clive01

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.

thanks very much duffster. I know i was a bit naggy there but when there is something up with the zed time goes painfully slowly!! Doing searches you seem to be the man who knows his way round the water pipes at the back of these engines! It does seem that other people have had the same probs as me and it looks like it is either; water feed to heater matrix, coolant feed to turbos (that sounds to be the nasty one) and coolant feeds to the throttle bodies. I have spent the whole afternoon searching about and seen some of the pics you have posted up, but without the annotation and some pictures going missing from older threads i am still in the dark. No time for the 64 thousand dollar (well, maybe not that much! hopefully!) question. Is it an engine out job and can i do these myself? Where can i get the hoses from? Nissan or MJP?

thanks for the replies Giant Slayer and SMW1. I have tried the search as my first point of call. Dont know what to search for as the keywords i have used seem too general and give me an unwieldly amount of hits to look though every one. The keywords i have tried have been stuff like; steam+leak, steam+smoke, smoke+leak, engine+bay+leak, water+leak, coolant+leak and all these types of combination but they tend to be smoke or steam from exhausts or water puddles from the front of the engine which have been identified as radiator leaks, coolant hoses leaks, water pumps leaks etc. As far as i can see there should be no major coolant feeds around the back of the engine because all these things and water feeds to the turbos are at the front of the engine bay. Still confused. Clive

i dont want to be rude guys but since posting this message and having no replies i have been looking at the new posts and people seems to be more concerned about talking about birthdays and sending each other funny youtube clips than helping out on technical matters. I know this forum is for making friends and passing time but i thought this was quite a simple query that many people who have posted on this forum would have the ability and experience to answer my question. maybe my question was too long or i havent posted on here enough to make friends but i would of thought someone would have the kindness to take some time to answer my question and not only help me but other people who seem to have the same problem as me and others who might have in the future and use the search function. Sorry if i have offened or upset anyone.

Hi guys this happened again last night. This has now been 3 seperate widly spaced events. But whereas the previous two i could explain by; 1st. rainwater in the splash guard being flicked up onto the exhaust when i bumped the bottom of the car and 2nd time when the car had been sitting a while maybe collecting rainwater. This time it happened last night after arriving home from work without any bumps to the bottom and the car has been in regular use and it hasnt rained for a while. I had got home from work and went to the offy opposite my flat to get some tins for the match and when i came out of the offy the fella who owns the garage next door waved me over. I saw the smoke coming out in the same area (rear drivers side corner of the bonnet) and he said it started even worse. It clamed down pretty qucikly after i opened the bonnet and had the same colour and acrid smell as before. The guy said that is the smell of boiling coolant when antifreeze has been added so i can be pretty sure i have a coolant leak. He said he would get it on their ramps one evenning when they were clear and hopefully the staining of burnt off coolant will show wear the leak is from. He reckons it is pinhole leak in a rubber (as corroded metal would leak all the time) coolant hose where it has got old and only spills liquid when the coolant is at its hottest and therefore under the greatest pressure (after a journey when the system is hot and there is no more circulation through the rad). I am always pretty good in letting the engine and tubs cool down towards the end of journey and letting it idle for a while at the end of the journey. My question is what coolant pipes or hoses are located around the back-left of the engine that are directly over the left hand manifold (where the O2 sensor is). The guy is no zed expert but a competant mechanic and if i could describe to him what the pipes are and where they are located, maybe even marked out on a page in the online manual, he could help me out in diagnosing and maybe fixing the problem. Is it possible to get to the affected pipe without engine out if it was on a ramp or even without a ramp (i know the O2 sensor are changed from the engine bay and this must be above that)? Thanks guys. Although this has only happened 3 times in a year, leaks only get worse so it would be good to fix.

This happened to me again for the 2nd time. exactly the same thing with an odd smelling smoke/steam coming from drivers side rear corner of the engine. I also noticed some smoke this time coming from the passenger corner. Happened when i was just driving along this morning but cleared up after a while. I think it is just some rain getting into the engine bay and being held in a heat sheild or something where it picks up some grime which gives it the funny smell when it boils off. Both times it has happened has been when there has been some heavy rain. The previous owner had removed the rubber which seals the back of the bonnet (windscreen end) saying it helped the airflow through the engine and wouldnt let in any rain because it would go through the holes in that grey plastic thing at the bottom of the windscreen. He gave me the rubber if i ever wanted to reattch it. Should i stick this back on as i reckon it might be where the rain is getting in. Has anyone else done this and experienced something similar?

ok taken it out for another drive to get petrol and seemed fine in every way. could it be a bit of rain caught in the splash guard that got kicked up onto the exhaust when i brushed the guard against the low dip in the road??? seems unlikey, hasnt rained today so it is 2 x 20 minute drives on dual carridgeway + a day of hot weather......would there still feasably be an amount of water knocking around the engine bay to cause this steam?? what about the dodgy smell of the smoke/steam?? can i give it the all clear???

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!!!!

