My Z!

[Medic!]

Hey!

You might remember me from other threads such as new-guy-looking-for-a-z-opinions-on-thi ... 96744.html, where I chronicled the trials and tribulations of buying a Z in Ontario Canada.

Well, I found one! It was the first one I spotted online, and the road that led to it was full of wrong turns, and bumps a long the way.

I started looking for a Z in January. I always wanted one, but they were expensive, and my background is in Hondas. I have owned a few Preludes and liked them. I still do like the ludes, but being a James May-ish kind of guy, I don't fit in with the majority of the Honda people. I like clean, OEM/JDM, and the scene is shifting towards cheap and tacky. My car bores them, and theirs give me a headache. Time for a change.

I listed my 1996 Prelude (beater) for sale, and started looking for a replacement. Just for s*** and giggles, I searched for Z32's, just to see what was going on in that neck of the woods. I was surprised to see that some were actually affordable. One that piqued my interest was a red 1990,2 seater, from Las Vegas. It was listed for sale in December, for $5398 (a weird number for a private sale). The ad said the car needed a strut and rear tires. Price was negotiable if I safety it. I messaged the seller, and waited. And waited. And waited. Not a word. Annoyed, I went to go see other Z's...

A while later, the ad disappeared, and I figured the d!ck had sold the car, and hadn't bothered to take down the ad. A couple of days later, the ad popped up again! WTF? So I sent another e-mail. Still no reply. I wondered if the car was a scam, phishing for deposits. When I wrote the seller, I had about ten questions, all technical. I figured, this might be scaring the scammer off. I had my girlfriend Connie aka Stancie, write, essentially pretending to be a blonde bimbo; "Hey I want a lil red sportscar, and yours looks like the one for me!" She got a reply. A-HA! SCAM!! I said! They want a deposit right? Nope. "The car is in storage until April, contact me then if you want to see it." WTF??? Why list it for sale in December, and again in February, if you aren't showing it until April?? I did a full investigation on the e-mail address, and, found everything there was to find about this person online. Everything seemed to check out. Why so flaky though?

More Z viewings...more junk and wasted time.

Out of the blue, Stancie says to me, "I got a reply about that red Z. She says if I want to see it, I can come on the weekend." A couple minutes later, my phone beeps, and I got the same e-mail. Turns out Stancie had to work, so I jumped at the opportunity. Saturday morning, I headed over to Mississauga (about an hour from where I live), and there she was, parked in the driveway.

A quick glance revealed some door dings and stone chips, but no rust. The interior looked immaculate as well. I became giddy. The lady came out and fired it up. It started up right away, and idled smooth and quiet. The engine was clean, with no mods. The interior was phenomenal. I expected the seats to be hard and dried out, having spent 25 years in Nevada, but they weren't. Soft as butter, they were. The interior was clean, and stock, except for what looks like an ancient aftermarket radio. The tweed is spotless, with no wear.

The car had with it, a folder of receipts going back to 1990. Timing belt, AC compressor replaced, brakes, oil changes, transmission servicing, you name it. It also came with a heavy carpet dash pad, the covers for the t-tops, and, a full car cover. I'd never seen anything like it. It turns out, that the original owner of the car is a friend of the lady I bought it from. He was looking to sell it, and she jumped at it. She drove it back to Canada in May. She had some concerns over practicality (winter driving), and decided to put it in storage, and sell it.

I took it for a test drive, and, it drove as good as it looked. My mind was made up. This was my car.

We made a deal on the car, but she wouldn't take a deposit. I was worried she might flake on me. The whole way home I was on pins and needles. When I got home, I called her up and told her, I'd give her the asking price for the car "as is" as long as I could pick it up that night. She agreed, and, I waited for Stancie to finish work so she could drive me down there in her car. In the meantime, a fellow showed up to look at my Prelude. We took it for a spin, and he gave me $1200 for it. I was asking $1500 (Which is what I paid for it two years ago), so I didn't lose much on it. Most importantly, it freed up a parking spot!

