Old Zed

Sounds as though you should be checking all the ignition connections for corrosion or just fowling after a stripdown. PTU and CAS for starters, but that would not affect your clocks. If you have just got it back from the garage, take it back and get them to look at it, especially if it was all fine beforehand.

As previously stated, the pressing out process is the key. You need to avoid the tip and press against the base. The fuel rail is also an irregular shape and care is also needed not to damage other injectors still in the rail. The other real pain that I came across is the earth strap bolt on the rail which really requires to be remove before removing the rail was real tight and unable to use a socket because of its locallity, the philips screwdriver bit I used chewed up the head. This also applies to the retaining caps on the injectors which are held by screws, not bolts so no socket can be used. Make sure you have a good fit quaility screwdriver as they seem soft and round off, and cannot be re-used. The plenum gasket and injector seals should set you back a total of £70. If you do an under plenum water bypass, add another £10 for pipe. It would probably be advised to change the PCV valves if they are old, so add £80. Good luck.

I found it impossible to do even with the fuel rail left on the car. It was easier to take it off and then press the old injectors out and from my experience, you have to carefully press the new ones in. It is a very delicate job and expensive if you get it wrong.

I bought one off Ebay which looks the dogs doodaas but when fitted, collides with the bonnet even with the lining removed. Had to take it off again. You can have it for a tenner.

They do fit without modification. The cut out is slightly more offset but that enables their use without the spring retaining clips as they fit real tight, but will pull off with the use of long nose pliers.

I think the problem is there are too many horror stories out there. On Ebay at the moment there are about 5 Zeds, all with various problems, which would cost a fair bit to have repaired by a garage, providing you can find one local to take it on. If your new to Zeds and you were looking on Ebay as a guide, you would be put off straight away.

To check the injector get one of those little square 9V batteries and attach a couple of wires. First try a good injector by putting the wires to each terminal (dont worry about polarity) to hear the clicking and then try the suspect injector and see if it makes the same noise. It is easier to attach a couple of probes to the wires from the battery to make get on the injector pins.

Alloy wheel cleaner is good for cleaning up contacts, but make sure you flush it out afterwards with ordinary contact cleaner, which actually dont remove much of the corrosion.

Pressure bleed them which does not utilies pumping the pedal but pushes the fluid through the system under pressure. Start with furthest away and all air will be ejected. Another way is reverse pressure bleeding where the pressurised fluid is applied to a bleed nipple and pushed back up the line to the master cylinder. to use this system is pretty well a last ditch measure but very effective.

Why mess about with an expensive process of elimination, pay for a consultation with an expert such as Zedworld at Tamworth, been established for years and knows these cars inside out, no guessing, but proper analysis, and friendly to boot. 01827 259222

just make sure you have disconnected the pipes from the EGR, the PCV valves and vacuum pipes to the turbos, and of course the various water pipes that go under the plenum. Apart from the fuel rail earth lead there is not much else to disconnect although there are various vacuum pipes that attach to it. If it moves about, side to side, then it has to be a pipe underneath still attached.

Zedworld sell GRP versions of the standard spoiler. 01827 259222 give them a call.

If it does get louder you will have a better chance of diagnosing what it is.

Normally doing this sort of job is not too difficult but very time comsuming and a need for patience. Before you embark on this project I would check if the wiring loom in an NA is the same as a TT, as you will need various connections for the extra equpment. If you have to change the loom over it is easier to do it with the engine and box out than when its in. labelling it very important.

It is not the case of adjustment but there are ball joints and rods at each end of the rack which connect to the steering arms. These ball loints wear and you have to replace them. Kit from MJP is about £180 which inludes the rack boots, sadly it does not include new lockwashers, which become very deformed when unlocking and are quite difficult to reshape due to their thickness. Buy new, recommended.

It's a shame that someone like Jeff who used to post shed loads of replies to tech queries is banned, his input is very much missed. His advice is from experience not a stab in the dark. On a brighter note tho' every time I call into to Zedworld, he is very busy and currently expanding into yet another unit, next door.

Your right, its called 'engine cont'. Take it out to check it and make sure it is making a circuit. Sorry about the name, I knew it was engine something.

I put a manual ECU in my converted Zed ( auto to manual) and it started but didn't seem to want to rev properly, sort of reluctant as though the timing was retarded ??

There is a main ignition fuse in with the relays under the bonnet passenger side front, from what I can remember its got a silly ident, something like 'Engine IC' which tends to throw you off the scent. Its a large fuse type and easily spotted when blown.

My brother had an automatic Granada and arrived home one day with his kids in the back seat and it was p#####g down with rain. The drive gates were shut so he slammed it in what he thought was 'park' and leapt out sharpish to open the gates. When he went to return to the car it was gone, down the road. He missed 'park' and had stuck it in 'reverse' and of course no handbrake had been applied. He was lucky tho' because he also left the drivers door open which got caught on a lamp post and stopped the car. Door and 'A' post completely f##ked. Kids were still crayoning in the backseat unaware of the catastrophe.

George it certainly sounds like the tappets and yes they are hydraulic. I think most owners experience that initial rattle when first starting as they do need to repressurise. My car has only covered 40K or so miles and it also has a hint of a rettle which goes within seconds. The small ends are not items which tend to fail on Zeds, but bigends certainly do. I think changing the oil regularly and using a proper Nissan oil filter is the best way of maintaining your engine, and reason for the Nissan filter is because some pattern parts do not have a non return valve for the oil so it runs back to the sump and has to be primed again on start up.

Tom, if you want to get your tracking / steering checked, go to Protyre at Lawrence Hill, they check and adjust both front and back. They did mine and the car feels so stable. John

I thought they were just a square, if so big screwdriver should do it.

Don't buy it. Welding to cills on Zeds is not straight forward as they have numerous inner metal structures to provide strength because of the targa roof. These usually corrode as well and can be a major job to make structurally safe.

I think I would rather watch Robbie than Prescott, although ones a singer and the other a comedian, well joke actually.