Here is a picture i just took of it. you cant see it well but it is unseated. Can I buy a single rod or do they come in pairs? I dont know the make but they look slightly different to the ones ChrisC posted with a green hexgaonal shaped shaft. Once i get it is it easy to remove the old one and fit the new one myself? does it need any adjustment to be the right length or is it ready set up?

yes that the one. Just read my message back again and realised i have probably made no sense. The main points are; * The rose joint on the drivers side tension rod has become detached. I understand this as the black thing coming away from the the chrome bow-tie shaped piece with the ball in the middle. * I think this might of happened during an accident where the wheels had a lateral impact against a kerb. The passenger rear bore the brunt of this shock and has since had the bent suspension parts replaced. * The very inside of both front tyres has worn very badly (rest of the tyre fine) and i am wondering where this is linked? * how can i reatach the rose joint on the tension rod if i dont have sophisticated presses etc. Thanks

was poking about under my zed at the weekend and i noticed one of the ball and ring joints of my rose jointed front suspension has been pushed out (ie the ball and the ring are not connected). It is the horizontal bar on the drivers side. I had a little accident in my car a few months ago were i slapped the wheels against a kerb after going into a spin! I guess it could have been this force that caused the suspension bar to do this. Since the accident the very inside of the 2 front tyres have worn quite badly could this be linked to the joint being pushed out. I got the tracking done after the rear suspension that was most badly damaged in the accident was fixed. I guess as it took alot of force to push the suspension apart it will take alot of force to push it back together to how can i do this. I know i havent been very clear and i will try and get some pictures tomorrow to better explain this.

yeah that is a great help Ollie i have been out to the car and indentified the sensor. I will give it a clean up. Just one more tiny question. I couldnt locate the grounding strap mentioned in legraths link. Does the cam cover need to be off to see this?

still a bit confused without having the engine infront of me. Has someone got that picture of layout of the engine bay with numbers marking what is where that they can post up and point out where this connector is?

Thanks. Will have a look this weekend. Can really judge how that picture has been taken so not sure where it all will be but will check it out.

Also the car is running fine and was just checking for codes out of curiosity.

Does anyone know what this ECU code means? 42 Fuel temperature sensor circuit The fuel temperature circuit is open or shorted (An abnormally high or low voltage is entered) I pulled the temp sensor plug a couple of days ago because it was getting hot after a combination of booting+hot weather+sitting in traffic, to make the sub fan kick in. So i am also getting a code 13 too. Am i getting the code 42 for the same reason or is it a different issue?

sorry should have mentioned that i had checked the pads and they have got plenty of meat in them still. If i have got a stone wedged in how do i get it out? do i need to take the calipers off? how can i be sure which wheel it is (it could be front or rear drives side)?

There is a horrible sounding high pitch squealing noise coming from my front drivers side wheel I think. It is only when the car is moving and doesn’t really change under breaking or accelerating. I only really here it when I have the window down but it is deffinetly there and gets louder when I pass something on that side as the sound bounces back. What could it be and how do i fix it?????

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=94080&page=1&pp=15 since all you guys’ help I have managed to get the car started and thanks to Andy P’s generosity it runs smoothly on all 6 cylinders with the new ECU. I took the covers off my old ECU and there is some blueish powdery stuff between some of the contact which could be down to some water penetration. I have cleaned it up and will try it out again to see if it is ok. Anyway, I performed an oil change before getting the car started as advised on the above thread. I decided not to warm up the car first to soften up the heavier oil as normal with oil changes and weighed this up with the fact that the car had been standing for a week so the majority of the oil will have dripped into the sump and it would be a shame to start chucking it around the engine again when I could get most of it out. I emptied the oil and changed the filter and got the best part of 4-5litres out of the car (including the stuff I managed to spill all over the road!!). When filling I absent mindedly kept filling with fresh oil waiting for it to start overflowing because I was thinking it was filling the rad with coolant for some reason! Anyway I got through about Anyway, what I am concerned about is that the 2L of oil I removed last night was a very dark colour like oil that had been there for a few 000 miles even though the majority of it must have been fresh. I understand the seriousness of oil overfilling from searches on here but I am concerned about the darkness of the 30 mile old oil. Has the overfilling caused it or not warming up the engine prior to the oil change? The oil in there before was less than 4,000 miles old and was an exact match for the previous oil (silkolene Pro S race 5W-40). Another important point could be the 2L of oil I emptied last night was from a warm engine that was left to stand from normal operating temperature for about 2 hours. Should I be concerned?

so you are the one who keep nicking all the towels then! i have noticed scatches on the side of petrol cap enclosure on other peoples zeds (sad of me to be looking i know!) so were are not alone!

it works for when i turn the nozzle 90 degrees to the right but some pumps will scratch the edges of your fuel cap enclosure but if you just stick a couple of paper towels between the pump trigger and the body you will all right. I keep a panel pin in my car to let you use the catch the holds the trigger in so i dont get hand cramp from gripping it for 60 litres worth.

Ta. I have just recieved an ECU from Andy P who has sent me it by 1st class post to test on my car without getting any details or deposits from me. It is gents like that that made this country great! i am indebited to the help, friendlyness and trust of people on this board and would never intend to offend anyone.

sorry sorry sorry. It was only meant in a banter way. But i suppose the tone is hard to get accross in text form!! Let's just all be friends!

get with the program sunshine! it was water getting to my ECU and causing the injectors to fire into the cylinders even through it was not running and meant the pistons were locked in place when trying to start. Battery is pukka! method of testing if cylinders are all working sounds good. Is that the prefered way of testing it for all you zeders???

chill guys waxy is a technical term we use in the oil & gas industry to decribe a heavy oil that has cooled and has an increased viscosity making it harder to pump or pour. no mayo in my engine. i do have a question of what Paul@SWZ said. How can i tell if it is running on 5 cylinders and how can i tell which one is not firing?