As it happens, the car didn't need tires or a strut. Granted the rear tires are in the twilight of their legality (and usefulness), they were good enough to pass safety. Cost me nothing but the inspection price to get her on the road!

- 1990
- Nissan 300ZX
- NA
- 2+0
- Manual
- Built 12/89
- Aztec Red (heeding the warning to not call it 'just' red)
- Leather interior
- 107000 Miles.

Stock except for an aftermarket radio, and Chip Foose F115 18" rims.



The night I picked her up. It was a bit dirty under the light. You wouldn't guess to look, but it was about -20 degrees outside when that was taken. I froze my arse off snapping pics on my phone.


The next day it was lamentably cold again: -13 with a windchill of -20. Did that stop me? Hell no. The bumpers were a bit faded, which was pissing me off, so I set to cleaning them up. Because I was parked on the boulevard, my buffer wouldn't reach, so I had to compound by hand.






A little bit better. Not a perfect colour match.



Cleaning and waxing the nether regions. They don't come clean like this up here.



Engine:


Interior:






On Friday the weather wasn't as bad, so I took it to the car wash and sprayed off the crud. No leaks! I took it home and gave her a quick once over with some compound, and a coat of wax.




Then it rained.


My plans for this car are to keep it pretty much as it is. To me the Z was a perfect car right out of the box. A testament to "less is more". Clean and classy. No body kits or wings for me.

What I would like to add:

- TT spoiler. The TT front lip with those little vents on the corners would be nice too.
- Climate control swap. I have the early automatic one that has no vent selection (that I can find).
- Short shifter with a new stock knob (maybe red stitch, maybe not)
- Yellow fog light capsules (if possible), or the yellowest bulbs ever created. I like the clear lenses, but not the white light.
- A working antenna.
- A new radio. Stock? Aftermarket? Double din nav? (I am a tech noob so advice is welcomed)
- Wheels. I'm on the fence about the Foose wheels. They're big and I'm paranoid about bumps. Tires are a b**** to get. Stock are nice, but if I can find a nice set of aftermarket (not too blingy or boy racerish) I'd change them out.

Job 1 is (and always will be) maintenance though. All of the frills can wait.

[wisniaPl]

Congrats
And looks like you have it well planned
Btw that climate control is not that easy Ive heard almost impossible
You would have change whole plumbing motors etc etc....I would leave it alone its not worth the hassle

[DCaff300ZX]

Congrats, she looks nice! Great deal for the money with the condition of the interior and paint, and extra credit for the leap of faith after ALL of the BS you went through previously!

[Medic!]

^^Thanks! I really lucked out on this one.

I have on order/on the way:

- Short shifter
- Red stitch shift knob, boot, and, e-brake boot.
- Fog light conversion so I can run 55w yellow bulbs
- Yellow fog light capsules (I don't know if they will work with the Z fog lights, if not, I'll put them in my lude)

What I need:

- To go from this climate control:



To this one: (LHD obviously)




I also need one of these door vent shrouds:





I'll put this down to bad gas (from being stored), and probably needing a tune up:


200 miles since it was topped up.


I started cleaning up the interior/trunk and door jambs today. It snowed a bit while I was working, but no biggie. It has this alpine amp bolted in the little tray just behind the seats. I have no idea what it does (I have never been a car audio guy). It sounds like a standard car radio to me. It isn't loud at all. I don't mind, I'd rather listen to the car anyways. All I seem to get on the radio is commercials.

I'm not quite sure wat to do with it. I don't like where it is. To me it screams "HEY! YOU!! Yeah you.. punkass lowlife! Smash this guys windows and steal me!"

Right now I hide it with the bags for the t-tops.



I love the paint on this car. They didn't skimp on the areas that you wouldn't normally see.




I dumped a bit of seafoam into the crank case in preparation for an oil change (probably next weekend). I thought I heard some lifter tick, and I read that seafoam can un-tick ticking lifters. I'm interested to see how she does with a full seafoam treatment. I know it made all of the other cars I used it on run like scalded cats.

