JAP350Z Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Looks like one of the head gaskets has gone on my car. lots of grey smoke from the exhaust, which doesn't really disappear. Local mechanic checked it for me - tested the coolant and found exhaust gases in it. He has done minor work on the Zed, but doesn't want to tackle the engine (can't blame him really). My questions are: 1. Does anyone know of someone who would be able to do the work on a Zed and are based in the Surrey/Hampshire border area (Alton, Farnham, Basingstoke, Guildford, etc)? If you have had major engine work done with them, that that would help make up my mind. 2. Anyone know how much it is likely to cost? Thanks for any help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Abbey Motorsport Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willy P Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Abbey motorsport in oxted? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willy P Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Great minds Ian, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Cost wise, give them a bell and get a rough estimate. The head gasket went on my missus`s 4 cylinder car last year. Gasket itself costs about 50quid, but the estimates I had came in at over a grand when you factor in labour, oil etc... On her car, the book said 14 hours labour alone! I was expecting around the 500->600quid price for that. Hopefully the zed is easier to work on! But its definately a job id only let the experts do, dont want some back street garage stripping my zed`s engine down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAP350Z Posted April 19, 2011 Author Share Posted April 19, 2011 Thanks for the info. I have been told that Bishops in Guildford might also be a possibility. Abbey Motorsports name has been mentioned by a few people, so looks like a trip to Oxted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMANALEX Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Abbey would get my vote in the Surrey area However engine is best removed for this job, so prepare yourself for a hefty bill. Alex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacW Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Just in case you're still on the fence I vote for Abbey too. Wouldn't trust any real work on mine to anyone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zugara Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Do it yourself..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 Hi, thanks for the mention of our name. Yes you really need to do both head gaskets and as Alex says motor out job , the both parts of front cover's need to come off to get the heads off and you need to remove the sump to get the front covers off. I can price the job for you or we can fit a good S/H engine , either way we can sort a price ( I do have a good S/H engine in stock as well) Give me a email mark@abbeymotorsport.co.uk and we can discuss Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trackpig Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 What kind of price are we looking at for a head gasket change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marzman Posted April 19, 2011 Share Posted April 19, 2011 How many miles has your car done JAP350Z? I cant say i've ever read about a head gasket failure... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAP350Z Posted April 20, 2011 Author Share Posted April 20, 2011 Thanks for the comments. I'm going to try Abbey as they seem to get the thumbs up from most people on here. Car is an 03' with just over 60k. Only engine mod is a plenum spacer. Hopefully Abbey might find out it is something else and not a head gasket, although I won't be holding my breath. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbiscuit Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 it will be the first head gasket job on a Zed in the UK that i know about, not saying it can;t be, just suprised if it is. last headgasket i did need the block skimming to allow for a decent contact with the new gasket. parts are fairly cheap but its the labour and time taken on the job that will cost you. i think abbey would be my first choice, if they are fully booked DMS up near dartford would be a 2nd choice. hope it works out for the best and isn't as bad a job as it might be, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rabbitstew Posted April 20, 2011 Share Posted April 20, 2011 If headgasket failure is mega unusual on the zeds then I think, if it is indeed the headgasket which has gone you need to do some investigation to find out why. On my missus`s car a failed headgasket was unheard of. Turned out the reason it blew was because at some stage someone had got a hole in the radiator, the coolant had ran out and the engine had cooked itself. The rad had been replaced, but the damage had been done by then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAP350Z Posted May 13, 2011 Author Share Posted May 13, 2011 I have contacted Rising Sun Performance in Ropley and also Abbey Motorsport, so just waiting for a response. Here is a quick update - I haven't had a proper chance to do anything on the car as I was called out to the Far East. I was wondering about the comments on this post about there being little chance of the car having a blown head gasket. The day before I left for the Far East I decided to have another look and took off the intake manifold and noticed oil coating the whole inside, also some oil pooling in the intake manifold collector. The pattern of oil showed that it seemed to be coming from the PCV hose. I removed it and the PCV valve and noticed oil dripping off the valve and a layer of oil in the tube. I cleaned up the coating of oil, including the PCV valve and throttle valve (intake manifold side - no oil on the air intake side) and then fired up the engine. Still some grey/blue smoke, but not as bad, and after a few minutes there definately weren't any clouds of smoke. Tried the car again the next day and I assume the PCV valve was still drawing in oil, as there was now some smoke and it definately had a burning oil smell. The oil and coolant levels haven't dropped and there is no contamination in the oil. The PCV valve, from what I know, has never been changed. I have seen a few sites in the USA talking about the PCV valve and that it should be changed every year. Not sure if this is correct, but from what I have mentioned above does anyone think it is something as simple as PCV valve failure? Unfortunately I can't check this until I am back, but I thought someone on here might know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark@Abbey m/s Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 The day before I left for the Far East I decided to have another look and took off the intake manifold and noticed oil coating the whole inside, also some oil pooling in the intake manifold collector. The pattern of oil showed that it seemed to be coming from the PCV hose. I removed it and the PCV valve and noticed oil dripping off the valve and a layer of oil in the tube. I cleaned up the coating of oil, including the PCV valve and throttle valve (intake manifold side - no oil on the air intake side) and then fired up the engine. Still some grey/blue smoke, but not as bad, and after a few minutes there definately weren't any clouds of smoke. Tried the car again the next day and I assume the PCV valve was still drawing in oil, as there was now some smoke and it definately had a burning oil smell. All the 350Z Alloy plenum car's do this , the crankcase breather system is feed back into the plenum to allow the crankcase emission to be burn't off. If the car isnt using water I think it may not have a head gasket gone , what teater did the other garage use to check and say you have head gasklet problem? was it a block tester a device that sniffs the gas in the header tank/radiator? I would make a open breather system up so the crankcase emission gases are not returned to the plenum but into a small clear bottle and see if that cures the problem. But for me to give a 100% answer I will need to see the car at my workshop when you get back to the UK. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.