tandyn300

Anything to do with maintenance of the PAS system can get messy quickly. To drain the upper part of the system use a syringe with a tube on the end to get as far down the source and return hoses as you can. You will need a couple of syringes as trans fluid and the piston rubbers don't get along! It is important to try to avoid letting air into the HICAS solenoid and so before drawing the reservoir fluid, pinch-off the hoses to/from the solenoid so as to retain fluid in that part of the hydraulic circuit. Isolating in this way should eliminate the need to bleed the rear power cylinder at the back of the car. Note that the hoses physically connected to the reservoir are not at high pressure; those from the pump are and should be thoroughly checked for cracks, splits or union leaks. A mysterious slight but chronic fluid loss was finally explained when Jimmer, fitting a reconditioned pump, identified a leak in the high pressure pump-steering hose. I also had a pump-Hicas solenoid hose develop a weeping split. Incidentally if you need to replace an HP hose you can get a replacement remade using the original banjo connectors. There are specialists about in the UK. A word of warning. The alternator lives beneath the PAS pump and has had a bad reputation for unreliability. The clue is in the location. Any leaks from the pump or hoses connected to it and aided by gravity, can and do find their way into the vitals of the alternator. So if you are really keen suggest getting your two chamber pump reconditioned. Seal kits still seem to be readily available together with replacement bearings. Somewhere on the forum I did a small write up on a mickey-mouse mod to the PAS reservoir level sender/ nylon sleeve to eliminate a sticking problem which can occur when the fluid gets hot.

For the hardy types who still have hydraulic HICAS in their machines... Ocassionally on a run, the HICAS warning light came on and stayed on. Steering function remained normal and the fluid level was ok and on a re-start, after say five minutes, light operation returned to normal - for a while. Conzult provided no clues either. The HICAS sensor is basicaly a magnetically actuated reed switch which is located at the lower end of the tube attached to the bottom of the reservoir cap. The metallic sleeve at the centre of the float is a magnet, which if maintained above the level of the reed switch will not cause the reed contacts to close and consequently turn on the HICAS warning light. With the engine running there is a lot of turbulence in the HICAS reservoir and the fluid gets hot. To shield the float/magnet from the turbulent flow, a plastic sleeve incorporating fine mesh 'windows' is fitted to the neck of the reservoir. Normally the float should move freely within the sleeve. However over time and with perpetual temperature cycling, what was a loose fit between sleeve and float becomes an irregular interference fit, causing the float to jam. As the ATF fluid heats up the float expands, so does the sleeve and more significantly, so does the distortion of the porous fine mesh. Also with age, fluid has permeated into the float, affecting its buoyancy and expansion characteristics. So much for the 'theory'. So how to eliminate the possibility of the float becoming jammed. Smoothly shaving off sufficient material from the diameter of the float turns out to be easily over done, quickly rewarded by a float that doesn't and a permanent warning light. Then try buying a replacement float. About now disconnecting the sensor starts to look attractive. Leaving the sleeve out altogether removes the likelihood of jamming but would expose the float to the full maelstrom in the reservoir and the possibility of an even more annoying rapidly blinking HICAS light. Don't know about this, didn't actually try it as I was on my last sensor/float combo. Trying to permanently slightly distort the shape of the sleeve by applying heat was binned, given that the sleeve lives in hot fluid As a final resort I cut out the distorted fine mesh windows in the plastic sleeve. This retained the essence of what Nissan orinally intended and it actually works, reliably. Not sure of the real esidual benefit of retaining the meshless sleeve, but I don't get that annoying light, steady or blinking, other than when it is supposed to work. Hope this helps.

