Need Help Please- Noob with Issues
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New Member
Joined: Jul 2023
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From: NJ
Need Help Please- Noob with Issues
I have been a fan and avid reader of this forum for years and learned how to mod the engine of my FX35. About a year ago, I began a Z search and a month ago purchased a 2004 Roadster with 155k miles. After driving it around 1000 miles, it had used very little oil (which amounted to about a quart after 2500 miles) which seemed to indicate the engine was in decent shape. Most of the miles were on the highway and I noticed it went to the top of the temperature range when running hard with the AC on and it developed a rougher idle sometime after the first 400-500 miles which sea foam didn’t eliminate. Then it developed an issue where it didn’t start a few times when already hot which I have now attributed to the key system because when the car stalls or does this I can lock/unlock the door and it will start again. I thought it had a bad radiator fan since it got hotter than it should with the AC on (and worse in traffic or driven harder). The clutch was at the top of the range and a couple of experienced Z people thought it might go out so when I had gotten it back to my home state I set out to have the clutch changed to an eBay kit with a 24 lb. flywheel and the fan changed out and my troubles began.
When I picked up the car, the mechanic mentioned that the clutch would be way different and might stall if I didn’t have my foot to the floor and that I would need to drive it around 500 miles for it be “broken in”. They had also exchanged the fan for a used one that had been tested to work and I set out to drive it around 100 miles on highway. It would stall (losing power/steering) and I noticed it was even prone to doing this in neutral when revved above 2000 rpm – it was like it stalled when the rpms went down and the more I revved it the more prone it was to stall. When it was first started and warming up the idle would keep it going fine but as soon as it got up to temperature and went to a more normal idle of 600-700 rpms, the stalling really acted up and I would have to gas it as I braked etc. to keep the engine alive and it still stalled a lot – the first night when I drove it, we opened the ac to blow air to both the top and bottom and mostly stayed on the highway primarily hoping to “break in” the clutch by shifting from 6th to 5th, 4th to 5th, etc. When I returned home there was hot liquid on the passenger side floorboard and my wife mentioned something was dripping on her. It didn’t smell like coolant but it was definitely wet and hot so I thinking maybe the heater core at first. The next day I drove less miles and used no AC for 40-50 miles but turned it on near the end of the drive and it overheated the worst yet where coolant was boiling in the overflow tank when I got home and the gauge was totally over the range. I tested the fan again and I realized it still wasn’t working despite being a “used/tested” fan. Moreover, I was getting the run around from the mechanic who did the work – he wasn’t answering my texts/calls about the clutch behavior which seemed very wrong and suggested I needed to purchase a another “totally new” fan. It was using some coolant but maybe because the fan wasn’t working properly. It had overheated 2-3 times so I wanted another opinion and took it to another mechanic who suggested it was mostly an electrical issue – I needed an electrical expert according to him (after some testing) and he sent me someone else. They determined it was the IPDM that wasn’t turning on the fan and finally ordered it for me. On the way home, the car is again stalling but now I also have the oil pressure light on and see oil pressure around 10-20 when idling. I read about galley gaskets and ask the new mechanic about a P0011 (over-advance cam) and P1615 codes that came up during a stall. He said it could still all be electrical and wait until new IPDM is installed. I pick-up car with new IPDM installed and the fan is running now but there almost a knocking like noise when it comes on that sounds bad. I decided to go about 10 miles to see if it would be better on the highway and I quickly realize it is getting worse and try to head home after I let it cool down a little. I’m trying to baby it home and it bogs down right as I pass a flatbed pulled over on the road and the engine dies. He says coolant was coming out the engine as I went and there is a wet trail behind the car. I get the car home thinking maybe I blew the engine but somewhat to my surprise there doesn’t appear to be any coolant in the oil and the dipstick is full as before. I haven’t drained the oil to look for metal but it looks clean. So, did I just blow the exhaust side head gasket and that caused the coolant out the back? Would that cause many of these engine symptoms? How do I determine if I just need a head gasket and a better mechanic to fix the clutch. For the clutch, could the mechanic have installed the flywheel in the wrong position and would that cause the stalling? I checked tonight and two more codes came up when the engine died this time- P1217 (Engine Coolant Temp) and P1615 (NATS Malfunction – again). Thank you all in advance for your opinions on this matter.
