Did something really stupid last week where I was flooring it, taking each gear up to redline etc and missed a shift.

I was at the top of 3rd gear and shifted, but instead of going into 4th, i grabbed the shifter wrong (I just had a rogue short shifter installed BTW) and pulled it into 2nd. Of course it went into the red and the engine was of course LOUD from being overdriven. Anyway, I'm estimating it probably hit around 7000-7300 rpm for about 2-3 sec. It's kinda a blur now. I immediately floored my clutch to get the rpm's down, turned off the A/C etc, and parked the car and let it sit for an hour while eating dinner.

So now it makes this sorta raspy sound when you go above 4-5k rpm in pretty much any gear. Sometimes it's louder than others. It seems to do it more/louder when I've been driving longer (maybe heat?), but tonight i was in rush hour and was shifting a lot and made me think could it be the clutch? (I'm going aftermarket clutch/flywheel asap anyway so hope that's all it is) Also, when I push the clutch in at higher RPM's, it makes a lower volume version of the same sound as the clutch gets closer to the floor. It otherwise shifts the same as far as I can tell. The speed of the car feels the same as it's always been etc.

It's like a raspy buzzing sound. My girlfriend said she thought it sounded like it's coming from the dash and describes it as a vibration. To me it sounds like it's coming from the engine, but hard to pinpoint. It's kinda everywhere like it could be under the car.

I'm no car expert, but it seemed to me it's one of the following or combinations:

-cracked pistons
-bent valves
-fried clutch
-transmission went bad (it's an aug '02 track model, 1st gen transmission)
-something in the exhaust is loose (because that raspy sound sounds just like a honda fartcan ricer exhaust)


It might be mentioned I was running a popcharger. When I got home, I put the stock one back on and still does it.

Taking it to the dealer on monday, but so far I haven't been impressed with nissan mechanics on the Z since it's so new, they just don't know anything about it.

any thoughts? I don't want the dealership to BS me around on this one

thanks guys

 

I'm betting on bent valves...

How does your car idle?

 

It idles normal as far as I can tell, nothing odd about it


If it's the valves or pistons, what do you think the odds are that warrenty will cover it? I have the extended warrenty

 

If your dealer is a REALLY nice one, they MAY cover it, however the odds arent good since it was your error..

Yeah, my $$$ is on Bent valves too, and if you redlined 3rd and threw it into 2nd, you went above and BEYOND 9-10k rpms.

 

I was thinking it was like 9-10k too at first, but there's about 2k difference between 2nd and 3rd gear and I shifted at about 6000-6300 I didn't look at the rpm's when it happened - all a blur.

BTW, Jackson
how are you liking the borla exhaust and kinetix HF cats? I'm thinking of getting that combo sometime soon along with crawford headers

 

Its a GREAT combo, But Im going to order some Crawford HF cats on Monday (unless someone responds to my thread in the classified forum first)...I wanted the Crawfords to begin with but got a good deal for the Kinetix, and if you dont mind bending back your upper heat shield to allow more clearance, The Kinetix are a good choice.

I personally prefer Crawford and will be selling my Kinetix Cats as soon as they come off...If youre interested, let me know.

 

I dont think you have to go to the dealer and give them a blow by blow picture of what you did - just explain the noise problem - let them tell you what is wrong and present you with the options. If they ask you any dumb questions - plead innocence!! If that doesnt work - see your attorney! You did pay for the extended warranty. Go in with a very positive attitude!! Be VERY friendly with them.

 

yeah i'm going to play dumb on this one. I bought the car used with 1400 miles in mint condition. It's one of the earlier builds, but I figure if I'm going to be modding everything on the car anyway, any problems with stock parts will get erased.

Jackson, i've considered the crawford cats too and kinda was torn between them and the kinetix ones. Just curious, why do you prefer the crawford? For me, I don't want any rasp sound at all, but I do want more power and louder/meaner sound. The Kinetix site and a lot of people's reviews have said that's exactly what the kinetix ones do, but I haven't read any definite info on the crawfords yet.

I might be interested in buying them depending on the price, but it won't be for a month or two....

 

Well, The Kinetix are over $100 cheaper, and as far as sound goes, Ive read they are similar to Crawford, with Crawford being slightly Quieter. Im not sure of the performance differences, but I favored Crawford because they have Perfect fitment, and Zero issues, at least, I havent heard of any.

I get the "Kinetix Rattle" from time to time, and its taking its toll on me. I havent 100% decided yet, I just May keep the Kinetix, and bang on the heat shield alittle more to allow a bit more clearance. We'll see.

 

It may also have been your cats... The VQ is a pretty strong motor...

 

A possibility, however not probable. There is no motor I have ever heard of coming out of the factory that can withstand an over rev, 2-3k rpms Past its redline and not sustain any kind of damage.

 

You have now...With the stock shifter, I did it not once, but twice and my car is just fine. I hate the stock shifter. Ever since I switched to a Nismo shift ****, I've never missed a shift. Best $75 I've ever spent.

 

VQ powah!!!

 

Some damage will take time to show up. Have you torn your engine apart and looked at your internals to confirm theyre alright?

 

Now why in the hell would I do that to a warrantied engine in a brand new car because of a mis-shift that resulted in no change of performance or behavior? I would stand a better chance of damaging the engine by disassembling it for inspection than just leaving it be, wouldn't you agree?

Could you imagine taking it to a Nissan dealership:

Me: "Hi, I mis-shifted in my car, and because something might be wrong with it later, I'd like you take the engine apart and inspect it, under warranty of course."

Nissan Service Advisor: "Sir, whatever drug you have smoked, snorted, injected or swallowed prior to coming in here is obviously working, and I'd like to get a few hits before I go home and face my wife who, incidentally, is possibly more idiotic than you!"


he he...Ok, I'm just screwing with you really, all in good fun. The reality is that I'm not mechanically savvy enough (despite 6 years in the Army as a Helicopter crew-chief/mechanic) to take my engine apart and look for hidden damage and then put it back together reliably. I'd get all finished and then wonder what all the left over parts are from.

 

LMAO.

I SHOULD have used some kind of Smiley to show that I wasnt Being serious.

My POINT was, of course you didnt tear your engine apart!! Factor in my other point about "Hidden Damage" as you call it and add em together. So you dont REALLY know if anything was damaged, do you!!

 

Well, I'm as sure as I can be based on the factors I have to evaluate. Have I stressed a component that may fail two years from now as a result of my mis-shift? Possibly, but then it would take some serious NDI (non-destructive inspection) like dye penetration or magnetic evaluation to detect it. I would imagine that if anything internally was damaged to the point that it was detectable through visible inspection, I would have noticed it in the engines behvior by now.

 

Very good point.

 

here's an update on my problem, I only hear the noise when the car is moving. I can't replicate the sound just by reving the engine while being stationary.

 

Then its gotta be tranny or diff....

does the sound change with speed or RPMs or is it constant?