| So.....I spent most of February taking my time, doing the 120k service, switching to BDE sprockets, switching to Selin translator and ditching the AFC splice job, and replacing the EFI harness. It was not fun, but at least I did not have to pull the motor this year, unlike last year when I had to pull the motor to fix an exhaust leak at the manifold and replace all my Z1 oil & power steering fluid lines, at which time I switched out my DW 740cc injectors for Nismo 740cc's March came and I wrapped up the job and made a short trip into the Netherlands for a Nistune ECU install and dyno tune, to get the car squared away once and for all, right? WRONG The day prior to dyno day upon initial startup I had a bunch of warning lights illuminated; battery, HICAS, airbag, ABS....I dismissed it as just something being "off" because I just did the harness swapout. Besides my alternator was just rebuilt in 2009, and my battery was less than a year old, and apart from the warning lights, the car seemed to run and idle more or less fine. On the way home from the dyno session, a 90 minute drive, the headlights went out, as well as part of the dash/pods. Ok now I know, I got problems. I stop the car, shut it down and give it a moment. Start it back up again, and everything works fine so I drive the rest of the way home. When I get home, I immediately smell a toxic fume type odor the moment I get out of the car and can hear a sizzling sound. I immediately pop the hood and see that my battery is boiling and is starting to vent out moisture. Disconnect battery, and get online to look up what this could mean. After checking voltages with my multimeter the next day, the battery was fine 13 or 14 volts, so I put it back in the car, start it up and recheck.........18 volts.......shit So I purchase a reman'd alternator from Courtesy, and I take the opportunity to replace the leaking PS pump with a rebuilt one I got from Bernie (whom I swear I will get the core sent back to this week). Replace both. Go to Nurburgring. Start enjoying car rather than slaving over car. Everything is now hunky-dory, right? WRONG I'm in town one night parked in public parking garage, and what do I see upon returning to my Z? A small trail of liquid running a few feet out from under my car. Not a puddle, just a small trail. Not enough for me to really tell if it was just condensation drip from the A/C or coolant, most of it had dried and soaked up into the not-smooth floor, regardless, my paranoia kicks in and I am watching my temp gauge like a hawk and every now and then glancing at the road to make sure I dont run a red light or hit some european on a bicycle. Sure enough my paranoia is warranted, not even 2 miles down the road, I see the temp gauge (aftermarket gauge, not the OEM gauge which would have fucked me) start rising sharply. I kill it as soon as it hits 200*F and coast into a side street and call for a truck, coolant is leaking heavily now out from under the car. This was the culprit. This little fucker required a plenum pull (which I am getting sick of doing), removal of both heater hoses, removal of two additional coolant lines above it, and the removal of the driver side heater line upper hardpipe in order to loosen its lower hose clamp and remove it from the hardline that bridges it to the coolant line down closer to the turbo. It appears in the 2nd pic that you can see where it had too much strain on the exact area where it split. That pic was taken in 2010. This time around I did not refasten the small hardline to the large hardpipe via that bracket on the left side of the pic, so it doesn't get bent/strained like that and split again. PAIN IN THE ASS But hey, at least I didnt have to pull the motor, right? 

 "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery." --Winston Churchill "The last official act of any government is to loot the treasury." --George Washington END THE FED ....learn why, in 42 minutes Full Pardon for PFC Bradley Manning |