K.I.S.S.

[darrel]

Keep it simple stupid.

 

I have been guilty of not keeping it simple. I got a call from a fellow z club member. He is not overly mechanically inclined but I hope to help him along the way. He has had a few very nice stock 240z that he has restored along the way. Two of them he sold, one he still has which is his car. 

 

He sent me a link to a vid of the knocking his car was making. I couldn't open it so I called him. He was on his way to my end of the metro area to check out a 2.4 engine advertised as just being rebuilt along with the head for $250 on CL. I met him at the shop where the engine was. What I saw was a short block, no pan, no front cover, no cam towers, head off block. The head was an e31 with serious pitting in 1 and 6 combustion chamber. The valves, some were sunken while others were standing proud off the seats. I must say the head and block were really clean and might have been rebuilt by someone, obviously not by the guy who was selling it.

 

My friend was really interested in buying it. Being someone who likes numbers matching or close numbers matching he really wanted the engine. Attempt number one at talking him out of it failed. Good thing the guy selling it only wanted cash, otherwise my friend would have put it in the trunk of his mercedes. If I was looking for a 2.4 engine this wasn't the one I would buy. To me it was a short block core and only worth $100 or less and that would include the e31 head as is, no cam towers, rocker arms or valve cover. I did have another friend that has a 55k miles 2.4 still in his car that would be a great motor, a lot more complete than this boat anchor I was seeing. Attempt #2 at talking him out of it finally worked before we left the shop. I'm not sure exactly what I said except repeat what I told him before. This engine was basically an unknown, the engine my other friend has is known and I have driven it.

 

So he showed me the video he took on his phone, obviously I couldn't hear the knock and decided to follow him home to check it out in person. Back in november I had just replaced the head on my 620 and started it without the air cleaner and emission hoses hooked up. So I kind of know what sounds these engines can make. 

 

We get to his house and he starts up the car. I hear the knocking sound. But it isn't metal to metal or a hard knock like a bad rod or wrist pin. But I have heard the sound before and recently.

 

Can you guess what it was?

 

To be continued

 

And remember, K.I.S.S.

[Wide14u]

you need to Finnish telling us what it is

[sick620]

too much letters and im too lazy to read them all, can someone summarize this for me?

[darrel]

No guesses?

 

And what better things do you have to do? It's obvious you're not working on your datto's!

[datzenmike]

too much letters and im too lazy to read them all, can someone summarize this for me?

 

Goes with friend to by motor... talks him out of it... the end

[nismosilvia]

Exhaust leak or the normal sound the engine makes?

[darrel]

The sound it made was very similar to the sound my 620 made with the air cleaner and smog hoses unhooked.

 

It was definitely sound of air moving.

 

I told him to take off the belt to the smog pump. The sound went away. I never noticed that sound when I had all the hoses and air cleaner hooked back up on the 620. It does have the filter box on the fender and maybe that also muffles the sound. 

 

I don't know if a completely stock 240 makes that sound either, but his was. He was very glad he didn't have to buy a new engine as a back up. If it still made the sound I do have a feeling he would have bought the boat anchor we looked at. But I would like to think I actually did talk him out of buying it the second time.

[sick620]

and the moral of the story is?

[darrel]

Don't drive your drunk buddies around and wait for them after they b & e for booze and tv's.

[graveltrapp]

O.K. got it.