terribleone

My Zed has started making a strange knocking/tapping sound coming from the engine...I'm getting it looked at on Monday, but thought I'd post up on here to see what ideas people might come back with for discussion with my mechanic.

I've got a video of the sound here which might help:

I'll run through when the noise happens;

Start engine up cold, no tapping at all...revving at idle sounds smooth and releasing the clutch just gives the usual thrust bearing grumble which we all have!

Driving the car is absolutely fine, no odd noises from the engine and still drives fine and pulls well too (although I have not been pushing it hard since hearing this noise).

Stopping the car while still fairly cool doesn't seem to make any sounds either.

Giving the car a good 25 minute drive and then parking up you then notice a slight knocking sound, getting out of the car and popping the hood the sound becomes more apparent.

Revving the car, the knocking raises with the revs...but only to about 2.5krpm where it becomes quite unnoticeable.

Also, while idle the exhaust occasionaly make small pops and splutters although nothing dramatic.

So the noise only occurs when the engine is nice and warm, and when at idle or very low revs. It also appears to be coming from the top of the engine to the rear of the intake manifold more than anywhere else. The car has always been well serviced, never thrashed in my ownership and is due an oil change in a couple of months or about another 4000 miles.

I'd appreciate any opinions, advice or suggested further tests to pinpoint the source of this sound. I don't want to be paying big bucks to get the whole engine stripped down only to find it was something like a sticky lifter!! I'm quite a bit upset at the thought of my car having something drastically wrong with it after 6 months!!

As always, any help would be greatly appreciated!!

I've driven MR2s for the last 5 years in all weather...with the engine over the driven wheels, snow wasn't just easy to drive on it was bloody good fun!!

I got the Zed in December, and immediately was faced with a couple of week's snow. The car was awful on the snow, but I put it down to the tyres...RE040s!!

Trying to turn out of my road onto a slight hill, I found the front tyres would dig in and the backs spin sending the rear slowly towards the kerb. There were a couple of days I worked from home, but on the days I got to work I found hooning around the carpark really fun and easy to control. Reading up on the RE040s, people suggest that in anything under 0°C they effectively turn to plastic! Not helpful in the snow!!

I've run Toyos and Falkens before in the snow, and my rears are almost on the wear markers now so it's time to change tyres! I think I'll try the Falkens out for the next year, and if I struggle this coming winter maybe move onto something slightly softer still.

I'm glad other people have found a similar thing with the engine in the Zed, I also think it's because the car is so comfy, relatively quiet (on a stock exhaust) and stable that you don't quite realise how fast the car is until you're almost in triple figures. My MR2 used to feel faster as it was lower, stiffer and louder...but it didn't pick up the pace like the Zed does.

I also tend to find, you pull out from a junction...1st and 2nd feel a bit empty....as does 3rd until you're above 4krpm. It's once you're in 4th doing 50-60 and decide to overtake that you realise the full potential of the engine, it pulls from low revs all the way to silly figures without any fuss.

I've read that the throttle is limited in 1st, 2nd and 3rd...and that this can be changed when getting an Uprev remap?? I'd be quite interested in getting one of these done, even on a stock Zed just to pick up throttle response throughout all the gears & revs.

I'd be interested in black nuts (16 of 12x1.25), plus a set of 4 black locking nuts.

This works out to £73.95 plus postage on your eBay prices. This seems a tad pricey for a set of nuts which are 'new' to the UK market and thus have few user reviews available regarding their longevity and quality.

If your boss is interested in promoting the brand you could always suggest to him that you look into setting up a group buy...maybe shift 5 or 10 sets at a discounted price for people to get trying them out??

ah i see. TPI is a brand

 

Its not cheap ebay crap, they have been around a while but not very long in this country, so where i work became the UK importer of them,

 

All i can say is, brands dont mean anything! Just a license to print money in my opinion.

 

Mate of mine had Ultralite Tuner nuts on his evo, he so far has had about 9 out of 16 of them crack, resulting in them needed drilling off the wheel. needless to say the wheels are now damaged too!

 

They may cost more than most but i dont think you will get much better quality. If any better quality. Give it a couple of years and TPI will be up there i reckon.

 

Anyway back on topic, i reckon they will stick out of standard rays wheels,

You've got a good point there...I've always been quite amazed by how light some of these nuts are, and that they're holding on one of the most important parts of your car. Function may get the better over form for me on this one...

