very. You really dont wanna run the risk of the belt snapping, if it does its mega bucks to fix it.

Depends on age of car

As an example my previous zed had done 66k miles and the belt was fine when I changed it and the car was 7 years old.My present zed with 47k miles on is 10 years old but the belt was ready to go when I changes it.Mileage is only one of the factors to concider, better to be safe than sorry I say..also a belt is only £47 takes 4 to 5 hours all in.

Jeff TT

Thanks.....OK, so I did a bit of hunting around on the links from this site and old threads etc and found the following list....

Timing Belt:

Auto-Tensioner

Thermostat:

Water Outlet Hoses (2 req'd):

Water Pump:

Water Pump Gasket:

Alternator Belt:

A/C Belt:

Power Steering Belt:

Cam Seals (4 req'd):

Main Seal:

Intake Cam Sprocket O-rings (2 req'd):

Intake Cam Sprocket Springs (2 req'd):

Main Crank Sprocket (you might have to remove the current one the hard way):

Crank Rear Spacer

 

 

Do I really need to do all this at the same time ? Surely replacing the water pump is only needed if it fails ? AC Belt ? Power steering belt ? Obviously I dont want these to fail, should I do it all at once ? (And the dreaded question ? £?)

Courtesy Nissan ( http://www.courtesyparts.com ) sell a "Kit" which has everything you need for $380..

 

Waterpump is a good idea - if it's had 60k on it, then it's getting old.. And to change it you have to take the belt off (and therefore replace it) anyway.. Same goes for the AC belts etc - you have to take them off to change the cambelt, so why put the old ones back on? you're just saving work up for yourself later when it's not so easy..

 

It's something I'll be doing next month (60k maint).. Alone and scared.. Unless anyone wants to give me a hand

Okay zach I can see where your comming from.

Right,when I did my first zed as mentioned earlier found belt was ok but one of the water hoses needed changing.I changed both but by buying a length of pipe from a motor accessory place the same sizeand cutting to suit ..cost £3:00

I did change the fan belt air con etc with Nissan parts after finding non Nissan belts do not fit properly, they are expensive £12 to £16 each but its a once in job hopefully as they can be fitted after if yours have some life in then its your call.That was the total expense that time,however on my second zed the pipes looked ok as did the pump etc as far as you can tell (or not) did not change the drive belts all ok total cost timing belt £47. But 3 days later the punp failed and so did one of the hoses!! dam!!

so replaced the pump £68 the thermostat £20!!and the pipes £3 (again) no probs now. The other cam seals etc I have never done and only would if they were obviosly leaking.

My advise change the belt and pipes and stat.My pump failure was mechanical (front bearing) and I suspect that was due to over zelous tightening of the fan belt.

Jeff TT

 

 

 

aaronjb where are u? the belt change is a challenge but if you use the belt teeth counting method its simple, the real work is in the dismantling. Jeff TT

 

I would recommend doing the water pump. Mine packed up at about 42K and I had the timing belt changed at the same time.

Originally posted by Jeff TT:

aaronjb where are u? the belt change is a challenge but if you use the belt teeth counting method its simple, the real work is in the dismantling. Jeff TT

 

I'm in Slough - so quite some way from you..

I should be OK - I hope..

 

Mind you the rate this car is developing new problems The oil leak is becoming quite major - pretty sure thats the main crank seal..

right so it makes sense to do the lot at once and like aaronjb would have to do this alone (and probably even more scared!)

assuming I can find some good instructions in one of the tech sections, how long am I looking at cause the car is essential for work ?

If you get all the bits, and are anything like me (reasonably adept, but never done it before) I'd say a weekend to do *everything*

Just the belt - a day..

 

There's a tech on it at http://www.twinturbo.net

 

If I do it before you and do it right, I'd be happy to pop down and give you a hand - you're not that far away really..

zach and aaronjb,

 

I also am almost at the 60K mark, would it be a good idea if we were to order 3 sets from courtesy and have sent to 1 UK location. I am in Bournemouth and I see zach you are in Southampton so I could pick mine up blah blah

 

any thoughts??

Yep, good idea - bournemouth, southampton slough all pretty close - work in Bromley so anywhere is better than that !

what would be better is somewhere where we can sit three cars and get through all three at once ??? Martin, you considering doing this yourself or do you know someone decent in the area who you trust to do it ? Am also considering underdrive pulley while it's all off but still need to do some looking about to weigh up benefits..... comments welcome as always

 

martin - sounds like a good idea to me..

 

zach - i was considering a UD pulley set, but they're so damned expensive.. $200-odd for just the main pulley, over $500 if you want the pulley and all accessory wheels..

 

and there's a lot of discussion about them on tt.net... premature crank bearing wear etc.. not good stuff... Hmmm...

where's Phuong when you need him?

 

------------------

Az

you won't need all the other accessory pulleys.

 

There are loads of people in the US that have the UD-pulley for many years and thousands of miles, without any problems..

Haven't heard of any crankshaft/bearing-failure caused by a UD-pulley on a Z32 yet.

The only problem I've heard of was on engines that were used for racing-purposes and were capable of >9000rpm.

 

I have UD-pulleys on both my Z's, also for many miles and not a single problem with them.

 

-Eric

Okay, so I'm just about to show my ignorance.

 

What does the Underdrive pully achieve/do and how?

