Hi

 

Could anyone give me some advice? I am trying to do a bit of research around servicing costs, what to look for in zx, etc before I buy one. I've got about 4000grand to spend on one. Is this enough to get a decent one or should I be thinking of stretching the budget a bit more? I would be grateful for any experiences or advice you could share to help. Cheers! :D

 

Paul

4000 grand??? fook me you can just about buy macca's for that!!!

£4k should be enough for a good one, theres a buyers guide on here which will help you a lot, just take time to get a good one and dont take the first shiney one you see.

Welcome

 

Buying guide : http://www.300zx.co.uk/tech/BuyingZ.htm

 

You can pick up a fairly decent stockish example for £4k, but just remember that there are just as many sheds for £4k, as there are decent ones.

 

Try to buy from a Forum member, as then at least know it was owned by an enthusiast and you can check back on its history though the forum.

I'd massively recommend buying on the forum here mate. I've seen the other side and it's not pretty! Looked at loads before finding a good one, which still had engine problems and was off the road more than on it. Then I got one from here recently and it's a completely different beast. Remember that the average Zed has done over 70k, which is the time when it needs cam belt changing, turbos might be on the way (esp if they've been abused), gearbox ,etc. Most forum members have dealt with these things in advance.

Nice one! Thanks for the buying guide and tell Macca it looks good but no thanks, I'll keep looking. That's something else I've noticed. Are zx's not allowed north of the border or something? Everytime I see a decent one, it's about 300 miles away from Merseyside! Not that I mind travelling or anything, but one a bit closer would be nice.

 

Definately gonna look for one owned by a member to minimise risk. Don't mind some cause that comes with any older car, but what I'm worried about is the price of replacing a turbo or the head gasket? Anyone got any stories or advice? Everything else seems pretty reasonable.

£4k is good enough, but be carefull cause a with it been a unknown quantity to many people alot of garages sell tacky standard cars for £6-7k for a 1990 for example otter trade centre in peterborough have a 1992 twin turbo in 4 different reds! with a key scratch from front to black finished with standard wheels and body for £6k however i bought a 1990 with full wide arch kit in good nick for £4k. what im saying its not what you pay, its what you buy, shop around cause they range from £3k to £8k for a 1990 and this doesnt reflect condition, its just what the sellers thing they can screw out of people.

 

things to look for:

 

allow £100- 150 to replace all the connectors in engine bay cause its very likely these will be corroded, dont be conned by nissan into a £800 wiring loom, the connectors come from durite for £2 for 2 pin ie injectors, temp sensor. £5 for 3 pin ie throttle position sensor and £6 for 4 pin ie crank angle sensor or air flow meter. the 3 pin connectors found on the coil packs are available as sets of 3 from courtessy nissan (website) in usa

 

if car runs rich when warm this is most likely the engine coolant sensor at front of engine(one with yellow connector) this is £25 and connector as mentioned above.

 

missfire at a certain rev range is most likely throttle position sensor more likely its connector located on end of one throttle body, connector as mentioned above.

 

gearbox - if its a manual you may get layshaft noise when backing off throttle at say 40mph normally in gears to back of box ie 2nd 4th reverse, not a worry just annoying noise and second hand gearboxes can be had for £250 plus £200 fitting if it does conk. if its auto the kickdown may not function, this can be the throttle pos sensor not detecting full open throttle, prob bad connector.

 

overheating - the heater matrix (heater radiator) behind dashboard is commmon to go on imports as the japs dont use much antifreeze!! check for damp on carpet in footwells

 

powerseteering cuts out - dodgy solenoid located bottom steering rack drivers side behind wheel, bad connector - direct wiring repair or dodgy solenoid these are £800 from nissan, recommend £20 second hand from breakers.

can also be speed sensor in gearbox if speedo cuts in and out too, or more likely one of the connectors to this.

 

prop bearing - centre bearing on propshaft, a clickig/judder from centre console when stepping on the gas, these are £180 from nissan plus £100 to fit(not nisan) however £50 from coutessy nissan but allow £50 delivery and £20 import tax etc.. still slightly cheaper.

 

clock resets to 1.00 when driving - dont worry there is 99% chance that there is not a earth fault with car just the clocks play up on 300zx!!!

 

rattle/blow sound at back off engine near to top - this is most likely the nut to the pipe from the manifold to the egr (exhaust gas recirculation ) valve located at the back of the engine come loose, obviously carbon monoxide enters the car!!! the nut is a pain in arse as it can just about be accessed from underneath but torquing up is impossible without removing the gearbox or lifting the engine forward.

 

check also the viscous clutch on the aircon compressor, this is located on front of engine on passenger side, it has its own belt, the disc should not stick out of front, these can break and come out and catch the fan, aircon compressors are £120 + fitting from zedworld.co.uk or £1400 from nissan new!

 

if its electric it probably wont work on a 300zx lol but dont let me put you off!!! i dont regret it.

 

also never take your car to nissan, they like to rip you off/bullshit you etc. i recommend zedworld for knowledge and if you can get second hand part its better than a overprised new one, this may of been a £40k sports car in 1990 but nissan still thinks that and charges for this.

the headgasket!!!!!!!

