turbocraigy

The ptu (power transistor unit ) is an ignition amplifier. Its role is to take the signal from the ecu (which is small and does not have sufficient power to directly trigger the coil packs) and boosts it up to provide the req'd electrical current to the primary circuit of the coil packs. This unit is a real common failure point, when it gets hot it fails, then it cools at works. Surprised you got 100miles with it. See if someone local can lend you one....

Crikey! Not your average repair then really. Glad it all worked out for you, Lee is obviously rather handy with auto electrics! Cheers:)

Looks MINT!

Sounds like a PTU fault to me. You got the car hot and it has failed when you stopped for lunch. It then cools down and restarts. My PTU failed a couple of weeks ago, I just got home on the drive and it cut out, wouldn't restart until the next day. Took it for another drive, within 5mins it cut out again & wouldn't restart. Fortunately I had borrowed a spare PTU, replaced it and it started immediately, swapped it back and it wouldn't start..case closed. I have since bought a generation 2 PTU and have had no problems after fitting... HTH

Mixed bags of opinions here. Fact is the NSX does cost a huge amount more than a ZED. The ZED is far better value. Trouble is when you start considering an NSX for around £20k, you then start considering what else is available for that price! I wonder if the NSX was available at Zed prices how they would fair. For a start they would be far more common and as such be plenty of thrashed & abused examples about that would show there weaknesses. Peoples opinions of them might be quite different.

I have very recently overhauled the braking system. The tension rod bushes aren't leaking either & look ok. The front discs are around a year old, but are cheap crap from ebay.... Can tension rod bushes be knackered without leaking?? Cheers for your replies guys....

Can worn tension rod bushes cause intermittent steering shake under heavy-ish braking. Last night when I was thrashing my car around, the brakes were taking some stick & I was getting some real apparent steering shake when braking. The pedal was NOT pulsing. Tonight, lots of sensible driving, not a hint of shake even when braking hard. Strange. Warped discs - can't be cos the pedal would pulse and it would shake all the time? My bushes look OK and are currently OEM ones. Any thoughts guys? Cheers....

I'm glad new cars are getting bigger and fatter cos that means heavier. And with the car industry trying to make them super efficient, our Zeds will seem quicker at the side of them. Yep, the Zed is a wonderful shape. Love it!

When you say whine, it could be normal transmission noises you are hearing. Assuming you have a manual box.... I had a what seemed to be a really loud whining noise from the gears under acceleration and it turned out to be just a rubber gaitor. Check that the rubber gaitors have not come away from the body. Remove the centre console and check they are firmly seated to the base plate under the gear stick. There could be nothing wrong with the box - just when accelerating you can hear the normal noise louder due to the gaitors not being in place. The bottom gaitor secures to the body,the top gaitor secures to the bottom gaitor. I was amazed how much noise these rubbers keep out after refitting them properly. I've also had a worn prop shaft bearing, but that was definitely a vibration not a whine. The vibration was felt thru the seat and was worse when cold. After a few miles it was less noticeable.

Can you tell us what the faults were has it might come in handy for others at sometime? Always good to know the solution to the problem.

This may sound really silly, but you say you've made sure econ is off? To check the operation the air con, set the temp to 10 and press auto, then alter fan speed and air direction to suit (if you can). Ignore me if you know this already, just making sure its not something really silly! Pressing the econ button turns the air con off, pressing auto allows it to come on if the temp is set low enough.

Standard electrical contact cleaner in a spray can.

Can't speak about the GTO, but the Zed is a money pit. If you're happy driving a shed Zed that simply runs then fine, but getting & keeping a really good one costs money. Not suggesting they are unreliable though, but they need looking after. I don't think they are over suitable as an everyday drive, although some do use them like that. Best as a 2nd car to drive & enjoy only when you want to and not when you need to.... IMO:)

I've just come back from an hours hard drive, a proper blast & thrashing. The engine is obviously very hot (as always), but its fine & have got a standard radiator albeit a brand new one. And its been a very hot day. I've warped my discs in this short time though & cooked the brakes!:(

Beware - they are serious money pits! I mean it!

No mate I didn't, got an OEM one.

The car could be poorly set up and maybe the 02 sensors are not working properly.

As for me, going to be fitting the following over the next couple of weeks.... UK spec rear ARB, new front & rear drop links all with E.S.bushings. New front rack bushes - again E.S. New OEM oil pressure sender. New revised PTU

Full no claims is generally 7 or more years. Protecting them is a optional extra, but costs. I haven't protected mine as yet. Personally, protected or not, I think they take any accident you have and calculate the risk into the renewal premium. They never lose! IMO!

According to my sources.... R33 GTS - 246 bhp , weight at 1360kg (0-60/6.04*) (0-100/14.86) ******cks 300zx - 280/300bhp, weight at 1590kg (0-60/5.9) (0-100/14.88) Like I said nothing in it, but personally think the 300zx is fractionally quicker, Nissan's own stats suggest (0-60/5.5) for the zxTT manual.

I would say stock for stock there would be little in it, although would think a healthy 300zx TT would have the edge. Is you car running correct? Are you in safety boost? Safety boost is indicated by about 3/4 swing on the stock gauge or roughly 2 marks positive of the mid marker.Standard boost is a little more, just shy of the next mark - gauges are not very accurate though. Safety is 7 psi, normal is 9psi, but the timing is retarded in safety mode and this is what blunts the performance most. You might be able to tell if your safety mode - I could really feel the timing difference most. The car was obviously holding back.

AFAIK, you don't have to inform the insurance of the other car (BMW). It is a separate policy and the no-claims are tied to that. Tell them when your up for renewal, you will retain the no-claims, but they might take the accident into account. Obviously you will loose any bonus on the Zed's policy.

Good advise that.

Cheers mate.:)

Yet again a quick forum search solves a problem..... My car developed a really noisy 2nd gear, I assumed it was because of wear and mileage. Thought it would probably need a rebuild! A quick search......noisy 2nd gear http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=89020&highlight=noisy+2nd+gear Bobs you uncle! The rubber gaitor under the leather had come loose so when in 2nd it lifted it up and let all the noise out! Can't believe how well these rubbers work. I secured the top rubber to the lower rubber more securely with a large cable tie. Job done, noise gone.:D Thanks again 300zx.co.uk