I also picked up two new tires for the rear. $420 installed.


I absolutely love this car.

[Ace2cool]

Not sure you can swap the CC unit without a TON of headache. That'll at least be a cluster swap, if not a re-wiring job.

[Medic!]

I was going by what I read in a thread on another forum:

http://www.300zx.co.uk/forums/showthrea ... difference

If it is as easy as swapping the pod and a module, I'd be interested. My pods are a bit loose anyhow. If it involves a lot of re-wiring (my least favourite thing to do), I'll stick with the auto(enig)matic one that I have. I never know where the air is coming from with it now.

- I Have it booked for an alignment Thursday morning, so I don't chew up those new tires. Hopefully they won't try to hose me like the other shops did with my other cars.

- I had a really bad bog a couple of times the other day, at the same stoplight. I thought I stalled out it was so bad. I had to go 3/4 throttle before it would move off the line, and then...it...moved! I think I have a neck injury from it. I'm thinking its tune up time.

[grayman_TT]

Congrats on the purchase. Looks very clean.

[Medic!]

Hey guys, heres an update on my Z:

I'm up to 112700 miles now =/

I managed to get two new tires for the rear, on those huge rims. I wanted to pick up a set of stock wheels for it, but I'm having no luck. There are a few posted in the area, but the people don't reply to their ads, with the exception of one peach who did send a reply. He takes a picture of four rims with tires installed. They looked pretty old. He was asking $200. Having purchased stock wheels and old tires for other cars for $100, I didn't think it was unreasonable to assume that he was unloading the burden of (disposing of) the tires on a potential buyer. Afterall, they were in the picture. I asked what their condition was, because I got lucky with a set of "trashed" tires, that lasted me an entire summer.

"I thought it would be obvious from the price that the tries are not included."

Prick.


Tires vs. no tires isn't the deal breaker, his candour was.


I seafoamed the Z. 1/3 in the crank case to see if I could get rid of that lifter tick, 1/3 in the gas tank to clean up any gunk in the system, and, the remainder was sucked up through the vacuum lines on the intake hard pipes. Well, the drivers side slurped it up like it was going out of style. The passenger side didn't draw any in. The lifter tick disappeared for a while, but it is back again.

Up next was an oil change. I always dread these on a new purchase. When I work on a car, I am always kind to future me. I torque things properly, put anti seize on tricky bolts, route wires so they are easy to get to, and line up clips and clamps so they can be reached. Without fail, every car I buy has had it's oil filter torqued down hand tight...+650 foot pounds. This car was no exception.

I set to the oil change kind of late in the day. It should have only taken 20 minutes though. That filter would not budge, no matter how hard I pulled on it, or swore at it. I put some nasty gashes in it before giving up. A couple of days later I had another go at it. I had twisted it, and nearly tore it in two by the time it finally popped loose. The drain plug was another pain to get undone. I topped her up with fresh Royal Purple 10W30 (which looked delicious), and installed a new Nissan filter. It ran a lot smoother, an the lifter tick was gone...but later returned. Being mosty familiar with Hondas, I am still amazed that these engines don't use/use very little oil. I haven't had to add any since the oil change.


I changed out the spark plugs as well as installed the new intake:

Almost every connector for the coil packs is held on by good intentions. Most are missing the snap that holds them on. Taking the balance tube off, the hose in the middle spit. I ordered a new air regulator hose, and a pack of new coil pack connectors. THe new hose is on now, but I haven't gotten to the coil pack connectors yet.

The spark plugs:

1, 3, 5; yeah.. those are wrong.





2, 4, 6;





These were all replaced with new OEM plugs.


I installed the Z1 short shifter, which was a total pain in the backside. The lower dust boot ripped to shreds, and I had to order another one. While taking the console apart for the short shifter, I found that the radio shroud is pretty much trash. The screw holes for the clock are long gone, so it kind of dangles. I'll need a new one of those. I'd love a double din set up, so I'm holding off on purchasing anything that I won't be able to use later on. The cigarette lighter was also in bad shape, so I ended up buying a new one with the lighted shroud, as well as the console finisher. It all went together nicely, with only one major problem. Nissan changed the gray. The new part is a lighter gray then the rest of the dash and door panels. Yup, that is going to be annoying for me.





