Dicky

Thanks young man that's good info and I'm thinking your decision is a sensible one. Problem is I still love the car and it's hard to considder selling it. I've really looked after it and had I known about this problem earlier I would have been all over it. Bugger ain't it!

Are they able to get in between the inner and outer wheel arches with this or is it just on the outer surfaces. Also is it feasable to apply it to an 11 yr old car? I would certainly do that if it would help.

Took the car to a local body shop I've used before. They've got a good reputation and apparently give a life time guarantee on their work. Anyway given the car's a 2004 and the rust isn't particularly bad he suggested leaving it. He said it's a common problem on this car given the spot welding of the inner and outer wheel arches and that the 370 joint is bonded to overcome the problem. Apparently it's impossible to tell how bad the inner wing rust is without turning the car upside down, cutting into it to see. It could end up being a £4K ish job with new wings to sort it completely. He said he could fill it but that it wouldn't last long so suggested I just enjoy the car for a bit longer then decide what to do. Not sure how much a 2004 GT 70K is bringing these days but I'd guess around £5K to £6K so £4K is a step to far for me. Think I'll try another place to see if they agree, trouble is you never know if what there saying is completely true. This guy seemed genuine but I think I'll still get another opinion from a none "Fill it and Spray it" body shop.

They used to fill rust holes with lead in the old days but got no recollection of how well this process performed. Maybe it's a dying practice or maybe it didn't perform to well?

Thanks lads. I like the idea of replacing the metal and have a couple more body shops to visit. If anyone can recommend a company in Newcastle I'd appreciate it. No pictures at the mo Fluke but will try and post some (not much good at this sort of thing)

Got a bit of rust showing on both the rear wheel arches. It's not much, but is showing through on the lip of the arch, where the inner and outer panels meet. Took it to a local body shop, who have a reasonable reputation, to be told he would fill and spray it for £200. I asked why he wouldn't cut out the rust and weld new metal in. He said welding might distort the wing and it wasn't worth taking the chance. Doesn't sound right to me but wondered what you guys think, especially if you've had this work done yourself.

You need a pair of ramps, reverse up and start.

Well I've ordered the Touch n Tuff now but will bear in mind the other suggestions for next time. I wonder if Edd would lend me his vast array of tools nd equipments if I buy his gloves? Maybe he likes to keep them handy to chuck at Mike after he's done all that work just for Mike to come along and sell the car minus labour costs

Thanks For your help Lads!

Can anyone recommend some decent latex type gloves for working on the car. Tried the black Nitrile ones but they seem to tear easily. Like the look of those worn by Ed China on Wheeler Dealers

Cheers chaps, sorry for the reply delay been a bit ill. Unfortunately being one of the more senior members, quite power apeals more these days. I do like the exhaust note when pushing on a bit but the road noise can get you down. May do a couple of experiments with the boot space first but don't fancy taking door cards off.

Anyone had any success trying to reduce road noise in the Z or is planning to try it?

If it were me I'd take the throttle body off and clean it before carrying out the calibrations. It's easy and made a huge difference to my car's performance afterward. Here's the procedure...to do the Pedal Dance Procedure iii) you must first do procedures I) and ii) i) Accelerator Pedal Release Position Learning Operation Procedure 1. Make sure that the accelerator pedal is fully released. 2. Turn ignition switch “ON†and wait at least 2 seconds. 3. Turn ignition switch “OFF†wait at least 10 seconds. 4. Turn ignition switch “ON†and wait at least 2 seconds. 5. Turn ignition switch “OFF†wait at least 10 seconds. ii) Throttle Valve Closed Position Learning Operation Procedures 1. Make sure that accelerator pedal is fully released. 2. Turn ignition switch is “ONâ€. 3. Turn ignition switch is “OFF†wait at least 10 seconds. Make sure that the throttle valve moves during above 10 seconds by confirming the operating sound. iii) Idle Air Volume Learning (Throttle Position Learning) Conditions Prior to Calibration....(Taken from Infinity web site) Before performing Idle Air Volume Learning, make sure that all of the following conditions are satisfied. Learning will be cancelled if any of the following conditions are missed for even a moment. Battery voltage: More than 12.9V (At idle) Engine coolant temperature: 70 - 100 C (158 - 212 F) Park/neutral position (PNP) switch: ON (Shifter in Park or Neutral) Electric load switch: OFF (Air conditioner, headlamp, rear window defogger) Steering wheel: Neutral (Straight-ahead position) Vehicle speed: Stopped Transmission: Warmed-up (Drive vehicle for 10 minutes It is better to count the time accurately with a clock. The Calibration Procedure (THE PEDAL DANCE) 1. Perform “Accelerator Pedal Released Position Learningâ€. 2. Perform “Throttle Valve Closed Position Learningâ€. 3. Start engine and warm it up to normal operating temperature. 4. Turn ignition switch “OFF†and wait at least 10 seconds. 5. Conform that accelerator pedal is fully released, turn ignition switch “ON†and wait 3 seconds. 6. Repeat the following (steps 7a, 7b) procedures quickly five times within 5 seconds. 7a. Fully depress the accelerator pedal (HARD) 7b. Fully release the accelerator pedal. 8. Wait 7 seconds, fully depress the accelerator pedal and keep it for approx. 20 seconds until the Check Engine Light (CEL) stops blinking and turned ON. 9. Fully release the accelerator pedal within 3 seconds after the CEL is ON. 10. Start engine and let it idle. 11. Wait 20 seconds. 12. Rev up the engine two or three times and make sure the idle speed and ignition timing are within the specifications

