clive01

heater matrix failure would be wet passenger side carpet which is dont have. any other tell tale signs of heater matrix failure? Is pressure testing my system putting a rad cap on the rad with a hand pump attached and pressuring it up (to 7psi???) on the hand pump gauge and seeing if it holds that pressure? This should be something that EVERY garage has trouble is that there arent many friendly and honest garages in london that would do it without charging and sucking their teeth and trying to generate themselves a lot of cash by saying it is on its way out. Just wish the zen garage wasnt so busy or i would wip it round there without feeling guilty that i was bothering the guys there. Or is there anyone in london with one of these pumps and the knowledge of how to spot the warning signs????

you are scaring me! think head gasket should be fine as there is no mayo on the oil and havent noticed any oil in the coolant after being covered in it for the whole weekend. There is a very very slight film on the puddle of it from the car but this was most likely picked up from the cr@p on the road or a bit of grease it could as it was flooding down my engine. I would say normal running temp for my zed would be about 77C-ish and has been pretty rock solid since i did a thorough engine flush and installed a copper core rad about 5 months ago. I have seen plenty of posts on here where people have differing average temps and mid 70s to mid 80s sounds the right range. I suppose it can depend on all sorts of things like rad condition, coolant condition, number of waterways blocked in the block, oil used, whereabout the aftermarket sensor is placed and how accuratly it is calibrated. thermostat is nissan, did seem to open and close pretty slowly and not sure of the temps this was happening but will know better when i have the new one to compare it against. also there is nothing to say it behaved the same in the engine as it does in a saucepan of boiling water. What other signs can i use to identify head gasket failure?

got the small rubber tubes and thermostat for a great price. Very helpful and knows what he is talking about. glad i didnt make it to Japarts before they shut on saturday because they were charging more for the stat than mjp has charged me for the lot! would people recomend these incase it is the main rubber pipes that have the leak? http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nissan-Z32-300ZX-Fairlady-Silicone-Radiator-hose-kit_W0QQitemZ290098151401QQcategoryZ72205QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem seems pretty pricey but surely these longer tubes are more likely to have the leak as they are longer?? are the silicon tubes better performance and longevity or are they just for the bling?

rad should be fine. It is a aftermarket copper core with copper side tanks. I reckon the leak from pipes/radcap then air lock phenomenon sounds the best bet. I think replacing the water pump is just beyond me because of the belts and pulleys so i am going to put back together with the thermostat and small rubber pipes replaced and sit it on a hill with the rad cap of and try and work out any air locks. Where is the best place to get the short bits of pipe? i guess they are nissan only, if so any idea of the part number, or do one of the traders do them? Is there an upgrade on the rubber (silicon or something less prone to spliting?). Also what is the best place to get the thermostat although i have seen them going on jap parts web sites for about £25. Thanks for all your help espeacilly Carl.

ok i have removed my thermostat and tested its opening in a saucepan. I didnt have a thermometer on me so cant tell the opening temp but it was opening before boiling and shut relatively quickly when dunked in cold water. I am going to replace it for a new part as i have got it off but i have seen that it does open so it ws not jammed. So what else could be causing my problems. I can test for leaks in change the rad cap when everything is back together but what else can i check out now with the rad and feed pipes etc detached?

I understand their can be a small leak somewhere that wil be letting fluid out a high temp = high pressure but what is the original major problem that was causing my wierd temp problems. I am going to check the stat out now but if it wasnt that what else it could be?

cant hear any bearing sounds but there is some belt squel probably down to coolant being sprayed all over the front of the engine bay. does the stat sound like a likely diagnosis of my problem to everybody?

