1990 300ZX Twin Turbo Detail

[MrChrisRenz]

Hey guys,

This is my first post, I just recently bought a 300ZX. I was able to detail it and drive it today finally and I love it! I'm going to post the link if you want to check out pictures of the car.

http://imgur.com/a/zqv2s#0

The car has about 77k miles on her. She's in pretty good shape. I did some research before buying and learned that these cars can be very difficult to work on or cost you a fortune to bring to a shop... My buddy is a pretty decent mechanic where as I know very little. So he's going to show me the ropes and I hope to learn a lot.

I noticed today a power steering fluid leak and also an oil leak when I moved the car out of the garage. Is there a common line that leaks around this mileage? Hopefully I will be able to get her on a lift soon and check it out. Any tips or information will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[grayman_TT]

Congrats on the purchase! Looks very clean.

I would start with looking at the lines that run from the reservoir to the pump. If they are leaking from that area, check the alternator to make sure it hasen't been coated with p/s fluid.

[DCaff300ZX]

Welcome!
Congrats on your buy, and as Grayman says check for leakage and hopefully it hasn't gotten into the alternator- a common cause for alt failure.
Also as a 1990 model, be ready to inspect and clean the various connectors for the green corrosion that will cause issues.
Also be aware that ethanol and your injectors are poor bed partners, made worse by the always-on voltage to the injectors...a very common problem for '90-93 TT's.

[MrChrisRenz]

Thanks guys, I really appreciate it! I will check those things out right away. I know of Specialty Z and Z1 and even Concept Z, are there any other places you guys like to buy parts from?

[DCaff300ZX]

Many guys on the East Coast swear by IPP and use a guy named Kyle there, he comes highly recommended.

[MrChrisRenz]

Ok great! I have the website bookmarked now. I appreciate all the help and look forward to learning a lot from you guys.

[evildky]

It's not he mileage that's an issue, it's a 25 year old car! Common oil leaks are the exhaust cam covers and the oil tree. The power steering high pressure hose is also a common issue. Higher miles means more wear on a lot of parts but 25 years of age on rubber and it just breaks down regardless of mileage.

[MrChrisRenz]

evildky, that's a very good point.

I will hopefully have time this weekend to go through the vehicle and change all the fluids. This is what I plan on putting in the vehicle from the research i've done, if there are better products please let me know!

Motor Oil - Mobil 1 - 10w-30 - http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mobil-1-10W-3 ... ./17128878

Transmission Oil - Red Line - MT90 75w90 - GL4 - http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=46

Differential Oil - Red line - 75w90 - GL5 - http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?product=57904

[evildky]

Dexron type ATF for the power steering, lots of people screw that one up. I'd do the Timing belt unless i knew it had been done in the last couple of years. GL5 isnt needed for the diff as it' a viscous.

[MrChrisRenz]

Thanks, I was just reading a post that you commented on from 2006 about ATF... I would've bought the wrong stuff had you not said something. Thank you.

Just to double check, this product would work fine, right?

http://www.z1motorsports.com/product_in ... ts_id=6545

[DCaff300ZX]

That ATF would be perfect.
If you get in the mindset of some preventative maintenance, should your injector connectors come up green go ahead and replace them- the newer ones are sealed better for corrosion and saves tough cleaning on the female connectors that really can't be done well enough anyway- the male injector end can be cleaned better and easier. Your Idle Air Control Valve may also become finicky for a similar reason (connectors) but also in that unit becomes sticky and doesn't work correctly which can cause some issues. Therefore a weekend spent replacing those connectors and maybe even the whole IACV unit and PCV hoses as well could be a valuable weekend spent for the future.

[evildky]

Yup, Motul os good stuff. I see a lot of people putting the wrong stuff in their systems only to make problems worse it amazes me how many people still make this mistake.

[MrChrisRenz]

DCaff & Evildky I appreciate all the feedback.. I'm learning a lot already.

DCaff - I had wanted to buy an exhaust as one of my first mods but now that you're pointing out all this preventative maintenance I think I'm going to focus on that and spend money there and get the exhaust later on down the road. I'm a rookie when it comes to working on cars but hopefully with the help of a friend I will attempt these things!

evil - It's interesting to me that people make that mistake.. I will admit I know nothing when it comes to working on cars or which products to use but a couple minutes of research and talking to you guys on this forum I've figured some stuff out.. No excuse to mess it up! Also, do you have a thread to your car? It looks like you're autocrossing in your thumbnail I would love to see some pics/info!

[MrChrisRenz]

Couple things -

1.) I bought a binder today so I can catalog all work done my car and keep everything in one spot.. I also put the previous owners records in there.. I will post of some pics of the service records so you can see what I'm working with.

2.) I've been looking at timing belts. Should I stick with OEM or is it worth it to pay the extra cash for these performance type timing belts?

[DCaff300ZX]

With the tb I would say OEM is fine for normal usage, but if you like to drive your Z a little hard and/or may upgrade it or track it, go the extra $ for a good belt. I ended up with the kevlar racing belt from Z1, buying on Black Friday sale, and BTW- spring for the RameyZ HD idler studs as you don't want those to go either, and on occasion they do.