Not to good with this sort of thing so hope this link works. Good luck with it.

Did you check the PCV as Alex suggested in page 2. There's a vid on YouTube showing how to check their operation. If that's not working you will get smoke

Forget the gold fish if it were me it would be their balls fried with a little onion and washed down with a nice bottle of Chianti. What's up with people these days, kids jumping on car roofs (if it was kids) know what their doing which can only make them the Fu-king mindless morons of the future. Could there be anyone around the above cars who might have security cameras? Wish I hadn't read this cos prat behaviour like this really pi--es me off, even if it ain't my car.

eh ?

Anybody want to buy a "Z" tax disc holder. Just thought I'd get in first cos there's gona be loads for sale, although I could use it as a table costa! Ha ha

Didn't know that Alex every case I've read concerned either 5 or 6. In some strange way that makes me feel better. The distorted tube never entered my mind either, but then I'm just an old sparky, not a mechanical wiz kid ha ha. Thanks for the input. It would be interesting to take the tube off and assess it. Need a bit of motivation not to mention letting the old back settle back into shape following the work on my car earlier this week but you've got me interested now!

It's annoying when (and here come the famous last words) it's seems like an easy problem to solve! The fact that only these two plugs are affected would seem to illuminate a lot of the possibilities. With regard to renewing the valve cover or repairing it seems a bit pointless if it's going to keep on happening, might just as well clean out the tube every now and then especially if it's a small leak. Maybe I'll design a electronic level detector, or maybe a kind of dipstick (let's face it if the current oil level dip stick with all its twists and turns can tell me the level in the sump, it can't be a quantum leap to get past the ignition coil ha ha

As far as my research has shown the problem only seems to affect cylinders 5 & 6, the two back of engine locations which I find strange. If that's right then it cant be down to the material used to produce the seals or the effects of the oil on the seals. Could it be higher temperatures at the back of the engine or misalignment. It's a bugger, because I may buy one new valve cover, do all the work only to find another leak develops a couple of weeks later (as I read happened to another guy) I may do like others have and just live with it and clean it out every now and then.

Thanks Chris, yep I've seen those videos but not sure I like the idea of doing it. Cutting the hole and fixing the new seals accurately looks to be a bit hitty miss to me and may give even more problems.

Changed plugs a couple of days ago and noticed oil in the spark plug tube of cylinder #5. This had been reported to me approx a year ago when the garage replaced my plugs. I had checked the oil leak some 4 or 5 months later and it was totally dry, so the leak must be small. Anyway, as you probably know, this is a common fault on cylinders # 5 & 6. Does anyone know why? Is it temperature related, an alignment problem, or other. I'm assuming it can't be a problem with the seal material as it only appears to occur on the latter cylinders.

Well all my spring work's now complete, changed oil,coolant,plugs, cleaned and oiled the air filter, new discs and pads all around and cleaned the throttle body. Many thanks to the to Ewen and Richard at Clark MotorSport for the bits and advice given. You may have read about my mishaps on the way in a previous post but it's all fine now, so me and my life saving "stocking filler" went for a blurt in the morning sunshine and even at 71K she feels spot on. The most reliable, most enjoyable, best looking car I've ever owned (kiss kiss cuddle cuddle) (for the car, not you lot!)

I've got that one to look forward to no doubt