Zd30 woes

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I'm not too sure I wanna pull the head off at this Time so I want to see if I can see if any damage has been done underneath the motor so next step is trying to unbolt the gear box from the motor so I can get the motor out and have a nosey at the block through the sump

Have you thought about putting an inspection camera into a cylinder through a plug hole or similar? You can buy them from places like Repco and Jaycar for <$200 or see if someone has one you can borrow?

Might help inspect pistons and combustion chambers without taking head off.

 

[SG1]

Man you got guts, big job but admire your commitment, I would get the engine out of the car and pull it down from there taking pics as referance's along the way, it doesn't sound like an easy fix so a rebuild would seem the minimum and worthwhile while you have the engine out.

Good luck and quite possibly something I wouldn attempt but wish you well and hope it all works out well for you.

 

[jimmy.taylor.775]

I'm going to attempt pulling the motor out this weekend if the weather permits. Does anyone know how to unbolt the gearbox from the motor. The service manual has me somewhat confused cheers

 

[jimmy.taylor.775]

From what I understand there's two bolts at the top of the engine , two on the side and the ones on the bottom.
If anyone can even give us a link of someone who's pulled out a zd30 engine I would appreciate it. I been quoted 5500 for a second hand motor fitted by south side 4x4 wreckers with warranty.
If I don't get this engine right I'll go down this path and then most likely sell it.
If I pull this off I'll be pretty impressed. Getting plenty of photos along the way will start uploading them soon
Cheers

 

[rabbit-chop]

My 2c;
dont buy an engine from a wreckers (unless you are 100% that its good), and definitely dont let wreckers work on your car until at least hitting Nissan up for the price of a crate engine and a quote from a trustworthy mechanic. My B in law works at nissan reckons they go for sub 5k.
I'm not racist, but all the wreckers I've dealt with have been absolute bottom-feeders.

 

[jimmy.taylor.775]

Yeah your right, I'll keep that in mind. Thanks

 

[ben85]

My 2c;
dont buy an engine from a wreckers (unless you are 100% that its good), and definitely dont let wreckers work on your car until at least hitting Nissan up for the price of a crate engine and a quote from a trustworthy mechanic. My B in law works at nissan reckons they go for sub 5k.
I'm not racist, but all the wreckers I've dealt with have been absolute bottom-feeders.

if you can get hold of a new crate engine for under 5k i'd be surprised.
happy to be proven wrong though.

 

[rabbit-chop]

Well he could be talking shit but he reckons he can get them for about 4.5k, which i assume is trade price. I've seen nissan dealerships selling patrol zd30s for +6k on ebay. If the patrol got forged pistons ect, then surly the navara one would be cheaper?

 

[jimmy.taylor.775]

Hi guys well I'm in the process of pulling the engine out.
I've started by getting the top bolts out that hold the engine to the gearbox, doing them in the engine bay was a nightmare so I dropped the gearbox crossmember and lowered the gearbox using a jack.
This allowed just enough room between the gearbox and the floor of the car to fit a socket with a couple of extensions and a knuckle to reach the bolts at the top

Just some info if anyone's interested. I'm now gunna attack the other bolts

 

[charlie strayarc]

If anyones interested?
Im sure we are all interested.
Im also wishing you a lot of luck.
Thanks for sharing, I intend to keep mine for a long time and clutch change, rebuilds etc I will all do myself. Threads like this I am sure will help myself and many others down the track. I tip my hat too you mate for having a go and for showing us.

 

[rabbit-chop]

^ hear, hear. Youv'e got balls Jimmy, I also take my hat off to you, and thanks for sharing!
Good luck mate.

 

[jimmy.taylor.775]

Haha i just sat down with a rum staring at my ute again. I'm as broke as the next person so I gotta pull this off with as little coin as possible.
I removed the starter motor also as this looked to be connected to the gearbox.
Well I disconnected the motor as per the diagram I posted earlier and I got it free from the box.
As I'm hoisting it out I noticed the sump hitting the front axle so it's not letting me manoeuvre the engine forward enough to get it out.
I'm either gunna have to undo the gearbox completely or remove the front axle or see if I can hoist the engine high enough to get to all the bolts on the sump to remove the sump and go from there.
Yes I have been cursing and carrying on along the way.
But I'm hoping it all pays off

 

[jimmy.taylor.775]

ok i managed to get the motor out on Saturday.
i jacked the motor up about an inch out of engine bay and got to work, i got underneath the car and undid all the bolts for the sump, there's a bracket of some sort at the back of the engine under the stater motor which wraps around the to the bottom of the sump which blocks access to two bolts to the sump, this had to be removed by removing two bolts to the bracket which are located on the side of the block. once this come off i managed to access all the bolts to the sump, the tight spots i managed to get a 1/4 inch socket to it.
once the sump was off i had to remove the oil strainer which consist of 3 bolts, two at the front right of engine and one about half way of the block on the left side once this was removed i jacked the engine up about another inch i then got a ratchet strap, wrapped it around the back of the block then back to the bull bars. i then started tightening the ratchet up and the engine slid straight out of the gearbox.

 

[jimmy.taylor.775]

the following is what i found in the sump. so theres definately damage done.
im not really keen on putting it back together at this stage so im gunna hang tight until i find a motor cheap enough and gettin some one else to install it or im just gunna sell it as is.
its been a massive learning experience thus far and im guessing pulling it out was the easy part, id really hate to give putting it back together a go. either way ill keep you guys posted

 

[jimmy.taylor.775]

i took shots like this along the way to show me the bolt configurations if i were to put things back together myself