Technical Questions & Answers

Evening Punters, As predicted by my Wife, my simple DIY attempts have resulted in a roadblock. In summary: With my rear courtesy light failing to work, I removed the cover and the bulb fell out. "Result! This will be an easy fix..." (italics for the internal monologue) With much confidence, I reinsterted the light (which looked LED-ish and NOT halogen) and SPARK! CRACKLE! (dropped the bulb rather hastily). As you can probably guess, since this attempt resulted is my understanding that these bulbs have polarity, my front courtesy lights and stereo now refuse to work (although the power aerial still does). Given my limited electrical understanding, what is the most likely o…

Started the car up today, first time in about 6 weeks. Pretty sure it was misfiring to start with and produced a lot of condensation and smoke when it warmed up. This carried on while it was running. Smelt a bit burnt as well. And while running I noticed oil out the back of the exhaust on the floor (see photo) The previous owner told me he thought the turbo rings needed attention as it would smoke occasionally. This time it smoked the whole time it was run after it started to warm up. What are we thinking? Turbo seals? Piston rings? Or something like that?

Hi. If sourcing a replacement ecu (1991 NA Manual) is it just NA / Manual that are compatible and am I correct that between 1990 and 1992 are 8bit and later are 16bit ? Any info that is relevant from reference numbers as pictured ? Any advice appreciated. 👍

Any recommendations for a decent set of discs and pads to fit a standard TT caliper? Just a street set, don’t need track pads or anything. Would like a grooved set. Looking for any decent retailers people use for these bits? Thanks

I've already managed to replace the nearside headlight unit and I'm now trying to remove the offside one. I've managed to undo both the wheel side fasteners and the front engine side but for the life of it I can't see how to get access to the rear engine side bolt. Has anyone managed to do this?

Can anyone recomend a puller that can fit underneath the base of the wiper arm or indeed a hack. Mine seem to be well stuck and I want to paint them and the scuttle trim. Scrap this, I've just found something.

Given the impending dark evenings, I started the process of sorting out my "slow returning" seatbelts. After being advised that Sillicone spray would solve my problem, I had a good look at the belt and belt area to see how I would be able to spray the belt itself. Here is a picture of what I found... I guess that answers why my return is so slow...same setup on the passenger side too. I am thinking this is "not normal" and I need to remove the panel to make sure the seatbelt sits "outside" the trim...? If so, any special tool need to remove the trim or is it just matter of removing the screw(s) that hold the trim in place? Answers on a postcard! Thanks, Phil

I posted a while ago about my headlight problems and I've had a couple of auto electricians look at it without much success. Can anyone recommend a 300ZX specialist who also knows about electrics? Otherwise I'm left with a very expensive static display.

Hi All. Been far too long since being on here. Feel disgusted it's been over 18 years since my Z has seen the road. I should have tended to her far earlier. She's been started and run periodically with a jump pack and always fired up straight away and had done so all these years. Been a few months and decided to fire her up to move, as usual she struck up straight away with jump pack but instantly died and hasn't started since. When turning ignition on noticed I couldn't hear pump prime, so checked relay and seemed to be ok but doesn't seem to be getting triggered.(Bypassed relay at connector, pump could be heard) I thought when checking it must just be fuel problem b…

Ok, where do i start LOL A month or so ago i came back to the zed to find it started. I reversed out of the garage, went inside and found it had stopped. Not knowing how it stopped i pushed it back in the garge and went to work. After work i removed fuel cap (lots of pressure) then the fuel pipe from the main inlet after the filter. Cranked for fuel to find fuel in the jug. I then went back to the filter (one that i changed last year) and emptied it out to see if there was any debris. Nothing. put back together. Cranked and then engine kicked in. spluttering due to fuel coming through. Now, i have been driving for weeks. Been to two car meets over the weekend, one being i…

Hi does anyone know if a 1999 auto box is a straight swap in a 1991 car, both are from Twin Turbos.

