WillieO

Ive one too - I mean a pair but in central Scotland

At about 60k miles a cam belt change is also in order - you ready for that too? As for the sparkies they're supposed to last about 60k. Mind your new copper sump plug washer too. PS also driving my 820 to work these days but its got a 200bhp turbo engine that does awful things to the front wheels. Too much muck on the road right now but I do need a z fix. Will wait till the weekend.

You can feel sort of hesitations as it changes 1-2 and 2-3 when going from cold in really stone cold weather and it needs warmed to go to 4th when cold at 30ish. For the hesitations I think this is just the ecu retarding the engine timing to smooth out the changes and a v cold engine then slurrs a bit. When mine is warmed up the changes are hardly felt unless you kicked down whereby the changes happen about 7000rpm. Never knew the lock up could work in 2nd though. I feel it in 4th but I am not convinced I can feel it in overdrive locked out (3rd) but engine braking is defo there with OD off. Mines a UK. Just realised Jack already said most of this in a different way

Another poss but I think its probably rare as Z bearings seem to be long lasting. That would be wear in a wheel bearing allowing the hub to run off true. This could give the same effect as warping of the disc. I worried mine had that as new Nissan stock discs were giving vibes within a year of fitting and even after tension bushes etc it was still there. Had the discs skimmed - still there. Gave up and new 3g discs fitted and re built the calipers - result great brakes and no vibes. Mines appoaching 130k now. Can you check the trueness with a borrowed dial guage to measure disc runout when you spin the wheel. I used one to see how far out my discs were. Even took em off and put on on different stud holes on the ultra cleaned up hub to see the difference - there was one but not as much as the warp the guage clearly showed I had on just one disc.

Cant be ABS - is it new calipers too or the original ones? If you have sticking pistons in one caliper then one side of one disc heating more than the other with the energy of high speed braking will be enough to warp em a little and still not give any pulling. Same can be temporarily solved by new pads because you force the pistons back in to the cylinders. Once the pad wears again and the piston reaches the point where it will stick you are back to the same problem. Solved by popping the pistons, a good clean up and new seals or new pistons if they have rust marks on them. Big slightly out of balance wheels could also impact this.

Tony It has to do with how far the little gizmo inside sinks or floats - it'll have marks on the side. I think it gets more bouyancy the more antifreeze you've got. Trouble is it varies with temp too. I think its got hot and cold levels I have one and I found it hard to read - best to get some antifreeze and put a small mixture in a paper cup or whatever with water in the proper proportions and use that as a reference for your tester to check where the float floats at cold. At least that way you convince yourself that what you do is correct if you get the same reading when you check the cars coolant also cold. Does this make any sense? Willie

How many miles does everyone get? Mines look toasted after about 10k. Fronts might make 15k. 265 on the back and 235 front X 18s

Toe out or toe in can be better diagnoied by feeling for feathering. Run your fingers from the inside edge out and vice versa. Smooth one way and rough the other is s sign of bad tracking. Smooth inside to outside I think is toe out, outside to inside toe in. Smooth both ways means camber is the most likely reason. If the neg camber isnt too bad you could always justify cornering that bit quicker in the dry and not worry about the tyre wear as it is only evening things up!

Rob You'd see this in searches. Lots have had it. This most likely cause is the bolts throught the new poly bushes. They are not tight enough and allow the stainless steel insert to move against the bolt making the clonks. You need to get them re tightened. Check the two holding each tension arm to the bottom track arm as well. Cant remember if it is 17mm or 19mm but get on yer back with a spanner and a socket wrench and tighten them! I found one took nearly a whole extra turn. Stopped the clonks instantly! Done in 5 minutes including getting our your tools Willie

The handbrake thing is a diagnostic to prove the system is working. I changed my rear shocks for new stock (Tokico)ones cause she was giving the little sideways skip at the back over potholes etc. I was surprised to find that you had to transfer the electric actuators to the top of the new ones. It does work too. If you get the handbake warning light on the rear goes stiff. The ride is well stiff enough for my liking on normal with 18" and 265s on the back! I heard here that the ecu is supposed to switch it stiff under full throttle acceleration to avoid squat and at certain high speed conditions but I see nothing about that in the manual. The USA models had a sport/normal switch by the handbrake to switch it manually. A stiffer rear is probably good for trackday driving. Made me think it was a system left in but not selectable except with the handbrake trick in UK. Others may know better.

Dick300 got his powder coated and refinished. It looked very good and smooth. I am sure the alloy wheel refinishers could do it

You could take the wheels off and give your discs a de glaze by rubbing them with emery paper. It could give enough friction to get you through the test. Eventually it will polish back up again. Same with the pads. take em out rough up the surface with emery paper and it'll help give extra temporary bite. They are probably glazed with lack of use too. As long as you dont have to drive too far to the test you wont polish them back up.

You might have to rebuild re seal and give a good clean to your caliper pistons. Mine had warped new discs within 5k. I reckon that the sticking pistons had meant that each caliper was applying breaking force unevenly. This results in one side of the disc heating much faster and hotter than the other side in heavier braking. Result warping. Eventually it gets worse, wears down the high spots and the disc eventually sets warped. A £35 Nissan seal kit, new 3g discs and a few hours cleaning and changing the seals restored my brakes to new performance. They are still great and no sign of the slightest judder or vibe. Been through the poly tie rod bushes too - it changed and reduced it but did not stop it. It was the pistons sticking on mine. The main seals were fine but the dust bellows were well perished and a lot of dirt was jamming 2 pistons on each caliper. No corrosion luckily. I needed high air pressure to get the sticking pistons out. Once done you can push the pistons back in with your fingers - no need for levers. If you need to apply lever force you pistons are sticking too.

and its a 2 speed fan on a TT and speed and water temperature and aicon on/off related as well. But sorry I dont know if it stays on - mines certainly never has in 2 years as far as I know.

