Anyways. Here is a fairly large update.

Ok, so it’s been a while since I’ve updated this thing.

So what I’ve been up to?

Finally timed the car.
Replaced a bunch of hoses that were cracking and ****.
Replaced the clutch slave cylinder AGAIN as it was leaking from the piston (bought a while ago and it only lasted like a month..

vv Installed one of these so I can tell when to shift.

Bought a **** ton of tires and went to an event on stock blown suspension.. I sucked.

Small tight auto-x courses >> no powersteering.

Then I got some of these.

And borrowed some wheels from a buddy while his car is outta commission. And did some more…

Then we took some pictures!

And a video of the sound this thing makes.

My Noisy Car

450sx.blogspot.com
http://www.Oppositegrip.blogspot.com

Hmmm. That is a good point. I see what you mean. I'm going to email the individual that designed the adaptor plate and ask him about this. Thanks for the concern.

Quote, originally posted by Logan76 »

I swing it around like a helicopter and all the ladies want to go for a ride.

Quote, originally posted by mrgreeneyes »

sorry i cant satisfy you, jeff

i did some digging in to why my car runs like ***. And why #2 and #4 cylinder arent firing.

CHecked for spark. Got it. Electrocuted myself.

Put a screw driver on the injectors when it was running. I could hear both clicking, meaning they should be functioning correctly if they arent clogged. Dont think they are. Although #4 cylinder's injector ohmed out at like 25 ohms (should be between 10 and 14 ohms). Whatever.

So i pulled the plugs on #2 and 4; the tips are coated with oil. ONLY the tips are coated with oil, not the threads meaning the oil is coming from inside the chamber. I pulled the plug on #6 and that plug was bone dry. SO now i'm starting to panic because there is something obviously going on in 2 and 4 that arent in the rest..

So i'm going to compression test the damn thing and maybe leak down test it if i can get ahold of one. And i might be buying some new piston rings soon.. Or maybe just a new fuxing engine which i DONT have the money for right now. Unless someone magically has an extra long block with good compression lying around that they can sell to me for cheap.

Are you seeing any blue smoke coming from the tail pipe while running? I would recommend a leak down test. A leak down test will be a more accurate depiction of the health of each cylinder. Also, if you find a leak it will allow you to pin point the cause; such as piston rings, valves, etc....

I know this has got to be a bummer after all the work in getting this thing together and running.

1994 Infiniti Q45 - Modified factory air box, Amsoil synthetic fluids
1991 Nissan 240SX SE Coupe --SOLD--

Do you know of a way to check or do a test on those to see if thats the case without tearing the engine apart? I dont. And i cant really dig too deep as i'm not at my permanent home.

Only problem is, valve seals won't cause a misfire (maybe if there was enough oil on start-up, but only for a brief moment). But, rings probably won't cause a misfire either. If piston rings are really badly worn or broken it's possible they could cause a misfire from compression loss or oil contamination.

One thing to try: Remove your radiator cap and make sure your radiator is full. Leave the cap off and start the engine and watch for coolant bubbling or erupting out of the radiator. If it does erupt out of the radiator, it is a sure sign of a blown head gasket (and you don't even need any tools! ).

If you already have a compression tester perform that test next. Things like bent rods, etc... will show up from a compression check. If everything tests good then move on to the leak down test. A leak down test will do a better job finding worn rings, burned or damaged valves, etc. and allow you to pin point the problem without disassembly.

At this point, you could have two different unrelated problems. Do some more testing before freaking out...and then freak out afterward!

~Brendan

Thanks for the detailed response!

Yeah i dont ever remember seeing blue smoke coming out of the exhaust.

I will do your radiator trick soon to see if anything comes up. Although i dont seem to be losing any antifreeze. The reservoir is still nice and full. Unless there is air in the radiator now. I just recently got a radiator flush also.

And i'm working on getting both a compression tester and leak down tester soon. Havent touched the car since friday night really

How long has this been going on? There are lots of possibilities. If the rings are bad you would probably notice bluish smoke from the tail pipe, even once the engine was warmed up. Just verify the engine is mechanically sound first and THEN start worrying about everything else. Let us know when you get the results!

~Brendan

Modified by Unnatural1 at 7:30 PM 11/5/2008

I know smoke comes from my engine but thats because the service caps on the valve covers leak oil onto my headers.

It runs horrible!! I hate it

Yeah my valve covers leaked pretty badly when I first bought my Q45. I replaced them when I pulled the plenum to replace 1/2 of my injectors. Keep us posted.

http://www.autozone.com/az/cds...s.htm
I realize it's for a completely different engine altogether.... the procedure should apply for any engine though.

HEAD GASKET: The compression reading is low between two adjacent cylinders. the head gasket between the two cylinders may be blown. If there is the sign of white smoke coming from the exhaust while the engine is running may indicate water leaking into the cylinder.

It seems that one might be it. Because both #2 and #4 (which are right next to each other) seem to be missing. Like i said, unhooking the connector from the injectors or the coil on these two cylinders has no effect on the idle. A leak down test will either confirm or deny that assumption. I'm hoping thats what the problem is because i could probably do that in a weekend no problem.

Edit:

#8 from that link states:

"If a cylinder is unusually low, shoot about a tablespoon of clean engine oil into the cylinder through the spark plug hole and repeat the compression test. If the compression comes up after adding the oil, it appears that the cylinder's piston rings or bore are damaged or worn. If the pressure remains low, the valves may not be seating properly (a valve job is needed), or the head gasket may be blown near that cylinder. If compression in any two adjacent cylinders is low, and if the addition of oil does not help the compression, there is leakage past the head gasket. Oil and coolant water in the combustion chamber can result from this problem. There may be evidence of water droplets on the engine dipstick when a head gasket has blown."

