Not good news today, summoned to view the internals of my engine. Can anyone sort of confirm what I've been told as being gen. without seeing with their own eyes? If I descibe what I've been shown?

 

Piston linings have grooves which shouldn't exist apparently, you can see them, they're like the rings you see through a tree stump that tells its age, tech. guy told me to push my finger nail against certain areas of the cylinder wall and you could feel them. Is this bad? Also three out of six pistons were moving from side-to-side inside the lining by a few mm's. Is this bad? Told that this causes "piston slap".

 

On the heads side, he showed me some of the valves and said that they should have a clear shiney surface on the edge where they seat correctly. This wasn't the case, they were black, he told me this was because they weren't seating properly. He also pointed out that on the side of the turbo's there is a small black housing with pipes coming out both sides, he said that they looked newish and didn't look like original Nissan parts. When I looked closer they had Turbo Technics on the side with part no. etc. What are they? Could this suggest that my turbo's have been upgraded/messed around with at some point???

 

Anyway, on the engine side, have been given several options, this is where I need advice (Nico, you da main man!).

 

1: New engine from Nissan, 4000+ pounds (at cost apparently...) no turbos, just engine but brand new! Only problem here is by the time I've had it fitted I will have paid twice over for the car...

 

2: Get them to do rebuild, he reckons heads need machining, valves need grinding, new short block for the bottom end, rebore, all in all about 55 hrs of labour plus any parts that maybe needed. Labour is 55 per hour. I don't like the sound of that one...

 

3: Import engine from some guy in Milton Keynes, 1800 quid with Turbo's, 1600 without, 3 month guarantee plus it would be inspected by this guy at Nissan before going in the car. He also has another one coming in for a NA which was in there opposite mine.

 

So, what should I do, whichever way I go it's not going to be cheap...I'm gutted to be honest but I will have to swallow and sort it out.

 

ouchy piston slap on three of em and worn rings your beasty must put out some smoke of a morning. can johnny not source you a transplant engine to make a frankenstein engine with bits from both

 

Hey Smithy,

 

Just for you mate,

 

Burn't valves, not a good sign, as is piston slap, if you can move the pistons in the bore then chances are they are totalled.

 

Not sure what you mean about the cylinders but sounds like scoring due to foreign bodies in the chamber or piston ring damage.

 

No wonder you had low compression figures.

 

Nicos conclusion is that, Turbo Technics have probably done some sorta after marker turbo upgrade on the car the thing you describe sounds like something that goes wher the BCSV goes, Could be some strange modification to the wastegate system. Chances are the car had been detonating, and still been driven which is why the engine is knacked so badly. Give Turbo Technics a ring a have a go a them, ask them first if they did the work on the car. knowing turbo technics they dont wanna know as they seem to dislike the 300 and sell over priced unperforming shit turbo upgrades for it All said without prefudice of course.

 

Here is what i would do.

 

Get the import engine of another recon /second hand engine with low milages that you can find, Here is the condition, you need to get someone to warrenty it for a couple of months or at least untill to can confirm the compression.

 

Get the Lifters / valves checked by your mechanic, Change the Piston rings for new if not already done and inspect / change the head gaskett. If you are really strapped for cash then i you could skip these things but it will save you money in the long run as you will have a good condition engine the will run for a long time if cared for correctly.

 

Turbos, Get your turbos recondition, you can get them done for a few hundred quid to stock theses days, cheaper than replacements.

 

Before running the car, Take it to someone that knows the Z well and make sure it is performing as Stock, I.E keep an eye out for dodgy capped of wastegates, happy shopper ECU's and bleeder valves. I would return the boost system to stock and start again if you dont know already what has been done in the past.I would do this as obviously something major has happened coz that is one phucked up engine mate.

 

That is my advice anyway. I think it is the best course, All depends on money really.

 

p.s My replacement engine was 7200 from Nissan, no Turbos.

 

Z ya

 

Nico91TT

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ha ha, just as I thought, cheers Nico, your advice is invaluable. I am tempted to go for the Nissan brand spanker but not sure, cost is an issue obviously...

 

I've been on Turbo Tecs. site, I think that the parts I was on about maybe the actuators. They are advertising them on there, sounds familiar, I was only half listening when technical Tony was telling me what they were.

 

So is this a good deal for a new engine then? Especially if you paid 7+ big ones? This doesn't appear to be uncommon either...he'd got another engine coming in for a NA also, aswell as a Micra engine for his Mrs's car. If they can't make Micra engines last, what hope have we got for our 300'z. I'm so pissed off now...must go and consume alcohol then fall asleep............

