Hey Everyone.. how are we all. XD As some may remember I had a bit of an incident including a truck that resulted in my Zed getting a nose job about 3-4 months ago. If your interested in that story here you go ->> http://www.aus300zx.com/forum/showthread.php?t=286983 <<- Any who, So after some bickering, tears and utter confusion, It was decided that I would simply find a blown zed with a straight body and do a transplant. That led me to find what at first seemed a good buy. I found a nice looking Metallic Black Z in the ACT.. Nice wheels, nice body kit, looked straight. Looked like the interior was in good condition, the only thing was, It had a blown motor, and the owner was unsure why (apparently he swapped his SS for it, and wasn't mechanically minded). All he could tell me was he was cruising along, it got hot and then engine cut out and a heap of black smoke came out the back of the engine bay. Without going into detail, I have had the new zed here in Gympie for 2-3 weeks. However just had a break up, which left my Zeds at my ex-partners parents place. Yesterday.. I finally got them home, and progress has finally started.. Well... When life gives you lemons you make lemonade... I'm not to sure about lemonade.. But I sure as hell would like to pick up those lemons and throw them at someone really freakin hard! New Z (which I had not been given the chance to thoroughly suss out yet) looks like it has had a tap in the front, a tap in the rear, the drivers door doesn't fit on right, Has had a mask up paint job that they pulled half the paint back off while unmasking. Massive amounts of bog everywhere, interior is shot.. what seemed at least a cat back exhaust, is just a pair of canons. The drift wing that was on the back has put dents in from tension, The tinted tail lights and indicaitors are actually just cheaply sprayed, The rear bar is cracked, the front bar is cracked AND THEN.... I started stripping the engine bay... ...well this is the part in the movie.. where you think it can't get worse.. but then it does... ... After removal of the nose panel, bonnet and front bar, I got to sussin and pulling shit off.. Well I Started with the FMIC.. I must admit I wasn't ready for the oil bath I just got.. At a guess, about a liter of oil came out once I had the pipes off.. never a good sign. So that said and done I moved onto the Air filter... ... This WAS a nice K&N pod filter... but I doubt its EVER been cleaned, and was extremely warped. It landed nicely in the bin pile... Pulled off the Air Flow metre and piping... This bit was easy. Next was the radiator, Undone the bung.. nothing came out.. Poked the hole with something long n thin... Well a radiator flush wouldn't have gone a stray lol... a heap of crap like Chemi-Weld came out and then bugger all water.. Again never a good sign.. ... Me thinks someone was caining it when it went pop... Not much else progressed from here.. Got the radiator out, as well as the fan and shroud. Intake pipes are off.. yeah they are looking pretty fingered too. Head lights are out, figured I didn't really wanna risk breaking them, however their not in the best order either.. half the brackets are snapped and thats about it for last nights effort. Gave it about an hour and a half, So I'm quite proud of the effort. I will be trying to keep this dial up friendly, So pix will be a minimum. I shall show progress pics tonight once I take some. Laterz! Kel
Welcome back. Nice work. Damn, I wish I could do that much in 1.5 hours! If you look at things on the bright side, it sounds like things can't get much worse, so with a bit of luck, it'll be smooth sailing from here on in. Or at least not any worse. :zlove:
Haha so so true.. Except... there is a small chance I may have issues with still good motor.. Lets just say, because it was still running, driving, people took the liberty in moving it around... with no airflow meter or filter, and no intercooler... hoping it hasn't sucked up too much crap. Here is a curious question.. when doing an auto to manual conversion.. do I have to change the the tail shaft as well?
Sorry it's worse than originally thought. some people are shocking for witholding damage info when selling sight unseen. that makes me angry. BUT, you're enthusiastic and going really well. Great effort so far, and between your enthusiasm and contacts through this forum, it'll be looking great and running great hopefully with as little expense and effort as possible for you. Keep up the good work Kel. :zlove:
gah! shoulda got one of us ACT guys to take a look first! sounds like a bit of a disaster. I think this one was in Page, 1 suburb away from me. Do you have most of the parts to fix? i bought a Zed in poor condition to bring back to life, wasnt an easy task, but doesnt sound as big as yours. Goodluck with it! The lemonade is on its way!
Yeah, was in Page. I thought about it, but I was reassured everything would be fine. None the less this isn't a rant.. I just need to learn to follow my OWN intuition. I think I have everything.. shouldn't be too hard to find the stuff I don't. It will be ok. I was pretty devo because nothing was happening with it, it was just sitting there. Now that its starting to progress I'm quite content with plodding along fixing it slowly
06/07/09 1.5 hours So we got stuck into wiring last night. Got most of it disconnected.. just when you think you have everything undone, 10 more clips appear lol. I must say what a mess! On top of this bout the only other thing that was done, The throttle cables where released, and pulled out what I am assuming may have been a cruise control unit? not sure. And no still no pics. I get slightly distracted and forget to take them.. I must say it comes across slightly eerie how quick this is happening... It like super fast but not go figure
Hey Kel, are you labeling what connected to what? for both electrical connectors as well as hoses? It's not totally neccessary, but it REALLY helps speed things up when you're putting things back together again after the transplant.
