Another HR with failed oil gallery gasket

[matt89]

Rather than adding on to the end of an old thread I thought I'd start a new one with a recommendation for someone who can do this job at a competitive price that may be more suitably located for other owners (I didn't fancy trekking all the way to the south side of the M25).

 

I was talking to a friend who mentioned the oil gallery gasket failure and how it would present itself in both physically readouts and driving characteristics and unfortunately mine ticked all the boxes.

-Low oil pressure on cold start

-Low oil pressure on warm idle

-Flat top end acceleration

-Kangarooing under acceleration at low revs (even under gentle throttle)

 

I had the work undertaken after getting a recommendation from a friend. He recommended Andy at Bay Automotive in Buckingham.

http://www.bayautomotive.co.uk

Andy was very knowledgeable and was able to describe what the issue was, how it was affecting the engine and how it will now behave in comparison.

I am very pleased with the outcome, the car feels very different now and can really appreciate the top end grunt that I was missing before. The kangarooing has completely disappeared and it feels like it should have felt before! Don't know why I was putting up with it. Lack of personal experience I guess. I won't discuss money publicly on here but will say that it was competively priced and you should go directly to get a quote if you want the work to be done.

 

A side note for anyone looking into this, the gaskets were in back order from Nissan when we ordered for about 3-4 weeks.

 

Before the work was undertaken:

 

 

After the work was undertaken:

 

 

Gasket condition @ 59,000 miles:

 

Stretched bolt hole:

 

Bay Automotive with a couple of nice motors outside

[Cimanu]

Ooh, those had failed!

 

Mine had a hesitation at low rpm and my warm idle was just under the 30psi - now sits where yours is after being sorted.

 

Mark @ Abbey motorsport did mine.

 

Although mine hadn't totally failed (your pre-fix warm pressure is scary) Mark said both gaskets were breaking up and were well on their way.

 

As for backordered gaskets - Abbey get theirs from Z1 motorsports in the US.

 

What mileage is yours on? 79k I had mine done.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Cimanu

[Foo56]

This is an issue I've heard can crop up quite a lot - How much did this fix cost you?

[matt89]

This is an issue I've heard can crop up quite a lot - How much did this fix cost you?

 

Please give Bay Automotive a ring for a quote as mentioned above, its a long job and i also had my service done. I wouldn't want to say one price and then due to inflation/operating costs the new cost could be more.

 

What mileage is yours on? 79k I had mine done.

 

59,000

Edited June 29, 2017 by matt89

[PeteWiix]

Exactly what mine is like now, does anyone have a rough cost? Funding is a bit low due to having a new y-pipe and 3 sensors replaced so need to budget for the work.

Based just outside of Bath so not easy for me to get to the best workshops for the fix so may have to be my local one.

 

[HiddenWomble]

15psi at warm idle is the cut off point, above that you can get this done as and when, below that point you need to push it to the top of the list.

 

the cost is all in the man hours. the part doesn't cost that much, but you have to take the engine out and then open it's guts up. there is a guide on this site for the competent mechanics among us (ie not me)

 

this is where the expert zed mechanics can come in with a very competitive quote, it can take them less time to crack the engine open than a mechanic who's not worked on many zeds

 

i was at 30psi warm idle when my zed was 100K old, i'm now at the cuttoff point at 150K. i'm aiming to get it done by the end of the year. 

[AMT]

Good to hear these account and the details of the PSI, kangarooing though surely thats not to do with the gasket, most HR's do it and so has mine for years and theres an explanation on it somewhere as its something to do with the cam timing or something.

 

I'll be keeping an eye on my PSI, I'm at around 97K miles. its good if yours is just getting to that stage at 150,000 miles as I plan to keep mine for a few year yet lol

[AMT]

Just went out to try mine... I take it were good at these readings? (worrying look on face) 60psi cold start then settles at warm idle of 30psi? (After leaving it for a bit it goes behind the 30 but I take it from the comments im good up until its at 15 half way?)

 

A bit confused what it should be for each scenario.. should it be right at the top for a cold start and be over 30 at hot idle?

Edited September 7, 2017 by AMT

[nissanman312]

I'm sure min is 14 warm 

I'd  say leave your cash in the bank  for now 

[GodISmE]

Easy fix... get on with it and be happy it's the only ****- up with these engines!!!

 

Edited September 7, 2017 by GodISmE

[davey_83]

All things being equal, slightly more warm idle pressure means more resistance ie less power - less pressure means less resistance, means more hp. 

 

Factory warm idle is circa 15psi *correctly working sensor.