For the hardy types who still have hydraulic HICAS in their machines... Ocassionally on a run, the HICAS warning light came on and stayed on. Steering function remained normal and the fluid level was ok and on a re-start, after say five minutes, light operation returned to normal - for a while. Conzult provided no clues either. The HICAS sensor is basicaly a magnetically actuated reed switch which is located at the lower end of the tube attached to the bottom of the reservoir cap. The metallic sleeve at the centre of the float is a magnet, which if maintained above the level of the reed switch will not cause the reed contacts to close and consequently turn on the HICAS warning light. With the engine running there is a lot of turbulence in the HICAS reservoir and the fluid gets hot. To shield the float/magnet from the turbulent flow, a plastic sleeve incorporating fine mesh 'windows' is fitted to the neck of the reservoir. Normally the float should move freely within the sleeve. However over time and with perpetual temperature cycling, what was a loose fit between sleeve and float becomes an irregular interference fit, causing the float to jam. As the ATF fluid heats up the float expands, so does the sleeve and more significantly, so does the distortion of the porous fine mesh. Also with age, fluid has permeated into the float, affecting its buoyancy and expansion characteristics. So much for the 'theory'. So how to eliminate the possibility of the float becoming jammed. Smoothly shaving off sufficient material from the diameter of the float turns out to be easily over done, quickly rewarded by a float that doesn't and a permanent warning light. Then try buying a replacement float. About now disconnecting the sensor starts to look attractive. Leaving the sleeve out altogether removes the likelihood of jamming but would expose the float to the full maelstrom in the reservoir and the possibility of an even more annoying rapidly blinking HICAS light. Don't know about this, didn't actually try it as I was on my last sensor/float combo. Trying to permanently slightly distort the shape of the sleeve by applying heat was binned, given that the sleeve lives in hot fluid. As a final resort I cut out the distorted fine mesh windows in the plastic sleeve. This retained the essence of what Nissan orinally intended and it actually works, reliably. Not sure of the real residual benefit of retaining the meshless sleeve, but I don't get that annoying light, steady or blinking, other than when it is supposed to work. Hope this is some help.

Repeating Stephens' question, have you checked the integrity of the vac circuit? If things improve with higher revs, but worsen with lower, this could indicate a leak. If you have not do so already, try disconnecting vac pipes one at time, smallest ones first (at plenum end). A no change result would identify a problem. And don't forget the larger and significant pipe at the back of the balance tube. BTW I use tie-wraps to secure the ends of the small/medium sized vac pipes.

I have Conzult on a netbook which would quickly identify individual problem cylinder(s). Vacuum leaks can cause idling problems and so a quick check of all connections for tightness would eliminate this as a contributory factor (affecting all cylinders). Moving up the more involved scale are the under bonnet electrical connections. Large temperature variation tend to promote contact corrosion and there are plenty of candidates on the Zed. If individual 'faulty' cylinders can be identified (e.g. by Conzult) then if gently waggling the connectors on top of the injectors causes a change in idling this could localize the culprit. The AAIV assembly has a couple of connectors which should also be de-mated and checked for oxidation. Try the easy things to start with, but without something (like Conzult) to localize the focus area to fo it could be a lengthy process of trial and error.

Please advise who is managing the 300zx attendance list for Simply Japanese . Thanks

OK. That's another SWB Slicktop to go on the list please.

Is it too late to sign up?

I've recently fitted a Bosch also with no problems. BUT repeated flattening of the battery will Roger it capacity-wise. The main problem relates to extended periods of low or no charging. Even mickey mouse current drains can become significant over a couple of weeks. As a quick short term test - charge the battery - leave about four days disconnected from the car and then reconnect and try a start. If no-go replace battery. Then with or without batt replacement suggest you check the standing current load on the battery with everything 'off'- To do this disconnect the cable to the battery +ve terminal. Then connect a set-to-current multimeter in-line between this terminal and the disconnected cable (AND DO NOT ATTEMPT TO START THE CAR) and measure the current. If it is a significant fraction of an amp, investigate further. There are a few simple/precautionary things to check; Note the fuel gauge is always working, or it does on my car, but the drain is very slight. There could be a current drain if you have an audio unit with standby supply in addition to that provided by the regular accessory supply via the IGN switch. Ditto alarm if fitted and armed when parked up. Misaligned door, bonnet or tailgate microswitches (especially if an all entry point alarm is fitted) could leave the difficult-to-notice interior light on - a good gotcha that caught me out. Also I had an alarm imbedded fault which pancaked the battery in about four days. So, the place to start is to check that standing current drain and go from there... In addition to checking what is coming out of the battery you could also check what is going in (and staying in). If you have a multimeter (now set to measure volts) there are plenty of Web sites showing how to do simple and really quick health checks on your alternator and battery system in-situ. These will check the output of the alternator and also give some clear indication of the internal state of the battery - i.e. whether it is in fact OK or should be replaced. Hope this helps. Good Luck.

Gman61, Try this link.... http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?109547-Attaching-Pictures-To-Posts-Step-By-Step&highlight=uploading+images

Thanks everyone! Will post some pics when H2XTT emerges from the body shop.

tandyn300 91 TT Slick Top. Portsmouth