bluefrog Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hi all I'm in the market for my first Z and have been trawling through auto-trader, pistonheads and ebay as you do, in search of something not too expensive but decent... Just found a 2003 silver UK model on ebay, done 86k, looks in fairly good condition for age. Mods include Induction kit, Milltek exhaust and Berks HFC's. However... engine light is on owner had it diagnosed with fault codes of P1146 P1166 P1147 P1167. Apparently these are related to the O2 sensors, and he's been told the HFC's need replacing to rectify this. Does this make sense? Have the cats deteriorated? I assumed the Berk's high flow units are good quality and pretty long lasting... If this is all that's wrong then I guess the car's worth a punt as it's priced quite low. Opinions welcome! Cheers Ben, Lancashire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Surely if he knows the fault it would be easy to just change the cats and sell for the right money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefrog Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 Yeah, that's what I would have done... He says he had the problem diagnosed at the Cougar store in Leicester (350Z specialists apparently) and they quoted him £650 for two new cats (inc. labour) which sounds a bit high to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hello Ben & welcome. All of those codes relate to "Heated O2 sensor 2". You can see a full list of the codes here: http://www.350z-uk.com/topic/81962-350z-fault-codes-in-pdf/ When I had HFC's fitted on my Zed it did cause the EML to come on because it effected the O2 sensors nothing to do with the Cats deteriorating it's just that it messes with the O2 readings. Not a big deal. To rectify it you/he will either need to remove the HFC's and go back to standard Cats, ...or have the EML turned off via a remap (UpRev), ...or you could try some O2 spacers (although they are not always effective), ...or as some do you could just live with it although I'm against that as then it could mask other faults as the EML would be on constantly. Before buying the car though I'd want to double check that those are the codes read. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
san marino blue Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 If you''re thinking about this seriously, buy a reader and check the codes before you buy Never believe a seller Failing that check with Cougar if they have a record of it coming in If your gut feeling is leave....... LEAVE IT. Also make sure the rest of the car is ok and don't just concentrate on the CEL Loads of good posts on here about buying and the usual faults I bought mine with low oil pressure, assured it just needed a service and it would be good again My gut feeling was it wasn't that simple, but by then I was well and truly bitten so I bought her anyway I had to rebuild the whole timing side to get to a blown gasket a bitch of a job Worth it in the end, as mine was cheap, but only as I do all my own spannering Not sure on those codes, but there is loads of info on P codes on the net No doubt someone with experience of the Berks will fill you in on the codes IMO, you are usually better paying reasonable money for a good solid car than one that seems cheap and ends up being a money pit, you end up hating it and the whole experience puts you off the cars in general Good luck either way, keep us posted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GMballistic Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Yeah, that's what I would have done... He says he had the problem diagnosed at the Cougar store in Leicester (350Z specialists apparently) and they quoted him £650 for two new cats (inc. labour) which sounds a bit high to me! Mitz from the Cougar Store is on here as a forum Trader. Maybe worth a PM to see what he can tell you about the car and whether he thinks it's worth the money. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/94-cougar-store/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZEUS Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Yeah, that's what I would have done... He says he had the problem diagnosed at the Cougar store in Leicester (350Z specialists apparently) and they quoted him £650 for two new cats (inc. labour) which sounds a bit high to me! Mitz from the Cougar Store is on here as a forum Trader. Maybe worth a PM to see what he can tell you about the car and whether he thinks it's worth the money. Link: http://www.350z-uk.com/forum/94-cougar-store/ This^^ PM Mitz and ask him about the car . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefrog Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 Many thanks GMballistic and San marino blue! all very helpful info I've just sent Mitz a PM, hopefully he can shed some light on the matter... This forum is proving very helpful already! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
veilside z Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Hope it all works out for you, if in doubt leave it. Plenty more around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboy2 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 If it's just the O2 sensors causing the faults and it cheap, it's worth a punt. My light keeps coming in since I have fitted HFC. Have now bought and code reader for 20 quid and can read and remove the code myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juggalo Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Walk away. So many Z's out there, why buy a problem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bodyboarder81 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Walk away. So many Z's out there, why buy a problem. Because it could be a very cheap fix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefrog Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 Walk away. So many Z's out there, why buy a problem. Because it could be a very cheap fix This^^ But like san marino says, the rest of the car's gotta be straight too! I'm busy tomorrow but hopefully will be able to go for a butchers early next week... if it's still for sale that is It seems a few on here had the same EML after fitting high flow cats, so chances are this is the cause. Cheers folks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jetpilot Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Walk away. So many Z's out there, why buy a problem. Because it could be a very cheap fix I know there are some stupid and lazy people out there, but If you had the intelligence and interest in the car to put berks on your probably switched on enough to know about 02 spacers or cost of a pair of 2nd hand cats, cant believe a trader on here wouldnt not have also advised this also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p34nut Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 This sounds like the usual aftermarket cat issue. The 350 isn't a huge fan of running anything other than a standard cat although it sounds a lot better and is more free flowing The best option out and out is to have these codes handled with a remap. Not only would it clear these codes taking the light out but they will tweak the map to let the car know what the car has fitted making it ultimately use these mods and perform better. The easy option which many people do is buy an OBD2 reader from Amazon or alike. This pairs with apps you can download on android / iPhone decices letting you read and clear the codes yourself. This advice is obviously based purely on what you have mentioned, it may yet have another reason behind it but I'm sure 99% of people will agree. Always something to shake the nerves up buying a car with the eml on so that unfortunately is only something you will be able to decide Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davedutch Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 I had the same after Cougar Store fitted sports cats to mine, it's common apparently, I used it as a good excuse to have a remap, eml light now off and better mpg, apparently better throttle etc etc but I can't say I particularly noticed. Just be sure it's down to the cats and as others have said if you are unsure walk, there are plenty for sale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durk Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 saw this car for sale the other day, its really cheap and I don't understand why just based on some O2 sensor faults... even if you stick the £650 on it which he claims is what will sort it, it's still a cheap car! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefrog Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Ok... after a PM from Mitz, a message from the seller and an MOT history check, I've learned a bit more about the car... Apparently they did an emissions check at Cougar and it failed At the last 2 MOT tests it also failed on emissions and needed some fettling (?) to pass, which suggests the solution may not be as simple as remapping the ecu for the different cats... Mitz said he recommended the seller get hold of a pair of second hand OEM cats if possible, fit them, run the emissions test again and see if this cures the EML too. This is the only way to know if the cats are at fault or there's a more serious problem with the engine... Starting to realise why this car is going cheap, still worth a look tho I reckon! B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowhereboy Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Meh, it's not even that much cheaper than other Z's in that spec, I'd not bother personally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke0549 Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Have you got a link to the car? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluefrog Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Ere you go... http://r.ebay.com/AnTdyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 My car has those codes on, because i added decats. seems to easy though, could be worse, as if it was mine, i'd just buy a set of stock cats for say £80 and wack them on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Just seen a nice one on fb, similar to that for 5k with no issues and 93k on the clock? wouldnt that be better? https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/1505448_10153189241215795_5012304464383752479_n.jpg?oh=a655f71f86beada23141e60cb5803e3f&oe=56236E37 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-Bradders- Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 or this one is £4500 https://scontent.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10428544_10154267423374815_7956776450753243102_n.jpg?oh=975488f3d46ee4dcff65f996351acef4&oe=561EC4A3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
docwra Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 If its a "cheap and easy" fix, why isnt the seller doing it themselves? Always walk unless youre getting shedloads off the price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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