Fuuuuuuuck.

I found out today while working on the interior, that the passenger window switch on the driver's switch block will only roll the window down. It won't bring it back up.


I installed my yellow fog lights, which don't look too bad in my opinion.




I picked up a replica TT wing from a guy just north of where I live. Unpainted, and no third brake light (yet). I was toying with the idea of painting it myself. I have painted wings in thepast... its just a real pain in the.. you know where I'm going with this. It is possible to get a factory quality finish, it just takes a lot of prep and the right conditions. The only thing stopping me from trying it is finding the paint. Nowhere has spray cans of Aztec red. I am also worried that the paint has faded quite a bit over the past 25 years, and won't match. Not sure what to do with that.

I took the car to a body shop a couple of weeks ago to get a quote on having the door dings removed, having it resprayed aztec red, and, new clearcoat. Basically make it look brand new again. I was thinking $35-4000. Here was what I was quoted: If I strip the car down myself; take off the trim, the lights, the glass, bumpers, and deliver it to him on a flatbed, and then put it all back together myself when he is done with it...

Ready for this?

Six thousand dollars.

No rust, just door dings. $6000! I only paid $5400 for the car! I told him, for $6k I'd not only expect him to do all of the work, but I'd like to borrow his daughter for the week the car was in the shop.


I whipped out my code reader (paper clip) and found that I have a code 13, 33, 34, and, 54. Oh goody! The coolant sensor connector is corroded, so I think that will solve that problem. The O2 sensors can be replaced. The knock sensor is the biggest thorn in my side.

I'm approaching the timing belt service interval. So I am getting geared up for that. Labour is going to be a b****.


I have been toying with the idea of going twin turbo on this car. I know! I know! It is generally not recommended to do a swap because it is cheaper to find a factory TT. My reasoning for considering it is this is one of the cleanest "driven" cars up here. There are a few time capsules that have never seen snow or rain, but those are few and far between, and, when they do come up for sale, they are ridiculously expensive. I lucked out by getting a southern car that has no rust, and no accidents. It is super clean, and, I plan on keeping it. I have a great car, which, in my opinion is a feasible candidate for a swap. If it was a rusty old Canadian car, not a chance. This is a huge maybe though. A lot of variables have to be right for me to pull the trigger on this. Build the current block? Rebuild a JDM block? Deals on parts etc..

Anyways, sorry it was such a long post. Thank you for anyone who read the whole thing. I welcome comments and feedback. I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again, but I do check the forums regularly.

[DCaff300ZX]

Did you try Z-1 for a used console finisher? The shade difference may be due to early vs. late model car color as I've seen black in a yellow Z, but the charcoal in most everything else except my red interior in my white Z and others...give them your year if that helps get the right color shade.

[Medic!]

I ordered this one brand new from z1. I didnt know they had used stuff. =/ ill have a look tomorrow and see what they have.

[Medic!]

I forgot to mention something that is going on with the car. I cannot keep washer fluid in the car. I top it up, it takes almost a whole jug to fill, but in less than a week the little yellow.light comes on and the tank is drier than a martini. I have been finding a puddle behind the left rear wheel reguarly.

Is this a common problem? I have googled around, but I cant find much on it.

[itsa300zx]

Nice looking Z!! Not really common, but I have heard of the tank cracking. Remove the rear panels and take a look, might just need a simple patch.

BTW are you looking to sell your stock shifter? if so please PM me

[budget300zx]

Check the washer lines in your trunk by the tank. There is a line that runs from the front tank to the rear.

[zed32gto]

Great thread. I appreciate you posting your experience to date.

I am up near Ottawa and am casually looking around for a NA car to use as my next dual purpose touring and track car.

[Medic!]