So I own a n automatic 94 2+2, and recently theres been this constant tapping sound coming from it. I wouldn't say its coming from the engine itself, but rather somewhere behind it or under it. The tapping also seems to correspond with the rpms, since it'll get faster if I rev it, and then go back down as the rpms go down. A coworker of mine compared it to something he experiences with his truck, the "Hemi tick", which is caused by fluids that aren't warm yet running through the engine. It used to be constant as the car would run and drive, now it'll be super prominent when it starts up, and slowly go away as the car settles. However, this sound has been linked to the eng…

Its been a long while since I posted on here but I've got some trouble starting so looking for some help please. I disconnect the battery when not using the car so I go to reconnect and the car always fires up first time, no issue. Then if I turn it off and try again I do not get any dashboard lights or power, the only thing lit is the air temp on the ac panel. When I move the key to the starting position everything goes dead, as if the immobiliser is kicking in (an aftermarket cobra system). The battery is decent at 12.55 volts. When in position two it drops to 12.48 v then when I try to crank and everything goes dark then it rises back to 12.55v. I've connected an…

Is there any difference between these 2 filters other than the stabilising brackets, the expensive one doesn't give dimensions.

hi guys, I am in the process of restoring my braking system on my Z and recently I found out that the later model ABS pumps/modules in the 300ZX's don't require bleeding which in my mind would be a great way to not just reduce the service time and maintanence of my braking system in the future with this later model abs pump setup but also completely remove the chance of me accidently spilling brake fluid from the pump into the cabin of the car during the old early model brake bleeding procedure if I ever need to bleed my braking system in the future. I have already purhased a later model ABS pump model from Japan as well as acquire all of the metal hardline…

Can anyone tell me what gets mounted to this spot? Assume it monitors flywheel speed for motor RPM but wasn’t present on my old transmission.

Hi jimmer. Thanks for message, I was going to pull the pump/sender but didn't bother as I quickly jumped the pump relay connector to bypass relay and the pump could be heard. So it seems the ground trigger is not getting sent to relay as relay is not clicking when ignition is turned on but relay works when tested. Thinking this must be the case for loss of spark aswell ?????? Thanks for trying to help as I'm completely in the dark with it all 👍

Is this damaged mesh critical, if so can it be replaced or will I need a new one? Also, would replacing the stock airbox for a cone filter be beneficial other than gaining better access to stuff down there?

Is it possible to remove the headlights without taking the bumper off

My son has bought a 1986 Nissan 300zx to restore, however it has a few electrical issues that require attention but of the couple I've tried so far they don't seem to be interested. Unfortunately neither of us know what we're doing and just wondering if anyone can help, we're located just outside Ramsbottom, Lancashire.

Need some help or ideas. EU- Spec, 1990 300ZX Twin Turbo Targa Manual 2+2 The ABS light appears when I start driving, but disappears after the car is shut down. Any possible reason for this? I’ve already checked a few things: all ABS sensors have been cleaned and inspected, and the wiring shows no signs of wear or damage. The ABS control unit showed five long red lights, which should indicate code 50, but as far as I know, it’s not an official code. The speedometer isn’t working, so that might be related to why the ABS light turns on after driving. We removed the Vehicle Speed Sensor (VSS) located near the transmission, and everything appeared fine—nothing out of place. T…

Hello all, I have a very strange issue with my car. I own a z32 NA with auto gearbox. The other day we found the battery dead for some reason. Never got to find out why and how. Anyway, after having charged the battery, we put it back in the car and faced this strange issue... when engaging any gear the car stalls. A friend told me to pump the gas paddle hard a couple of times and then try. It worked but the problem was back. Everything seems fine and no one seems to be able to figure out the problem. If you pump the gas paddle, it will engage but if you have to move the gears, say from drive to reverse or idle it in neutral and then engage again, the problem comes back. …

Afternoon all, Looking for some advice as I stand on the forecourt of a garage in Malta. I drove the car here, warmed down the turbos then turned off the ignition. On restart (10 minutes elapsed), I disabled the immobiliser as normal and cranked the engine as normal. No fire up. I am yet to pull a plug and check for a spark but fuel pump runs, I can smell fuel but not too strongly, all fuses are good. I interchanged EGI and ignition coil relays with no effect. Has anyone experienced anything similar? Rob +447703237954

Hi all, I'm looking to fit a new head unit in my 1992 Z32 as I'd like to add Bluetooth functionality for calls and music (UK radio is slowly killing me). I'm pretty sure but will double check I have the original bose speakers, which I've seen online don't always play nice when trying to fit a new head unit. I'd be looking for a single din one to fill the same slot, but don't really know where to go from there. Happy for any recommended units that can interact with the car and meet the needs I am after.