So, what discounts can you get set up for club members!!?? (S'cuse the cheekiness, it had to be asked )

wheres the locker on that?

 

Just looks like a groove cut in it too me, means a socket can still undo them.

 

If your worried they will stick out too far but also want a colour nut that can act as a good locker then try these.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TPI-lightweight-a ... 56372c5a6e

 

combined with these:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/TPI-lightweight-a ... 45ef5c9ad4

 

ignore the fact there on an ebay shop (the proper shop for there website is still being made). they are very very good quality, i should know, i work evenings for that comapny, i had to organise them all at work lol. dropped a few on a concrete floor once and they just dont mark! Very lightweight and strong, and you can get either 20 standard or 16 standard and 4 lockers and you know they wont stick out too far happy days lol

It's not a groove cut in, it's a little notch that sticks out...doesn't look like they'd be too difficult to get off though!!

The ones you've posted up look pretty good, although they're getting near the price of the 5Zigens...and I'm a bit of a brand whore

Hi guys, being the organised type I've put my locking wheel nut key somewhere 'safe' and now completely forgotten where that was!!

I'm looking to get some replacement locking wheel nuts and get mine taken off...looking at the price of McGuards led me to looking at getting some coloured lightweight nuts. Then I stumbled across the 5Zigen nuts which contain lockers in the pack too...bonus! http://z-store.co.uk/index.cfm?fuseacti ... entCat=263

My question is, will these fit on standard Rays? Will they stick out too far? Any pics of what other people are using, or would recommend would be appreciated!

Did the Z badge come off easy dude? sticky or fixed?

You have to drill or cut some bits from the rear of the cover to get it off. Mine's currently reattached using BluTac until I decide if I'm painting it or not

Cheers for the positive comments...never thought such a simple mod would get so much interest!!

Very nice, can you give a quick guide to removing the cover to wrap it as I have some DiNoc stuff laying around collecting dust and I have a nasty scratch on my cover...

Cheers mate...it's really easy to get off, I did a search on here and nobody really mentioned the removal process so just worked it out myself.

First remove the two bits of plastic trim to the left and right of the piece you're wrapping, these are just attached with clips so stick your fingers under and pull.

Then the two remaining bits of trim still touching the silver cover need to be pulled away from it (ie. just pull them back away from the cover).

Finally, the cover simply pops off itself...it does need a good tug to get the clips out, so don't be shy with it.

Refitting is simply the reverse, but the two top bits of trim are a bit tricky to relocate...you'll work it out though!

eBay!! I can't recall who it was from, but type it in and just look for the cheapest price for the size you want.

Oh and yes it comes on a roll, there are sizes from 300x300mm up to bonnet & roof size.

Very !

 

I've been considering this terribleone (plenty of scuff marks on mine too), is it fairly easy to wrap as I haven't attempted wrapping before...

Very easy mate, it's the first thing I've wrapped and I did it right first time. Just cut the vinyl roughly to size, remove the backing and lay the cover onto the sticky side. Then use a hairdryer to heat the vinyl up (I don't have one around so had the oven on, popping either end in for 5 seconds to soften the vinyl) then smooth out and it takes shape really well.

I'm looking around the cabin now to find more things to wrap...I really want to do the bits on the door handles with the window controls on!!

Wow, really like that!! I love white Zeds and also really like the Ings kit. Yours is pulling it off very well chap!!

Thought about going black on the door handles?

I'm doing well resisting the moddding bug...had the car 6 months and other than wheel spacers this is my only other mod.

There were a few scuffs on the Strut Brace Cover which have been there since I got the car, so bought som 3M DiNoc Carbon Vinyl and wrapped it. Really easy to do and looks great through the rear window. Hope you like the pics:

I've been contemplating painting the 'Z' a nice gunmetal colour, but when I was round the olds' house the other day my mum had a sit in the car and said 'Ooh there's Zs everywhere in it!'...I then realised that there are quite a few and then this one wouldn't match!!

Eugh...just watching that made me feel dizzy!!

You can only grip on until you pass out!!

Is it meant to actually 'open' up when you push the button?

Mine pops up, sometimes needing another push of the button to actually release it...but it always needs me to physically lift the boot 'open'.