I finally ditched those 18's, and picked up a set of stock semi-polished wheels and tires. I say semi, because they aren't highly polished/chrome. What a difference those made. Those Foose rims weighed a ton. Acceleration and braking were improved, as was handling, and ride quality.




I repainted the rest of the a-pillar/roof trim, with the exception of the t-top trim. I am not messing with those pieces. I'll replace them with new when I have the money. I contemplated touching up the black pinstripe that runs around the car. Then I thought of the masking that would take, and having to be crouched down that long, so I put the vito on that, for now. The stuff on the front bumper has flaked off completely.

Last weekend, I took advantage of having time off, and the heat to do some cleaning. I pulled out the tweeds and shot them with some detergent and oxiclean. I sprayed the panels with that mixture, let them sit for a bit and rinsed with cold water. The gray tweed had a beige-ish tinge from 25 years of sun and dust. I didn't want to scrub, or use anything that would pluck the tweed and make it go "furry" (think of the lower panels behind the seats and you'll know what I mean), so on the tougher bits I used a very soft paint brush to loosen tracked in stuff. They came up pretty good. The pictures didn't turn out the best, but I could definitely see a difference when compared to unwashed parts.

My new OEM antenna arrived, and works like a charm. Getting the old one out was a bit of a pain. The mast was extended, and stuck. A cutting wheel took care of that. Installing the new one took less time than getting the interior panels off. Now I no longer poke my eye out when walking around the car.

I got a deal on a brand new washer bottle for the trunk. Hopefully this will take care of the leak, and get rid of that annoying yellow light on the dash once and for all.

I was living with a code 34 for quite a while. It would randomly disappear from time to time, but for the most part it was there. I purchased a bypass kit for the detonation sensor. I also picked up the Z! detonation sensor transistor plug, as a stop gap until I could get in there and do the bypass properly. As soon as the parts arrived, the code 34 disappeared, and as of me writing this, hasn't been back.

The coolant temperature sensor code has also taken a vacation as of late. I presume this is because the new sensor, plug and pigtail that I ordered arrived. They sit in a box with my new knock sensor, and sub harness.

Side note: This car seems to be like a fickle wife/girlfriend. Everything is fine, and then one day I do something (god only knows what) to piss her off, so she punishes me (throws a code). All the sweet talking (troubleshooting) goes nowhere, and it becomes clear that the only way back is to drop some cash. So I splash out on dinner, or a piece of jewelry (new parts), and she won't touch a bite or wear it, but suddenly everything is hunkydory again. Rather punitive car. Still love her though.

The O2 sensors still act up from time to time. At this point in the season, I am not all that inclined to start prodding at those, unless I found a good price on new ones and just replaced them completely.

The really annoying one was the code 11 that randomly popped up on a Friday afternoon in Barrie (she never sodomizes me close to home... FAIRlady indeed.) Driving along, I have no power. Accelerate from a green light and it's like hitting a brick wall. "I bet its that friggin knock sensor again." Well, I was prepared. I brought that resistor plug with me, just in case she had one of her moods again. I pulls over in Bradford and pull the code. Code 11?? WTF.. *googles* ..uhoh...

Wiggled the plug a bit and re-checked. Still showing the code. Well, I had to get back to home base (Whitby), so off I went. By now the CEL was on, nagging me all the way to Yonge and Green lane, when it stepped up its nagging. Flashing CEL... F%$^!

Flashing CEL above 2k RPM... that was the slowest ride I have ever had in that car.

Limp it into the driveway and set to work graveling to appease the angry Z goddess who is displeased with me. The CAS plug (which is a pain to get to) had some corrosion in it. I cleaned that up and put her all back together. Pulled the negative off the battery for a minute, and went to pull the code. Instead of the approving wink of 54's... what did I see?

FLAAAAAAASH FLAAAAAAASH FLASH. "awwww what now??"

Code 21. *googles* "No no no m'lady, I know you had that taken care of in the recall"

I pull apart the connectors, and one isn't looking so hot. Parts are missing from the outer shield, but the pins are all shiny. One of the other plugs was pretty badly corroded, but I took care of that. The moment of truth? Still showed a code 21. I packed up my tools, and, we slept in different beds that night.

