Well, for anyone who saw my power steering pump issue, by now you know Ive got some bigger fish to fry.

Turns out my timing belt snapped.

I had the timing done less then 15,000 miles ago, but because I only put about 4k on the car each year, any kind of warranty is long expired.

I havent really looked into the motor other then the timing belt, checking valves aside, i know what common problems occur when the timing belt breaks.

Im trying to weight my options and wanted to get some insight from some of you.

First option

SB 350 swap!! (just kidding...)

Option 1 would be simply making sure the motor is healthy enough to put a new timing belt on and be done with that. My only real issue with that is that, i bought the car with 60k on it and i feel like it never really ran like it was supposed to. Was it quick? yes Did it have power? yes Did it run smooth? meh. There was always a little idle problem with the car and it always felt like i may have had a vacuum issue, or booster issue.


Option 2 would be pulling out the motor, regardless, and putting a new one. This option seems pretty realistic because I can get the motor for around the same price as i would pay someone to do a timing belt, and im not really comfortable with doing the timing belt myself so i would definitely have someone do it for me. As far as pulling a motor goes, i have never done it in the Z but I have done it with an eclipse and a few older chevys. I know its a totally different scene but its still an option.


Option 3 would be what most people do, and thats the TT swap. My issue with this is that I guess at this point in my life, it doesnt really matter if i have a Twin Turbo. Yeah its cool to have, but its more to maintain and i dont have the time I once had. Still a good option though.


With that being said, my motor now has 113k on it. Realistically, does it pay to put 500-1000 into a motor that I never thought ran right? I know the costs of buying a new motor and a tt clip and i know its time consuming but the summers coming and ill take a week off of work if i had to just to get it done. And when I say just to get it done, i know it takes a lot of time so dont hate on that statement ZLover.

Theres always the SB 350 option....


So yeah, give me some opinions, what would some of you do in this kind of predicament. I feel like option 1 isnt the best option.

Thanks guys

 

you're treating your idle problem like it's a problem only corrected by a new engine. your idle issue was caused by some specific flaw in a component. if you get a new engine, if you swap the components from the old engine over to it, it's likely that it will have the same issue. i'm not saying try to fix your existing engine, because it's probably not worth it. i'm just saying to not make your decision based on this idle issue. it's fixable.

all that said, check compression! as you already know.

 

I wouldn't put a new motor in without doing a timing belt job on it anyways... so regardless your going to have to do timing... and might as well learn how to do it now.. it REALLY isn't that hard at all... especially if you just follow the instructions on tt.net..

I'd just check the motor you have, and if it's good, continue to use it... You've had it for awhile and know that the motor has been taken care of.

 

The timing isnt that hard to do. Check the online repair manual (fsm) it has all the information even a 1st timer could do it, its very good material, correct me if im wrong. Oh and as kasbekZ said check your compression first. If u got good compression then your valves arent bent. takeing the motor out is a bitch (moreless time comsuming). And ps problem from your earlier posts , Ps system isnt all that compilcated. I dont know what you have to actually work on your car ie. A lift or even power tools.

Check compression.

 

I'm guessing replacing the timing belt would be the cheapest route, unless you can do all the work yourself on replacing the motor. Plus the cost of the new motor would be about the same as just fixing the one you have. I'm sure these motors will go 300k miles. I saw one that had about 250k for sale when I was looking.

Or throw a 2JZ in it. That's the smoothest running six ever.

 

Put a new belt on, see how it runs. Report back for further advice.

In the Z32 world, it's always best to start with a least expensive solution and work up to more expensive solutions until the problem is resolved. Your engine may be fine... or it may have bent valves. If you put a new belt on (~$30) and it runs fine, you're done. If it doesn't run fine, I'll probably recommend pulling heads... might just need to replace a valve or two.

The question on my mind right now, though, is why did the belt snap? Mine snapped because I had an oil blockage to the driver's side head, which seized the exhaust cam...

 

As far as swapping a new motor in, i can do it myself. I guess when it comes to putting a bet on im thinking, well if its wrong, im screwed.