 

Thanks

 

Tim

Eric - I'd read that too.. But then there was a large discussion on TTnet recently (I'm sure you saw it) regarding the harmonic balancers, and the effects of UD pulleys on 'domestic' v8's etc..? Someone reported having 25k on a set of bearings that looked like they'd done 100k..

Of course for all we know he ran crap oil and caned the crap outta his car...

 

Oh yeah, and I know the other pulleys etc aren't really needed.. but they do look nice.. and .. blue.. and yes, of course if I was to get a UD set, i wouldn't need the stock belts.. forgot about that

 

TT Tim - the UD pulley does two things;

a) it's made of ali not iron, so removes a load of weight from the crank - weight off the crank means more power available at the wheels.. (well OK, sorta.. I'm sure someone with more time will explain exactly what it does - but basically, faster pick up)

b) it's slightly smaller, so runs the accessories (alternator, air con etc) slightly slower - not noticeably so in terms of charging/cooling - which removes some parasitic drag off the crank, achieving the same effect as a).

 

Az

 

[This message has been edited by aaronjb (edited 10-09-2001).]

personally I think turning up the boost will do more harm to your engine then a UD-pulley...

ok, so I did both.. turn up the boost and install a pulley, so my engine can explode any second now

 

The pulley is one of the most cost-effective mods.. (10 bhp extra for only 120quid)

 

 

[This message has been edited by lymon (edited 10-09-2001).]

Hmmm, this is all worrying since I want to dish out some cash for a set of UD pulleys. I would guess (and its only my opinion), that somebody who fits UD pulleys, probably drives their Z like 'they should do' - a bit harder. :-)

 

I'm not convinced that bearing should wear and quicker. If anything, you'd think to opposite.

 

Perhaps, the extra wear on that guys bearings was due to improper replacement of the belts - done them up too tight, etc. (Or bought some dodgy UD pulleys what weren't balanced properly)

 

I know I can get a full set with free pulleys from Courtesy Parts. But is there an outlet for Unorxodox in the UK?

 

 

Simon.

Eric - I agree it's a valuable mod.. like any mod it'll reduce life a little. but hey - we live with it, right?

 

FYI (anyone who cares) this is the discussion I was referring to;

http://www.twinturbo.net/cgi-bin/ttnet_viewmsg.pl?forum=main&msg_id=684438

 

WillyEd - the discussion is about whether the Z is an externally or internally balanced engine. i.e. if the pulley plays a part in balancing the crank (i.e. the pulley has a non-neutral balance). if this was the case, then fitting a neutrally balanced pulley could induce vibration and damage the crank..

 

Personally, I dont believe the crank pulley on the Z *actually* has a harmonic balancer, merely a torsional dampner (rubber ring), in which case, theres nothing really stopping you fitting a UD pulley.. except a slight jarring from the accessories loads..

 

Aanyway..

 

I imagine Johnny @ GPS could sort you out a UD pulley set.

 

------------------

Az

Ahhh I see. (Should have read the discussion first) CheerZ WillyEd

ok guys,

 

have sent an email to courtesy to see what (if any) the saving on shipping 3 kits over at the same time will be.

http://courtesyparts.com/Z32-TBKITA1.html

 

zach

no i was not planning to do the work myself, I was gonna get my mechanic to do it.

 

also how about getting the Spark Plugs-

(PFR6B-11B)

(pac of 6 plugs) at $51 ?

I'm intending to get the crank lightened and balanced by this company in Grays Thurrock (near Lakeside) in the next couple of weeks. Would it be worth asking the guys there to measure the state of balance with the Crank Pulley on, and then with it removed, to see if indeed the two items are independant in their balance value?? (It would make sense that anything outside the engine should have a neutral load i.e. Flywheel / Clutch / Crank Pulley)

 

 

WillyHead

willyed, that is THE idea, sods law says we try to save some effort by doing the whole lot at once and screw it because everything relies upon the other parts. Also how much for the lightening & balancing of the flywheel ?

Martinfa, Who do you use mate ? as I heard of a 300zx garage down your way somewhere who seemed quite knowledgable when I spoke with them, but nothing beats a reccomendation...

Extra stuff in the order means extra value so don't expect to get away with the duty and VAT. I just got a separate bill from FedEx for my Courtesy order of about $120 (not incl shipping) of £30 VAT & Duty & admin !!!!!

 

Crank balancing is one thing (static or dynamic) but the main issue here is harmonics. I believe that Nissan thought long and hard (or their computers did) about the mass of the pulley, crank, pistons etc. etc. and came up with an answer. Do you really think that they added an extra 5 lbs of steel for a laugh ? I doubt it. They went to certain lengths to save weight (not as far as an aluminium block unfortunately) and to design and engine that would be reliable and not shake itself to bits. Changing stuff like the pulley, pistons, cams etc. moves towards the outer edges of the parameters they set themselves. The result of this will be increased wear, reduced reliability blah, blah. If you are happy to increase that risk and do not expect to get 150,000 (or whatever their desired mileage was), without an engine rebuild then that is your decision. But of course the golden rule is you never get something for nothing.

Interesting willied that according to Nissan themselves the crank on the 300zx is already balanced and blueprinted as it was exactly the same crank used on the nissan gtp car that came fourth at lemans and won its class.