Z shut itself down on motorway, now wont turn over

Hi all,

I am fearing the worst for my Z, have had a search and come up with nothing, so here goes. Its N/A, 1989 Z32, all stock.

I was driving at around 100km/h (give or take) a few bursts of hard revving, the odd downshift, occasionally close to redline etc.

Power dropped suddenly, I heard a fairly soft but gut wrenching, 'clank clank' noise for a few seconds, then all engine/warning lights flashed for a second and the car shut itself down completely (to the point of not even having hazard lights). It was towed home at roughly 10pm.

This morning my hazards are flashing and headlights were back on, so I switched them off. Fearing the worst I tried turning it over anyway and nothing. Starter engages with a click, but it is not turning at all, like someone has poured concrete in my block.

Please give me some good news? someone?
Or just tell me the truth and give me a clearer idea of how F**Ked my Z is. I'm imagining a screwed con-rod sitting in my block literally like a spanner in the works.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

 

If your engine has seized then your imagination is not playing tricks on you. From your description I would say that a big-end bearing has failed, followed closely by the big-end cap breaking away from the conrod.
Where in Brisbane are you?

 

I'm in Wynnum, near the BMX and R/C track if you're familiar with the area.

 

Is it possible to check out the damage from underneath the block if I remove the oil pan? or will the engine need to be pulled?

 

If it is interal to the block, just draing the engine oil and check it for metal pieces with a magnet.
Sounds very terminal though.
And it is not an easy job to drop the sump out in these cars.

 

Yeah need engine crane to drop the sump. I wanted to do it for my last oil change, but didn't know it was that involved.. d'oh!

 

you test by just trying to wind the engine 1/4 turn with a spanner not the starter, if the cams are still moving it is not the cam belt, if it is blocked siezed you wont be able to move the crank and the damage is already done, engine pull required, mine while racing jumped a few teeth on the cams and it went into limp mode, couldnt rev it but it would just idle, Id say yours is worse than this though

 

Yeah, well, could be kinda catastrophic. The only thing that makes me think that it might not be is that
a) all your electrics failed
b) your rear wheels didn't lock when your engine failed (unless it's an auto or you clutched in when it started to fail)

That noise you heard could be anything, part of the loom flapping around as it gets torn through your timing belt for example.

 

This, maybe not be internal damage.

 

Just had a thought.

Just a thought, is there a fan belt still on the engine. The loss of the fan belt, and draining of the battery could do this.
Imagine the broken splices of the belt flicking around until they let go.
Draining the battery, and in the morining there is a little charge in the battery again. Until yu engage the starter.

 

Could the alternator have come loose shorting out the electrics ? That would stop the car and would make a bit of a noise.

If the lights were back on this morning the short would have been broken, but the battery would be flat, hence the clicking sound from the starter.

 

stef do you actually have an E type would be worth a fortune

 

I would start by

would be pull spark plugs, put a 27 mm socket on the crank bolt and turn it (maybe use an air tool) if one of the accessroies (alt, ps, air con) is seized still could turn but belts would slip, could take the belts off to rule in/out that the engine still turns over. If you use the air tool to crank it, then should be able to hear if a baring is making alot of noise.. if it turns over and the engine is quiet (no obvious culprits) then do compression test, if the compression is good there is no valve damage. If the accessories belts are off can turn them over by hand, if you cant turn them they are obviously seized. Borroscope into the cylinder might be good to see if there is any visable damage

 

Diagnosing over the net is not the easiest thing. Could be as simple as a flat battery caused by failure of an alternator/belt or similar.

 

personally I would grab a large socket throw the car into neutral and see if you can turn the engine over at all by hand, while doing this it would pay to mark the cas position and pull it off to check that you have not lost your cam belt drive and had pistons hit the valve train to stop your engine.

If the engine turns by hand with only the compression holding you back (although this will be hard enough you should be able to turn the engine through this) then grab a new battery and/or jumper leads and see if the car turns over and hopefully starts.

I pick your alternator is not charging for some reason or other and you have run your battery flat. If the car starts then you need to check that there is a voltage increase at the battery terminals while the engine is running. (a multimeter is the tool for this).

 

E-Type parts are much cheaper than Z parts

 

Alternator brushes have failed

See if motor turns over as stated

 

Did you sort out this problem

 

Hey all,

No I haven't sorted this problem or even looked at the Z since the event. I have 4 kids so time is scarce, but I'm a bit more upbeat after reading all these posts. I will get into the engine bay this morning once the little one is down for a nap.

Thanks all for your input, I really appreciate it, will get back on and report anything I find once I get in there.

Once again thanks to all, I'm surprised and impressed this thread stayed active while I went AWOL.

 

well it's not looking good.

all the front belts appear to be fine, a 27mm socket and breaker bar did not budge the crank at all, I haven't given up yet but I'm not expecting much.

Next step for me is to remove the belts and CAS as suggested and try again, what is the likelihood that the top end is seized rather than the bottom?