what do i do to fix it? how could the rad be blocked? did a full flush through before xmas so pretty sure there can be an major debris

very strange problem this morning which has ruined my day...... car was fine yesterday but this morning on my way to work i noticed that my digital spa temp gauge was only slightly above the amb temperature. this stayed like this for about 10mins which was very strange and then suddenly lempt up to the usual temp of about 70C then started wobbling about between 50-80C then pulling into the work car park it started rapidly spiralling upto 90 and beyond and reached 105C when i pulled into a space and shut the engine off. There was steam coming out from the bonnet and when i lifted it there was coolant spraying out of one of the hoses that connects to the head. I topped the rad up with water after work and tried to drive it the 8 miles home. It did a similar thing and the start with only slightly above amp temp then suddenly rockets up to 90s when i pulled over and turned off. coolant spraying out again. called out the breakdown cover and got it towed home. Now i need to know what to do to fix it. there doesnt seem to be any hoses that have pulled off and cant see how i have cracked the rad when it was standing still. the hoses felt spongy and obviously not full with water like it was being pumped. the spa gauge sensor is on the rad top hose. the rad felt cold when overheating and only the two pipes to/from the block seemed (VERY) hot. the fan is turning. Seems like the water isnt being pumped and the coolant in the block is boiling up and pressurising the hoses and pissing out the fluid. Took a long time for that to happen on the way to work so maybe the problem was intermittent. Maybe the only strange thing i noticed before this happened that could be related is that the morning before when i had turned on the blowers to get some heat in the water temperature dropped a bit which i thought was strange and didnt think had happened before but it was quite cold. Dont think temp dropped below 0 and have plenty of antifreeze in system so dont think ice cracked rad or pipes. waterpump? thermostat stuck open/closed? i hope i havent bent my head gasket with the heat. It was only slightly above 100C according to the temp gauge for a few seconds. how can i tell that it is bust apart from the mayo on the oil cap? Apologies for long message but really need some help.

UK TT MANUAL. when i have been on a drive and leave the car parked when i go back to the car and touch the gear knob it feels quite warm. The knob is alloy so i guess it is conducting the heat up from the hot gearbox fluid that is kept cool when the car is moving but cant release this heat when stationary. Is this anything to worry about? should the gearbox fluid be getting that hot? would a transmission fluid change solve this (dont know when it was last done as only bought the car last year)?

yeah i have heard that before about speed convertors. What i am thinking though is, if my UK ECU is outputing the speed in mph, if i connect a jap clock will it show the speed correctly in mph if i stick the UK dial face on it? or is there another conversion / calibration that takes place in the clock circuit board that will manipulate the speed output show???

my speedo has stopped working on my UK TT. it is not the speed sensor it is deffinetly the speedo. I have tried resoldering the entire back of the speedo incase of dry joints but still nothing. Buying a new UK speedo seems expensive and hard to come by so i am thinking of getting a jap speedo from ebay and stick a convertor on it and use my uk dial face so it still shows mph. however it seems the convertors on ebay plug onto the ECU so would plugging in a jap speedo onto a UK car & ECU show speed in mph or kmh?

i have similar problem to you SkylineDave. when it has been raining my top pod is full of water. I also sometimes get a small drops of water from where the front edge of the drivers side t-top meets the roof, towards the corner. I will check to see what happens when i pour water through the little hole but it seems exactly the same problem as you have so where did you apply the sealant?

yeah it is the second when that is not always coming on. It is an intermittent thing. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt but the actual cruise controling works fine so is it some sort of power supply problem to the bulb?

i noticed a problem with my cruise control light yesterday. I pushed the master switch a the first green light came on, i set my speed with the stearing wheel buttons and the second green light came on on the left of the wheel panel. when it was reset when pushin the brake extra the second light went off but when resumed or set at a different speed the second green light would come back on. i tried to reset the system by turning off the master switch and turning it back on again but it seems to be on or off when it feels like it. any advice guys?

What type of place would repair buckled alloy wheels? Do I look in the Yellow Pages? The tyre on the buckled wheel at the moment are 225-40-2r-18. Which part of that number relates to the width and how wide does that mean my current wheel is compared to the specs I put up? What if I put the 17" wheel on the front so diff not affected. I could change the wheels over for the MOT to standard alloys, but will it be illegal / unsafe / bad for the car still?

Rims are 18X8 5/114 ET40 MM A Center ring MM 79.5-64.1 Bolt pattern NC12X1.5 34UL 35TL 19H C (5 Bolts each Tire) Also 2 other questions; 2. Is it possible to get an alloy repaired after it has been warped by a lateral force. I know the safe answer is NO, GET A NEW WHEEL but it is just a query whether it is possible or not. 3. what are the disadvantages of running 3 wheels as 18" and 1 wheel as 17" if i make up the total diameter of the 17 to match the total diameter of the 18s by having wider tyres. I guess it would look a bit strange but would you really be able to notice 1" difference by sight? I am just having real problems sourcing an 18" Mille Miglia Action wheel to replace my buckled one so testing my options.