 

Cheers matey

 

A depressed Smithy

 

&&&&&

{ @ @ }

\ / /

\-/

 

Did you type that right ? !

 

£7200 for an engine with no turbos ? ! !

 

 

 

Nico !!! you got endless streams of spondooles to burn m8? over 7k?

 

Another option would be to email Steve E. He has found a company that will rebuild the engine back to new at a damn good price. Rebore, balance the crank blah blah blah the full works. Darren (The amazing mech) will pull and replace the engine at a good price too. He also has a good souce for turbo rebuilds. Purchase all the engine parts that need replacing from Courtesy in the US. A lot cheaper than in the UK.

 

Brand spanking new engine with oodles of wonga to spare.

 

Your tech chap hasn't really given you much to base your decision on. Did he give you any accurate diagnosis of the faults, and has he even stripped the bottom end?

Pistons rocking in the bores may not be all bad, but they need to be removed and measured for bore clearance.

Also bore wear should be MEASURED not rubbed with finger nails. I will be happy to advise you on any quotes you have had or give specific advice about repair options.

My general advice is repair what you have already got - we have seen (and fitted) too many "low mileage import" engines with guarantees that are not worth the paper they are written on. If you think you are in trouble now, just imagine how you will feel if the £1600 engine turns out to be similar to the one you have just pulled apart.

300 engines do have mileage and age related faults which will require rebuild work, if you repair now (if everything is OK to work on)then at least you can put your worries behind you. But get a guarantee for the workmanship.

If you choose a good repairer than you can usually get a few upgrades built into the repair spec. This is like putting money in the bank, what you spend now will save you more in the long run.

 

Pete,

 

Thankyou kindly for taking the time to offer some respected technical advice. I appreciate it. However, the fact that when I purchased the car there was a lovely £2400 repair bill in amongst the service history from Nissan rattling on about an "oil starvation" problem should have made me walk away at the time. Problem was that I was not alone when I went to look at the car, I had my Mrs. with me. Whilst test driving the car and getting a huge coat hanger type grin from the amount of speed produced, I was concerned about the crappy idle and the shitty gear selection. But as women do, she said "Don't worry about that, it probably just needs a tune up!"...WRONG!!!

 

Also the fact that Trussy on this forum also, has just confirmed what I already new as he has just had the same nastey experience. Strangely enough, he had exactly the same cylinders gone on his. So, I do trust the guy that has told me this, plus I'm not a complete dork when it comes to telling just by looking at valves and cylinder bores that my engine is not at all well. Did you read the bit that I outlined what good old Nissan want to charge me for the rebuild??? I would be looking at 55 hours labour at £55 an hour...that's just the labour, new short block, grind valves, rebore, and probably new pistons, by the time I'd finished with the rebuild I would have been able to purchase a brand new engine at £4500. This did seem like a nice option but I am not prepared, unlike some people on this forum, to pay twice over for a car that will probably crap out on me the day after I get it back from the repair!

 

What seems to be more attractive at the moment is to put a shitty engine back in the car, get it home, park it up and sell the useless f****r. Then with the money I scrape back on the nightmare I can do what I should have done in the first place...go and buy a twin turbo Supra and live happily ever after.

 

Pete, I have to say, that now I know why your business has been so successful. I heard about Silvia years ago when I used to work round Dagenham area. I think at that time you were mostly doing Silvia Turbo's and possibly 200's. Let's face it, as long as Nissan keep building sports cars/super cars you will never be short of work I suspect. Let's just hope that the new 300 can make it to 70,000 miles without the engine or the gearbox going belly up big time!!!

 

That's my groan over with!

 

Cheers anyway.

 

RESPECT...

 

The Smith!

 

 

Mr Smith - I didnt mean to trivialise the problem you are facing and I completely understand the frustration you must feel but i cannot agree about the reliability of the 300ZX.

 

Unfortunately there are many substandard cars brought in from japan, and some neglected UK versions, but a good 300 cannot be beaten. I'm sure most owners on the forum would support my view that if well maintained and mechanically sound a 300 is a highly desireable car ,and a modified one can be amazingly quick,AND reliable. And a kitted one can be visually stunning (all depends upon taste).

 

I know I'm biased (cut my arm off and it will say Nissan inside) but you won't beat a 300 once you've solved the problems.

 

Just a couple of prices (and I'm not touting for work) full rebuild labour £1500 inc VAT

Block bored with new forged pistons £1050 inc VAT - and that's if you need them (which is open to question) - so you see you could get out of this for much less than you think.

