My 2005 Roadster got sick yesterday while picking my daughter up from work.
The SES, VDC, and Slip lights came on and stayed on. I checked the brake fluid and it was fine.

The car has had a slight misfire issue. I have new valve covers, because I saw a little bit of oil on one plug in bank one. I haven't changed them yet.
Once in a while I get the SES light, but it goes away after a while.

Last night, the car slowed down, as if I hit the brakes.
It also took several attempts to start. There was a noticeable rumbly feel, and a loss pf power.

I pulled into Auto Zone right before they closed, and had the codes read.

P03000 Random Misfire , I knew about this one. (P0303 did not pull up, but I have seen this one before)
P0455 Evap Gross Leak
P0345 CPS Bank 2

They recommended I get a Variable Valve timing solenoid ($400.00 +), and a camshaft sensor ($280.00 +).

I said I'd keep my fingers crossed.

Instead I cleaned the VVT sensor this afternoon, and ordered the parts for Z-1 for much less, and they are Hitachi parts.
I took the car for a spin, it;s not perfect, but the only light that came on was the SES light.

Do you think it's safe to drive the car to work tomorrow? The parts won't be here until Friday night.

 

By the way, I'm not religious about oil changes, I don't drive very hard, or far. I've only used Mobil or Castrol Edge. Oil change intervals vary from 3 - 6 months. I mostly drive about 20 miles a day.

 

Sorry to hear about your issues.

My 1st suggestion, even without the codes present, would be to replace the Cam and Crank sensors. Is your roadster a 6MT or AT (Revup or standard VQ35DE)? How many miles on it?

Replacing the Cam and Crank sensors is a common maintenance/repair item on higher mileage Zs, always go with OEM sensors on these, cannot stress that enough. Usually if one fails, it's best to replace all at the same time (much like coil packs and injectors). That Evap code is concerning. Sometimes you get lucky and it's just a problem with the gas cap, but usually it's one of the solenoids. Depending on the evap issue, there is the potential for weird engine behavior to occur (rare though). Other things that can cause loss of power and rough idle would be the MAF sensor, bad coil packs, bad injectors, vacuum leaks, aftermarket parts, clogged cats, and more.

Since you're driving it often, but making short trips, I would recommend checking your oil levels often. At 20 miles a day for 6 months or roughly 180 days, you're right around 3600mi and the owners manual suggests a 3750mi change interval, so you're good there. But if you have any kind of oil burning issues, you could be finding yourself 2-3qts low after driving 3k mi (leading to premature wear, stretched timing chain, or worse).

I hope replacing those sensors gets your car running reliably again.
Cheers!
-Icer

 

Thanks for the reply.
It's pre Revup DE, there are no mods, other than a Brembo brake swap, and it is a 6MT. I replaced the plugs last year with NGK's, and I can check the coil packs this weekend.

I did drive the car to work this morning, and it wasn't as bad. I will check the codes at lunch time with the pedal dance.

 

The only code stored since cleaning the solenoid is P0300. I will change the camshaft sensor and VVT Solenoid this weekend, and look into the camshaft sensors.

 

The VVT Solenoid and camshaft sensor arrived today from Z-1 Motorsports. They are both OEM.
I disconnected the battery and installed them both.

It runs better, but I still have an SES light. I only drove around for about 10 minutes.

I read the codes with the pedal routine, and get P0301 and P030.

I will swap coils tomorrow to see if the code follows the coil.

 

When you swap the coils. Look for signs of oil seepage in the spark plug tubes. If you have a lot of oil build up (plug and boot are swimming in it), there's a chance that's related to the issue. The only way to fix the oil seepage is to replace the valve covers. If you're really on a budget there are redneck engineering fixes like using RTV and such, but those are just temporary bandaids. Clean up the oil, lube the inside of the coil boot with some silicone or dielectric grease (small amount around the inner wall). A common issue when coil boots get soaked in oil for prolonged periods of time is that they tend to swell up.