Yep, label the weird stuff. Things like injectors, coilpacks, TPS etc are pretty easy to work out. It's the stupid little solenoids that screw you round. Might want to label the vac lines for those too. Good stuff you giving it a go yourself. It's really not that tricky. All you need to know is when you can force things and when you have to be gentle
This is the part of it that concerns me. Oh well, I guess I will find out soon enough. It's a shame the shell was not as it should have been Kel, it seems to happen far more than it should with long distance purchases. I guess a bright side is that you will know a hell of a lot more about the car once you are done...
12/07/09 3 hours Ok So we have been a little slack of late... But finally we have got it up off the groundnand started tinkering underneath. To start with pulled off a few more pipes up top, pulled out some more wiring then proceeded to get under it. First thing noticed... obscene amount of oil over everything in the back of the engine bay. Started removing Turbo to Cat from the exhaust. issue one, passenger heat sensor in the cat is hang by a thread (no literally, hanging by a thread). issue 2, several bad looking welds from dodgey patch up jobs and issue 3, Upon removal of exhaust, about 2 cups of water came from the exhausts... blown head gaskets?? Also removed cat to canon, and tail shaft is out. Lastly, Gear box has been drained and is disconnected and dropped, but not out yet. I have Clayton to thank for last nights effort. As I was busy doing my house wifely duties cooking brownies XD oh and no.. haven't been labeling. decided we are going to rewire, as most of the wiring in it is buggered. as are most the connectors.
I've got stock pipes but aftermarket mufflers on the end. Both my heat sensor wires were cut when it was installed. Apparently its common...
Guess What! Well call me lazy but finally... The engine... it is OUT!!! So, The black zed is pretty much ready to come off the ramps, be shifted out and get the Blue one up and start ripping it apart too The engine pull went smoothly, only forgot to disconnect the heater hoses, oil temp sensor and the air con, so i was quite happy with that. however, on the way out, noticed 2 very broken engine mounts.. Also on the discovery list was a pair of Garett M24's, are these stock? none the less very very f@#$%d! Also prior to lift out, certain bolts came undone with fingers and other wouldn't budge! next step will be pulling the last of the wiring out. then its onto the next z... hopefully done by october!!!
wow good progress! Will definitely be watching this thread. So i assume you'll be replacing a heap of stuff before putting the new motor in?
Hey Everyone Sorry I have been away for a while, i have moved out and have no net at my house. Well The zed saga continues with more tears confusion and dramas. The black zed is down off the ramps, everything engine is out and its ready for surgery. However after a good bath, i have found more dents and dodgey bits then i can poke a stick at. The drift wing, well it was attached with wood screws, the dumb ass who attached it never put anything between the braces and the boot so the paint is ruined, the hatch is all out of shape from the wing as well. engine is out, so i have done a few degreases, to scrub it up, well at least the engine bay is straight.. I have a massive dent along the passenger side, looks like someone has run up a massive gutter. Several bog holes where someone didn't do a very good job patching holes. The spray job is dodgey, and never been polished. lots of chips and bits where they ripped the paint off removing the masking. I really wish I had checked it out myself. Blue zed - finally bought over to my house. worst fears are starting to be confirmed. Pulled piping and such off, and the debris has started to emerge, rocks, glass etc, in the cooler lines. Started disconnecting wiring and am lableing this time. That is running smoothly so far so thats something at least. Took off the intake lines into the plenum, and there is was, sitting right there, about to go through the butterfly, was a shard of metal, all twisted and about 15mm long. I am devo, but must keep in good spirits that the damage isn't done yet. Just to make it worse, not sure if i ever mentioned but some d@#$-%&*d's dad dropped a tree on it, smashing the windscreen, pillar, bonnet some more, guard some more, and the panel above the windscreen, and no, the damages weren't fixed or paid for... Also pulled what was left of the front out, the radiator and shroud. Fan is still intact. pulled what was left of the headlights out. throttle cover is off, and cable is disconnected. few other bits and pieces. Also started tinkering around with the interior and transferring panels and the taillights etc . Its coming along, but its been a bumpy road and its not at the worst... but heres to hoping it doesn't get worse and the rest is smooth sailing. I'll try to keep you posted. Laterz Kel
Shit Kel, you've had some bad luck there haven't you?! Sounds like you need another Tech day up there to finish it off and get you back on the road again!
well we'll see. I got to a point at one stage that i was ready to part em both out and start again. but need to keep the chin up and and keep battling. Here is a note to all zedders out there: DO NOT LET YOUR (now ex) BF ANYWHERE NEAR YOUR ZED ONCE YOU HAVE CRASHED IT!!!
Sounds like a frustrating scenario......I my self have had to part one out to stripp and rebuild my Zed. Basicaly from the shell up. have spent 8 months doing the same, am happy to offer any advice. Is a long journey but worth it in the end
