Tricky-Ricky

Yes the fan motor either needs cleaning or replacing, i would not drive it like that as if its only starting when physically moved then it wont be starting when it should so the engine will overheat, as i said get it recovered if you don't want to risk engine problems due to overheating.

Does it just pink at low loads/RPM? or when its being driven hard (detonation)? Have you got any mods? it sounds like you just have some preignition due to low ROM fuel. Was the intended remap from an authorized Up-rev tuner? if not then i would walk away, Up-rev is the only retuning software available for the DE motor.

Its your electric colling fans, if both don't come on when you turn on the air con? if not then you either need to replace them or have them cleaned and refurbed, its not an easy task to do right but can be done DIY, i used to offer a service doing this, i may have a spare fan motor left over from when i did this, i will have a look.

Shame you not in my neck of the woods, i could have sorted it for you for just the price of a coil pack if that what was needed, the insert should be easy to remove and it would just take a suitably shaped nut epoxied in to complete, but not really necessary as the the coil pack would stay put anyway. As for user names, i started out on car forums years ago and because the swear filter wouldn't let me use Tricky-Dicky which is actually what i am called (Richard) in reality, i went with Tricky-Ricky which was the nearest option, so i have just stuck with it.

i would not even try and diagnose an engine noise by a recorded audio file, first hand is the only way to make a sensible comment.

Turn on the air con and look at the fans, if they are not both working then you have a problem, and any slow driving in traffic will cause overheat, every time, get it recovered and sort the fans, anything else and your risking your engine.

The coil pack needs no earth other than the wiring, the thread that the bolt has sheared is actually a brass insert which TBH should not have caused the sheared bolt due to corrosion, i would suspect somebody over tightened it, anyway the insert should be able to be removed carefully and another sealed in with epoxy, as the cam covers are made of plastic. The clamp bodge also sounds suspicious, and could of caused the fault in the first place. The fault may be a a faulty coil pack or simply because the coil pack is actually loose, however i somehow doubt that as the coil pack is a pretty tight fit in the cam cover, i personally whoud be very suspicious, and take it somewhere else, or even fix yourself if you feel able, just by another coil pack and replace the insert.

For starters replace the one way valve in the PCV system, if this is staying partially open it will not only be allowing extra unmeatered air into the intake when not at idle, so causing weak AFRs, it will also suck a lot of oil into the plenum and so get burned.

Somebody start a "what do you love about the 350Z thread" FFS or this will drag on and on.

Oh! i don't know .... going by your old blue Z i would definitely say FAT!

Two reasons...fat and slow!

I basically meant that you had to pay for the license for every car plus the cost of mapping, normally you just pay for the mapping. OK granted you pay for the stand alone ECU but since you already own the ECU with up-rev, your paying the makers of the software for the privilege of being able to have it mapped, so yeah sneaky!

Sneaky American idea by the developers of Up-Rev remapping software, the software can be bought by anyone either private or professional, but each map thats created via the software has to have a license, which means that the developers get revenue for each map done, IE one map + one license fee......wish i had thought of it.

Since Nissan developed the VQ engine series in 1994 and these where developed from the VG series from 1984, and the Nissan Renault alliance occurred in 1999, you could hardly say that they had a hand in it.

The breather hose if its not very rigid will collapse at idle as this is where there is the strongest vacuum, it will reduce with RPM. http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p2050601.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xstainless+braided+hose&_nkw=stainless+braided+hose&_sacat=0&_from=R40

I certainly wouldn't be happy relying on just a rising rate fuel pressure regulator to control the extra fueling for boost, and letting the std ECU pull timing when it encounters det... which it certainly will.

I have long suspected that the clutch master and slave cylinders are mismatched, which is why the clutch action is heavy in comparison to a lot of other cars, be interesting to know if the 3 also sufferers from this?

LOL! you should try living in Norfolk, half the people here don't know where the indicators are, and on the country roads if the tractors are not trying to kill you, the rest try and do it if you dare to overtake them, they actually move over on you as you try and pass!

Yes there will be some thinning, but oil is designed to retain its viscosity even when very hot, so pressure on its own is not 100% indicative of temperature, although i agree in most cases its not a bad indicator, however having said that i have seen other engines run quite normal oil pressure with very badly worn oil pumps, which is one of the reasons i wouldn't personally take oil pressure as an accurate gauge of temperature.

Some misconceptions here regarding oil and its properties, and i am sure this has all been discussed before, Modern engines and oils are designed to be fairly idiot proof, IE you could probably start and drive at full wack and get away with it for a time, However although modern engine design and material's and oils are able to cope with very harsh treatment you will do far better wear wise to just start you engine and drive it, don't let it idle as it puts the most strain/load/wear on the valve train, and its this that is usually the first to show wear. Its always best to let the oil temps get to normal operating area before really driving hard, oils are by design made to work just as well when cold, Hence the dual viscosity IE 10w40 the cold viscosity is there to enable the oil to be circulated efficiently when cold so it can get around all the required gaps between bearing etc, and the hot viscosity is there to ensure it retains its properties, IE doesn't thin out when hot, Oil pressure has been mentioned as a gauge to whether the oil is hot enough, but this is just a by product/symptom, of whats happening, the engine clearances are expanding with heat not the oil thinning, thats why a worn engine will exhibit much lower oil pressures,

MAFs do often respond positively to correct methods of cleaning, despite the fact that they are supposed to be self cleaning by there nature being a heated wire, but that's quite a big increase in MPG.

If your std earth points are corroded, which on most 5 year + old cars they are you will probably notice and improvement on fitting a grounding kit, however you will likely notice the same improvement if you go around the std earth points and give them a good clean, in which case you save yourself £20-60.

Are you FI then? if so there is no need to use the plenum, you can just run the outlet back to the turbo intake with the other cam cover breather via the can.

Even if you disconnect the MAF with the ignition on all it will do is throw a CEL and then the next time you turn on the ignition it will extinguish as the value is correct, I have yet to disconnect a battery to remove a MAF sensor on any car, and have had no problems ever, don't see why all the over cautiousness!