jdm2003

It was below 15 at idle, and to be honest I dont think the oil pressure gauge works unless there is an extreme issue. My thoughts are it was a subtle loss of pressure over time. the oil pressure gauge is not 100% accurate.

would be good to see pics. mine was rusted up the side of the chassis support to so had to remove the tank really as wouldn't of been able to get in there and fix the new sections.

Funny enough I still dont believe the car is unreliable, bearing in mind its actually on an 02 plate, i think one of the first few thousand made. She also lived on the coast before i got her and i live right on the sea front. this really hasn't helped, but most of the problems i had are common for an aging car. As nothing last forever.

Just thought I would document all the things that I've had to repair on my 2003 DE. First issue I had was the running gear. banana arms where knocking so replace those first. after running well for a bit the drop links wore out. on the front and the back. the next thing to go was the ball joints, but the problem there was it had fouled the fixing in the front suspension knuckle. so replace both of those as well as all four rotors, also replace bushings with red Polly bushings. next was the rear drop links. after a month or so the clutch went so upgraded to light weight fly wheel. it drove well for a year. then oil pressure started to play up. so replace the valve covers. plus added a plenum spacer wile I was at it. it had a buddy exhaust on it and the baffles came loose. so replace it with a HKS cat back. She ran well for a bit but developed a clunk on the steering and had to replace the steering rack. oil pressure issues came back and at the same time, the timing chain started to rattle on start up, some where she was loosing oil pressure but had no leaks. any way, this led to big end bearing failure, pulled the engine and rebuilt with forged rods and Cosworth 11:1 pistons, king bearings. arp studs all round sent the whole rotating assembly off to get balanced. modified the block to fit a Gen 3 head gaskets. new timing kit and engine gasket rebuilt kit. added new exhaust manifolds. replace pilot bushing, and upgraded clutch pivot ball as it was squeaking. Both master and slave cylinders also broke so had to replace those. re installed the engine and took it for an MOT. She failed on corroded rear kidney braces. I set about replacing them. but when trying to remove them it became apparent that the chassis its self was corroded badly where the kidney braces (rear stays) are fixed. I had to drop the rear subframe and the tank. Cut all the rot on the chassis and ask @ZMANALEX if he could cut some sections out for me. I welded them in good and proper then coated the bottom with rust restorer and epoxied. Now was time to upgrade the ECU to a link G4X PNP. also added new wideband sensors with aem gauges on both banks. Its been a long road and a lot of hard work as i dont have a garage and do all the work on the road with a jack and axel stands. In my eyes its all been worth it i love how the car looks. Its nothing special when it comes to Z but its mine.

I remember Clarkson hating the 350 when it was first tested.

Another one saved well done

Passed MOT no advisories. She is not done yet lol.

https://www.rust.co.uk/product/cat/custom-421-rust-proofing-body-primer-27 they do a whole kit etc. https://www.rust.co.uk/product/chassis-restoration-value-pack-black--159

The Zed is fully repaired also took the extra measure of rust converting all the corroded metal and painted with mastic epoxy resin.

Thanks for the repair sections @ZMANALEX. decided to take the safe but long route of removing the tank, need to get up the side of it. Do you like my Not Garage :D.

Already have the stays and w brace. plus rust restoration and treatment kit. I dont think I'm going to get this done before having to pay for another MOT lol

Cheers Alex. I'm just looking up how much work it is to take the tank out and the carpets and scrape all the Factory rust coating that can catch fire also.. I'm paranoid about fire after seeing some one on YouTube attempt the same sort of repair and set fire to the car. I would much prefer to us an original section and replace. What price can you do the parts for?

Cheers Alex, There is no where to bolt the rear stays to the chassis. all the bolds separated from there welds in the rear seal due to rust. 😕

Well after a full engine rebuild and a trip for the MOT. looks like my zed is done, The mechanic spotted corrosion behind the kidney braces on the sub frame. I have removed the W brace and Rear Stays and found it to be rotten. I could make a plate and weld it? first though the fuel tank is right there, and even if i remove it I'm worried about the inside catching fire. The only solution I can think of would be to bolt a plate on. the other side is the same.