Thursday last, I am driving along, and I am blown away at how the car sounds and felt. It felt as though there are no codes, its running on all 6, no hesitations. Smooth as silk. I just smiled and said to myself, "I love this car..." Annnnd she bent me over again. Suddenly the exhaust note changed. It got louder, deeper... and sounded really...sexy. Yup... something in the exhaust had let go. I pull over and look. Sure enough, my passenger side muffler is rocking on its rubber hangers.



The pipe separated from the muffler cannister right at the joint. No fixing that. Right now I have it Honda'd with a coat hanger and some twine (mainly so that it doesn't fall off completely).

I was looking around for replacements. I like the look and sound of the SpecialtyZ "back half" (axle back in otherpeoplespeak?) Or the Labree. I can't find anything in Labree, smaller than a cat-back though. At this point I just need the mufflers. Naturally, I would jump at the chance to buy new parts (especially a nice sounding exhaust), but thanks to our fantastic Canadian dollar my $585 mufflers are going to cost $775, plus shipping, and whatever else the creeps at customs want to tack on. That won't be happening this season, unless I can find a Canadian distributor.





Current squawks, codes, status:

- Code 21. Originally a code 11. Cleaned up the connections, code 11 disappeared, and code took its place. Troll car.

- Passenger side muffler is no longer attached to the rest of the system.

- "Brake" warning lamp is on at times. Fluid was low, I topped it up, the light went off, but now it comes back on. No drop in fluid.

- Drivers side switch for the passenger window rolls the window down, but not up. (Anyone parting out a Z32?)

- Coil packs plug clasps are broken. The brand new connectors I ordered look pretty and clean, but slip off and cause a ridiculous misfire.

- Steering wheel is crooked again (doesn't pull in any direction).

- Radio shroud is trashed. (still on the hunt for a double din unit)

-Windshield washer bottle leaks.

- Passenger door vent finisher is history. (seeking another)

[ObjectsInMirror]

Just so you know, switching out for the 91+ auto climate controls is as easy as switching the pod and the controller down by the gas pedal. I have a 90 and did this with some parts I got at pull-a-part from a 93.

[NolimitZ32]

I'm parting my old 93. Let me know what you need.

[Medic!]

^I will be looking into some parts from that car of yours.

So, I got tired of looking at the washer fluid light on the dash. I found a brand new replacement bottle with pumps on ebay for $20. Before I pulled the trigger on it, I checked the part number that was listed on a Nissan parts site and it said it was for a 90-95 2+0 and 2+2 (not sure what they changed in 96 that would affect the washer bottle, but oh well..)

A week later, it arrives! I take it out of the box and notice this really long angled filler neck on the bottle. It just looks way too big for the Z. So I google the part number on the bag that it came in, and it comes up with the nissan part sites, that all say it is for a 90-95 2+0/2+2. I switch to "images" and BAM.. there it is. The image is on the CZP page. I go to that and it seems it is for a 94-96 CONVERTIBLE.



So, I paid $20 for the bottle, and $65 to ship it. The seller will accept returns, if I pay the return shipping. $130, to get a $20 refund. FML. Anyone with a convertible need a new washer bottle? I know of one that's going cheap =/


The car has been running well lately. The exhaust sounds glorious (even if it is broken). I have the best of both worlds, the unfiltered glory of an open pipe on the right, which, at 4000 RPMS sounds like an indie car, but the smooth restraint of the left pipe which still sings through the muffler. I watched an old motorweek review of the 90 Z32 and they said the engine doesn't sound that good. I think they're on crack! I always thought the Z32 had one of the NICEST sounds. A distinctive, exotic, Italian sportscar kind of sound.

It has been getting colder here in the mornings and evenings and the Z (like its owner) grumble with displeasure at being separated from our peaceful slumber. The other day I noted a strong smell of gasoline after I started it. I'll be having a look at the fuel lines a little later on today, as well as pulling out that washer bottle to see if I can fix the leaks.