I have to use my spacesaver to get my car to the garage about an hour away. I am obviously going to take it very easy, not exceeding 50mph etc but i wanted to know what side i should put it on to make the journey as safe as possible. the rears is where the power is through so i guess it would make sense to put it on the front but i am not going to be use much power so it would be better to put it on the back and use the good wheels on the front to improve the turning and braking. The other wheels on there are 18" and the problem is with the rear right suspension (bent not broke) if that makes a difference.

Are they exactly the same and perfectly interchangable or do they have different PCDs, bore, etc or different wheel width or something? ie could i stick jap 300zx std wheels on my uk model?

any idea where i can find a single 18" Mille Miliga Action wheel to replace my buckled one? Iv tried the usual places and ebay and stuff and cant find them listed anywhere.

Whifbitz wont use second hand parts which is a bit of a blow. i think the ztech boys have gone home now so will try them in the morning. Hopefully, they will be happy to use second hand parts so will just have to swallow how long it will take to do. I may try AndyZ for standard wheels too if im getting the suspension parts from him but it needs to be local to me so i can pick them up. I am going to start a seperate thread RE: the mille miliga wheels and hopefully I can get a replacment in time for my car being back on the road. Is it going to be safer to put on the spacesaver wheel rather than use the buckled wheel to get me the 6 miles home from work today bearing in mind that the other 3 wheels will be 18" + tyre width of 225??

you're right my time was up and i ended up getting it back from the garage. The deal breaker was AndyZ offering me the parts for £60 + £11p&p and Siraff offering me the same so they can stick their nissan parts which cost the best part of £500! I didnt ask whether they would use s/h parts as they seemed quite cheesed off with me for not getting the work done so i left it. I will ring whifbitz and the other zed garages and see if they can fit me in when i can get the parts if that is no help i may go back there. I think a specialist garage will be best as normal garage might not understand what to do with the HICAS stuff. Does anyone know where exactly whifbitz is based i cant find it on their website?? Also, i now need to source an alloy to replace my buckled one and not having much luck. They are 18" Mille Miliga Action's. Any idea who stocks Mille Miliga because the usual suspects dont seem to????

are Whifbitz a garage or do they just do parts? I just phoned the garage that my car is in and asked for a braekdown of the quote; labour 2 hours = £90 4 wheel Tracking = £49 top suspension arm = £126 lower suspension arm = £227.21 bottom suspension arm = £61.20 bolts and bits = £15 + VAT TOTAL = £667 So the cost is all parts that are from Nissan only so if i can get the parts cheaper from someone who is breaking a zed (hoping you can come through for me on that one siraff - give me a call). finding a good garage like whifbitz or Zen or Ztech to spend a couple of hours labour will be great. The garage it is in at the moment want me to ring them back in 45mins so they know to order the parts, i think i am just going to tell them to leave it and pick the car up but any advice from you guys to reassure me would be great. Ta Clive

Thanks for the advice guys. I have rung both Zen and Ztech and they cant fit me in until the end of the month. Will it really be £400-£500 cheaper?! Is that not including parts? If I can get a better breakdown of exactly what needs replacing from the garage it would be great if i can get the parts from you Si and could easily meet you in southampton. Could you give me a ring this evenning if possible 07786010689. I might well be prepared to wait until the end of the month if is will be cheaper but it will mean getting tubes to work or driving an old escort around!!

I have just had a call back from the garage who has done the inspection and I have done in the rear suspension. I need new; top, lower and middle suspension arms and a new alloy wheel and then the tracking will need to be done allround. They are quoting me £667 all in to do it but they cant get hold of the wheel. They say it is not really safe to drive but i am prepared to try and get it to Zen Centre or Ztech if it is better / cheaper, on tow if i have to (and can find someone with a man enough car to tow it, I guess my girlfriends 1.4 Polo wont be able to lug it all the way to Swindon from London!). Does that sound expensive to anyone?