When I picked up the car, the mechanic mentioned that the clutch would be way different and might stall if I didn’t have my foot to the floor and that I would need to drive it around 500 miles for it be “broken in”. They had also exchanged the fan for a used one that had been tested to work and I set out to drive it around 100 miles on highway. It would stall (losing power/steering) and I noticed it was even prone to doing this in neutral when revved above 2000 rpm – it was like it stalled when the rpms went down and the more I revved it the more prone it was to stall. When it was first started and warming up the idle would keep it going fine but as soon as it got up to temperature and went to a more normal idle of 600-700 rpms, the stalling really acted up and I would have to gas it as I braked etc. to keep the engine alive and it still stalled a lot – the first night when I drove it, we opened the ac to blow air to both the top and bottom and mostly stayed on the highway primarily hoping to “break in” the clutch by shifting from 6th to 5th, 4th to 5th, etc. When I returned home there was hot liquid on the passenger side floorboard and my wife mentioned something was dripping on her. It didn’t smell like coolant but it was definitely wet and hot so I thinking maybe the heater core at first. The next day I drove less miles and used no AC for 40-50 miles but turned it on near the end of the drive and it overheated the worst yet where coolant was boiling in the overflow tank when I got home and the gauge was totally over the range. I tested the fan again and I realized it still wasn’t working despite being a “used/tested” fan. Moreover, I was getting the run around from the mechanic who did the work – he wasn’t answering my texts/calls about the clutch behavior which seemed very wrong and suggested I needed to purchase a another “totally new” fan. It was using some coolant but maybe because the fan wasn’t working properly. It had overheated 2-3 times so I wanted another opinion and took it to another mechanic who suggested it was mostly an electrical issue – I needed an electrical expert according to him (after some testing) and he sent me someone else. They determined it was the IPDM that wasn’t turning on the fan and finally ordered it for me. On the way home, the car is again stalling but now I also have the oil pressure light on and see oil pressure around 10-20 when idling. I read about galley gaskets and ask the new mechanic about a P0011 (over-advance cam) and P1615 codes that came up during a stall. He said it could still all be electrical and wait until new IPDM is installed. I pick-up car with new IPDM installed and the fan is running now but there almost a knocking like noise when it comes on that sounds bad. I decided to go about 10 miles to see if it would be better on the highway and I quickly realize it is getting worse and try to head home after I let it cool down a little. I’m trying to baby it home and it bogs down right as I pass a flatbed pulled over on the road and the engine dies. He says coolant was coming out the engine as I went and there is a wet trail behind the car. I get the car home thinking maybe I blew the engine but somewhat to my surprise there doesn’t appear to be any coolant in the oil and the dipstick is full as before. I haven’t drained the oil to look for metal but it looks clean. So, did I just blow the exhaust side head gasket and that caused the coolant out the back? Would that cause many of these engine symptoms? How do I determine if I just need a head gasket and a better mechanic to fix the clutch. For the clutch, could the mechanic have installed the flywheel in the wrong position and would that cause the stalling? I checked tonight and two more codes came up when the engine died this time- P1217 (Engine Coolant Temp) and P1615 (NATS Malfunction – again). Thank you all in advance for your opinions on this matter.
I have been a fan and avid reader of this forum for years and learned how to mod the engine of my FX35.
About a year ago, I began a Z search and a month ago purchased a 2004 Roadster with 155k miles. After driving it around 1000 miles, it had used very little oil (which amounted to about a quart after 2500 miles) which seemed to indicate the engine was in decent shape. Most of the miles were on the highway and I noticed it went to the top of the temperature range when running hard with the AC on and it developed a rougher idle sometime after the first 400-500 miles which sea foam didn’t eliminate.
