Hi all,

 

Please bear with me, I'm just trying to work out if some of my auto 300ZX's quirks are problems or simply 'undocumented features'.

 

My Gear change is quite jerky from 1st to 2nd - particularly when cold, the clutch also 'honks' a bit from time to time when under heavy load.

 

There's two yellow dipsticks at the back of the engine - is one transmission and one engine? One (LHS from the front) is completely clean and seems overfilled the other is a bit dirtier and also seems overfilled. I checked by pushing the dip all the way in - is this correct??

 

Cheers,

 

RobH

LH one at the back is the auto dipstick.

RH one on the side is the engine oil.

 

The clutch honks ... never heard that one ? Sure it's the clutch and not the intake (if you have a non-standard intake) ?

 

Neither should be overfilled, engine oil is alomost immediately dirty (that's how you know it's doing it's job). When was the oil last changed ?

 

My auto was a little harsher when cold, but not significantlly so.

 

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Z32 technical article index - 300zx.org.uk

Rob,

 

the gearchange should be smooth as you like; mine has no problems at all (any more!).

 

You are correct about the oil dipsticks; viewed from the front the one on the left hand side is the transmission oil; the one on the right is engine oil. The tranny oil has hot and cold fill ranges; mine has always been full to the top. If yours is not full, it should be - the transmission is a sealed unit that no oil should be able to leak from.

 

Tranny oil should always be clear, with a nice red colour and no 'grainy' feel to it if you rub it between your fingers. If the oil starts to smell a bit burnt, turns brown in colour or starts feeling grainy, it is worth having your gearbox checked. It's probably also worth getting it checked if it isn't changing smoothly. 300ZX auto boxes are renowned for falling apart; mine is a lowish mileage example (42k) and the gearbox fell apart last week (interestingly, the oil appeared fine). Had to have a full soft rebuild (wearable parts of the gearbox, i.e. not the axles, case, cogs) at £1,500 inc VAT so it's worth at least taking the sump off to have a look-see.

 

If you have an older Zed (Series 1 I think but I'm sure people on here will correct me if I'm wrong!) the oil cooler really isn't up to the job and it may be worth getting it replaced. Any good transmission shop should be able to do this for you and it shouldn't cost too much. If you get the box checked, it is definately worth having the cooler checked at the same time.

 

Also, you could try running the self-diagnostic on the gearbox (go to Tech Stuff \ Useful Info \ Online Manual, select Automatic Transmission from the drop-down and go to page 45). (Thanks to JeffTT for this tip!) This wont necessarily tell you anything as it just checks the sensor circuits are working but you will at least know the box is checking for everything it should be. Again, when mine fell apart the diagnostic thought everything was OK and I had no warning lights so don't assume everything is OK just because the diagnostic says it is.

 

If you want your gearbox checked and live in the South East, I can strongly recommend Mister Transmission in Charlton (SE London, near the Dome - they're in Yellow Pages or yell.co.uk). Ask for Mark Fotheringham; he knows his stuff.

 

Hope that is some help,

 

James.

 

Hmmm...thanks for that, some food for thought, think I'm gonna have to buy a manual - owners handbook at least...

 

Maybe there is a problem there - might just be the wrong viscosity of fluid (?) - it's fine when warm....

 

Cheers,

 

RobH

 

Hmmm...thanks for that, some food for thought, think I'm gonna have to buy a manual - owners handbook at least...

 

Maybe there is a problem there - might just be the wrong viscosity of fluid (?) - it's fine when warm....

 

Cheers,

 

RobH

 

Ummm . .that's taxt manual - -not manual gearbox...