wardie

You need to be aware of another problem L engines suffer from which looks exactly like a head gasket problem. I've had this issue twice on my L24E. If your cooling system has not had good quality coolant (anti-corrosion) for most of it's life, it can corrode the aluminium back of the water pump/timing cover. Eventually it can cause a pinhole in the timing cover and fill your sump up with coolant when the engine is hot. I replaced my head gasket the first time twice and had the head tested for cracks and straightness before someone suggested the timing cover. I got it welded but within 9 months it happened again. I replaced my timing cover and all is sweet. Checking your compression will help you. If they test roughly all the same suspect the water pump housing. BR Wardie

Forgive me for not knowing what motor comes in the ZX but if it is an L series motor the cause of the problem may be a pin hole in the waterpump housing/timing cover. I've had it happen twice with almost the same sequence of events described. I ended up replacing the timing cover when I compared mine with another and saw how much metal had corroded away. Regards Wardie R30 Skyline

We here in Oz call these items "Welch Plugs" and it is derigueur to use only brass plugs as the steel ones will corrode relatively quickly. Wardie

Well it's not a cracked head. That I am thankful of. The back of the water pump housing is shot. By the looks of it my best bet is to find another timing cover as there seems to be too much missing alloy. I could get it welded but would never feel comfortable that I have got all the thin spots. Is this a common problem? Thanks Wardie

Thanks again for all the input and advice. I finally got her back together and she started 1st go. Took her for a run and she goes well. Now the downer!!! Did a lap of the local block and checked the radiator. EMPTY!!!. Checked the dipstick and it's full of coolant again. If it stops raining I'll have to pull the timing chain cover off tomorrow and check the water pump area for holes as I've had one there before. Did not want to do this, but!!! Has anyone had experience with cracked E88 heads. Are they prone to cracking when hot. I've cleaned and visually inspected mine and can't see any obvious cracking. I've checked it for warpage and it's within specs. Wardie

TimZ - At this time it looks like this - v, when it was 1 tooth anti-clockwise it looked like this -v. I think that it should run as it is now. Most of my concerns where when I was using the wrong light link which gave me Cam timing that was 3 teeth out. This I think would have bent something if I had started it. I have heard that you can change the performance of the engine by using the other marks (2 or 3) but cannot find the source that confirms this. By performance I mean one will give you better mid range but a loss at the top end and the other more top at the expense of mid range. Does anyone know the correct details or the source of this info. It's mainly for my education/understanding that I ask. My car is a daily driver not a Rex killer. Thanks Wardie

spotfitz - It's a bit more than the diagram, maybe another oblong mark to the right. I didn't manage to get it running today, have to get the radiator mount bracket soldered back on. I really think this car does not want to run. Wardie

Thanks heaps guys. I took today off sick (Aussies knocked out of W/C last night). Luckily the boss mentioned that I had a bad cold yesterday so won't notice. In day light I noticed that there seems to be a light link and a somewhat light link on my timing chain when I rotated the engine over a few times. When I checked the alignment on the really light link I was only one tooth out anti-clockwise, so I bumped the Cam drive gear around one tooth clockwise. Now when I check everything it all lines up except the "v" and the mark on the Cam tower. The "v" is about 1.5-2 mm past the mark. I hope to have her started before it gets dark (lunch time now). dapiper, I do not know how much material was removed last time the head was off. I was told it was lightly skimmed to remove a scratch that the head shop caused in the face when they picked it up. Could this cause the mis-alignment of the Cam marks that I have now? J. Soileau, I have checked TDC on #1 and the damper timing mark seems to be very close but I am feeling a dead spot where there is not enough movement in the screwdriver to tell so cannot be 100% sure that it is not a couple of degrees off. Once again THANKS!!! Wardie

Thanks for all the info. Sorry if I seem pushy and demanding but not having a car and having to get to work is getting right up my nose at this time. Not being hooked into a knowledge base like this locally plus the time difference between you guys and us can lead to a day+ delay between asking a question and being able to try the solution. I'm really not wanting to pull the timing cover, oil pump, dizzy etc to check the lower mark as I will have to order gaskets and seals, thus incurring another 2-3 days delay as no one holds L series parts in my area. Thanks again Wardie

Hi Guys I need to have my car running tonight but I am still a bit paranoid as to potential issues if the timing is out. With TimZ's help I believe that things are right enough for it to run but I want to be understanding of the symptoms of if its not right. Will it not rev out or have no grunt in the bottom end, thats the type of thing that I would like to be understanding. Thanks in advance Wardie

TimZ Thanks for your help so far. I just realised that it's 01:20 here so I've called it a night on the car. Thanks again Wardie

TimZ, I just checked the alignment of the groove and the mark and they are aligned. The crank timing mark is on 0 and the dizzy is pointing at #1 lead. So things seem OK. Do you know what the effect of being out by 2-3 teeth anti-clockwise would be? Wardie

TimZ, I used a large square handled screwdriver that was tapped into place prior to unbolting the Cam Drive Gear. The engine was not rotated at all while the head was off. I fell into the chain tensioner trap last time when the piece of wood I used came loose and I had to perform chopstick surgery with two long handled screwdrivers to get it back inplace without taking off the head and timing cover again. Took about 3 hours and a couple of thrown tools. Wardie

I've had to replace the head gasket on my L24E R30 Skyline. I set TDC on #1 prior to pulling the head and never moved anything while I had it apart but when I put the Cam Drive Gear back on the #1 mark on the outside of the gear does not align with the light coloured link on the timing chain. The mark is 2-3 teeth back (anti-clockwise) from the light link. I have turned the motor over using the crank damper bolt slowly and nothing seems to touch or bind but I don't want to start it as I know things can hit at engine speeds. I've also checked the lobes on #1 and they are at 2 & 10 which is what I would expect according to what I read. Is this a big issue? Should I just move the Cam around to align the marks? I know that the lower marks are aligned because I have had the timing cover off previously because the water pump corroded thru and I checked. Thanks in advance Wardie

Thanks exa41 I'll do that. Wardie