 

opps been there done that and it was the heater matrix not the headgasket £2600 bill for garage who imnsisted on stripping engine then telling me it was the heater!! learn from my mistake go to a specialist ie zedworld.co.uk they only charge £25 an hour and its alot less hours cause lets face it they do them all the while and know what they are doing. i have a na so dont need to worry bout turbos, but if you buying a twin turbo id allow myself a £1000 extra budget to look at it as if they need doin as they prob will, black smoke from exhaust is a sign of turbos going. as most 300zx are imports history of turbo change is not usually available so assume they will need doin as will replacing all the connectors to sensors in engine bay.

also check for a rattle which apparently sounds like "a baby's rattle" which can be heard at 1500rpm when stationary, this is the bottom end gone, ie crank, crank bearings various parts and is a major job prob cheaper to replace the engine, walk away from this

 

also the ecu as a fault code reading system, you can do this by removing the wood panel under carpet passenger side, turn ignition on but do not start engine, there is a small screw on side of ecu and a led, turn the screw fully clockwise then slowly bacvk until the led starts flashing

 

it will flash slowly for tens and quickly for units i.e two slow and three quick is 23

 

it will flash a code in this format followed by how long ago in engine starts it was in the same format and then the next code etc..

 

the ecu stores info for the last 50 times you started the engine, however you can reset it by disconnecting the battery for 24 hours so do test after the test drive in case the owner as deleted the codes to hide a fault.

 

however the ecu flashed rather quick and its bloody hard keeping up so i recommend finding the local nissan dealer and booking in a consult test £40 where these codes can be read with a computer, zedworld does consult for free if you are near birmingham(tamworth). if you obtain fault codes nissan can tell you what they are over phone or you can get lists of them online, 55 is the code for all clear (no faults)

 

most faults will be a corroded connector or dodgy sensor and relativly easy to fix, in fact you may be able to get a bargain if the owner is selling due to a engine fault if you know what your looking for (not recommended unless you know what you are looking for!!!!!)

ECU Diagnostics check http://www.ttzd.com/tech/diagnostictech.html

 

Ztech and Zen Performance can also perform free Conzult Diagnostics, and you'll often find a member in your region that has the Conzult or similar diagnostic software available.

 

 

Welcome g113emo :D Introduce yourself in the general section, always great to meet new members

also whilst in ecu test mode if you then start the engine the ecu will start flashing, rev at costant 2500 rpm, the led should flash every other second, this is the reading for exhaust emission for the left hand lambda sensor located in manifold, whilst engine still running turn screw fully clock wise and back, this switches to right lambda sensor, same test for this side, if it does not flash every other secod at 2500rpm there is a fueling fault(rich or lean) or dodgy lambda sensor(£160).

prop bearing - centre bearing on propshaft, a clickig/judder from centre console when stepping on the gas, these are £180 from nissan plus £100 to fit(not nisan) however £50 from coutessy nissan but allow £50 delivery and £20 import tax etc.. still slightly cheaper.

 

MJP and Ztech can also supply prop brearings for around £110-£120

 

Prob vibration is often usually down to the rear gearbox mount, causing the prob to move out of line, and in time causing increased bearing wear. Check and replace the gearbox mount first. Its also cheaper than the bearing.

more advice!!!

 

if its an import DO NOT USE 95ron fuel as it will detonate and damage engine over time prob blow head gasket. in japan cars are designed to run on 98ron to 102ron octane fuel whilst in uk we run crap ie 95ron to 98ron(if you can find it)

 

use superunleaded ie 97ron/98ron prefereable 98ron, the only 98ron fuel in uk is shell optimax as far as i know. never compromise with 95ron.

more advice!!!

 

if its an import DO NOT USE 95ron fuel as it will detonate and damage engine over time prob blow head gasket. in japan cars are designed to run on 98ron to 102ron octane fuel whilst in uk we run crap ie 95ron to 98ron(if you can find it)

 

use superunleaded ie 97ron/98ron prefereable 98ron, the only 98ron fuel in uk is shell optimax as far as i know. never compromise with 95ron.

 

and Tesco 99 Ron - Trialing in the South East currently. Plans for Full UK coverage shortly.

cheers legrath, also its not usually the bearing but the rubber in bearing carrier that cracks when it gets brittle over time, however its all one part to buy and rather expensive for a bearing and a bit of rubber!!!

cheers also for the fuel advice leegrath!!! however im lincs and my local garage is tesco/esso and they aint caught on yet!!!

and Tesco 99 Ron - Trialing in the South East currently. Plans for Full UK coverage shortly.

 

use this all the time now :)

and Tesco 99 Ron - Trialing in the South East currently. Plans for Full UK coverage shortly.

 

it would be nice to get some 102ron and experience car at its full potential!!

as anyone else had problem with the nut coming loose on egr valvle (pipe to manifold) ? ive had it done up twice but it keeps coming off!!! prob gonna get it welded on!

also as anyone had problems join 300.co.uk with paypal, i get a not logged in error from paypal because the 300zx.co.uk remains in the browser bar because the domain name is "masked" who do i contact to join?

 

also never take your car to nissan, they like to rip you off/bullshit you etc. i recommend zedworld for knowledge and if you can get second hand part its better than a overprised new one, this may of been a £40k sports car in 1990 but nissan still thinks that and charges for this.

 

 

That is bullshit! I took my car to a Nissan many times and never had a problem. There are Nissan Main Dealers out there that do know what they are doing!