Hi guys. Ive brought a 300zx 1989 with blown turbo with the intension of doing it as a project car. I dont know alot about these so if I described the symptons can anyone help.

I picked the car up on sunday bloke came out with battery pack, car started first turn of key, ran smothly but blue smoke coming out of the right exhaust (looking from rear). drove it down the road and had a red warning light on looks like exhaust with heat lines? car heavily smoked from the right side but seemed smouth although there was a strange gratting noise coming from that side. any idea whats at fault im hoping it is the turbo but whats the warning light on for

 

regards

Jared

check to see if car has been de catted could be someone has de catted the car which can cause turbo seals to leak if weak or could of been leaking and only shows up if cats have been removed, if cats on someone could of also had it de catted and replaced cats to try hide the smoking to sell the car. or it could be piston rings or valve guides have gone. The warning light sounds like the cat warning light. I would say it sounds more like something in the engine if you can hear a gratting noise, can you be more specific with where noise is coming from?

not 100% sure becuse dident drive it far just enough to call AA and toww it to my house. the engine was rebuilt and has only covered 2500miles since. Guy said that on way home from garage it started.

not 100% sure becuse dident drive it far just enough to call AA and toww it to my house. the engine was rebuilt and has only covered 2500miles since. Guy said that on way home from garage it started.

 

sorry mate what did the guy on way home say?

could be a piston gone and the compression is so low the unburnt fuel is causing the cat overheat light to illuminate.being a v6 one cylinder not firing isnt as pronounced as a 4 cylinder.try a compression test on the rear cylinders as they are the first to go.or it could be a misfire caused by plug,coil pack and the grating is unrelated.

not sorry i meant when i was collecting the car he said that after the rebuild on his way home thats when it started smoking. I dont think it has cats but ill check tomorrow. the noise sounds like its coming from the right hand side where the smaller turbo is.

 

Jad

not sorry i meant when i was collecting the car he said that after the rebuild on his way home thats when it started smoking. I dont think it has cats but ill check tomorrow. the noise sounds like its coming from the right hand side where the smaller turbo is.

 

Jad

 

smaller turbo? they are same size both sides if a turbo siezed they dont usually grate could grate if the shaft is moving about in the housing but ive never heard anyone say they have had that happen.

same size? i thought the autos had one slightly smaller turbo. Best thing I think is to take it off and have a little look.

Hi guys. Ive brought a 300zx 1989 with blown turbo with the intension of doing it as a project car. I dont know alot about these so if I described the symptons can anyone help.

I picked the car up on sunday bloke came out with battery pack, car started first turn of key, ran smothly but blue smoke coming out of the right exhaust (looking from rear). drove it down the road and had a red warning light on looks like exhaust with heat lines? car heavily smoked from the right side but seemed smouth although there was a strange gratting noise coming from that side. any idea whats at fault im hoping it is the turbo but whats the warning light on for

 

regards

Jared

 

 

btw just out of curiosity is this the silver zed which was on ebay ??

yes mate thats the one.

the grating is more thank likely a turbo, if acompanied with blue/oily smoke, the overheat light may be on if the car has been decatted then perhaps sensor has been cut/removed. To get an idea of the condition of the engine do some tests!

 

does it smoke on overrun? letoff? steady idle? under acceleration?

 

compression test will show up a worn engine /rings/valves/head etc. failing that get someone with some good knowledge of these cars to have a look over! im sure someone could clarify/diagnose locally?

 

cheers greg

it smokes on idle, accleration(alot of smoke) dont think it does when slowing down. Its light blue/white smoke lots of it and theres some oil on the rear bumper(only a small amount) but like i say car does run and tick over very smooth and still pulls well.

Jad

First off, check all the coil pack connectors are fully seated. The warning light is more than likely due to a dropped spark caused by a bad connection - the unburnt fuel gets to the cats and causes them to overheat.

 

Grinding noise could be the turbo compressor blades hitting the housing (may even have thrown a compressor wheel/impellor wheel off).

 

Smoke could be caused by the turbo but do a compression test to rule out internal damage.

 

My only question really is why didn't he take it back to the place that did the rebuild??? If it really DID go on the way home from the garage then most people would just turn round, take it back and tell them to fix it!!! :confused: