Well i have been chasing a problem that occurs during cold start warmup for the better part of a year. At two minutes into the drive it begins to spit and sputter something horrible.

shifting is 5 secs slower, exhaust note is blurbly/low, power is gone...

then four minutes into the drive it goes back to normal. The cars exhaust note has changed with this problem and doesnt sound like it used to. Thats why i kept looking for issues that can make the car adjust air/fuel/timing...it seems compression in two cylinders can be to blame(as seen in lower pics)

-I previously had a p1184 exhaust camshaft position code, that went away when i put new connectors on them...then a P2a03 code which is the first air fuel sensor lean mix, but this went away...

My only current code is 0420 catalyst efficiency. i tried to remedy this by going to GTM test pipes that guarantee no code and new gaskets-but i found my stock cats seemed to be fine since the code still exist with no exhaust leaks

I have been trying to see if there is an exhaust or intake leak. so today i took off the headers to examine them. Once i got them off, i noticed all the way around where the heads meet the top of the block, there is dried coolant/antifreeze. has anyone else seen this thats seen down around their head/blocks.

im now worrying its the headgaskets since all my symptoms point to it! im going to do some further inspection of the oil and coolant. pitiful for a car barely over 50k miles if it is the headgasket, head construction, or head bolt installation.

pics

passenger side


driver side

 

03-04.5 DE??? blown headgasket caused from an overheat and all the coolant can only pass between block and head at one point behind cylinder #3 and cylinder #6... the weakest point in the cooling system... once it starts leaking there is no stoping it!!!

startup problem maybe coolant is accumulating in rear cylinders and causing rough idle conditions until it blows out all the coolant.

im curious to know how you "found your cats fine"??? just because there is material in there does not mean that they have been contaminated (ie. with coolant) and no longer storing oxygen and releasing it properly...

ask anyone with a 09 murano... it is normal

 

well I see that I am a moron... this post is in HR folder...

HR Z headgasket is the same in 09 murano... and both engines assembled in the same plant... either can be headbolts not torqued properly or maybe a vendor problem with whoever makes the headgaskets for nissan

 

situation sucks. but its getting sold after the fix.

 

actually I just noticed that on mine, the other day when i took off my test pipes to replace the gasket, I over looked it as condensation. but its been hot as hell here in the Inland Empire, Maybe its time to pull the engine and Build it right since nissan couldn't do that for me the first time.

 

any pics ? ?

 

07, 50k miles....Isn't it still under powertrain warranty?

 

yea its going to the dealer in a week. i was troubleshooting it since my exhaust and intake were on it, plus no dealer has been able to diagnose it out of all the others with the issues, and its very difficult to make time to drive all the way over to them.

 

damn, that sucks. tell us how it goes. i get a slow/no power start-up every now and then too, but i never thought of it as anything serious.

 

Hi there !

Any news from your head gaskets ? Thanks for the feed back

 

Same thinks on mine... Will post few pictures next days.

A small blue/green layer, if it's dried liquid coolant, where it come from: hoses, block engine ???

I see that also: https://my350z.com/forum/vq35hr/4801...ggestions.html

 

on no . . not this . . . oh please not this . . .

 

As you say my friend...

And without compression tools I can't check this leak issue seriously

 

No news Ivory ?

From my side, I think that the coolant leak come from the TB, when the mechanic cleaned then (and disconected the coolant hoses)...

 

Sorry to bump an old thread, but when i had my Z on the lift this weekend i noticed the SAME thing.

My car is running 100%, no issues whatsoever but that dried up coolant (just like yours) makes me question the status of my HG...Its not leaking at all but it looks like coolant came out and dried up on both sides, front to rear of the head under the headers...This worries me...

Is there anyone else that is having this issue?

 

BTW, i also have the same small leak from the rad hose that was posted on the link above. I thought it was my radiator cap so i replaced it with a nismo one i had laying around (higher pressure one, didnt think it mattered since i think the OEM cap was on its way out anyways)

Just a FYI, incase it is tied to this...

 

do all you guys have hr engines?

 

^ given that this is the hr section I'm assuming so

 

Have you done an oil analysis? That might give you some helpful information, like if there is coolant in the oil or something.

 

^ no i have not done an oil analysis, i have only done one oil change since i got the car (about 6-8 months ago)...The car doesnt seem to show any symptoms of a leaking HG. It runs fantastic IMO, its just my friend pointed it out when we had it on his lift. Its not as bad as the picture on this thread but its VERY similar.

I will post up pics of it tonight when i get home, its with my iphone but it will give you all an idea of why im raising this thread from the dead, its freakishly similar