 

I have to agree on the Pete's note about the 300 being a unreliable car.

 

I remmember when i first got mine i was appauled at how many things went wrong, however after gettin them sorted it is clear the problem is not with the build quality / design of the car - it is 80% due to neglect and 20% due to bad workmanship on the car in my case.

 

I think a legacy of the import market which is currently showing up on the forum is that the ammount of cars that are being imported that are bascially in for dismantling in Japan come over to the UK and sell for less than a fiesta and offer the buyer 300bhp and lots of style for nothing.

 

Again Smithy this aint a dig at you mate, in anyway, I was in your position (and still am to a degree). Im trying to make the distinction between a bad car and a badly maintained car. Yes the 300 has some problems. And we all know what they are and if you buy one with over 80K on the clock you 'should' expect to have to change some pretty major things sooner rather than later.

I personally would not recommend buying a car over 80K unless it has had a rebuild and new turbos unless you have 3K quid to spend on repairs. Dodgy Mitchell down Jap Imports R' Us would tell you a different story tho.

 

That is Good price Pete, Is that including installation and removal of the engine ?

 

Are the prices for labour and internal work in your Catalogue mate ?

 

Cheers

 

Z ya

 

Nico91TT

 

 

Hi,

 

What I'd do

 

1 - Go with the company who "solved" the "oil starvation" problem, and have a nice chat with them...nice as in "you probably fucked my engine, I'll get a lawyer if you do not take actions to fix it"

 

1.5 - If it's a Nissan dealership, contact

 

Nissan UK

Nissan Europe

Nissan Japan

 

And tell the garage you will do so.

 

2 - Go to the dealer who sold you that...ahum..car....and have a nice chat as well..."strangely modified wastegates....."...unless you did it yourself, someone is liable for this one.

 

2.5 - Don't be afraid to SUE them. Are you insured for this one ?

 

3 - Get away from your current dealer.

When you have a problem, you got to measure it, with a caliper...not with fingernails.

 

4 - Take pictures of your car and your engine, TONS OF IT....as in "I want to be able to prove in front of a Judge what's going on there"

 

5 - Find a RELIABLE garage

 

6 - Ask for a "DETAILED statement of work, with PRICES on it, SIGNED by both parties"

 

Include a maximum price, maximum delay, acceptance tests (at least dyno & compression tests), warranty, and PENALTY if they fail to deliver you the car in time & condition.

 

Put in written form that you want EVERY part OUT of your car BACK...that will stop them from re-using old parts (and billing you new ones)

 

If a garage REFUSE to accept the above, chances are it's not a good one....look for another one.

 

 

I can understand your frustration right now, but it seems that you got a "lemon" (BTW, any LEMON LAW in UK ?)

 

Z are VERY reliable cars....but they're indeed expensive to fix....the golden rule is..do not let any wanker touch your car, even if it's in a Nissan Garage.

 

Zee you

 

Henri

 

P.S. It really looks like that you got DETONATION in your Z...how are your plugs.

And...if the detonation was bad enough to break your plugs / melt some parts of your engine, your turbos are toast...have them changed

 

Pete,

 

Have sent you an e-mail with my phone number on, give me a call, I would like to discuss this with you further.

 

Henri,

 

I agree with what you are saying entirely, only problem is that I know someone who has sought legal action and as a result has had to endure 18 months of stress, anger and frustration and the case is still going. I would much rather get the car sorted quickish, then either offload or keep hold for a while...if it proved to be more reliable.

 

One more thing, if you all start to believe that it is normal to replace or rebuild an engine at around 70,000 miles and the gearbox, wake up and smell the coffee. You're living in a fantasy world. I had a Supra Turbo before this car, part exchanged it at 85,000 miles after covering 40,000 miles. I think the most major thing in all that time was a sidelight bulb. It did have a head gasket just before I bought it but it never so much as over heated once. Cained the crap out of it on a daily basis. I do like the 300 and who knows I may keep it as I've bought myself a second car now seeing as the Z has become more of an 'off-roader' so to speak.

 

I still maintain that it's because these cars spend the early part of their lives being serviced by Nissan main dealers. If you want any proof of this check out the Nissan section of this site:-

 

http://www.carsurvey.org

 

Especially the 100nx section, and you'll see what I mean. Makes for very interesting reading. Also when you look at some of the other brands like BMW, especially the 5 series cars which have engines that dissolve because of the fuel composition...not good!

 

RESPECT to all who have given me valued advice especially Nico and Pete and Henri...

 

;-)