wear with proper micrometer tools etc. Nope!

 

So Pete offered me the same deal he has you, well two actually, worse case and not so worse case scenario and FIXED prices.

 

When I went to see Pete at the SE openday, he pointed out to me that my bottom end was fine and that there was no excessive play in the bore of the pistons and no evidence of excessive wear either! My valve seats were a tad Phuket and needed re-cutting and the valves grinding etc.

 

But the real problem was in the fact that my engine had been recently been rebuilt(don't know who by, before I bought it) and it hadn't addressed the real problem e.g. not done properly by people who know the Z!!!

 

Heads had been skimmed but they had bowed in the centre from the excessive heat, which is what was causing my arse tickover.

 

So to cut a long story a bit shorter, SE sorted it and ported and polished the heads at the same time. Job done!

 

Oh, and they didn't take ages with my car on purpose or for any other reason. I was moving house over the summer and was living in a decidedly dodgey area back home! So I didn't need for them to rush to get my car finished. It was ready when I wanted it which was just after I moved in.

 

 

Timmy.

Thanks for taking the time to post such a detailed reply

 

It looks like you have saved me a lot of time by having investigated all the options already. I guess I’m just gonna have to bit the bullet and go for it.

 

You make your own mind up and I will say one thing about SE.

 

People can have their opinions about them fair enough, but you will not find anyone in my opinion that is better in the engine department!

 

They do loads and loads of engine work on all sorts of Nissans, not just Z's. 200's, Skylarks, Old Silvia's, Pulsar/Sunny GTi-R's etc.

 

I know quite a few people who have had engine work done there and have been very happy with the end result

 

 

.... and then you will have a pukka zed, you know the work has been done right and by my (shoddy) calculations you will have done about 7k. Thats a very fair price to pay for a pukka zed.

However Ive been in both situations (bad zed cheap and good zed paid lots) and I *personally* would get shot.

Just my two dollar.

Glen

i wont get into a slanging match but like cos says, theres way more bad out there than good, the choice is yours but there are many people better priced.

 

Timmy what did your car cost to fix if you dotn mind me asking.

Steve u have mail Jeff TT

Final bill was about 3183 squid

 

Wiring loom was about 350 squid

New Rad was about 380 squid

 

which leaves 2453 so 2200 for the engine rebuild work and the rest was labour for fitting the loom.

 

Nissan charge two days labour for an engine bay wiring loom, I was quoted 1200+vat for the part plus fitting at my local Nelson.

 

So saved big time on that malarkey!

 

 

yup you saved there.

Now not starting somethign again.

spoke to a guy today who had engine redone by SE

it took a whole 3 days for it to blow up

Anyway rebuilt by Abby motorsport and he is happy

I had the same work done as Tim at SE, and the engine now runs like a dream. If it helps I found their customer service naff... but they know what they are talking about, and do the job well. The price looks similar to the one I paid, and you will probably find that you can get some mods done cheaper by SE while the engine's out.

 

Just be prepared to be Z-less for couple of months! Whatever timescale Pete has given you double it!! Headgasket problems seem to be on the increase, and they've normally got a waiting list for the jobs to be done. But at least they've plenty of experience at the job.

Well I'm in no position to argue on the good and bad of SE since I have no previous dealings with them. They are however local to me and I would much rather take it there than the local Nissan dealer. Rest assured, I will post a totally unbiased report on the job when completed.

 

It has occurred to me that while the engine is out I may as well have the turbos reconditioned. Does Nissan or SE do a service kit and if so how much.

 

SE charge £695...but this would probably be reduced if the engine is out anyway. SE will check your turbos while the engines out, and will advise if this needs replacing. They also do turbo upgrades as well if you really want to have new turbos, and may be more cost effective.

 

Personally, if Pete says your turbos are ok I'd keep your £s in your pocket.

i have to say i have never heard of head gasket problems with these cars except from SE??

I find that funny because even after my lot wnet i had no head gasket damage and on the ttnet you very very rarly hear of people with gasket problems.?

Gazza - I was really only thinking about having the oil seals replaced. 104k on original turbos and cats removed. Must be worth doing while engine is out.

 

300z – I must admit that blown head gaskets are unusual but the compressions are very low, so I guess the heads will have to come off anyway in order to investigate.

 

Steve r,

Do some homework before you make a decision.

The previous owner (opposite neibour) bought a complet engine, turbos, pipes, clips, connectors, the whole shabang for £1600+ tax from deliverd japan. I have the shipping cards & HPI confirmed this & on & who fitted it before I bought the car. + only 21,000 miles on it. Go have a look its worth it.

 

harve.