just driven home from work. Nothing unusual about journey, takes me about 20 mins.

 

Got back and reversed to do 3 point turn. the turning area has a dip in it but has never caused me problems before despite low car. today it must of brushed the ground (took it a bit fast, low tyre pressure??) but thought it was ok because my dirt guard is loose so was probably that.

 

parked up and noticed i have smoke coming up the the back/drivers corner of the bonnet. turned off and opened bonnet and smoke or steam coming up from the corner below where the ABS unit is. sounded like drops hitting something hot and vapourising. Smelt and bit funny and quite thick (thicker than steam that would come out of a boiling kettle). couldnt see any drops when looked under the car or any puddles or drip trials from where i turned.

 

I this the dreaded water pipes at the back of the engine???? never had a problem like this before.

 

PLEASE HELP!!!!

Not an engine out job just damn fiddly :( The problem is getting to the clamps really. Hose, used to get it from Smithy so try DTA or even MJP - Nissan won't have it. :)

 

Still looking for a picture :(

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

 

There ya go - 2 hoses are marked by the red circles :)

cheers boss!

 

so if i replace those 2 (or is it 3 with the one at the bottom that looks a biatch to get to?) and jubilee them up tight enough i should be good to go?

Is there anything that can easily be moved to get better access?

 

Would the metal pipes i have boxed in blue or the rubber/silicon one in green not be the ones causing the problem? The steam is definitely coming from that right hand corner and you can hear the drip landing on the hot exhaust by the lambda sensor and evaporating. Well it must be more of a spray to start with to produce that much steam but quickly turns into a drip and the amount of steam subsides.

 

 

Thanks again for your help andy.

Sorry thought you'd said passenger side :wack: Yeah that hose is actually very easy to get to :) Better letting the car cool down then pressure testing the coolant system....

best news i have had all day! something that is dead easy to do on a zed!

 

Should i replace that hose in the green box with a silicon line or will a standard rubber one be good enough to take it another 100k miles?

 

What is that hose called or what does it do so i know how to explain it to smithy, danny or whoever?

 

I will see if the garage next door has go got a cap that fits the rad which they can do a pressure test with. Never know today might be my lucky day!

more steam today.

 

Was fine when i took it to and from work yesterday with an extra stop at the petrol station but when i came in this morning it steamed twice when i was idealing before the thermostat was open (i have aftermarket temp sensor on radiator out hose). The steam stopped when i raised the revs. Raising the revs must speed up the waterpump putting the system under more pressure.

 

This hasnt happened before when driving and cold. still the same diagnosis?

I'd say so yeah. Could be either of the feeds to the drivers side turbo. I still say pressure test the system and find out where its coming from. You may actually be able to find it by 'pumping' the upper rad pipe, as long as the system is full. Most universal type pressure testers will work, just some may require the overflow hose blocking....

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

thanks chief! pressure testing does seem the way to go so i can see where that pesky leak is coming from. cheers for taking time out of your birthday drinking to answer my question!

LOL no worries Clive :) Best testing it cold since when its hot you just get steam which is pretty invisible lol. Also if you're feeling around for wet areas you don't wanna bur yourself ;)

 

Cheers,

 

Andy

i think you will find its the to water pipes on the back of the engine the two right up against bulkhead they are prone perishing and need replacing i think thats what your dripping problem is many thanks 300zxtubs

i think you will find its the to water pipes on the back of the engine the two right up against bulkhead they are prone perishing and need replacing i think thats what your dripping problem is many thanks 300zxtubs

 

 

Thanks guy. Could you expalin to me exactly which pipes you are refering to, maybe you could use the picture andy posted on page 2 to highlight which ones you are talking about.