I haven't checked for codes in a while. It isn't sluggish or using a ton of gas, so I'm happy with it.

The "brake" light is still on. All the time now. It's been on steadily since I pulled the plug on the master cylinder and cleaned up the contacts. I have read that the float can be the problem, or the wiring itself can go bad. I'll have a look at that as well. At the moment, my dash looks like a traffic light; red brake light, yellow washer fluid light, and then the cruise control lights rounding out the green.


The most annoying (and scary) issue I have with the car right now is the steering.

- When I bought the car, the steering wheel was cocked to the left a couple of degrees, and the alignment was bad. I took it to Nissan an had them do an alignment, and asked them to straighten the wheel. When I got the car back, everything was fine.

- A couple of weeks later, I noticed that the steering wheel was again off centre to the left. The car doesn't pull in either direction (other than with road crown). The tires are all wearing evenly.

- At 50/mph the wheel is off so far to the left that I cannot see the washer fluid/cruise control lights, and, "9 and 3" are above and below the spokes on the wheel. Cosmetically this is annoying, but the car tracks straight.

- At 60+ (on the same stretch of road) the wheel will (sometimes) straighten out to a completely neutral position. Again, it tracks straight.

- When I first start the car, and back/pull out of the driveway, the steering is very stiff (mostly to the left). On occasion, it can be "lumpy" like a worn out ratchet. Little bumps can be felt through the steering wheel.

- From time to time on the highway 60-70/mph, the steering goes very loose and floaty. It reminds me of my brothers corolla, which is a creampuff to drive. It goes vague, and feels way overboosted.

- The steering feels normal (reasonable) in a right turn, but turning the wheel to the left takes more force. It's not like manual steering, but it is much stiffer. Even rocking the steering wheel from right to left, while stopped I can feel it "tense up" once it hits the left side.

- The scariest incident happened last week, when I was making a left turn. I was doing 15-20, and swung into the turn, and it felt as though there was a dead spot in the steering on the left side. When you drive a car long enough you know how far you have to turn the wheel to achieve a turn. For me its about 1/4ish turn at that speed (even with the wheel off centre). I gave that input, and what happened next nearly caused a "code brown." The car turned enough to aim me at the corner, and that was it. It was like understeer plow, at slow speed, on dry pavement. I turned the wheel more, and more, and then finally at "u-turn input" it "woke up" and brought me through the turn on the line that I had selected. I didn't have to correct it at the end of the turn.

*I've taken some crazy turns in this car, enough to make the back end step out on a few occasions, but I have never experienced anything even remotely close to understeer in this car. Definitely not at such a low speed, on dry pavement. I have taken FWD cars around that corner faster than that and never had a problem. The Z has done it many times as well, without any problems, up until that point.

I have done some googling, and found others who are having problems with their steering but no one who has all of the same symptoms (or the scary ones) that I have experienced. So, I am open to any and all suggestions. Has anyone experienced anything like this before?

[Medic!]

I was going to store the Z this winter, but I decided I would devote a weekend to cleaning out the garage, and get my other car ('99 Prelude) moved over so I could get both cars in there. Two days, and $500 to 1800GOTJUNK later, and I had a nice clean garage. Incredibly, at the same time, Princess Auto had a sale, and the Merrick Auto Dollies wen't on sale. I picked up four of those, and moved the Prelude over against the wall. The Prelude is undergoing a complete "nut and bolt" restoration so it can't move under its own steam.

Plenty of room!


I like the idea of the car being here, because I can work on it over the winter. Also, when I am having a ****ty day, I can just open the garage and stare at it, or sit in it and "meditate". Digression alert: My mother had a stroke on December 4th. It was a pretty stressful time, dealing with doctors, keeping family updated, and spending almost all of my "off time" in the hospital I spend the majority of my days working out of. I went out to the garage, and there she was, an oasis from the chaos. I closed the garage door, and sat in the Z, in total silence. It was very relaxing.