Then it developed an issue where it didn’t start a few times when already hot which I have now attributed to the key system because when the car stalls or does this I can lock/unlock the door and it will start again. I thought it had a bad radiator fan since it got hotter than it should with the AC on (and worse in traffic or driven harder). The clutch was at the top of the range and a couple of experienced Z people thought it might go out so when I had gotten it back to my home state I set out to have the clutch changed to an eBay kit with a 24 lb. flywheel and the fan changed out and my troubles began.
When I picked up the car, the mechanic mentioned that the clutch would be way different and might stall if I didn’t have my foot to the floor and that I would need to drive it around 500 miles for it be “broken in”. They had also exchanged the fan for a used one that had been tested to work and I set out to drive it around 100 miles on highway.
It would stall (losing power/steering) and I noticed it was even prone to doing this in neutral when revved above 2000 rpm – it was like it stalled when the rpms went down and the more I revved it the more prone it was to stall. When it was first started and warming up the idle would keep it going fine but as soon as it got up to temperature and went to a more normal idle of 600-700 rpms, the stalling really acted up and I would have to gas it as I braked etc. to keep the engine alive and it still stalled a lot – the first night when I drove it, we opened the ac to blow air to both the top and bottom and mostly stayed on the highway primarily hoping to “break in” the clutch by shifting from 6th to 5th, 4th to 5th, etc.
When I returned home there was hot liquid on the passenger side floorboard and my wife mentioned something was dripping on her. It didn’t smell like coolant but it was definitely wet and hot so I thinking maybe the heater core at first.
The next day I drove less miles and used no AC for 40-50 miles but turned it on near the end of the drive and it overheated the worst yet where coolant was boiling in the overflow tank when I got home and the gauge was totally over the range. I tested the fan again and I realized it still wasn’t working despite being a “used/tested” fan. Moreover, I was getting the run around from the mechanic who did the work – he wasn’t answering my texts/calls about the clutch behavior which seemed very wrong and suggested I needed to purchase a another “totally new” fan.
It was using some coolant but maybe because the fan wasn’t working properly. It had overheated 2-3 times so I wanted another opinion and took it to another mechanic who suggested it was mostly an electrical issue – I needed an electrical expert according to him (after some testing) and he sent me someone else. They determined it was the IPDM that wasn’t turning on the fan and finally ordered it for me. On the way home, the car is again stalling but now I also have the oil pressure light on and see oil pressure around 10-20 when idling. I read about galley gaskets and ask the new mechanic about a P0011 (over-advance cam) and P1615 codes that came up during a stall.
He said it could still all be electrical and wait until new IPDM is installed. I pick-up car with new IPDM installed and the fan is running now but there almost a knocking like noise when it comes on that sounds bad. I decided to go about 10 miles to see if it would be better on the highway and I quickly realize it is getting worse and try to head home after I let it cool down a little.
I’m trying to baby it home and it bogs down right as I pass a flatbed pulled over on the road and the engine dies. He says coolant was coming out the engine as I went and there is a wet trail behind the car. I get the car home thinking maybe I blew the engine but somewhat to my surprise there doesn’t appear to be any coolant in the oil and the dipstick is full as before. I haven’t drained the oil to look for metal but it looks clean. So, did I just blow the exhaust side head gasket and that caused the coolant out the back? Would that cause many of these engine symptoms?
How do I determine if I just need a head gasket and a better mechanic to fix the clutch. For the clutch, could the mechanic have installed the flywheel in the wrong position and would that cause the stalling? I checked tonight and two more codes came up when the engine died this time- P1217 (Engine Coolant Temp) and P1615 (NATS Malfunction – again). Thank you all in advance for your opinions on this matter.
About a year ago, I began a Z search and a month ago purchased a 2004 Roadster with 155k miles. After driving it around 1000 miles, it had used very little oil (which amounted to about a quart after 2500 miles) which seemed to indicate the engine was in decent shape. Most of the miles were on the highway and I noticed it went to the top of the temperature range when running hard with the AC on and it developed a rougher idle sometime after the first 400-500 miles which sea foam didn’t eliminate.