All that and I haven't been able to drive the last 2 weeks, and for the next 5 weeks thanks to my arm )

7 weeks not driving the Z would save me about £350 in petrol...that'd pay for 2 Falken tyres, 6 months tax and an MOT

There is no need to flush the engine and flushing can be harmful. What can happen is the flush can loosen harmless deposits in the engine, but then not remove them. Your new oil goes in and after it gets warm and is flowing nicely, the bits which are loosened come off into the oil, so you end up with hard bits floating around in your oil - the last thing you want. If you really want to flush the oil system, the best thing you can do is drain out the oil that is in there, put in some cheap (the cheapest you can find) mineral oil and run the car for 15 minutes so the oil gets nice and warm. After running it, drain out the mineral oil and put in the correct oil.

Thanks for the advice...I'll skip the old Wynns Engine Flush stage then!!

My Zed costs me about £70 a week in fuel, at about 27p per mile. 04 reg so lower tax band, but for god's sake keep a stash for repairs. I'm looking at an unplanned for repair bill of £1200 minimum this week. NOt covered under 3rd party warranty.

 

Beware parts costs as well. An example is the Front ARB Drop Link. £9 on a Micra, £85 on a 350. Tyres will set you back minimum £120 each, and you can go through them quite quickly.

 

As long as you're prepared, it's worth every penny though.

Wise words...I'm a complete geek and have a spreadsheet of every expenditure I have going out, what month it goes out and usually an overestimate of how much...so I can see what I have left to play with each month.

I think I've allowed £1000/yr for service/consumables on the Z...ie. a service and 4 tyres, plus a few other bits. I'm now under the impression that may be an underestimate, but I'll find that out in due course!!

Thanks for the order

No problems...I didn't have time to ask around for recommendations unfortunately as it was getting on for midnight!!

I've always used Castrol Magnatec in my MR2s, so kinda went with what I'm used to...hopefully I chose well. I just wanted to make sure I went fully synth on this car!

Would you recommend using engine flush? I've used that before (albeit on older engines) and sometimes found it cleans things out a bit too much and makes the engine sound noisier!

Got in there by the skin of my teeth...ordered at 11.15pm!

I didn't know exactly what to go for, I was impressed by the good value of the 'service packs'.

I opted for Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 A1 Fully synth and an oil filter...all for £50!! Bargain!!

Mine's costing around £600 per month, including petrol/insurance/loan and averaging out annual tax/services/consumable costs.

 

Personally I'd rather condition myself to the expense now in preparation for even pricier cars in the future!!

 

If 2004 models with mileage like the PH link are still going for that price, I don't need to worry about depreciation for a while either!!

 

Do you think that the price is too high for that then?

 

I've been looking for a few weeks now and pricing are ranging, ideally I want less than 60k Miles..

No, not too high...it's about what I'd expect from a dealer for that model/age/miles.

It's just I bought private which always helps, 55 plate GT on 36k miles for a similar price...I'm trying to keep it stock and well cared for to aid resale value when I sell. Although the temptation to mod is growing stronger by the day!!

Mine's costing around £600 per month, including petrol/insurance/loan and averaging out annual tax/services/consumable costs.

Personally I'd rather condition myself to the expense now in preparation for even pricier cars in the future!!

If 2004 models with mileage like the PH link are still going for that price, I don't need to worry about depreciation for a while either!!

Good chance for a thread revival!!

I went to JTS today with the MR2OC, one of the guys there parked up and had a mixture of oil & coolant dribbling out from somewhere in the engine...not good!!

Came back, picked the Z up from my mate's house and drove it home...took a peek under the car for my cat and there was dribbling from a small hole under the car behind the passenger wheelarch!!

It seemed so coincidental so panic set in, I hastily shoved my hand under to find that it was icy cold water. I've had this on a few cars before, but thought I'd check on here that aircon condensation dribbles from that location.

Search function brought up this post...crisis over, happy days!!

I wondered why there were 14 posts on this thread...I didn't realise this debate had kicked off!!

CS contacted me via PM, I chose to write in their trader section as they're not far down the road and I was hoping to collect. I'm still deciding wether or not to get an exhaust, new rear tyres maybe more pressing at the minute...but now I have a price from them and also know of the eBay alternatives, plus I'm also eyeing up the Blueflame now.