As far as why it snapped, as i was watching it get pulled up the tow truck, i saw the oil filter covered in oil. So im assuming an oil leak from under the car, i didnt get under it yet, i was pretty much just in like, shock i guess at what was going on.

Any replacement motor i would have the timing replaced on, just to clear that up.

Ive aleady changed the ps pump and i can comfortably say im more then mechanically inclined. I never did the timing on this but I did on my 85.

For a 30 dollar part I guess I should just go that route after checking compression.

Its just an upsetting dilemma, you guys know how it is with the Z, its more then just a car.

 

If you had such a large oil leak, it is possible that you seized a cam from oil starvation. Make sure you can rotate all the cam gears by hand. How was your oil pressure?

 

can you check compression with no timing belt? i'm pretty sure if it can't suck air into the cylinder then you won't really get a reading. i guess my earlier suggestion to make a compression check the first thing was a little dumb. what i should have said is "find out if your valves are bent".

 

No you can't for the reason you stated about not sucking air in but also for the reason the valves won't shut to keep the air in there, either.

Let us know what the timing belt looks like when you dig into the car. I'm curious what all is really happening with this, everything seems a little off. Maybe I'm just having a hard time following you.

 

when the car stopped I didnt even look at the oil pressure, i was more like "what the f is going on."

I dont really recall if the gauge works with the car off but it was on 0 when cranking and with power.

Im gonna start pulling it apart probably this week to see what happened. I went over the tt.net install and the belt doesnt look hard to install, just time consuming. I might do it, if it works it works, if not ill just my second option.

 

it is no surprise that the gauge was reading 0 when cranking... during cranking, the Z (and nearly all modern cars) diverts all electricity to the starting process (ECU, fuel pump, starter, etc)... hence why all car stereos shut off during cranking, for example. This includes sensors not necessary for the car starting.

 

So I started getting into it today.

The timing belt looks good, its clean, its not cracked up or anything, its still on there tight.

But the car cranks quick like its the timing belt.

Any ideas?

 

crank it while you can see the timing belt. your description doesn't indicate that the timing belt is indeed completely in tact.

i'm saying to make sure because there aren't many other things left! oil starvation -> compression loss is my next guess.

 

After you check to see if the timing belt is actually turning with the car, put the engine in TDC and make sure all the gears line up (on the timing belt) to where they should. Then I'd do a compression test & check for spark, gas and fuel after that.

Good luck!

 

I did, its all intact.

It did leak oil but there no major signs, the water pump pulley kind of smelled like oil and there was a little oil on the inside of the pulley.

It also looked like there was some oil in the coolant. To me it did, to my brother it just looked rusted, but it wasnt really thick but it was full color.

Ill post a picture of the coolant in a bit.

 

oil in the coolant looks like little black specs floating around in it.

maybe you blew a head gasket/two?

check that compression!

 

Its more like. I want to say chocolate milky, like the head gasket issue would cause, its more like, to be blunt, it looks like diarrhea.

Im going to tear into it a little more tomorrow and see what I can find out.

 

sounds like it's just rusted. when was the last time you saw your coolant before this?

 

I changed the radiator last summer. Flushed and filled.

 

strange.

not much more i can tell you until you check compression.

if it'll be a while before you get a gauge to use, i'd go ahead and drain the oil and see what's in it just to settle my stomach.

 

Oil is one of the many things on my list to change.

 

No it does not. It gets thick and brown/orange. Look around cylinders 2, 4, and 6 on my old Z (this is why I opted to get rid of the car)...



Cranking easily as if no timing belt means there is ~0 compression. Check compression and you'll likely be taking a look at head gaskets when you find almost no compression.

But honestly... now that I suspect an internal engine problem... time for a TT swap.

 

i've always understood and seen that that's what it looks like when water gets in your oil. it forms frothy white **** that comes out in your crank case ventilation system. but when i've seen oil in coolant, it floats in little black specs. perhaps little black specs that i've seen are not oil though.

 

... your coolant should be at least 50% (normally more) water... [Water is what does the actual cooling - the antifreeze/coolant simply prevents the water from boiling or freezing.]

But regardless, I still stand by blown head gasket as my guess.