I was having some issues with the Z last month. Driving at night, I would find the radio would start to cut out, and the lights kept getting really dim. It all came to a head when I drove into Toronto to pick up a TT spoiler third brake light from a kijiji ad. I met up with the seller at a Timmies and there was the impromptu car meet that invariably comes with buying/selling/trading parts. I left the car idling, but the headlights were on (being a '90 and from the states, it doesn't have DRLs and I get paranoid about being seen). Before heading out, I had to take a leak, so I shut the car off, AND the lights. When I came back, the battery was completely dead. I had to call CAA and get a shot of electricity to get on my way again. Turns out, my alternator was coming up short.

When I got home I called Nissan to get a new alternator. "It's $487, and back ordered, so probably about three weeks." No thanks.

I called Partsource, and spoke to a 12 year old who sounded as though he was sucking on a jawbreaker the size of a golf ball. I couldn't make out half of what that kid was saying. Uh yeh.. er.. umm..." $190 and it will be there on Tuesday. Tuesday rolls around; No call. I call them. "uh it didn't come in." Wedesday comes and, I picked it up. The only problem is, I wasn't off until the following week.

When I got a bit of time, I set to work getting the old alternator out. What a job. The way I explain it to non-Z32'ers is, doing an alternator on one of these cars is like child birth. Stick with me...

The alternator (baby) is buried up in the belly of the beast (pregnant lady). In order to get it out, you have to start moving bits and pieces to "dilate" the opening so the baby can come out. The only problem is, you have to cut the umbilicals while the baby is still inside, and then fish thie alternator out of a hole that is about 2/3rds the size of the alternator itself. By the end, the person catching the baby/alternator is dirty, light headed, and probably has blood on their hands.

With that battle fought and won, I compare the two alternators. Something is very wrong. The one I got form Partsource has a very different pair of mounting tabs. [VERY] annoyed, I head over to PS to get the situation rectified. Turns out, the number on the BOX is for a 90 300ZX, but the alternator inside was for something else.



They told me they could exchange it, but that it would take a few days. I said forget it, and took the OEM one to have it rebuilt. I found a shop nearby that rebuilt it for me for $160.


I figured since I was that far into the car, I would do some other things. I picked up a new alternator to transmission wire harness from the Z1 black Friday sale, as well as a set of stainless steel brake hoses. With our dollar, that was all I could afford. I wanted to get the timing belt kit and do all of that work, but it was just too much. For the second time in a row Z1 screwed me on the customs forms and gave the full value, so I had to grease CBSA palms in order to get my stuff. Justin needs the cash I suppose. He is providing work for two nannies, and, a team of hair dressers after all.

The wiring harness went in pretty easily I suppose. I left the old one in, and strung the new one in beside it. Everything lined up nicely. I do, however, believe those plug/socket connectors that you have to pinch and pull on should be outlawed. They always put them where they can't be pinched or pulled. Once everything was strung, and connected, I pulled out the old harness.

I am still waiting for a time that I can get the rebuilt alternator installed. Perhaps Christmas day.


Christmas came a bit early for me this year. My girlfriend bought me one of those restored steering wheels from Z1. Fresh leather, with red stitching. Now it matches my shift knob, boot, and parking brake gator. What a gorgeous piece! The leather is soft, and, the quality of the stitching is fantastic. She gave it to me early so I could install it, and, so that she could send the old one back for the core. Beautiful wheel, but very expensive! I was surprised at how light the Z's steering wheel was. The one for the Prelude weighs three times as much.



​


BUT WAIT! That's not all!!

As a Christmas present to yours truly, I picked up a set of these:






I am in the process of making an illuminated centre panel, like this one:





I'm not sayin' I have these or anythin'... ...but I have a set of these as well:





Todays purchase:


I spotted the shop manual on eBay for $75(CDN), and it turns out the guy lives just up the street from me. I saved on the shipping, AND managed to score the electrical manual, which has large fold out pages showing every detail of the electrical system.


Well, that's all for now. Merry Christmas everyone, and, a safe and happy new year.