JeffTT

Will put a list together and post up tomorrow. Jeff TT

Nooo... not the intention at all:o I was generalising, the information already on the internet can be confusing and really a bit more care when researching a fault is all what is needed and that was the point, no way should readers think of not posting their thoughts on faults etc. quite the opposite. Jeff TT

Good technical advice is a good thing, it can help you save time, money and effort, but if you get bad advice it can go a long way to ruining the 300zx owning experience. I have mentioned before my dismay at some less than accurate tech information I see on the Internet in general and sadly some of it here hence this post which I hope will be taken positively and in no way a dig at anyone. The Internet, and Internet forum clubs are a great source of knowledge both from professional, amateur and enthusiasts who through their own separate experiences bring together a larger slice of knowledge than any single owner could have accumulated themselves BUT.... all of that is undermined by what seems to be an increasing amount of poor, incorrect, inaccurate, Chinese whisper technical answers which continue relentlessly across the Internet to corrupt the correct and good information. Its not unknown for owners / non specialist garages to misinterpret a fault, or just not really understand the issue they have are presented with and may blunder on messing with sensor settings, vacuum and boost pipes etc. during which the “fault” may well correct itself as is the nature of zed / intermittent faults. Of course then this “fix” gets posted on a forum somewhere maybe in the UK the US, OZ where ever does not matter because it was WRONG! but been posted on the Internet or on a forum gives it an instant credibility and longevity of life as forums archives go on and on. Move on a month a year, two years, the wrong fix has not only been read by hundreds if not thousands of forum visitors and Google searchers but now has become a respected answer to the issue originally raised but let's not forget the answer was WRONG! and is now mixed in with all the good stuff. Unfortunately the level of bad info seems to have now become endemic in the 300zx world with even garages getting wrong, my advice is to be real careful when looking for an answer to any particular issue with your zed and equally please be very careful with not only tech answers you give from your own experience but from quoting existing ones posted elsewhere which could be wrong otherwise you become parts of the problem. Ok rant over:D Jeff TT

The manual conversion has no bearing on the idle issue, just a set point at which it became noticable, the auto ecu does not control the idle speed. The idle control valve itself is the most likely candidate for causing this particular issue, very likely the part that raises the revs when cold is sticking, or the connection is bad, sometimes the unit require cleaning internally but sometimes replacement is the only answer if all else fails. Incidently if the issue is with the idle control valve and it is now replaced the original settings have now been corrupted by adjusting the base idle screw instead of correcting the real fault, so will need setting up again. By leaving pin 44 earthed you telling the ecu its in neutral all of the time, the timing issue ONLY arises when checking the base ignition setting at tickover and provided it is still set up correctly using both a timing gun and ConZult diagnostic (as yours was )15 deg + 10 deg = 25 deg for no earth at pin 44 then thats fine, as soon as the throttle opens the base idle ignition setting is not used. Regards Jeff TT

Unbelievable what you find when changing an auto box today, given a previous thread about dangerous cable instillation was just a week ago to come across and almost identical case is bizarre. The second picture shows the cable wrapped in grey duct tape, when this tape was removed the cable was broken and just twisted together! The cable ran up alongside the passenger turbo, and the cable insulation was blistered along its length past the turbo.

Mmm, no updating required for the autobox ecu, not even possible to do it, sounds like you will have to insist they sort it whilst it is still under warranty. Jeff TT

Interesting we have at least 3 customers with 99 spec zeds, one is a black pearl T REG with tan coloured interior twin air bags, carbon dash and window switches, we have been working on it for 3 years and he has owned it 6 years, came through an importer in London in 2003 when it was 4 years old. Jeff TT

At the very least it opens up a lot more person registration options, often see good reg plate for sale but cannot have them on earlier zeds. Jeff TT

The zed is a 1991 import, however it came via Jersey having been registered there for six months. When the new owner bought from an importer here and went to register it at his local licensing centre they said they needed to contact Jersey authorities, some one there confirmed that it had been registered there for 6 months and this was taken as first registration of use (??) and hence the UK authorities had to treat it as a new car and so it was issued the 52 plate ( was current then ) the owner told me when he was called to collected the paperwork and saw what reg. he was been issued he said NOTHING paid the fee and walked away ( quickly ) with a BIG grin on his face...lucky git! Jeff TT

I Love this picture genuine 02 reg plate legally attached to a 1991 zed, took it a few years ago before a cambelt change. Jeff TT

