Jack

just had my 97na MOT'd and even this one is listed as a no-cat test. The tester advised against removing the cat, but not from an MOT failure point of view.

Richard - I've a mig welder in the garage if you want to borrow it and do it yourself. Cheerz Jack

I had a similar problem when I bough new disks for my NA a few years ago. They had to have 3mm spacers behind the disks - between the hub and the disk - to get the disks to clear the calipers. All was ok, but the original disks centred themselves by locating onto the hub. Because the new disks were now not touching the centering device on the hub they very easily ran out of true - giving the wheel wobble that you talk of. If your wheels are not located centrally (in a similar manner to the disks I mention) then this would explain the wheel wobble. An easy way to check is jack-up the front wheels, take the car out of gear, place a tin can with a screwdriver on it on the floor and point the sharp end of the screwdriver at the lowest edge of the rim so that it's almost touching. Now turn the wheel slowly, and if it's not mounted centrally or if it's buckled, you'll notice it. It's relationship to the sharp end of the screwdriver should remain the same for a full revolution of the wheel. And of course you need to check all 4 wheels in this way. Good luck Jack

Tie rod bushes, or worse tie rod breaking loose from it's rear fixing. Does it get worse under light breaking at speed? If it does, it's tie rod related. Good luck Jack

The MOT I had on wednesday - talking to the guy there and he'd failed a Z (it was parked out side having a miss-fire sorted) because the owner had a stick-on carbon fibre panel (over the original back lights) with holes cut in it to allow the lights to work. But if you look at the back lights they have a reflector in them - so when it's parked at night in an unlit street, approaching cars can see it co the reflectors. The failed Z had these covered up co the carbon fibre panel. So what the owners done is buy 2 stick-on reflectors and stuck them to the rear bumber to pass the MOT... Has your got rear reflectors? cheerz Jack

Your wheels are on the wrong sides ...how many times do I have to tell you?

...and you can re-use the prop centre bearing... Good luck Jack Ps I drove an auto for 6 years now I've got a manual (both NAs) - and I have to say that the manual's much more fun...

...what I did with my NA when I bought it last November was run 0-40 fully synthetic in it as both a thin oil for winter cold weather - and as a flush. I'm not sure if it works as a flush, but being thinner, to my simple mind, it must 'swill-around' a bit more than a thicker oil... Of note, the engines noiser with a thinner oil. Good luck Jack

...I'll tell you somthing else mechanics do - as witnessed by a mate of mine with his wife's brand new Renault something or other. Goes like this. Change the oil at the first service interval ie after running-in, and to make sure that they get all of the oil out of the system, after draining, they run the engine to pump any residulal oil out of the engine. So, when he pics up the car he can hear the bearing of the turbo whistling... knackered turbo, gets replaced under the warrenty. In talking to the mechanic he said that they did this because customers complain because the new oil looks quickly looks like the old oil - they get accused of charging for an oil change whilst not having done one. So to prevent this they get as much oil out of the engine as possible. ...this was a main Renault agent. My mates wife now drives a Honda.

...had an MOT today and I don't think that the reversing lights were part of the test. Question, have you an MOT certificate that's younger than the receipt for the new back lights. If you have then you should be ok. Good luck Jack

I wouldn't bother - there's so much residual oil left in the car when you do an oil change, whatever crud you put in will eventually contamiante the new oil. Of interest I did an oil change the weekend before last - then bought some oil (better spec) of SuffolkZX (Richard - many thanks) and did another oil change last weekend. So, the oil I took out was 1 week old - and it came out almost black - you'd swear that it'd been in there 6 months... So, reasoning is, there's lots of old oil remaining when you do an oil change - therefore do lots of oil changes if you want to remove the crud. Good luck Jack

Had the same problem and it was a fuse in the footwell. In trying to trace another problem I replaced the lights fuse into the wrong slot - and all I got was main beam, nothing else. Once I'd spent a few hours trying everything, a few mins on the forum and I had the answer. So, as well as making sure the fuses are ok, make sure they are in the correct slots. Good luck Jack

my last NA had Platinum plugs in it when I got it. I ran it for 6 years and changed the plugs for Irridum variants after about 2 years - no difference - then at about 3 years I put the original Platinum ones back in - no difference - so, after that I took them out annually, looked at them and admired the fact that they still looked new and put them back in. ...and I bet it's still got the same plugs... My current NA has - you guessed it - Platinum plugs. Good luck Jack PS they are expensive.

