Bought a 91 300 import about 8 months ago (mid life crisis I'm told, but who cares) and I absolutely love it. It's in great nick and the motor is smooth and rattle free. However the car has developed a vibration which I can feel through the seat, which comes in at about 60mph. It is not affected by engine revs. I'm thinking drive/prop shaft joints or dare I say it differential. Any ideas/tips

The car has clocked 45000miles, has 4 new tyres and the wheels have been balanced twice

I also have a 300 n/a, mine has a slight vibration coming from under the seat as well.

Don't know how much incomparrison to yours though. I noticed this on the initial test drive when i brought the vehicle, but it didn't really concern me as it still drove sound.

In my experience of other motors not much on the 300's i would say that your thinking is correct and its got to be related to the prop/diff.

One slight maybe though could be the exhuasts as they run right under the seats and could and can vibrate. This is what i put it down to on the inititial test drive.

I think the z is a very weird car and the longer you have it you pick up more and more strange noises and think "no what is that now" But theres an old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it. cause you could be fixing the wrong thing at great cost. from all that i have read on these things you should make sure the car is serviced frequently - esp. oil and the rest wait for it to go bump in the night. Well that is unless you like thowing large quantities on cash away.

Sorry if i havn't helped much but it all helps in the end.

Locky

 

...jack up the back of the car and get underneath with a 14mm spanner. take off the 4 bolts that fasten the rear uv joint to the diff. Push the drive shaft forwards enough to seperate the joint and rotate the shaft through 90 degrees. Replace all 4 bolts and tighten. Lower the car and see if this improves the vibration. You can repeat this 3 times untill you are back where you started. Mine is best at 270 degrees. I've replaced the centre bearing too which helped only a little. From what I read on the forum, it's not repairable without major expense.

 

good luck

The usual culprit for vibration after the wheels have been balanced is the propshaft - the bearing can go....But try Jacks solution first before spending money on it.

Good idea Jack.

 

Also be aware that the tranny mounts degrade over time (sinks) and can put the prop out of line. Always replace the tranny mount if replacing the prop and centre bearing.

 

Andy

Hi,

I have a new, unused gearbox rear mount for a manual Non Turbo if anyone wants one cheap!

JEZ

Jez

 

...I bought the centre bearing off you and it fitted a treat - thanks very much. Mines an auto so the gearbox mount you have won't fit. When I bought the centre bearing you told me that I didn't need to replace my gearbox mount as being auto they do not take the same punishment as a manual. But, I've still got a (lesser) vibration even after trying rotating the prop shaft 90 degrees then living with it for a week, then rotating it a further 90 degrees and seeing if there is any improvement. Overall it's pretty much the same in any position. At 90 and 270 it's ok, but at 180 it moves the vibration to the front of the car. So - question is, is there any value in replacing the gearbox mount - as it's the only thing left assuming I discount replacing the whole prop. Mines a 90 na jap import with about 70k on the clock.

 

...your thoughts would be appreciated. Many thanks

 

Jack

Worth a try - from what I remember there is a link on TT.NET and its not a big job.