Then it developed an issue where it didn’t start a few times when already hot which I have now attributed to the key system because when the car stalls or does this I can lock/unlock the door and it will start again. I thought it had a bad radiator fan since it got hotter than it should with the AC on (and worse in traffic or driven harder). The clutch was at the top of the range and a couple of experienced Z people thought it might go out so when I had gotten it back to my home state I set out to have the clutch changed to an eBay kit with a 24 lb. flywheel and the fan changed out and my troubles began.
When I picked up the car, the mechanic mentioned that the clutch would be way different and might stall if I didn’t have my foot to the floor and that I would need to drive it around 500 miles for it be “broken in”. They had also exchanged the fan for a used one that had been tested to work and I set out to drive it around 100 miles on highway.
It would stall (losing power/steering) and I noticed it was even prone to doing this in neutral when revved above 2000 rpm – it was like it stalled when the rpms went down and the more I revved it the more prone it was to stall. When it was first started and warming up the idle would keep it going fine but as soon as it got up to temperature and went to a more normal idle of 600-700 rpms, the stalling really acted up and I would have to gas it as I braked etc. to keep the engine alive and it still stalled a lot – the first night when I drove it, we opened the ac to blow air to both the top and bottom and mostly stayed on the highway primarily hoping to “break in” the clutch by shifting from 6th to 5th, 4th to 5th, etc.
When I returned home there was hot liquid on the passenger side floorboard and my wife mentioned something was dripping on her. It didn’t smell like coolant but it was definitely wet and hot so I thinking maybe the heater core at first.
The next day I drove less miles and used no AC for 40-50 miles but turned it on near the end of the drive and it overheated the worst yet where coolant was boiling in the overflow tank when I got home and the gauge was totally over the range. I tested the fan again and I realized it still wasn’t working despite being a “used/tested” fan. Moreover, I was getting the run around from the mechanic who did the work – he wasn’t answering my texts/calls about the clutch behavior which seemed very wrong and suggested I needed to purchase a another “totally new” fan.
It was using some coolant but maybe because the fan wasn’t working properly. It had overheated 2-3 times so I wanted another opinion and took it to another mechanic who suggested it was mostly an electrical issue – I needed an electrical expert according to him (after some testing) and he sent me someone else. They determined it was the IPDM that wasn’t turning on the fan and finally ordered it for me. On the way home, the car is again stalling but now I also have the oil pressure light on and see oil pressure around 10-20 when idling. I read about galley gaskets and ask the new mechanic about a P0011 (over-advance cam) and P1615 codes that came up during a stall.
He said it could still all be electrical and wait until new IPDM is installed. I pick-up car with new IPDM installed and the fan is running now but there almost a knocking like noise when it comes on that sounds bad. I decided to go about 10 miles to see if it would be better on the highway and I quickly realize it is getting worse and try to head home after I let it cool down a little.
I’m trying to baby it home and it bogs down right as I pass a flatbed pulled over on the road and the engine dies. He says coolant was coming out the engine as I went and there is a wet trail behind the car. I get the car home thinking maybe I blew the engine but somewhat to my surprise there doesn’t appear to be any coolant in the oil and the dipstick is full as before. I haven’t drained the oil to look for metal but it looks clean. So, did I just blow the exhaust side head gasket and that caused the coolant out the back? Would that cause many of these engine symptoms?
How do I determine if I just need a head gasket and a better mechanic to fix the clutch. For the clutch, could the mechanic have installed the flywheel in the wrong position and would that cause the stalling? I checked tonight and two more codes came up when the engine died this time- P1217 (Engine Coolant Temp) and P1615 (NATS Malfunction – again). Thank you all in advance for your opinions on this matter.
I will answer this here in a bit
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Joined: Jul 2023
Posts: 7
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From: NJ
Thank you for your help. I'm thinking it's the head gasket since coolant came out of the exhaust and the oil still looks good and it actually started but ran super rough. Thinking the best solutions may be a JDM DE at this point and then maybe I can figure out what's wrong with the engine in there now when I have an opporttunity. Would you agree with this plan?
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