...unlikly. The trouble is, I'm married to a teacher and they have a rough time at work - so, as soon as any (school) holidays come along, she's always keen to get as far away as possible. It means that we are always booked to do something else whenever any of the shows are on - as they also tend to be in the (school) holidays... And, there's no way she'd be interested in standing around looking at cars - unless they were all parked in a garden centre...

Sorry to hear that the move didn't work out. As for the exhaust, it's not the purist in me, it was the noise. The day after I drove it home for the first time, I took it into work and all came out to see it. As they all marvelled in the noise from what were ostensibly 2 straight through exhausts, a bloke from the printers next door came over to see what was making all of the noise. He passed various comments then drove off in a brand new TVR something or other - and the Z was definately noisier. It had to go - sorry about that. Went to a good home though. I also put original coilovers back on too - and got rid of the tints - and any of the bling that I could find - sorry about that, that bit is the purist in me.

JJP - you'll be please to know your old purple beast is alive and well - used daily although with the standard plates. Oh- and I've put a quieter exhaust on it... cheerz Jack

I though it was a device used to test the brakes. If they've no info re brake performance (cos it's a jap import) - or a rolling-road type brake test facility, they use a brake decelerometer to check brake performance. They place it in the front passenger footwell, take the car for a spin and slam on the anchors. If the readin's ok, the brakes pass the test... At least this is what they used to do in the old days... I was there! ...and I could be completely wrong. Cheerz Jack

Phil - I was travelling along the A14 the other day doing about 65 as part of my 'I must drive more slowly' campaign when I was overtaken by my old red Z. I sat there looking at it thinking 'theres somthing familiar about that Z'... So I dived into the outside lane behind it for a better look and it took me all of a minute before I recognised the number plate. I'd owned it for 6 years, and I was so surprised how long it took me to realise it was my old car. I must be getting old... Cheerz Jack

Mt Ventoux - been up that in my Z - not as quick though. Most people do it on push bikes. It's the mountain that killed Tommy Simpson - with the aid of a few artificial stimulants...

Gaz - sorry about that. I ran an early group 4 Saab 99 turbo may years ago and enquired about water wetter co a race car engineer who told me not to use it. The answer for the 99 was a 900 radiator as it was bigger. good luck Jack

...the ignition light does not always come on when the altenator fails. The failure can be instant so you don't get the faint glow of a failing altenator. The voltmeter check is the way to go. Replacement altenators are about £150 new and if you've the cash, buy new because its a bar steward of a job replacing the altenator. And if you buy 2nd hand, you run the risk that the 2nd hand unit is also knackered... Good luck Jack

...my jap import is spot on when checked against my Roadpilot speed camera system - gets about 1mph out above 80. Have I read somewhere that removing the needle from the speedo is very difficult? Wheels too big?

...was once told that water wetter works by removing any coating from the internals of the water system - like a mild acid - and if you've any worry about the quality of the cores in your rad, don't do it. Mind you, if you live in an area of hard water, then it might be ok. Personally I'd use a 50 50 mix of good antifreeze and de-ionised water. ...what about all these heater matrix leaks - any link to water wetter?

Graeme ...sorry about the 7.40am delivery. Mind you, if something arrived for me at 7.40am, they'd have missed me - on my way to work by then. God luck with the bike Jack

if you've got blocked PCV valves they can blow the main seal between the engine and the box - that would give you the smoke occasionally. Also check that it's not the prop seal where it enters the gearbox. That smells strong as it's different oil. Good luck Jack