Depending on the mileage of your Z, and if you determine you have a bad coil, I would recommend replacing them all. If the valve covers are in need of replacement, there are aftermarket aluminum options available that allow for the replacement of both the perimeter gasket and spark plug tube seals. Amazingly these aluminum covers are also cheaper than the OEM plastic ones.

Did you only replace the VCT and CAM sensor on Bank 2 so far?
Cheers!
-Icer

 

Yes, I only replaced the sensor and solenoid on bank 2.
Depending on tonight's coil pack swap outcome, I might order the other sensor and maybe the crankshaft sensor.

I already have he aftermarket valve covers, but I have not installed them yet.
When I changed the plugs about a year ago, I noticed one plug had a little oil on it. That's why I bought the aluminum valve covers off Amazon.

My wife's car is in worse shape, a Dodge Caravan with a ticking rocker arm and a scored camshaft. Parts are on the way for the van,
The not so funny thing is every Pentastar engine in the junkyard was missing the same camshaft.
I need to get her vehicle back in shape before I tackle the valve covers. Everyone wants to be driven to work & stores and such nonsense right now.

 

I just swapped coils 1 and 3, because they were easy to get to without removing the plenum.
I was surprised to see Autolite plugs, I could of sworn I bought NGK. I only saw a small amount of oil on plug 1.

My daughter swears I had a P0301 code before. I am probably confused because I am working on the Dodge at the same time, and it has a P0303 code for sure.

Anyway, after the swap, I pulled a P0303 code. I also bought a set of NGK LFR5A-11 plugs to install this weekend.

Z-1 has a set of 6 High energy ignition coils on sale for $319.99. I will buy those now, and hold off on the other sensors.

 

Be careful with aftermarket coils. I use Z1 products myself, but I don't know if I would trust their Coil Packs. Most of the "high output" Coil Packs are made in China and are of inferior quality. They will most likely work without issue, but for how long? These "high performance" packs typically don't last very long (expect to get 1-2 years out of them). If you want reliability/longevity, go with OEM. Personally, I would trust a set of OEM coils I pulled from a wrecked Z or G in a junk yard over the aftermarket options. Z1 has a decent reputation, but double check the Warranty for this Coil Pack set to be safe.

Good call on replacing the plugs with the NGKs! That was a good find right there and might be the source of your problem.
Cheers!
-Icer

 

I installed the Z-1 high energy coils this weekend, along with the passenger side Camshaft sensor. While I was at it, I installed the Mitzone Amazon valve covers my wife bought me, and a Z-1 Plenum spacer. After spending this much time and money, I figured I might as well do somethin fun.
The good news is that the SES light is gone, and it runs smooth. The bad news is I have an oil leak now that is smoking up a storm.
It's past my bedtime, so I will look at it again tomorrow after work.

 

Uh oh! Oil leak and you just replaced the valve covers. Which side of the engine? Odds are you may have rolled the gasket when installing the new covers. Bank 1 or the passenger side is notoriously difficult because of the main harness interference in the back corner. If you're lucky, you can re-use the gasket, worst case, the gasket could have been torn and you need to replace it. Not a big deal in terms of parts cost, but the labor is a big ouch. Sorry to hear that!

As a side note, double check your dipstick and make sure it's fully seated. This is another common source of oil leaks.
Cheers!
-Icer

 

Come to think of it, I did move the dipstick last night. We think the leak is on the driver's side, but it was dark. We wrapped up at 11:30, so I was pretty mush worn out, and I had to be at work at 6:00 this morning.
I will confirm when I get home. .

 

It's the gasket on the driver's side. I was surprised it was not one of the corners, but in the middle of the side.

 

The gasket did not appear to have been folded over or pinched, but it tore in the corner when I removed the cover.
I replaced the gasket with a new Felpro gasket, and all is well now. No more SES light, and the car runs great!

There was only a couple of drops of oil around the spark plugs, so I don't think that caused the misfire.

I numbered the old coil packs, and will check them out when I get my multi-meter back from my son. I suspect one was failing intemittently.

If anyone is considering the Mitzone aluminum valve covers on Amazon, I would suggest replacing the gaskets.