Steve Mine too. Its the rubber mount that perishes and goes harder than a witches t!t then cracks and sags and leaves the shaft on the bones of its ar$e so to speak. My old one's got a perfect bearing in it too. How's your firm on rubber goods? Actually I kept mine going for ages by taking some of that heavy polythene curtain stuff that fork lift trucks barge through in the factory - not many left now. I cut a strip and slipped it under the centre bearing in between the fold on the perished rubber on the bearing mount with propshaft gently jacked up a bit to support it. It works fine for a while but eventually gets depressed and squeezed out as we all do eventually! You just have to get the proper one unless you can remake the mount in bonded rubber with the right elasticity etc etc £135 ish and 3 hours ish labour

...and watch those greasy roads out there when you unleash the ponies through only 2 wheels especially ponies on ecu steroids. Its not summer now and cold damp air means more horses too. I've got the traction control that leaves skid marks in your pants and makes you lift off sharpish when the tail steps out. Some dozy sods keep their foot down as the world rotates around them. Power isnt everything but its nice - and can be dangerous.

Can be tyres too. If they've worn off square or at the wrong pressures. You could prove it by switching the fronts side to side - I know you've probably got directional treads but you could do it just to prove it then switch back again - dont go out on the rain otherwise you will aqua plane with directional treads the wrong way round! As Andy says if it was the disc it would get very hot. I had that on an old BMW2002 I was trying to restore. The dragging would progressively get worse and eventually stop the car and pull the wheel ever harder to one side!

Is it not possible to shim the top link mounting points on the body to reduce negative camber? The other way I know is replacement adjustable top links?

Provided your water level is right and you dont have a gassing blown head gasket causing airlocks it sounds more like a dead thermostat. These are designed to fail open. This means your engine is over cooled instead of the other. To prove it start it from cold let it idle and feel the top rubber hose connection. Watch your fingers with the fan mind! If it warms slowly the hose will gradually get warm but never hot - means that coolant is flowing from word go instead of being held back until proper temp reached. If the thermostat is working properly it would stay stone cold until the stat opens whereupon the top hose suddenly hots up as hot water is allowed to circulate to the radiator at the correct running temp. Your guage should also show low temp all the time when the stat is jammed open. Also no heater! You'd probably need 25C outside and slow traffic just to get it up to normal with a jammed open stat! or go at 120mph or more! If your water level was low or you had an airlock with no circulation- driving hard would totally sh*g your engine, warp heads blow head gaskets etc and your heater would still be cool. A temporary if dodgy fix if its thermostat is to put in a sheet of cardboard to cover at least half of your radiator surface. Its trial and error. Never tried this on a zed though. This helps reduce the cooling available and brings the running temp up a bit till you get a new stat in to regulate it properly. You have to watch temp carefully! Running cold all the time is also not good for it. Willie

keep the aircon on for a while as in dont switch to econ for the next few weeks. The dehumidified air will help dry it out inside. You must have a leak though or damp in your carpets. Willie

Anybody ever used aerosol touch up paint on a red zed. I did and while I got a good finish I can see the colour is not a perfect match. Is it crap touch up paint from Halfords or has me car faded? The original finish on my car looks superb and nice and bright in the sunshine. Under streetlights the front bumper can a look slightly different shade and of course my small repair. Any pigment guru's out there?

Sorry Jack, I know - couldnt resist a diversion into other directions

Quote - in case the word mass incites more roiting. Isnt it incredible how religion can cause riots! I cant get over that 100+ are dead cos of the Miss World contest!

Theres nothin to beat proof Jack. However a pulley weighs nothing in comparison to the flywheel so I doubt the weight argument carries it for the underdrive pulley. The famous Stillen catalog claims something like 20bhp for an intake and 25bhp for a cat back exhaust and I think around 7-9 for an underdrive pulley - however they could, maybe, just possibly have an urge to exagerate a teensy wee bit to help sell stuff. No doubt the 7 - 9 is at 7200rpm as well and its all pro rata below it so 2bhp at 2000rpm or unfeelable! While a lightweight flywheel must save power and inertia for rapid rpm acceleration there can be costs in rough idling and less smooth gearchanges. Same for the damping effect of a properly designed pulley - can damp vibration and harmonics in the crank as well. I think your money is better spent on tyres or fuel. cheerzz Willie

I dont think many people realise just how valuable a firemans pension really is. Most in the private sector see more and more companies stopping final salary schemes for money purchase schemes. Even insurance companies. Why? because they can give a pay cut of about 15% with hardly anybody realising its being done to them and younger people especially not even thinking it affects them. A firemans pension must be worth in the region of 25% of gross salary in real private sector terms, maybe more when early retirement possibilities are included. So while I agree a catch up in basic rate is warranted please include the perks as well in the comparison and be aware that the private sector actually has falling salaries when pension commitments by employers are included. Public sector pensions are generally a promise carried by the private sector. Private sector pensions are generally a bet on the stock market. If your employer goes bust so can your pension.