VIC Joseph Tech Day 2016

Discussion in 'Post Event Discussion' started by ADAMZX, Aug 28, 2016.

  1. ADAMZX

    ADAMZX 2000spec Conversion

    Hey guys, so today Joseph a new Z32 own hosted a Tech day at his house so he could try and get some help on an engine stalling issue he has with his 92 slicktop NA Z after a mechanic did a plenum pull for him.

    Now I wasn't expecting a great turnout for Joseph for his first meet and greet of the Vic Z crew but it was pretty much a no show from the guys expect for myself and thought it was a little disappointing no one showed up to help I was still there and I intended to help Joseph any way I could.

    Now when I arrived at Josephs place I noticed he had brought another Z this time a 2+2 89 model which was missing alot of parts and was pretty much a running shell but he got it cheap and is going to try and fix it up to working out from what he tells me.

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    A quick shot of my Z all nice and clean after like 4 months of not getting washed through the winter months, it always makes me smile when my Z looks this clean and Joseph was very impressed with how good my Z looked as well:zlove:

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    Now onto the patient, I know its not the shiniest and not the cleanest looking Z engine bay but I know Joesph has plans to restore his Z as best he can over time.

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    When he first turned the car on, it was apparent something was wrong with the idling of this poor Z and it looked to be struggling to hold a steady idle at all and it sounded like it was spluttering constantly. Having never experienced this problem with my own Z before I wasn't sure what to really do.

    So I plugged in conzult and tried to check his sensors to see what they were recording, here is a snap shot of what conzult was displaying to us;

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    First thing I noticed was the timing was set to 25 BTDC which I know is way out. Unfortunately I was unable to alter the value even when I adjusted the angle of the CAS sensor left or right. I did notice however after letting the car warm up to normal running temps, the BTDC listing magically ended up at 15 degress, so I'm not sure whats going on there.

    The TPS was also set to high at 0.50, so I reset that to 0.44 and unplugged the grey connect to reset the self learn on the ecu. I then attempted to increase the idle which was reading 500 - 600 rpm. Even with the IACV almost maxed out I was only able to get the car to rev to around 550 - 650 which I can't really explain and must mean a big vacuum leak or something but the good news was the car was possibly driveable after I altered the idle slightly and so Joseph plans to try and take his Z to another mechanic who he has been told has built Z32's before in the past and knows a thing or too about the VG30 engine but I have never heard of the workshop myself personally.

    Anyways, at that point I had exceeded all of my Z know how to help Joseph to fix his problem with his Z and so we had to give up and this new workshop can diagnose his problem and fix it so he can enjoy the wonders of owning a 300ZX Z32.

    Now onto my Z, I have been struggling to find some free time inbetween working full time and raising a family, to fix all of the little lose ends my Z this has left to be fix. So my first job to tackle was to set my TPS to from 0.42 to 0.44 volts and then reset the self learn and readjust the idle if needed.

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    With Joseph's help it took no time to fix that problem.

    Next job was to pull my interior apart and remove the none working LH side Altia 1/4 panel. I have already fixed the RH side panel with a new EL strip and this one which is original only died about 3 months ago.

    Half way done and as I have pulled my interior completely out of the car before, it was like second natural to know what needed to be removed in order for me to get to the Altia panel to remove it.

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    Once the Altia panel was removed I quickly put everything back together again. Joseph and I had a good chat during this time about all of the Z32 interior options that came out over its production span and luckily for him his 92 slicky has suede interior which I know is very rare interior option indeed.

    Next was to clean up what appears to be a coolant splatter leak near the PTU unit as you can see.

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    I noticed it a few weeks ago and immediately checked my coolant level to find it full. I don't know if it happened recently or not but it has managed to spill onto the radiator fan which then splattered it across the front of the engine a little.

    I suspect the lower radiator hose upper clamp is faulty and wont tighten any further then what it is set to now, so I will need to replace it which means dropping the coolant and pulling the hoses off, joys of a Z hey:zlove:

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    After a short srcub with a brush and cleaning solution and a microfibre cloth. Not great but it looks a bit better then what it was before.

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    The last item for me was what looks like some sort of residue under the fuel filter, Don't know if its fuel related as i haven't touched it since I installed it like last yeah.

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    I plan to replace this filter next service anyways but regardless I will replace all the hoses while I'm at it as well just to cover all my bases.

    With my Z pretty much done for the day, I said goodbye to Joseph and his two Z's.

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    I hope he gets the help he needs and fixes his Z in time for the Doug memorial cruise which he really wants to attend and meet the Z vic crew and live the life of a Z owner like we all do.​
     
  2. JEDI-77

    JEDI-77 Jedi Master

    A few things...

    Good of you to show up Adam and help Joseph as best as you could. I think the reason for the low attendance is due to the notice given. Joseph only really posted the Tech Day post the week before last. For a big turn out, you really need to give at least 4 weeks notice so people can plan.

    As for some tips, the only true way to check timing is with a timing gun. using Consult or Datascan will show you the ignition timing as the ECU sees's it at any given time. Hence, when you looked at the timing, it was at 25 degree's and then when the engine warmed up, it dropped to 15. That is normal behaviour. The software displays what ever the ignition timing should be at that part of the timing map. But the correct way to actually check and set the timing is with a timing gun. As a rough guide, the bolt that you loosen to adjust the CAS should be roughly center for a stock value of 15 degree's timing.

    The idle problem sounds like a pain. From memory, an IACV value of 90% at idle sounds excessive but its been a while since I've played with these values. Did you check if all the electrical connectors are connected to the IACV? Also, if you screw the IACV all the way in, or squeeze the rubber hose going to the IACV with some pliers, the car should stall and rule out a vacuum leak that would effect idle. As with all these sort of problems, its really a case of checking all the connectors are tight and clean and also doing a boost/vacuum test to try and rule out leaks. Obviously easier said than done, but thats where I would be starting. Maybe with spring here and hopefully some better weather, we can get another larger tech day happening.

    Cheers
     
  3. ADAMZX

    ADAMZX 2000spec Conversion

    Yeah I understand, both you an I know events have better turnouts with advance notice so I can see your point. I never expected Joseph to host the event 2 weeks after I suggested the idea to him, anyways its happened now and though I could help you fix his problem I was able to do a few little things to my own Z so the day still yielded progress none the less.

    Thanks for the tip, I have like 0 experience setting timing and so I didn't even know what was required to set to the timing. We didn't have a timing gun anyways and now that I think about it, the Joseph did say the mechanic didn't touch the timing belt, I just thought he may have reinstalled the cas incorrectly and so might of needed to be set back to its original state prior to the plenum pull.

    Well unfortunately Joseph's Z has been poorly looked after from the previous owner and alot of the engine is missing mounting screws for various things like it was just being held together. I know Joseph has plans to fix the car but there is alot of work that needs to be done to get it back to good working order. His coil packs connectors looked to be set correctly but his detonation sensor has been bypassed for what reason i have no idea, the loom is pretty rough from what I could see but I cant see why its idling so badly.

    Like I said hopefully Joseph can get a proper knowledge Z mechanic to take a look and fix it for him and if he is lucky it will be in time to attend the Doug memorial cruise.
     
  4. THZX

    THZX Member

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