[matt89]

A warm/hot idle should be 30psi plus. Below that you almost definitely have a failed gasket of some sorts and should start budgeting for a replacement when you can. Below 15psi you should probably stop spirited driving and take it to a garage asap as you could be starving the cams of oil and your gasket will probably habe deteriorated. 

 

You dont take the engine out as one person mentioned before but you do take the front off so it's not an easy job for a home mechanic (unless you seriously know what you're doing)

 

You're looking at 6-8 hours labour (mine was 7.5 as it was the first HR they'd done) and around 200-600 in parts depending on what you change. I had everything changed except actual timing chain as it wasn't stretched but it could have been with such low oil pressure so was a nice surprise when my bill was a bit under the quote. 

[matt89]

11 hours ago, AMT said:

Just went out to try mine... I take it were good at these readings? (worrying look on face) 60psi cold start then settles at warm idle of 30psi? (After leaving it for a bit it goes behind the 30 but I take it from the comments im good up until its at 15 half way?)

 

A bit confused what it should be for each scenario.. should it be right at the top for a cold start and be over 30 at hot idle?

This is where mine was when I bought it and within a year it had got worse. It's not going to get better so start saving...!

[matt89]

And as I mentioned in the original post this was at 59,000 miles so it's not necessarily a high mileage concern, it could happen at any time. 

[AMT]

I tell a lie...the rest is correct but the cold start wasnt a proper cold start....started it this morning and took a pic starts off at near 120 then settle further down to 90 and then so on. 

 

 

 

[GodISmE]

16 hours ago, matt89 said:

A warm/hot idle should be 30psi plus. Below that you almost definitely have a failed gasket of some sorts and should start budgeting for a replacement when you can. Below 15psi you should probably stop spirited driving and take it to a garage asap as you could be starving the cams of oil and your gasket will probably habe deteriorated. 

 

You dont take the engine out as one person mentioned before but you do take the front off so it's not an easy job for a home mechanic (unless you seriously know what you're doing)

 

You're looking at 6-8 hours labour (mine was 7.5 as it was the first HR they'd done) and around 200-600 in parts depending on what you change. I had everything changed except actual timing chain as it wasn't stretched but it could have been with such low oil pressure so was a nice surprise when my bill was a bit under the quote. 

Listen to this guy! 

[Olly350z]

I always read threads like this with a certain trepidation. Should be noted that from what ive read that DEs and HRs have different pressure readings before anyone panics. I only get about 15-20psi after a spirited drive with my DE. 80K on the clock but it does make it a tad paranoid

[Sargara]

15 hours ago, Olly350z said:

I always read threads like this with a certain trepidation. Should be noted that from what ive read that DEs and HRs have different pressure readings before anyone panics. I only get about 15-20psi after a spirited drive with my DE. 80K on the clock but it does make it a tad paranoid

Its mainly a HR issue and <2012 370z as they share the same gasket design.

Take out your sparks and have a look for signs of oil if you are concerned on your DE, easy way to tell.

[Olly350z]

1 hour ago, Sargara said:

Its mainly a HR issue and <2012 370z as they share the same gasket design.

Take out your sparks and have a look for signs of oil if you are concerned on your DE, easy way to tell.

Easy way to tell of what though? Had my rocker covers changed last year so I know they're not leaking anymore! 

[Xelotath]

On 07/09/2017 at 12:38, PeteWiix said:

Exactly what mine is like now, does anyone have a rough cost? Funding is a bit low due to having a new y-pipe and 3 sensors replaced so need to budget for the work.

Based just outside of Bath so not easy for me to get to the best workshops for the fix so may have to be my local one.

 

H-dev (near newbury) did the work on my HR last year when it needed it, might be close enough for you to get to?

 

From memory it was a fixed price £799, and no hesitations recommending them

[PeteWiix]

13 hours ago, Xelotath said:

H-dev (near newbury) did the work on my HR last year when it needed it, might be close enough for you to get to?

 

From memory it was a fixed price £799, and no hesitations recommending them

Thanks for the info, not too far away but may be an issue getting there and back unless they have a loan car, also getting time off of work to do it is going to be an issue.

Going to pop down to my local garage who have done some work for me already and ask them for a quote (no issues buying the kit myself for £200 from Horsham and just paying for labour) lets see what they say and go from there.

[PeteWiix]

An update on my issue, popped down to a local garage who have worked on it before they checked it over and found no issues with the engine at all in fact they said it was in a very good condition. I had the battery replaced as it was on its way out since then it is now running at around 15psi on warm idle so definitely an improvement, if it drops again I think I might just bite the bullet and get the gaskets changed as a precaution.