Correct, The hottest it's gotten i believe was like 205F or 210F. I try to keep it around 180F as thats just my guestimation on what normal opperating temp should be.

A compression test may not tell you conclusively that you've got a ring problem. IMO a leak down test is your best bet for diagnosing worn rings.

You probably won't find a blown head gasket on these engines. I believe they use multi-layered shim gaskets. Those are not easy to blow out. But, a warped head will allow compression gases to escape. That first test I described above is an easy way to check for this kind of problem. BTW burning coolant shows up as white smoke.

In reference to Gov't run healthcare,

Quote, originally posted by telcoman »

Well two experts that recently spoke out on this issue, President Clinton and Howard Dean make a lot of sense and disagree with your opinion.

Quote, originally posted by telcoman »

Look at the old news clips of the civil rights marches and refusals to allow Blacks to vote or go to public schools and colleges and the people then look the same as the ones disrupting the healthcare town hall meetings.

In reference to the economy,

Quote, originally posted by telcoman »

One indicator that Obama is doing a decent job is the stock market.Is he perfect? No but he is doing a much better job than his predecessor. My 401k has been going up since he took office.

Yesterday i got to borrow a compression tester..

Compression is supposed to be 185psi. 142psi minimum.

So i tested the two cylinders i thought were effed up. (#2 and #4)

#2 tested out at 183psi!

#4 tested out at 180psi!

I'm STOKED. During the #2 cylinder it started raining. SO i had to finish real quick and slap it all back together. But i'm psyched it's not anything serious on those cylinders. So i'm now suspecting injectors. Will hopefully get those done this weekend. BALLER

Was looking at getting some injectors from Deatschwerks. When i mentioned Deatschwerks on my local forum a bunch of people went crazy right away. Saying MANY people have had problems with them... like hydrolocked engines... among others. One guy with an RB25 had crappy problems with Deatschwerks injectors.

I've always heard good things from this forum about Deatschwerks, so what gives? How come many others have had messed up stuff? Anyone willing to defend em?

Yes, that is awesome news for sure.

And thats exactly what i was thinking and the other guy that was skeptical agrees. It makes sense too since the person he was talking about had upgraded injectors from them. So i'll probably be buying their rebuilt injectors for $79 or whatever it is.

Also, we get a discount from them as NICO members right? I was reading in previous threads that it was a 10% discount. But when talking with someone on the AIM account they said the discount is free shipping. Which one is it? lol

You can also get reconditioned injectors from Z1 performance...

http://www.z1motorsports.com/p...b84bf

Just select the 90-94 TT injectors. They're only 40 bucks a pop as opposed to 79 from deaschworks. Unless of course you have a 94-96 VH45, then you're out of luck from them.

Are they as reputable? And are the quality of them as good as the rebuilt ones from Deatschwerks?
I've got the old style rail, 90-94. You have any experience with them?

I've got 4 reconditioned DeatschWerks injectors running in my VH right now. I have not had a problem with them so far. They come with a 1 year warranty if I remember correctly. The Phase I injectors are $79.00 and the Phase II (mine!) injectors are about $63.00. I thought the 95-96 Z32 got the same "Phase II" injectors as my 94 Q45. Does Z1 offer those reconditioned too? Maybe I'm wrong on that one.

~Brendan

Definitely! Thanks man!

Sweet. I think they were just referring to the DeatschWerks injectors that they modify to increase flow rate that are not reliable.

Yeah, i think Z1 offers those injectors for your engine (95-96). And i think your right, they might have the same ones as yours. The z32 TT (90-94) has the same injectors as the q45's (90-94). I've not really heard about the quality of Z1's injectors they sell as reconditioned units. Not sure on what they do compared to DeatschWerks though.

I spoke to DeatschWerks about what they do to recondition their injectors. The thoroughly clean them and check their coils for proper resistance. Then they flow test them. I don't know what more you can really do to maintain quality when dealing with reconditioned parts. So far so good though.

What year was your VH? I have a 94 Q45 and originally bought Phase I (early style) injectors. It turns out that I have Phase II injectors which Nissan started switching to midway through the 94 model year. So, be sure to check the injector's plug before you order anything.

~Brendan

Any chance you still have those Phase I injectors?? Wanna sell them at a discounted price? hmm? haha

Took the old crappy ones out that i thought were fubar.

Here is a comparison between the #4 cyl. injector and the Deatschwerks Injector...

I think what happened is that the pintle cap cracked or something, causing the fuel to not be vaporized or whatever in the air properly... maybe getting on the pintle cap and burning? Causing it to melt like this? Idk, it's weird.

vv Here's a picture vv

But anyways. I put the two new injectors in along with new plugs on those cylinders and holy **** what do ya know, it fixes ALL of my problems. It sounds WAY different now and actually pulls like it should, like a bat outta hell; it's a beast! The smell of burning rubber is the greatest smell ever. Especially when it comes with the sound this engine makes.

I can't wait for the summer drift events to start once school is out for the summer and i can finally get on the track as a driver.... Hot damn its gonna be fun!

I'll try and get up a sound clip or something like a dumb ricer flyby or whatever.

Psyched i am.. for sure.

Oh yeah. Definitely a relief!
They were $79 each from Deatschwerks and i got free shipping when i told them i'm a NICOclub member over the phone.

Quote, originally posted by alexanderig »

nice build very nice

Thanks man

~Brendan