I've had my S13 now for nearly 10yrs. It's been well looked after and garaged.

 

From quite an early age I had some rust around the suspension mounds under the bonnet. Nothing serious though.

 

Also, recently I'ev had some rust pop up under the drivers sill infront of the rear wheel. £500 to fix that!!

 

 

So what are 300s like generally regarding rust. If I get a 12yr old one am I guarenteed some rust? Or are then generally rust free?

Japs are normally quite good depending on how long they have been over here.

Not many will have rust as they are generally looked after. Recently imported Jap ones will hardly ever have any as the Japanese dont grit their roads.

Not many will have rust as they are generally looked after. Recently imported Jap ones will hardly ever have any as the Japanese dont grit their roads.

 

Are the Jap imports undersealed etc like our would be?

 

If you get an import is it worth having the underseal checked out/done?

No they are not undersealed in Japan but I think most import agencies do it when they come over here

No they are not undersealed in Japan but I think most import agencies do it when they come over here

 

Ahh! So a very important thing to check then! So around the inside of the wheel arches you'd expect to see underseal? Or is there a better way to check it?

The best way to check it is to have a bloody good look underneath the car.

 

It isn't very expensive to get done anyways.

of the three imports Ive had Ive always considered them to be much better for rust than UK's.

 

I put the GTO up on ramps at the weekend and I only brought this one over to the UK 3 months ago and I couldnt believe how good the underside of the car was! No road muck and grime like here, a distinct lack of corrosion around mountings etc.

 

I have to say for a 13 year old car my ZX was very good condition! A darn site better than many a UK car eh?

of the three imports Ive had Ive always considered them to be much better for rust than UK's.

 

I put the GTO up on ramps at the weekend and I only brought this one over to the UK 3 months ago and I couldnt believe how good the underside of the car was! No road muck and grime like here, a distinct lack of corrosion around mountings etc.

 

I have to say for a 13 year old car my ZX was very good condition! A darn site better than many a UK car eh?

 

And when they're imported over, they are as a rule then undersealed?

I think that the imports are more likely to be better in the case of rust (lights touchpaper and stands back) :D

Neil, well some companies may well underseal them, I can comment because I dont know... Mine was a personal import so it was left to me.

 

But after seeing how clean it is I have no doubt I'll be doing that job B4 the winter sets in.

oops should have read "cant comment" ....!

 

you cant edit posts on this site can you?

oops should have read "cant comment" ....!

 

you cant edit posts on this site can you?

 

 

you can when you cough up 20quid:)

Yep, £20 per edit, thats what makes zed ownership expensive.

LMAO most UK Zeds are getting pretty rusty now - this is more due to the fact we have a company over here called kwik-fit who insist on jacking the car by its sills with a trolley jack and splitting the seams, allowing the standard nissan brown to spread rapidly. Rear arches are another common problem, as are the front cross member under the rad. They're the only places really to be wary of....

My z is undersealed it came over from japan like that honest !

Are you sure they arnt all done?

Jon

I've had my S13 now for nearly 10yrs. It's been well looked after and garaged.

 

From quite an early age I had some rust around the suspension mounds under the bonnet. Nothing serious though.

 

Also, recently I'ev had some rust pop up under the drivers sill infront of the rear wheel. £500 to fix that!!

 

 

So what are 300s like generally regarding rust. If I get a 12yr old one am I guarenteed some rust? Or are then generally rust free?

 

 

go and look at one :slap:

My z is undersealed it came over from japan like that honest !

Are you sure they arnt all done?

Jon

 

 

Mine too.

I was told they were all done in Japan by the man who sold me my car.

RUST ... fook that shit .... then again I lay the car up over winter because I can.

 

If you are going to drive it in the winter (good luck) then make sure it is undersealed.

mines been over here since 98 ive had it the last 2 years not been garaged, not a spot of rust on it, even where the tw@t ran into the back of it and bare metal is showing thru it hasnt rusted and its been exposed for nearly a year, nissan used a type of body panel called durasteel thats very resilant to rust, well mine is anyway

every night I drive mine through a bath of WD40 which I had specially made for my Z. This bath leads into my air conditioned garage with its own independant heating system with a back up generator in case of power failure.

It cost me a lot of money but for the peace of mind it was worth it.

I guess I could of invested in a newer car but,,,hey, I like the smell of rust every time I open the door of my old banger. I start her up and let her smoke for a few minites (gotta get the turbo's lubricated) before I top her up with a bit of oil (this is important before I drive in case she seizes up) and thrash her down the road ...like 007 with the oil slick pouring out behind....aint no one going to beat me without traction eh?

Stilll, she is a bit old now....

I did try and get an MOT the other day but they all laughed as she is far too rusty, they are all like this so I hear

 

Any more questions??

I agree with ANDYDUFF about the common rust spots especially the crumpled sill seams often due to improper use of the ally jack that comes with the car :rolleyes: , however i have noticed a few other places that have the old tin worm setting in on my Zed (TT,uk ,nearly 80000 miles,not known if genuine)....

 

seam on offside front strut top near power steering resr,

 

small patch of flaking underseal and rusty below in rear offside inner wing forward of wheel (must sort before winter),

 

small amount of bubbling on same wheel arch,

 

large patch of missing underseal and surface rust on nearside chassis rail probably due to axle stands/trolley jacks being used there,

 

small bubble on very front corner of bonnet even though its ally !,

 

and small area of flaking underseal and rusty below on underside of nearside front passenger footwell , possibly because of slight leak on ttop seal,

 

slight surface corrosion on rear subframe and all other suspension components but this is to be expected as they only cover these parts with a small amount of black paint.

 

 

But apart from that i'am impressed there is only this amount of corrosion (nothing that requires welding ............yet !) on a car that has spent nearly 15 years mainly in the north of this country. I have usually had to have some welding done on all the other cars i have had that are this old. :)

 

I cant agree with others that say that Jap Zeds are undersealed before they come over here as surely there would be underseal all over the subrame, suspension components and probably exhaust, brake hoses etc ?

Surely they dont strip the underside of the car before doing this so it does'nt get everywhere ?

Surely Nissan just underseal every car shell before everthing is fitted ? :)

Oh and not forgetting the rusting boot lid under the sponge spoiler!!!

every night I drive mine through a bath of WD40 which I had specially made for my Z. This bath leads into my air conditioned garage with its own independant heating system with a back up generator in case of power failure.

It cost me a lot of money but for the peace of mind it was worth it.

I guess I could of invested in a newer car but,,,hey, I like the smell of rust every time I open the door of my old banger. I start her up and let her smoke for a few minites (gotta get the turbo's lubricated) before I top her up with a bit of oil (this is important before I drive in case she seizes up) and thrash her down the road ...like 007 with the oil slick pouring out behind....aint no one going to beat me without traction eh?

Stilll, she is a bit old now....

I did try and get an MOT the other day but they all laughed as she is far too rusty, they are all like this so I hear

 

Any more questions??

 

:rofl: :rofl:

Oh and not forgetting the rusting boot lid under the sponge spoiler!!!

 

This is somthing I have got to do on my UK Z. Any idea if it is a difficult job to get the spoiler off and how long does it take?

Its a PITA tbh. Just really take your time lifting gently to see where the clips are held etc. Its bonded too so you'll have to pull pretty hard. Just avoid denting the tailgate when doing it...