Hi guys. Just purchased my first Z car. A 1991 automatic non turbo 300zx. Its a really tidy car with only 160,000 klms on the clock with full history. No leaks or any problems i can find but its running on 5 instead of all six. My fathers a mechanic and i have access to a full workshop but he doesnt know much about these cars. He is a old school V8 nut. Not a import fan. Ive replaced all plugs and am about to replace all plug coilovers. Is there any other reasons this could be missing still? Im yet to find out exactly which cylinder it is thats missing. Any help would be appreciated, as i plan on keeping this car and spending loys of time, tlc and money. I already love the Z.
Pull out the coilpack connectors one at a time, when you hear no change in the engine, that's how you know which cylinder is missing. Try swap plugs/coilpacks over between cylinders, if the problem persists on the same cylinder, you can rule out plugs or coils. Instead it could be injectors or bad wiring.
Sounds like a problem I had when i bought my zed. Try cleaning the PTU connectors. Do you know if it has an S1 or S2 PTU?
Ive figured out after a day under the bonnet, third cylinder. Seems to be blown valves or something with similar symptoms. 3rd Plug was sooty but hadnt been used at all it seemed, :/ it looked as if the top bank of the cylinders was black too. So thats why we are leaning towards valves. Was afraid of this. But its still going to be worth it.
Compression check this cylinder before jumping to any conclusions could be as simple as a fouled plug. Edit - while you are at it might as well do a comp check on all cylinders
When you say 3rd cylinder, do you mean the middle cylinder on the driver's side? Or the 3rd cylinder on one side? If it's the 3rd cylinder on passenger side it could just be the wrong connector plugged into the coil pack (very common problem).
I have seen an ECU that wasn't firing one cylinder. Was a burnt out FET. Just keep in mind that the ECU _could_ be at fault. This would be the last thing I would check. First thing to check is plug as IB says, next would be dirty connectors. I have also seen a bodgey wiring job where injectors were wired incorrectly - that is a possibility if a sparky has played with it recently. Easy to check. Grab the FSM and check for 12V on each connector and ensure 12V (nominal) is on the correct side.
Second on drivers side. Changed plugs and coils but it still misses. Comp check tomorrow and ill go from there. Might just save and import a new engine n swap n then work on the old one while its out.
I had a similar problem, turned out to be a loose INJECTOR plug, not the coils. I had bumped it when redoing some vacuum lines, check your Injector plugs too.
Spent a few days at the mechanics. Was told 2000 + to fix or they could import a used engine from jap and install for half the price. Im gonna save up 1000 and buy another VG30(DE) and do a swap. That way i can start fresh all over. Everything reconditioned and working. A turn key engine.
Spent a few days at the mechanics. Was told 2000 + to fix or they could import a used engine from jap and install for half the price. Im gonna save up 1000 and buy another VG30(DE) and do a swap. That way i can start fresh all over. Everything reconditioned and working. A turn key engine.
3rd cylinder is burnt out, there is a small fracture in the block and head, and two broken valve stems. So its off the road as of yesterday. Im very surprised it made it from lithgow to wellington and apparently the guy i bought it off drove it from melbourne to lithgow like it. Hes mechanic said it was fine. :/
rookie mistake! 2000+ to fix, means a lot more. question. why import an engine from japan that could be just as ****ed as the one you have? unless its a new complete crate motor, then pay for shipping the thing, when there are enough vg30dett's in australia that could be had for nothing and built for a decent price, OR, i'm sure there are also enough good VG30DETT's that you can source one locally. second rookie mistake: dont listen to ANYONE who says 'your zed sounds fine' mine was screwed, I know it was screwed, it souned screwed, and it accelerated like a screwed Z. yet first thing EVERYONE has done when they came to look at it, and after is started it said 'whats wrong with it?' I've heard both my na and my TT idling and under acceleration when they were spot on perfect with timing and when these things are running proper, it is like a 6 cylinder symphony, so don't compare them to most other cars or even some other peoples zeds which might not be tuned as well as they think. especially don't listen to any 'normal' mechanics oppinion on what it sounds like or what is wrong with it, in fact. be very careful having anyone who isnt at least half asian or at least 1/3 a zed expert touch your Z. when I bought my Z, it struggled to make it from frankston to Geelong, and after I got it to Geelong it was 1 day before i struggled to get to 40km/h. back then Brytech WAS what he thought he was and made it run immaculately, albeit as good as a tired na could run. he had it running near on perfect twice, but it was a ****ed engine to begin with. anyway, I digressed. so i bougth mine from a guy who told me when i picked it up 'It is Fast, I had to check to see if it was a turbo', Nek Minute, I was getting taken at the lights by your average kia carnival all the way back through the city to my humble abode. long story short. 'People are full of Shit' very sad to hear about your predicament. but source a known good engine, do the proper checks - no smoke - no play in the turbos - comp test (but that isnt always a fail safe) - look as best you can inside and the cleaner the top of the valves the better - i'd probably say anything with what looks like a conrod sitting on the outside of the block, you might want to look away from. make sure you have a good block though, then if you have to do work on the heads or play with the top end, you can do most of that with the engine in later on. but importing just seems frightfully unnecessary, and the end result won't most likely be a better engine that you couldnt have put together here anyway. Welcome to ZeeLand! edit: just read its a non turbo. that makes your job soooo much easier.