Safety regulations and local target market. Average head height is different for different markets, hence UK spec had a rubber block on the glass inside to protect passengers in the event of a crash from head injury on the metal roof line in front of the targa, this meant the targa shade had to be shorter too. Interestingly have seen key lockable targa`s in Europe which seems unrequired, that could be a local regulation thing too. Jeff TT

Mmm as Legrath said worth checking on all zeds, 20 years of twisting and flexing, the real issue the load is not spread enough, a spreader plate under the nuts is the answer, will post a picture of what we fit to stop this once I find it in my photo files. Jeff TT

No it was a particularly low zed, the underside of it had lots of impact damage. Jeff TT

Watch those speed humps, taken at speed thay can damage more than just bumpers and exhausts, the sump on this autobox had taken a fair wack and as a result the box was misbehaving, the strainer damage was causing line pressure problems, a new strainer the sump dent knocked out and all was ok. Jeff TT

The issue of fractured lower arms was raised by Mac 1 some years ago and was as a direct result of fitting single piece rod bushes with too little compliance, a problem that was dealt with by redesigning the bushes. Check out the photos below, the tension rod arm fixings have become detached completely taken a section of the lower arm with it. The arm was discovered by an RAC recovery when called to the car on the motorway with a puncture on the n/s front, the owner not really understanding the full implication continued to drive the car for a few days until the steering feeling eventually got so bad it was uncomfortable With the wheel removal all was revealed, the tension rod arm was completely adrift and the lower arm loose to move, in fact the wheel was able to move so far back it hit the wing and so far forward it hit the bumper! With a bit more investigation it came to light that the unfortunate owner had hit the wheel on a kerb in the snow when he lost control negotiating a traffic island in FEBRUARY!! Close inspection of the lower arm you can see the metal ripped, the impact had started a stress fracture and over the coming miles the eventually metal fatigue cause it to rip out completely, driving with the puncture was most likely the last straw.

We remove them as a matter of course when we come across them, cannot honestly remember with yours if they where still in place, but either way they will not be there now:D Jeff

Brake pipes at the rear are very inaccessible requiring diff / sub frame removal, the ABS unit is in the boot and all the pipes have to go there and back out to the calipers, the photo show before and after replacement, typical cost is £350 to £400 Jeff TT

Poor alarm installations are all to common occurrence that have to be dealt with, nuisance alarms, poor responding fobs, troublesome immobilises etc., however when you see some of the cable route use by some less qualified technicians its now wonder they play up. The photo below shows part of the alarm loom on a Toad alarm from the siren to the main unit, incredible although you cannot see it in the picture it was cable tied to the steering shaft!!! Jeff TT

We found the cable just in time, as you can see it had already began to short out on the sharp hole edge, worst of all the cable was connected directly to the battery NO FUSE the potential for a fire is real, fuses save cars!! Jeff

For anyone looking to run a high power unfused stereo cable to the battery this is quite possible the worst ever way to do it. Jeff TT

If you fancy a bit of Zedworld hospitality your more than welcome, pm me your mobile and can arrange pick up / drop off etc, oh and 300zx_girl is spot on:D Jeff TT

Rather than just fitting another set I think you need to find out why the current set only lasted 10000 miles otherwise you could find yourself in the same position with the next set. Check all the caliper pistons for free movement, check the rear pads, discs and calipers too, check the master cylinder and also the vacuum check valve, that little blighter makes for all sorts of bad brake issues, and often leads to overheating of the pads/discs which is most likely your problem and will be pad material transfer imprinted onto the disc rather the unit been warped. Jeff TT

Do not worry too much, vary rare to get the 12mm out with out them shearing, not all zeds have those rubber air deflectors so are just a little add on rather than a must have. Also the clamps holding the main body are very strong and more than capable of holding the rubber in place anyhow. Jeff TT

Official owner of a wheel mountain, if you not sorted yet can help with used standard Jap spec, UK spec and even a few sets of 200sx wheels as well as some after market 17" wheels, tyres are of mixed tread depths so its a sort out what you want kind of thing, if you want photo`s let me know or call the office.( NUMBER ON WEB SITE ) Jeff TT

Remember when a spring manufacturer states their springs drop specification they themselves constructed the springs based on the ride height when brand new, yours like most others will be lower than brand new by virtue of worn sagging springs. Now if you take this in to account the new springs will most likely only lower the car from its worn level by a further inch but will be firm at this level so most likely be absolutely fine. This is born out by the many looks of disapointment I have seen when we have been asked to fit lowered springs only to find the car does not drop much if anything, the harder springs been similar in level to a worn original anyway but on the upside the handling is always improved. Jeff TT